Armor pen nerf in 3.2.2

The nerf to armor pen in 3.2.2 is intentional. Compared to the recent buff where we increased the value of armor rating to 125%, this nerf would take it back down to 110%. While we are still evaluating the effects of this change in the 3.2.2 build, we did want to let you know of the possibility in case you were about to spend a lot on armor pen gems.

In fact, this was really the point. Several melee specs (and Marksman hunters) had begun to focus on armor pen at the expense of all other stats. Gear without armor pen was being passed over and gem sockets were increasingly being filled with just this one stat. While every spec has stats that are more valuable than others, this one felt like it was starting to trump everything. Not coincidentally, characters stacking lots of armor pen were starting to do more damage than their peers and more damage than we were comfortable with.

This change is largely for PvE reasons, though we won't cry at all if melee damage in PvP drops a little as a result.

We're letting you know now so that this doesn't feel like a stealth nerf, assuming it goes live. While you might disagree or be frustrated by the change (though I also suspect it won't come as a surprise to many players), we ask that you try and keep your response to something appropriate for these forums.

There is rarely an ideal time to announce a nerf. In the case of e.g. the Prot paladin healing nerf, we had already decided we were going to fix it and how we were going to fix it so we announced it relatively early. The armor pen decision included more debate. I am sorry if the timing was bad for any of you personally, but we certainly can't promise that future nerfs or buffs won't necessitate gear changes.

I wouldn't focus too much on the issue of using too many of the same kind of gem. There are plenty of situations where that has been the case since BC (though it's not ideal in a perfect world). Rather the case was that classes that had been using Agi or Str or whatever were now switching almost exclusively to armor pen and being greatly rewarded for it. Gear without armor pen was being passed over. Specs that benefited a lot from armor pen were outstripping specs in the same class. As many other players have concluded, it was just too good.

That said, we don't think it will be a trash stat if we make this change. If you could beat plate-wearers in PvP before we don't think that will suddenly flip overnight. We don't think you'll feel the need to shard your items with armor pen.

We also think the change is good for both PvE and PvP. My earlier comment was to try and discourage players from thinking their PvE got nerfed for PvP reasons, though that absolutely happens sometimes when we can't avoid it. Some players have been concerned about the power of melee classes in Arenas. While this change alone isn't likely to sway their opinions, chilling out melee damage in PvP probably isn't a bad thing.

Yes, armor pen is gone in Cataclysm, at least as a rating on gear. Until then we want it to be a good stat but not one that trumps every other gear consideration.

Q u o t e:
You're an idiot.

That's the last thing you'll be able to post. Hope it was worth it.

Plenty of players are able to disagree with us while still communicating like adults. If that's not something you can manage, these probably aren't the forums for you.

[Not tracked]

Q u o t e:
GC: stop messing with us. While making your "exciting" changes to this game, you've managed to frustrate many with all your tweaks, requiring re-gemming and re-gearing to stay competitive.

There are two basic strategies for balancing the game. One is that we just let things go until major content patches (or even expansions). The other is we step in and make adjustments when we feel it's appropriate. We tried the first way for a long time, but it was fairly frustrating for classes who were behind or had other issues knowing that they would be that way for months or longer. We've been trying the other way more lately -- making pretty rapid adjustments, though not always as rapid as some players would like. However there is a consequence that sometimes you'll get nerfed even as other classes get buffed, or you'll have to rethink your gear when some stat becomes better than something else. It's a two-way street. Now, we don't want it to feel like a roller coaster or feel arbitrary in any way. But we also don't want broken things to just endure, and everyone here would agree there is more we can fix.

We're not trying to prevent having a "best stat for me." To some extent, that's unavoidable. But if the best stat isn't far above the second best stat, then gearing is a decision beyond just "take the thing with the best stat." While there may still be a best in slot item, those are rarely trivial to obtain and in the meantime you might have to actually consider the drops you do get.

Some of you are saying you'll never touch armor pen again, which I find questionable, but we'll see. Some of you are saying you'll stack it even more to get as close to the cap as you can. But there is a point at which you are giving up too many other stats just to benefit from armor pen. Not many people really wanted it when it was at the original LK value (we'll call that 100%) so there has to be a sweet spot between that and the 3.2 value of 125%.

One valid point many players have mentioned is that stats that cap, say hit, just keep getting a more and more generous allotment of rating on higher gear even though players don't necessarily need more as they face tougher foes. That is a design flaw with the system, though not necessarily an easy one to fix with these kinds of number tweaks.