Arena Rating Changes Makes 5v5 The Most Desirable Bracket Again, GM of Nurfed Leaves Blizzard For Rockstar

During the past week, the rogue/priest comp has been falling like a rock on SK-100 2v2, as it retreated from 39% to 21% and will probably be below warrior/druid in another week or so.  The decline in priest/rogue strength has a lot more to do with heavy melee / healer learning how to play than the actual balance changes, as the comp really wasn't that great against good heavy melee/druid teams to begin with. 

All the warrior(DK) has to do is sitting on the priest from start to finish while going frost/defensive stance from time to time.  Both classes are capable of quality AOE damage, and the rogue will also be taking huge damage from thorns which costs less than renews, and incredibly difficult to dispel with other hots rolling.  Both classes are capable of nasty burst sequences to drop the rogue from 60% in two globals.  It is an uphill battle as the priest runs out of mana eventually, and the druid gets way more opportunities to drink and pretty much unkillable with tree form + bark skin.  Without fear->blind CC chains it is very difficult to come up with enough damage to kill something.

I believe Blizzard really should look into eating/drinking in arena.  With food/water's effectiveness increased by 50% in 3.1.2, some matches will simply never end.  I really don't think this change should affect arena water, and Blizzard really, really needs to look into drink exploit.  If they can't fix the bug, perhaps they should consider adding cooldowns to eating/drinking in arena?  I can't imagine warrior/druid vs DK/paladin, if the melees are committed to peeling and playing defense, the match will never end.

Arena Rating Change In 3.1.2

Allowing 3v3 / 5v5 to reach similar ratings of 2v2 is a huge step in the right direction.  No one is playing 5v5 at all in S6, which is a shame as the bracket still has a lot of untapped potential.  A 2500 5v5 team gets 1432 points a week compared to a 2500 2v2 team's 1088, it sounds good until you realize there is simply not enough teams playing the bracket to allow a 2500 5v5 team.  It takes significantly more effort to run a top 5v5 team and the reward has not been up to par. 

Thankfully, 3.1.2 will address this issue. We are probably starting a rogue/mage/warlock/priest/shaman 5v5 team this weekend to grind out the first 1800 ratings as I expect the patch to be released on Tuesday.  It will also raise the item level 239 weapons to 2350 rating.  Honestly the item level 232 weapons at 1850 rating offers such an amazing value.  1400 arena points for a level 232 2-hander, I think it is bugged consider it takes 2400 arena points to get level 232 MH+OH, and even at 2400 arena points it is still a steal for what you get.  I really can't see casuals complain too much about this.  It will actually allow Blizzard to continue matching PVP and PVE weapons at equal DPS.  Now please, for the love of god, give PVP weapons/neck/ring/cape FIVE STATS INSTEAD OF FOUR and you will never see me in an instance again, although I suspect that is exactly why they will continue to keep those slots subpar to encourage participation in both sides of the game.   

I am almost tempted to get the offhand now as my 156 DPS daggers feel pretty outdated against rogues of my rating.  For mutilate the damage increase you get from a new offhand is more significant than any other spec.  Unfortunately, as much as I enjoyed playing killing spree in 2v2, it will be very difficult to justify playing the spec with 156 DPS maces once I get 188 DPS daggers.  And it is the same reason mutilate/prep will continue to be the overwhelming favorite until end of S6, when people have enough points to experiment with other specs.  And I expect Blizzard to buff subtlety around that time as well, just like how they buffed the tree at end of S2.

GM of Nurfed Leaves Blizzard For Rockstar

The more casual friendly WOW becomes, easier it is for top players to enjoy multiple characters, longer a family man like me can continue to play this game, more players will be able to experience contents like Uldular, more money Blizzard will make which opens the door for bigger prizes at future arena tournaments, more staff to create better contents, etc.  It is a healthy rotation, and accessibility is exactly what made WOW the most popular MMO in the first place. 

The gear gap between the super hardcore and someone who plays 15-20 hours a week has never been smaller.  The elites can still get 2350+ arena teams or complete hard modes to squeeze out another 10DPS on their daggers, but this is a game everyone can be moderately successful in, if they put in the time.  This is a great formula and Blizzard will probably milk the hell out of it.

Unfortunately, the casual friendly direction didn't sit well with certain elites, and Nisstyr, the GM of Nurfed has become disenchanted with blizzard, upset with their entire approach to the game and consequently resigned from his position as a developer.  The break-up was as hostile as it was between Glickz and Hafu, in both cases, the abandoned parties believe they were insulted by their replacements.

In Nisstyr's case?  He joined Rockstar, the maker of Grand Theft Auto games, possibly the only other third party developer who can compete with Blizzard's commercial success.  Will Nisstyr be pushing for a GTA MMO to take on Blizzard heads-on?  I honestly believe a MMO with guns, drugs and hoes has a much better chance against WOW than another MMO with swords, dragons and magic.  A virtual world where you can be whoever you want to be, cops, drug dealer, hitman, hooker . . . mission based instances from robbing a bank to raiding a drug dealer's mansion, and of course turf based PVP where gangs (instead of guilds) can take over a hood permanently . . . What about races like Blacks, Hispanics, Mexicans, Chinese, Indian complete with accents and racials (+STR to Blacks, +INT to Asians, etc)?  The possibilities are endless, and you can implement just as many time sinks as WOW did.  The amount of resources it takes to do it properly?  If anyone can do it, it is Rockstar.

While I have enjoyed my time at Blizzard, I feel its current trajectory is diametrically opposed to the right one. I look forward to carving out my new role at Rockstar - a company whose philosophy coincides with my own.

In short, I feel the Blizzard of 2009 is tantamount to the Bush administration. They've inherited something great, but instead of cultivating it, they have ran amuck of its fundamental principles. When I step into Azeroth today, I feel like a parent looking upon his once promising child that has grown into a Phuoc.  - Nisstyr