Quote Originally Posted by dezzmont View Post
Because that isn't how game design works like at all. You can't just buff things, nerfs are important too in order to keep things working in a sane manner.
This is not accurate without amending. Nerfs are only necessary if they improve gameplay. For instance if current 5.0 broil gets nerfed it improves use of ruin II for single weaving and give sch more gameplay options.
Nerfs that do not directly improve gameplay are almost never good. Especially when 5.0 specifically nerfs the gameplay.

The main reason here being loss aversion. It’s almost always better to buff everyone and readjust content than it is to nerf a select few. Game design 101 (subject to financial limitations that don’t apply to the context of 5.0 nerfs since they don't actually nerf/buff the numbers and content had to be created anyways).
There are many real world examples from the rested xp bar (instead of an xp penalty) to things like street fighter rainbow edition.
A good game design has options. Options that the laymen can ignore but the good players can fully utilise to optimize or save an otherwise desperate situation.
If we’ve learned anything about game design over the past 40 years it’s that balancing through homogenization is bad. A lot of people in the forum are aware of this and have been rooting for the alternative of having some healer pairs stronger in some content and other pairs in other content. You keep individuality and don’t make anyone meta in the process.

Dumbing down cards, not giving whm weaving tools, removing sch weaving tools and making their gameplay clunky flies in the face of game design basics.
I understand that skill bloat needs to be kept in check and balance has been a real issue but they pulled way to hard in the wrong direction.
As a reminder wow’s decline in active users started when they dumbed things down. In games like mmos where you have client stickiness you should be giving players more options as they get better. Not fewer.