High Elf Priest Racial Spell Idea

[Qixel]

So it's not secret that high elves can be priests with the coming update, but what is unknown is what their racial spells will be. Alliance priests have always had the issue that Fear Ward is so much stronger than anything else available to them that to not play a dwarf is intentionally weakening yourself and your group, so it seems a shoe-in for the high elf priest, but what if high elves had something else to offer? Something the vast paladin population of the alliance would love, but cannot have? What if High Elf priests got Crusader Strike?

Now, it doesn't have to be the removed paladin ability, with it's melee attack aspect. High Elf priests are confined to a custom patch, and that means that they could have a custom spell that merely mimics Crusader Strike's debuff, while otherwise acting seperately. Here's what I propose.

Crusader Strike (Ranks 1-5)
~ Mana 30 yd range
2.5 sec cast 15 sec cooldown
Smite an enemy for ~ to ~ Holy damage and increases the holy damage taken by the target by up to ~ per Crusader Strike. Can be applied up to 5 times. Lasts 30 sec.

Obviously higher ranks would do more damage and have a more potent debuff (the removed ability ranged from 6-30 added damage per stack), but what does this change compared to just giving it to paladins? For one thing, it does not immediately make paladins the strongest dps class in the game by virtue of giving them a spammable attack(which also lets melee hunters retain their gimmick of best proc fisher), but gives them a boost in pve while remaining relatively the same in pvp. As it increases all holy damage, it's the perfect supplement for a smite priest, and it's self contained. The 15 second cooldown means that a single high elf priest will take over a minute to get the debuff to full capacity, but five priests working in concert can see results much quicker, which is incredibly flavorful.

Crusader Strike, especially reworked in such a manner, gives high elf priests an alternative to simply stealing fear ward from their stout compatriots, and opens up new gameplay styles in the process. Of course, priests are allowed two racial spells, so theoretically they could have both. ;D

Please consider this exciting idea. I believe it's a nice compromise between paladins getting crusader strike and being ridiculously powerful and not getting it at all. More importantly, it gives Smite Priests a fun new toy that we'd love. <3

[Axoc]

I like this idea. I think the debuff may need some careful attention since Paladins have Holy Strike - there could be a pretty big accidental buff to pallies depending on how good CS's debuff is. Smite priest is one of those specs that was an original design but was eventually scrapped, so I think buffing Smite priests to be relevant fits the project goals of Turtle WoW VERY similarly to how pallies were buffed.

[Mrkrissatan]

Sounds good to me

[Balake]

It takes very long to ramp up, will most likely only be noticeable in very long raid fights and will also take up a debuff slot.

On a different note, I think the name Crusader's Strike does not fit. Priests are not Crusaders, and a strike is done with a weapon.

[Sinrek]

If the effect from this strike would be baked into Smite with holy talents then that'd make sense. This I would support with my all limbs.

[Balake]

If the effect from this strike would be baked into Smite with holy talents then that'd make sense. This I would support with my all limbs.

Maybe if it was put in Holy Fire's dot and made it stack which could give smite priests a sort of rotation. Stack up the debuff with holy fire, then smite and keep the holy fire refreshed.

[Roxanneflowers]

I'd be perfectly happy with a copy/paste of Arcane Missiles from Mages onto High Elf Priests.

[Balake]

I'd be perfectly happy with a copy/paste of Arcane Missiles from Mages onto High Elf Priests.

Why would they do that though? It's uncreative/unoriginal and night elves already get Starshards.

[Mac]

I think a retooled Crusader Strike is a good idea. I'd be fine with it being instant with like a 6 to 10 second cooldown. You could call it Divine Shock since Holy Shock is taken.

To add to this, there's a few unused Priest spells that could be added in as racial spells for High Elves (or Goblins if Goblin Priests are gonna be a thing) if not just added for everyone.

• Shadow Word: Befuddle. A spell that slows down casting speed. Definitely more useful in PVP than PVE. The anti-caster nature of it somewhat fits High Elf lore. The name also sounds like a Goblin spell.

