Editing this as a new post cause I got another chance to Test this today and the Set works slightly different than writen.
Mainly how the 4piece functions;
- Consuming Divine Purpose on WoG does not grant Divine Arbiter
- Consuming Divine Purpose on FV empowers your next DS/Hammer of Light with Divine Arbiter
- Consuming Divine Purpose on DS empowers your next FV/Hammer of Light with Divine Arbiter
- Consuming Divine Purpose on Hammer of Light empowers your next FV/DS with Divine Arbiter
Continuing the discussion from Midnight: Curse of Ula’tek PTR Development Notes:
Feedback: The initial design of this is a lot better in terms of allowing us to spend Divine Purpose on whichever Holy Power Spender feels right in any given moment. However, it does not effect Word of Glory, and it feels like it still forces AoE into ST rotations.
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Issue 1: The 4-piece does not grant Divine Arbiter to FV, DS, or Hammer of Light when consumed on a Word of Glory Cast
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Feedback: This may be a temporary bug, but Divine Purpose spent on WoG does not empower the Paladin with Divine Arbiter.
The tier set states “Consuming Divine Purpose grants Divine Arbiter…” if that is meant to be for only consuming successful DPS Holy Power Finishers that should be clearly stated.
If that is the intended design, that feels really bad in terms of limiting our Player Choice and Agency on what we spend our Divine Purpose procs on.
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Issue 2: Using Single target abilities in AoE or Vice Versa
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Feedback:
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Consuming Divine Purpose on FV empowers your next DS/Hammer of Light with Divine Arbiter
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Consuming Divine Purpose on DS empowers your next FV/Hammer of Light with Divine Arbiter
This obviously forces both ST into AoE, and AoE into Single target, which again, due to Ret’s “fast pace whack-a-mole” gameplay, this can easily ruin the flow of our DPS rotation.
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Issue 3: The 2-piece and 4-piece feel like they are working against each other, instead of reinforcing one another.
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Feedback: The 2-piece increases DP’s proc chance by 10%, which naturally leads to more Divine Purpose streaks. However, the 4-piece only grants Divine Arbiter when you consume a Divine Purpose proc if Divine Arbiter isn’t already active.
That means the better the 2-piece performs, the more likely you are to consume additional Divine Purpose procs during an existing Divine Arbiter window, and those procs won’t generate another Divine Arbiter.
It creates a situation where getting lucky with Divine Purpose can actually feel bad because part of the set bonus is effectively wasted.
Currently, consuming the Divine Purpose proc from HotS’s talent [Aurora] does not grant Divine Arbiter.
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Issue 4: If that changes, Herald of the Sun may hold Wake of Ashes till consuming Divine Arbiter Stacks
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Feedback: As Herald, if I randomly get a Divine Purpose proc right before Wake of Ashes, the optimal play may become holding WoA until I consume the current Divine Purpose and Divine Arbiters first.
Because I know WoA is guaranteed to give me another DP proc afterward. I’m delaying casting WoA because I want to avoid wasting the value of the guaranteed proc.
This could easily lead into degenerate gameplay where I’m desyncing my cooldowns, or where I’m thinking “I should wait so I don’t waste a proc” rather than “I should press my abilities because this is the right moment.”
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Issue 5: Empyrean Power Synergy - Adding back Burst, after it being removed, tied to RNG
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Feedback: Obviously this is going to be a challenging thing to accomplish because the Tier Set has to offer damage, and that more than likely will always be active during cooldowns in some form.
However, this set being tied to Holy Power Spenders, which is supposed to be our “Finishers,” it just feels like this could still be a slight problem– tunning depending.
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Divine Purpose → FV → Divine Arbiter
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Crusading Strikes → Empyrean Power DS Buff
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Divine Arbiter/Empyrean Power DS Cast
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Issue 6: Being flooded with resources faster than they can be spent.
