Blizzard was pretty good at balance,

There fixed that for you.

They stopped being good at balancing when they let BG/Arena PvP start dictating changes made to the PvE side of things.

Same problem every MMO has when they don’t have some kind of separate system from PvE stats and PvP /shrug

Like another commenter said – balance is one thing, but killing the fun factor is another. I visited almost all of the class forums last night. I was really shocked to see so many of the classes up in arms. I expected the Priests, Druids and Paladins to be upset. I dunno what Rogues are whinning for and seeing Mages crying foul was comical. The only forum that didnt disappoint were the Warlocks who were amusing themselves with silly lets play on the forum posts. That’s how you know which classes are probably over powered. They’re making nice on the forums cuz well, life’s good and nothing to fret over. LOL Why o why, did I give my kid my warlock??

Also, people like to think that despite the tendency for history to repeat itself, the past is still more glorious and poignant than the present.

Because it assumes a static population of players and then goes from there to say “there are some people who will hate any change, and some people who will always hate you, therefore NEVER CHANGE ANYTHING or your game spirals into destruction”.

And this is supposed to be some deep and profound insight?

–GF

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nerf_%28computer_gaming%29

nerf is a change to the rules of a computer game that weakens a certain object or ability.

The term comes from the childsafe Nerf toys of soft foam and plastic, which are often made in the shape of guns, bats, or other weapons. The term originated in the MMORPG Ultima Online, where for a long period of time the sword skill was incredibly powerful. The designers eventually lowered its effectiveness, causing massive player outcry; they claimed that it seemed as though they were hitting with “Nerf Bats”.

Or it may have pre-dated UO and just caught on there with the analogy intact. I dunno.

Blizzard’s pretty good at balance, but they made some real screwups this time out. Most of this is due to itemization issues it looks like, what with the new standards of armor and stamina not playing well with the established standards for healing and druid bonuses (note to designers: multplicative bonuses are a BITCH to balance). Hopefully the nerfs will pave the way for making the higher-end items not suck without being too overwhelming.

For me, the fun factor was not there anymore as I played my 70 priest, and then the nerfs come. They rapidly diminished all other reasons I had for wanting to advance my character. There are outside motivators like the people you play with, but when there are several classes that outperform you, and your friends are happily playing those classes, it’s easy to feel like giving a new game a try.

Ultimately, I can’t help but think back to the other games I’d poured a lot of time and passion into, and wonder where that passion went. All games nerf, it’s just inevitable. But to do so in the name of “balance” is stupid, since you can upgrade those that are lesser in order to make the game more fun for everyone.