02
21:44
This is a cool thread.
I hesitated jumping into it for a long time, because I didn't want the participants to just start talking to me instead of trying to interpret the data that the OP (and others) worked hard to generate. Hopefully that won't happen. (And if it does, you'll know why I don't jump into the next cool discussion to come along.)
I wouldn't worry too much about sample sizes and the like. Yes, sample size is important, but it's too easy to just dismiss data as needing a larger sample size. Part of the science of statistics is trying to estimate how large a size you do need before you can interpret anything.
Also remember that players pick their class for a lot of reasons and guilds pick their tank for a lot of reasons. We know that if we buff or nerf too much that we can drive population, but we also know there are plenty of other factors at play. For example, I'm not sure how powerful a tank class would have to be at tanking before you'd see its population jump if it was really frustrating or boring to play or really hard to gear or required a ton of skill to do well or if it was terrible at every other aspect of the game. (I don't think we have any of those classes in the game at the moment -- I'm just pointing out an extreme, contrived case that could affect population.)
The biggest red flag for us will be if raids feel like they have to gravitate towards a certain tank class for the hard fights. (If you swap tanks for a couple of fights, that's not a big deal either, assuming the swap doesn't become too widespread, or you're blocked if you fail to swap.) It's a big deal if a particular tank class just can't cut it, or has to work much harder (or get much luckier) on the same content, assuming the content is challenging. I can't imagine too many guilds replacing their main tank for a different class because they are stalled at current Icecrown progression. Not many of the Icecrown fights really tax the tank, except for perhaps Festergut. That's about to change with LK and the hard modes.
I hesitated jumping into it for a long time, because I didn't want the participants to just start talking to me instead of trying to interpret the data that the OP (and others) worked hard to generate. Hopefully that won't happen. (And if it does, you'll know why I don't jump into the next cool discussion to come along.)
I wouldn't worry too much about sample sizes and the like. Yes, sample size is important, but it's too easy to just dismiss data as needing a larger sample size. Part of the science of statistics is trying to estimate how large a size you do need before you can interpret anything.
Also remember that players pick their class for a lot of reasons and guilds pick their tank for a lot of reasons. We know that if we buff or nerf too much that we can drive population, but we also know there are plenty of other factors at play. For example, I'm not sure how powerful a tank class would have to be at tanking before you'd see its population jump if it was really frustrating or boring to play or really hard to gear or required a ton of skill to do well or if it was terrible at every other aspect of the game. (I don't think we have any of those classes in the game at the moment -- I'm just pointing out an extreme, contrived case that could affect population.)
The biggest red flag for us will be if raids feel like they have to gravitate towards a certain tank class for the hard fights. (If you swap tanks for a couple of fights, that's not a big deal either, assuming the swap doesn't become too widespread, or you're blocked if you fail to swap.) It's a big deal if a particular tank class just can't cut it, or has to work much harder (or get much luckier) on the same content, assuming the content is challenging. I can't imagine too many guilds replacing their main tank for a different class because they are stalled at current Icecrown progression. Not many of the Icecrown fights really tax the tank, except for perhaps Festergut. That's about to change with LK and the hard modes.
Patch 3.3.2 is bringing about a change to the way healing functions in Arenas, Battlegrounds, and Wintergrasp. We have applied a debuff to all players in these zones which will decrease the effectiveness of all forms of healing by 10%. This includes heals from items such as Healthstones and potions, however, it will not affect defensive shields or auras. This change is being made to balance the effectiveness of healing against the recent buff we made to the damage reduction component provided by resilience. Rest assured that we will be closely monitoring the effects both the healing and resilience changes have on Battleground, Wintergrasp, and Arena PvP game play to ensure that fights last a reasonable amount of time without overtly skewing the effectiveness of any class, role, or team combination.
Arena Season 8 has now officially begun, and players can immediately begin competing for the new Wrathful Gladiator PvP item sets. We have reset all Arena team ratings, Arena points, and personal ratings though players retain their honor points and matchmaking rating going into the season.
