Renown Point Overhaul

In the upcoming 1.4 patch, the Renown Point (RP) system will see some major changes.  Gone is the tiered system and the special renown tactics.  In their place is a more open system and a bunch of new Renown Abilities. 

My first impression is that this is a great direction they are headed in.  In the old system, there were 3 tiers.  You had to spend X amount of renown points to unlock the next tier of choices.  In the new system, all of the choices are available to you from the start (except the renown abilities).  This should allow for a lot more character customization, which is something I enjoy quite a bit.

They also expanded on the Renown Abilities.  There will be 4 (instead of just 1) and each will have multiple levels which can be bought.  They should add some interesting options if you choose to spend points on them.

While I like the overall picture, I do think there needs to be some tweaking before this goes live.  Let's take my Rune Priest as an example.  He is RR43 and has willpower over the cap at 1055.  That is without a single RP spent.  So I have 43 points free (RR80 will have 80 and RR100 will have 100), what to spend it on?

I could spend 34 points and get 116 wounds or I could spend the same amount on a flat 15% damage reduction (Hardy Concession).  I think I will take the latter. I don't plan on doing any damage so the drawback doesn't really affect me.  This also brings up the question of stacking.  If I am guarded (50% damage reduction), another 15% reduction will make me pretty hard to kill.  Just imagine a high RR healer.

Quick Escape is another dangerous option.  For 45 points, I can get a 35% movement speed increase.  How does that stack with things like the Celerity talismans, Odjira and Sprint?   Speed bonuses can get out of hand very easily, which is why Odjira was toned down a couple patches ago.  

I could go on, but this post is long enough already.  There is a lot of potential, both good and bad, with the new system.  Be sure to stop by the thread and give your feedback.

Posted in: 1.4,WAR