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Raiding in Cataclysm

September 02, 2010 :: Posted by - Plectical :: Category - Other

Raiding is the new Black. Chances are, most people that you know in WoW have raided in WOTLK. Blizzard’s most recent expansion helped to bring raiding into the mainstream, simplifying complex strategies into more easily digestible doses and throwing open the doors of raiding to the overall WoW population. It’s been argued that by dropping the difficulty of raiding and giving players access to higher levels of gear, more players are now raiding than at any other time in the history of WoW.

It seems like this trend will be continuing in Cataclysm as Blizzard has promised a raid system that offers similar difficulty options to players. One thing that has been been puzzling for me is the discussion of class mechanics within 5 mans and raids. It sounds like healers are going to have to cast way less to conserve mana, tanks are going to have to focus on maintaining aggro much more in addition to surviving, and DPS are going to be focusing on crowd control once again. What’s strange is that this sounds like a complication of the same combat mechanics that Blizzard is trying to simplify.

By asking players to learn to play their classes in a new way, is Blizzard erasing the gains that they made in WOTLK? How will players adjust to fight mechanics that ask them to Sap and Sheep again? Are you all looking forward to more complex encounters or are you dreading the removal of the AOE spam fest that was raiding/5 mans in WOTLK?

Comments (3) :: Add Comment
  • Rewt

    I think they’re on the right track. The game has become too much “kill this guy as fast as possible, then move on to the next guy, and kill him as fast as possible”. By having particular classes with crowd control skills, others maintaining aggro, and no more heal bots, it’s bringing more “consequences” aspect back to the game. It’s not “complicating” things, it’s “un-dumbing” the things they’ve currently done. WoW should be more than a “tank-n-spank” game. It should require thought and planning.

    That being said, Blizzard does need to be careful they don’t over do this process. It would not be a good thing to be waiting around for a Mage to log in just so your group can go run a 5 man because you *need* a Mage to make it happen.

    In the end, it would be a wonderful game mechanic if each Instance changed slightly based on the make up of the group. If you’re healer heavy, perhaps the mobs can do more damage. If you’re Tank heavy, maybe they’ve got more hit points. Got an extra mage? The instance could react with some adds or something.

    I think what we’ve learned in WOTLK is that “people are important”. We’ve all gone through the “bring the player, not the class” aspect, and now I think we’re getting a dose of “bring the player WITH the class”. Blizzard has been making grounds in the Social Aspect of WoW, and now it’s time to meld that with the gameplay aspects.

    Bring it on.

  • ceithern

    I leveled up in vanilla as a feral tank. I think that they are not asking people to learn how to play their classes in a new way, just to fully play their classes. The AoE spam fest is great on my mage but very boring. I personally enjoyed seeing CC in vanilla and thru early to mid BC. People knew their classes and what they could do.

  • Ozimandias

    Hey Rewt, good to see you again.

    I really have to agree with you on this. Look at the hunter in Cata. Hunters are losing the AOE spell Volley, and quite honestly, I am glad. All that I do in 5 mans now is hit 7 on my keyboard. At boss fights, I get to use a rotation and (wow) Hunter’s Mark. Being a Hunter in Wrath 5 mans is like Ceithern said, boring.

    Yesterday, I tried to use a saving throw to save our healer in a 5 man. He had pulled aggro off the newbie tank (He told us all before hand, thankfully) and was running around trying to shake the mob attacking him. I launched a freezing arrow at his feet, trying to CC the mob long enough to get my Misdirect off of cooldown. Did it work? Yeah for all of a split second as AOE broke my trap. The healer and the group died.
    Well, I am not looking forward to losing my #1 DPS ability, but we as a group need to get off the “If you are not on top of a meter you are not doing your job.”
    CC, MDs, and other saving throws don’t show up on DPS and Healing charts. Just ask a Disc Priest what it’s like to heal a raid at the bottom of the healing chart.

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