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Feedback: Again, similar to issue 1, this could flood Paladin with Divine Purpose procs and lead to moments where our resources cannot be spent faster than they are coming in. Just depends on the RNG =/
Ret Cooldowns, Divine Toll and ES, need a bit of a Fantasy Forward Redesign, that focuses on the Identity of being a [Retribution Paladin] and less on Holy Power Generation.
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Issue 7: Removing Divine Arbiter – Only to give it back in a Tier Bonus
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Feedback: It also doesn’t feel great that Divine Arbiter was removed from the spec, only to return as a temporary Tier Set bonus – tied to RNG.
If the mechanic is enjoyable enough to bring back for a season, it raises the question of why it isn’t part of the baseline spec instead? lol
This is just that negative – “Selling back a Feature” – feeling. =/
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Issue 8: Similarity to [Empyrean Power] and [Empyrean Legacy] (Ret Spec Talents)
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Feedback: Empyrean Legacy activates off of Avenging Wrath and then asks you to spend Holy Power to trigger an additional Divine Storm.
The new 4-piece asks you to first get a Divine Purpose proc, consume it, and then spend Holy Power to trigger an additional effect. The trigger changes, but the gameplay itself feels very familiar.
This creates gameplay moments of redundancy when playing Herald of the Sun.
Radiant Glory/Wake of Ashes already triggers Avenging Wrath, which in turn interacts with Empyrean Legacy, while also procing Divine Purpose.
Since Wake of Ashes is already setting up those interactions, having the tier set revolve around consuming Divine Purpose to unlock another spender-based effect feels like it’s layering another version of the same gameplay loop rather than creating something new.
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Issue 9: Herald of the Sun Paladins have an Overwhelming amount of “Personal Buffs” during the Wake of Ashes Windows
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Feedback: Something TWW/Midnight was suppose to tone down was the “two rows” of personal buffs players were meant to track and keep up with during gameplay.
HotS Paladins have an absurd amount of Personal Buffs that proc during our Avenging Wrath Moment, and adding the Divine Power and Divine Arbiter to this list via the Set Bonus does not feel great.
While this is another core issue with HotS, and why it needs a complete rework from the ground up for both Ret and Holy
– it’s still something of importance to note for newer/casual players feeling overwhelmed.
One thing I don’t understand from a design perspective is why Divine Arbiter was removed from Retribution’s baseline toolkit, only to return as a Tier Set bonus?
- Maybe it’s a power of hindsight, but it feels like a feature that was removed, then reintroduced in a slightly different way, while we already had Empyrean Power and Empyrean Legacy that could have been designed around that identity from the start.
From a gameplay perspective, it also feels like it overlaps with mechanics we already have.
Empyrean Legacy already rewards Holy Power spenders with an additional effect, and Herald of the Sun already creates interactions between Wake of Ashes, Avenging Wrath, and Divine Purpose, etc…
Those moments for Herald, adding Divine Arbiter on top doesn’t feel like it creates a new gameplay loop—it feels like another variation of one we’re already playing.
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Does it make more sense to play off of Empyrean Power and Empyrean Legacy?
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Would it make more sense to remove one of those Talents and give us Divine Arbiter back as a Spec Talent?
Personally, I like getting more Divine Purpose Procs because I like that Paladin ability.
However, it just feels like the 2-piece and the 4-piece are working against each other, Ret’s Burst Windows is already flooded with Holy Power, adding more DP procs into the mix isn’t helping, and being “sold back a removed feature” feels pretty bad.
TL:DR
- The Tier Set forces AoE into the ST rotation and vice versa.
- Adds back burst after being removed – tied to RNG.
- The Tier Set can flood Ret Paladins with resources faster than they can consume - leading to Overwhelming moments of Gameplay
- Retribution’s cooldowns need a redesign that reinforces its Fantasy-Forward Identity by emphasizing [Engaging Gameplay] over Holy Power Generation.
- The [Gameplay Design] overlaps too much with Empyrean Power and Empyrean Legacy
- These talents should be the baseline for the Divine Arbiter ability instead
- Being “Sold Back a Removed Feature” doesn’t feel great
- Herald of the Sun needs a complete revamp
