Whaaaa...? Since when? I recently came back to the game after a 5-month hiatus and when I left Blizz was swearing up and down that race changes weren't going to happen, at least not anytime soon.
I don't get why people are talking about how they'll have to wait to level their new worgen/goblin whatever. Why not just get started now and race change when the xpac hits?
I think a little before or after you could faction change.
Langly on
0
GnomeTankWhat the what?Portland, OregonRegistered Userregular
I should have remembered, way back at 80 in blues I was just starting to tank heroics, we kicked off with Violet Hold, we thought it'd be easy but this guy just completely owned me. I've still no idea why, probably missed a key mechanic of his.
You probably missed the glowing balls of hate mechanic. You have to pull him up top, because he spawns these balls of pure destruction downstairs that, if they get to him, he starts to do retarded damage. So you tank him up top, and when his balls start coming up stairs, you pull him to the other side of the ledge. They will despawn trying to get to him.
That said, with modern gear levels, people probably just tank and spank him because the added damage doesn't effect a top end tank.
I don't get why people are talking about how they'll have to wait to level their new worgen/goblin whatever. Why not just get started now and race change when the xpac hits?
You mean other than a new starting zone to check out and Azeroth being completely redone, so it'll be like playing a brand new game?
Actually, come to think of it, every horde race has joined up because their home was destroyed and on the brink of extinction, aside from Tauren, who really didn't have a home, being nomads. Still on the brink though.
Whaaaa...? Since when? I recently came back to the game after a 5-month hiatus and when I left Blizz was swearing up and down that race changes weren't going to happen, at least not anytime soon.
I don't get why people are talking about how they'll have to wait to level their new worgen/goblin whatever. Why not just get started now and race change when the xpac hits?
Chances are you won't be able to race transfer for awhile either, at least untill there is time for people to get 85 with the new combo's. I could be wrong, but pretty sure that's what will happen.
edit- Fixed for new max level
Gnutson on
Erai - Operative <--Imperial Double Agent--> Sniper - Eari
SW:Tor - Tao - Kryatt Dragon Server
0
GnomeTankWhat the what?Portland, OregonRegistered Userregular
Whaaaa...? Since when? I recently came back to the game after a 5-month hiatus and when I left Blizz was swearing up and down that race changes weren't going to happen, at least not anytime soon.
I don't get why people are talking about how they'll have to wait to level their new worgen/goblin whatever. Why not just get started now and race change when the xpac hits?
Chances are you won't be able to race transfer for awhile either, at least untill there is time for people to get 85 with the new combo's. I could be wrong, but pretty sure that's what will happen.
edit- Fixed for new max level
I doubt it, Blizzard like money, and having someone transfer their 85 Warrior from Human to Wargen doesn't break game balance at all.
On that note, I am ready to race/faction transfer my priest to Gnome...I've wanted a Gnome priest forever.
Whaaaa...? Since when? I recently came back to the game after a 5-month hiatus and when I left Blizz was swearing up and down that race changes weren't going to happen, at least not anytime soon.
I don't get why people are talking about how they'll have to wait to level their new worgen/goblin whatever. Why not just get started now and race change when the xpac hits?
Blizzard has stated that race change to Worgen/Goblin won't be available at the launch of Cat. Thus, if you want a high level Worgen/Goblin, you're going to have to grind it out for a few months.
Also the Naga hate the absolute shit out of the night elves. Like, a lot.
If they were to join a side, it'd likely be the Horde for the same reason most of the other races join the Horde. Because their home was destroyed and they would be completely fucked otherwise.
and the Night Elves love the Naga just as much as they love the Blood Elves.
What about High Elves? :rotate:
End on
I wish that someway, somehow, that I could save every one of us
0
jackalFuck Yes. That is an orderly anal warehouse.Registered Userregular
Whaaaa...? Since when? I recently came back to the game after a 5-month hiatus and when I left Blizz was swearing up and down that race changes weren't going to happen, at least not anytime soon.
I don't get why people are talking about how they'll have to wait to level their new worgen/goblin whatever. Why not just get started now and race change when the xpac hits?
