Feedback: Colossus Warrior in The War Within

Hello, and thanks for the request for feedback!

I like the theming of Colossus, MoM talent sounds fun and nice.

Echoing what others have said, in particular instead of channeled and static in-place abilities, if these were somehow made mobile/pressable on-the-go abilities with no GCD penalty.

As a colossus, I want to mash buttons a few times rotating Shield Slam, Overpower, Slam, Mortal Strike and not be movement capped between that burst damage window. Unleash a short series of devastating attacks outside of normal rotation.

Get rid of the word “precision” and rid of channeling. Colossus does not care about precision. Needs more rage / Less precision here I think.

this is hard to get my head around
we really need to see demolish actually cast to get a feel for it

5 Likes

It would be similar to draught of souls trinket from Legion. Press button and then stand there or break the cast for a bit.

+9 Haste (0.05% @ L70)

Use: Enter a fel-crazed rage, dealing 65 Shadow damage to a random nearby enemy every 0.25 sec for 3 sec. You cannot move or use abilities during your rage. (1 Min, 20 Sec Cooldown)

But a little improved here with block / parry stuff. But still channeled :confused:

I personally like the idea of having another non-instant move because the fantasy of being an armored 2h wielder is to be slow and do big chungus hits, not to be doing a flurry of melee attacks like a rogue in plate.

So I do like the idea of another channelled spell since it takes away from the melee attack mash gameplay. But it would be much better it was just one hit instead of multiple.

What I would prefer is an animation like this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ukBh9-78Bk

A damaging roar, a wind up, then one actual big strike.
Instead of “a flurry of precise attacks” which sounds like more rogue in plate garbage.

4 Likes

Demolish sounds interesting.
I really want to know more about the range / duration / if we can channel it while moving.
I’m also curious about the talent that increases shockwave duration and if that will be reduced in PvP since it kinda goes against their more recent CC duration changes. The knockup sounds kinda nice though.

I’m actually pleasantly surprised.

My only real issue is way too many % damage modifiers across all trees.
Doing anemic damage outside of cooldowns feels miserable, and if we aren’t pruning every single % modifier from the regular trees, this is going to be so excessive.

2 Likes

its basically rampage for arms, who knows if it is castable while moving or how long it lasts
Edit: i just noticed on the capstone talent it does root you in place so no, you cant move while casting demolish

^yeah I see. Thats what I don’t like the sound of.
In terms of gameplay it is interesting enough, in terms of class fantasy it sounds like a rogue skill, or something out of fury and not arms or prot

As a PvPer:

Big damaging cooldowns shouldn’t provide stun immunity. This is obnoxious to deal with. You need to use some other CC category just to stop it. Please, no.

1 Like

So just a channel you press on cooldown for AoE damage. That’s the tree.

Cool? I guess?

We have to be able to move during the channel of Demolish. Please don’t let this ability lock us in place.

1 Like

Reading the Colossus Breakdown I’m a little excited if somewhat reserved too.

Demolish - I like the concept here, having a multi strike attack for Arms/Prot is nice, I’m a little bias here due to liking multi hit animation attacks in other games like Fire Emblem seeing Astra procs pop off for swordmasters were always enjoyable, so something similar here for Arms? I’m all for it. Animation though for demolish better be good.

Now, Demolish being Grounded, this better just be a term for ‘being immune to x effects’ and not can’t move at all. Assuming Demolish will be a 1.5s or 3.0s channel scaling with haste. Just don’t make it lock you in place, not being able to move.

Regarding Colossal Might stacks on the opener, adding something like Avatar grants 5 stacks in the capstone would be appreciated so we could send it right away within our cooldowns as opposed to it’s use being delayed.

Passives look fine boring but fine, as with every other hero tree it looks like they’re being designed safely which I’m ok with.
I really like the utility added to shockwave in these passives though, going back to having actual group utility for keys is going to be nice.

Overall I like what I see and interested to see what Slayer has instore, hopefully more bleed gameplay to give a contrasting option for bleeds vs direct damage so there is variety to choose from for both dps specs since Mountain Thane and Colossus have all gone the direct damage route.

2 Likes

Most classes have a way to stop this. It also sounds like people could simply move away from it with cooldowns like chi torpedo, hover, demonic gateway, etc. But we’re gonna have to wait to see how it actually works.

1 Like

I’ve been waiting for something just like this. That would be incredible.

They missed the mark if it’s a rampage.

3 Likes

I originally was looking more forward to Slayer but after reading Colossus more I’m rather liking it.

Keystone

Demolish, new attack yay! I’m guessing it’ll play like Fyrath/Paracasual fragments of Shalamayne/Doomhammer? If so double yay, those were fun.

Left

Martial Expert - passive increases, okay

One Against Many/Arterial bleed - single target/aoe passive increases okay

Practiced Strikes - heft passive to the main attack, okay

Middle

Colossal Might - new stack building to buff the new ability that uses our core ability, cool

Tides of Battle - stacks increase damage of our rotation abilities, okay

True Might - increased stackening of the stacks, okay

Right

Boneshaker/Earthquaker - extra stun duration is always nice/Stun CD reduction is very nice and hypothetically the knock into air could be very useful if it means we can interrupt non-stunnables since it’ll be considered a forced movement.

