As many of you know from panels at last year’s BlizzCon and posts here on the forums since then, Cataclysm will bring about major changes to familiar character stats such as Intellect, Armor Penetration, Defense, and others, ultimately designed to make the effects of stats more easily understandable and make gear choices more interesting. As these changes will have a significant impact on how stats work and relate to one another, today we wanted to offer you a closer look at exactly what’s in store and explain some of the rationale before Cataclysm arrives.
The most obvious question these changes raise is "Why are stats being changed, and why now?" As the game has matured, we've run into increasingly complex issues with the current stat system. Many stats are inherently confusing, and the way they interrelate can feel convoluted. Attack Power, for example, currently translates to damage, but so does Armor Penetration. Defense provides five different statistical benefits of varying utility. Mana regeneration involves understanding multiple stats and rules and often ends up being irrelevant anyway. In addition, the difference between a "good stat" for a class and a "bad stat" can be extreme. Some casters want Haste but not Crit; hunters want Armor Penetration but not Haste. There are other overarching issues, as well, such as Intellect not being very exciting for casters despite it being a core stat -- and these are just a few examples.
Our ultimate goal is make gear a more interesting (and less confusing) choice by making each stat valuable to more players. While the reasoning behind some of the following changes may be clear, we understand that you may have questions about some of the less obvious alterations, and we'll do our best to answer any questions you may have here on the forums.
What You’ll See on Gear
Stamina - Because of the way we will be assigning Strength, Agility, and Intellect, non-plate wearers will end up with more Stamina than before. Health pools will be much closer between plate-wearers and other classes.
Spirit - Come Cataclysm, this stat should only be found on healing gear. Non-healing casters will have other systems in place to regenerate mana, and we are designing special solutions for Elemental shaman and Balance druids who often share gear with healers (more on this below). Raid buffs that currently boost Spirit (such as Blessing of Kings) will only boost the primary stats of Stamina, Strength, Agility, and Intellect. We are also likely changing the five-second rule and other quirks of the current regen system.
Intellect - Intellect will now grant Spell Power (more on this below). Intellect will also provide less mana than it currently does.
Haste - Haste will become more attractive for melee classes by allowing them to recover resources such as energy and runes more quickly. Our intention is for Haste to let you "do stuff" more often.
Block Rating - Block is being redesigned to scale better. Blocked attacks will simply hit for 30% less damage. Block rating will improve your chance to block, though overall block chances will be lower than they are today.
Parry - Parry no longer provides 100% avoidance and no longer speeds up attacks. Instead, when you parry an attack, it and the next attack will each hit for 50% damage (assuming they hit at all). In other words, Dodge is a chance to avoid 100% of the damage from one attack, Parry is a chance to avoid 50% of the damage from two attacks, and Block is a chance to avoid 30% of the damage from one attack.
Mastery - This is a new stat that will allow players to become better at whatever makes their chosen talent tree cool or unique. It's directly tied to talents, so what you gain from improving this stat is entirely dependent upon your class and the talent specialization you choose. We’ll talk more about specific Mastery benefits in the future.
Armor - The way Armor mitigates damage is not changing, but the Armor stat has been rebalanced to mirror changes to the armor curve in Cataclysm. As a result, bonus Armor will go down slightly overall. We are also changing the mitigation difference among armor types so that plate doesn’t offer so much more protection than mail, leather, and cloth.
Resilience - This will only affect damage done by players and critical damage done by players. It will not impact crit chance, mana drains, or other such effects.
Strength, Agility, Hit Rating, Expertise, and Critical Strike Rating - These will all still appear on gear as well. Aside from situations mentioned elsewhere in this list, in general these will function similarly to how they do now, though the details -- such as how much Hit Rating you might need to effectively combat high-level creatures (more on this below) -- are likely to change.
Being Removed from Items
Attack Power - This stat will no longer be present on most items as a flat value, though it will still show up on some process. Strength and Agility, which will be present on items, will grant the appropriate amount of Attack Power (generally 2 Attack Power per point of Strength or Agility) depending upon which stat a particular class favors. Agility may provide less Crit than it currently does.
Spell Power - Spell Power is another stat that you'll no longer see present on most items. Instead, as mentioned above, Intellect will grant Spell Power. One exception is that caster weapons will still have Spell Power. This allows us to make weapons proportionately more powerful for casters in the same way they are for melee classes.
Armor Penetration - This stat will no longer be present on items. Armor Penetration will still exist in talents and abilities.
Shield Block Value - This stat will no longer be present on items, since the amount blocked is always proportional to the amount of damage done. Talents and other effects might still modify the damage-reduction percentage from 30%, however.
Going Away Completely
MP5 - This stat will be removed from the game completely. Holy paladins and Restoration shaman will be redesigned to benefit from Spirit.
