Retribution Paladins in patch 2.3: buffed or betrayed?
Tom Chilton aka Kalgan has been promisingbuffs for Ret Pallies since BlizzCon. He specifically has stated that there would be changes made so that Retribution would be more than just a leveling spec, such as sustained DPS instead of just burst and less reliance on Spell Damage as a stat.
Retribution Pallies are definitely getting some love in patch 2.3, but is it enough and is it balanced? Many Paladins on the forums say no to both. They want Spell Damage to go away as a need for Pallies and a way to manage threat and they want these changes in 2.3.
Wolfblitzer calls Kalgan out as a liar in his very popular protest post, quoting from our BlizzCon coverage directly (though without credit). He also claims that Kalgan had promised to talk about threat reduction for Ret Pallies soon, but that the post was deleted.
Blue poster Drysc stated (accurately) that there was no date or patch number associated with all of the changes discussed previously. His full response to the protest is after the jump.
We've given Retribution Paladins some nice damage increases in 2.3, and we're going to be keeping an eye on those changes and what other adjustments they may require. We're still looking at the possibility of a passive threat reduction, but we want to see how the changes we have look and play before making any final decision.
I never saw, nor believe there was any mention that any threat reduction changes were promised, or specifically said to be coming in 2.3. Aside from that, not all of our plans to make game changes are "right now" or "the next patch". I know it's easy to make those assumptions because that's what's convenient, but it's just not always the case. Things can change, game development does evolve, especially in an environment such as an MMO.
I think I'm getting a bit pessimistic, that doesn't necessarily apply here, but I'm trying to impress upon you that things can and often do change. Saying we agree with something doesn't mean the change can be made right away, and looking into something certainly doesn't mean we're making a change.
Sometimes we do need to be able to express that we'll be looking into something without being verbally assaulted when the outcome doesn't meet chimeric expectations. If there's any question on why we may take various tactics in communicating with everyone, including limiting how and when we do so, this would be a great example.
On the one hand, Paladins do wear plate and can handle the extra attention that their new DPS will attract in groups. In raids, however, pulling aggro off the main tank can cause a wipe, no matter how robust the gear. As far as the reliance on Spell Damage, it does seem odd that they didn't include this change with all of the other class and gear changes in patch 2.3.
Are the Retribution changes too DPS oriented without addressing the gear and threat issues that are more important to Pallies? Or are Paladins being too impatient and should be happy to wait until the expansion if they have to?
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