Hark! I bring news of the devs and their crafty plans for bureaucrats! I know you don't want to listen to me wax on, so I'll get right to it.
Stuff in the works:
Crowd control:
it's going to be completely revamped. Yay! It will likely be shorter lasting, more dynamic, and hopefully much more useful (both in pvp and in pvm/SL)!
Pets:
also going to be revamped, specifically with attention to how outdated crat bot pets are, leveling crats, and crats who pvp at sub-220 levels.
New TL5 secondary pet (like a mini-carlo) that would be obtained with pen quest instead of the rollable brainfreeze (retroactive if you did quest already).
Charms:
there are talks about providing a way for bureaucrats to 'capture the essence' of npc's/monsters and spawn them later on in other zones for pvm or pvp!
Nukes:
more interesting nukes and more support for nukes as a REAL damage alternative, instead of just a damage supplement.
Misc. Fixes:
TTB: getting reworked to become worth casting!
Multiple Red Tap lines: collapsed into one!
Charm pathing/scrip behavior bugs: getting fixed! (eg /pet wait not working)
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UPDATES! Jan. 13, 2010
Some more details about pets:
As a part of the effort to fix bad pet pathing, we will get a new and more powerful instant pet warp nano that can break pet combat, and perhaps CC. Basically, we'll have a reliable way to find our pets, regardless of what crazy thing they're trying to do and regardless of if they are way out of range.
Also, about improved pets, the devs are going to go through every attack and defense skill our pets have and make sure that they are updated to be on par with current standards, as well as boost defenses to the point where they aren't easy to drain and gank as they are now.
About defenses:
The exact mechanics of how this will be implemented have not been decided yet, whether it'll be a perk or a nano, but all pet professions are going to gain the ability to re-direct a certain amount of damage to their pets, and an increased ability to heal pets in conjunction with this ability. This probably won't be a static defense, but a dynamic, emergency kind of defense (like take the bullet was intended to be, except actually useful).
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Now that we're free to talk about these plans, me and Mala would love to hear your feedback on all this. I don't have many details to post yet, but what do you guys think? Personally, I think that these plans address many of our biggest complaints, but what about you all? Do you have any major concerns that have NOT been addressed yet?