Back in January of this year, I wrote a post about some aspects of changes that I was hoping for in terms of what we will see happen within the (Arms) Warlords of Dreanor expansion.
Recently, there has been some new information released in regards to specific alterations taking place throughout the various classes. In looking over the list of modifications and reworking of the Warrior class, Arms spec in particular, I have to say not only how impressed I am by what the Dev’s are doing, but I think it is a positive movement forward overall in terms of the class design.
What we know so far, along with my two coppers within parentheses.
Upcoming Warrior Changes:
Battle Shout now lasts 1 hour and no longer generates Rage. (Good Change, nice to no longer have to be micro managing the buff duration of Battle Shout)
Berserker Rage no longer generates Rage or increases Physical damage dealt. (Seems kinda strange, why was this altered?)
Berserker Stance has been removed. (I rarely used this stance while in Arms, so fine with me)
Cleave has been removed. (Nice pruning, I didn’t even have Cleave on my Action Bars)
Commanding Shout now lasts 1 hour and no longer generates Rage. (Makes sense, glad it has a long duration)
Demoralizing Banner has been removed. (Banners seemed more of an afterthought to me, they need to be reworked still, having said that I rarely ever used Demoralizing Banner, so good riddance)
Hamstring is now a passive ability that causes Mortal Strike, Bloodthirst, Revenge, and Raging Blow to also reduce the target’s movement speed by 50% for 15 seconds. (Nice, glad another ability is removed from the Action Bar…very happy about this)
Rallying Cry is no longer available to Protection Warriors. (I actually make use of this while in raids as an Arms Warrior, so glad it is not being totally removed)
Recklessness is now available only to Fury and Arms Warriors. (Makes sense, I am ok with this)
Skull Banner has been removed. (Again, I rarely made use of this particular Banner, fine with me)
Throw has been removed. (Throw does seem to have a use every so often, so I would like this to remain)
Thunder Clap is no longer available to Fury Warriors. (Makes sense, I am ok with this)
Whirlwind is now available only to Fury Warriors. (As an Arms Warrior, I am ok with this change, helps to make Fury feel unique and difference from Arms)
Charge now Roots the target (instead of stunning). (I can understand why this change is taking place, but I am still opposed to it, this has been a core ability of the Warrior design, so my wish is that it would be left as it is)
Disarm has been removed. (Happy with this change)
Intimidating Shout now has a 6 sec duration in PvP. (Too much CC in PvP, so I am ok with this, just as long as they keep all class CC down across the board as well.
Haste has long been a problematic stat for Warriors, usually being of little value. As part of our commitment to ensuring all secondary stats are valuable (except Bonus Armor for non-tanks and Spirit for non-healers, of course), we’re making a significant change to Warriors, to ensure that Haste has strong, competitive value. We’re giving all Warriors a new passive, which lets haste affect their global cooldown, and the cooldowns of their very-short-cooldown rotational abilities. (Finally! I have disliked Haste ever since it was introduced, for it just never did anything for our class per se, so quite happy to see a total reworking of how it will benefit us. Thank you!)
Draenor Perks for Arms Warriors:
Improved Charge – Increases the range of Charge by 10 yards.
Improved Heroic Leap – The damage radius of Heroic Leap is increased by 2 yards.
Enhanced Sweeping Strikes – Sweeping Strikes now lasts 5 sec longer.
Improved Mortal Strike – Increases the damage of Mortal Strike by 20%.
Enhanced Slam – Increases the radius of the splash damage dealt by Slam while Sweeping Strikes is active by 3 yards.
Improved Overpower – Increases the damage dealt by Overpower by 20%.
Improved Die by the Sword – Increases the damage reduction from Die by the Sword by 10%.
Empowered Execute – Increases the damage of Execute by 50%.
Improved Colossus Smash – Colossus Smash now generates 10 rage when hitting a target.
I really like what they are doing here in terms of adding “value” and ‘capability” to ones toon. Now, when a player levels up from 90-100, there is unlocked a new random Perk to be gained. It is a brilliant way to address the sense of making a player feel like there is something actually being gained when leveling, as well as a further enhancement to the ability of the class itself. This is a really interesting, fun and cool design approach, so kudos to the Dev’s for implementing it.
There will be obviously more changes taking place, for that is the nature of the working of a pre release of an expansion. This expansion is looking to be one that I am really jazzed about, from gaining more open bag space to the really epic garrisons that they are including, along with the overall storyline of going back to Draenor, I just can’t wait to run amok and carry forth of a whole host of new misadventures!
