Official Season 4 Gear Requirements

[Kevin]

Well, okay, but you can still buy free awesome epics with the points. All the S3 gear is still out there, now with lower needed ratings, and that's still BT quality gear. S4 gear is also obtainable. Anyone can still do 3-4 weeks and get some killer gloves, and with a little luck and skill, start moving up to the next couple of pieces.

Is that not enough of a carrot? It's still free gear for 10 games a week. Why would you stop just because a larger share of the rewards are getting out of reach? Are people *that* sensitive to the change in potential rewards, that they'll completely abandon a whole mode of play just on the basis that it's slightly harder to get S4 weapons and some armours?

-Jester

I think I'm with you on this.

Assuming that getting a rating in the new system is no more difficult than it is now (which I'm not sure will be a safe assumption). I figure anything that takes 1600 rating or less to get will be in reach of anyone that is doing PvP for PvP and not just doing it for points and items. But folks who actually are playing for the fun that you can have in arenas and trying to win. This group would include you and myself. Neither of us is a super PvP player and neither of us is really heavily into it but since we do try I figure we can get to at least 1600. So that means

Chest: 1600
Legs: 1550
Gloves: none
Off-hand: none

and the honor point stuff of

Bracers: 1575
Belt: none
Necklace: none
Trinket: none

Should all be available. That actually seems reasonable to me.


You lose out on the Boots, ring, helm, weaon and shoulders, though the ring is probably doable if you get a lucky streak one day but if you play PvP for PvP 1550-1650 isn't that horrible to hold. Probably still lose out on the S3 weapon as well, can't remember what those drop to.

When I consider that I have S3 PvP gear on an alt who doesn't actually wear that S3 gear in PvE because Kara and badge gear is better for PvE I'm not worried about it. Of course I do still wear an S1 piece on a toon in PvE but that will get destroyed by badge gear if I do one more Kara.

Dumping so much itemization into resilience, extra armor and stamina actually looks to keep most of the PvP gear a full tier behind for PvE purposes. Though since the PvE gear is guaranteed and PvE gear is not the PvP stuff is still used by PvE folks as stopgap gear. My shaman wears the S3 helm but not the S3 gloves in healing gear and I wouldn't wear the S3 helm if I got the T4 helm. Of course some of this is because my PvP gear is gemmed for PvP not for PvE. The value does change the equation.

And you'll add all the S2 gear as honor purchase without arena ratings on it. Since most of MH seems to be easier than SSC (not sure how nerfed Hyjal is now) that door should still be very open.

The folks who lost 10 games a week would take a long time to get the gear anyway. So now you have to be 4-6 to 6-4 (yes you can go 4-6 in the 1500-1600 range and gain rating) and by the time you have the points stored up you should have the rating. Oh noes. You can't lose all the time to get gear. Just like you can't go and wipe to the bosses in MH and get gear. All this means is that you generally have to win more than you lose to get gear.

And again since all the S2 gear will be out there for honor and you have blue rep stuff you can buy to help you in BG's the barriers to entry aren't as big as they used to be.


This will drive people out of arenas and PvP. As a casual PvP player that actually plays for the PvP I don't care. I don't like to lose in arena, and I grumble but I still have fun as long as I know that I played as well as I could. If I lost to someone better oh well. If I lost because I made a stupid mistake I get grumbly for a minute or two then it's done. I try to learn and move on.