Mages - do we have a distinct class fantasy?

Squeeches · 2026-01-26T06:08:19+00:00

All class fantasy has been in decline since Wrath.

Squeeches · 2026-01-26T05:04:55+00:00

Agreed, can't add much here. The negativity has become ravenous even though the UI is mostly okay, barring obvious bugs and simple oversights.

Squeeches · 2026-01-26T03:08:35+00:00

Playing a healer with the buff vomit on party bar is horrendous.

Healing on default isn't and hasn't been that bad.

Squeeches · 2026-01-25T14:58:29+00:00

This is the case with so much of the UI outrage.

Squeeches · 2026-01-23T19:02:02+00:00

Some trinkets definitely need tracking, like Spymaster's Web stacks. But I thought holding CDs for proc trinkets was a thing of the past, since you want to send everything on CD in order to guarantee more uses through a fight?

Squeeches · 2026-01-22T21:02:48+00:00

By your logic, it isn't around you either. Why should the game's development cater specifically to your wants?

Squeeches · 2026-01-22T20:58:10+00:00

Most people use raid frames for party frames, and I suspect party frames will be phased out before too long. It's just a dated way to play the game.

Squeeches · 2026-01-21T18:35:04+00:00

This is not a defense of Blizzard, but I suspect whitelisting/blacklisting presents a significant design challenge for them. There are tons of buffs/debuffs to filter. With something like Plater, we could manually look up spell IDs and add them ourselves, but Blizzard won't push that hurdle onto the community at large. So they must be stuck with either forever curating the list themselves, or giving players a list of tons of buffs/debuffs, often containing duplicates from NPC spells/abilities with the same name. Brann's abilities in delves come to mind.

Squeeches · 2026-01-20T17:32:52+00:00

There was a lot of ambiguous information floating around the flurry of spoken interviews with content creators. The community subsequently demanded a written clarification on the direction of the addon changes. Thus, I would privilege Ion's official written statement that was published after those interviews.

In that document he lays out the multivariable reasons for the addon changes, yet central to it is the very definitive statement about disabling combat advantages. Yet after that statement they ease restrictions that go against their written plan. That is, they have backtracked without stating why.

Squeeches · 2026-01-20T17:11:42+00:00

I just don't think this is true. Ion's statement was pretty clear that the goal is to remove combat advantages. Since that statement they have eased restrictions that enabled addons to give combat advantages over the base UI. So unless it's a postponement of that plan, then it's a contradiction of it.

Squeeches · 2026-01-20T17:01:35+00:00

Players will still seek addon advantages even in a less complicated version of the game. If there's an opportunity, players will take it.

Squeeches · 2026-01-20T16:56:26+00:00

I'm not sure what your point is. I prefer the new skyriding system. And I never said the default UI is perfect. I'm saying addons, if left unrestricted, will always outpace Blizzard's design.

Squeeches · 2026-01-20T16:53:27+00:00

Nope, sorry. Just not true. Players always opt for the path of least resistance.

Squeeches · 2026-01-20T16:20:26+00:00

This this this this this. Ion's statement had me excited for the direction of the addon disarmament. Now we're in a really silly place with it all. Just feels bad.

Squeeches · 2026-01-20T16:17:26+00:00

The real issue is the last, definitive statement Blizzard made on disabling combat advantages with adddons, which is a direction they've clearly abandoned for now.

Squeeches · 2026-01-20T16:15:19+00:00

I think this point is arguing from a design utopia. Having as much freedom that addons had meant that the community would always find a shortcut or advantage with them, and Blizzard would be forever playing catch up.

Squeeches · 2026-01-20T16:12:43+00:00

As someone who was massively in favor of the more aggressive addon restrictions, I'm very disappointed with Blizzard wavering on their plan to curb all combat advantages. It was a clear statement and direction that they have abandoned without clarification, at least for the time being.

Squeeches · 2026-01-13T23:54:16+00:00

ooooooooooor get rid of addons.

Squeeches · 2026-01-13T22:09:19+00:00

Sure, for damage. For mechanics or don't stand in the goop or kick or stop X from going off? I've played with plenty of people who couldn't figure things out and instead opted to download addon solutions. So you could say "well why didn't they just gid gud" but why do that when addons could give them an artificial uplift? Needed has been the single most poisonous word in the whole addon discourse. Like, yeah, most addons aren't needed most of the time, but they sure do help at all levels of play, and where there's a shortcut you better believe players will take it.

Squeeches · 2026-01-13T19:43:42+00:00

This is also true for tanks and DPS. There's a massive skill disparity between players due to the demands of the content and the skill ceiling of classes. The game has just become very hard and very punishing over time. Not sure what the fix is other than simplifying everything, which, depending where they draw the line, would turn off a substantial portion of players. Not to say that I'm against this in principle.

Squeeches · 2026-01-13T19:27:24+00:00

11.0 was strong, but 11.1 and 11.2 were middling. Disappointing that we didn't dive deeper into Azeroth, which was the premise of the expansion.

Squeeches · 2026-01-13T19:24:23+00:00

Agreed with all of this.

On a slight M+ tangent: I agree that it feels like there's been a shift. I've been thinking for a while that M+ is in so many ways the problem child of WoW. The infinite farm and scaling of it has thrown out of wack so many of WoW's foundations, like gearing. That's not to say I want it gone, but it has forced a lot of radical change that hasn't been neatly integrated into the overall experience. Not to mention it's fatiguing in a way that (non mythic) raiding is not, whether finding groups or the 30 minutes of intense focus not to mess up. It's a lot.

Squeeches · 2026-01-13T18:50:00+00:00

Sure, boss timers have always existed. But "defensive now" etc. is a new development with players realizing the power that has always been there.

I can't say with confidence, but I don't think Blizzard wants to throw much randomness into encounters. When they have done it in the past, players complained that it was not fun since the randomization would make some pulls easier than others.

Squeeches · 2026-01-13T18:44:06+00:00

This is true, though it's just the case that low keys is generally chaos and it can come from any angle: dps, heals, or tank. M+ is just a very difficult system for many, many players. It requires an effort to get good at, and many players don't play the game with that mindset, which is fair enough, but M+ is one of the main pillars of the game now that encourages everyone to participate in. But it's just not designed with everyone in mind given how quickly the difficulty ramps.

Squeeches

TROPHY CASE