Itemization

[Lissa]

The real killer in the formula is ^1.5 on every ItemValue.  What was Blizzard *thinking*?  The explanation for crappy caster itemization is completely there in that one little number.  If Blizz can't keep raising the +damage numbers on items, all we get is more useless int and spirit and slightly less useless stamina.  How doesn't Blizzard understand that once you're at 3k/6k, +damage is everything?
[right][snapback]88789[/snapback][/right]

Hit the nail on the head.

I don't know how many of you out there have really looked at the Tier 1 sets vs. the Tier 2 sets, but the difference between Felheart and Nemesis is fairly small. Nemesis has about +20 more damage total than Felheart and has only slightly more +Int, +Sta, +Spirit, and various resists. The fact that the difference between the tier 1 set and the tier 2 set of about 6 DPS for long cast spells is horrible.

To further show how bad itemization is for casters, consider this. The typical Blue dagger is around 40 to 41 DPS with a near 60 level requirement. The typical Purple dagger from MC is around 48 - 50, sometimes higher. Now, for a caster, Int improves crit rate at a factor of 1% per 100 Int. For a Warrior, every 2 Str is 1 MAP (Melee Attack Power) and for a Rogue every 1 Agi and 1 Str is 1 MAP. The facts that MAP increases very easily and very quickly for the Melee classes means that that jump of about 8 to 10 DPS on a weapon is closer to a 20 to 30 DPS improvement due to stats.

As such, while non-Caster DPS increases dramtically as they go up each tier, Caster DPS languishes on improvement. Blizzard has to sit down and do something to make it better for Casters. While Casters making up the vast majority of damage in the pre-40 man raid instances, they are dwindling quickly in the the 40 man raid instances (last few MC runs with Avarice has had a Rogue at #1 each time and has had atleast 2 to 3 Rogues in the top 5) due to horrible itemization concerning +damage/+crit.