• Shadow Word: Fumble. A spell that decreases your chance to hit. 75% is pretty OP, not gonna lie, but something like 20% would be reasonable. Again, the name sounds like a Goblin spell.

• Holy Word: Protect. A boring buff to armor class. Even at max rank, it grants a puny amount of armor, so it'd need to be buffed.

• Holy Word: Might. A boring buff to strength. Like Holy Word: Protect, the max rank doesn't give a whole lot of armor.

• Sleep. Very powerful, would have to be restricted to one or so types (like humanoids), and maybe have like a one or two minute cooldown.

• Remove Curse. There are two spell books for Priests to get Remove Curse (and Remove Curse II). Steps on the toes of Mages and Druids, but a bit of cross-class functionality never hurt.

• Holy Protection. Increases Holy resistance, which isn't really a visible stat in game. It could be reworked to absorb an amount of Holy damage, or reduce Holy damage taken.

• Prayer of Protection. Increases your party's armor by a small amount for a bit.

• Shadow Word: Silence. Priests already get Silence in the Shadow tree, so no.

[Balake]

A lot of these would be either too powerful (SW: Fumble would be so frustrating to fight as melee, also spammable. It will get permanent uptime in every single raid, it's dozens of times better than insect swarm) or something that already exists elsewhere (Remove curse and Shadow Word: Befuddle are blatant copies of spells other classes have. Blizz didn't go for it for good reason.)

Prayer of Protection seems to be a channeled ability which would be interesting... A channel that reduces the damage your party members take, but you can't heal during it. I don't think it would be worth it unless you are oom maybe?

Something else, there are priest-specific trinkets in the game files called RELICS.
https://classic.wowhead.com/items/quali ... s:0+3+2+19

My guess is, priests would get to choose one trinket out of 2 every 5 levels? This was probably scrapped very early into development but it could have been tied to the racial system as some of these trinkets seem pretty specific.

[Mac]

A lot of these would be either too powerful (SW: Fumble would be so frustrating to fight as melee, also spammable. It will get permanent uptime in every single raid, it's dozens of times better than insect swarm) or something that already exists elsewhere (Remove curse and Shadow Word: Befuddle are blatant copies of spells other classes have. Blizz didn't go for it for good reason.)

I'd imagine they'd add a cooldown to those spells I listed so you couldn't keep them up the entire time. Example: Holy Strike has no cooldown listed, but on this server it has a 10 second cooldown.

I also don't think the line "Blizz didn't go for it for good reason" is a fair argument because you could say that about anything they've re-added to the game on Turtle WoW. Khadgar's Unlocking? That's something Rogues and Blacksmiths and Engineers can already do, Blizz must have not added it in for good reason. Except that's here on Turtle WoW.

[Balake]

I also don't think the line "Blizz didn't go for it for good reason" is a fair argument because you could say that about anything they've re-added to the game on Turtle WoW. Khadgar's Unlocking? That's something Rogues and Blacksmiths and Engineers can already do, Blizz must have not added it in for good reason. Except that's here on Turtle WoW.

Right, but lock picking is just an out-of-combat luxury with a bit of flavor, and rogues,mages, blacksmiths and engineers all have their own twist to it. Rogues have lock picking, but if you give mages khadgar's unlocking most people won't say its unoriginal. Those priest examples are unoriginal though, they're basically the same combat spell that another class has. Can do better than that.

[Mac]

Right, but lock picking is just an out-of-combat luxury with a bit of flavor, and rogues,mages, blacksmiths and engineers all have their own twist to it. Rogues have lock picking, but if you give mages khadgar's unlocking most people won't say its unoriginal. Those priest examples are unoriginal though, they're basically the same combat spell that another class has. Can do better than that.

And Holy Strike is an in combat ability similar to some other pre-existing class abilities in some/many ways, yet was added back into the game nonetheless.

