Mostly WoW...
Transmogrification is a neat touch, and I've always changed the look of my ugly face shield and shoulders to something that appeals more to me. Void storage is a minor nicety that's freed up a little bank space. The Darkmoon Faire stuff will be a diversion accessible one week a month. But my absolute favorite part of WoW patch 4.3?
Being able to queue for a relevant random dungeon without blocking out two hours.
It looks like most of this boils down to either spending valor points or getting a token for tier armor that only drops from raid bosses now (again?). There aren't a whole lot of other options, and that... seems strange to me somehow. I mean, a good bit of my current outfit now is non-tier raid drops, and there just don't seem to be that many of them this time around. And the tier pieces come in three varieties. I can pretty much rule out the heroic level. I don't expect to use the raid finder much, but there's slightly weaker-than-normal variants there.
Cloak: Indefatigable Greatcloak... is that a word? It appears the valor point options is the only one unless Wowhead is lagging behind in some way. Parry/expertise isn't ideal, but it'll probably have to do.
Chest: Tier gear being only from raid-dropped tokens this time around, I'm not sure what to think. The Chestguard of Radiant Glory's parry, mastery, and set bonus look more appealing than Chestplate of the Unshakable Titan, the VP option.
Boots: The Ultraxion drop, Stillheart Warboots, look slightly more appealing than the valor-purchased Bladeshatter Treads.
Rings: Looks like the ideal options are probably the Signet of the Resolute from VP and the Hardheart Ring from... somewhere. Presumably a drop, but there's no source listed at the moment.
Gloves: Neither is perfect, but tier Handguards of Radiant Glory win out over VP Gauntlets of Feathery Blows. As with other tier slots, it'll depend on how long it takes to see token drops.
Helm: Tier or VP is looking like a theme. Faceguard of Radiant Glory versus Jaw of Repudiation and the faceguard wins.
Legs: Hmm... crafted but no VP options? Tier token for Legguards of Radiant Glory or the crafted (with raid mats, but BOE) Foundations of Courage.
Neck: Lookie, Guardspike Choker for valor points seems about it.
Shoulders: Shoulderguards of Radiant Glory tier tokens or Brackenshell Shoulderplatesfrom VP. No surprise here. from Morchok, actually. Easy boss to down if we have a group to go in there.
Belt: Wait... what? Options? There's Forgesmelter Waistplate that I think is a VP item that looks best witht he parry/mastery combination. There's Goriona's Collar which appears to be a Warmaster Blackhorn drop. And then there's Waistplate of the Desecrated Future that has hit, but is BOE and probably a raid trash drop.
Wrist: Three possibilities again? Wacky! I think the crafted, BOE Titanguard Wristplates are probably best with mastery and two gem slots. We've also got Graveheart Bracers dropping from Warlord Zon'ozz and the amusingly-named Bracers of Unrelenting Excellence for VP.
Trinkets: Hmm... There seems to be a set of proc-based trinkets that drop off Deathwing, the dodge one being Resolve of Undying. There's a nice-looking mastery/use-dodge VP trinket, Fire of the Deep. Then there's a couple stamina trinkets of unlisted sources: Soulshifter Vortex, which procs for such a ridiculous amount of mastery it's probably redundant and pointless for a tankadin, and Indomitable Pride, which procs a 6-second half-damage shield when reduced below half damage (but not more than once a minute) - that seems decent.
Relic: Looks like VP is the only option with the Stoutheart Talisman.
Shield: Blackhorn's Mighty Bulwark appears to be the only upgrade, dropping from Warmaster Blackhorn in the various flavors of raid that exist.
Weapon: Umm... Looks like I won't be upgrading for quite a while. Maybe. The only obviously-tank upgrade I'm seeing is Souldrinker, which is... interesting with it's self-heal proc rather than defensive stats. But by the item level, it looks like it drops from Deathwing himself, so that's a long ways off. There's also the Hand of Morchok from the first boss, but I'm not convinced 20 mastery and a little more strength/stamina is worth losing 126 dodge. The crit on there is basically wasted for a tankadin, that's definitely DPS itemization, but... eh...
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I was asked recently what DCUO "did right." Controls may be a matter of opinion, but I don't like 'em. So what do I feel they did well? Movement abilities - accessible immediately, the three varieties feel moderately different and all are liberating. Many in-field quest turn-ins, but I saw that first elsewhere and that seems more standard these days than previously. I would also add the styles - I like being able to revert to and lock in any unlocked style for clothing and to be able to change color schemes. The character appearance options may not be the most expansive of all MMOs or anything, but they're wide enough I created a look I liked without too much time and without seeing people who look like my character everywhere.
And why is it that no other MMO I've played does character movement as pleasingly to me as WoW? WoW isn't perfect, and many of the character models are years old, and yet it feels so fluid and smooth to me. It's especially apparent when jumping or strafing/running at an angle, but most other games I've seen look stiff and awkward when doing such. DCUO is actually fairly good there, but combat-speed flight maneuvering (the example that comes to mind there) makes me cringe. It seems like these newer games should look and feel better...
Being able to queue for a relevant random dungeon without blocking out two hours.
It looks like most of this boils down to either spending valor points or getting a token for tier armor that only drops from raid bosses now (again?). There aren't a whole lot of other options, and that... seems strange to me somehow. I mean, a good bit of my current outfit now is non-tier raid drops, and there just don't seem to be that many of them this time around. And the tier pieces come in three varieties. I can pretty much rule out the heroic level. I don't expect to use the raid finder much, but there's slightly weaker-than-normal variants there.
