Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Prot Pally 11-pointer?

I'm going to touch on a concern I have had since beta. Protection Paladins are the only class not to have an "11-pointer." Which is defined as a talent with a single point investment, that is usually a "clicky," or activated power (but not always.) We used to have one, Blessing of Kings. But that talent got a new treatment to make it more readily available.
We were left with a hole in that spot, a hole that has still not been filled. Occasionally, this concern has resurfaced on the forums, most recently, Ghostcrawler has replied to these concerns with this...
You imply however that these talents are all active abilities you click. This is not the case. There are several exceptions to the basic design where there is a new ability at 11, 21, 31, 41 and 51. We will give Protection and Holy new abilities in those slots if we think you need them or we have some hole to fill. (source)
Respectfully, I disagree.... The problem isn't that he descent address the concern, almost every time people ask for a "11 pointer," they are asking for an "11 point clicky." I am sure plenty of people are assuming it has to be a clicky, but there is a bigger problem with having no 11 pointer... It reduces the power of our spec. Every spec in the game, except ours, has a one point talent on that tier that provides a sizable bonus for its cost. Some of these talents are immensely popular, some are not, popularity does not enter into it. The point is, for a single point, you get a talent that would usually be costed at multiple points.
A clicky is fine, but to say that "Well, we don't see a real fit for a new clicky, therefore, you don't need a 11 pointer," Is to assume that people don't understand the basic structure of talent trees; which, a lot of people don't. In case people are curious, here are all the 11 pointers in the game. Death Knight
Rune Tap - Lichborne - Corpse Explosion
Druid
Nature's Splendor (passive) - Survival Instincts - Omen of Clarity (passive)
Hunter
Aspect Mastery (passive) - Aimed Shot - Scatter Shot
Mage
Focus Magic - Pyroblast - Icy Veins
Paladin
Aura Mastery (passive) - Ohnoez! - Seal of Command
Priest
Inner Focus - Desperate Prayer - Mind Flay
Rogue
Vigor (passive) - Riposte - Ghostly Strike
Shaman
Elemental Focus (passive) - Shamanistic Focus (passive) - Tidal Force
Warlock
Amplify Curse (passive) - Soul Link - Shadowburn
Warrior
Anger Management (passive) - Piercing Howl - Last Stand
That is 29 11-pointers, of those a total of 9 are passive. Every class that has had their former 11-pointer moved or removed were reimbursed with another. Of the classes, it seems to me that the druids changed the most, with only one of their 11-pointers remaining the same, but I could be wrong. Point is, its not only clear that there is a precedence, its also clear that this precedence was upheld almost religiously, except for the prot pally. I am not a believer in just bitching, however, so here are some non-clicky suggestions. Make Improved Righteous Fury a one pointer, with its current 3 point bonus, even without adding something to it, this would be a totally legitimate way to go. Obviously, I would like to see more, like; "When Righteous Fury is active, the Paladin may use Exorcism on any target, and that target is forced to focus attacks on you for 6 sec." Okay, I admit, a little weird, a single pointer that effects two spells? How about an all new one-pointer, "Glory - When struck, the paladin has a XX% chance to gain the "Glory" buff, which reduces the damage taken by the paladin and the party by XX%, lasts 5 seconds." This doesn't fit well with Ardent Defender or Divine Guardian, speaking of... Make Divine Guardian a single pointer. I could come up with more, and I am not an expert, Blizzard has tons of experts, and they cant do anything? If we really as a spec don't need anything new, half of my suggestions are making existing talents into one-pointers. Cmon Blizzard...

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