I would like to begin today with a little history lesson.
BOOOO…no one likes history, just tell us what we need to know.
Relax, it’s going to be quick. Remember in BC and (for the most part) before patch 3.1? I know it was awhile ago but think hard. Remember when Armor Penetration (ArPen) was…awful? Seriously, ArPen was arguably the worse stat in the entire game and you might as well have avoided it like the plague (save for Grim Toll which actually gave enough of it to make up for it’s general weakness as a stat).
You’re boring me buddy. So ArPen used to be bad, I remember, what’s your point?
My point, my patient-deprived, figment of my imagination, is that in patch 3.1 ArPen received a significant buff: A 25% increase in the effectiveness of ArPen.
Alright everyone, here is the short skinny
The short skinny?
Yeah, it’s a phrase, it means “here’s the deal”
I’m pretty sure you just made that up.
Maybe. Anyway, here’s the deal. Gear and stat scaling are getting a little out of hand, at least a bit more absurd than Blizz originally intended and the buff to ArPen turned out to be too much, so they’re nerfing it. Sad but true, such is life, etc, etc.
So, we can whine, we can complain or we can suck it up, look at the numbers and figure out what (if anything) we need to do.
Oh lord, you’re going to do math now aren’t you? No way man, I’m out of here.
Fine. Good riddance. So, here are the current ArPen numbers according to Elitist Jerks:
Hard Caps
100% armor penetration – 1232 armor pen rating
85% armor penetration (Mace spec) – 1047 armor pen rating
Mace spec provided the extra 15%
Soft Caps (Mjolnir Runestone)
100% armor penetration – 567 armor pen rating
85% armor penetration (Mace spec) – 382 armor pen rating
These are soft caps because Mjolnir provides 665 ArPen during it’s uptime (1232-665 = 567) so any ArPen above these caps is wasted during the proc uptime (which is significant).
So, the patch 3.2.2 nerf:
Armor Penetration Rating: The amount of armor penetration gained per point of this rating has been reduced by 12%.
Currently, 1 ArPen Rating ~= .08% Armor Reduced (100/1232, rounded for simplicity)
Reducing this by 12% we get: 1 ArPen Rating ~= .07% Armor Reduced (.08 – (.08 *.12) again, rounded for simplicity)
So, what are our new caps?
Hard Caps
100% armor penetration – ~1401 armor pen rating
85% armor penetration (Mace spec) – ~1191 armor pen rating
Soft Caps (Mjolnir Runestone)
100% armor penetration – ~729 armor pen rating
85% armor penetration (Mace spec) – ~519 armor pen rating
So, what we’re looking at it about ~150 or so more ArPen to reach the caps (depending on your setup). Is the cap still attainable? Probably. Is this a nerf because it is going to cost you other stats to obtain it? For sure. Is this a bad thing? Well, if you think all nerfs are bad, then yes, but really, no. It’s a balancing act (and it doesn’t just affect rogues, all us melee -and I guess those silly hunters- are going to feel it too).
So there it is: History and Math, what a joyous day! Don’t forget to study for your Science test next week.
