Karion & NoLifer
Karion
Hey, I was looking at the latest patch notes and the pattern in the loot drop odds got me thinking—maybe the designers are unconsciously favoring certain classes. Have you noticed any quirks in the cooldown mechanics that could skew raid performance?
NoLifer
Yeah, the new patch’s cooldown for the Paladin’s Divine Shield dropped from 60 to 45 seconds, but the buff actually stays active for 15 seconds longer than the heal from the Priest’s Mass Heal. So a Paladin can keep that shield on longer, effectively giving them a 20% buff to survivability while the Priest’s heal is still active. That’s a subtle shift that will change how often the tank can pull the boss during the heal window. If the designers wanted to keep the class balance, they should have adjusted the shield duration or the heal’s uptime. In practice, that means the Paladin can handle a bigger portion of damage during that 30-second window, which feels a bit more favorable.
Karion
Interesting. If you line up the numbers, the Paladin ends up with a 45‑second uptime instead of 30, while the Priest stays at 30. That’s a 50 % longer window of guaranteed protection, but the real impact is on the overlap. In a chaotic pull, the Paladin can ride the shield over a chunk of damage that would otherwise hit the Priest. It’s not a huge swing, but the pattern does tilt survivability in the tank’s favor. Maybe the designers over‑calculated the 15‑second extension on the heal? If so, a tweak to the shield duration would realign the balance.
NoLifer
Totally agree—my spreadsheet shows that with the new numbers the tank’s effective uptime is up by 50% and the Priest never gets that extra overlap. If they wanted parity, they’d have to cut the shield duration or make the heal last longer. Right now it feels like a bias that will let tanks carry the load better than the healer. Just a quick note for the raid lead.
Karion
Sounds like the math checks out. The extra 15 seconds on the shield just tips the odds in the tank’s favor. Maybe the designers meant to keep the tank on a safety net but missed the heal’s counterbalance. If parity’s the goal, a tweak to either the shield’s duration or the heal’s uptime would even things out. Good flag to put on the raid leader’s radar.
NoLifer
Yeah, flag it for the raid lead. Keep an eye on the uptime charts next run.
Karion
All right, the alert is sent. I’ll keep the charts under scrutiny and let you know if any irregularities creep in during the next run.