#287 - July 18, 2010, 5:35 a.m.
Q u o t e:
I know a question abut judgements was answered... but it just told us what we already knew. I guess when I asked my question I wanted to know why the judgements were being changed and how it was going to affect the game, not just what is the difference. I know I'm probably not going to get a blue post about this, but perhaps I can get other people's thoughts. They seem to be putting a lot of effort into modifying the paladin rotation so its more interesting than first come first serve mana management, but I just see it getting more boring by homogenizing multiple versions of abilities that are used(or if balanced properly, could be used) in different situations.
We felt like we needed to add several new spells to the paladin rotation, including making Holy Wrath a real part of the rotation. With all of those changes, we thought it was hard to justify having a mechanic to choose your Judgement when you were already choosing your Seal and Aura. It's just a different model. If anything at the moment I'm worried that we made paladins too complex and might have to reign it back in a little. :) We'll see when players can try it out in beta.
Q u o t e:
I had asked if elemental shamans would see a non-nature nuke spell, given they are the only class to not have one, and we're going into an expension with where the elements plays a big deal, so I'm expecting there to be lots of nature-immune mobs. It feels really awkward that a class that is called the "master of the elements" can only use one as a nuke, and that now there is almost no differences between the spells Enhancement and Elemental use.
I can't think of the last time we made a spell school immune mob. Do you run into them often? It's the kind of mechanic we realized was never going to work because we design classes and specializations around schools.
As I say often, we don't consider "the only class who" to be the problem that players often try to use it as. :)
Q u o t e:
Oh, and I have 2 questions about Leap of Faith / Life Grip...
1. Will it also remove movement impairing effects from the target?
2. Does it cause any threat, or wipe the aggro of whomever you use it on?
It won't remove movement impairing effects, at least not innately. That's the kind of thing we might add as a glyph or talent, but you have to be careful about this sort of thing because then the spell would likely be used as a snare-break and not for its main purpose. Likewise, once you mess with threat, that precludes using it on some targets, and again, we don't want priest to feel like they have to use it like a Hand of Salvation instead of to actually move allies.
Q u o t e:
Do shaman have any hope of getting another form? Like a flying or water form? PLEASE?
It's not in the plans.
Q u o t e:
could you see invisibility being given to other classes, or having its uses broadened?
Unlikely. We try not to share around unique abilities unless we feel it's absolutely necessary (like in the case of the mandatory buff scenario).
Q u o t e:
is there currently any way to implement ability based environment effects? Ie, creating an obstacle in a player's path.
It's technically possible, but really risky in terms of the potential for player abuse. Even in a PvE situation, it would be easy to get a mob stuck in a position where it couldn't path to targets without a ton of bullet-proofing on our part.
Q u o t e:
Shaman only seem to really have 2 frost spells, otherwise it's quite barren. Any plans to explore additional ones?
This idea comes up every now and then, but we haven't yet come up with something really unique that we haven't done before and that shaman need.
Q u o t e:
ele shaman seem to have fewer talented new spells, any plans to maybe add one more?
Earthquake is their big addition for Cataclysm. They'll get a lot of use out of Spiritwalker's Grace as well -- they were really who we had in mind with that spell. They are also getting some new mechanics, such as Lava Surge.