T3 for tanks has gone through a number of changes since datamined to the point that it is mostly bandaged versions of previous bonuses that they backtracked on after realizing avoidance potential (I.E. 30 second CD evasion or 60% uptime on demonic grace) that are now watered down to the point of being irrelevant yet required because of the sanctified system.
The 2pc for every spec being immutable taunt also feels very backwards since its basically an acknowledgement that it SHOULDNT be dodgeable/parryable AND proving that they have the ability to make it that way within vanilla coding for every tank- having this in the game taking up a bonus slot rather than being baseline feels incredibly lazy.
I would like to not spend a third phase wearing a set structured around not quite achieving what the first draft intended it to do.
**Sidenote- most of the 6pc naxx bonuses actually slap and are very fun (though pally needs some love) bring that energy to the rest of the set!
Am in the exact same boat class wise, was stoked when I saw first sets and then realized they clearly made them without realizing combat had evasion reduction talents etc.
We’re at what, 3(?) different retunings in SoD to refine avoidance until they are comfortable with it (inb4 dodge reduction in naxx goes up) but they still print these bonuses without foresight and then handicap rather than make a meaningful redesign.
It’s unfortunate that most tank builds for naxx not on mythic difficulty, will just end up being dps tier mix’s or close to running full dps builds, because the tank gear set is so lack-luster or rubbish for certain tanks (Lock/rogue), that its not worth building the 6-set. Pally won’t run 6 set because you’re usually dead once you’re below 35% hp, so 4/4 for them.
(The mythic difficulty is seeming like it’s going to be whatever with the seal/insignia scaling, to the point it’ll just be the new cake-walk normal difficulty with a R10 seal).
They have stated multiple times that tank balance and set bonuses are not a priority and that as long as every tank is viable then they will only buff/nerf when absolutely necessary. It has been this way for 7 phases.
Because a lot of people want to play Classic but also play Ret and they can’t play Ret on Anniversary so they have a preference towards SoD. Same with boomies, same with ferals, same with basically everything that doesn’t exist in Nilla. On the flip side Warriors are underrepresented because a lot of Warrior players go to Nilla to be OP rather than balanced. People have fantasies they want to fulfill and play the version of the game that lets them.
I can kinda see why they didnt end up printing the 4P bonus (-% dodge being part of the hardmode makes it clear they are worried about avoidance) but I would have like to see something fresh in place of it rather than just a ‘worse’ version, especially since blade flurry is largely redundant with the 2.5 2p, I’d rather have energy on parry or better threat/dmg on counterattacks/belt rune since they only have internal threat boost on cape rune/sinister strike currently.
The 6 piece would be okay if it wasnt useless on the ideal boss for it (Maexxna) but feels a lot less effective for mitigation than something like T1 6P or T2 4P. Maybe they could have RWTP be 8%/per stack or something since HP ceiling seems to be valuable
rogues 6-set is useless, ive never been close to even needing it so far, and if it DID get used - it would likely result in a wipe when it expires anyway so whats the point in it ?
State of T3 for tanks - #12 by Emriz-crusader-strike I like cheat death thematically as an option but the fact that its useless on Maexxna (the main boss it would actually have value) means 4P from dps set will likely get used at higher seal rank. Kind of unfortunate how badly suited to raid content the adaptations of Cheat Death/Cloak of Shadows/Feint have been in SoD.
1min ICD feels like zero attempt to balance beyond making sure it only triggers in Naxx. Will be nerfed into the ground the same week someone gets a non-MC 4HM log on Razuvious and remain a dead bonus through rest of SoD if the rest of the tier adjustments are anything to go by.
The ‘only on death’ part is also potentially too big of an ‘if’ factor and relies on a meta that reliably gets value from it people will use it for a few weeks on Loatheb/Patchwerk etc for safety and then wonder why they even have it equipped by the time we are R7. Paladin in same boat with requiring 35% hp to proc.
I would love to see a bonus incentivize non-combat tank given how well deep sub talents sync with sanc system (serrated blades + crimson tempest= insane threat/heal sustain). Ghostly strike giving some variation of 5 combo points/100% armor/15%crit to make up for (40) energy cost. A way to refresh bleeds or regain energy from them (Hello modified dps 4P) would also be very welcome.
The other build people seem to really enjoy that hasnt had meaningful set bonus support is counterattacks: Riposte & Unfair Advantage have the potential to be very fun at 100% increased threat or damage without even coming close to power creeping the prot pally/bear reflect kits. They could also double up on this by having unfair advantage reset riposte cooldown/restore 5 energy/ increase dmg of next finisher etc.
I think if blizzard creates a 4P and 6P that synergize with one of those 2 builds we’ll have something to work with. The biggest miss of the rogue tier is that it’s all emergency buttons and doesnt interact with your actual rotation/resources at all.