14 DAY TRIAL // Developer Blizzard is constantly exploring new ways of improving its flagship MMO World of Warcraft and it seems that its most recent aim is to introduce better balance for the Player versus Player gear in the game in the upcoming patch, labeled 5.3.
In an official blog post, Nik Gianozakos, a community manager working on the game, states, “One of the best ways for us to increase the number of players that participate in PvP is to reduce the barrier to entry for those who play World of Warcraft regularly but don’t participate in PvP.”
“Specifically, we’re referring to PvE players that spend a lot of time gearing up in PvE but feel that PvE gear is a severe liability in PvP.”
Changes introduced in patch 5.3 include:
- an item leveling ceiling is being added to all gear in unrated and rated Battlegrounds and Arenas; - modifications to Resilience designed to remove it from almost all PvP gear and shift the emphasis to PvP Power; - Conquest gear is being increased to item level 496, the same base to which Elite gear is decreased - all gear that’s above 496 will be scaled down to that level;
The official post offers more details on the changes that Blizzard is planning to implement.
The overall aim is to make sure that as many players as possible get into the Player versus Player aspect of World of Warcraft and that their experience is not sullied by gear-based issues.
Nik Gianozakos adds, “We expect these improvements will make PvP more fun for both hardcore players who want a more even playing field, as well as competitors who just want to dive in and have some fun without feeling the need to assemble a specialized gear set.”
Blizzard is also encouraging gamers to offer feedback and help shape the final state of patch 5.3 for World of Warcraft.