Wanted to share my personal thoughts on a talent by talent basis for our upcoming rework in this early iteration.
I won’t touch on all of them, just some of the ones that really stick out for me.
My thoughts here all also come from a Ret PvP perspective only.
1. Auras of the Resolute
Very happy to see Crusader Aura added to this automatic option! After the recent talent changes, I was a bit letdown to “lose” the ability to talent into Crusader Aura. You would be surprised how often Crusader Aura can make an impact in Battleground play. Plus, the more Paladin flavor we can maintain the better!
2. Empyreal Ward
This talent rocks for PvP. Lay on Hands has definitely lost some of its power overtime. The armor buff is great and is a smart solution to help beef it up a bit. This tied with no longer being reduced in its throughput with reduced healing effects is icing on the cake!
3. Holy Reprieve
Such a massive fan of this new talent! Ever since we lost this from our Artifact Weapon back in Legion with the talent “Endless Resolve”, it has been seriously missed. The 10 seconds is a massive quality of life improvement!
4. Wrench Evil/Stand Against Evil
These talents are flavorful and great new options. Trying to give some love to the idea that Paladins are anti-evil and are a counter to Demons/Undead will always be welcomed by me. Of course they may even have good uses in PvP so wins all around!
5. Steed of Liberty
Biggest win of this new talent tree! Nothing but gratitude for this ability. This could very well solve my biggest gripe in Ret PvP which is maneuverability. Not so much mobility. It is too difficult to get to where you would like to go as Ret and this is a fair compromise for me against a direct gap closer like Wings of Liberty.
6. Divine Spurs
This talent stacks well with Steed of Liberty in PvP scenarios. What I really want is to get from point A to point B more easily with more agency. I likely will always take this talent in PvP unless its a capture the flag map.
7. Divine Toll
Such a minor note but I appreciate the golden recolor of this icon. Feels like an actual Paladin ability now!
8. Lead the Charge
Really cool idea and a type of utility that I wasn’t asking for or expecting but will absolutely take. I love this new direction of Paladins being more supportive of their allies. This kind of stuff will always be a win in my book.
9. Stoicism
Who came up with this? Seriously I just want to say thank you! This is a treat to see in the general Paladin talent tree for a PvP player. The name for the talent also just helps build on a particular fantasy archetype that I enjoy with playing my Paladin.
10. Inspired Guard
Such a clever way to increase the defensiveness of Divine Protection without just simply increasing the damage it reduces. Really like this flavor.
11. Eye for an Eye
Again, such a clever way to increase the defensive benefit of Divine Protection. Really love the flavor and Eye for an Eye has sorely been missed by me ever since it disappeared!
12. Light’s Revocation
Now this is a capstone talent! Thank you for letting us press Divine Shield during Forbearance! Having the shield actually heal us a bit too when you are debuffed is also a major quality of life improvement. I believe we had something like this before and it really helps the flow of combat with Divine Shield.
13. Lightbearer
Another great flavorful Paladin talent that really fits the class fantasy well. I love this direction and this should be a solid pick in battlegrounds for Ret!
Overall I am an incredibly happy Paladin player after seeing these new talents!
It’s hard for me to have complaints with this new direction. I am a massive supporter of Wings of Liberty but I will hold judgment until I can play around with Steed of Liberty. This very well could solve my biggest gripe with Ret PvP.
Massive props to whoever worked on this update. You guys killed it!