I wouldn’t agree with this I’m afraid.
Fair enough. You liked the Vanilla/TBC approach more. WotLK still partially catered towards it, though you could clearly see at the time that we were moving away from the old concepts.
Personally, I very much liked what Cata brought to the table. It was by no means perfect.
But to start with, we got a resource that actually fit the class.
Cata also gave those of us who wanted, the feel of actually specializing in a particular fantasy that in itself, catered towards the general class fantasy.
The big downside with the new talent/spec design?
Less freedom to choose whatever you want from wherever you want.
The big upside?
A higher chance to find a style which you actually liked. Simply because there were now more of them.
Technically yes, prior to Cata, there were more choices you could make in terms of raw talent picks. But in all honesty, no matter what talents you did pick, your core playstyle did not change a whole lot.
Part from the very few ability-choices that we had, your core was still the same.
Which also meant that if you did not like that core, you were out of luck.
Cata, brought in 3 core specs. Sure, they weren’t exactly mind-blowing in terms of uniqueness. But they were enough to make it feel like you were focusing on something more…specific, within the class.
I’m fairly invested in one of the…hotter…topics on the forums, that can be seen and have been for several expansions now.
That topic, is the return of the old ranged Survival spec that included for example Explosive Shot and Black Arrow.
Now, I’m not for the removal of melee Survival(the one that exists in the game today). I might not like melee-combat, but I understand that there are others who prefer that playstyle along with the other things that the spec now provides.
So, what is my suggestion/hope for how more players could get what they want without it hurting others?
A 4th spec option.
Usually, this is where many stops reading.
I believe that a 4th spec option, is the only way to get a proper version of that spec back without having to vastly change any existing specializations, which would most likely upset many players in itself, if it was to be done.
If there was one thing that I would want back the most, it would be the option to once again opt into the fighting style of the old ranged SV.
I’ve posted suggestions of my own towards what it could be designed like in order to fit the modern game.
Both on the EU forums:
As well as on this forum(US):
#[Suggestions updated] Pre-Legion/Ranged Survival
Also have a post on MMOC.
Over time, these have generated some great feedback. And I’ve always love to see what others who liked that spec, want back the most.
Sure, that spec wasn’t for everybody. But that’s also the beauty of focused specializations. If we have several of them that does have unique identities, the chance that you will find something you like, will increase.