Advertisement

Odd choices for gear changes in 2.3


I was browsing the MMO-Champion list of gear changes in 2.3 when I noticed something odd.

A lot of the changes to gear in 2.3 are welcome upgrades, especially in the lower level instances like Shadowfang Keep or Razorfen Kraul. But why, when changing loot in Blackrock Spire, did they change the Warmaster Leggings from tank to DPS pants? Whyarethree of the better paladin drops in Blackrock Depths being changed to generic DPS plate? It could be a sign of future thinking on the way Retribution Paladins are itemized, it could be intended towards leveling Death Knights (as is suggested in the comments), or there could be some other reason I'm not even remotely close to guessing. (Smarter folks than I suggest that this is just a case of gear that wasn't really good for paladins or warriors at that level getting brought more into line with other item budgets.)

Some changes have clear goals - the Bloodmoon Cloak is clearly now aimed at casters. I've had two warriors that wore it for the stam it used to have, but that's clearly no longer going to be the case. Similarly, a great many items like the Embrace of the Wind Serpent from the Temple of Atal'Hakkar, severalitems from Maraudon and even more items from BRD are having their stats adjusted by removing their various resistances and adding direct stat boosts like agility and crit. These are changes that make sense to me, but why change the Warmaster's or remove plate geared for paladins?

Have any of the other gear changes made you scratch your head? Do you think this is just a case of items getting improved item budgeting or are changes ahead for how certain classes/specs use certain items?