New Tank Hotfixes

August 17th, 2011 by Setta

So it’s been a while since I’ve said anything here but the newest hotfix is worth mentioning.

As far as our progression is going, we’re still doing well and will have Lord Rhyolith in the next week.  Great job team!

On to the hotfixes:

  • Threat
    • Threat generation for all tanks has been increased to 500%, up from 300%. This applies to warriors in Defensive Stance, death knights in Blood Presence, druids in Bear Form, and paladins with Righteous Fury.
    • Vengeance should no longer be generated when damage is fully absorbed by damage shields. When the shield breaks from damage or damage is partially absorbed, the amount of Vengeance generated is equal to the full amount of damage taken (including the damage absorbed.)
    • More information can be found in our latest Dev Watercooler.

These changes while simple are amazing in my mind.  Some folks really like threat as a mechanic, but as a five year tank veteran, I hate it.  To be honest, threat is either there or not.  It’s not a terribly exciting mechanic:  If you pull threat, you’re dead.  If not, you live.  Tanks, after the initial 30 seconds, have almost no chance of actually losing threat anyway so it’s just that first 30 seconds that ever matter.

As said in the Watercooler discussion, threat has quickly become a stat that most folks don’t pay attention to and really is an outdated concept.  Overall I’m looking forward to the change that will make tanking more focused on what we do: absorbing hits from the boss and mitigating damage.

Also, some interesting patch notes for a hotfix – Rhyolith was nerfed bigtime.

Lord Rhyolith

  • The explosion damage radius of each Magma Meteor just before Lord Rhyolith should now more closely match their spell effect visuals.
  • Volcanoes should no longer emit plumes of smoke while they are dormant.
  • Concussive Stomp should no longer knock nearby players back.
  • Magma Flow lines are now 30 yards long, down from 40 yards.
  • Rhyolith now activates volcanoes less often on normal difficulty.
  • Stepping on an active volcano now removes 16 stacks of armor, up from 10.

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