More class changes afoot! Tipster Aikiwoce sends along a blue post in which Kalgan reassures mages that they haven't been forgotten in upcoming talent and ability changes in WotLK. The thread, which seems to have been started mostly because of the earlier warlock thread he'd responded on, elicited a short but highly revealing response from Kalgan: "Mages will get new abilities in the expansion too, believe it or not. In fact, we intend to tone down how strong of a counter Warlocks are to Mages through the WotLK spells/talents." Hmmm. Little concrete information, but this is one of the few times that a Blizz dev has openly acknowledged just how powerful certain classes are in relation to others. While they've made no secret of the fact that they don't balance PvP around 1v1 battles, and admitted at BlizzCon that warlocks are essentially the best dueling class, it's still unusual to see official commentary on specific class rivalries.
And, let's face it, the Mage versus Warlock smackdown is practically the stuff of legend. With these tidbits appearing on the forums about class and talent changes in Wrath, keep checking back; we're likely to hear about more of these soon.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
3-07-2008 @ 2:40AM
sephran said...
What? I own locks in pvp. They are frustrating yes.. btu not the bane of my exsistance.. confused by that statement to be honest..
hunters eat me alive though.. dam hunters..
Reply
3-07-2008 @ 3:36AM
Aikiwoce said...
I'll admit I'm not the best at pvp (primary focus on pve atm), but I have some caveats with your post. There's is one Sephran mage listed on the armory with 1497 2v2 personal arena rating.
If this is you, you're wearing mostly S1 arena gear, with vindicators belt/bracers. So most of your pvp experience is based on battlegrounds, not arenas. In battlegrounds mages generally kill warlocks easily due to teammates giving you a big help, or the lock being extremely under-geared.
The only ways I know to kill a lock in pvp are to wait till he's afk/not paying attention, doesn't have his pet up, out-gearing him by a ton, or have a competent healer at my back w/o someone beating on him/her. If this fails try to get the pet down, so the next guy can kill him. :)
Just my 2c.
3-07-2008 @ 3:28AM
kellzea said...
gotta love how the comunity still thinks its 2006 and locks are op, i remember lock "op-ness" and we were stupid good. now,
now we suck at pvp. ahh well at least we scare children
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3-07-2008 @ 5:47AM
snitzle said...
it is kinda sad.. but warlocks are now the most "balanced" class in wow.
meaning.. nearly every melee class can kill a warlock without even trying
3-07-2008 @ 8:44AM
theRaptor said...
I played a lock in 2006, they didn't become completely OP until BC, aka 2007. And yes of course melee can kill locks, cause most casters can't.
3-07-2008 @ 4:15AM
jumb said...
It'd be awesome if mages got polymorph: penguin in wotlk. I'm going to roll a mage if they do.
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3-07-2008 @ 9:36AM
Arabelli said...
I still think Nef should have dropped a Poly: Giraffe book, nammit.
3-07-2008 @ 4:38AM
matt said...
be interesting to see what they give mages to counter a lock felhound.
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3-07-2008 @ 7:13AM
Loudfiero said...
Polymorph? Or does that NOT work on demons? I really don't know.
3-07-2008 @ 7:58AM
Cynra said...
Polymorph is restricted to beasts and humanoids. Typical forms of crowd control against demons include - but are not limited to - trapping or banish.
3-07-2008 @ 6:18AM
TonyMotorola said...
Uhhh.. what about some PvE changes and info? I really couldn't care less about this PvP crap, and it's beginning to sound like nothing besides PvP matters anymore to devs.
Anybody else remember when this game was a PvE-focused MMO, not counter-strike between orcs and elves?
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3-07-2008 @ 8:25AM
Ollej said...
There is the Sunwell Plateau, Magisters Terrace as well as an entire new faction in 2.4.
Sure, they haven't released a ton of info on PVE in WotLK, but regardless, they haven't released a ton of info on PVP in WotLK either.
3-07-2008 @ 6:36AM
Tenchan said...
Am I the only one who think this whole Mage vs. Lock fight is plain dumb? Mages are Mages, Warlocks are Warlocks, there is no need to compare e-peens just because they can both cause forest fires.
Also, I agree that Polymorph:Penguin would rock.
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3-07-2008 @ 8:05AM
Fireflash38 said...
The problem most mages have with warlocks is locks in general are better at almost everything.
Mages are getting replaced in PvE and PvP by warlocks. Only reason to bring a mage would be for int and food.
Raid DPS flat nuking? Warlock wins.
2v2s? Warlock (generally giving way to warrior)
5v5s? Warlocks are replacing mages. (2346 anyone?)
Ability to beat casters? Warlock.
Dot and Pillar hump?
Etc.
Now what most mages don't realise is that where the warlock gets raped, most mages will do fairly well. (Vs Melee, although the fights are steadily heading towards melee-favored).
3-07-2008 @ 9:17AM
enkafiles said...
Polymorph: Penguin - only available if you play on a Linux System?
3-07-2008 @ 9:26AM
Tenchan said...
Mm, I see you point. Although I have yet to see many locks that outnuke Fire Mages in a raid, but maybe I'm just playing with exceptional mages ;)
3-07-2008 @ 7:16AM
Loudfiero said...
I've only got a 29 mage that I am doing PvP with. Do mages have any spell that interrupt casting? I'm still a mage noon, but how effective is Counterspell?
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3-07-2008 @ 7:26AM
Havitech said...
You answered your own question. Counterspell is very effective when used correctly; CS warlock's fear, healer's heals, etc.
3-07-2008 @ 7:59AM
Zarzuur said...
Mage CC is very good, you can use counterspell to nullify virtually all casters in PvE. Also polymorph keeps enemies more in place, unlike Warlocks' fear, which is chaotic and can bring adds. (But as a Warlock you can use your pet demon instead to stop the mobs.)
3-07-2008 @ 8:07AM
Loudfiero said...
Perhaps then Blizzard should add an Improved Polymorph talent that can change demons into angels or something...
Demomorph...Jesumorph...Angymorph...