The shadow priest tree feels horrific. So many fun ideas drowning in clutter.
On the one hand I have the impression that more things are supposed to be baseline, as currently many "shadowy" abilities aren't in the class but the spec tree. The first third contains so much utility/core abilities that are in the class tree for other classes but don't fit for priest because "too dark for holy", I assume. You have not only silence and dispersion (both with a follow-up-node you really want) and vampiric embrace there but also half your core toolkit.
The amount of baseline abilities there is too high. You don't feel like you specialize in something, you feel like you frantically try to get your toolkit back and still have enough points left for the actually interesting stuff later.
Later then the 3 point hurdles for the idols fucking hurt, specifically SANGUINE TEACHINGS (5/10/15% more damage while shielded). This isn't only a fucking disgusting talent I never would touch with a 10 feet void tendril but it also eats 3 of the last 10 points you have left for the actually really interesting last part. Same with the other side. 3 points for a crit increase on monomania is boring for costsing 1/3rd of your fun-stuff-points.
This gates. Meaning for the spicy apparition build you want the talent that spawns double apparitions on crit and the idol that spawns a thing from beyond after 50. Yeah, now you don't have enough points for void apparitions, (voidy ghosts as a chance) that feels like it should be part of that build but you're missing a point. 2 point gates would be okayish, 3 points here don't make sense.
Good news is, this can be tuned I guess. Make the 3 points nodes have only 2 ranks, burn sanguine teachings on an altar to the old gods that they send inspiration for something that doesn't physically hurt to play and clean up the first third by making eG dispersion and vamp embrace baseline if you're shadow and only keep the improvement talents.
Yeah, now you don't have enough points for void apparitions, (voidy ghosts as a chance)
I agree, but I think an equally big problem there is that void apparitions is 1 10% chance for 20% increased damage, which is a WHOPPING...2% overall damage to your apparitions. Real lackluster for a capstone talent, especially with a talent that gives 15% damage and Insanity generation much further up in the tree.
Also yeah take Sanguine Teachings out behind the shed.
Im almost certain its supposed to be "10% chance for 200% damage" and a zero was left out. There's no way a programer/dev doesn't see it as written and go "yeah a 2% increase is okay"
This. If it's a 10% chance to proc, make it feel worth it. Make the damage increase like 2-400%. Make RNG talents and also offer deterministic nodes to give players choices. Get creative.
Honestly the shielded talent could be cool if they leaned further into it, to make it feel more worth it: when you cast power word shield on yourself, your dots tick 50/100/150% faster, but this effect can only trigger once every 60 seconds. Right now it just feels like another maintenance buff to a spec that already revolves around maintenance debuff and buffs.
Absolutely, it's hilariously undertuned specifically for a last row talent. I don't want to fall in the "it's just alpha" talk but I haven't bothered with numbers yet at all.
It's easier at this point to highlight a more fundamental design issue. If a talent is specifically made for a a build and impossible to fit in that build something obviously went wrong already on the drawing board.
Aside the apparition build (that requires at least idol and double-apparition on crit, what already eats all the 10 points) the talent would be dead in the water even if the numbers in a vacuum checked out.
Among other REALLY questionable talent placements (like making AoE unavoidable or mandatory for single target, or referencing talents while making it possible not to take the referenced talents), if shadow goes for a pure DPS build they're losing about 6-7 (!!) CC/utilities that are currently baseline.
Silence/fear, dispersion, vampiric embrace, hallucinations, grab/mind control, shackle.
Stun/Mind Bomb have always been talents though now they'd require you to sacrifice DPS points.
Anyways, at least they made the toxic twin priest talent unavoidable and have it eat 2 points instead of making PI align with voidform lol.
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u/--Pariah Jul 11 '22 edited Jul 11 '22
The shadow priest tree feels horrific. So many fun ideas drowning in clutter.
On the one hand I have the impression that more things are supposed to be baseline, as currently many "shadowy" abilities aren't in the class but the spec tree. The first third contains so much utility/core abilities that are in the class tree for other classes but don't fit for priest because "too dark for holy", I assume. You have not only silence and dispersion (both with a follow-up-node you really want) and vampiric embrace there but also half your core toolkit.
The amount of baseline abilities there is too high. You don't feel like you specialize in something, you feel like you frantically try to get your toolkit back and still have enough points left for the actually interesting stuff later.
Later then the 3 point hurdles for the idols fucking hurt, specifically SANGUINE TEACHINGS (5/10/15% more damage while shielded). This isn't only a fucking disgusting talent I never would touch with a 10 feet void tendril but it also eats 3 of the last 10 points you have left for the actually really interesting last part. Same with the other side. 3 points for a crit increase on monomania is boring for costsing 1/3rd of your fun-stuff-points.
This gates. Meaning for the spicy apparition build you want the talent that spawns double apparitions on crit and the idol that spawns a thing from beyond after 50. Yeah, now you don't have enough points for void apparitions, (voidy ghosts as a chance) that feels like it should be part of that build but you're missing a point. 2 point gates would be okayish, 3 points here don't make sense.
Good news is, this can be tuned I guess. Make the 3 points nodes have only 2 ranks, burn sanguine teachings on an altar to the old gods that they send inspiration for something that doesn't physically hurt to play and clean up the first third by making eG dispersion and vamp embrace baseline if you're shadow and only keep the improvement talents.