#0 - April 19, 2010, 7:42 p.m.
When I play any video game I want to be engaged. I want to participate and feel like my actions are affecting the outcome. I don't want to play a game situation where I sit back and wait, pausing for 2-5 seconds at a time before i take an action. This is the crux of the problem I have with the new mana system. It encourages laid back behaviour. I think for me this will cause a disengagement from the game itself. If I cast and then have to wait for a certain amount of time before I make the decision to cast again it causes me to not feel engaged with the combat. I find this form of gameplay very boring and usually I avoid games like that.
I can appreciate the concern that Blizz has in terms of ecounter design. But to shift the focus like this to healing design presents its own major flaws. Do I like to lose someone in the span of a GCD, no. However I feel very engaged with the current design, I'm always doing something and feel like I'm part of the team and my actions matter. In the new design I worry that the focus may shift too much away from that.
So basically what I'm saying here is Blizzard please watch that you don't create a situation where your healers are feeling disengaged from the combat situations. Don't let my concerns become reality.