Sunday, July 6, 2008

Some Thoughts on PvP Gears

Well, Arena Season 4 done started, and there's a lotta feelings and opinions about how this done impacts everything else. Some I agrees with, some I don't, but that's how the world be. Mostly, I's feeling respects fer thems what took the time to present informed arguments. Yeah, that's all fine and non-controversial and all, Ratter, but what do you think? I so glad you asked.

I think Wrath of the Itch King got delayed too much.

Wait, huh? Yer gears is slipping, there, ya dumb orc! What that got to do with PvP?

I explain you. Way back when, like a year ago, Blizz was talking about an expansion every year. And, fer a while, that kinda seemed believable. And so, the way I figures it, the folks running the arena system was doing they's planning on the thinking that there'd be two seasons, maybe three. And they wanted ta make sure what PvP gear were the best fer PvP, so's high-end raider guilds couldn't just show up and dominate. So, making Season 2 gear significantly better than Season 1 gear made some sense at the time. And then Season 3 came, and that hadda be a lot better than S2, 'cause there were precedent, and then there hadda be a way to get more PvP gear inta the hands of Arena newcomers, so they didn't get slaughtered and say Screw this and quit. If that'd happened, then Arenas woulda been just a niche, and that weren't wanted. So S1 gear were made available through the BG grind.

Now, PvP gear and tanking gear has a lot in common. Lots of Stamina, lots of armor, lots of protection from crits. And a few S1 pieces were as good as anything fer pre-Kara gear. Is why I first started dabbling in BGs, so's I could get me hands on that shield.

But now, S4 is here, with roughly the same bump up from S3 as with previous seasons. And the same arguments fer making S2 gear a battleground reward applies. But now, fer tanking at least, we's seeing PvP gear as being well better than any other gear obtainable pre-Kara. If this is a bad thing or a good thing or a yeah whatever thing depends a lot on who you is and what sorta adventuring you does. But I'd say is definitely a strange thing. And I's pretty sure is not how things were supposed ta turn out, back when the Arenas were set up.

And I think is all the Itch King's fault.

9 comments:

Bell said...

/concur

Good perspective.

Anonymous said...

That's the most sensible take on PvP gear I've seen yet. I hope Blizz learns from their mistakes in Itch King.

Nick said...

Nice post. I'm not sure if that is how it was supposed to turn out or not, but it sure is nice for the few of us that have never had the opportunity to participate in a raid, or even see the inside of Kara!

Anonymous said...

I was pondering PvP gear myself this morning... Will we see a new season on WoLK, or will the Season 4 gear be the stuff to last people through level 80?

Anonymous said...

Actually, when Blizzard started talking about expansions, I believe they said "every other year"

It was about 2 years between initial launch and The Burning Crusade, and the proposed November release date this year will be about 2 years since then too.

Looks like it's running pretty much on time from where I'm standing.

@gnomeaggedon:

S4 looks like the last of the level 70 arena stuff. The question remains as to whether there will be more arena at level 70, or if Blizzard will scrap the whole thing and start back at Season 1 again for level 80 peeps.

I suspect the latter will happen, and Blizzard will hopefully have learned from the first 4 arena seasons, and hopefully the WotLK arena seasons will be planned better, or something.

Hopefully Blizzard will have figured a way around the "welfare epic" system as well. If not though, I'll have no qualms about taking advantage of it again.

Unknown said...

Yup yup, very nice and interesting

Armond said...

/agree. That's a big part of it, indeed. Not sure if it's the only part, but that's another discussion.

Unknown said...

/also concur

But at least it will make catching my pally tank up to my T5/T6 guild that much easier.

Aboo said...

/agree as well. It's sad when our guild finally got Kara on farm to Curator and almost every piece of gear is sharded, every weekend.