Defense - Defense is being removed from the game entirely. Tanking classes should expect to become uncrittable versus creatures just by shifting into Defensive Stance, Frost Presence, Bear Form, or by using Righteous Fury.
Spell Ranks - Spell ranks will cease to exist. All spells will have one rank and will scale appropriately with level. The levels at which you can learn certain spells are being changed in order to fill in some of the gaps, and we will be introducing some new spells to learn along the way as well.
Weapon Skill - This stat will be removed from the game completely. Classes will start with all the weapon skills they need to know and will not need to improve them.
What Else You Should Know
Combat ratings - All ratings will be much harder to "cap out" at maximum gear levels. Ratings will be steeper in Cataclysm, and creatures in later tiers of content will be harder to hit or crit, similar to how level-83 mobs are harder to hit or crit than level-80 mobs.
Reforging - While these changes will go a long way to making a wider variety of stats more attractive, we understand that sometimes you simply don’t want more Hit Rating on your gear or you’d rather have more Haste than more Crit. In Cataclysm, we are going to give players a way to replace stats on gear as part of the existing profession system. As a general rule of thumb, you’ll be able to convert one stat to 50% of another stat. While some conversions (like converting Stamina to Strength) won’t be permitted, the goal is to let you customize your gear more.
Gems - We are changing the gem colors of a few stats as a result of these adjustments. For example, Hit is likely to be blue instead of yellow. We'll have more details on this in the future.
Changes to Existing Gear
As with previous expansions, we plan to roll out these changes and modify all existing gear shortly before Cataclysm launches, though it’s still too early to say exactly when. For the most part, the gear you have will still be good for you, though there will be exceptions, such as warriors using leather and mail armor.
If you are a tank (druids excepted), expect to see:
No more Defense on gear. Existing Defense becomes Dodge, Parry, or Block Rating.
No more Block Value on gear. Existing Block Value becomes Block Rating.
You’ll have as much Stamina as you’re used to, though you may notice your tanking plate has a bit less Stamina than a comparable piece of DPS plate, since we tend to take the gem budget out of your most attractive stat.
Bonus Armor on gear will go down slightly.
If you are a melee DPS class, druid tank, or hunter, expect to see:
A lot more Stamina. Bear-form Stamina scaling will be lowered as a result.
Strength if you wear plate. Agility if you wear mail or leather.
Existing Attack Power becomes Agility and Stamina.Armor Penetration becomes Haste or Crit.
No Intellect on melee gear. Hunters won’t need Intellect since they will no longer use mana. Shaman and Retribution paladins will get mana and spell damage in other ways.
If you are a DPS caster, expect to see:
A lot more Stamina.
All of your Spell Power converted to Intellect and Stamina.
No Spirit. You won’t miss Spirit, though, because you won’t need it for DPS or mana regen.
If you are a healer, expect to see:
A lot more Stamina.
All of your Spell Power converted to Intellect and Stamina.
Spirit instead of MP5. You’ll probably be happy with Spirit, though, because mana regen is going to matter more than it does currently. Healing paladins and shaman will benefit more from Spirit than they do currently.
If you are a Balance druid or Elemental shaman:
You will still share gear with Restoration druids and shaman.
Your gear will have Spirit on it. It won’t have Hit on it.
You will have a talent that converts Spirit to Hit. We will adjust talents accordingly so that you want about as much Spirit as, say, a warlock wants Hit.
Hit on rings and other such gear will still benefit you.
Raid buffs will no longer boost Spirit, so you shouldn’t find yourself unexpectedly over the Hit cap because of buffs.
Many lower-level items with nonsensical combinations of stats, such as Agility and Spirit, will be changed. We're also updating quest rewards, trade skills, and loot drops to support better itemization for class builds that weren't widely available or used prior to The Burning Crusade (such as Balance druids).
We're aware this is a lot of information to take in, but this is still only a piece of the larger picture, and many of these changes rely on integration with other systems we haven't yet discussed in detail. In the weeks and months ahead, we'll continue to tell you more about these changes, along with all of the new and exciting features we have planned for Cataclysm.
It's on. Blizzard has started the closed beta for StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty in advance of the game's launch sometime around the middle of the year. If you signed up to participate in the beta, check your Battle.net account, as the developer says that invitations have already started to go out.
As you may or may not know Star Trek Online Released Yesterday, Made by Cryptic (makers of City of Heroes) this may be one of the better releases this year:
their press Release- remember accounts on website doesn't = accounts for the game, but i do expect close to ~million for sales first month, its the Retention part that counts.
Quote:
New York, NY (February 2, 2010) – Atari, SA, one of the world’s most recognized videogame publishers, and acclaimed developer Cryptic Studios™, are proud to announce the bold new PC MMO, Star Trek Online available today in North America and throughout the week in worldwide territories. Already, over 1 million Star Trek fans have created accounts at the official websites.
