Right, so you’re confirming that Barbs have had 2x as many buffs as other classes. Hmm. I wonder why that is . . . ? Couldn’t have anything to do with everything I’ve written, could it?
I con confirm that one of the dev team’s explicit goals is to back solo clears away from 150–or rather, it was when the Monk and Crusader sets dropped, but whether that’s still the case is anyone’s guess. Mostly, this is due to performance and hardware constraints. That’s all I’m able to say on the matter, but I do get my info direct from Blizzard, for what it’s worth.*
No, I don’t think you can conclude that, because you’re missing the point. It is possible that our approach fostered better community-developer interaction via the appropriate channels. Nevalistis and Cederquist acted as the liaisons, and neither are currently active; Nev has left Blizzard for a new job, and Cederquist was very sick a while back, and may not have recovered. D3 doesn’t have a CM right now, and likely won’t for some time, and even if Blizzard temporarily plugs someone into the role, it is very unlikely that person will have the same level of connection to the community, much less the same pull with the developers.
Then there’s development cycles and iterative wickets to consider. Outside of priority stuff (bug fixes, broken items, etc.), set and item development has to begin well before release. We released our proposal in late June of 2019, then revised for re-release on July 3rd. Patch 2.6.7, with all of our buffed items, was released November 12th, and 2.6.7a was released on November 20th. Though we received Mortick’s back in 2.6.6 (August 20th), I was told that development constraints would not allow a faster turn-around on new items, affixes, or overhauls, but that additional buffs were coming. It took 4 months to get the big Barb patch (2.6.7), and during that time. Even simple numbers adjustments–changing the value of an existing multiplier–requires vetting, and can be a lengthy process.
So, even if the devs have taken player feedback into account, there are many obstacles in place, and a large time sink between when feedback is noted and when (if) it is released as content.
The future “balancing patch” may no longer be on the table; I suspect it will be, but I also suspect that its size and scope will be diminished.
None of this does anything to detract from my one, consistent point: Our approach worked. It is likely to work for other communities; at the very least, it is more likely to work than any other approach, and it is certain to work better than a passive approach. Barbs haven’t won every fight on the forums, but we easily have the best track record in terms of reverting nerfs, getting buffs, and organizing community efforts. I’d also argue that outside of CMs or MVPs, we have the most direct contact with Blizzard staff of any class forum, and that relationship is based in no small part on our organization, our community representatives being vocal, present, and persistent, and the level of discourse that surrounds our various endeavors.
The current design goal–intentional or otherwise–is clearly to elevate at least 1 build per class into a cross-class competitive zone, which very much seems to be GR 140-145+. After that, it seems increasingly unlikely that intra- or inter-class balance is much of a concern, at least for the time being.
Still, there’s no denying what Barbs accomplished: 3 patches worth of items and buffs that gave us:
- 7 new/buffed supporting legendaries
- 1 overhauled previous set
- 1 new set
This is miles beyond what any other class has received. You can argue semantics all day, but the facts are plain to see.
EDIT: For what it’s worth, y’all, this Decipher individual also has a thread up on GD implicitly calling for nerfs for WDs and Saders. Much like a certain someone’s table frenzies, his post shies away from calling for explicit nerfs, opting instead to just, oh, you know, “draw attention” to really high solo clears. No underlying motive, I’m sure.
If this looks more Fun Police shenanigans, BINGO!
Dang, I feel for Iria. Fellow comes here, posts some nice stuff, asks for help. Discussion takes place. Then this Decipher kid barges in and makes a mess. I’m SMDH, but I don’t think I can get it to turn around far enough.