4.1 and the Changes it Brings to Setups

You’ve all seen the patch notes, you’ve all discussed the changes. But what is 4.1 really going to bring and take in terms of setups, and how is the synergy among some of the most popular setups going to be altered?

With the patch going live next week, questions rise about what is going to happen with the pre-4.1 top notch comps,  which new ones are going to replace them, and what is the setup that you want to play.

KFC (Warrior/Hunter/Shaman):

The beastcleave of cataclysm and arguably the most hated setup of 4.0.6, has been getting to the top spots in almost every battlegroup, and getting on everyones nerves in the final days of 4.0.6 as there was pretty much nothing else you could meet on the higher ratings. However, with 4.1 there’s good news for the KFC-haters. No more KFC!

The setup went through some major changes that in my opinion, are going to result in an overall nerf of the setup. Although Warrios are getting Rallying Cry, and Shamans are getting Spirit Link totem, which should result into an overall survival boost of the comp, the source of their burst is being nerfed. With Collosus Smash only reducing 50% of enemy players armor next patch, it is going to have a massive impact on the KFCs overall damage output . Also, with Mages getting their Frost Armor and Ice Barrier buffed against physical damage, the faces of KFC heroes that did not manage to hit gladiator ratings before the patch will get even more wrinkled. The setups that were previously basically an easy-mode farm are now going to provide much more of a challenge for this setup, and chances of getting glad title for most 2500 KFCs just basically went out of the window with 4.1.

And finally, shamans cleansing waters nerf combined with the boost of Warlock’s UA is only going to make this setup struggle even more. Perhaps the only good news for this setup is the fact that Shadow Priests won’t be able to dispel their traps/fears so easily anymore, but will it be enough to remain on top? I don’t think so.

Pre 4.1 Rating: 9/10

Post 4.1 Rating: 7.5/10

RMP (Rogue/Mage/Priest):

Probably the biggest game changer for this setup is the boost of Mage’s survivability. Mage’s had their frostbolt and icelance damage increased by 15%, yes, but to be honest the big deal are the Ice Barrier and Ice Armor boosts. With Ice Armor providing a 15% physical damage reduction as well as both: ranged and melee attack speed reduction by 20%, Mage’s greatest arena nemesis since season 3 – Hunter, is finally going to be playable against.

This is great for the setup, since pre-4.1 most RMP teams were mainly struggling against Hunter teams like KFC, Ret/Hunter/Disc and JungleCleave that simply tunneled the mage during the entire game and won. With Mage’s damage being increased, and his survivability being boosted, RMP should gain more synergy in both aspects of a fight: defense and offense. Another important change is  the Shadow Priest defensive dispel nerf. This change will not only result in RMPs having it much easier to control the opposing teams healer and to therefore create much more pressure, but also make it much harder for shadowpriest setups to simply outlast RMP’s by turtling the whole game. The change will perhaps also open new ways to beat shadow priest setups by simply mana burning the shadowpriest in order for him to be unable to dispel his healer (mass dispel costs 8k mana).

Lets also not forget that Mage isn’t the only one of the three getting stronger, Rogues are getting some minor boosts that will only add towards the overall synergy of the setup. Perhaps the only downside of 4.1, are nerf to Priests offensive dispel and shield durations, however I think that they still won’t prevent from RMP becoming once again a perfect and fun setup to play!

Pre 4.1 Rating: 8.5/10

Post 4.1 Rating: 9.5/10

MLD & MLS (Mage/Lock/Shaman or Druid):

I have a feeling that these setups are going to be really huge now that 4.1 is live.

MLS was incredibly strong already before the patch, and MLD was decent at least. Both Warlocks and Mages are getting their damage buffed, in addition with Mage getting his survivability increased as already mentioned before. Shamans are getting a new defensive cd, while Druids basically remain unchanged. Control, which is the main source of power of Mage/Lock/Healer setups is going to be further increased as Shadow Priests are having their defensive dispels nerfed, Cyclone’s 5 sec change has been reverted, and grounding totem cooldown has been increased. Mage/Lock/healer setups should enter the 4.1 scene soon at huge numbers and their famous never-ending CC rotations will once again drive us crazy.

