With the release of patch 5.0.4 this week, players were finally able to experience on live servers many of the new features coming in Mists of Pandaria. One such feature is the new looting system that Blizzard is implementing for the Looking-For-Raid difficulties of raids. In this new system, players earn satchels for killing bosses. Upon opening the satchels, players have a chance to potentially get gear that is relevant to the players class. With this change in place, the big question is how will this effect LFR in Mists of Pandaria?
To answer this question, one needs to first think about why this system is in place? What possible positive impact will this change have? The biggest positive impact this change will have is it will most likely make gear distribution fairer then it was in Dragon Soul. Simply put, players have their own personal chance on gear, if player A wins gear that in no way changes the chance of player B getting a piece of gear as well. This solves the problem many players have faced when others have won pieces of gear that they do not need, in order to give it to a friend, or to just be a jerk. Some players, myself included, will miss the ability to give gear to friend; however, it is undeniable that this will make gear distribution fairer.
There is however, some negative implications may also come with this new looting system. One of the bigger negative impact that this could have is the difficulty to get gear for off-specs. This is because when players receive gear from their satchels, it takes in consideration the players spec when giving them gear. This means for example, A Protection Paladin will only be able to get gear for their Retribution or Holy off-spec. This will make getting gear for these specs a little more difficult. Another possible negative part of this system, is it does not take into account if the player has already won a piece of gear. Unlucky players could continue to win the same piece of gear from a boss, when they only need another. Though this can be frustrating, the problem was still there in the old looting system, where players would just see gear dropping that they already have.
So, how will this effect LFR in Mists of Pandaria? First of all, running it alone will be a more pleasant experience. Since players do not need to compete against one another for gear, there is no need for players to bring gear to help them win pieces. It also means that LFR content may stay relevant for a longer period of time. Once players have completely gotten gear for their main-spec, assuming they have not been getting gear for their off-specs in Normal or Heroic mode, then players will continue to run and earn valuable upgrades LFR while they try to gear their off-specs. This difficulty to get off-spec gear, or the luck element for even getting all main-spec pieces, will ensure that players who do not run Normal modes will not run out of content so quickly. So in a way, the negative parts of the new system could become a positive for the players that this system is designed for. However, it is still too early to say whether or not there will be unforeseen negatives, yet it seems that this new looting system will enhance the experience of Looking-For-Raid for the players it is intended for.
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