Here is a list of some PvP items that will be available in Arena Season 8 and their expected rating requirements:
No Rating Required:
Furious Chest
Furious Legs
Furious Gloves
Furious Helm
Furious Shoulders
Relentless Bracer
Relentless Belt
Relentless Boots
Relentless Neck
Relentless Ring
Relentless Cape
Relentless Trinket
Relentless Gloves
Relentless Legs
Relentless Chest
Relentless Helm
Relentless Shoulders
Wrathful Bracer
Wrathful Trinket
Wrathful Cape
Wrathful Neck
Wrathful Ring
Rating Required:
700+: Relentless Relics
1300+: Wrathful Belt (honor)
1400+: Wrathful Boots (honor)
1400+: Wrathful Gloves
1500+: Wrathful Legs
1600+: Wrathful Chest
1700+: Wrathful Wands/Relics/etc
1800+: Wrathful Weapon - lvl264
1950+: Wrathful Helm
2000+: Wrathful Shoulders
2200+: Wrathful Weapon - lvl277
2300+: Wrathful Tabard
Here is a list of some PvP items that will be available in Arena Season 8 and their expected rating requirements:
No Rating Required:
Furious Chest
Furious Legs
Furious Gloves
Furious Helm
Furious Shoulders
Relentless Bracer
Relentless Belt
Relentless Boots
Relentless Neck
Relentless Ring
Relentless Cape
Relentless Trinket
Relentless Gloves
Relentless Legs
Relentless Chest
Relentless Helm
Relentless Shoulders
Wrathful Bracer
Wrathful Trinket
Wrathful Cape
Wrathful Neck
Wrathful Ring
Rating Required:
700+: Relentless Relics
1300+: Wrathful Belt (honor)
1400+: Wrathful Boots (honor)
1400+: Wrathful Gloves
1500+: Wrathful Legs
1600+: Wrathful Chest
1700+: Wrathful Wands/Relics/etc
1800+: Wrathful Weapon - lvl264
1950+: Wrathful Helm
2000+: Wrathful Shoulders
2200+: Wrathful Weapon - lvl277
2300+: Wrathful Tabard
Since the launch of the World of Warcraft Armory, we've been regularly releasing updates and new features designed to help players stay connected to the game even when they're not logged in. Today, we wanted to give you a heads-up about a new service now in development that will let players access the Auction House directly through the Armory website or Armory App for iPhone or iPod touch.
While there are still plenty of details to be worked out, we're designing the service to offer auction functionality similar to what's available in-game. Players have been requesting -- and we've been hoping to implement -- a feature like this for a long time, and we're excited that the Armory and the game have evolved to a point that makes it possible.
This is a fairly complex service to develop, due in large part to its unprecedented integration with the game, so we don't have an exact release date yet. It's important to note here that certain elements of the service will be premium-based, which we'll go into more detail on once the service functionality is finalized. As with all of the services we offer, we plan to integrate the Auction House and Armory in a way that won't disrupt the gameplay experience, and we won't release it until it meets the quality standards that we've set for our other features and services. You may be seeing bits and pieces of the Auction House service pop up in the test builds we use for the public test realms as we go through the process of internal testing. We'll have more info to share with you here and at http://www.WorldofWarcraft.com as we get closer to release.
While there are still plenty of details to be worked out, we're designing the service to offer auction functionality similar to what's available in-game. Players have been requesting -- and we've been hoping to implement -- a feature like this for a long time, and we're excited that the Armory and the game have evolved to a point that makes it possible.
This is a fairly complex service to develop, due in large part to its unprecedented integration with the game, so we don't have an exact release date yet. It's important to note here that certain elements of the service will be premium-based, which we'll go into more detail on once the service functionality is finalized. As with all of the services we offer, we plan to integrate the Auction House and Armory in a way that won't disrupt the gameplay experience, and we won't release it until it meets the quality standards that we've set for our other features and services. You may be seeing bits and pieces of the Auction House service pop up in the test builds we use for the public test realms as we go through the process of internal testing. We'll have more info to share with you here and at http://www.WorldofWarcraft.com as we get closer to release.
Written by Michael 'chaud'
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