PST - Episode 97

[Lore]

This week:
0:26 - Does the new talent system make dual spec worthless?
4:27 - Is CRZ ruining the economy on lower population realms?
9:14 - How can I keep from falling into tunnel vision?
12:19 - Should there be an in-game scoreboard for overall PvE/PvP rankings?
15:30 - When should Tier 15 be available?
21:31 - Will Proving Grounds scale gear like Challenge Modes?
25:14 - Is CRZ just a way to dress up server mergers?
32:00 - Why aren't there any female ogres?

[Toypop]

Proving grounds should be gear normalised.

If you want to see who has the best guild mates, who can commit to the most punishing raid schedule, who has the most DKP and who has the most luck with drops................well hey that already exists and it is called "raiding".

I don't believe for one minute that random Joe on his fresh 90 tank will be able to go in there and get a top time with a "lucky" run. Such accusations would be unsporting and besides there are too many smart people playing this game who will theorycraft these encounters. These strategies will be posted on WoW community sites for everyone to see and the top times will be those that can most skilfully implement them.

I don't believe they should be a test of who has the correct enchants, gems and reforges either as 99% of players just rip that info from EJ or have addons that tell them what to do. Those are merely "marks for turning up".

I thought the purpose of proving grounds was to demonstrate individual class/role playing skill - something that isn't necessarily catered for by raids - remember we already have a test of who is "the best raider". Proving grounds with gear normalisation give the PVP'er or the casual player a chance to demonstrate their skills in comparison to their raiding cousins.

That rivalry between PVP'ers , Raiders and Casual players would add some real flavour and interest to the leaderboards.

Who knows, maybe there could be an upset and Mike B will survive longer than Lore or perhaps Gannon could do the pair of them! I understand that this puts pressure on the Lore's of this world as they have the most to lose due to the expectation that they will be the best. I feel that raiders should demonstrate some good sportsmanship and not request that other players are handicapped by something like gearing for which individual skill is only a component after all - and only a 4% to 10% component at most in raiding...

[Marco]

Dual spec saves action bars and glyphs as well as talents. I'm not sure it would be such a simple change to "just" let people change specializations out in the field.

When proving grounds go in, Blizzard is going to have to define what they're primarily for. The same proving ground probably won't serve well as both a learning experience and a leaderboard activity. Gear normalization would probably be a serious distraction for someone using proving grounds to learn how to play in a group or raid. Of course they could have "challenge mode" proving grounds which normalize gear and regular proving grounds which don't.

[Rhastia]

I honestly don't think Proving Grounds leaderboards are a good idea. Beyond the gear conundrum discussed here, there is the other factor of class imbalance that would stifle the implementation of fair leaderboards. To use Lore's example of a tanking proving ground to "Avoid the most damage", you would never see a DK in those leaderboards because their tanking mechanic revolves more around healing damage instead of avoiding it in the first place.

I think it would be better if there were goals for Proving Grounds that would provide you with achievements, or perhaps a linkable statistic that would show your best attempt, along with your average attempt over all. This would work well for raid recruitment, which is honestly what I thought Proving Grounds was supposed to be about all along.

[doom1992]

I think they should split the 2 profession types into 2, and you pick 2 crafting professions and 1 gathering profession. Gathering professions shouldn't give bonuses.

[eald]

Proving grounds should be gear normalised.

From Zarhym

It's safe to say the scaling in Challenge dungeons is just the beginning. (Another example on the horizon is Proving Grounds.)

http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/6759235972#13