This is the only thing I’m gonna add to the discussion: that’s not how it went. Everyone thought/wanted Clemency to be the go to build from the moment the Hero trailer got released. The synergy between Clemency and High Inquisitor wasn’t a secret, it just wasn’t strong enough.
Q build was the discovery on the PTR for some people and on live for most. That was in fact the very first Whitemane balance patch: Clemency cd reduction was improved from 3 to 4, High Inquisitor refunded 75 mana/stack up from 60, Unwavering Faith was nerfed to reduce Q cost by 15 instead of completely removing it and Radiance was cut from 200 to 175.
That was literally it and from ~2 weeks after release, Whitemane was synonymous with W build just as everyone thought when they saw the trailer and possibly just like Blizzard intended at the time.
Edit: One more thing, Q build was overnerfed in that patch. In fact, maybe it wasn’t even that OP, considering both W and E build only got buffed since then. W build was really strong until February when High Inquisitor was nerfed to 50 from 75 mana return (weaker than at release) and currently E build sees the highest winrate, and it has been nothing but buffed since Whitemane’s release.
I haven’t heard of this where ‘everyone’ thought/wanted Clemency to be the go to build, do you have a link perhaps?
I do agree that they may have gone a bit overboard the Q talent nerfs.
I actually remember the same thing I only remember though that this was as an off hand remark made by the developer in either Reddit or the old forums, either way I’m too lazy to check due the amount of sifting involved (Whitemane is way too popular!). But this was what they mentioned on the first tuning pass, although my memory is too fuzzy to recall where.
Given that it was an off hand remark I wouldn’t over think it, but at the end of the day they kinda brought the problem on themselves with regard to making Clemency and High Inquisition feel mandatory (due to the buffs that were never really warranted first tuning pass alongside the heavy handed nerfs to Q and E).
NotParadox says Clemency seems to be the pick first day on PTR.
Nubkeks has the first impression first day on live.
Even in her trailer, Clemency is one of the few talents advertised, together with her level 4s, Harsh Discipline and DR upgrade, suggesting it’s an important part of her design.
Note: this also suggests mana return was a major part of her design since they took the time to advertise all level 4 talents (literally like 10% of the trailer) but out the window with that I guess…
Well, it seems like after giving it a thorough testing, NotParadox dislikes the rework. He confirms that only one build is worth playing, and that build has serious issues.
It will definitely be interesting to see what happens in the balance patch following this rework.
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If Not Paradox says it you know it’s bad… yikes…
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Like I’ve been saying this new Whitemane is very feast or famine in terms of healing, and it is largely contingent on one build. In addition, Whitemane again now has even less tools for kill confirm, and I do not think moving Harsh Discipline to 16 is actually doing her any favors either – now that it loses its synergy with Shared Punishment. Frankly the rework only brings a bigger issue than the prior version, and that isn’t a good thing…
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I hate it. Looks like they got pressured into releasing it early
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After a few days, apologies for the clip delays.
Kharazim were more dependent on his burst and mobility, while having relatively good healthpool.
Whitemane had to stand still for 2 seconds, while being reliant on her self-healing to survive.
Note, this is to stimulate how Healers built for damage interacts, and the Assassins shown are good Duelist Assassins.
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Some of her new talents sound kinda cool but honestly, another AA healer seems a bit of a bad decision. I dont play her much since she isnt exactly my type of healer but losing a mage type of damage healer for yet another generic AA focused one is a bummer. I doubt they will revert her builds after the change goes live but they will definitely look at slightly reworking and buffing other options in later patches. It would just be unreasonable in my eyes to leave her like this if so many people dislike the changes.
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I loved her before the rework, now again a bronze-elo AA healer with 0 skill. I hate this update… she didnt even need any changes because she was fairly well balanced and not op at all…
So if the HotS cycle of updates to be believed her real rework is coming next week, right?