Speaking just specifically about Remove Curse, it's an ability that two classes already share (Mages and Druids). Classes sometimes share a similar ability, it's literally nothing new. In fact, a little overlap is actually a really good thing, especially when you have a small population server, because it means you now are less limited by what content you can do because you have a larger pool of people you can pull from.

[Balake]

Holy Strike is different from all the other strike abilities in that it's holy and synergies with the paladin kit really well. Heroic strike is a spammable rage dump, holy strike is a bursty taunt-ish ability. Holy Strike is in no way similar to anything else in the game. The only thing it has in common with other skills is the word "Strike" in the name, and being an "on next swing" ability.

I don't think mages and druids would agree to priests getting a curse remove. Two distinct classes with such an ability is already enough, and priests are not lacking when it comes to utility as is. Why give them yet another dispel? Homogenization is bad for variety in some cases. One of the reasons to bring a druid is for their curse removal (though not the only one), give the same thing to another class that can do it even better than them (priests can get higher mana regen values than druids) and what you're doing is not making it less limited, you're just making priests the go-to curse dispeller at the expense of druids.

[Mac]

I think having three classes, instead of two, able to remove curses is beneficial because it lets you have more options if you need someone to remove curses for a piece of content, especially on a small population server where you might not be able to find a Druid or a Mage to group with at all hours. I also point to the fact that the game is full of cross-class abilities (another example of this is that Priests share the ability to resurrect with not only Paladins and Shamans, but also -- to a lesser extent -- Druids, Warlocks, and Engineers; and yet that doesn't make any of those classes the same).

You think two classes is already enough, Priests have enough utility, and giving them a similar ability will make Priests too similar to Mages and Druids.

Let's agree to disagree and move on before the thread gets entirely derailed.

[Moon]

Given High Elves' affinity for the arcane, this buff may be a good candidate:
https://classicdb.ch/?spell=17150

Arcane Might
90 mana 30 yd range
Instant
Increases the magical damage dealt by an ally by 50 for 30 min.

[Balake]

Good idea, but it needs to be restricted to one target only or on a long cooldown.

[Axoc]

Why not give Arcane Might a 30 minute cooldown and make it the High Elf Priest racial spell, then separately add a reskinned and renamed Crusader Strike to the Priest class (regardless of race) via an endgame quest or questline similar to the level 55 Mage water quest or the Charger/Dreadsteed & Benediction/Rhok'delar questlines?

Edit: It could also go the way of Holy Strike and be added earlier to make leveling as Holy Priest a viable choice. Priest has class content at levels 6, 10, 20, 50, and 60. So it could be added at 30 or 40 and would fit thematically with Blizzard's design.

[Balake]

Why not give Arcane Might a 30 minute cooldown and make it the High Elf Priest racial spell, then separately add a reskinned and renamed Crusader Strike to the Priest class (regardless of race) via an endgame quest or questline similar to the level 55 Mage water quest or the Charger/Dreadsteed & Benediction/Rhok'delar questlines?

Edit: It could also go the way of Holy Strike and be added earlier to make leveling as Holy Priest a viable choice. Priest has class content at levels 6, 10, 20, 50, and 60. So it could be added at 30 or 40 and would fit thematically with Blizzard's design.

Man the ret paladin lobbyists

Leveling as a holy priest is already a viable choice, in fact it is one of the optimal ones. I'm fine with priests getting a stacking holy damage increase debuff, but they don't need it as much as other classes/specs need changes too. The server is not intending to go the route of class changes, but if it does this would be in the middle of the priority list I have in mind.

[Dragunovi]

I got the scent of ideas, keep em flowing.

[Axoc]

Man the ret paladin lobbyists

I haven't leveled a pally since Nost lol. HS is an excellent (and the only afaik) example of how a "new" combat ability was added to a class mid-game and develops just like other "Blizzard-developed" abilities do. Why not make an independent thread with suggestions that you have for the "needed changes" in the other classes?

