Breakfast Topic: Game-changing skills

by Daniel Whitcomb Nov 27th 2008 at 8:00AM

So I was thinking about grabbing some PvP achievements on my Death Knight the other day, when a rather glorious thought popped into my head: If some Hordie tried to exploit terrain in Warsong Gulch, my Death Grip and I were going to have a lot of fun drawing their cheating self into the midst of a knot of angry Alliance.

Of course, there's always the problem of LOS, but still, I can't help but think that Death Grip may be so effective that it ends some of the frustration of WSG in which flag-bearers find ways to jump over holes in the terrain such that it's near impossible to get to them. It'll be nice if it does happen that way, and I don't say that just because I am a Death Knight. New skills that help solve old problems are always nice.

There's other new skills for various classes that may have similar effects in PVE or PVP, such as Tricks of the Trade for Rogues or Aspect of the Dragonhawk for Hunters. Are you projecting that any of the new Wrath skills or talents will be game changers for the way we play and compete? Have you seen them changing things already?

Tags: aspect-of-the-dragonhawk, death-grip, game-changing, skills, tricks-of-the-trade, wsg

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Tips, Breakfast topics, Leveling, Classes, Buffs, Enchants, Battlegrounds

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Will Nov 27th 2008 8:06AM

Mirror Image will be interesting for mages in WSG, if a mage is a flag carrier and casts mirror image, will those images look like they are carrying flags too? would be an interesting distraction :) and yes death grip will be nice for pulling any opposing flag runners back to your group chasing him/her down, will be very funny to watch can't wait.

http://www.wowconfidential.com

Alexran Nov 27th 2008 8:48AM

I really do love your blog. You just got yourself a new reader.

Jane Gray Dec 2nd 2008 4:54AM

whereas I'm starting to agree he's just a blogspammer with nothing to actually say. Funny that.

Will Dec 2nd 2008 7:30AM

@Alexran
glad to hear it :)

Falcrist Nov 27th 2008 8:12AM

Don't forget about demonic circle for warlocks. If used skilfully it's a talent that will forever change how Warlocks PvP.

havitech Nov 27th 2008 8:21AM

Old: DoT DoT DoT Fear DoT DoT DoT Fear...

New: DoT DoT DoT Fear DoT DoT DoT Demonic Circle DoT...

BooDizz Nov 27th 2008 6:03PM

You forgot to add: Get Pet 2 shot, then yourself 2 shot by DK/Ret Pally

Satn Nov 27th 2008 8:23AM

Prot warrior changes have been awesome and made them one of the, if not the, best tanks for AE groups

-Group spell reflect
-Unlimited and higher damage thunder clap
-the AE cone dmg+stun is great for pulls, gives healer time to start healing
-vigilence makes that AEer -build- the warriors agro by 10% of the agro they generate!
-damage shield for added agro
-massive boost in damage with shield slam and revenge, I've outdamaged some mages in my groups

Hellgrazer Nov 27th 2008 10:06AM

Kinda sad, or is that just me?
I think it's great that Warriors, DK's (And druids to a lesser extent) can now hold 6-9 mobs just as easily as a paladin. Ive been Holy and Prot on my pally, and I personally LOVE the ability to grab 5-10 mobs and front load threat on them, and I also love seeing other classes do it skilfully. But when any old tank can hit Thunderclap, Shockwave..... eh?

Tasty Nov 27th 2008 7:01PM

You are forgetting that paladins can probably solo all those mobs. Warriors just get to the end of their HP pool and die :P

Heilig Nov 27th 2008 7:20PM

I'll go the other way and say that Hammer fo the Righteous, Shield of Righteousness, and the reworked Divine Protection are completely game changing for pally tanks. We are every bit the Main Tank that warriors are now, if not slightly better for threat generation, block uptime, and the single best panic button in the game.

Meatshiéld Nov 27th 2008 8:39AM

From a brief encounter in wintergrasp last night:

Warr meets Mage
Mage frost nova's Warr
Mage casts frostbolt
Warr uses Heroic Throw (talented w/ gag order)
Mage is silenced
Warr charges with Warbringer talent
Warr uses shield bash (talented)
Warr uses shield slam
Warr uses Concussive Blow
Warr uses Shockwave
Warr gets honor.
Warr is happy :D

Ilnara Nov 27th 2008 9:50AM

You fought a stupid Mage. If it were me..

Mage Encounters Warrior.
Mage Frost Novas Warrior.
Mage Deep freezes Warrior.
Mage Pop's Water Elemental.
Mage Drops Shatter combo Frostbolt / Ice Lance on Warriors head.
Deep freeze wears off.
Mage uses Water ele's nova.
Mage drops another Shatter combo
Mage Fire blast / CoC
Mage jumps around whittling away remaining HP with Ice lance.
Warrior dies, Mage gains HK and Honor.

Uh... yeah, essentially the only way any Warrior can beat a mage is if you proc all your stuns consecutively. And I wouldn't exactly go around acting like you have any control over that. I've had it happen exactly once, ever. Most of the time, the only one getting HK's and HP's in a Mage v. Warrior encounter is the Mage.

Kaphik Nov 27th 2008 10:55AM

In the warrior rotation Meatshield described, he only used two stuns. Neither of them are procs, they are abilities. He did hit with two silences, and one (Shield Bash) requires talents to turn it into a silence.

He was talking about a Prot warrior pvping.

Meatshiéld Nov 27th 2008 11:04AM

Correctamundo, Kaphik. Protection now offers great burst damage (incite, shockwave, the myriad of talents which improve SS damage + crit chance) and caster shutouts (gag order, warbringer breaking roots/snares), and the changes to our itemisation makes us even more powerful. Warriors (tanks at least) are in a very happy place. :D

Lemons Nov 28th 2008 2:30AM

Here's what happens 95% of the time when a war encounters a mage:

war rushes the mage
mage then blinks and wtfpwns the warrior in the face

Also, most mages, especially fire mages, will have the burning determination talent meaning you can't spellock them after the first silence, essentially meaning that mage is going to blink right after you're heroic throw wears off, but by then you've already charged him so he blinks away from you.

gag order...pfft, like any warrior who seriously pvps will spec that far into prot to get that talent, warriors pvping as prot is a fad that will soon fade.

p.s. I'm not a mage so this isn't me defending my class or anything I'm just a rogue who knows that war vs. mage is basically no contest for the mage.