It absolutely has, if you refer back to patch notes nuking certain specs in instanced pvp, signifying that they agree that they have no place in instanced pvp, reinforcing the toxic attitude that players have towards other players in instanced pvp that play these specs.
Rather than pursuing their stated design goal of giving them a niche, they simply applied blanket nerfs in instanced pvp without a commensurate return, which obviously should be in damage output.
Same thing with Gladiator stance. It was ultimately removed not because it was imbalanced, dysfunctional or presented a challenge in game design. It was removed because of outright confusion and persistent toxicity from the community that couldnât accept its existence.
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While I respect your good intentions to advocate for âplay how you want in any modeâ Unfortunately this isnt how Blizzard sees the game. There are clear barriers they are intending for the game to keep the different parts healthy and competitive.
Tank specs are not, and have not, been balanced for PvP. You can still play them but blizzard clearly doesnt want us to. Asking them to be competitive is asking for the devs to add in an entirely different role into a mode it wasnt designed for. They have pvp talents because of War mode. You CAN play tank specs in pvp, it doesnt mean you should.
And whether they had been viable in the past or had been worth taking, its clear Blizzard has changed their minds and are looking to separate tanks from the meta. Its healthier for those game modes, and easier for balance.
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They have said that they intend for âtank specsâ to have a role in pvp, and that they intended to provide them with the tools to do so in at least one interview Iâve seen. Their intent wasnât to be invulnerable flag carriers as some have suggested or to have the same role in pvp, but that doesnât mean they shouldnât have a role.
Some obvious suggestions are damage (both incoming and outgoing) and healing tuning inside instanced pvp along with a unique utility, control, or team support toolkit. Abilities like dragon rush, bodyguard, safeguard and mass spell reflect go a long way towards this design philosophy.
Another good hint would be the tank checkmark when you queue for instanced pvp. In fact, if I check that checkmark, it even forces me into Protection spec and prevents me from changing into Arms or Fury while inside the instance.
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Id rather they focus on making all the dps and healing specs feel good in pvp. Focus on the intended meta and allowing other specs relegated to the sidelines have a chance to shine rather than worry about shoehorning tanks in haphazardly.
Tanks have their place but it doesnt need to be the spotlight
I say this as someone who loves prot pvp, but Point defense and flag running is enough of a niche for them I think.
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The stated reason I found was this.
We love the fantasy that each of those âsubspecsâ promise, but leaving them as subspecs has proven to be problematic, making us unable to properly deliver on their fantasy. Trying to support two different playstyles within one spec restricts how much we can focus and bring out the strengths of either of them. We still love both of their concepts, however, and will look for opportunities to bring them back in the future.
So a design issue of supporting multiple playstyles. It is discussing Gladiator Stance and Fistweaving.
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I donât even slightly believe that explanation for the removal of Glad stance, on the basis that it was the easiest to tune and implement. The stance itself was a giant tuning knob, and required minimal involvement.
The spec itself was literally Protection. Compared to the amount of herculean effort involved in balancing Arms and Fury, it was a cakewalk.
Iâll admit I am making a clear presumption that they were more influenced by the overwhelming community impression that they didnât know what the hell a Gladiator warrior was. I constantly got sideglances and confused looks.
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Prot warrior pvp was amazing in legion. it was so strong. In bfa no so much but I still had fun.
I guess for other than bgâs, pvpâers absolutely hate going against tanks in like 3v3s.
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By at least one prior comment (from 2012), Blizzard acknowledges the role of a tank was to be someone that did less damage but made up for it in survivability. And to be âsomebody that nobody wants to focusâ. Ultimately just someone nobody wants to fight. Which just isnât a fun niche to play against.
They have no reason to lie regarding it. Theyâve acknowledged making changes based on feedback. But you can believe what you want.
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TC and dragon roar changes arenât that bad.
Should be using Dragon charge and knocking people off and away.
I pay the same subscription rate to play WoW that everyone else does. I shouldnât have to avoid playing PvP with a protection warrior that I enjoy playing because a few elitist damage dealers say itâs not fun. Lol!
If you donât like fighting a tank and Blizz obviously isnât smart enough to find a balance for the tank specs, then just ignore the hard to kill tank that is making life difficult for you.
Seems simple enough to me.
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Sounds like something a duel hero would say.
Anyways I donât have to worry about it, I donât play tank specs in arena so Iâm not the one affected by this.
Nah. I just find it amusing that people have always complained about rogues, healers and tanks in any kind of PvP. Thatâs all. No harm just amusement.
Hopefully Blizz gets it right eventually.
=)
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I think that tanks have a place in BGs, I agree that theyâre a little cheese in arena.
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Druid tanks are op in BFA?
100% agreed and Iâd honestly be fine if they just disallowed tank specs in arena.
Tanking in BGs is ridiculously fun. Itâs a completely unique role that doesnât exist in any other portion of the game. Your job is to just disrupt the enemy and make space for your healers and DD while doing your best to cover them if theyâre getting focused.
FFXIV has a fairly one-note PvP scene, but I gotta admit I LOVE taking my tanks into Frontlines. You can be such a pest and itâs just great.
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I didnât think prot PvP was still a thing since they removed block value stacking.
Man, itâs been a while.
If you want to pvp just play arms. Itâs disgustingly good in pvp
Iâm going to be honest with you, I feel like a fish out of water when I try to do a 2v2 arena as Arms, even in a random arena.
It legitimately feels worse than when I try to queue as Protection for fun. I actually feel comfortable playing in Protection, even if the damage is low and despite occasionally blowing up to a ret pally in a stun window.
Itâs partially a preference thing, partially because I have something like thirty keybinds in Arms and fumble over the buttons like an imbecile when Iâm getting trained.
The reason I liked being able to Gladiator or as a Protection warrior in WoD when it was semi-viable was because I had a command of my abilities that I simply do not have in Arms. An incompetent player is not well served by playing an unforgiving spec with which they have very basic familiarity in 2v2.
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Thatâs why u practice my guy