Fake Notes?

So. The "fake" 2.4 patch notes. You've read. And emo-ed out. And kinda liked it. Some of the stuff seems pretty cool. Maybe, they're not fake. So what if they feel a bit too firm and float awkwardly in water. They're beautiful and what right do you have to judge anyone. Think of the sacrifice and time that went into them.

Yeah, so there's the whole spellstealing ghost wolf faux pas and some typos, but are we 100% sure they're fake? Well, they do seem to be a little too good. Ya know? Too much of what you want to hear. It's not that small. Crying is totally normal. I agree, it does taste better from a dixie cup. If only...

While the majority of people have given up on rated WSG being included in 2.4, I still believe. I have my reasons. Good reasons. Secret. Very hush hush.

I'm a little less excited than I once was for rated WSG. I think rated WSG is make or break for a lot of people -- if it sucks, they'll have no reason to stick around. In some ways, it's better to delay it and make sure it's awesome than put it out and have it be mediocre. And while the PvErs complain about how much attention arena gets, arena still feels extremely mediocre to me. Poor individual class balance still leads to poor balance in the smaller brackets and lots of counter-comping-rock-paper-scissors bullshit.

That's not me whining about class balance per se, but I think the argument that Blue has dedicated its undivided attention to appeasing the arena crowd is a bit silly. And balance is subjective. For instance, most people would would classify mages as strong in 5s, solid in 3s, and poor in 2s -- the numbers mostly support this. I think it's pretty much the opposite, and my gripe isn't balance at all, it's just options. Mages are still way more limited in the types of teammates they can choose. So are paladins. At the end of the day, mages are still so delicate and paladins are so harmless that they both require precise lineups to compensate. It's long been my argument that rogue/mage/priest is so ubiquitous not because it's such an incredibly overpowered lineup, but it's simply the best option for the ton of mages out there. Is it easy to play? Perhaps, but it's not more trivial than playing WE in any other lineup. Decision making is still what ends up separating the mediocre from the truly strong players.

The fake notes describe a very different game to me. It's tempting to embrace the fake changes if only because they'd shake things up. People are better in arena than they were in season one. That soft "skill cap" we so often hear complained about has perhaps been achieved. When the gates open, it's usually very clear where the advantage lies and what the optimal course of action should be. Execution of given strategies has reached a point where your opponents aren't going to fuck up horrendously. Big class changes would change all of that. So would the soft reset that WotLK promises. I'm skeptical we'll see it sooner.