Chances are you won't be able to race transfer for awhile either, at least untill there is time for people to get 85 with the new combo's. I could be wrong, but pretty sure that's what will happen.
edit- Fixed for new max level
I doubt it, Blizzard like money, and having someone transfer their 85 Warrior from Human to Wargen doesn't break game balance at all.
On that note, I am ready to race/faction transfer my priest to Gnome...I've wanted a Gnome priest forever.
I think I read something official where they said race transfer wouldn't be allowed because they wanted people seeing the new starting zones.
Whaaaa...? Since when? I recently came back to the game after a 5-month hiatus and when I left Blizz was swearing up and down that race changes weren't going to happen, at least not anytime soon.
I don't get why people are talking about how they'll have to wait to level their new worgen/goblin whatever. Why not just get started now and race change when the xpac hits?
Chances are you won't be able to race transfer for awhile either, at least untill there is time for people to get 85 with the new combo's. I could be wrong, but pretty sure that's what will happen.
edit- Fixed for new max level
I doubt it, Blizzard like money, and having someone transfer their 85 Warrior from Human to Wargen doesn't break game balance at all.
On that note, I am ready to race/faction transfer my priest to Gnome...I've wanted a Gnome priest forever.
I think I read something official where they said race transfer wouldn't be allowed because they wanted people seeing the new starting zones.
I'd think there would be a whole 'world first gnome priest' etc as well? I'm sure they will be available, just not right away.
Gnutson on
Erai - Operative <--Imperial Double Agent--> Sniper - Eari
SW:Tor - Tao - Kryatt Dragon Server
That whole "Group 5" thing was put in basically when spirit was a viable stat for warriors. It's basically in the code "What are the minimum amount of mouth breathers needed to complete this quest." It's got some fancy equation behind it, but, that's what it boils down to.
Ahh, it's auto-calculated? I thought Blizzard marked them by hand. That makes more sense I suppose.
I'd imagine it does some sort of auto-calculation because I find it hard pressed that blizz paid some quest devs to go back through for all the quests containing an elite dude and mark them and decide how many people should do it. I mean that'd be the smart thing to do anyways. I'd rather just write a slapstick piece of code that goes through and finds all the enemy NPCs and determines based on their life/elite status if they're group quests or not, probably a lot easier.
But if I had $texas that's probably the last solution I'd look at, as it's probably cheaper to pay 15 college kids who want a foot in the door $rhodeisland than one programmer $california.
bowen on
not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
0
GnomeTankWhat the what?Portland, OregonRegistered Userregular
Actually, one race that I could just about see working - for either side, even - could be a splinter group of friendly Naga. Given their history I could see them approaching the Night Elves due to their association with them, or the Horde due to the Night Elves shunning them, either could work.
And let's be honest, the racials pretty much write themselves.
Also, Ethereals. Are there *any* in Wrath at all? Are they just being quietly swept under the carpet?
Violet Hold
I believe there is also one in the quests out in Dragon's Blight.
ExistentialSoundandFury on
0
GrobianWhat's on sale?Pliers!Registered Userregular
edited March 2010
They won't have world first anythings, they never had. And realm first 80 was only "realm first <class>" or "realm first <race>", not "realm first <race+class combo>". So they will certainly have restrictions on race changes to Worgen/Goblin (like they already said), but I wouldn't be so sure about race changes to new race/class combos.
Actually, come to think of it, every horde race has joined up because their home was destroyed and on the brink of extinction, aside from Tauren, who really didn't have a home, being nomads. Still on the brink though.
I know WoW is kind of a small scale re-creation of what Azeroth is supposed to be like but I can't see very many places where it would be beneficial for them to be nomads, really.
Actually, come to think of it, every horde race has joined up because their home was destroyed and on the brink of extinction, aside from Tauren, who really didn't have a home, being nomads. Still on the brink though.
I know WoW is kind of a small scale re-creation of what Azeroth is supposed to be like but I can't see very many places where it would be beneficial for them to be nomads, really.
They were only nomads because they were driven away from their homelands by the terrifying level 6-40 armies of Centaurs, right?
I'd think there would be a whole 'world first gnome priest' etc as well? I'm sure they will be available, just not right away.
