Blizzard needs to stop the continued implementation of the ICC progressive raid-buff!

What's with the contradiction?

There have been several blue posts regarding tank balance over the last few months, with flavor being the primary culprit as to why variables such as effective health pools, armor reduction debuffs (sunder armor), or the occasional god-modes (ardent defender) aren't stream-lined or shared between multiple tank classes.

Now here's where the contradiction begins. Where is the flavor in your hard-mode itemization? When going from normal-mode to hard-mode loot, the only things that really get changed are the stats of the items and sometimes their colors/textures. Oh, and let's not forget the "Heroic" label. This is not at all enjoyable for your player-base; either the hardcore-raider or the super-casual. When the higher item-level gear is not unique in any meaningful way, there is such a dry feeling in upgrading your gear. Even for those who don't have access to the hard-mode loot (or for those who never will), it can be just as dry a feeling because what do they really have to look forward to, or marvel at?

Now let's look at how you are taking streamlining a step further, in the wrong direction, and applying it to the Icecrown Citadel nerfs. Is it really that hard or time consuming to do what you guys have been doing for past dungeons in regards to nerfs? Leave the process a bit random so that people don't know what to expect with the nerf or when to expect it. Start with the earliest bosses first, progressively reaching the end of the instance, and only nerf the final boss of the dungeon much later (if at all) for the less progressed guilds to experience. You definitely need to leave some of the hardest bosses alone or else it will take away a lot of the majesty of it. (Meaning: nerf a fight like normal-mode Lich King into oblivion, but leave its hard-mode counterpart sufficiently difficult.)

The ICC progressive raid-buff is essentially free loot.

With the current nerfing process, you're essentially handing people free loot, and taking it away when they leave the raid instance. The sense of power from progression will evaporate as soon as the player leaves the zone. Say goodbye to 30% of your health, damage, and healing; you're not in Icecrown Citadel anymore! All of those big numbers that your player-base is seeing will turn into a thing of the past. Does anyone seriously think that's a good thing? Aren't you trying to make everyone, including the most casual and skill-less player, feel like the hero? (Which is a very bad idea in and of itself) This in essence is doing just that, but then taking it all away. Taking away a gift is rarely ever a good idea after it's already been given.

Gear progression is fun. It feels like you're earning something. Being handed free gear is NOT fun; not for anyone. You're not even logging in occasionally to earn badges or currency to get better gear. Exactly ZERO effort is needed and you are essentially fed free gear to clear Icecrown Citadel with. Gear progression is a big part of what makes WoW so enjoyable, so why go the path of gear regression now?

Cut your losses.

Please be willing to admit that you've made a mistake now rather than later, and stop the buff implementation at 5%. If it wasn't made clear from the rest of the article; NEVER, EVER introduce this nerfing mechanic again. Stick to nerfing specific encounters progressively and with enough randomness.

On a slightly related note, consider changing 10-man Lich King to favor 3 healers instead of 2 (similar to the rest of the dungeon), and make the necessary adjustments to 25-man Lich King so that the top guilds can kill it with gear progression alone.

... and since it will likely be mentioned by someone at some point, the Icecrown -20% dodge debuff is a necessary contradiction. There really wasn't another easy way to solve the problem after the damage was already done through 25man ToGC gearing.