Hero talents look boring

Community General Discussion
21

I definitely understand. Now’s the chance to make fun spells that are in line with the hero talents theming.

1 Like
22

When I first heard it announced, I got so excited because I thought these were going to be more of a cosmetic change, with some slight changes to abilities. For example, turning a Demo Lock into a Necromancer or a Shadow Priest into a Mad Scientist.

I agree though, from how I understand it, it’s a bit underwhelming.

1 Like
23

this def should have been where they cracked open the can on 4th spec ideas.

2 Likes
24

Its not about gaining MORE buttons. Its about Improving the current buttons Meaningfully and with purpose.

Showcasing What you have chosen to be as.

Getting a single button that did 10 damage to now do 11 damage? Isn’t meaningfull, because the game will ALWAYS have to have the math balanced out correctly, which means that that 1 damage gain isn’t a gain at all, all you did was rebalance yourself to the new level of content, which would happen by default.

25

i was hoping deep inside this what it would be but i knew it was too good to be true if this is the case. i was hoping cosmetic/animation changes or something. if oracle is priest, maybe their animations would change for it and they get special mog and stuff.
tho oracle just sounds like it’ll fit disc priest lol so it might just be passives w/ atonements or w/e.

if its just passives…then eh k. i can dream tho.

1 Like
26

That’s a single hero talent. We haven’t seen what the choices are so no idea what they add.

So it’s quite possible that 3% extra healing may turn in to a boost of 10% healing once you have all the hero talents. Or better.

We are months away from even seeing what they are and you are panicking over the minute amount of info you saw.

27

Again, even in your own example, its still trash.

ANYTHING that is JUST numbers Will. Be. Balanced. Out. Which means NOTHING has been added/finessed/felt deeper/felt more enjoyable.

Meaningful improvements are needed. Meaningful benefits are needed. Not just passive numbers.

If you, and whoever else, needs a Great example of this. Look at Cyberpunk 2077 1.0 talents vs Cyberpunk 2.0 talents. HUGE HUGE HUGE improvement, game changing, game SAVING. THAT is what Hero Talents should take inspiration from.

28

havent seen enough to form a opinion if im being honest

29

I mean do you want them to change your gameplay and rotation? I don’t. I like the way my class plays.

What i want from the hero talents is to enhance the gameplay, not change it into something unrecognizable.

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30

Which they could have accomplished by just adding another “must spend X points to pass this line” to the existing trees.

Which is baffling, because it means that those 4 choice nodes are the only places you’re actually choosing talents. If everything else is guaranteed, they’re just leveling abilities with glorified extra steps.

1 Like
31

I would rather just have more points in the existing tree (and a few new talents there) than an entire other tree. Especially with balance druid I feel like I could/would take so many more talents than I have points.

Frost mage on the other hand feels glaringly obvious what is worth it and what isn’t.

Could be perceptual though, I usually change about 3 points because there will be something like mushroom or cryofreeze that my liking of it wins over the slight dps loss.

32

Build on that thought. What do you want that ENHANCES gameplay to you? Now is the time to talk.

Just please remember: Anything that is X Ability Deals X% more damage will just be balanced out, so this is not an enhancement, it might as well not exist.

Whats your enhancement ideas/thoughts that make you excited?

33

They aren’t doing this because of what happened prior with talent trees Pre-Mists, where talents got so spread out and… lets say Not Correctly used? That it created problems.

Another way to word that is: they are removing the sheer amount of failure rate that giving that much agency of points to players can possibly create.

1 Like
34

Why are they called hero talents if there’s nothing heroic about them?

They’re more like… “Modifier Talents” or something.

1 Like
35

Things that make my abilities do more. Blizzard showcased this in their example at blizzcon. The mountain thane warriors storm bolt was made into a cleave instead of a single target ability.

Like i main an evoker. What i am expecting from Ruby Adept is for it to enhance my red spells. Perhaps give fire breath an additional effect, maybe it will cast a living flame or two like the current pres tier set, or maybe having living flame ricochet after using fire breath.

Stuff in that ballpark rather than “here’s more abilities for you to juggle, or here’s this thing that changes your entire spell priority”

2 Likes
36

Perfect. Love and agree with all of this.

