Okay, this last one, then I’ll try to mind my own business. But it’s just too easy and fun to not do it.

Mark Jacobs: However, to say that we are not paying attention, don’t care or the ever-popular “I quit now” simply makes it less likely that we will continue to post and interact here.

GOOD RIDDANCE!

I wonder where he wants to bring his bag of candies next. F13 already slapped his face (and his ego) too many times for him to have the courage to go back there. Warhammer Alliance is a cesspool alike the Vault. Where will he go, I wonder? He must feel so unloved right now, poor boy.

In other news the “Combat n Careers” patch buffed Bright Wizard damage (especially DoTs) and nerfed healing. My class, Ironbreaker, was also hit with the nerfbat.

“Love to all classes” is the stupidest myth in game design. When you boost damage across the board the result is that the fights are over in less time. When you then also nerf healing the result is obviously much worse. Especially since healing needed a boost instead of a nerf from tier 2 onward as healers couldn’t keep anyone alive. Add the fact they they also nerfed root abilities, that, while usually a good idea, is another nerf to a defensive skill, and you can imagine that the whole system has been shoved heavily toward the offensive side, making combat more deadly and sudden, and removing that little bit of strategy there was. If you think this is what was necessary, good for you.

Just a glance at those patch notes and even one like me, who usually restrains to comment class balance, can see that they aren’t even in the right direction. Not only they are doing too much, all at once, late and prioritizing the wrong things, but they even move in the wrong direction.

Just to be clear and demonstrate that I don’t simply criticize no matter what, this is what I wrote a month and half ago in regard to class balance:

For the first time in many years I felt powerful in PvP. Yesterday I tanked two other players that outleveled me, alone. I didn’t even use all the aces in my sleeve. Is this the way it should be or should I expect the nerfbat coming? I play in scenarios and have the time to ACTUALLY SEE WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON. I can REACT TO COMBAT. It’s paced perfectly. This opposed to, say, WoW. Where the combat is fucking ridiculous and I can be dead in a matter of seconds in a cloud of stupid graphic effects while I can’t even control my character because of CC, with my tank. Here fighting takes time and is not too twitchy.

In Warhammer, from the little experience I have, it seems they got the “feel” right. Now I hope that while they work to also have the “numbers” right, they won’t fuck the rest.

Even in my first preview of the game I praised the combat system because it got right one of the most important aspect: the pacing. The classes were unbalanced, but the “feel” and pacing was right (and this was also the reason why I don’t think class balance is a priority). They needed to tweak numbers, tone down some ridiculous skills that were overused and exploited, and boost some classes (like pet classes) that lacked a real role and efficiency.

Now, do you know what happens when you boost the damage and nerf healing of all classes across the board? That you fuck the pacing. Exactly what they did.