A bug fix leaves a poor matchup even harder.

#0 - Dec. 8, 2009, 9:56 a.m.

Q u o t e:
"Mutilate: The tooltip on this ability will now update properly from talents which increase its damage by a percentage. In addition, the damage from this ability can now be blocked. "

Did mutilate really need to be fixed in this regard?

It feels like you're just making a difficult fight impossible. Today we're barely able to handle a poorly played prot-ret paladin or a poorly played prot-warrior. We also have issues with bladestorm warriors who are smart enough to turtle with a shield on just in the department of doing damage to them.

Enter envenom spec, it works because we can pour those CPs which we generate with an attack that (on live) can't be blocked, and then envenom.

Without envenom spec with an unblockable mutilate, we're boned against prot paladins and warriors, or those who switch to shields to wait out our cooldowns.

Mutilate should've just been noted to be impossible to block because currently it is not unique or fun.

Maelstrom weapons for enhancement shaman basically clones mutilate and is better, providing their next magical attack with more damage, which ignores armor. It does not get docked damage if someone destroys the shaman's totems or dispels other attacks from their target.

Mutilate offers the same bonus damage only if you can keep poisons up, which is hard to do when you're stunned to death by a prot warrior or paladin(who can cleanse himself) and doesn't empower the next attack.

Please hot-fix this after 3.3, pretty please?

Prot PvP did NOT need this buff, even if it is a bug fix, it's a bad one... especially since you weakened mutilate to Maelstrom weapon levels without it's nature damage bonuses. Especially since you gutted it over doing too much damage from bugs, then turned around and fixed those bugs once you found it without returning the ability to 150%.

Stealth nerfs are not cool... but I do apologize if this was only an issue on test server but come to think of it, I don't think it's been blockable on live for a LONG time... and if it is now blockable, it should offer some nature damage bonus so it's at least as cool as maelstrom weapons.

Ghostcrawler

#24 - Dec. 8, 2009, 4:33 p.m.

Q u o t e:
Absolutely false.

The entire idea behind an "unhittable" block tank on Anub'arak is to stop the Nerubian Burrowers from stacking their increased damage taken debuff by simply preventing the debuff from ever being applied via avoidance and block.

It's true that any effect associated with an attack can still apply if it's a partial block, but a fully blocked Mutilate (or whatever) would not apply poisons (or other effects).

Different attacks work differently. The Nerubian Burrowers's debuff only affected the unblocked portion of the attack. Hamstring's effect will be prevented by a fully blocked attack. Mutilate should still apply poisons on a block however, but not on a dodge or parry.

We're not sure Mutilate needs the beneft of ignoring blocks. If Prot is too powerful in PvP, we'd rather handle that in other ways.

EDIT: Actually looking at this some more, it's possible there could be an interaction where procs won't happen consistently with Mutilate if the entire attack is blocked. We'll dig into it some more. A partial block should definitely proc poisons however.

FINAL EDIT: Nope. Mutilate applies poisons even on a fully blocked attack.

Ghostcrawler

#31 - Dec. 8, 2009, 4:53 p.m.

Q u o t e:
what is this... i dont even..

My point was that different attacks work differently. You can't always look at the way block works for one attack and extrapolate to all the others. Block is actually so effective vs. Nerubian Burrowers' Expose Weakness because the damage is only applied to unblocked portion. That is different from how Hamstring and Mutilate work. We have flags for spells that can independently allow procs to be suppressed by partial blocks, full blocks or never.

Ghostcrawler

#42 - Dec. 8, 2009, 5:18 p.m.

Q u o t e:
So based on your edit and this comment, mutilate will continue to function as it did before in a PvP setting?

It will do less damage when blocked. Poison application should be unaffected.