Cloak: Indefatigable Greatcloak... is that a word? It appears the valor point options is the only one unless Wowhead is lagging behind in some way. Parry/expertise isn't ideal, but it'll probably have to do.
Chest: Tier gear being only from raid-dropped tokens this time around, I'm not sure what to think. The Chestguard of Radiant Glory's parry, mastery, and set bonus look more appealing than Chestplate of the Unshakable Titan, the VP option.
Boots: The Ultraxion drop, Stillheart Warboots, look slightly more appealing than the valor-purchased Bladeshatter Treads.
Rings: Looks like the ideal options are probably the Signet of the Resolute from VP and the Hardheart Ring from... somewhere. Presumably a drop, but there's no source listed at the moment.
Gloves: Neither is perfect, but tier Handguards of Radiant Glory win out over VP Gauntlets of Feathery Blows. As with other tier slots, it'll depend on how long it takes to see token drops.
Helm: Tier or VP is looking like a theme. Faceguard of Radiant Glory versus Jaw of Repudiation and the faceguard wins.
Legs: Hmm... crafted but no VP options? Tier token for Legguards of Radiant Glory or the crafted (with raid mats, but BOE) Foundations of Courage.
Neck: Lookie, Guardspike Choker for valor points seems about it.
Shoulders: Shoulderguards of Radiant Glory tier tokens or Brackenshell Shoulderplates
Belt: Wait... what? Options? There's Forgesmelter Waistplate that I think is a VP item that looks best witht he parry/mastery combination. There's Goriona's Collar which appears to be a Warmaster Blackhorn drop. And then there's Waistplate of the Desecrated Future that has hit, but is BOE and probably a raid trash drop.
Wrist: Three possibilities again? Wacky! I think the crafted, BOE Titanguard Wristplates are probably best with mastery and two gem slots. We've also got Graveheart Bracers dropping from Warlord Zon'ozz and the amusingly-named Bracers of Unrelenting Excellence for VP.
Trinkets: Hmm... There seems to be a set of proc-based trinkets that drop off Deathwing, the dodge one being Resolve of Undying. There's a nice-looking mastery/use-dodge VP trinket, Fire of the Deep. Then there's a couple stamina trinkets of unlisted sources: Soulshifter Vortex, which procs for such a ridiculous amount of mastery it's probably redundant and pointless for a tankadin, and Indomitable Pride, which procs a 6-second half-damage shield when reduced below half damage (but not more than once a minute) - that seems decent.
Relic: Looks like VP is the only option with the Stoutheart Talisman.
Shield: Blackhorn's Mighty Bulwark appears to be the only upgrade, dropping from Warmaster Blackhorn in the various flavors of raid that exist.
Weapon: Umm... Looks like I won't be upgrading for quite a while. Maybe. The only obviously-tank upgrade I'm seeing is Souldrinker, which is... interesting with it's self-heal proc rather than defensive stats. But by the item level, it looks like it drops from Deathwing himself, so that's a long ways off. There's also the Hand of Morchok from the first boss, but I'm not convinced 20 mastery and a little more strength/stamina is worth losing 126 dodge. The crit on there is basically wasted for a tankadin, that's definitely DPS itemization, but... eh...
---
I was asked recently what DCUO "did right." Controls may be a matter of opinion, but I don't like 'em. So what do I feel they did well? Movement abilities - accessible immediately, the three varieties feel moderately different and all are liberating. Many in-field quest turn-ins, but I saw that first elsewhere and that seems more standard these days than previously. I would also add the styles - I like being able to revert to and lock in any unlocked style for clothing and to be able to change color schemes. The character appearance options may not be the most expansive of all MMOs or anything, but they're wide enough I created a look I liked without too much time and without seeing people who look like my character everywhere.
And why is it that no other MMO I've played does character movement as pleasingly to me as WoW? WoW isn't perfect, and many of the character models are years old, and yet it feels so fluid and smooth to me. It's especially apparent when jumping or strafing/running at an angle, but most other games I've seen look stiff and awkward when doing such. DCUO is actually fairly good there, but combat-speed flight maneuvering (the example that comes to mind there) makes me cringe. It seems like these newer games should look and feel better...
The only limit to the new 5-mans is the wait time (For a tank, naturally, that's diminished) and repetition. How many times can you do "End of Time" before you grow bored of lava swimming, ice and moon scythe dodging, and ghoul killing before having to play Prince of Persia on the final boss?
ReplyDeleteWell, possibility of burnout exists in any content. But with Cata dungeons previously, I've deliberately avoided going at times because I didn't want to (or wasn't able to) commit more than 30-60 minutes. Back to start with, we were looking at the possibility of bad runs in Grim Batol or Deepcore, or even less-than-perfect runs in Deadmines taking well over an hour easy. The 4.1 Zul dungeons were even worse, with more bosses and lots of trash. A wipe or two (which was common with people who weren't practiced there) could push the run near two hours even before the very real possibility of multiple wipes on the end bosses. And that's what I saw in guild groups, even without queue times. The fact that I can queue for a random Hour of Twilight dungeon that I'm new to and still walk out near the 30 minute mark is a huge breath of fresh air. They will get old in time, but at least they won't drag like the previous ones. And the random element to the first two bosses in End Time (which affects their entire area, including trash and not just the bosses) will help that seem newer a little bit longer, at least.
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