Clearcasting no longer tied to mana spent!

[Kerathras-dalaran (Kerathras)]

I repeat:

• Clearcasting’s chance to trigger is no longer tied to mana spent, and now has a 10% chance of triggering when casting any damaging spell.

The hugest of wins! Apparently they do listen now!

The War Within Alpha Development Notes

We have the following changes and updates in today’s new build of The War Within Alpha: CLASSES The number of talent loadouts that can be saved on a per character basis to has been increased to 40 (was 10). We are removing increased melee range talents across the game, such as Astral Influence and Acrobatic Strikes. Default melee range has increased since these talents were originally created, so they now allow specs to attack from well outside where it appears they should be able to. They ma…

[Ravenfell-azralon (Ravenfell)]

Really great change, as well as reworking Arcane Battery that was universally disliked but I’m worried the chance might be too low. They also reduced Siphon Storm’s duration, but I’m hoping they’ll delete it soon.

[Vlsal-tichondrius]

I have mixed feelings.
On one hand, now Clearcasting will be equal to get no matter what damaging spells you use.
On the other hand, 10% chance is too low and should be buffed. Compared to current 27.5% chance from 4 charged Arcane Blast it is a massive downgrade.
On one hand, now Aether Attunement won’t consume your stacks, since they are tied to enemy now and buff damage taken.
On the other hand, I’m worried that Arcane is becoming too reliant on RNG. RNG Clearcasting, RNG Aether Attunement, RNG Leydrinker, RNG Orb Barrage - you can see the trend. If you get bad luck your dps would tank even more than now. As such, I think they should keep some of these as stacking mechanics and / or add bad RNG protection or guaranteed stacks of Clearcasting (and Evocation is a bad spell to tie it to - that should have been ToTM, since then you would have 1 guaranteed stack of Clearcasting to trigger each Magi’s Spark).

[Luciferinxx-dalaran]

mages are going to ***ROCK in the tww… so are the Warlocks.

[Kerathras-dalaran (Kerathras)]

@Ravenfell-azralon

They also reduced Siphon Storm’s duration, but I’m hoping they’ll delete it soon.

It’s gonna be baby steps it seems, just like it was with RoP (may it never RiP). I am okay with them taking the time they need to go through all the stages of grief until they finally arrive at acceptance and do away with it, lol.

@Ravenfell-azralon

I’m worried the chance might be too low.

@Vlsal-tichondrius

On one hand, now Clearcasting will be equal to get no matter what damaging spells you use.
On the other hand, 10% chance is too low and should be buffed. Compared to current 27.5% chance from 4 charged Arcane Blast it is a massive downgrade.

I also share those concerns but that can be easily fixed with simple numbers tuning so I am not too worried. Once they gather data and see the PPM rate is too low they will inevitably buff it. The important thing here is that they finally understand the fundamental issues with CC procs being tied to mana spent and are taking steps to address it.

@Vlsal-tichondrius

RNG Clearcasting, RNG Aether Attunement, RNG Leydrinker, RNG Orb Barrage - you can see the trend. If you get bad luck your dps would tank even more than now.

Again, I agree. I am afraid we’re trading the potential to tank our DPS due to overly complex rotations with the potential to tank it due to RNG. It’s certainly fine to have some degree of RNG with procs but when the entire spec continues to revolve around burst windows and cooldown stacking the risk of excessive RNG tanking your DPS looms large.

That said, I think they’re on the right path here with an emphasis on procs over cooldowns. The problem is that if they choose to go that route and transfer damage from the TotM burst windows to random procs they need to be full throated with that and not hold back. Otherwise the burst windows won’t do enough damage on their own and tank the overall DPS. But again, I think they have the correct instinct to reduce the reliance on cooldowns. It just needs more iteration. Fortunately, we still have months to go so for the moment I am optimistic.

[Tempestwinds-hyjal (Tempestwinds)]

@Kerathras-dalaran

Clearcasting’s chance to trigger is no longer tied to mana spent, and now has a 10% chance of triggering when casting any damaging spell.

Um… this is terrible dude.

@Vlsal-tichondrius

10% chance is too low and should be buffed. Compared to current 27.5% chance from 4 charged Arcane Blast it is a massive downgrade.

^ This.

@Vlsal-tichondrius

I’m worried that Arcane is becoming too reliant on RNG. RNG Clearcasting, RNG Aether Attunement, RNG Leydrinker, RNG Orb Barrag

Most definitely. It’s already RNG dependent (crit during your burns/lust burns or enjoy a green/grey parse).

[Kerathras-dalaran (Kerathras)]

@Tempestwinds-hyjal

Um… this is terrible dude.

The base proc rate may be too low but the decision to untether it from mana spent is absolutely the right one. There was simply no other way to correct the massive imbalance of CC procs in AoE any other way.

I think people are being too short sighted about this because they get sticker shock when they see the low ball number and are not swing the bigger picture.

[Desolation-azjolnerub]

I find it funny that they removed Rule of Threes first and only then did they realize that tying CC to mana spent was a mistake.

@Vlsal-tichondrius

On the other hand, I’m worried that Arcane is becoming too reliant on RNG. RNG Clearcasting, RNG Aether Attunement, RNG Leydrinker, RNG Orb Barrage - you can see the trend.

This is probably the biggest concern I have with Arcane right now. CC/Missiles has always had some degree of RNG, but the rest of them are a whole different beast.

CC procs can be banked, saved, and used when the time is appropriate. All of the rest of these procs are either immediate or “on your next X” - which is the opposite of what I used to love about Arcane.

The Orb Barrage slot machine is simply not fun to play - and I’m worried that they’re leaning too much into that gameplay for the entire spec. The worst part is that realistically there’s no alternative AoE rotation. Either you gamble, or you do the same amount of DPS as someone who gambled and lost.