I hate patch day. Some folks love it, I probably would too if WoW patches were all about new content, but they aren't. And my dislike of patch day isn't just because of the inherent bugs or the server downtime, it's something more to the core of the game.

For those of you who haven't figured it out yet: Blizzard has created a Metagame out of "balancing" within WoW, by changing how the system works each major patch.

Yes, I'm very jaded and cynical.

I used to think it was just ordinary mundane balancing, the sort that comes along with nearly every MMO and gets tedious after a bit, but settles down over time. I strongly (that would put it mildly) disagree that any game needs "constant perpetual balancing", that's akin to game designer wanking. But I don't even think that's what they do with WoW. I think the whole point is to keep players occupied and busy with a new system every month or two. I'm certain that the peeps at Blizzard also feel like they're improving the game with each of the systematic changes, but much like The Vision wasn't really about the "epic" aspects of EQ, Blizzard's systematic changes aren't completely about improving the game.

I think most players are perfectly fine with that.

Here's how I became aware of WoW's Systematic Metagame:

A friend's comments about "skill" in WoW threw it right into my face. WoW does not have strong strategic or tactical elements and it certainly doesn't involve any physical or twitch abilities, but it is a systematic game. If you do not learn the system, you're labelled a noob and won't be able to play to the best of your abilities. Learning the ins-and-outs of the system is in fact a large portion of the game. This is true for most MMORPGs, especially ones that use the Tank + Healer + DPS paradigm.

So Blizzard perpetually changing the system, does keep a lot of players from getting bored. Except, for me at least, it has worn me down. Oddly, I'm more bored with having to re-learn the system each patch. For once, I'd like to jump into some new content WITHOUT having significant base elements of the game changed.

I'd like to feel a bit more comfortable, after playing for 3 years, there's a point where I do not wish to be on the edge of my seat. =P

Update: This post is probably outdated by now, although it's still a good indicator I recommend searching for current information. I won't be updating this since I'm no longer actively playing WoW.

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My guildmates and I have been discussing lately how often the To Hit stats are overlooked and how much they do impact gameplay. We've especially noticed that tanks lacking a decent amount of To Hit are much more likely to lose aggro in the high end instances. DPS classes also improve damage significantly by having appropriate hit gear.

Hit gear is especially important if you plan on doing Heroics or Raid instances where mob levels are typically higher.

Here's the simple table for a level 70 player, outlining the stats you should aim for:

Ranged (as in Hunter) is the same as Melee for these calculations. Melee counts as 2H or 1H + Shield. I don't have much info handy for offhand / dual-wielding situations where To Hit needed is much higher, but those are often greatly dependant upon talent spec. I've seen the dual-wielding penalty speculated as high as 25%.

Weapon Skill should be taken into account if you have any items, racials or talents. The calculations for Weapon Skill are more complex, but we can estimate approx. 2% hit per 5 skill. Some examples:

Earthwarden: Feral Combat Skill Rating 24 = actual "Feral" Weapon Skill 6 = ~2.1% To Hit.
Dwarf Racial: Gun Weapon Skill 5 = ~2% To Hit.
Human Racials: Sword / Mace Weapon Skill 5 = ~2% To Hit.

I can't take credit for these numbers, they're repeated in multiple places. Some sources: Combat Ratings @ WoWWiki, Spell Hit Rating @ Thottbot, Melee To Hit @ Thottbot and Zeisha's Hit Rating Guide @ Blizzard's forums.