Taking place in the year 2409, Star Trek Online boasts extraordinary features and lets fans both new and old experience unparalleled adventures. Players have the opportunity to become a high ranking Starfleet officer and participate in missions that take them into the depths of space, across exotic planets and even inside other starships. Star Trek Online offers total customization, from a player's avatar to the ship he captains.
“After much anticipation, we are pleased to present Star Trek Online to fans and gamers nationwide,” said Jeff Lapin, CEO of Atari, SA. “Throughout the last four decades, Star Trek has been a mainstay in pop culture, influencing legions of ‘trekkers’ through television, film, and more. We expect Star Trek Online to give fans and gamers an unprecedented Star Trek experience.”
Additionally, legendary actor Leonard Nimoy and Hollywood’s latest Spock, Zachary Quinto, have both lent their voices to the game. Nimoy voices the introduction for Star Trek Online and other key scenes in-game. Quinto plays the part of an Emergency Medial Hologram and voices the tutorial for this first-of-a-kind massively multiplayer online role-playing game, teaching fans how to explore the Star Trek Online universe, improve their characters, attain higher ranks, succeed in space combat and excel on away missions.
Star Trek Online is a licensed product from CBS Consumer Products. For more information, please visit: www.startrekonline.com and www.atari.com
Here's a sneak peek at the Game Update Notes for Tuesday:
*** Highlights ***
- EverQuest: Underfoot is now open to everyone who has purchased it! We hope those of you who qualified enjoyed the preview.
- Many existing achievements have been reevaluated, possibly causing a change in your total number of achievements. Please see the description for your achievements as well as the list of changes below for details.
- There have been many changes to spells and AAs. Please see their sections below for details.
*** Items ***
- Corrected an issue with the Sympathetic Alleviation line of spell procs that was preventing them from restoring mana to the caster.
- The Turn-In Gems for Underfoot spells are now stackable and display the level and class of the spell they will grant.
- Some of the items from Brell's Arena sold for gold tokens can no longer be traded on the Firiona Vie server.
- Gem of Life, Gem of Structure, Gem of Pain, Gem of Resilience, and the Gem of Destruction should no longer be Drakkin equippable or share a lore group.
- Corrected the AC and summon spell on the Many-Pocketed Pouch.
- Placed the proper cast proc of Sympathetic Alleviation VII on Transcendent Fungus.
- All Celestrium Deathwatch armor is now wearable by Drakkin.
*** Tradeskills ***
- Cosgrove Powder should now be dropping in expansion zones.
- Altered the recipe for Sothgar's Flame Rk. II to add a Chronal Resonance Dust to differentiate it from Spell: Etheral Conflageration Rk. II.
- Corrected an issue with the stats for the new tradeskill made bows with the underfoot.
- Added Steely Ore to appropriate vendors in home cities.
- Vallon and Tallon Tactical poisons should now offer increased damage when both are used on the same NPC.
- Set the underfoot cultural armor to the proper recommended and required level.
*** Quests & Events ***
- Fixed some grammatical issues in many Underfoot quests.
- Shining City mission "The Silent Schism" no longer locks immediately upon accepting it.
- Fixed a repetitive dialogue on Gihbra in Volska's Husk.
- The frail gnoll reavers for the Brell's Rest quest Gnoll with the Punches are actually frail now.
- The description of the spell cast by the Gnoll Disguise item now correctly identifies your disguise.
- The Vile Ooze in the Pellucid quest "A Most Foul Encounter" now spawns at the proper step in the quest.
- Mithril Clockwork helpers in the Volska’s Husk quest "Brell's Will Be Done" no longer attack players.
- Two Volska’s Husk quest givers, Bitelock the Quartermaster and Stoutanvil the Crafter, have been moved closer to the main zone tunnel for easier access.
- In the Volska’s Husk quest "The Arms of Brell" dwarves will no longer return Somnolent Beer to you if the quest successfully updates when you give it to them.
- Bartel in Brell’s Rest should now respond correctly if you have the "Nogol and the Bandits" task active.
- Fixed several faction issues with the Mithril Clockworks for the "Brell's Will Be Done" task. They should be much more reliable assistants now.
- Brell's Rest raid - The Destroyer should no longer become permanently un-attackable when drawn outside the raid area.
- Fixed a bug that could prevent players from opening the reward chests in the Final Confrontation event in Field of Scale.
- Made a few changes to the Rallos Returns raid to reduce the ability to exploit the design intention of the raid.
- In the Pellucid Quest "A Most Foul Encounter," The Vile Ooze should now spawn properly when you’ve killed 9 Crystalline Hulks. If you lose track of the Ooze, you can talk to Soldys Falfenaar and try again.
