A: On the subject of stats, why the changes to class stats such as the new hunter specific power, focus?
TC: To an extent we do agree with the player base that the game play for the hunter class based around mana wasn't as good as we wanted it to be. The same can be said for warlocks and soul shards. Soul shards for example are a mechanic that has potential but it's just not right with the current design so we want to change it in a way that would fulfill its potential.
With hunters we think the class would be more distinctive and unique with its own resource type because they don't have a secondary resource type like soul shards or runic power. If we switch them over to using focus it will inherently be a little more interesting.
CS: I played a hunter for three years so I know all about it, and their itemization... well, we had spirit on gear and it never made sense, you felt like you were giving something up. We tried hard with Aspect of the Viper, it seemed a cool way to work the use of mana for hunters, and we changed it a lot of times to get there. It feels more unique for the class, also. So they don't feel like another mana user - it should feel more unique and it will make the game play more fun. You'll definitely be choosing what shots you want to use rather than running a macro.
A: You mentioned itemisation there, what can you tell us about the spell-power changes for example.
TC: Well, spell power has been in the game since it came out, really. Even before the expansion we had increases to fire damage for example, but ever since it became known as the most important stat it's been odd to us that casters don't put a high priority on the core stats of their characters; strength, intelligence, agility etc. None of those are stats that a DPS caster character cares about. That was just conceptually odd to us, but it's the same concept, you'll still have spell power, you'll still get the same thing effectively but we're calling it a different thing. So it feels a little bit better on your character that you care about your primary stats.
CS: It also helps the new players - spell power is like tribal knowledge in a way. Unless you're on a forum you won't know. If a new player rolls a mage you think you should be taking intelligence gear. You'll see gear that has +6 or +7 spell power but thinking ‘I'm a mage; I should be taking Int gear'. So new players won't have to worry about whether they're making the wrong choice. Spellpower will still be there, but it will just come from your Intelligence stat.
I've just rolled a mage, actually. A little level 38 mage and Tom plays a mage so I kept asking him ‘What should I do?'
A: Obviously all the cool kids play mages?
CS: Oh, absolutely, but you know we play so many classes as part of our job too.
A: The new guild talents and professions look like a lot of fun, is this perhaps a gateway to other stuff like player-housing?
TC: Short answer; not likely!
CS: I was about to say the same thing! We actually talked a lot about that, it's something that's come up a lot of times. And really what it comes down to is what is the best ‘bang-for-the-buck' for the player? We thought a lot about housing and what it would bring to the game for the player - and it brings something great from a visual standpoint, it feels really cool, but it also pulls the players out of the world a little bit. If my guild bank was in my house and my blacksmithing anvil was there... what happens to all those players you see in the cities?
Also, we couldn't come up with enough things that we felt were meaningful to make it worth doing so we put a lot of our efforts into things that everyone can access.
TC: The amount of content it costs to do it is a factor too. If our art team is building player housing they're not building dungeons - there's a direct cost. It's a large project.
A: With the guild changes, are you hoping for people to really want to be in guilds then?
CS: Oh, absolutely, and I'm really excited to see people who are really proud of their guild. That's why we want to do a lot of the vanity items that are guild-only. Tabards are an example - one of the things you can buy with the new guild currency is fancier tabards. You'll have the standard tabard, and you also are able to get one that has a more detailed design on it. You might even be able to buy a third one that has a spell effect on it.
You might also be able to buy a guild standard. One of the things we talked about is a guild in a battleground for example and they're all on their guild mounts and they've got flags off their back - it's for that feeling of doing something as a group. We're part of a team and we win and we want people to celebrate with.
A: Thanks for taking the time to talk to Atomic and good luck with the rest of the expansion.
Issue: 133 | February, 2012