You have destroyed my hopes, destroyed them. I am never, ever, leveling a sub-40 priest again. Never.
Guess I'll just have to wait until they open race transfers for Gnome priests.
The world firsts will all go to people who are using RAF leveling anyway.
RAF leveling doesn't apply past 60. No, realm firsts will go to the people with the support of their guild, rotating who plays the character for a 24 hour uptime and going around with a squad of 5 or more, letting the main guy aggro and the rest finishing the kill.
I'd think there would be a whole 'world first gnome priest' etc as well? I'm sure they will be available, just not right away.
You have destroyed my hopes, destroyed them. I am never, ever, leveling a sub-40 priest again. Never.
Guess I'll just have to wait until they open race transfers for Gnome priests.
The world firsts will all go to people who are using RAF leveling anyway.
RAF leveling doesn't apply past 60. No, realm firsts will go to the people with the support of their guild, rotating who plays the character for a 24 hour uptime and going around with a squad of 5 or more, letting the main guy aggro and the rest finishing the kill.
Or you know, people doing that with a RAF account so they can get to level 60 in 6 hours instead of 18 and have a head start to continue to level 85?
I'd think there would be a whole 'world first gnome priest' etc as well? I'm sure they will be available, just not right away.
You have destroyed my hopes, destroyed them. I am never, ever, leveling a sub-40 priest again. Never.
Guess I'll just have to wait until they open race transfers for Gnome priests.
The world firsts will all go to people who are using RAF leveling anyway.
RAF leveling doesn't apply past 60. No, realm firsts will go to the people with the support of their guild, rotating who plays the character for a 24 hour uptime and going around with a squad of 5 or more, letting the main guy aggro and the rest finishing the kill.
Or you know, people doing that with a RAF account so they can get to level 60 in 6 hours instead of 18 and have a head start to continue to level 85?
I wouldn't be surprised if you couldn't RAF a worgen/goblin for the first month or so. If they're going to turn off race changes, they might as well make them ineligible for RAF as well.
reVerseAttack and Dethrone GodRegistered Userregular
edited March 2010
Explanation about the Cata stat changes up on MMO Champ.
reVerse on
0
GumpyThere is alwaysa greater powerRegistered Userregular
edited March 2010
"Weapon Skill - This stat will be removed from the game completely. Classes will start with all the weapon skills they need to know and will not need to improve them."
"Weapon Skill - This stat will be removed from the game completely. Classes will start with all the weapon skills they need to know and will not need to improve them."
OH
HELLO THERE
I love this line of text right here
A shame I already maxed most of the skills on my warrior. Here's to hoping for my future rogue.
"Weapon Skill - This stat will be removed from the game completely. Classes will start with all the weapon skills they need to know and will not need to improve them."
OH
HELLO THERE
I love this line of text right here
Get those soon to be feats of strength now people
If you're masochistic bastards of course.
Explanation about the Cata stat changes up on MMO Champ.
Could someone copy/paste the changes into this thread please (into a spoiler tag if its very long)? Me and many others have most gaming websites blocked at work and would appreciate it!
MEGAMERICAN on
0
reVerseAttack and Dethrone GodRegistered Userregular
edited March 2010
Here you go:
Cataclysm Stat & System Changes
Quote from: Eyonix
As many of you know from panels at last year’s BlizzCon and posts here on the forums since then, Cataclysm will bring about major changes to familiar character stats such as Intellect, Armor Penetration, Defense, and others, ultimately designed to make the effects of stats more easily understandable and make gear choices more interesting. As these changes will have a significant impact on how stats work and relate to one another, today we wanted to offer you a closer look at exactly what’s in store and explain some of the rationale before Cataclysm arrives.
The most obvious question these changes raise is "Why are stats being changed, and why now?" As the game has matured, we've run into increasingly complex issues with the current stat system. Many stats are inherently confusing, and the way they interrelate can feel convoluted. Attack Power, for example, currently translates to damage, but so does Armor Penetration. Defense provides five different statistical benefits of varying utility. Mana regeneration involves understanding multiple stats and rules and often ends up being irrelevant anyway. In addition, the difference between a "good stat" for a class and a "bad stat" can be extreme. Some casters want Haste but not Crit; hunters want Armor Penetration but not Haste. There are other overarching issues, as well, such as Intellect not being very exciting for casters despite it being a core stat -- and these are just a few examples.