No Stranger to Pain/Rally - buff to Ignore oaky/Rally has potential to be VERY strong depending on what “Low” actually means (every now and then low or Heartbreaker/Fyreath droprate low?) since that’s 6% a second.

Mountain of Muscles and Scars - buff to damage and defense is nice but the size increase is awesome! Hopefully it gets tweaked to where it’ll actually be a noticeable difference between non-Colossi Warriors.

Capstone

Unstoppable Force - Stack cap increased and if you overcap you get a CD reduction on Demolish, that is VERY nice QoL right there. The being immune to stun and movement stuff is also nice so we can’t get knocked out of it so no killjoying short of killing us but also we can play it defensively as well.

1 Like

Looking forward to new class tree and more utility.

Overall looks nice, hopefully demolish is castable while moving. The final node, {grounding} you, makes it a little ambiguous. I think passives are ok. Would it be nice if they had extra effects/interactions with current spells instead of baked in damage? Sure, but I’d rather that than more active abilities leading to button bloat.

The interaction of “Arterial Bleed” with “Colossal Might” buff feels wrong. If it’s too strong in AOE, you won’t want to press demolish; if it’s too weak, you’ll never use that choice node. Changing it so it buffs bleeds on use of/after “Demolish” for ‘x’ seconds could fix that.

There is also a point to be made about the other choice node, “One Against Many”, buffing shockwave’s damage. Making it into a rotational ability would be a mistake imho; utility should stay utility. If the class damage nodes are moved and we have to use it in our rotation, we lose the utility. Incoming “Can’t use shockwave because I just used it 8 seconds ago for more dam”

Also, increased size from “Mountain of Muscles and Scars” is awesome and hopefully big enough to be noticeable. But really, MAKE IT BIGGER!! :smile:

While I wouldn’t say “rotation” the current setup for Shockwave encourages this, with 1 follow-up talent increasing the damage by 350% and making it a guaranteed crit and the other increasing the range and if 3 or more targets are hit the CD is reduced by 15s (40s to 25s).

And with this Heroic Tree we have Earthquaker on the right which further reduces the CD by 5s, so 20s CD against a group going off these, but they’re also reworking it’s placement in the base tree so we’ll have to see what all that changes but I don’t foresee them keeping a 20s aoe stun.

Also while it’s damage gets boosted there’s nothing specifically building off of it so you can use it whenever in the rotation, probably after Colossus Smash, which against a group you were likely to do anyway.

I think this has potential, but could go a lot further with its namesake fantasy.

Firstly, before my actual feedback, I’m noticing that the left tree seems tailored to Arms, and the right tree seems tailored to tanking. But that middle column…does it allow for the possibility of a long-awaited return of Sword n’ Board DPS like what Gladiator Stance was & what is available right now in Season of Discovery? Because if so- that’s already fantastic.

With these ideas of mine, I’m pitching a concept that takes the term “Colossus” far more literally, and with less focus on more actives, and more focus on new transformative effects to your already existing abilities. With these Hero Talents in mind, alongside the Hero Talents in the tree already, a Colossus Arms or Gladiator Warrior would be a towering force to reckon with, and an unstoppable force. A Colossus Protection Warrior would be an immovable object.


Here’s an ability I think could replace Demolish. IMO it has a bit more flavour that just (what reads as) a copy/paste of the Paracausal Shalamayne/Doomhammer trinket active:

Titan:
Active Ability
Replaces Avatar

Transform into a colossus of titanic proportion for 20 sec, growing even larger than Avatar, & causing you to deal 20% increased damage. Every 4th [Shield Slam/Demolishing Slam/Mortal Strike/Demolishing Strike] dealt to the same target knocks them over for 1 second. If the target is immune to stuns, the 4th strike deals 400% damage.


An idea for a talent within that middle branch to replace Tide of Battle with something more transformative and fulfilling of a “Colossal” fantasy:

(If Protection):
Ashes of the Gladiator:

  • Your Battle Stance is replaced with Gladiator Stance.

  • In this stance, all threat generation from your abilities are reduced by 90%.

  • Damage output is increased by 20%.

  • You cannot change out of this stance during combat.

  • Your Shield Slam becomes Demolishing Shield, gaining new effects:

Demolishing Shield:
[Everything Shield Slam already does] + a 3% damage damage dealt buff for 15 sec, stacking up to 99 times. This ability grants 10 stacks if used against an enemy with any sort of absorb shields or damage mitigation active.

(If Arms):
Embers of the Champion:

  • Your Mortal Strike becomes Demolishing Strike, gaining new effects:

Demolishing Strike:
[Everything Mortal Strike already does] + consumes the remaining damage of deep wounds before applying. If the target has an absorb shield or any damage mitigation active, Demolishing Strike applies a new Deep Wounds that deals additional damage equal to what the previous deep wound consumption would’ve inflicted.


