Now you see me... |
When I first rolled
Locomomo, going rogue was an easy choice. I thought the idea of having
stealth right from level 1 was absolutely brilliant. I loved it, and reveled in it. From the start, I embraced the cunning practice of disappearing into the shadows and
pick pocketing my enemies before
ambushing them with
poisons. By the time I was seen, my dagger already was bloody with my opponent's innards. Just like most other elusive rogues, I didn't mind using crafty, violent and yes, even straight up vile methods to down those who would stand against me. The power consumed me, and I grew stronger.
Now you don't! |
My
deception also was my
entertainment: I took comfort in harassing those who couldn't see me. I would stealth, and choose a friendly, lower-level target to
distract while they puzzled at a puff of smoke exploding, and then laughter echoing in the seemingly empty street in front of them.
But slowly, the novelty wore off.
Sap and
Cheap Shot became routine, and my daggers rusty. I was eager to level, and I traded in the backstabbers for two shiny new swords. A quick respec for dual-wielding swords, and I was ready to go. No more
backstab or ambush, my two key skills requiring daggers. No hopes for
mutilate, either. And not as much need for stealth, since I didn't have to get
behind my enemy. But level, I did.
Soon, I reached Outland, and then Northrend. It was the Borean Tundra that brought me back to my stealthy roots. First, a
series of quests led me to the
Fang of the Desolate Soul. Then, east to Dragonblight where I was asked to
kill Magister Keldonus and in exchange, take possession of the
Backtwister. A free respec for
patch 3.1.1 solidified my conviction - it was time to regain my
close quarters combat specialization and rediscover my love for stealthier gameplay. So far, I'm having a bloody good time.
Now I wouldn't say that rogues are the best class for everyone. And I can't leave out the fact that we've gotten nerfed from time to time. But I'm in it for the fun. And, damn. Stealth is fun. I think iTZKooPA knows what I'm talking about, and also has some
good tips for the muti spec.
So now you all know one of my favorite aspects of being a rogue. Based on a
thread in
our forums, I know I'm not the only one. So, what is it that drives you to play your class?
Click to read more ...
pixiestixy on 
It's Nerf & Then Lots Of QQ
Blizzard Poster Bornakk announced a new nerf to the engineering profession, although it is not the main focus of the nerf. According to Bornakk, items with Stealth Detection were being used in unintended ways - way past their ilvl in many cases - in an effort to get an advantage, or equal footing, inside the Arenas. Rather than try and rebalance the offending items, Blizzard has nerfed any and all items with a hint of stealth detection on them.
If you have been participating in the Arenas while sporting anything but Ultra-Spectropic Detection Goggles or an engineering helm, then you will still posses some stealth detection. The catch is that it isn't enough stealth detection to justify what you lose for equipping the item anymore. The former item is no longer usable in Arenas, while the latter group has had their detection removed entirely, a choice that has engineers up in arms. One passionate tinkerer exclaimed, "would you PLEASE just remove the profession." And if you didn't hit the link up top, the changes have already been implemented. A tooltip update is incoming as part of the next minor patch.
My main is a rogue engineer so I am actually on both sides of the camp. From a rogue standpoint, we are almost ecstatic because we can now sneak in for our openers with a lower chance of being seen. Of course, rogue battles versus humans and their pesky passive stealth detection racial ability will still annoy us, especially rogue versus human rogue. As an engineer, the nerf lowers the profession's utility further. The helm that was crafted specifically for the Arena (or early raiding) is now useless with no inkling of an incoming buff to make up for its loss.
I'm not going to go on a QQ rant over a single item though, especially since I don't Arena enough on Solidsamm to care. Instead, I will QQ over the professions in general. Let's not try to make professions all homogeneous like we did with raid buffing, as some players in the thread are suggesting. In my opinion, each profession should offer their own special utility. Blacksmiths can make their own gem slots, jewelcrafters have their rings, leatherworkers had their drums, etc.
To me, engineering has always been about fun items, the Battle Chicken, the Harvest Reaper, the ROFLCopters. We still have some of that but it's much less prevalent. Wrath removed our collection of amusing gizmos and replaced them with recipes that are a requirement for all Arena engineers. Essentially changing the role for an engineer from 'humorous accessory user' to that of a 'stealth detector.' Now that role-changing item has been removed, and you wonder why we freak out? You can't give someone candy and then take it away, not even if they get in your van.
Which side are you on, or do you not PvP enough to care about the discussion one way or another?