Thoughts on 2.4

2.4 brings many changes, some good some bad, others the topic of heated debate.


Spell haste now effects the GCD. This is good news for warlocks, resto druids, and shamens to an extent. Reducing the GCD allows warlocks to cast/recast dots faster, resto druids to cast more hots, and shamens reducing the downtime to recast totems. However no resto druid is going to stack spell haste, as it will have a very, very minimal impact on healing, and if they do take it, their healing will go down due to spell haste sucking up stat distribution.

Regen Changes
HealerLFG has done the math, and computed what the changes will do to you, complete with a table.
http://www.healerlfg.com/index.php/2008/02/12/news-from-the-ptr-intellect-spirit-regen/

Hunters:
Hunters got shafted, no changes that will make a serious impact, the only change worth mentioning is that NE hunters cant cast invisible flares in arenas.

Druids:
Rest4Life has an excellent post on the changes for druids, and I'm just going to link that.
http://www.resto4life.com/2008/02/09/patch-24-official-class-changes/


Warriors:
"Endless Rage will now give the correct amount of rage as intended from damage dealt by a Warrior. "

Does this mean that it was giving to little rage? To much? I'd need to see some ptr results to say if this makes one of the worst 41 talent points, mabey useful.


PVP

The honor system is getting a small revamp with the removal of diminishing returns, and instant honor gratification. This is going to increase the amount of honor players can get, or at least make grinds more exact, as you know what you are getting. Not only that, say you are 4k away, you can get that 4k and buy that item now, rather than wait a day after you have the 4k.

After 50 deaths players will no longer be worth honor. Will they still be worth reinforcements?

This will only properly reduce the honor attacking sides get from defenders, though not by much as turtles cant usually last terribly long post av revamp.


Raids
The big contriversial change.

Attunment from all 25 man raids is now gone, cash drops from all 25 man raid bosses are increased, as are token drops by one. Players may elect to skip all bosses to fight Kael'thals, or Vashj. Magtheridon's Lair Encounter nerfed.

The removal of attunments is the big topic on everyones blogs, forums, and minds. Doing this breaks the philosophy of reward vrs challenge. Everyone can agree that the first bosses of Hyjal, and some Black Temple bosses are on a level that an SSC guild could clear them, and would not have paid the challenge to get there, killing Vashj, and Kael'thalas.
http://blessingofkings.blogspot.com/2008/02/attunements-and-reward-bosses.html
Sums up this idea very well.

Removing attunments allows "casuals" the change to say, I've seen Black Temple before the Expansion comes out. I know how good that will feel, because I never saw AQ40, or Naxx pre-BC, and always regretted it. It is fair for everyone to experience the game, but making it to easy reduces the challenge, and makes the gear much better than effort needed to get said gear.


I have mixed feelings about this, allowing others into what was only "hardcore" territory is a nice idea, but it alienates those hardcores who see that it takes hard work to get to Illidan, and it always should, and a hand up is saying to them, you took the hard way and succeeded, we are now giving others an easy way to get to the same place. Its a big fuck you.


If it were just attunments I could live with the changes, but Blizz is adding new crafted gear to help those that cant kill the harder bosses, as well as adding more tokens, and nerfing the Magthereridon fight as some people have trouble clicking boxes. Adding more tokens is a great idea, and should have been implemented earlier. Doing so allows guilds to gear faster at their own pace, though many guilds will abuse it to farm LOLReaver for 3 t5 shoulders each week. More tokens helps everyone, it helps the hardcores finish off T6, gear up alts faster, and possibly sell raid spots for T6 tokens, everyone is happy, well mostly.

The major changes in 2.4 will need a few weeks, mabey more to become evident as to the extent things will change.