37

I don’t understand talents in general. As others have mentioned, the “choices” are simply an illusion as the meta will always win out.

Sure you can make your own custom build but it’s not likely you’ll be participating in much group content let alone high rated play.

Just my 2 cents. Not that competitive myself so I could be absolutely wrong. Just my observations.

38

This is… dare I say Artistically stated. This is the quote of the day for me for sure. I’m bookmarking this.

1 Like
39

Example of a new spell for each Priest Hero Path Talents

Archon/Oracle/Voidweaver (All specs)

  • Starting ability for all Priest Hero Paths
  • Included for all specs because its core to AOE gameplay.
  • Located in Hero Path talents because its too powerful for low level/leveling content.

Holy/Discipline/Shadow shared talents

  • Cascade (All Priests Hero Paths starts with this new Active ability)
    • Beginning Hero Path talent
      • (Holy/Discipline)
        Launch a Holy bolt that grows in power with distance, healing an ally and then bouncing to additional allies 4 times. Each time it bounces, it splits into 2 bolts.
      • (Discipline/Shadow)
        Launch a Shadowy bolt that grows in power with distance, damaging an enemy and then bouncing to additional enemies 4 times. Each time it bounces, it splits into 2 bolts.
  • Cascading Power (Cascade changes into Dark Cascade with Shadow Covenant)
    • Ending Hero Path talent
      • Holy
        • Cascade refreshes the duration of your Renew and Prayer of Mending charges on its targets.
      • Discipline
        • Cascade refreshes the duration of your Renew on its targets.
        • Dark Cascade refreshes the duration of your Shadow Word: Pain on its targets.
      • Shadow
        • Dark Cascade refreshes the duration of your Vampiric Touch and Shadow Word: Pain on its targets.

OR

  • Cascading Power (Cascade changes into Dark Cascade with Shadow Covenant)
    • Ending Hero Path talent
      • Holy
        • Cascade applies your Renew and refreshes Prayer of Mending charges to its targets.
      • Discipline
        • Cascade applies your Renew to its targets.
        • Dark Cascade applies your Shadow Word: Pain to its targets.
      • Shadow
        • Dark Cascade applies your Vampiric Touch and Shadow Word: Pain to its targets.

Note:
Shadow Crash is currently the spell used for Shadow to apply Vampiric Touch and Shadow Word: Pain to multiple targets at the same time with Whispering Shadows and Misery synergy.
The problem is that Holy and Discipline do not have a way to spread their Renew to multiple targets at the same time, but it would be a great hero talent to achieve that and Cascade would be a great fit for such an application.
Would like Cascade for dot application or refresh for Shadow as Shadow Crash is a very problematic spell due to its targeting the ground instead of targets nature which leads to further frustration with x axis obstructions and targets moving out of range in both solo and group content.
So not sure best path forward to resolve this issue.

So here are some examples that I think would be interesting for Shadow Priest Archon Hero Path…

Archon (Shadow)

  • Non-Periodic Damage focus

DPS Talents

  • Deaths Release
    Shadow Word: Death deals damage as if the target is below 20% health while under the effects of Dark Ascension.
  • Cycle of Death
    Your Shadow Word: Death cooldown is reduced by 50% while under the effects of Dark Ascension.
  • Deaths Reach
    Your Shadow Word: Death strikes 2 additional nearby targets while under the effects of Dark Ascension.
  • Echos of Death
    Your Shadow Word: Death triggers 2 additional times at 20% effectiveness.
  • Dark Embrace
    Your Non-Periodic damage critical strikes extend the duration of Dark Ascension by 1 second.
  • Maniac
    Mind Spike cast time is reduced by 50% after you critically strike with Mind Blast for the next 3 seconds.
  • Dark Archon
    Your Shadow Word: Pain periodic damage grants you Dark Archon [buff], increasing the damage of your next Shadow Word: Death by 10%. Stacking up to 5.
  • Blood Archon
    Your Vampiric Touch periodic damage grants you Blood Archon [buff] increasing the damage of your next Devouring Plague spell by 5% and heals your group for 20% of the damage dealt. Stacking up to 5.
  • Death Throes
    Your Mind Spells deal 10% more damage for 6 seconds when you critically strike with Shadow Word: Death. Stacking up to 3.
  • Spirit of Vengeance
    You have a 50% chance to spawn a Spirit of Vengeance when your Shadow Word: Death deals damage to a target below 20% health and 100% chance when you land a killing blow. Lasting for 15 seconds.
    • Spirit of Vengeance casts Mind Break, dealing minor damage and increasing the chance for your non-periodic damage to critically strike by 5% for 10 seconds, stacking up to 3.

