specialization-changes
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Patch 5.0.4, anxiety, and the ease of adjustment
I'm noticing a trend out there of some people seeming a little panicked about patch 5.0.4 and the change it brings. Therefore, since I'm always such a comforting and gently reassuring presence, I felt like I should step in and say that there's really nothing to worry about. I admit, if you've only started playing World of Warcraft fairly recently (say, late Wrath or even Cataclysm), then patch 5.0.4, with its significant changes to the talent and glyph systems and new hit and expertise rules, plus changes to tanking and removal of ranged weapons for melee and melee weapons for hunters -- all of this may seem very daunting. So it's worth saying that while the details are a lot to absorb when you see it on a website like, well, this one, they're not actually all that daunting in terms of when you log on. When you log on Tuesday, Aug. 28, things will be different. That's absolutely the case. If for some reason you don't have Cataclysm installed, you'll still be able to play a worgen or goblin, for one thing. Your talent points will be refunded, you'll have up to the level 75 talent tier, and many of your class specializations will have changed to absorb what used to be talents. But it really does bear repeating several times that the changes actually feel fairly seamless, and doesn't take a ton of effort to grasp the basics of the new system. If you've been playing WoW, you're not suddenly going to find yourself in an incomprehensible new game. It's still very much World of Warcraft.
