#0 - May 22, 2007, 1:34 a.m.
Alternate: http://boards.worldofraids.com/topic-4099-1.html
Irc Chat Developper with Kalgan and Tigole: Live report
Developper Chat is now finished, Patch will go live tomorrow.
As i am writing these lines, World of Warcraft Lead Designers Tom Chilton [Kalgan] and Jeffrey Kaplan [Tigole] (they are in charge of game systems, balance and world design) are currently answering various questions on #StraticsHoC channel (server: irc.glowfish.de).
Q: When will Azeroth being getting a significant revamp, it is practically a ghost town with the exception of low level guildies?
Tigole: Azeroth isn't entirely a ghost town -- there's actually a good amount of traffic in the old world. We are looking at revamping some older zones at some point. Also, with future expansions we want to add more dungeons like Karazhan and CoT to keep the flow coming.
Q: From the CM's replies on the forums regarding the diminishing role of priests in the current game content (PvE and PvP), we're led to believe there is going to be future review of priests. Can you provide us any insight on the changes that could be a possibility?
Kalgan: Well, i think some of the diminishing role of priests had a lot to do with the power of the illumination talent. With 2.1 there are some significant balance changes that should improve the role of healing priests in endgame content regardless of the fact that it wasn't the hpm/hps of the priests themselves that changed significantly.
Q: Do you have plans to add more 10 or 15 man instance dungeons like Zul'Aman for casual players?
Tigole: Karazhan has been a big success and I think a lot of players really dig the 10 man raiding size. We're going to try to make Zul'Aman for 10 people as well. It's still a little ways off so there's always the chance something can change but we think ZA would make a great 10 person zone.
Q: Are there any plans to move forward with classic realms where the level cap is 60 and there is no content beyond Naxx?
Kalgan: Nope, no plans for a classic realm. We plan to keep wow moving forward, even though there are always some that would like to revel in nostalgia.
Q: Some Points were brought up about tuning shamans in upcoming patches, but very little specifics were given...is there anything that can be elaborated on at all?
Kalgan: We do plan to do some more refinement of the shaman class in an upcoming patch. That being said, we're starting to settle in on a pretty good spot for elemental and resto specs. By and large it's the enhancement spec that we'd like to see become more than "just" a leveling spec (same can be said for the paladin retribution spec).
Q: Players can enjoy the heroic mode of each instance dungeons in Outland. But they commented that they want to enjoy the instance dungeons in Azeroth. So they suggested adding heroic mode to instance dungeons in Azeroth. Do you have any plan about this?
Tigole: We'd absolutely love to go back and revisit some of our classic dungeons and do Heroic versions. We've been discussing that ever since we designed the feature for Burning Crusade. We still have quite a bit of *new* content to get out to you guys first though ;)
Q: What do you think of the current state of melee DPS in end-game raids? Since the expansion, bosses and mobs alike have gained more mitigation then before, causing melee DPS to be considerably lower then caster DPS on average.
Kalgan: I think that pre 2.1 melee raid dps needs some help. However, after 2.1 it's quite possible that melee dps will be where it needs to be after the glancing blow changes. From the testing we've seen the glancing blow change makes a very meaningful difference. However, I don't really think the current state of melee vs spell raid dps has much to do with the mitigation values on the raid targets, I think it has more to do with mages
Tigole: We're also a whole lot less punishing on melee dps in 2.1
Q: With the changes to encounters in TBC and the development of KTM threat meter, Safe DPS is not as important as it was 2 years ago. Also, many raids are dropping down to 1 or less hunters with only MD in mind. Tack that onto the most difficult method of DPS in the game, the buffs given in 2.1 seem to be nice but they will not be enough to bring hunters back into raids so my question is...What are you going to do to save t
Kalgan: We'll keep ratcheting up hunter raid dps as needed. I do still think there's value in "safe" dps regardless of threat meters. It doesn't change the fact that hunters have the potential to be less threat limited than other classes.
