Kalliope wrote:You're entitled to your opinion, but it would be nice if you backed it up rather than just ranting about not liking the idea of focus.
I agree "I just don't like it" when we know next to nothing about the change doesn't leave much room for discussion about the possible benefits and risks associated with the system. Still, if someone doesn't acknowledge the defects in the current system, or would prefer to just continue to put up with them rather than risking something new, there isn't a lot that will convince them of the benefits other than seeing the end result come Cataclysm (or, more likely, come 4.1 or 4.2 - we've seen the rollercoaster ride DKs and pallies went through at the start of Wrath).
Between the stat changes, the focus change and any talent tree changes, I expect we
will have to relearn how to gear and play our class. I'm personally looking forward to that, since I like a bit of novelty and the metagaming aspect is one of the things I enjoy about WoW, but I can understand people that are comfortable with the current system disliking having to start over again in figuring out how their toon works.
On the focus change in particular, I'm especially looking forward to being rate limited by focus instead of GCD and cooldown locked all the time. My other level 80 is a feral druid, and while the kitty rotation is a little nuts, the fact that the shortest cooldown in the primary rotation is 30 seconds makes for a very free flowing selection of abilities. Of course, that's a bit of a double-edged sword in that it also offers many more opportunities to mess up the rotation, but I do prefer it to the straitjacket of my hunter's assortment of short duration cooldowns.
I've said this before, but it's worth repeating: the folks with the most legitimate reason to feel concerned are those hunters that have tried a rogue or feral druid for a significant period of time and genuinely disliked the resource mechanic. While focus is a different resource, I expect it is going to feel a lot more like energy than it does like the current hunter system. The trick is figuring out if it is the mana vs energy that someone dislikes in switching from a hunter to a rogue or druid, or the ranged vs melee element (I know whenever I'm chasing after the tank as a kitty I miss being able to sit back and pew-pew without much caring what the tank is doing with the boss).