World of Warcraft has changed its itemization philosophy over and over again that today's version of endgame gear barely resembles the one the game shipped with, and Dragonflight seems to be moving forward with what players have become accustomed to since Battle for Azeroth. When The Burning Crusade launched, it introduced Jewelcrafting and gem sockets to the game, providing an additional layer of fine-tuning a character's stats beyond the enchants of vanilla.
This system largely endured throughout Mists of Pandaria, where it achieved its peak. Players were allowed to reforge their gear's secondary stats, upgrade their items through Valor points, and had guaranteed gem sockets on the vast majority of their equipment slots. To some, the song-and-dance that came with obtaining a new item in World of Warcraft was becoming tedious – to others, this extensive customization represented the freedom to always shape their gear to match their specialization. When Warlords of Draenor made sockets rare and tied to chance, the potency gain from gems had to be flattened, as it would have provided an unfair advantage to lucky players.
Therein ultimately lies the problem: as gem sockets are still tied to luck in World of Warcraft, their potency in Dragonflight must also remain solid – but not too strong. According to Wowhead's datamining, the gems and enchants in Dragonflight have experienced some last minute changes by Blizzard Entertainment, reducing the stat increases they provide by about 62.5% of the original value. Not all values have suffered a decrease, as the tertiary stats on bracer enchants were buffed by 25%.
The launch of Dragonflight is fast approaching, and it makes sense the developers at Blizzard are performing some final number adjustments across the board. Moreover, many World of Warcraft players already assumed that the gems and sockets were due for a nerf. Though some fans will no doubt mourn the loss, so long as sockets are based on chance, this is ultimately the smarter way to go.
With Dragonflight representing a return to World of Warcraft's roots with its talent and loot system, as well as its focus on professions, one can't help but wonder if Blizzard Entertainment missed an opportunity to bring the old socket system back. Ever since Warlords of Draenor, Jewelcrafting lost a significant chunk of its appeal and gold-making potential, and much like Inscription, it sits in an awkward position compared to professions such as Engineering. Though the itemization in Dragonflight is not without its issues, and has ways to grow, it is in a much healthier place than it used to be in Battle for Azeroth.
World of Warcraft is available now for PC. Dragonflight launches on November 28.
Source: Wowhead