Zarhym, Imbalalance, 3.1 and S5 End-Date Fix?

#0 - March 31, 2009, 5:40 p.m.

Zaryhm's post regarding Season 5 end date seemed to imply that S5 would end the day 3.1 went live.

This would of course, if followed through, leave a huge number of talented, committed and indeed 'Gladiator Standard’ players without their titles and mounts this season simply due to the fact that they were not fortunate enough to play a privileged class during this undeniably unbalanced season.

The problem from where I am standing seems quite obviously to be with regard to Ulduar Loot and the manner with which it may upset the balance further if a short period were to exist between 3.1 going live and the end of S5, regardless of 3.1 balance fixes.

My question isâ€¦ why not simply LOCK Ulduar for a week or two after 3.1 goes live?

Surely this is within your capacity; and in the unimaginable off-chance that it's for whatever reason not.. I would certainly argue that giving players a legitimate chance at Gladiator on an ‘even playing field’ over a period of a week or two with the 3.1 build (and the balance fixes it brings) would certainly outweigh the negative affects of ulduar loot.

Give us a chance.

Zarhym

#32 - April 1, 2009, 5:45 a.m.

Q u o t e:

The problem from where I am standing seems quite obviously to be with regard to Ulduar Loot and the manner with which it may upset the balance further if a short period were to exist between 3.1 going live and the end of S5, regardless of 3.1 balance fixes.

My question isâ€¦ why not simply LOCK Ulduar for a week or two after 3.1 goes live?

I understand what you're saying, but we definitely have no intention of implementing the new patch while saying, "but we're not allowing you to enter Ulduar yet.

Some things to consider:

(1) If there's a week between season 5 and season 6, and patch 3.1 coincides with the end of season 5, that gives players one week* to do Ulduar. So one normal run, and one heroic run.

(2) Not everyone should expect to outright fully clear Ulduar within the first week of its release, particularly not heroic mode.

(3) Realistically, how many upgrades is each individual player going to get from Ulduar in just one week's time? And, how many of those upgrades are going to provide substantial benefits in the arenas when season 6 starts?

* We are working to ensure that the necessary steps can be taken to implement the rating changes (noted here: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=15864860497&sid=1) in season 6 within one week. There is a chance season 6 could be pushed back an additional week if any major issues are discovered during QA testing.

Zarhym

#35 - April 1, 2009, 5:59 a.m.

Q u o t e:
This would of course, if followed through, leave a huge number of talented, committed and indeed 'Gladiator Standard’ players without their titles and mounts this season simply due to the fact that they were not fortunate enough to play a privileged class during this undeniably unbalanced season.

To address your first point, Khoji, since I forgot...

Our developers have been working on class balance changes for weeks now in preparation for 3.1. Wiping talents for all classes so the dual talent specialization can be utilized also really gave us the opportunity to review talent trees and make some bigger adjustments than we may have otherwise.

We've seen the numbers and recognize that some classes are faring much better in arenas right now than others. Our goal with patch 3.1 is to really increase the PvP viability of the classes we should expect to see more evenly represented in the higher rating brackets. We hope to see these results when season 6 begins, but don't feel that making major class adjustments right before season 5 ends is necessarily a positive thing.