Maybe the use of our shadow spells can reduce its CD.
So like this.
Void Form
1 Min CD
Gains access to Void Spells. Upon entering Void Form, accumulate 5 insanity per sec. Upon reaching 100 insanity, you are forced out. Each Void spell cast will cause 20% faster accumulation (Stacking). Your Shadow Spells Reduce the CD of Void form by 5 sec while not in Void Form.
Also, the Void Spells are not spenders. You will always accumulate insanity while in Void Form. Void Spells will just accelerate the rate of insanity you accumulate.
To me, its a bit different.
I really dislike this because it adds nothing other then a boring link between the 2 phases.
for voidform to be our core mechanic having a 1min cd is way to long and will make the gameplay clunky
having our spells reduce voidform cd does not add any interaction between the 2 phases.
voidform is the result of you going crazy not the other way around. you slowly go insane then reach voidform.
this is very interesting however Iām very worried about ramp up mechanics( due to current voidform). would love to see how it works in game.
if there is a ramp up mechanic there needs to be something to counter it. otherwise it just turns into a mess. again this is the whole problem with current voidform the ramp up mechanic.
I still think itās very interesting and would love to see how to plays in-game if we can figure out a counter to the ramp-up. I donāt think it would be that hard because it is not linked to haste or any secondary stat the can be directly affected by gear and unbalanceble
Well we could just take the current version of Void Form Insanity drain and apply the insanity drains really slow and stays that way. Only when you use Void Spells does the drain start rapidly going faster and faster.
This would prevent the use right when a pack of mobs die and you loose out on your damage boost and have to restart the entire process again on next pack.
So instead, you use this and it could last for a few pulls if you donāt use any Void spell. But only 1 pull if your pumping out Void spells like crazy. Or 2 pulls if you are just weaving them in with shadow spells.
So outside Void Form you shadow spells generate insanity in order to get into Void Form. While in Void Form, your shadow spells no longer generate insanity. Maybe they just get a slight damage increase. While your Void Spells are inaccessible outside Void Form and in Void Form, they are so powerful that it causes you to stay in Void Form for less and less time the more you use those Void Spells.
thats pretty much what i originally suggested except you made it soā¦
voidform now has a 1min cd (again way to long and gonna make the gameplay clunky because the core mechanic rotates around you being in voidform)
ramp up mechanic which sounds interesting however we need to be very careful about ramp up mechanic they proven to be very difficult for Blizz to balance.
the thing about ramp up mechanic is it takes agency from the player and forces you into a tight time window. no one likes that.
From my previous post. I mean taking the current retail version of Insanity mechanic and just tweaking how the drain system works.
Currently it drains faster and faster and you have no control over the speed at which it drains. So if you prematurely use Void Form or you get stunned/silenced etc. You just wasted all that build up.
However, if you give control to the player over how fast it drains, it allows you a greater window to choose when and what you want to do. But in doing so, that window is ever shrinking based on your actions.
It still sucks sure. But it would be better then it is now.
Again, I want to toss it out. but iām trying to see if it can become something of flavor and not despised all together lol.
I went back and read through your suggestion and here is where you suggestion is a bit confusing.
you are saying adjust the drain system of voidform so rather then it just ramping up the more you stay in voidfrom it ramps up everytime you use a voidspell.
the main reason to get into voidfrom is for the dps boost you get from the void spells it provides.
the only way to prolong voidform is by not casting any spells. now you might say you get your normal spells that wouldnāt ramp it up. that does nothing to counter the drain because once iām in voidform Iām on a timer that only ticks faster. there is no counter to the ramp up. the only thing you can do is stop it form ticking faster by not casting spells and that still will cause you to lose voidform and to lose dps.
Ram up mechanic does not work i promise you and for a drain system there needs to be a counter to the drain for it to work otherwise its simply a timed buff.
I think the best way to deal with it is to make it a fixed drain rate with no ramp up with spenders. your dots and other spell will counter the drain however the spenders will make it hard to maintain and the playstyle turns into what should i spend my resource on as it depletes and how to maintain it form depleting.
Thatās pretty much WoD Demo lock mechanic which after asking a couple of warlock mains said they loved it and miss it.
Making Voidform a cooldown ability with a set duration will not fix the issues. A bunch of people keep bringing up that possibility - but it leaves the rest of the spec vacant and disfunctional.
The spec is built around the interactions between Voidform, Insanity, and all the long ramps that make it work. You canāt effectively remove one (by making it a cooldown), and expect the spec to function.
We either need a solution where Insanity is a builder/spender model, or to revert to the last builder/spender model that works (Shadow Orbs), or replace it with something entirely new (unlikely).
Could we just make mindflay/sear castable while moving and increase sanity generation. And make the mind last proc baseline and make the proc rate high. So you get like 7-10 per min.
But in shadowlands everyone but dot classes will be limited to 5-8 target cleave. So if they keep dark void and mind sear available shadow potentially has the best aoe of any class. Every 30 seconds. Assuming you take the 50 talent for insta voidform.
Not saying it canāt receive a rework. Just that with current team and working from home. Iām not sure how much of a rework can happen. And no going backwards to wod isnāt an rework
Edit: forgot searing dialog would also be going away rip shadow 2020
you know they been working on the alpha and class changes even before Blizzcon. Let me state this really clearly the lack of changes and the nerfs shadow priest is receiving in the alpha are conscious decisions from the devs team.
If we are being honest with ourselves what we see in alpha is what we are going to get. People who are saying this is the alpha and wait until the beta are full on delusional. havenāt we learned anything from BFA. the same issues that were brought up in bfa still remain and are brought up in the alpha again but have been completely disregarded the dev team.
I donāt know if your replying to someone in this thread or my op, but my post detailed the overhaul required to make converting voidform into a cd work.
Insanity gains would work the same as now except void bolt (and the new seperate ability void eruption) would cost insanity. A way to make the builder/spender unique is to have the abilities cost up to say 50 insanity with no cd, damage done is based on the amount of insanity used.
The Void Form cooldown would gain insanity when used instead of drain it.
No more ramp, no more required 2 x Mind Blast, weād have burst potential, and also a relevant dps cooldown.
Itās clear that nobody on the dev team has real experience playing shadow, if there was then void form would have been fixed or removed during legion, STM would never have gone live from the legion beta, and the class would have been at least playable at the start of BFA.
The wave of #deletevoidform messages will hopefully get them to reconsider the direction they are going with shadow (because on alpha itās going straight off a cliff).
Iāve been playing since vanilla, raiding as shadow since BC, cutting edge since Wotlk and every famed slayer this xpack, no joke blizz if you want proper feedback and alpha testing Iām available.
I have been screaming this sense alpha started. Blizz needs people who played priest since at least BC. Players who have played the spec for a very long time will have a better and more insightful feedback on the spec. This is not to discourage people who picked the spec recently. fresh opinions can be eye opening sometimes, however, if we are being honest someone who played the spec for 10+ years has a better understanding of it then someone who played it in legion.