New details on cataclysm stat changes

[Frag]

....

The things you're not excited about are the things I'm excited about. Defense has been a red herring for a long time now and part of the overall 'anti-upgrade' situation that has existed. Oh, that would be an upgrade but there's less defense on it! more hit on it! not enough expertise on it! I'll take it for when I can make it work... It's not really 'fun' per se, and makes for some very counterintuitive gear selections. Parry is now useful for mitigation purposes and not just another avoidance stat that's the crappy step-son of Dodge. Block is being moved to something that's viable to search out and use instead of a waste of itemization (even 102.5% shield tanks don't use block exactly, they use Defense). Your complaints about Block % being only on tier gear is a little flat given how few off-set pieces have it at the moment, and I doubt you'll see that trend change. I'll take the charge of being overly optimistic about this, but perhaps.. perhaps we'll be able to build a tank they way we want now and all be reasonably effective. That's a big hope, and if any other MMO I've played is an indication, it won't work. Just saying it would be nice if a Parry Tank, a Block Tank and a Dodge Tank could all be viable and better at certain encounter styles.

On the armor issue, you're again looking at the worst possible outcome and not what was said. They said they'd narrow the gap, not that everyone would be at the same amount, or even close amounts. Currently the amount of armor difference between even Mail and Plate is nothing short of gigantic, while cloth might as well not have armor on it. Flattening the bell curve will mostly benefit PvP, but also should help out Klaus when he pulls aggro too.;)

Yes, I have been irritated by many of the changes that they have made to paladins, and they have turned out 'ok'

Which is why I find your reactions when we don't have all the info so crocodiley.

Cheers,
~Frag B)