I think I'll keep my 1k gold, thanks

#0 - March 2, 2009, 12:50 a.m.

As a player of a healing-enabled class (druid) currently dps-specced (moonkin), I had initially planned to fork over the 1k gold come Patch 3.1 and have the option to heal in raids, especially for heal-intensive fights in Ulduar.

But even a glance at healing come 3.1 would be enough to make anyone else in my position rethink dual-speccing as a healer. Mana Regeneration nerfs, specifically targeted at healer mana? Lifebloom and Regrowth nerfs, specifically to corner druids into paladin-style stationary flash healing?

This is not merely summary of QQ. I want to address a stated Blizzard position:

Blizzard, you are specifically relying on dual-speccing to alleviate the current healer shortage. From a DPSer, let me say this -- those of us interested in dual-speccing into healer roles pay attention to healer-related changes, and we are not going to blindly spend 1k gold to sit in coach when we already have a nice seat in business class. If you make healing so burdensome as the current changes would suggest, your reliance on dual-speccing to add more healers is misplaced. It will more likely allow main-specced healers to experiment with, and eventually transition to, other roles.

I, for one, do not plan to pick up tree form for 1,000 g given the current proposed changes. I know I am not alone.

Ghostcrawler

#14 - March 2, 2009, 5:29 p.m.

Q u o t e:
Blizzard, you are specifically relying on dual-speccing to alleviate the current healer shortage.

This is an incorrect assumption.

Our design direction is not to change our designs at all as a result of this change. We are going to design instances and talent trees while pretending this feature does not exist.

Examples of things we will NOT do:

1) Have a fight that requires 8 tanks, because you know, half the raid can change specs.
2) Have a fight that requires some obscure talent, because surely someone can afford to swap into it.
3) Let Arms be the PvP tree and Fury be the PvE tree, because warriors can just switch out.
4) Have a buff spec with low dps and a damage spec with high dps, and expect players to buff then swap specs.

While realistically we predict almost every high level player will use a dual-spec, we aren't assuming you have access to it. Furthemore, all the feature does is make it easier for you to do something you could already do, which is hearth back, respec, and get summoned back.