How is Runestrike OP?

#0 - Dec. 3, 2008, 8:47 p.m.

How is this skill related to being a rogue killer? I am a Mut rogue, I don't get parried, I excel at stunlocking, and I can destroy DKs. I fear IBF only. I can dismantle them, Evade them, etc...

Why did GC indicate that Runestrike was a rogue killer? a bit of expertise, positioning, and common sense means this ability is anything but a warrior/paladin killer. It isn't overpower, it isn't an instant, If I see a parry they have to activate the skill. They could be macroing the ability on all strikes but that isn't effective. I can gouge, blind, dismantle, destroy a DK if only relying on runestrike. I know when it gets activated. I know when to avoid a hit. The basic UI will tell me that I just got parried. Oops, my bad, I forget to not stand in front.

If runestrike needs to be "adjusted" then the DEVs need to stop the miscommunication and understand the basic mechanics of their own abilities. I don't want to see Runestrike get adjusted on the misinformation as a roguekiller. They need to understand the problem first before they can correct it. Runestrike isn't a rogue killer, mechanic deny it as such. It is a double hit that uses one crit roll, and one to hit roll.

Having rogues complain about this skill indicates that they don't know how to handle their own toons. secret for ya guys... Just because we dont' have to behind them to hurt them anymore, doesn't mean it is a bad idea to try do it. DKs are reactionary toons. Try to save some of your CDs on a more reactionary base like intended.

Ghostcrawler

#41 - Dec. 4, 2008, 12:02 a.m.

I'll try this once again. I used "rogue killer" as shorthand, but so many players have such blind hatred for rogues that they only noticed those couple of words and missed the actual intent of the change.

We made Rune Strike a tanking tool. Really. We even made the decision in my office, and I think it was just after dinner one night. DK threat turned out to be a lot lower than we expected, largely because if an early hit in the rotation fails to land (miss, dodge or parry) then the DKs runes and rotations are all messed up. We needed an ability that you couldn't just spam, so we made it only light up when the tank dodges or parries. But Rune Strike was packing such a punch (and it needed to) that we didn't want to let it miss or we weren't really solving the threat problem.

The problem is this makes it a very good PvP tool vs. melee classes, because they are attacking the DK (who dodges or parries) and they often rely on their own avoidance to escape melee damage.

It's dangerous from a design perspective to have an ability really overbound like that. If DK threat was too low, we couldn't buff Rune Strike because that ends up being a big PvP buff. If DKs needed to do more PvP damage to melee classes we couldn't buff Rune Strike, because that makes them better tanks.

Our intent was not that the DK is all about Rune Strike the way the Arms warrior is all about Mortal Strike. Rune Strike isn't even that interesting an ability -- it doesn't use runes and isn't tied to diseases which are actually the core mechanics we want the DK to be concerned with in PvE and PvP.

It's not that we love rogues (or that we hate them). We just didn't want the PvP Death Knight to be a Rune Strike slinging fiend. Use Blood Strike, Howling Blast, Scourge Strike or your other abilities. If those aren't enough to let you stand up to melee, we'll make adjustments, but almost certainly not through Rune Strike.

If it can't help but distract you, forget the "rogue killer" part. We didn't want Rune Strike to be this ungodly PvP tool which it just happened to be.