I play a tank, and Cata has been pretty rough so far. I'm starting to see more and more complaints about the difficulty of this and that, how hard healing is now, and how much different the playstyle is.

I couldn't agree more. Things are different now. As a tank, I no longer run the group, as was expected of tanks prior to Cata. I actually really love this, I can now sit back and let the dps classes work out CC before I need to fulfill my role, which is absorbing damage. In heroics, I simply wait for the dps to sort out who is CC'ing what, then I pick up the mobs I'm supposed to. This suits me just fine.

I also die a lot more now. This is in part because of the relative level of difficulty of the new content, but also because of the difficulty of everyone relearning their classes. I always feel a special kinship with my healer, as we preform unique roles, so I identify with the struggles some of them might be having. I really feel that a lot of the challenges faced with the new content can be resolved by having DPS that understand that they are capable of doing more than just damage. CC'ing just one mob in a regular instance can save a ton of mana for the healer which could save everyone down the road in an extended fight.

I believe that everyone is dying a lot more. But that was expected, wasn't it? We are trying to do content in gear that is, for regular dungeons, equivalent to about iLevel 170, or heroics in gear eqiuvalent to iLevel 187 or 200. Bosses feel like raids. Random heroics are taking over 2 hours to finish.

Everyone needs to remember that as gear levels slowly rise, things will get progressively easier. Yes, it's hard right now, a week after the expansion. But this is not how it will always be. People will slowly but surely get better gear, and the heroics will get simpler.

Those of you that tend to have very little patience should quit WoW until March. You cannot expect to finish an instance without deaths in 20 minutes. You cannot rush. You have to alter what your role is expected to do. Initially, I had a ton of trouble with breaking CC, unused to such a concept as a tank. I'm still sorting out which classes can CC which types of mobs. In WotLK, I was expected to tank and hold everything, and that was pretty much it. It seems to me that every class now is expected to use all of their abilities and to use them skillfully in order to succeed.

Two years from now, on the eve of the next expansion, you can be sure that heroics as they exist now will be just as easy aoe Tank-n-spank completed very quickly. But at this moment, everyone needs to slow down, and relearn their classes. And be willing to accept death. Believe me, if you aren't yet doing heroics, you'll need to learn patience. (As an example, I ran H Shadowfang Keep tonight, and we died about 8 times on the second boss, trying to sort out his mechanics and his abilities. It took the whole group talking it out after each death to figure out how to win. When we finally did, man, did it ever feel great. I actually felt heroic.)

 

-----signature-----

csb

 

-----signature-----

Well written Eternal_Midnight !

 

-----signature-----

They will be nerfed a bit.

 

-----signature-----

Eternal_Midnight, your post sounds like you are talking to a person with Cancer or Multiple Sclerosis or something. "Challenges" and "struggles"? Really? It is a video game and is supposed to be fun. Healing right now is pathetic. You feel like a cripple trying to keep up with a marathon of super athletes. Better analogy is one I used last night, "I feel like I am trying to fill 5 bathtubs with a thimble."

I have to side with Sly and others that Healing is borked right now and extremely underpowered and lacking in the fun department. Please don't make excuses for poor design decisions, it doesn't help Blizzard's developers to get better at their jobs in providing us a fun, engaging, AND challenging game.

 

-----signature-----

Which is why it will be nerfed.

 

-----signature-----

The threads on the official forums from angry healers (and others) are reaching over 100 pages.

People are getting banned left and right for cussing out the blue posters for all the retarded defenses they keep posting.


Nerfs are coming soon. Blizzard wants the subscription money.


They NEED to fire everyone who was involved in designing this model because as you said, its just a game and its supposed to be fun. They obviously knew what millions and millions found fun in WOTLK but instead of repeating that formula, they reversed.

Very stupid move.

 

-----signature-----

This.

This is also the reason why most people will be unable (not just unwilling, but actually UNABLE) to deal with current content until either a) content gets nerfed or b) freebie epix start becoming available or c) people who can actually play get enough gear to carry PuGgers.

 

-----signature-----

Of course Mithan, they will fix it eventually once they sling off enough playerbase.

And Spooky, I 100% agree with you. This model is pure fail. What was wrong with having the top 5% of the game (Heroic mode 25 man Lich King) for the top 5% of the playerbase that want a hardcore challenge and having the rest of the game fast paced, fun, and easy enough to not have to give up large portions of my free time just to have a little fun?

 

-----signature-----

Yea and they can start with their pagan god Ghostcrawler!!!