Unstoppable Force:

Colossal Might now stacks 10 times. If you would gain a stack of Colossal Might and are at max stacks, the cooldown of Titan is reduced by 2 sec.

While transformed into a Titan, using Heroic Leap grants you a brief immunity to crowd control effects, and knocks up enemies into the air.


Lastly, a note on the spell effects and visual aspect of this fantasy:

  • I imagine “Titan” form to make your character look like as if you’ve turned into pure Metal, with the same sort of effect as Odyn’s Metal skin, or (fittingly named) Colossus from X-Men, with the “rows” of metal. Alongside that, having piercing glowing red eyes if Arms, light blue eyes if Prot, and Golden Eyes if used in Gladiator Stance.

  • For the proposed Demolishing attacks, their swings would have far more drastic and brutal animations, and sound effects to really sell the brutality and the impact. Demolishing Slam would sound like an epic reverberating THWACK, almost like being hit by a truck. Demolishing Strike would have a gutteral bone crunching sound alongside a meaty thud that implies severe blunt force trauma. Both abilities would have strong trail-render effects like Condemn, to really sell the “travel” of the swings.


All of that said, thank you for asking for feedback Blizz. Now all I can do is pray that mine is taken into consideration!

4 Likes

Apologies for the long read. Overall, I understand what the tree aims for, but it’s… underwhelming. It complicates things when it could keep it simple, and skips opportunities to bing in some missing elements.

You’re giving prot and arms another spell, which : gets damage buffed by stacks gained by either mortal strike or shield slam, and buffs overpower and revenge. And gives us kockback immunity in exchange of being rooted while being locked out of using any other spell while its being channelled.

As Arms, that’s… not fun. I play arms for its simplicity and the absence of button bloating. I like being that big dude with that big weapon, with big hits. I’m slow, but each hit counts.
Now you’re telling me the major feature of the expansion is giving me another spell ? Meh. I’m already doing eveyrhting i can to NOT take skullsplitter, cleave or champion spear.
Also, that new spell you’re giving me, it’s yet another “build up ressource and spend it within a short window of time” gameplay, yet i’m already playing it with Colossus Smash ? Double Meh.
And… That’s it ? just another button to press during a window of damage ? Also, no mention of Execute when it is a major element of our gameplay, damage-wise ?

As Prot… well it isn’t very fun either. Prot is all about reducing damage so we do no need as much self sustain as others.
You’re giving me yet another spell, when i’m already having to weave off gcd spells ? And while doing more damage is always welcome, am i not supposed to be a tank ?

Ideas : If you really want to keep adding another spell, then as Arms, make Demolish Replace Colossus Smash. For Prot, add some self healing.

  • Demolish : Channeling 3 seconds. Replaces Colossus Smash (for arms). You unleash a series of strikes to your target and enemies within 8 yds of it, and increases the damage you deal to your target by 20% for 10seconds.
  • Colossal Might : Mortal Strike and Shield Slam grant you a stack of Colossal Might. Colossal Might Increases the duration of Demolish and stacks up to 5 stacks. Colossal Might increases the damage of Overpower and Revenge. Demolish consumes Colossal Might.
  • Tides of Battle : During Demolish, each use of Mortal Strike, Overpower or Execute further increases the damage you deal to your target by 1 (or 2 ?) %, and you are healed for 50 (or100?) % of the damage inflicted by Shield Slam, Revenge and your bleeds.
  • True Might : Same.
  • Unstoppable Force : Same (stack to 10, +stack of Colossal Might). Using Demolish grants you Unstoppable Force for 3 seconds, making you imune to stuns and effects that move you. For each 5-stacks of Colossal Might, reduces the duration of Demolish channelling for 1 / 2 seconds and increases the duration of Unstoppable Force for 1 / 2 seconds.

As Arms, now you have a new spell that isn’t piling up. It changes the way Colossus Smash works, but keeps the same idea. Makes Mortal Strikes, Rampage and Execute interact with it in a more clever and more flexible way. Also, gives players a better control on the channeling and immunity effect. And you get a small amount of self healing with bleeds. And hopefuly, by keeping the core principle of “dps during a window of dmg” it doesn’t overlap with Slayer.
Gameplay isn’t about “i need to add another spell in within colossus smash” but “i get more out of colossus smash”, and “using Demolish with less than 10 stacks isn’t as punitive”.

As Prot, you get a new spell that increases both your damage and self sustain. It also adds a bit more gameplay to your class without bloating it further. It’s simple, yet effective : you deal more damage, you heal yourself. And it doesn’t overlap with Mountain Thane.

P.S : That’s feedback on the talent tree and what it aims for. But damn, i’d give a whole race, class or raid tiers to be able to sword and board dps again.

I hate demolish. Casting an attack as a warrior seems like a bad idea imo.

5 Likes

Trippling the cast time would make this ability dead on arrival. Using these “lock you into place combo” abilities are not the death sentence/rotation destroyer people think they are.

(The haven’t posted an actual cast time for the channel but I’m basing it off the other three examples we have, Dreamrender, and the Shalamayne/Doomhammer trinkets)