Pre 4.1 Rating: 8.5/10

Post 4.1 Rating: 10/10

VanCleave (Warrior/Retri/Priest):

Although this setup isn’t so popular as the already mentioned ones, it is a comp that I’ve played for a couple of days before the patch and Vanguards released a video of him playing it up to 3k rating.

Over the three days I’ve had the honored to play this comp, I reached the “dying out of laughter state” multiple times, because of the comps ability  to one shot even the top notch players on my battlegroup without them being able to react atall. The comp’s burst combined with Ret Palla’s  support and Warrior’s peeling ability definetly made it the most powerful setup I played in Cataclysm so far. However, everything great comes to an end and so far it looks that this setup is going to follow the path of KFC in 4.1, as Colossus Smash also lowers the overall damage output of this setup.

However the main nerf to this setup comes out of the nerf to Ret’s heals and the increased cooldown on Sacred Shield.From being one of the best supporting classes ingame, Ret’s are going to once again become grounded as Blizzard is smartly trying to avoid the repetition of s5 Ret Palla madness. I had great fun with you VanCleave, rest in peace.

Pre 4.1 Rating: 9/10

Post 4.1 Rating: 7/10

JungleCleave (Feral/Hunter/Shaman):

This comp has reached the top spots on Cyclone EU and Blackout EU and has stayed there for quite some time now, although I haven’t seen it rank high on other battlegroups, it has a great potential in terms of both: cc and damage.

From what I heard about the setup, is that although it is an RMP killer, its burst can get easily countered by controlling the healer with regular cc (sheep/deep/fear/clone) while casting roots/nova on the feral at the same time.The setup is also easily countered by tunneling the Shaman and forcing him to focus on healing himself, so he has no time to dispel the feral from roots/novas, and therefore most of Feral’s peeling abilities are countered.

However this should partially change, as Feral’s got new mobility boosts as their Dash and Stampeding Roar will now remove all immobilizing and impairing effects. Also, with Shadow Priests no longer being able to dispel the Hunter’s traps so easily, and Shaman’s having the Spirit Link totem, it may be possible that JungleCleave will dominate even more. The only question that remains: will buffs to Dash and Stampeding Roar will be enough to overcome the survivability buffs of Mage’s against physical dps? I guess we’ll have wait and see. Anyhow, if you’re a Feral druid, JungleCleave is you go-to setup of 4.1!

Pre 4.1 Rating: 8/10

Post 4.1 Rating: 8.5/10

ShadowShatter Comps (Mage/Shadow Priest/Healer):

Its hard to say how SP/Mage/Healer setups are going to look now with the 4.1 patch, Mage’s got buffed, while Shadow priests got hugely nerfed. But will it cause these setups to become trash? I dont think so. Shadow priests still have their mass dispel, and although they are no longer able to dispel their healer non-stop, they will still be able to use it in key situations. I think the shatterplay with a Druid underwent a big nerf with these changes, and the setup is going to more or less diminish, as at the moment, Resto Druid is a very weak healer without a Shadow Priest or some other supporting dispeller who can keep him out of long CC chains after which Druid’s heals are ineffective as they are based over time.  However, the classical shatterplay (with a Shaman) should remain viable. But the real question is (now that SP only remain with Mass Dispel) , who the hell wants to play with a SP now if he can just play with a Warlock, and be so much more powerful?

Pre 4.1 Rating: 9/10

Post 4.1 Rating: 5.5/10

LSDv2  (Warlock/Boomkin/Shaman):

LSD is back!

If you think that this setup was overpowered before 4.1, wait what its going to be like meeting it now! Yes, Starsurge is getting nerfed, but Warlock’s damage is being buffed, and I already spoke about Shaman mutliple times. But this isn’t the sole reason why LSD is going to faceroll its way up to the top spots, the abilities is that made it possible for most melee cleaves to cleave the s*** out of the boomkin right now, are being nerfed, and therefore there is not many comps left that can pose a threat to this setup, and stop its inevitable rise to power. The Shadow Priest nerf will not really affect the status of LSDv2 in 4.1, as their CC is either UA-supported, or undispellable (Cyclone) and I‘m afraid that LSD will once again be more or less counter-less.

Pre 4.1 Rating: 9/10

Post 4.1 Rating: 10/10

This is the first blog I wrote for Hydramist, and hopefully I’ll get a chance to write more of them in the future.

Thanks for the read!