The mana / health leeching Vampire has been a core part of our fantasy since Vanilla. Is blood magic really outside of our scope? After reviewing Shadowlands Alpha, I can’t help but feel like a larger thematic and mechanical overhaul is needed for my old favorite spec! Enter… blood magic!
Blood Magic is the magic of Old Gods, San’Layn, and the Nathrezim. When I think of Nya’Lotha, I think of that deep purple and red color scheme, and I think Shadow Priest would look so much cooler with that color pallet rather than pure Void everything. Shadow Priests have the power of the San’Layn and Nathrezim in their fantasy, which are the two closest things we have in game to Vampires. Even if it was just blood themed talent choices that were optional that we could spec in to to get a specific theme for our character without changing too much fundamentally. These talents would have an emphasis on leeching resources from the target thus improving regeneration and improving the vitality of the party.
Spitball Talent Ideas for Blood Themed Talents -
Blood Pool - A talent that replaces Dispersion with Blood Pool, sucking life out of enemies and healing yourself and allies. Since it does not generate mana or increased speed, perhaps cause Blood Pool to spread Shadow Word: Pain to every target it hits to help them keep pace in Mythic +.
Blood Bolt - A talent that replaces Void Bolt with Blood Bolt. Blood Bolt does less damage but you can use it as a heal on yourself or an ally and you can use it while casting Mind Flay.
Bloodbeast - A talent that replaces Shadowfiend with Bloodbeast, which becomes larger and more powerful with each successful melee hit while spawning blood orbs that heal allies when walked over.
Blood Shield - Replaces your PW: Shield. Deals a small amount of damage to the priest for a massive absorb that scales with your spell power.
Blood Barrier - Create a Blood Barrier that increases all spell damage within the barrier and reduces the healing of all enemies inside by x %.
Leech - A replacement for Void Torrent. Assume a shadowy form to leap behind your enemy and feast on their blood for 2 seconds, dealing x damage, consume their resources, and then returning 100% back to you. Leeching mana will increase your mana. Leeching energy, focus, rage etc. will boost your Insanity bar. Insanity does not deplete while Leeching.
^Imagine casting your Void Elf Racial, then leaping to the healer to drain his mana with a Vampire’s Bite via Leech, then fearing them before taking the Racial teleport? That’s a level of mobility we’ve never seen from Spriest and could be very cool! We are a floating, ethereal blob of shadow energy while in Void Form… I think we should be whisping around more in general.
6 Likes
Yasss let’s destroy priest’s only DPS spec even more! Woohoo!
Since none of the angry troll ladies who keep yelling “blood for whats-his-name” have pants… I would say no thank you.
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Priests have no association with Blood magic.
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Blood magic should go to a hypothetical Necromancer class as one of their specs, not tacked onto priest.
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@drakov Vampiric Embrace and Vampiric Touch are two Vampire (and therefore Blood) themed spells that have been around since Shadow’s inception. The San’Layn and Nathrezim are the closest things we have to Vampires and those are a part of the Shadow Priest fantasy. Giving Vampiric magic to a non-existant Necromancer class would gut the core theme of Shadow. The Magics of the Old Gods are Shadow, Void, and Blood. Spriests have used FROST magic in the past. Blood magic is certainly on the table. The Blood Elves, Trolls, Worgen and Human priests who want to be Count Dracula rather than a black and purple void blob will thank you.
@Rosenylund read above
Vampiric Touch and Embrace are about energy siphoning, not blood magic. Shadow priest practice psychic vampirism as part of their magics, but it’s not physical vampirism, and it has nothing to do with blood.
Blood Magic is under the umbrella of Death Magic, which Priests only lightly dabble in. There’s actually straight up no lore basis for what you’re saying.
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Revert shadow to pre-legion.
Make a 4th spec for Blizzard to do their usual destroying spec routine.
Never touch pre-legion shadow again.
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I think you are in denial because these spells don’t have red animations or something. “Vampire” in the name is going to suggest blood magic. If Shadow Priests don’t dabble in death magic, what is Shadow Word: Death? What is Devouring Plague? You’ve got no real defense for your claim. The Shadow spec is described as a dark cultist. Is blood magic not a magic form used by dark cultists?
For you to say there is no lore basis in this, when the primary spells of the spec are themed around Vampires, seems pretty closed minded. You’re a Death Knight so of course you won’t share your blood magic. A stronger basis can be made in the Shadowlands.
And also because they have literally nothing to do with draining blood.
4 Likes
If anything Blood Magic is more the domain of warlocks.
Shadow Priests have a talent called “San’Layn”. Vampiric themed spells leech the vitality of your enemies to benefit yourself and the group. This is blood magic lol. Why can’t shadow priests be more than one shade? The Old Gods are deep purple and red, the fusion of Void and Blood. I think yall are trippin’
Shadow priest magic used to be a bit more ambiguous. Since Legion when wow writers decided to triple-down on “void lords, void magic, void void get it?” you are now stuck being a sparkly blue void priest forever, sorry.
But how do you explain the San’Layn / Nathrezim / Nya’lotha connection? The Dark Cultist fantasy has more to it than sparkly purple void stuff only. That was a remnant of the Legion idea of Spriest and things have changed in BFA with all the Blood Gods / Blood Cultists and now with Shadowlands, the land of the Nathrezim/Vampire dudes and all this cool potential to add more to the Dark Cultist class fantasy. If they aren’t adding it to a Necromancer class, than where? You could give it to warlocks, but then you gut the core theme of Shadow which all along has revolved around Vampiric Embrace and Vampiric Touch.
I would rather this be a spec of its own for either Priests or a Necromancer class.
2 Likes
It’s widely regarded as the worst spec in the game with fundamental core problems. You can’t destroy it more. It’s trash.
I mean visual representation is important. Blood DKs are full blown vampire knights with all of their animations displaying gore and blood. Shadow Priest’s visual effects have always implied mental affects and physical degridation through void corruption, not the physical drain of blood and use of blood magics. The void has an endless thirst for energy, hence “vampiric”. Every single effect that implies physical blood based vampirism or transfering of vitality through blood is represented ingame. Where in the priest lore are you able to manipulate Anima like a DK?
You want to know what Blood Magic in WoW looks like? The Blooddrinker talent. You know what Void magic looks like? Vampiric Touch. Void has a voracious hunger for life energy, and that hunger is prosed vampiric, because Vampiric Touch sounds better than Void Touch. ‘Vampiric’ in the context of Shadow is prose, it’s not a mechanical description.
I’ve played shadow priest as a main for 2 expansions, don’t tell me what and what isn’t in the priest’s fantasy. Right now, Shadow Priests are cultists of the old gods and have no grasp over anima manipulation or death magics. Spriests are all in on Void magics and psychic power.
IDK why I’m even giving you the time of day on this one, this is a pretty crackpot suggestion and I dont think blizzard would ever give Spriest blood magic, so I’m gonna stop replying here.
A fourth blood spec for priests that functions as a legit healer could be cool, but I was hoping for a more subtle red twang added to the Shadow Priest talent tree. Even just glyphs for pete’s sake. Just some way to give a nod to the blood cultists out there. The trolls, belves, worgens, and edgy human players would rejoice.
I honestly agree, this would actually render Troll and Zandalari Troll Priest relevant.