Our ultimate goal is make gear a more interesting (and less confusing) choice by making each stat valuable to more players. While the reasoning behind some of the following changes may be clear, we understand that you may have questions about some of the less obvious alterations, and we'll do our best to answer any questions you may have here on the forums.
What You’ll See on Gear
Stamina - Because of the way we will be assigning Strength, Agility, and Intellect, non-plate wearers will end up with more Stamina than before. Health pools will be much closer between plate-wearers and other classes.
Spirit - Come Cataclysm, this stat should only be found on healing gear. Non-healing casters will have other systems in place to regenerate mana, and we are designing special solutions for Elemental shaman and Balance druids who often share gear with healers (more on this below). Raid buffs that currently boost Spirit (such as Blessing of Kings) will only boost the primary stats of Stamina, Strength, Agility, and Intellect. We are also likely changing the five-second rule and other quirks of the current regen system.
Intellect - Intellect will now grant Spell Power (more on this below). Intellect will also provide less mana than it currently does.
Haste - Haste will become more attractive for melee classes by allowing them to recover resources such as energy and runes more quickly. Our intention is for Haste to let you "do stuff" more often.
Block Rating - Block is being redesigned to scale better. Blocked attacks will simply hit for 30% less damage. Block rating will improve your chance to block, though overall block chances will be lower than they are today.
Parry - Parry no longer provides 100% avoidance and no longer speeds up attacks. Instead, when you parry an attack, it and the next attack will each hit for 50% damage (assuming they hit at all). In other words, Dodge is a chance to avoid 100% of the damage from one attack, Parry is a chance to avoid 50% of the damage from two attacks, and Block is a chance to avoid 30% of the damage from one attack.
Mastery - This is a new stat that will allow players to become better at whatever makes their chosen talent tree cool or unique. It's directly tied to talents, so what you gain from improving this stat is entirely dependent upon your class and the talent specialization you choose. We’ll talk more about specific Mastery benefits in the future.
Armor - The way Armor mitigates damage is not changing, but the Armor stat has been rebalanced to mirror changes to the armor curve in Cataclysm. As a result, bonus Armor will go down slightly overall. We are also changing the mitigation difference among armor types so that plate doesn’t offer so much more protection than mail, leather, and cloth.
Resilience - This will only affect damage done by players and critical damage done by players. It will not impact crit chance, mana drains, or other such effects.
Strength, Agility, Hit Rating, Expertise, and Critical Strike Rating - These will all still appear on gear as well. Aside from situations mentioned elsewhere in this list, in general these will function similarly to how they do now, though the details -- such as how much Hit Rating you might need to effectively combat high-level creatures (more on this below) -- are likely to change.
Being Removed from Items
Attack Power - This stat will no longer be present on most items as a flat value, though it will still show up on some process. Strength and Agility, which will be present on items, will grant the appropriate amount of Attack Power (generally 2 Attack Power per point of Strength or Agility) depending upon which stat a particular class favors. Agility may provide less Crit than it currently does.
Spell Power - Spell Power is another stat that you'll no longer see present on most items. Instead, as mentioned above, Intellect will grant Spell Power. One exception is that caster weapons will still have Spell Power. This allows us to make weapons proportionately more powerful for casters in the same way they are for melee classes.
Armor Penetration - This stat will no longer be present on items. Armor Penetration will still exist in talents and abilities.
Shield Block Value - This stat will no longer be present on items, since the amount blocked is always proportional to the amount of damage done. Talents and other effects might still modify the damage-reduction percentage from 30%, however.
Going Away Completely
MP5 - This stat will be removed from the game completely. Holy paladins and Restoration shaman will be redesigned to benefit from Spirit.
Defense - Defense is being removed from the game entirely. Tanking classes should expect to become uncrittable versus creatures just by shifting into Defensive Stance, Frost Presence, Bear Form, or by using Righteous Fury.
