Review of Lightsmith Hero Talents: Emphasizing Support Fantasy in Holy Paladin Gameplay

This past week, Blizzard unveiled the new Hero Talent Trees in a sneak peek of the upcoming expansion, The War Within. As a Holy Paladin guide writer, I couldn't help but offer an early review of the Lightsmith Paladin Hero Talents for Holy and share why there might be some frustration with the current design.

First Look at Hero Talents in The War Within

Before diving into the specifics of the Lightsmith Paladin Hero Talent Tree, let's provide an overview of the new Hero Talents system coming with The War Within expansion. This system introduces talent trees that players can explore to customize and enhance their characters' abilities. It is an exciting new feature that encourages players to experiment and find unique playstyles.

Lightsmith Paladin Hero Talent Tree

The Lightsmith Hero talent tree is an interesting case of fantasy and thematical choices taking precedence over gameplay considerations. One particular aspect that raises concerns is the need to cast spells on the ground and have someone else pick them up. While this may create a visually appealing effect, it seems impractical and frustrating in raid settings.

Imagine trying to buff an Unholy Death Knight with Sacred Weapon, only to find them standing in the midst of the melee group. It becomes a challenging task to select the right player to receive the buff. Furthermore, the ground effect adds unnecessary visual clutter and shifts the responsibility of identifying and picking up the effect from the paladin to the DPS players.

• Initial Thoughts

The Lightsmith talent tree, as it currently stands, leaves much to be desired. Many talents are either uninteresting, useless, or incentivize casting spells that are not typically prioritized in a raid setting. For Holy Paladins, who are already grappling with limited global cooldowns and resource management, this can further complicate their gameplay.

• Talent Reviews

While it is challenging to fully evaluate the talents without the knowledge of potential changes to the Holy Paladin spec in War Within, it is evident that some talents in the Lightsmith tree underwhelm. For example, Sacred Weapon sounds like a more annoying version of the Night Fae Covenant spell Blessing of Summer, which saw minimal representation. Holy Paladins do not need additional external damage effects that detract from their core abilities.

Additionally, there are talents that offer minor throughput increases or serve as filler spells without significant impact. On the other hand, some talents seem like placeholders, lacking synergy and excitement.

Continued Playstyle Problems

One crucial aspect of the Lightsmith talent tree that exacerbates existing playstyle problems is the reliance on Holy Shock and Infusion of Light. The rotation heavily emphasizes these abilities at the expense of Holy Power spenders and overstresses the importance of Holy Shock crits. Without sufficient critical strikes, the rotation can feel disjointed and less effective.

• Divine Guidance

Divine Guidance is a talent that further amplifies the aforementioned issues. While it offers the potential to extend buffs indefinitely, it forces players to disregard spells that do not contribute to this goal. Ultimately, this talent may dictate the entire playstyle of Holy Paladins, and adjustments may be necessary to strike a better balance.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Lightsmith talent tree for Holy Paladins in the upcoming expansion does not elicit excitement. Instead, it adds more rotational complexity, heavily influences playstyle, and diminishes the player's agency in damage output. Comparing these talents to other Hero trees, it is hard to find the same level of satisfaction. As the first glimpse into the Holy Paladin spec in Dragonflight, it is disheartening. However, there is hope that the design process is still in its early stages, allowing for a potential overhaul of the talent tree.

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