Hey everyone,
I was pretty into sub rogue back in WotLK thru MoP (though I changed mains to Survival Hunter at Cata). I really felt like it was the closest rogue to the ‘blade in the shadows’ ninja. The big initial burst and later bleeds really made the attack and escape feel … Right! Plus, I’m a big sucker for stealth and steal games…
I came back to the class for a short span in Legion after maining Monk, to try leveling with the new pirate spec. After capping, I tested some of the other specs, had a giggle, and came back to my main. I noticed sub had changed DRAMATICALLY, but didn’t think much of it.
I pushed my rogue back up about halfway thru BFA as sub and didn’t bother to look too deeply into it. But I quickly realized how Shadow Dance was kind of a “1-button” gimmick for the spec… Like I said, I didn’t think too much about it and finished leveling and getting some basic unlocks before swapping back to my monk.
Shadowlands coming out and trying to take another go at the class, so I made a fresh rogue. This time, I’d level as assassination to see what’s changed. Holy crap.
Everything that I enjoyed about sub had been handed to assassination instead, and now it was clear that sub had become a messy confounded spec of just trying to push big finishers… The obvious cannibalism dumbfounded me when I saw the mastery for assassination now increased poison AND bleed damage. Everything that was sub was now effectively assassination. And sub was left with one button - Shadow Dance.
I’m glad that assassination is not 100% poisons anymore (a little too poor in taste to be so reliant on poison before), and I think I’m really going to love the new assassination because it goes back to that ninja theme. But damn, I feel really bad about sub identity being so poorly imagined and then executed.
Then I thought about Demon Hunter… When Blizzard said there were some cases where they wished they had done less with a class. On that thought, I instantly felt a stab in my chest and knew that was Subtlety. It was a spec that was non-combat focused and now, with every specialization centered around combat (as the game increasingly started being less MMORPG and more “online ACTION adventure” over the years, as the game’s focus almost solely on combat intensified), anything interesting and unique about it was hollowed out by someone trying to fulfill the “assassin” fantasy under the correct headline.
I know some folks like new sub and I don’t want you to lose your big finish enjoyment (how the heck is that subtle?), but… Jeez. What happened to the subtlety I once had? Is there any vision left for this spec? Does anyone else feel this way, or do you like new sub? If so, is there anything you do find unsettling about it, thinking in in the “Blade in the Shadows”? I’d really like to know…
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Also, as a side note, Shadow Dance allowing you to use stealth moves outright seems awkward to me, along with Subterfuge. I understand Subtlety needs some way to “emulate” sneak attacks, but this really seems to miss the mark. As you stab someone in the face/chest, they’re going to have an inclination that you’re there… The positional benefits of abilities seems to be more appropriate to match thematically instead of the stealth kit, with the stealth-like bonuses providing access to those positional effects…
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