Class Abilities: Take One

Image from Blizzard Entertainment

We finally got a look at the updated ability lists for Mists of Pandaria, hopefully this will help dispel some of the false info flying around the web right now. Of course as with anything Blizzard says its debatable whether it provided more questions or answers. However, a few things have come to light and I feel that, for the most part, they are positives.


-It should now be abundantly clear that they are not taking away your class specialization.

While this was known from the beginning lots of folks still seemed ignorant of the fact that talents were now a separate thing from spec. To anyone still confused, its ok, it really is, you can still be a Frost Mage, or Marks Hunter, or Protection Paladin. You get all the abilities you need for your chosen spec automatically as you level, and the new talent system provides additional utility on top of the basic skills you need to do your job.


-Pure DPS classes generally have very few spec specific abilities compared to others.

This is a good sign for anyone hoping to see more useful cross spec abilities. For example, a Mage’s class specific abilities are limited to the main rotational nukes, a flavored orb and the spec’s cooldown skill. There are no elemental damage boosts, which in the case of Mages and Warlocks is one of the main factors limiting the effectiveness of spells from other schools. Under the new system a Fire Mage can spread their Living Bomb to other targets using Inferno Blast (a spec specific Fire Blast upgrade), but a Frost or Arcane Mage’s version will tick for the same amount of damage. This will bring in a lot more variety and useful situational tricks for mages.


-Heal capable hybrids are losing access to a lot of their healing when not a healing spec.

Any non-healing spec of these classes is only going to be able to use a single direct heal, typically the “fast heal” of the current trinity, and a class themed specialized heal, Power Word: Shield, Word of Glory, Rejuv, and Healing Rain, along with a stray cool down here and there for some classes. Now, on the surface this seems to be a bad thing, however, in light of the previous point I feel this could turn out a plus. By limiting the number of healing spells these specs can use they can make these spells more effective, healing for amounts similar to their healer speced brethren, rather than weakened off spec heals. This fits in nicely with the idea that other casters won’t be at a disadvantage using spells from schools they aren’t speced into.


-What few new spells we are seeing are extremely interesting.

The ability lists are incomplete, but a some of the new tricks are listed and they are good. A lot of these skills are wildly different from anything currently in game and show that Blizzard isn’t shying away from some very finicky, tricky to use, sorts of skills. Alter Time for Mages is going to be immensely powerful in skills hands, but very, very hard to pull off. Druid’s Symbiosis is just way out there, the closest thing to it is Dark Simulacrum, but that’s more an offensive Spellsteal. The possibilities on this one, geez, I am already plotting how to best use my guild mates.  Demonic Portal for Warlock is fun, the description is so vague though, is this a group wide Demonic Circle, some kind of Lock answer to the Mage-Portal, who knows? Rounding out the list is Blinding Light for Pallys. This is the Plain Jane of the bunch, useful, long asked for, but at the end of the day just a Pally-themed AoE disorient. Still a nice trick though.


-This is all still a work in progress.

This talent set up is already showing differences from the original release and its all still pre-alpha. If you see an issue now, don’t panic, talk about it, calmly and rationally. Bring up your concerns, lay them out and give a solution. Blizzard does not want to kill their game, they want to make it better.


So far, so good.