Spell Ranks - Spell ranks will cease to exist. All spells will have one rank and will scale appropriately with level. The levels at which you can learn certain spells are being changed in order to fill in some of the gaps, and we will be introducing some new spells to learn along the way as well.
Weapon Skill - This stat will be removed from the game completely. Classes will start with all the weapon skills they need to know and will not need to improve them.
What Else You Should Know
Combat ratings - All ratings will be much harder to "cap out" at maximum gear levels. Ratings will be steeper in Cataclysm, and creatures in later tiers of content will be harder to hit or crit, similar to how level-83 mobs are harder to hit or crit than level-80 mobs.
Reforging - While these changes will go a long way to making a wider variety of stats more attractive, we understand that sometimes you simply don’t want more Hit Rating on your gear or you’d rather have more Haste than more Crit. In Cataclysm, we are going to give players a way to replace stats on gear as part of the existing profession system. As a general rule of thumb, you’ll be able to convert one stat to 50% of another stat. While some conversions (like converting Stamina to Strength) won’t be permitted, the goal is to let you customize your gear more.
Gems - We are changing the gem colors of a few stats as a result of these adjustments. For example, Hit is likely to be blue instead of yellow. We'll have more details on this in the future.
Changes to Existing Gear
As with previous expansions, we plan to roll out these changes and modify all existing gear shortly before Cataclysm launches, though it’s still too early to say exactly when. For the most part, the gear you have will still be good for you, though there will be exceptions, such as warriors using leather and mail armor.
If you are a tank (druids excepted), expect to see:
No more Defense on gear. Existing Defense becomes Dodge, Parry, or Block Rating.
No more Block Value on gear. Existing Block Value becomes Block Rating.
You’ll have as much Stamina as you’re used to, though you may notice your tanking plate has a bit less Stamina than a comparable piece of DPS plate, since we tend to take the gem budget out of your most attractive stat.
Bonus Armor on gear will go down slightly.
If you are a melee DPS class, druid tank, or hunter, expect to see:
A lot more Stamina. Bear-form Stamina scaling will be lowered as a result.
Strength if you wear plate. Agility if you wear mail or leather.
Existing Attack Power becomes Agility and Stamina.Armor Penetration becomes Haste or Crit.
No Intellect on melee gear. Hunters won’t need Intellect since they will no longer use mana. Shaman and Retribution paladins will get mana and spell damage in other ways.
If you are a DPS caster, expect to see:
A lot more Stamina.
All of your Spell Power converted to Intellect and Stamina.
No Spirit. You won’t miss Spirit, though, because you won’t need it for DPS or mana regen.
If you are a healer, expect to see:
A lot more Stamina.
All of your Spell Power converted to Intellect and Stamina.
Spirit instead of MP5. You’ll probably be happy with Spirit, though, because mana regen is going to matter more than it does currently. Healing paladins and shaman will benefit more from Spirit than they do currently.
If you are a Balance druid or Elemental shaman:
You will still share gear with Restoration druids and shaman.
Your gear will have Spirit on it. It won’t have Hit on it.
You will have a talent that converts Spirit to Hit. We will adjust talents accordingly so that you want about as much Spirit as, say, a warlock wants Hit.
Hit on rings and other such gear will still benefit you.
Raid buffs will no longer boost Spirit, so you shouldn’t find yourself unexpectedly over the Hit cap because of buffs.
Many lower-level items with nonsensical combinations of stats, such as Agility and Spirit, will be changed. We're also updating quest rewards, trade skills, and loot drops to support better itemization for class builds that weren't widely available or used prior to The Burning Crusade (such as Balance druids).
We're aware this is a lot of information to take in, but this is still only a piece of the larger picture, and many of these changes rely on integration with other systems we haven't yet discussed in detail. In the weeks and months ahead, we'll continue to tell you more about these changes, along with all of the new and exciting features we have planned for Cataclysm.
The way Armor mitigates damage is not changing, but the Armor stat has been rebalanced to mirror changes to the armor curve in Cataclysm. As a result, bonus Armor will go down slightly overall. We are also changing the mitigation difference among armor types so that plate doesn’t offer so much more protection than mail, leather, and cloth.
