Lightsmith Hero Talents - A Critical Review of Protection Paladin's Abilities

This past week, Blizzard revealed new Hero Talent Trees in a First Look at the new system coming with the The War Within expansion. Today, we'll be taking a closer look at the Lightsmith Paladin Hero Talents for Protection and discussing why these new armaments might need some streamlining before launch.

Introducing the Lightsmith Hero Talent Tree

Blizzard recently announced the Lightsmith Hero Talent Tree, a shared talent tree between the Holy and Protection specs. The core concept behind this talent tree is the fantasy of forging weapons of light to aid allies in combat. Inspired by the stories of the force of Light, including depictions of Lady Liadrin and Turalyon, the Lightsmith talent tree embodies the Paladin fantasy of empowering their weapons with light to smite their foes.

As a utility-centric class, it's not surprising that the Paladin is receiving a utility-focused talent tree. The Lightsmith talent tree is primarily a support talent tree, centered around a keystone talent called Holy Armaments. When activated, Holy Armaments places a ground-targeted reticule on the ground. When a friendly player runs over the object, they are granted one of two effects: Holy Bulwark, a scaling absorb shield based on max health, or Sacred Weapon, which adds a Holy damage proc to spells and abilities.

Several other talents in the Lightsmith tree augment this ability or further enhance the fantasy of being an agent of the Light. This new gameplay and interaction loop adds an interesting dynamic that Protection Paladins have not had in the past.

• Analysis of the Proposed Gameplay & Paper Design

The Holy Armaments ability introduces a significant level of complexity. It requires the Paladin to place the reticule on the ground, making it a more involved ability compared to others that might only have one interaction. Managing these interactions increases cognitive load for both Paladins and the players picking up the armaments. Additionally, this ability adds visual clutter to an already visually complex game, potentially making it harder to understand mechanics and environmental interactions.

Furthermore, considering the Retribution Spec Tree, it begs the question of whether Holy Armaments belong in that tree. Retribution lacks a unique utility ability, unlike Protection and Holy, and Holy Armaments could potentially fill that gap and provide Retribution Paladins with a distinct identity.

On a positive note, Holy Armaments encourages social interaction among players. Coordinating who gets the armaments, when to use them, and where to place them will require communication and teamwork. This social interaction aligns well with the MMO nature of World of Warcraft.

In Mythic+ dungeons, Protection Paladins already have a lot of responsibilities, such as watching teammates for abilities that need to be mitigated or cleansed, dealing with interrupts, and crowd control. The addition of Holy Armaments adds more cognitive load to an already demanding role.

Considering world content such as the upcoming delves system, it is important to examine how Holy Armaments function in these situations. It is crucial to determine whether NPCs like Brann Bronzebeard can benefit from Holy Armaments, as it would impact the overall goal of maintaining freedom of choice in gameplay.

Talent Considerations

While it is too early to provide a comprehensive analysis of the talent tree, there are a few talents that warrant closer examination:

• Laying Down Arms and Valiance, in connection with Shining Light, could be better aligned with Protection's gameplay.
• Fear No Evil needs to be re-evaluated, as it may have little to no PvE value.

It is important to note that these opinions are based on the current information available, and further testing and tuning will be required to form a more accurate assessment of the talent tree's strengths and weaknesses.

• Suggestions for Improvement

An important change that could improve the Lightsmith talent tree is to make the baseline interaction of Holy Armaments targetable at specific players instead of placing a reticule on the ground. This change would reduce visual clutter and make the ability easier to use, particularly in chaotic situations like Mythic+ dungeons. By keeping the key elements of fantasy and social interaction, but making the ability more user-friendly, it will enhance the overall enjoyment of playing with this talent tree.

Closing Thoughts

While there is still much to learn about the Lightsmith talent tree through the upcoming Alpha and Beta cycles, it is clear that there is both potential and concern. The fantasy and idea behind the Lightsmith align with Paladin lore, but the execution and potential implementation need careful consideration. This new mechanic will play a crucial role in the overall gameplay experience of the talent tree, and finding the right balance between complexity and reward is essential. The current design runs the risk of being too demanding for little payoff. While we're waiting for new expansion, it's crucial to gear up and keep up with the current season. WowCarry team prepared special bundles for you to maximize the your benefit and experience from game!