Day: February 15, 2010

I think some of you are misinterpreting a couple of the Cataclysm goals.

We're not "overhauling the combat system." We are changing some lame stats to be more interesting (like Intellect) and removing some that just added complexity to the game without adding depth (like armor pen, which is pretty much just damage modified by how much physical damage you do). We are adding more health across the board, but that's to add a few seconds in between the time you take damage and the time you die, which we think will improve both PvE and PvP.

We're also not trying to "dumb down stats." Complexity and depth are two different things. Depth is really important to us. Without it, the game starts to get predictable and stale. Complexity can be a route to depth, but it doesn't have to be. The game of go has very simple rules but almost limitless depth (you can use chess if you aren't familiar with go). The game tic-tac-toe has very simple rules and almost no depth. It's hard to come up with examples that lots of players will get for games with too much complexity and not enough depth, mostly because those games either never become widely popular or don't endure. Ever heard the phrase "quick to learn but a lifetime to master?" That's depth.

Yes, we are messing with talent trees, but a simple skimming of the forums should suggest why. There are too many talents that have little depth but are mandatory (most of the talents right about the 51-pointer). There are possibly interesting talents that you can't afford because of the passive dps / healing / tanking increasers. There are also modifications we need to make just because you'll have 5 more talent points. There are also talents that we have modified along the course of LK in the name of closer spec balance that are now out of budget. We're not deleting any talent trees and starting over. We're trying to make them more interesting and more fun.