#1 - Feb. 24, 2017, 4:29 p.m.
Now that the recent Live Dev Q&A with Ion Hazzikostas has concluded, we have compiled a few brief summaries of his answers to some of the main questions that were asked.
Should you wish to view the Q&A, in full you can find the VOD (in English) at: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/124199873
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Q: Are there any plans to make the Balance of Power skins account wide in the future? If not, can we expect to see further alt catch-up mechanisms?
A: It’s intended to be a per-character reward, so we currently do not plan to make Balance of Power account-wide. That said, we’ve recent increased the droprate of Corrupted Essences significantly in Emerald Nightmare, to the point where it no longer takes several months to finish that step, and instead can be completed in just a few weeks. Droprates in Nighthold are already very high, so alts should be able to catch up very quickly. As the expansion continues, we’ll continue to keep an eye on it and make additional changes, should they become necessary.
Q: What's the reason behind making second trait on relics another layer of RNG?
A: It actually opens up a lot of options for relics to be valuable, compared to the alternative of designating two traits for each relic. If the traits were pre-selected, you’d likely only have one or two relic drops you really wanted, and others would be considered sub-optimal. By randomly assigning the second trait, every relic drop has a chance to have your favorite trait. Note that the second trait will always be throughput-oriented (e.g. it will increase your DPS, healing, or survivability depending on your role), and relics cannot have the same trait twice.
Q: Any plans for reducing the large barrier to spec-swapping presented by Legendaries?
A: Currently, in Patch 7.1.5, your chance to receive a Legendary is based on the total number of Legendaries you’ve already gotten. In Patch 7.2, we’re changing that algorithm to only count Legendaries with bonuses that apply to your spec. So, if you’re a Fire Mage with the Pyroblast bracers and Scorch belt, you’ll have a significantly higher chance to receive a Legendary when your loot specialization is set to Frost than you do currently.
Q: Any plans on buffing underperforming legendaries? Enhancement bracers for example do literally nothing right now.
A: Yes. We’ve already made a couple of changes to Legendary balance in the 7.2 PTR, and more are coming. We feel that one of the major frustrations players often mention regarding the Legendary system – that they haven’t gotten the “right” Legendary and wish theirs were better – is largely due to imbalance in Legendary items. We’re continuing to adjust Legendaries by buffing underpowered ones (and nerfing overpowered ones) in Patch 7.2, as well as future updates.
Q: Are there plans to extend the Artifact Knowledge catch-up in 7.2 to follow the same trend as the compendiums added in 7.1.5, or is that something for a later date?
A: Yes, there will be new compendiums in Patch 7.2. The maximum will allow players who have earned Artifact Knowledge level 40 to immediately grant Artifact Knowledge level 35 to alternate characters.