Hello Turtles
With all of the excitement over patch 1.16, and the changes to crafting itemization, I can't help but wonder about tier 0 gear, which mostly underperforms compared random dungeon blues and especially pre-raid BiS.
I can't help but feel like the beautiful tier 0 sets are going to waste for their poor stats. Their only use I've found has been while leveling in your 50s and buying the BoE pieces off of the AH.
Here's what I propose (feel free to chime in with your own thoughts in the comments below):
- Tier 1 gear usually pigeonholes classes into specific playstyles. Why not make tier 0/tier 0.5 work better as gear for less played playstyles?
- Make tier 0 not as good as pre-raid BiS, but offer something more than just basic stats. Maybe stronger set bonuses or hit/crit rating.
- Make tier 0.5 worth the time and gold investment by buffing it, or making it a tier 2/tier 2.5 equivalent for underplayed playstyles. Raiding is a lot more accessible and easier than it was in 2006 (especially with raid scaling). Gimping the gear's power for "dungeon only 60s" like it was intended isn't necessary anymore, as the vast majority of 60s are interested in raiding.
We could see tiers 0/0.5 work as smite priest set, BM/melee hunter set, arms warrior set, protection/retribution paladin set, balance druid set, arcane or melee mage set, assassination or ranged rogue set, elemental shaman set, and demonology warlock set.
Or maybe slightly buff the sets while keeping their intended playstyles the same, but then offer a new recolor tier for the underplayed specs by exchanging tier 0.5 to some vendors. (Or even adding quests and events to transform the gear). The intended goal is to make dungeon sets special again.
Thank you for coming to my TED talk. Give your feedback below. Not all of my ideas are good, but I hope it gets everyone's noggins flowing with ideas.