Handholding into PvE

Indelible — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 00:33:02 GMT

In 2.3, Blizzard have made changes to both PvP and PvE to entice both parties into doing what Blizzard, in effect, wants them to do. The first changes of placing 2000 rating on the shoulder items and 1850 rating on some of the weapons gave the impression that Blizzard did not want PvEers in tiered items getting the PvP specific gear. The second and far more controversial change was the announcement that PvP rings and cloaks in Seaon 3 would only be available through the Badge system and that Karazhan and Zul'Aman would drop Badges off bosses.

PvE for PvP

Most PvPers exclaim that PvEers are not forced into PvP for items balanced for PvE and this is true. No single item in the PvP repitoire is balanced for PvE as they all have been balanced to surviability over damage. Despite this, lots of PvEers feel that the fact PvP weapons are so easy to attain is a way of forcing them to PvP in order to get items worth having in as little time as possible. I do not believe this is the case as there are, even if you do not have access to them, PvE weapons that are better at a particular task than their PvP equivalents and most importantly, the PvP equivalents aren't balanced towards PvE gameplay despite what the PvEers would like to think.

Despite this however, Blizzard have confirmed that items balanced towards PvP gameplay will only be available through the Badge reward system, requiring 60 badges for the PvP cloaks. This isn't too bad in the case of ranged, melee and spell damage DPS caster because there are already viable alternatives availabel through the honor system but healers have recieved the weak end of the stick.

Healer clocks will only be available through the badge system as their are no current PvP cloaks availabe through either the honor system of the arena system. As such, healers are compelled to enter heroics and 10-mans to attain those items.

That point not standing, there are still problems that face PvPers when entering PvE that determine this change to be a little bit awkward for Blizzard as they have to deal with what can only be called an onslaught of valid points that question the logic behind this decision.

Firstly, PvP specs for almost every class are specialised more so than PvE specs. Most classes have a defined PvE and PvP spec and 9 time out of 10 the PvE spec is also a fairly reliable PvP spec if you are not intending to hardcore PvP. PvP specs on the other hand present massive issues as Warriors, for example, are MS Arms in PvP (if they are wise) and will be required to respec prot if they wish to go to 5-mans or 10-mans. This presents a problem with respecing costs.

Secondly, PvEers, as I have already said, are not forced into PvP for any PvE orientated items. Yes, the arena weapons are good enough if you aren't a SSC/TK guild but at the end of the day, they are balanced for PvP and you are not working under the illusion that they are PvE items. If you are, you have issues. PvPers feel they are being handheld into PvE for PvP items. There actions are being dictated to them for items that are otherwise balanced for the aspect of the game they wish to play but are only available through the aspect of the game they wish to avoid. PvEers can, if they so chose, stay away from PvP and still get items that are good enough to progress convincingly through PvE content. PvPers are now being told that if they want the best gear for PvP situations they will have to jump into PvE or they will not get those items.

Blizzard have announced that the required reputation for Heroic keys has been dropped to Honored and you can attain honored with most factions while leveling up. I myself will have access to all of the Heroics thanks to this change but that still doesn't change the fact that we are being handheld into aspects of the game we have tried before and not enjoyed simply because Blizzard wants to milk as much longevity out of World of Warcraft as they can.

At the end of the day, players who don't want to PvE feel harrased by this patch. They feel that Blizzard are now dictating the game to them much like a single player FPS dictates what you shoot and when you shoot it. I feel that Blizzard are going in a direction they would be wise to avoid and with PvP orientated games like Warhammer Online and Fury due out this year and in early 2008, Blizzard need to start considering what they want there PvP player base to do. Do they want them to leave for better PvP experiences or do that want them to stay and continue paying for a game like WoW? If it is the latter, some major philosophical debates need to be had about PvP balance not only between the player base but also between the devs. Changes like the cloak change seem a little harsh and people don't like to be told what they have to do... especially in a gaming environment.

The Daily Quest : blizz

Handholding into PvE