MongoJerry,Aug 10 2004, 12:31 AM Wrote:The only reason mages are great in PvP is invisibility.Mages are still among the two best PvPer classes even without the invisibility. While invisibility is a great asset to mages, it's not their only tool. Both sheep and pyroblast add to the issue. Often a mage, even if they don't get the first shot, can simply sheep the person, drink/eat to restore manafe, then calmly pyroblast/fireblast you for about 2k damage. It's so powerful, that a lot people I've seen who duel avoid it, unless absolutely necessary. Frost nova, blink, all these skills makes them hard to catch, and mana shield makes them hard to kill as well.
Consider a rogue. While they do sort of get the invisibility (current issues with stealth aside), even if they get the jump it's not an automatic win. You might see it differently being a priest, which just happens to be the other top PvP class. I won't include here warriors who use the Charge-MS-MS-MS cheese, considering that Mortal Strike will have cooldown next patch.
As for the original discussion, while the changes might make the priests/mages a bit less powerful in groups without drinking, it will hurt other mana dependent classes even more (warlock is more of a "life-depending" class considering Life Tap =). If we look at a druid - while their heals are comparable to that of a priest, their mana pool is smaller, and they also get .25 mana regen per tick per point of spirit as opposed to priests .33 mana per tick per point of spirit. With smaller mana pool and slower mana regeneration, no one will ever want one in their group as a primary healer. While the change is indeed necessary to prevent various abuses, certain encounters need to be changed somewhat to account for the new system.
I don't see the mages changing much though, or getting less desired in groups. It just makes evocation a must-have - essentially a talent that refills your mana ball in 5 secs with 15 min cooldown. And certain mage playstyles (mainly Ice) can provide much higher damage output then a rogue or said warlock could, while still lasting a long time.