Frost is lacking as a whole. Its design really hasnt changed since Wrath. DnD was basically turned to Remorseless Winter and they got a few new abilities but the core gameplay has stayed the same. A lot of people arent looking at Frost in SL, they are looking at unholy or Blood, you can see this just by looking through the beta forums.
Lacking what exactly?
Frosts game-play has always been relatively straightforward but I don’t see that as a problem. If anything we now have 2H Obliteration that is what many Frost DK’s have wanted back for years. I look at other classes that have the dice rolled every other expansion and its very hit and miss if the reworks actually deliver a better outcome.
Frost has a simple but enjoyable 2H Obliteration build which gets us away from Breath, finally! Decent CC, good self healing mechanics, adequate defensive CD’s, group utility with AMS/Brez. Tuning aside, mobility is the only area we still battle with.
The biggest issue is that Blizzard spent all the development time on 2H Frost which probably means we missed the boat on some new animations and maybe a couple of new talent interactions that I agree could add a little extra depth. However, getting 2H Frost back was worth it from my perspective and Obliteration at least means you have to ability weave every 45 seconds.
SL Frost might not have moved the needle in a crazy new direction but its certainly getting us back to what many of us consider to be a high point for the spec. Not to mention sharing a weapon with Unholy and Blood means its easy to mix it up. One weapon, three specs is very appealing.
I look at Ret Paladin and the spec literally only needed five things:
- Bring back auras
- An improved mobility solution
- Defensive ability versus spell casters
- Remove CD on CS
- Redistribute some of the burst from wings
Yet Blizzard goes and creates a bunch of random flashy new things that fail to deliver and we are weeks away from launch. When the reality is the only item on that list that required any real work was the auras.
Look at Shadow Priest, while they might have finally hit the right balance. How many times has that spec been overhauled and its failed to deliver. The grass is not always greener when it comes to reworking a spec IMO. Go have a chat to Elemental and Enhancement Shamans and they can tell you all about the perils of reworks.
I don’t deny Frost is relatively straightforward spec to play but I don’t agree that means its seriously lacking. Pushing our damage abilities (2H Obliteration build) is satisfying, we have adequate defensive tools, CC, self sustain and we bring some group utility. Its not complicated but its feels good and like a Frost DK…mobility is a challenge but the world isn’t perfect. May I am old school? I don’t like this era of throwaway mechanics each expansion and don’t feel the need to have the spec I enjoy reworked to make it feel totally different. If a new expansion rolls around and I want a change there are plenty of other classes and specs to mix it up with. That said, some new toys and interactions are nice but not at the expense of complete reworks when a classes fundamental design isn’t broken.