Breakfast Topic: A knock on knockbacks
by Zach Yonzon 
Nov 2nd 2008 at 8:00AM
The game-changing Echoes of Doom patch brought in a slew of new abilities and some of them included this nifty little feature called 'knockback', which effectively knocks back enemy players and NPCs. It's a whole lot of fun, particularly if you're knocking them off the bridge in Dun Baldar. I've been on the nasty receiving end of a knockback that sent me to my death in Eye of the Storm. I think it's a lot of fun, and it really does create some interesting conundrums in Arenas. Of course, not everyone is thrilled by them. Our very own Allison Robert, bear tank extraordinaire, has torn out about half her hair (poor Allie!) in frustration from knockbacks messing with tanking. She implores you to use these abilities with restraint for the sake of her sanity. It's a level-headed request that Blizzard hears. They've recently hinted at new Glyphs that will remove the knockback effect from certain spells such as Blast Wave, Typhoon, and Thunderstorm.
How's your experience with knockback effects? Have you used it to kill enemies in Battlegrounds? Used it to escape some pesky Rogue slicing and dicing your butt? Maybe you've even used it in *gasp* an instance and rearranged the mobs that the tank so painstakingly positioned through the pull. How have you been (ab)using knockbacks? What's your take on the new mechanic? Yay? Nay? Art-fay?
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Breakfast topics
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
lolwut Nov 2nd 2008 8:09AM
/facepalm
http://files.filefront.com/Bojaxwmv/;12225466;/fileinfo.html
rick Nov 2nd 2008 8:49AM
Thats kinda OP
And funny
thobias Nov 2nd 2008 8:26AM
Haha, that is pure win, right there!
Verymad Nov 2nd 2008 8:52AM
Bwhahahaha... thats what i would like to see more often. A entire raid decimated by one mage
XD XD XD
Sesquame Nov 2nd 2008 8:50AM
And the pally bubbles
Heilig Nov 2nd 2008 5:36PM
This is exactly why knockbacks shouldn't exist. yeah, it was funny, but should one mage be able to wipe an entire raid?
Knockbacks should be removed and replaced with equivalent stun durations.
Munitions Nov 2nd 2008 8:48AM
... Fart?
brhjunior Nov 2nd 2008 8:49AM
I played a fire/fire tanker in CoH for years, and tanking with knockback is a huge pain. There is so much of it in CoH I'd spend more time chasing down the flying mobs than actually tanking. Hopefully it does not get that bad in WoW.
gamerforlifenator Nov 3rd 2008 1:47AM
Ahh, Thooose were the good ol' days... though, i was an Energy/Energy Blaster d: with every other power having a knockback effect Tanks HATED me.
I agree, hopefully it won't go that bad, though something inside me thinks that the fix will be "anti-knockback" enchantments/equip-effects
Waruko Nov 3rd 2008 2:02AM
I was also a Eng/Eng Blaster and the blame for knockbacks getting out of control I found to be in the hands of BOTH the Blaster and the Tanker. The key is to communicate to the Tank to give him the warning that one is coming and the Tank needs to position the mobs in a way where the knockback will have little affect to him. A experienced Tanker I once grouped with gathered 20+ mobs then ran against the wall and I formed up at a right angle with the mobs blasting them into the wall again and again, worked beautifully.
So please casters talk with your tanks about your knockbacks and work with them and know when to and NOT to knockback. Likewise Tanks learn to line up your mobs to negate the knockback from affecting your job.
PNess Nov 2nd 2008 8:49AM
Wah
Falling off cliff is not fun or is it?
most of the crying is from melee...that they gave range to some classes.
Balius Nov 2nd 2008 9:20AM
Yeah, melee is who would be effected by giving classes what amounts to an instant death spell on whoever's in the immediate area surrounding the person casting the spell. Ranged doesn't need to be on the bridge to do damage to people on that bridge, melee does. Ranged doesn't need to chase down enemies in an instance and raid, melee does. Ranged doesn't need to close the distance between themselves and a caster before starting to do any damage, melee does.
These knockbacks specifically screw melee in whatever situation they're used in, and melee has the right to complain about a mechanic that puts them at even more of a disadvantage. They already have to run up to a caster to start DPS once, knockback means they have to make that march of death twice instead, provided they aren't killed outright by the terrain they have no way to use to their advantage in turn.
Angus Nov 2nd 2008 10:06AM
"They already have to run up to a caster to start DPS once, knockback means they have to make that march of death twice instead, provided they aren't killed outright by the terrain they have no way to use to their advantage in turn."
There are 2 melee specs that actually have to "run up" to casters.
Enhance Shaman and Ret Paladins.
Rogues, Kitties, and Warriors don't have to run up, they can get there without the caster either knowing they are there or if they can get within charge range.
Notice Enhance and Ret were burst specs. If they got close, they could pwn you. Well, casters bitched until these two lost their ability to do that. So now the 2 specs that have the hardest time "getting a chance" are unable to actually get a chance since they can't close the gap and they can't kill you when they are in your face.
Other melee bitching about this is rather funny.
Elemental Shaman uses Thunderstorm.
Rogue Shadowsteps back.
Warrior charges back.
Kitty/Bear charges back.
Death Knight says "fair enough" Death grip. Both die.
Yea, I don't see any reason for melee to be bitching, unless you happen to be a Ret Paladin or an Enhance Shaman.
Matthew Rossi Nov 2nd 2008 10:25AM
Angus,
Only prot warriors can charge in combat. And intercept isn't exactly a "every five seconds" ability - if you used it once to get to the mage or shaman who then knocked you back, you don't have it to use to get back to them.
Intercept simply doesn't reduce kiting to the extent you guys like to fantasize it does. Go roll a warrior and try some PvP, you will be kited. Intercept just means that, like pally hand of freedom, you will sometimes be able to get out of it and hit the caster.
Sometimes.
Kemikalkadet Nov 2nd 2008 12:00PM
Matt, it's not an "every 5-second ability no", but it's every 15 seconds with imp intercept and 4 pieces of gladiator gear, which is way more than shamans and pallys get. I think that was Angus' point.
Breck Nov 3rd 2008 4:34PM
Except Enhancement Shamans get Frost Shock, Earthbind Totem, Ghost Wolf, and Spirit Walk. Ret Pallies get a couple tools to keep themselves from being snared, but their options to catch up to someone are very limited. Being able to potentially run 15% faster than their quarry is really not that great. The only other option is Repentance, which has a 1 minute cooldown. Also, unlike every other melee class, they have no interrupt other than long cooldown HoJ and Repentance.
Once all of the nerfs to Ret's burst make it to live, they will really need something to make up for these shortcomings or their status as the biggest joke class in PvP will return.
Halaku Nov 2nd 2008 8:25AM
Thanks to knockback, there are several specific spots in some of the battlegrounds that I frankly won't take my pally.
Knockback shouldn't be a one-shot kill.
Riondi Nov 2nd 2008 9:29AM
Just like rets then eh?
D.O.T. Nov 3rd 2008 10:27AM
If you're gonna have knockbacks in areas where you're gonna fall off, they need to introduce a skill call "grab on" - Grab on: Takes the player plus the one who casted the spell off the cliff. Instant sucide and encourages players to use caution instead of stupidity when using the spell.
That said, I like the spell when I'm on my balance druid, but would hate it if someone else did that to me.
(Then again, priests can MC and throw people off cliffs and they NEVER got rid of MC, did they?)
Collypso Nov 2nd 2008 8:50AM
As a tank I get annoyed when the mobs get pushed out of thunderclap range and it misses. Sometimes if the guy keeps doing knockbacks I'll warn them a few times then kick them from the group/raid.