CC Oh Playmate

This is one of those posts that is going to start as one thing and lead into another...just to warn you :)

I have been wondering why no one uses CC any longer? I've been contemplating this for a few days now and have come up with a couple of reasons.
1) Time - It takes much longer on the front end to coordinate target marking, it also takes time between mobs to coordinate pulls. In BC, unless you were with a group that knew all the pulls you were left explaining every mob to every one, or, to one person. Many times this just became frustrating. Now with LFG, it is almost a gimme that an instance will last no more than 45 minutes if that. Many now are reduced to 15-20 minutes per run and people have gotten used to that. Instances that run longer are seen as a waste of time.
2) Ability - We now have the ability to pull whole mobs or multiple mobs at once. Tanks have been given the skill set to deal with large groups as opposed to single targets.
3) Skill - In my opinion, due to the increased leveling time frame, many classes with CC abilities just did not learn how to use that particular skill in a group situation.

When I first started my Wrath path I got into groups with new guildies. Those that had just leveled their toons in this expansion. I tried running groups where we taught hunters how to chain trap and mages to sheep etc. It was not a great success. I wonder if it's a long lost art at this point.

On the flip side, we ran Old Kingdom a while back and decided that everyone would CC if they chose. It was fun. However, being that that was my first tanking experience with CC, I myself found it uncomfortable and was unsure what to do. I was hoping that the CCer's would pull the mobs far enough away, and had to mentally force myself not to cleave, thunderclap or shockwave in that direction in order to not break it. It was challenging but it was a cool exercise. I would love to try it again just to learn more about functioning in that situation.

So this line of thinking took me in another direction. I remember, long ago and toward the end of BC I got into a PUG for a heroic Shattered Halls. I think I got picked up simply because I was a warlock with AoE capabilities and fairly decent gear, though not tier. The tank was a pally. For the first time we did an entire AoE instance. Even the dreaded 7 pull was pulled all at once and me and a mage promptly AoE'd them down. No CC! It was so cool! I really don't care much for Seducing with my Succubus. I never thought I was very skilled at it, though I can do it successfully. It was refreshing to just do damage and not have to juggle several tasks at once.

Looking back on this instance I wonder how we did it? I don't remember who the players were but this is my take on it. OP. We had enough gear, damage, HP and heals to pull it off.
So how does this translate to today? It seems that Wrath was designed that way. The class changes that occurred in Wrath have allowed us to do it. We have higher HP in proportion to the mobs we're faced with. We have a higher damage output that allows us to be able to run through instances and wipe the floor with our adversaries.

What does this mean now? In order to keep progressing with gear and spells and HP pools we need to redesign and tool down a bit what we have. To keep the obstacles as obstacles Blizz  has had to make bosses that are so overpowering that the fights become totally out of whack. A prime example would be the debuff you get in ICC that I believe reduces dodge. The debuff was put in because in order to get around how often a dodge occurred yet still make the boss bossy they had to pack a ton of damage into one boss attack. Thus making it nearly impossible when the boss did land a hit to heal it and continue. From my understanding the encounters were so damage spiky they were too tough to complete.
It seems I have come to my own conclusion in a round about casual way that I think Blizz has reached. In order to continue on this path stats have to be modified. We cannot continue to be OP or the fun will leach out before we even realize it.
Honestly, we all want to go in and blow away raid bosses. Realistically if we one-shot everything we would literally be done with the game. The fun is in the battle, and the logistics. Figuring out how to win and feeling like we've worked for it. How many of us would get bored very quickly?

To that end I wait with baited breath for Cataclysm if only to see how this all comes out. I am excited about the stat changes, (not only for the math aspect) but to see how it resets all of us. Will we be doing more CC in the future? Who knows. Sometimes I miss it and sometimes it's nice to just faceroll through an instance. I don't think Blizz will be able to go back though. We've all been spoiled by the 15 minute instance. If we are now forced to take the long road the forums may light up with QQ. (LULZ)