The changes to tanking stats are pretty interesting though I can see it making t10 content harder for the time period between the stat changes dropping and the release of cata.
Posts
I think a little before or after you could faction change.
You probably missed the glowing balls of hate mechanic. You have to pull him up top, because he spawns these balls of pure destruction downstairs that, if they get to him, he starts to do retarded damage. So you tank him up top, and when his balls start coming up stairs, you pull him to the other side of the ledge. They will despawn trying to get to him.
That said, with modern gear levels, people probably just tank and spank him because the added damage doesn't effect a top end tank.
except that they can't mount anything because no legs
They curl up on top.
Or get reconned to be able to split their tail into legs.
At least that's why I'm waiting.
Chances are you won't be able to race transfer for awhile either, at least untill there is time for people to get 85 with the new combo's. I could be wrong, but pretty sure that's what will happen.
edit- Fixed for new max level
SW:Tor - Tao - Kryatt Dragon Server
I doubt it, Blizzard like money, and having someone transfer their 85 Warrior from Human to Wargen doesn't break game balance at all.
On that note, I am ready to race/faction transfer my priest to Gnome...I've wanted a Gnome priest forever.
Blizzard has stated that race change to Worgen/Goblin won't be available at the launch of Cat. Thus, if you want a high level Worgen/Goblin, you're going to have to grind it out for a few months.
What about High Elves? :rotate:
I think I read something official where they said race transfer wouldn't be allowed because they wanted people seeing the new starting zones.
I'd think there would be a whole 'world first gnome priest' etc as well? I'm sure they will be available, just not right away.
SW:Tor - Tao - Kryatt Dragon Server
I'd imagine it does some sort of auto-calculation because I find it hard pressed that blizz paid some quest devs to go back through for all the quests containing an elite dude and mark them and decide how many people should do it. I mean that'd be the smart thing to do anyways. I'd rather just write a slapstick piece of code that goes through and finds all the enemy NPCs and determines based on their life/elite status if they're group quests or not, probably a lot easier.
But if I had $texas that's probably the last solution I'd look at, as it's probably cheaper to pay 15 college kids who want a foot in the door $rhodeisland than one programmer $california.
You have destroyed my hopes, destroyed them. I am never, ever, leveling a sub-40 priest again. Never.
Guess I'll just have to wait until they open race transfers for Gnome priests.
I believe there is also one in the quests out in Dragon's Blight.
The world firsts will all go to people who are using RAF leveling anyway.
I am a freaking nerd.
I know WoW is kind of a small scale re-creation of what Azeroth is supposed to be like but I can't see very many places where it would be beneficial for them to be nomads, really.
They were only nomads because they were driven away from their homelands by the terrifying level 6-40 armies of Centaurs, right?
RAF leveling doesn't apply past 60. No, realm firsts will go to the people with the support of their guild, rotating who plays the character for a 24 hour uptime and going around with a squad of 5 or more, letting the main guy aggro and the rest finishing the kill.
Or you know, people doing that with a RAF account so they can get to level 60 in 6 hours instead of 18 and have a head start to continue to level 85?
I am a freaking nerd.
I wouldn't be surprised if you couldn't RAF a worgen/goblin for the first month or so. If they're going to turn off race changes, they might as well make them ineligible for RAF as well.
OH
HELLO THERE
I love this line of text right here
Best change ever.
(gotta go grind those weapon skill achievements for Feats of Strength)
A shame I already maxed most of the skills on my warrior. Here's to hoping for my future rogue.
Get those soon to be feats of strength now people
If you're masochistic bastards of course.
Could someone copy/paste the changes into this thread please (into a spoiler tag if its very long)? Me and many others have most gaming websites blocked at work and would appreciate it!
Cataclysm Stat & System Changes
Quote from: Eyonix
The most obvious question these changes raise is "Why are stats being changed, and why now?" As the game has matured, we've run into increasingly complex issues with the current stat system. Many stats are inherently confusing, and the way they interrelate can feel convoluted. Attack Power, for example, currently translates to damage, but so does Armor Penetration. Defense provides five different statistical benefits of varying utility. Mana regeneration involves understanding multiple stats and rules and often ends up being irrelevant anyway. In addition, the difference between a "good stat" for a class and a "bad stat" can be extreme. Some casters want Haste but not Crit; hunters want Armor Penetration but not Haste. There are other overarching issues, as well, such as Intellect not being very exciting for casters despite it being a core stat -- and these are just a few examples.
