10-04-2005, 08:55 PM
I have entirely too many alts, though not nearly as many as some of the Lurkers. At or near level 60 I've got a Druid, Rogue, Warrior, and Warlock. In the wings I've got a mage, hunter, and priest to whom I've not yet devoted enough time to pass the 20s.
Now, with my Druid as my main, I haven't done a lot of hardcore instance running with my alts. I've ended up trying out some uncommon builds, and have had a good time. My warrior brought a few things to light regarding itemization and talents.
The concept with my Warrior was built around Mace Specialization. "Hey," I thought, "free stuns 6% of the time, with no ppm limit? Sign me up!" Without listing the entire talent distribution, the build is working straight down to Mace Specialization through Impale, grabbing useful skill talents on the way. The rest was put into Fury for rage generation and dual-wield bonuses.
As I said, I haven't done a lot of instance running with him. I've run the Baron a few times in order to tank for friends who needed one (which nowadays can be covered by feral gear on my Druid), Scarlet Strat for the 5-man quests, and have done Tribute runs with him a few times. The result is that he's yet to find a good set of maces. I made him a hammersmith and crafted a Masterwork Stormhammer, and his offhand is a Blesswind Hammer of Power.
This brings me to the issue of itemization. With my rogue, I've seen green daggers with required levels all the way to 59 (have one "of the Tiger" right now). While I was levelling my Druid, I went through a few 2H maces "of the Eagle" at the high end of the spectrum, and a couple staves as well. I've found green swords and axes in the upper 50s for friends' characters.
1H Maces end at Blesswind Hammers. Level 50 required. If I'm wrong here, please enlighten me, but I've yet to see a single green hammer over level 50. This includes drops I've seen personally and AH browsing. It just doesn't happen. Blizzard is making efforts to enhance the game for the "casual" gamer, yet anyone that specs their rogue or warrior for 1H maces and doesn't hit the instances is going to be hard-pressed to find one. It just seems odd that all the other weapon types seem to drop at higher item levels (with exceptions such as polearms and fist weapons), yet 1H maces do not. Perhaps this is a bug that has simply never been addressed?
The second is Mace Specialization. Axe and dagger (for rogues) specializations always add a critical hit chance. Sword specialization always adds an extra attack chance. Mace specialization sometimes adds a chance to stun, but at higher levels there seem to be more and more enemies (especially quest enemies) that are immune.
The only two remedies for Mace Specialization are to either completely rethink its implementation, or make it a special stun that lies outside the realm of normal stun immunities. The latter of the two would definitely push maces ahead of the other weapons, so I doubt that'd happen anytime soon (thankfully). Perhaps a chance to land a crushing blow of some sort?
Two items for discussion, then:
1. Are Blesswind Hammers as good as it gets in the realm of greens? Is this a bug or feature?
2. What can be done to Mace Specialization to make it more viable?
Now, with my Druid as my main, I haven't done a lot of hardcore instance running with my alts. I've ended up trying out some uncommon builds, and have had a good time. My warrior brought a few things to light regarding itemization and talents.
The concept with my Warrior was built around Mace Specialization. "Hey," I thought, "free stuns 6% of the time, with no ppm limit? Sign me up!" Without listing the entire talent distribution, the build is working straight down to Mace Specialization through Impale, grabbing useful skill talents on the way. The rest was put into Fury for rage generation and dual-wield bonuses.
As I said, I haven't done a lot of instance running with him. I've run the Baron a few times in order to tank for friends who needed one (which nowadays can be covered by feral gear on my Druid), Scarlet Strat for the 5-man quests, and have done Tribute runs with him a few times. The result is that he's yet to find a good set of maces. I made him a hammersmith and crafted a Masterwork Stormhammer, and his offhand is a Blesswind Hammer of Power.
This brings me to the issue of itemization. With my rogue, I've seen green daggers with required levels all the way to 59 (have one "of the Tiger" right now). While I was levelling my Druid, I went through a few 2H maces "of the Eagle" at the high end of the spectrum, and a couple staves as well. I've found green swords and axes in the upper 50s for friends' characters.
1H Maces end at Blesswind Hammers. Level 50 required. If I'm wrong here, please enlighten me, but I've yet to see a single green hammer over level 50. This includes drops I've seen personally and AH browsing. It just doesn't happen. Blizzard is making efforts to enhance the game for the "casual" gamer, yet anyone that specs their rogue or warrior for 1H maces and doesn't hit the instances is going to be hard-pressed to find one. It just seems odd that all the other weapon types seem to drop at higher item levels (with exceptions such as polearms and fist weapons), yet 1H maces do not. Perhaps this is a bug that has simply never been addressed?
The second is Mace Specialization. Axe and dagger (for rogues) specializations always add a critical hit chance. Sword specialization always adds an extra attack chance. Mace specialization sometimes adds a chance to stun, but at higher levels there seem to be more and more enemies (especially quest enemies) that are immune.
The only two remedies for Mace Specialization are to either completely rethink its implementation, or make it a special stun that lies outside the realm of normal stun immunities. The latter of the two would definitely push maces ahead of the other weapons, so I doubt that'd happen anytime soon (thankfully). Perhaps a chance to land a crushing blow of some sort?
Two items for discussion, then:
1. Are Blesswind Hammers as good as it gets in the realm of greens? Is this a bug or feature?
2. What can be done to Mace Specialization to make it more viable?
See you in Town,
-Z
-Z