Q: Given the almost silly amount of what most people would consider 'useless' socket bonuses, are there plans to rework the socket system or otherwise make it more appealing? Did the socket system live up to the designer's expectations?
Kalgan: I think we've learned quite a bit about itemizing the socket bonuses in a way that they aren't ignored. However, it is intended that the bonus be simply an incentive to match the sockets, not a mandate. However, I do think the socketing system has provided players with some great customization choices that that wouldn't otherwise exist.
Q: Was it intentional that cloth armor at level 70 provides less damage reduction than did cloth at level 60?
Kalgan: Yes. In fact all types of armor provide less mitigation at 70 than they do at 60, it isn't specific to cloth at all.
Q: Any plans for more world wide events such as Naxxramas, or the horrid AQ40 opening?
Tigole: Well if I answer yes is that a good or bad thing? YES, we plan to do more World Events. NO! They won't be *horrid*
Q: With the advent of multiple tanking classes in The Burning Crusade, Paladins and Druids are now competing for the role of main tank in 25-man raiding content, extending from Karazhan up through the Black Temple. Has WoW development reviewed the game mechanics of Crushing Blows? In 2.1, the Glancing Blow mechanic has been changed to assist DPS classes - has any similar discussion been undertaken for Crushing Blows?
Kalgan: Yes, we have had a similar discussion regarding crushing blows. We feel they add too random an element for players in endgame content. We expect to deal with this issue at some point in the future (although it may not be immediate).
Q: Players think the increase of cooldown on Shadow Word:Death causes nerf in PvP as well as PVE. Many priests say that shadow priests should only depend on DPS because they don’t have CC except Psychic Scream and Shadow Word:Death is previously pretty useful for PVP. Do Devs have any plan to review cooldown time on Shadow Word:Death in the future?
Kalgan: Yes, it is a nerf. Although, it's arguably less of one in pvp than pve. So far we're satisfied with the new cooldown.
Q: Are there still plans to add weapon procs and potions back to druid forms as previously stated?
Kalgan: It's possible, but not certain.
Q: Whats the deal with the ashbringer?
Tigole: The saga continues! We're really enjoying the ongoing storyline with Ashbringer and hope to continue it through the game.
Q: One major complaint healers/tanks have is that they can not grind very well. Have you ever considered letting people have 2 specs they could swap freely between? Like the weapon swap in diablo 2. Having respec cost simply cost alot of people off from trying strange builds/tatics.
Kalgan: Well, it's a bit different conceptually than a diablo 2 weapon swap. There aren't any plans to give players multiple specs, since that really kind of defeats the purpose of having to "choose" a spec. However, where necessary we'll add grind power to trees/specs that traditionally have a hard time in those areas. In some ways I do believe that some of the specs have gotten overspecialized over time.
Q: Are the harsh keying requirements for entry level->end game raid zones going to stay for future expansions, or will some sort of backflagging option be available?
Tigole: First off, players will be happy to know that there are some *limited* backflagging solutions going into the game tomorrow. It's not for all zones but for a select few. Regarding the keying process, I think a certain amount of keying is cool... it allows for guilds to separate each other from one another. Most of the keying issues have become issues more because of tuning. The Karazhan key isn't terribly hard to obtain. Btw Patch Tomorrow!
Kalgan: omg patch tomorrow
Q: What sort of "average weekly time investment" do you design the end-game around? How do you determine how much time should be spent on gear acquisition, consumable farming, assisting guildmates, etc.? On that note, how "organized" do you intend for the average raiding guild to be?
Kalgan: Personally I intend the average guild be |---------------------------------| organized (but no more or less than that).
Tigole: It's not so much that we design around an "average weekly time investment". We more look at having a big suite of things to do at any point in the game, whether you raid or pvp or do 5 mans or solo... I think a lot of raiders LIKE to feel useful outside of raiding -- doing 5 mans, pvp etc. When it goes too far (herb farming for example -- it's no longer fun. We hope to reduce the tedious elements and focus more on end game PvE fun for the average WoW raider. Not sure if that answers the question.
