San’Layn needs a complete design overhaul, not buff

[Jandren-stormscale]

I’ve been very disappointed in the overall design of San’Layn and haven’t felt like buffs are solving the issue of viability next to Deathbringer.

What makes DB extremely powerful is the reliability. Being able to control when something happens is very important while tanking and that’s where San’Layn falls short.

Here is my rough draft for “Blood Queen’s Servent”

Make the Blood Beast a static minion that doesn’t proc, but fights alongside you like Unholy. As you kill mobs, the beast would devour their blood, causing it to engorge with stacks, growing slightly larger in size dealing more damage with each stack. To summon again, you would simply use Raid Dead and this would replace the Ghoul.

Once it reaches X stacks of engorged, the beast would explode, dealing area damage and providing a blood shield to all nearby party members.

To keep the blood beast from exploding, you would use Consumption to transfer a couple stacks at a time to you, instead giving you the buff and keeping it alive.

When you cast Vampiric Blood, the beast drops all of it’s stacks and transfers them to you + granting leech to your party during the duration and turning yourself and your party into vampires until it expires.

I think this design would make San’Layn a fun resource management class similar to Unholy where you are empowering your Ghoul and increasing its duration with runic spenders.

What do you think about this idea? I personally like the idea of playing a tank with a static minion that you manipulate and control based on your gameplay.

[Xëø-wyrmrest-accord]

Just remember Consumption is a choice node, not all will pick this skill up.

[Cyeron-stormrage]

Vamp Strike would need to also give bone shield stacks, coagulopathy, and (maybe?) feed into blood shield to justify prioritizing spamming it for 15 seconds during Gift windows.

Agreed about the overall sentiment of needing an overhaul, though. The issues with San aren’t numbers based wholly, the main issue is how grating it is to pilot with 2 specs that require a lot of plate spinning to be played optimally.

If they buff San numbers to the point that it becomes the defacto pick, it still won’t feel any better to run over the counterparts that are less intrusive in standard DK rotation/priority.

[Sieghart-dalaran]

I agree, they need to rework this abomination somehow.

As a Blood/UH player now, my greatest fear this expansion is that they “force me” to play San’Layn by over buffing it.

I even level up a Warrior to reroll to if that happens lmao.

[Deadtune-moon-guard]

@Jandren-stormscale

Once it reaches X stacks of engorged, the beast would explode, dealing area damage and providing a blood shield to all nearby party members.

when it explodes. have it summon some blood worms. like a infected blood beast.

@Jandren-stormscale

When you cast Vampiric Blood, the beast drops all of it’s stacks and transfers them to you + granting leech to your party during the duration and turning yourself and your party into vampires until it expires.

eh. maybe add a sudo " swarming mists " effect. not to everyone but only to the main dk. anyone who stands in it gets a buff to leech.

@Jandren-stormscale

To keep the blood beast from exploding, you would use Consumption to transfer a couple stacks at a time to you, instead giving you the buff and keeping it alive.

not a fan of the consumption idea. i think it would be better to synergize a continual renewal of blood beasts instead. After it explodes or if we use vamp blood we get the buff. llike reveling in the blood rain.