- Fixed an issue that could cause the Arthicrex task "A Desperate Deed" to become locked if it was not assigned to a group properly.
*** Spells ***
- All three ranks of warrior discipline tomes of Final Stand will now scribe correctly.
- Spell descriptions for Hypnotic Stare enchanter spell line have been updated to reflect current functionality.
- Spell descriptions for Chaotic Befuddling enchanter spell line have been updated to reflect current functionality.
- Spell descriptions for Bestow Undeath necromancer spell line have been updated to reflect current functionality.
- Duration of the Free Action random component of Malediction of Havoc has been set to 2 ticks.
- Sundew Blessing can now be scribed alongside Summer Solstice.
- Modified the following abilities to prevent them from being removed by Splash of Sanctification and other similar effects.
- - Warlord's Tenacity
- - Savage Spirit Recourse
- - Cascading Rage
- - Blood Magic
- - Blood Frenzy
- - Blinded by Fury
- - Overwhelming Rage
- - Battle Leap Effect
- - Juggernaut Surge
- - Self Stasis
- - Inconspicuous Totem
*** NPC ***
- Fixed grammatical issues in many NPC dialogs.
- The scaled wolves in the Field of Scale will no longer summon.
- Spineblooms in Brell's Rest will no longer be assisted by other NPCs in the zone.
- Made the rare NPCs in Volska's Husk no longer mezzable and set them to now enrage.
- Dwekvard Gravelpick and Holdegar Bairdun in Brell's Rest no longer have merchant functionality, but will still trade runestone or spell gem items in exchange for Rank II and III versions of Underfoot spells.
- Dwekvard Gravelpick and Holdegar Bairdun in Brell's Rest have had hail dialogues added to help explain their purpose to the curious.
- Kut Kollus in Pellucid Grotto has decided he likes the name Kronk Kollus better.
- Modified the rare (named) NPCs in Foundation to be immune to mesmerization.
- Rare NPCs in Arthicrex and Brell's Temple will no longer summon at full life.
- Fixed a problem that caused players to receive no experience for killing NPCs in certain older zones.
*** AA ***
- Edited the descriptions of several Underfoot abilities for clarity.
- Swarm of Decay ranks 10, 11, and 12 should now summon the correct army of skeletal archers to your side.
- Shield of Notes ranks 13 through 15 should now correctly increase the total damage cap mitigated.
- Bard - Vainglorious Shout has been changed from a free targeted ability to a 120 degree frontal cone ability.
- Enchanter - Self Stasis and Friendly Stasis have had their reuse time increased to 15 minutes to match other classes with the same type of abilities.
- Enchanter - The effects of the Azure Crystal have been altered slightly to prevent unintended mana gains.
- Shaman - Inconspicuous Totem’s reuse timer has been increased to 15 minutes to match other classes with the same type of ability.
- Rogue - AA Escape has had its base reuse timer reduced to 24 minutes.
- Quickened Radiant Cure 6 has been removed and the cost refunded to those who have purchased it.
*** Achievements ***
- Increased the amount of time allowed for the "Search for Saunk Time Trial" conquest achievement to 40 minutes from 30 minutes.
- Modified the "Shades of Extremism" conquest achievement to include all of the shades in the mission.
- All of the shades in the Search for Saunk mission should now be attackable.
- Fixed various typos in achievement titles and descriptions.
- Fixed discrepancies with some achievement descriptions to avoid potential confusion.
- Fixed an issue where the "Search for Saunk" conquest achievements were not updating properly.
- Fixed an issue where some quests were incorrectly placed in the kill/normal quest achievement category.
- Changed the name of the "Kill Em All" conquest achievement to "Golem Hooky" to better reflect what the achievement is asking you to do.
- The "Alphabet Goop" conquest achievement should now check for the first name of the bosses within the mission.
- Due to some background adjustments your achievements will be reevaluated. This may result in you no longer having an achievement you had before this patch. If this is the case please note the description of the achievement as it should be updated with the new requirements.
- The Gem Collector conquest achievement should now update properly.
- Fixed an issue that caused players to not receive 1.5 epic achievement credit even though they had the 2.0 epic.
- Fixed issue that would result in players receiving achievement credit for their shroud's class epic.
- Changed the name of the Mark of Brell progression achievement to Coin of Brell to avoid confusion with the pre-order item.
- Reduced the range on achievement notifications from nearby players from 400 to 75.
- Raw achievement links will no longer show up in logs.
*** Miscellaneous ***
- Intro music has been added to certain Underfoot zones.
- You can now use assign empty, auto hater and current targets via the /xtarget command (along with the items you could previously specify).
*** Previously Updated ***
- Corrected an issue that was causing some NPCs in some zones to give more experience than they should have.
