Lifebloom change is a nerf to pvp

#0 - March 4, 2009, 5:29 p.m.

First of I would like to state my credentials before I starting stating my opinion and the opinions of other top caliber arena players. I am a 3 time gladiator resto druid, have raided with some of the top guilds in the US, and have experience with every single class both raiding and in arenas. So here we go:

I am very disappointed that you are labeling this lifebloom change as a pve nerf and pvp buff, because it is in no way a pvp buff. The only reason you are saying so is because you know that resto druids are currently the worst arena class/spec and do not want people to think you are nerfing them more. But, You are.

In arenas, a druids partner is not gonna survive with a single stack of lifeblooms, if you think this is the case then you are just fooling yourselves. And when you say that "it is not ideal to keep lifeblooms rolling in pvp" that is also a complete joke. I keep a stack of lifeblooms on my partner for as long as possible, because why would i want to waste mana putting up 3 more lifeblooms, and also my partner can get bursted down easily during the period where he doesnt have lifeblooms. With this current nerf, even if we let the lifebloom bloom then we are still using more mana because we have to put up 3 more lifeblooms.

Now just recently, ghostcrawler did admit that this change will hurt those pvp players who like to roll the lifeblooms in arena, well heres a heads up ghostcrawler, these are all the GOOD druids.... Go talk to every single resto druid who has ever been above 2k and they will tell you its a habit, literally a habit to keep the 3 rolling. At this point it is just muscle memory for top caliber druids. Also, ghostcrawler, you stated that even though this might be a nerf in pvp anyways, it is well placed because of the mana issues that exist in arena. REALLY!? REALLY!? Druids have the worst mana efficiency of any healer in arenas. So im going to pretend you didnt even say that...

Now, the reason Im being so direct about all this is that I believe that this change will literally destroy the class in pvp. (Not that its not destroyed already). Blizzard, I know you know what the statistics are for resto druids above 2k rating, so im not going to waste my time to post sk gaming statistics links. But in short, we are THE MOST unrepresented SPEC in the entire game. And now you are going to apply a nerf that is going to hurt pvp resto druids more than any other change in the past? REALLY?! REALLY?!

Now when it comes to lifeblooms in pve, you guys are coming at it from the wrong angle. Sure its "efficient", but what does efficiency really mean? IT doesnt mean anything, because a resto druids role in raids has always been to provide a buffer for the classes with the powerful direct heals. This has always been the case. Now, I have raided in top 20 us guilds, and I can say straight up that there are maybe 3 or 4 encounters MAX that allow me to roll blooms on 3 different tanks. And even if i am able to do so, this is just my ROLE, to create a buffer. It seems so hypocritical to me that you guys always talk about bringing the player and not the class, and making every encounter different for every class, and then you make a change that destroys a role of an entire class's healing ability... Thats just what druids do, we create a buffer for the other healers, and this is what we have been doing for the past several years, and now you make this change when the class is at its most vulnerable state in pvp... REALLY!?

Ghostcrawler

#27 - March 5, 2009, 6:09 p.m.

Some of you are trying to use the argument "You can't nerf a spell that is overpowered because the class with that spell is weak." That isn't an argument that is going to convince us.

What will convince us are arguments that druids in PvP are very dependent on rolling Lifebloom on multiple targets. Remember, the HPS of the spell is not changing at all, and in fact, it will cause even more healing when it is dispelled or you stop renewing it.

Several players are basically just saying "They nerfed Lifebloom. I use Lifebloom. I don't want to be nerfed." You need to look at the details of the changes and analyze what they are going to do.

Let's please try and keep this thread focused on PvP, and please keep it focused on Lifebloom and not Resto representation or paladins or anything else.

P.S. /signed is a waste of a post. It doesn't provide us any information.

Ghostcrawler

#38 - March 5, 2009, 6:48 p.m.

Q u o t e:
Please teach me how to predict 10s in the future.

While we realize sometimes you will have to make that prediction, sometimes it will be a lot easier. Many druids don't try to refresh LB until it is about to fall off (or else you are just wasting GCDs and mana). At the last moment, you can choose not to refresh it if the bloom is more valuable. I completely understand this is not going to be the case every time, but neither are you trying to predict 10 sec ahead every time.

In any case, I would view the bloom bonus more as a consolation prize if the heal is dispelled or you are CC'd or the target is out of LOS. While there is much speculation about whether you should let it or force it to bloom (which we are following with interest), really our goal was that in cases where you can't keep it rolling you get something back.

We don't want to kill rolling dead, and if these changes do that, we can chill them out a little. We talked to druids with a lot of PvP experience about whether this change would be a buff or nerf to them. They liked the change to the bloom mechanic, which is why we are interested in hearing from those of you who were effective in keeping full stacks of 3 on multiple team members, and for whom this change will likely be a nerf.

Ghostcrawler

#138 - March 5, 2009, 11:58 p.m.

I will reiterate. Do not use this thread for PvE Lifebloom discussion. Do not use this thread for any PvP discussion that does not relate directly to Lifebloom.

Ghostcrawler

#190 - March 6, 2009, 5:47 p.m.

Q u o t e:
GC: I'm not on the PTR atm, but does Lifebloom bloom even if not dispelled in your current build (aka. you have a 3 stack on a target, a shaman purges 2 stacks leaving 1 behind, will the spell bloom for 2 stacks then or not bloom at all)?

If it doesn't, is that a change you can make/want to make for us?

The intent is that it will bloom for 2 stacks under the scenario you described. Lifebloom ending for any reason should cause a bloom. The one scenario where the spell was just erased instead of blooming, the DK ability, had that function removed.

P.S. We will be deleting any reply in this thread that is not about how you use Lifebloom in PvP.