"World of Warcraft will definitely undergo a cataclysmic change." ~ Avernus
Yes, you've read about it, the next WoW expansion is almost upon us. In fact I bet it will be on the shelves this Christmas or early 2011. There are 2 new races who have long been begged for by fans. There is an overflowing amount of end-game content being released that will tie the knots between the previous expansions. The entire original game is being re-made!
But there are also some major stat changes that will affect the way you play the game. Thus, I am writing this survival guide. Keep in mind, this will change as more info is released.
Stats:
~ Spellpower - will no longer be present an the majority of items in the game, save for a few "situational" pieces of gear here and there. Intellect will become the new bad-boy. This is going to generalize caster gear and open up a lot more customization between classes. I personally love this because no one likes to be a clone.
~ Spirit - this will most likely be unusable to Warlocks anymore. Our only use for this now is a small percentage of Spellpower from Fel Armor. Spirit is being reformatted for healers only, thus I highly doubt they will keep it usable for Warlocks.
~ Hit,Haste,Crit - All staying the same. Perhaps less, perhaps more than usual, but the mechanic will more than likely stay as they are now.
Mastery:
~ 04/07/2010 - From
WoW Forums
Affliction
Spell Damage
Spell Crit
Shadow DoTs
Demonology
Spell Damage
Spell Haste
Demon Damage
Destruction
Spell Damage
Spell Critical Damage
Fire Direct Damage
- Shadow DoTs: The damage caused by Shadow damage-over-time spells is increased.
- Demon Damage: The damage caused by pets and Metamorphosis is increased.
- Fire Direct Damage: The damage caused by Fire direct damage spells is increased.
~ Each talent tree will grant
1 unique effect and
2 stat bonuses. Obviously a damage bonus and perhaps a Haste/Crit bonus based on how many points spent in a particular tree.
Mastery info is still not 100% accurate yet so don't take this to the bank.
Soul Shards:
~ Goodbye!
Yup, no more Soul Shards. Well, not exactly. Your Shard system is being re-worked to play much like a Death Knight's Rune system. Apparently, we get 3 Shards to work with that will supply us with special abilities but will
NOT regenerate in combat. (I personally think this is misinformation because this would remove a need for
[Drain Soul]). Don't worry about it, this is for the best and you even get one of your bag spaces back!
Should you Prepare?
~ I wouldn't worry about it. First of all, come Cataclysm you will be leveling again and green items will replace your ICC Tier10 gear about the time you hit level 82. Secondly, the only thing you need to worry about is NOT collecting mp5 gear. Incidentally, if you are indeed collecting mp5 gear as a Warlock, I would strongly encourage you to re-roll and name your character Fail or Facepalm.
What I hope to see:
~ A new Demon pet or the ability to permanently Enslave 1 Demon like a Hunter.
~ A new Warlock only Flying Mount!
~ Flying with Metamorphosis.
