[Joanadark]

As Alpha Testing for WOTLK continues, the Paladin talents and abilities have yet to be begun. New feedback from Blue, however, suggests sweeping changes to all three Paladin specs; Protection, Retribution, and Holy, as well as major game mechanics affecting them.


The posts are said to be by Ghostcrawler.

confirmed as a 2 week old discussion. The newest response is the only one from this week.

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1st post
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Sorry we haven't been able to update paladins yet. I know it's only so fun posting in a forum when your class has seen so little changes yet. They're coming.

We're not ready to talk yet on what changes and solutions we're considering, but here are some of the things we're looking at (And by no means are they the only considerations — just a few that came to my mind.)

— We want to make sure Retribution paladins are a great use of a raid slot.
— We want to make sure Holy paladins don't feel so punished when trying to heal fights with a lot of movement.
— We want to make sure Protection paladins continue to be great tanks for 5-person instances as well as raids, and make sure all 4 tanking classes have a good niche.
— Paladins perhaps more than any other class need very diverse sets of gear depending on their spec and role. We're trying across the board to make it easier for healers and tanks to do damage without needing a whole new set of gear (and vice-versa), and paladins are no exception.
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"2nd post"
response to:
Whining Blah blah blah...
why didn't you do pallies first so you could test us more?

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That's a fair question. We knew we were going to make 3 pretty sweeping changes to classes in general that would all affect paladins. First we changed the way healing and damage stats work. Second, we changed the way party vs raid buffs worked. Third, we changed how much damage a tank is expected to deliver as well as reworking some of our itemization theories in general.

We figured it was easier to tackle those issues on comparatively easy classes like the warrior and priest before figuring out how we were going to have to change the paladin. Hunters got pushed to the back for a similar reason -- we were overhauling how their pets worked and needed to nail those changes first before figuring out their new abilities and talents.

We still feel like we're ahead of where we were on Burning Crusader with a more experienced team. So we're not yet panicked about having enough testing time.
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"Newest Post"
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Quite honestly one of the reasons we saved paladins for last is because there is a lot we wanted to change with them. Paladins are changing probably more than any other class. The tiny little bit you heard at the WWI is just the beginning.

The discussion about a new healing spell was just to say yes, we think paladins need another healing mechanic. It isn't finished yet. We don't want to just hand them a thinly disguised druid or priest spell. We also want paladins to tank more actively and want retribution paladins to have a little better control over their damage without the bursts feeling quite so random. (And no, that's not all we're looking at).

It's all coming. It's just a lot of work. Try to stay positive. Everyone in the alpha was invited because they have a close connection to someone at Blizzard. You're here because we value your feedback.

[Muggs]

So, some stuff that's itching me.

Ret Paladin viablity is always a good thing, one of the most looked down upon classes, especially by 10 man and "casual" guilds that don't understand the rdps of a ret pally. Not to mention it's one of the easiest classes to "mess up" gearing and specing.

Auras going raid wide? This would ROCK on so many levels because, as a prot pally, I <3 sanctity aura. Some totems are going raid wide, I think they should make aura's raid wide, I mean hey, auras were army wide in WC3 but only party in WoW? BAH HUMBUG.

Moving while healing for holys... I healed a lot in s1 and early kara, it's rough when you're trying heal and run, priests and druids get it a lot easier than us, that's for sure.

I want to know what they mean by pally tanking more "active" are they saying I'm lazy when I consecrate, holy shield and alt-tab out? Maybe, but I'm not complaining.

In conclusion, I'm glad I have several other lvl 70's in case the bugger up pallies.

[Kazeyonoma]

back in your pocket joana...!

j/k

This looks great, at least Blizz is being vocal about what they're planning to do, something they're normally very light on.

[Joanadark]

screenies here- Image of alpha blue 2 - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting
Image of Alpha Blue 3 - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

[Norrath]

Very interesting. If they actually put in effort in redoing the class, paladins could end up truely awesome -- for once.

Waiting with baited breath.

[Bonerot]

Being more active when tanking worries me a bit, I hope they don't use the warriors for a roll model on how many buttons you need to push to play. Talk about overkill

[Worldie]

I expect a complete remaking of all the 3 trees honestly.

And for once decent ending talents... out of 3, only Crusader Strike was good. Divine Illumination and Avenger Shields however are jokes as 51 pointers.

[Kazeyonoma]

Not like Endless Rage proved useful. =P

[Norrath]

I disagree, Worldie. I like both Avenger's Shield and Divine Illumination better than Crusader Strike.

[Worldie]

They are good, but they are nowhere close to the utility of CS. Holys can live without their 41, same can prot, but retri has no reason to not get CS, unless they want to lose 20-30% of their DPS.

I'd expect a "last tier" talent to be something always really good which you would not skip unless for some exceptions.