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Big changes: tons of stats being removed and changed in WoW, hunters no longer use mana

Before I go on, take a minute and have a look at this.

Coming in Cataclysm, Blizzard has plans to remove a relative crap-ton of stats from the game. When I first read this, I was pretty shocked. I mean, there’s a lot happening here, without even considering that hunters won’t have mana anymore and warlocks won’t need soul shards for more than a single ability. Like I said, big changes.

Looking just at the stats though, I don’t think it’s that bad of an idea.

Take the changes that effect casters. Spell Power is now intellect and MP5 spirit. Honestly, I find this change to be far more intuitive than what’s in place now. If we go back in time a ways, we’ll find that spell power actually was intellect. If you had a lot of int, you were going to be a better mage. Period. Spirit isn’t so cut and dry, but the sentiment remains the same.

As long as the transfer doesn’t shortchange casters, this is a welcome change. Even though simplifications usually bother me, in this case, we’re still at the level of the classic RPG, so it’s all good. It’s like, the game was complex because it was an MMO and not an RPG like those before it. Now, it’s moving in line with the classics of the genre. To me, this feels more like trimming the fat than any kind of nerf.

The changes to the primary tanking stats, however, are a nerf… to a certain kind of player. When I played a tank in BC WoW (a poor one, admittedly), I did a lot of reading. Warriors especially swim in numbers. There’s a lot more balancing and perfecting armor sets than most other roles. Once this change goes in, there will be a lot less of that theorycrafting. The number crunchers won’t like this simplification.

Now, being the noob that I am, would like to say that I welcome these changes too with open arms. Not because I want anyone’s game nerfed, but because I think all that tweaking and perfecting makes tanking a lot less appealing to new players. Hell, it makes it less appealing to old players too.

Most people don’t want to have ten extra things to worry about when, simply put, it can be someone else’s problem. Hence, our lack of tanks. These changes remove one of the biggest barriers to the role. It might simplify things but, really, if it was keeping people away from tanking, something probably needed to be done.

One of my guildies commented that the stat changes are another step towards homogenizing the classes. Maybe, but I don’t think so.

Since hunters won’t be using mana anymore, you don’t have to worry about them rolling on caster items. That means that healers and casters will be competing for roles, along with the various tanks. It doesn’t sound much different from the current system.

Speaking of the class changes, I don’t really mind either of them. Hunters will now be focusing on “focus,” which will work similar to rage. Ammo will also be equipped able which means “set it and forget it.” No more having to buy tons of ammo.

Warlocks will automatically get three soul shards per kill and only have one ability that uses them. I don’t see much need for this, since soul shards were easily acquirable and provided an interesting mechanic. Without having to soul drain, however, they won’t need to take a DPS hit when they run out and need to replenish.

Overall, these updates will have an impact on how we plan out and gear up our characters. How much, though, we’ll have to wait and see. What do you guys think?


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