An Idea for Rune Tap

I will preface this by saying that I have been a very casual enjoyer of Blood DK over the years, having picked up the class as my first real foray into tanking. This isn’t really a call for “buffs” (though I guess it could turn out to be one), but its more an opportunity for what I think could be a neat interaction. With the changes to Bonestorm to consume Bonshield stacks rather than Runic Power, the talent Insatiable Blade has quickly become one of my favorites to play around.

Having that sort of feedback loop of Dancing Rune Weapon granting charges for Tombstone and Bonestorm to consume only to refund DRW’s cooldown adds another layer to the concept of “active mitigation” that I’ve found quite fun as a player (and the idea of a tank that sacrifices their defenses for offense/other resources is always cool). That got me thinking, what if Blood leaned a little more heavily into this “Boneshield as a resource” playstyle? That’s where Rune Tap caught my eye…

The general consensus seems to be that Rune Tap is either incredibly niche if not a total trap of a talent, primarily because it eats a rune for middling payoff. So here’s my idea:

  • Rune TapBone Tap (or some equally bone-themed name): No longer consumes a rune. (NEW EFFECT) Now consumes up to 3 Boneshield stacks, reducing damage taken by 10% for each stack consumed. Lasts 4 seconds. Up to two charges of Bone Tap can be stored at a time

Of course, the numbers can be tweaked since this indirectly buffs every talent associated with Boneshield being consumed (most notably DRW’s uptime), but I think it could be a fun gameplay hook for those who wish to path through this talent without necessarily turning it into a “must-have” (debatable).

Like I said, this is just an idea to make a niche/lackluster talent a little more competitive. Curious what you guys think.

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I mean yeah this is an absurdly good idea and I’d now mad that it’s not actually in the game.

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Appreciated. I also see this as a way to potentially give Blood cleaner openers between packs, especially when threatened with Boneshield falling off. I always feel those first few seconds of a pull are the scariest for us. This coupled with a Death’s Caress on approach would probably a solid start to any given pull.