World of Warcraft's most played class takes one step forward, two steps back at midnight

After several phases of alpha testing for World of WarcraftIn the midnight expansion, Blizzard has finally released a beta version that can now be played and experienced by players who purchased the Epic Edition of the expansion, regardless of invitation. While it may be tempting to play the new story line and areas, there are obviously spoilers involved. However, fans can still join World of Warcraft's Midnight beta and experience something completely new – reworked and balanced classes along with a new Devourer spec for demon hunters. Thanks to the so-called “pruning” of abilities in Midnight, each class and spec has fewer tools to play with, which can be both a blessing and a curse.

World of WarcraftRemoved abilities in Midnight serve to simplify the game loop and reduce mental stress. This has its pros and cons, with some fans liking what has been done to the various classes so far and others arguing that the game is now too easy, with a much lower skill cap at high levels. Specifically Midnight's excellent pruning and the recent beta patch notes and changes make it clear that the Paladin class is one step forward, two steps back.

Say goodbye to the World of Warcraft Paladin as you know it

There are several reasons World of Warcraft Paladins are in a strange state at midnight, even stranger than some other classes. These are:

• Retribution of the Paladins:

  • There is no more passive Holy Power generation, which dramatically changes the gameplay loop and overall feel of this class. For example, Divine Toll no longer casts Judgment for free, and rather empowers your further casting of Judgment. With the lesser generation of Holy Power, this spec may seem a bit slower and clumsier, although it is more efficient.

  • Herald of the Sun may now overtake Templar as the Hero Tree, which could be interesting after the latter dominated most of The War Within.

  • New World of Warcraft The Apex Talents for Retribution Paladin include a special attack called Art of War, whose animation is just a wave of light in a cone, similar to the old Light of Dawn. Some fans are upset that it lacks punch, and decent damage is almost guaranteed now that damage meters are still missing in the beta.

  • Finally, Retribution Paladins received a big 11% damage nerf in the latest beta patch notes for Midnight in WoWand that was the only change made to the spec. This probably makes up for the added damage on auto melee attacks for all classes, which was a great and welcome change for Paladins.

• Holy Paladin:
  • World of Warcraft cut the interrupt on the healer in Midnight so that Holy Paladins can no longer use Rebuke.

  • Divine Toll and Holy Prism are on the selection node, which is sad for this spec as both were used consistently across all areas. The feeling of over-pruning in this particular case further intensifies.

  • The silver lining is that Light of Dawn is no longer hard-capped at 5 targets and instead now heals all allies within 40 yards. Could be a massive buff on Holy Paladins WoW Midnight raids.

  • Holy Paladins received a potentially very good Apex Talent with Beacon of the Saviour, but it was unfortunately nerfed in the recent patch by making his absorption shield 50% less powerful.

  • The spec saw a 5% reduction in healing done in the recent patch.

  • The new talent, called Armory of the Light, gives players the ability to use 2-handed weapons instead of 1-handed and a shield and still have a chance to parry incoming physical attacks. This can be fantastic for cosmetic options and gameplay. However, using a two-handed weapon makes it impossible to use Shield of the Righteous, which is often woven into the rotation of Holy Paladins in TWW, and perhaps even more so when Midnight removes a lot of buttons.

• Protective Paladin:

  • The biggest change to Protection Paladin is that Consecration is no longer a mandatory defense tool, as class mastery is no longer tied to the character standing in Consecration. This is a good change and makes the game more intuitive.

  • Word of Glory no longer gives a chance to block, and with the loss of various tools like Eye of Tyr, Moment of Glory, and Bastion of Light, the spec may seem more broken. Protection Paladin was already the tank with the most survivability issues, so that doesn't help.

  • Since there is no passive Holy Power generation, players must be more careful when using their Divine Steed ability, as the new Valiant Crusade talent provides Shield of the Righteous effects during Divine Steed and for 4 seconds after. This means one must either have Holy Power ready for Shield of the Righteous before drawing, or time Divine Steed accordingly.

Why World of Warcraft's Paladin class doesn't have to land at midnight

These aren't necessarily bad changes in a vacuum, but given the current state of the specs in The War Within, they're mostly nerfs to existing playstyles, or at least dramatic departures from them. Retribution Paladin is already considered the easiest damage spec in the game alongside Beast Mastery Hunter, so the additional pruning and slower feel without Holy Power passive may reinforce that idea. World of WarcraftThe meta remains to be seen and things may change, but Retribution seems to be in the middle of the pack overall.

On the other hand, Holy Paladin in Midnight is still going through major design changes, new talents like Armory of the Light are being added, and other abilities and passives are constantly changing. This could be a sign of a bigger problem, as the class's identity as a melee healer may change in some shape or form. Also, World of WarcraftTank specs can be more successful by being less reliant on healers, and with fewer defensive cooldowns and a Holy Power generator that doesn't directly engage turns if pre-occupied (Blessed Hammer), Protection Paladins can have a rougher experience overall.

Systems

Released

November 23, 2004

ESRB

T for Teen: Blood and Gore, Crude Humor, Mild Language, Content, Use of Alcohol, Violence (online interactions not rated)

Engine

Unreal Engine

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