Review of Herald of the Sun Hero Talents: Cooldown Enhancing with Room for Improvement

This past week, Blizzard unveiled 8 new Hero Talent Trees in a sneak peek at the new system coming with the "The War Within" expansion. In this blog post, we will be reviewing the Herald of the Sun Paladin Hero Talents for Retribution, discussing their potential and some areas that may need improvement.

The War Within Hero Talents Overview

Hero Talents are an exciting addition to the Talent system, providing players with the opportunity to explore different class fantasies through a third talent tree. In the upcoming expansion, "The War Within," Blizzard has given us a glimpse of the Hero Talents that will be available. Let's take a look at what our Guide Writers have to say about these new additions.

Herald of the Sun Retribution Paladin Review

The Herald of the Sun Hero Talents for Retribution Paladins focus heavily on a new effect called Sunspots. These Sunspots are applied by using Holy Power spenders after casting Wake of Ashes or by casting Avenging Wrath. While the exact mechanics of Sunspots are a bit ambiguous, it seems that they function as regular Damage over Time (DoT) debuffs. Other talents and abilities in the tree reference the application and extension of Sunspots.

During your burst windows, you can expect to have Sunspots active, which synergizes nicely with other abilities like Eternal Flame, Sun's Avatar, and Solar Grace. With Avenging Wrath, you can effectively apply Sunspots to up to 6 targets, resulting in additional AoE damage and beams that deal damage. Additionally, Sunspots can be applied to friendly targets, making them versatile in both single-target and group situations.

• Utility Talents

One of the standout utility talents is Guided Prayer, which is a buffed version of Word of Glory. While Retribution Paladins may not frequently cast Word of Glory, this talent is often used in combination with the talent Guided Prayer, which casts Word of Glory automatically. Guided Prayer may also work with the Sunspots effect, providing an extra heal over time effect for increased survivability.

The other utility talent is a choice between two options, one geared towards PvP (Consecrated Flames) and the other providing mobility (Will of the Crusader). Both of these talents offer useful bonuses to enhance your gameplay experience.

• Ability Buffs

The right side of the tree focuses on enhancing Divine Storm and Hammer of Wrath. Divine Storm receives buffs that make sense since it deals Radiant damage, especially with the Burning Crusade talent. However, the choice to buff Hammer of Wrath is a bit peculiar, as the talent Vengeful Wrath already guarantees a critical hit for this ability. Perhaps revisiting this talent and replacing it with something more thematically appropriate, like Blade of Justice with Expurgation, would be a better fit. Additionally, some talents, like Highlord's Judgment, seem redundant and could benefit from some adjustments.

Final Thoughts

The Herald of the Sun Hero Talents provide an exciting and thematic addition to the Retribution Paladin playstyle. The application of Sunspots through major cooldowns adds a fresh dynamic to gameplay, while the associated buffs enhance your other cooldowns. Maximizing the number of beams created by Sunspots may require some additional positioning and targeting strategies, but overall, the tree shows promise.

The right side of the tree could further emphasize the Radiant/DoT theme for Retribution Paladins, providing more competitive options for single-target encounters. While there are a few talents that could use some tweaking to avoid redundancy, the overall design of the tree is a strong start.

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