Block Changes in MoP

[leethaxor]

This is a quick chart I made comparing the (average uptime) on shield block, with a warrior's average rage per second gain. The colored DoT's are the bosses swing speed ranging from 3 seconds to 1 second in .2 second intervals.

The method used was

(Swing timer) * (Rage per second) / (Shield Block Cost in rage) = Average up time.

[Takethecake]

Just cause their seems to be some confusion, the new warrior shield block functions similarly to the new paladin one

Raise your shield, blocking the next melee attack against you and increasing your block chance by 25% FOR 6 sec.

[Takethecake]

Sadly I'm severely underwhelmed with the direction they are going with warriors. I was looking forward to active mitigation, but so far it looks like their has been zero creative thought put into it. They've been talking about it for like 6 months and the little information they have actually presented outside of them saying they want tanking to be more involved has looked exciting. I'm all for being more involved, but sadly I'm looking forward to news about monk tanks more than playing prot warriors in MoP... and I'm been playing my warrior tank since beta.

[Airowird]

So I spent half a week trying to find a easy formula to compare the value of Mastery/Block against Avoidance and ...
I ended up with a double quadratic equation which can't be simplified without ending up with a giant line-long equation with exponents, roots and which I assume won't be understood by the general public.
So far to keep it simple for players to grasp.

I'm currently working on plotting graphs of different mastery to total rating ratios going from 0% to 40% as well as comparing them all to the 0% level.
I'm also looking into similar comparisons, but without the Block DR. Currently I'm focusing on the Paladin model because they are easier to figure out (and the block model needs to be competitive for both warriors & paladins anyway).

While I'm not done yet, my initial analysis shows that if they want to keep the 2-roll system frankly ... Block Rating DR has to go!

[Fetzie]

While I'm not done yet, my initial analysis shows that if they want to keep the 2-roll system frankly ... Block Rating DR has to go!

What I don't understand is that Blizzard has to know that this is going to be a failure with regards to teaching players how to gear their character properly. They have to have done the maths, they got rid of "mathy" stats like Armor Penetration and now Magic Resistance, and now they are making a simple division & addition relationship between mastery and avoidance into a mess that I can tell now will be impossible to explain within the bounds of a guide. It is not our job to teach differentiation and factorization of quadratic equations to the general WoW player, who will not be a person who enjoys playing with numbers like you, Theck or Jere do.


Things that I can see working out OK (not fabulously, but workable):

• Leaving it as it is, but reduce the amount of block per mastery. Compensate by making mastery increase block value.
• Complete redesign of mastery and/or class mechanics for paladins, possibly also warriors.
• Leaving it as it is right now, and accept block capping as an inevitability

[Dreador]

They really just want me stacking stam again. I can feel it.

[Fetzie]

They really just want me stacking stam again. I can feel it.

You are not alone.

[Tengenstein]

I don't think they ever stopped. Look at Revenge. its meant to be one of Prot's signiture moves, but for all intense purposes its completely redundant: it's a prot warrior equivalent of wanding, and for some reason is still a proc after blocking or avoiding despite the fact that those events are nig gaunranteed.

However if as a warrior you take out all those mastery and mastery hybrid gems and replace them with Stam and stam mastery gems, Due to your increased Stam and thus increased vengeance and AP Revenge now becomes a power house ability and it being a proc really matters.

And then theirs the threat change. I'm half convinced they upped threat becuase they builyt the cata threat model base on tanks stacking stam out their ears and so where going to take more damage get more vengenace and produce more threat. the DK squishiness in tier 11? well i don't think it would ahve been quite so pronouced if all 4 tanks where stacking stam.

[Airowird]

... they are making a simple division & addition relationship between mastery and avoidance into a mess that I can tell now will be impossible to explain within the bounds of a guide. It is not our job to teach differentiation and factorization of quadratic equations to the general WoW player, who will not be a person who enjoys playing with numbers like you, Theck or Jere do.

I specificly hate this part, especially for an expansion where they are overhauling the talent system because they don't want players to feel forced taking over specs blindly from a guide, yet at the same time they implement a system I can't even min-max without running Maple.


Addendum:
Revenge being a proc is only one of the clunky mechanics they just keep around on Warriors for virtually no good reason. Similarly, I am against the Enrage mechanic procing from crits (more rage in a raid than in an heroic) and crit block (more rage just from having better/different gear). I hope someone at Blizzard has the balls to step up to the nostalgic Warrior-loving dev and tell them those mechanics just have to go!

[plushy]

I wonder how much will this simplify our gearing

[Tengenstein]

meh our gearing not exactly hard as is. thing is with the need for attacks to land for the majority of our rage gen, we'll be wanting hit and expertise as well as parry/dogde/mastery/stam, and perhaps even crit/haste to help with rage gen.