Our ultimate goal is make gear a more interesting (and less confusing) choice by making each stat valuable to more players. While the reasoning behind some of the following changes may be clear, we understand that you may have questions about some of the less obvious alterations, and we'll do our best to answer any questions you may have here on the forums.
What You’ll See on Gear
Stamina - Because of the way we will be assigning Strength, Agility, and Intellect, non-plate wearers will end up with more Stamina than before. Health pools will be much closer between plate-wearers and other classes.
Spirit - Come Cataclysm, this stat should only be found on healing gear. Non-healing casters will have other systems in place to regenerate mana, and we are designing special solutions for Elemental shaman and Balance druids who often share gear with healers (more on this below). Raid buffs that currently boost Spirit (such as Blessing of Kings) will only boost the primary stats of Stamina, Strength, Agility, and Intellect. We are also likely changing the five-second rule and other quirks of the current regen system.
Intellect - Intellect will now grant Spell Power (more on this below). Intellect will also provide less mana than it currently does.
Haste - Haste will become more attractive for melee classes by allowing them to recover resources such as energy and runes more quickly. Our intention is for Haste to let you "do stuff" more often.
Block Rating - Block is being redesigned to scale better. Blocked attacks will simply hit for 30% less damage. Block rating will improve your chance to block, though overall block chances will be lower than they are today.
Parry - Parry no longer provides 100% avoidance and no longer speeds up attacks. Instead, when you parry an attack, it and the next attack will each hit for 50% damage (assuming they hit at all). In other words, Dodge is a chance to avoid 100% of the damage from one attack, Parry is a chance to avoid 50% of the damage from two attacks, and Block is a chance to avoid 30% of the damage from one attack.
Mastery - This is a new stat that will allow players to become better at whatever makes their chosen talent tree cool or unique. It's directly tied to talents, so what you gain from improving this stat is entirely dependent upon your class and the talent specialization you choose. We’ll talk more about specific Mastery benefits in the future.
Armor - The way Armor mitigates damage is not changing, but the Armor stat has been rebalanced to mirror changes to the armor curve in Cataclysm. As a result, bonus Armor will go down slightly overall. We are also changing the mitigation difference among armor types so that plate doesn’t offer so much more protection than mail, leather, and cloth.
Resilience - This will only affect damage done by players and critical damage done by players. It will not impact crit chance, mana drains, or other such effects.
Strength, Agility, Hit Rating, Expertise, and Critical Strike Rating - These will all still appear on gear as well. Aside from situations mentioned elsewhere in this list, in general these will function similarly to how they do now, though the details -- such as how much Hit Rating you might need to effectively combat high-level creatures (more on this below) -- are likely to change.
Being Removed from Items
Attack Power - This stat will no longer be present on most items as a flat value, though it will still show up on some process. Strength and Agility, which will be present on items, will grant the appropriate amount of Attack Power (generally 2 Attack Power per point of Strength or Agility) depending upon which stat a particular class favors. Agility may provide less Crit than it currently does.
Spell Power - Spell Power is another stat that you'll no longer see present on most items. Instead, as mentioned above, Intellect will grant Spell Power. One exception is that caster weapons will still have Spell Power. This allows us to make weapons proportionately more powerful for casters in the same way they are for melee classes.
Armor Penetration - This stat will no longer be present on items. Armor Penetration will still exist in talents and abilities.
Shield Block Value - This stat will no longer be present on items, since the amount blocked is always proportional to the amount of damage done. Talents and other effects might still modify the damage-reduction percentage from 30%, however.
Going Away Completely
MP5 - This stat will be removed from the game completely. Holy paladins and Restoration shaman will be redesigned to benefit from Spirit.
Defense - Defense is being removed from the game entirely. Tanking classes should expect to become uncrittable versus creatures just by shifting into Defensive Stance, Frost Presence, Bear Form, or by using Righteous Fury.