Holy/Shadow shared talents

  • Intertwining Fates
    Your Twist of fate increases your damage and healing done by an additional 10%.
  • Words of Twilight
    When your Holy Word spells heals a friendly target, the damage the target takes is reduced by 10% for 5 seconds.
    When your Shadow Word spells damage an enemy target, the damage the target inflicts is reduced by 10% for 5 seconds.

Here are some Voidweaver Hero Path talent ideas.

Voidweaver (Shadow)

  • Periodic Damage focus

DPS Talents

  • Mass Hysteria
    Your periodic damage is increased by 2% per second while under the effects of Voidform, up to 100%.
  • Accelerated Madness
    Devouring Plague Insanity cost is reduced by 50% while under the effects of Voidform.
  • Festering Rot
    Devouring Plague can stack up to 5 times on a single target.
  • Glimpse of the Void
    Your Shadow Word: Pain and Vampiric Touch deal damage an additional time each time Devouring Plague critically strikes with periodic damage.
  • Void Ray
    Your Mind Flay deals 5% more damage for each periodic damage effect on the target.
  • Shattered Mind
    Your channeling spells deal damage 33% faster.
  • Void Corruption
    Vampiric Touch radiates 10% of its damage to nearby enemy targets, Max (5).
  • Abyssal Reflection
    You have a 20% chance to duplicate Shadowy Apparitions spawned by your spells.
  • Surender to Madness
    Your Mind Spells generate 20% more insanity and can be casted while moving during Voidform.
  • Void Fiend
    Your Shadow Fiend duplicates its damage to every target afflicted with your Shadow Word: Pain and increases the periodic damage they receive by 10% for 5 seconds.

Discipline/Shadow shared talents

  • Dark Covenant
    • Discipline: Smite becomes Mind Flay during Shadow Covenant and chains up to 4 additional targets, dealing 20% more damage per linked target.
    • Shadow: You form a Void Covenant, causing Devouring Plague to pulse 30% of its periodic damage to nearby targets while under the effects of Voidform, Max (5).
  • Mind Meld
    Targets afflicted with your Shadow Word: Pain take 10% more damage from your Mind Spells.
  • Power Word: Twilight
    Casting Power Word: Shield while under the effects of Shadow Covenant or Voidform reduces the damage the target takes by 10%.
  • Twilight Equilibrium
    When your Shadow Word: Pain critically strikes, 50% of the damage done gets converted into a damage absorption shield for up to 15% of your total health for 10 seconds.

Class/spec/Hero Path agnostic Utility Talents

  • Horrifying Scream
    Your Psychic Scream now horrifies your targets, causing your enemies unable to break the fear effect but reducing the duration by 50%.
    (Choice)
  • Persisting Image
    Your Fade effects lasts an additional 10 seconds.
  • Touch the Void
    When cast on yourself, Your Power Word: Shield absorbs 100% more damage. You spawn Void Tendrils, rooting all targets within 8 yards when Power Word: Shield breaks from damage.
    (Choice)
  • Shadowmend
    Your Flash Heal becomes Shadowmend, increasing healing by 200% and mana cost by 100%.
  • Flirting with Death
    Shadow Word: Death backlash damage is reversed over 6 seconds, healing you for 100% of the damage dealt. Stacking up to 3.
    (Choice)
  • Vampiric Essence
    Your Vampiric Touch heals your group for 5% of the damage done and Vampiric Embrace provides up to 10% max health absorption shield for your party.
40

Nah, Conduits were way worse.

Locked behind renown grinds, boss drops, raid drops, and in the beginning it cost currency to swap them. They already made it clear that hero talents will be easy to swap out.

Well, I for one am very amused at how much feedback hero talents are given considering we just learned about them a few days ago and absolutely nobody has tested them.

The conclusion jumping knows no bounds!