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The Daily Blues

Adam Holisky
Editor
Updated ·4 min read

Each day, WoW Insider takes you through all the blue posts and other Blizzard news from around the internet. From the latest posts from Ghostcrawler (lead systems designer) to the lowdown on StarCraft 2 and Diablo 3, we'll keep you informed.

Today's pro tip: not everything is a tax, and certainly hit is not a fun tax. Unless your name is Dan or Liz, and then you fun tax Adam every time he wants to make the fanbois angry or make some kitten mittens.



Daxxarri -- Hit and balancing stats is a fun tax?
I think this post is right on the money. I understand that hitting big numbers is fun, and gathering stats that contribute to hitting big numbers is also fun. On the other hand, without the need to make some kind of choice, gearing quickly becomes a mindless exercise, and I believe that's when the fun leaks out of it.

Fun is pretty subjective. For me (and I have a feeling many others too) a large part of the fun is tinkering, tuning and optimizing my characters for maximum effectiveness for whatever role they might occupy, be it tanking, healing or dps. The choices involved in this process are part of what makes the path to power compelling for me. The reward I reap from my research, effort and time spent pursuing the right pieces of gear is heightened effectiveness in my in-game endeavors.

I like talking about these choices and game theory with my friends and figuring out the best approach to yield the maximum gains. That's fun for me too, and those discussions wouldn't happen if there weren't choices to make. In the case of hit, I think because it has an identifiable 'cap', it's easy to mis-perceive it as a chore to acquire. In reality, it might be easier to think of hit as the skeleton upon which your dps is based. With a strong skeleton, your "muscle" lets you hit harder. How you achieve that strong base, before you move on to optimizing and balancing the stats you might find more fun, involves choices of its own.


Lylirra -- Heroic tips
In many cases, in order for a Heroic dungeons group to be successful, everyone will need to work together. So, my best piece of advice to any player -- and one that I always try to follow myself -- is to consistently bring your A-game. "A-game" is really just a catchy buzzword that means "pull your own weight when and wherever possible" and, to a smaller degree, "always have fun!" Even if you're just looking for one item, entering dungeons with the right attitude and outlook can make a huge difference.

Here are just a few thoughts you may want to consider:



This is just the tip of iceberg, of course, but hopefully it can provide some inspiration for how to keep the ball rolling.


  • If you're having trouble adapting to a fight's mechanics, ask for help: talk to a guild mate who's more familiar with the fight or refer to online material. We all process information differently and you may find that you're able to understand your role in a boss fight better by reading, or by having a discussion with a friend.

  • Try to do all that you can to optimize your gear. Even if you don't have a lot of time to play, you're still very empowered and can do a lot to increase your character's potency. For example, you might consider enchanting and gemming your Superior gear, reforging, or purchasing 333 - 359 iLevel items from reputation quartermasters. While quest greens and PvP gear may be functional, if you can replace those slots with PvE blues or purples that are tailored to your role, you'll probably be in a better position overall.

  • Don't write off normal dungeons completely. Even if you're eligible for Heroic dungeons, getting practice on tamer versions of various bosses can be invaluable. It can help increase your comfort level with the encounter, as well as your knowledge of the mechanics.


Vaneras -- Player models
We recognize the issue with old models wearing shiny new gear and questing in brand new or updated zones, and even though we have mentioned this before, it can do no harm to repeat that this is definitely on the list of things we would like to do. Bringing the original models up to par with the newer models is something that we are giving some thought.

Nothing has been set in stone yet, but even though it is fairly safe to say that we won't see any changes done to the proportions of the original models, it is a possibility that the detail levels will be improved with additional polygons and such over time... perhaps we may even see some new and updated skins and textures as well :-)