Spell Ranks - Spell ranks will cease to exist. All spells will have one rank and will scale appropriately with level. The levels at which you can learn certain spells are being changed in order to fill in some of the gaps, and we will be introducing some new spells to learn along the way as well.
Weapon Skill - This stat will be removed from the game completely. Classes will start with all the weapon skills they need to know and will not need to improve them.
What Else You Should Know
Combat ratings - All ratings will be much harder to "cap out" at maximum gear levels. Ratings will be steeper in Cataclysm, and creatures in later tiers of content will be harder to hit or crit, similar to how level-83 mobs are harder to hit or crit than level-80 mobs.
Reforging - While these changes will go a long way to making a wider variety of stats more attractive, we understand that sometimes you simply don’t want more Hit Rating on your gear or you’d rather have more Haste than more Crit. In Cataclysm, we are going to give players a way to replace stats on gear as part of the existing profession system. As a general rule of thumb, you’ll be able to convert one stat to 50% of another stat. While some conversions (like converting Stamina to Strength) won’t be permitted, the goal is to let you customize your gear more.
Gems - We are changing the gem colors of a few stats as a result of these adjustments. For example, Hit is likely to be blue instead of yellow. We'll have more details on this in the future.
Changes to Existing Gear
As with previous expansions, we plan to roll out these changes and modify all existing gear shortly before Cataclysm launches, though it’s still too early to say exactly when. For the most part, the gear you have will still be good for you, though there will be exceptions, such as warriors using leather and mail armor.
If you are a tank (druids excepted), expect to see:
No more Defense on gear. Existing Defense becomes Dodge, Parry, or Block Rating.
No more Block Value on gear. Existing Block Value becomes Block Rating.
You’ll have as much Stamina as you’re used to, though you may notice your tanking plate has a bit less Stamina than a comparable piece of DPS plate, since we tend to take the gem budget out of your most attractive stat.
Bonus Armor on gear will go down slightly.
If you are a melee DPS class, druid tank, or hunter, expect to see:
A lot more Stamina. Bear-form Stamina scaling will be lowered as a result.
Strength if you wear plate. Agility if you wear mail or leather.
Existing Attack Power becomes Agility and Stamina.Armor Penetration becomes Haste or Crit.
No Intellect on melee gear. Hunters won’t need Intellect since they will no longer use mana. Shaman and Retribution paladins will get mana and spell damage in other ways.
If you are a DPS caster, expect to see:
A lot more Stamina.
All of your Spell Power converted to Intellect and Stamina.
No Spirit. You won’t miss Spirit, though, because you won’t need it for DPS or mana regen.
If you are a healer, expect to see:
A lot more Stamina.
All of your Spell Power converted to Intellect and Stamina.
Spirit instead of MP5. You’ll probably be happy with Spirit, though, because mana regen is going to matter more than it does currently. Healing paladins and shaman will benefit more from Spirit than they do currently.
If you are a Balance druid or Elemental shaman:
You will still share gear with Restoration druids and shaman.
Your gear will have Spirit on it. It won’t have Hit on it.
You will have a talent that converts Spirit to Hit. We will adjust talents accordingly so that you want about as much Spirit as, say, a warlock wants Hit.
Hit on rings and other such gear will still benefit you.
Raid buffs will no longer boost Spirit, so you shouldn’t find yourself unexpectedly over the Hit cap because of buffs.
Many lower-level items with nonsensical combinations of stats, such as Agility and Spirit, will be changed. We're also updating quest rewards, trade skills, and loot drops to support better itemization for class builds that weren't widely available or used prior to The Burning Crusade (such as Balance druids).
We're aware this is a lot of information to take in, but this is still only a piece of the larger picture, and many of these changes rely on integration with other systems we haven't yet discussed in detail. In the weeks and months ahead, we'll continue to tell you more about these changes, along with all of the new and exciting features we have planned for Cataclysm.
Where did they say this? And is this specifically talking about RAF?
Anyone want to copy/paste? mmo-champ/wow.com is blocked for me :P
Edit - someone got it already yay!
I am a freaking nerd.
Then what the hell is the point of plate?