[Axoc]

People have been touching on the High Elves' connection to the arcane in the spell suggestions but I haven't seen yet the idea that High Elf *Priests* would likely be focused on the arcane as well, specifically how to treat injuries related to it and how to incorporate the arcane into their healing.
The Warlock "bubble", Ice Barrier, and Power Word: Shield all protect against damage universally. Mana Shield protects against physical damage only, but not magical damage.
What if the HElf Priest racial was a bubble that protected against magical damage only, but not physical damage?
This *would* have PvP implications (any racial spell will) but I think it will help address the synergy concerns with pallies (like Crusader Strike would have) while also adding a lore-friendly spell that doesn't add power creep (like Arcane Might could).

[Roxanneflowers]

People have been touching on the High Elves' connection to the arcane in the spell suggestions but I haven't seen yet the idea that High Elf *Priests* would likely be focused on the arcane as well, specifically how to treat injuries related to it and how to incorporate the arcane into their healing.

Mainly because healing is the province of either Holy or Shadow, not of Arcane. So Arcane healing is kind of out of character for the school.

What if the HElf Priest racial was a bubble that protected against magical damage only, but not physical damage?

Closest thing I can think of to an already existing spell would be a combination of Amplify Magic and Dampen Magic available to Mages. Except in the case of a High Elf Priest, you'd only get the "best" of both spells ... meaning you'd get the damage reduction (only) of Dampen Magic and the healing bonus (only) of Amplify Magic ... in a single spell. So instead of needing to choose between less magic damage and less healing taken (so use against foes who deal primarily magic damage) ... or ... more magic damage and more healing taken (so use against foes who deal primarily physical damage) ... you don't have to choose either or, you get both (probably at half strength of Amplify/Dampen Magic effects).

Amplify Magic (rank 4): increase damage taken from spells by up to 75 and healing spells by up to 150.
Dampen Magic (rank 5): decreases damage taken from spells by up to 90 and healing spells by up to 180.

Proposed High Elf Priest Racial spell
Magic Shell (max rank): decrease damage taken from spells by up to 45 and increase healing from spells by up to 90.



Alternatively, if that's "too much of a good thing" for a Priest Racial Spell ... another option that could be just outright copied would be the effects of the Ward of the Eye spell that Captain Halyndor uses on you (during the Lifting the Curse quest in The Wetlands). Put a 60s cooldown on it (so uptime of 1:10 for a 6s duration) and call it a day as a developer.

[Balake]

Ward of the Eye is too strong as a 60s CD. While the abilities do different things, it's fair to compare it to https://classic.wowhead.com/spell=10278 ... protection
Lasts 4 seconds shorter but the cd is 1 min vs 5 mins, and there is no attacking restriction too.

Besides... reflecting spells will break some raid mechanic for sure.

[Roxanneflowers]

Ward of the Eye is too strong as a 60s CD. While the abilities do different things, it's fair to compare it to https://classic.wowhead.com/spell=10278 ... protection
Lasts 4 seconds shorter but the cd is 1 min vs 5 mins, and there is no attacking restriction too.

Quoting from Blesssing of Protection (rank 3):
Once protected, the target cannot be made invulnerable again by {skip} Blessing of Protection again for 60 seconds.

Unquote.

Besides... reflecting spells will break some raid mechanic for sure.

[Balake]

Quoting from Blesssing of Protection (rank 3):
Once protected, the target cannot be made invulnerable again by {skip} Blessing of Protection again for 60 seconds.

Well yeah, what this means is two paladins can't use blessing of protection back-to-back on the same target to give them 20 seconds of physical immunity. Blessing of protection itself has a 5 minute cooldown so this restriction won't have an effect if there's only one paladin using it (Disregarding divine shield and divine protection, that are self-buffs anyways)

Edit: the database you are using does not show spell cooldowns. But in actually blessing of protection has a 5 minute cooldown (can be found in other databases)

[Axoc]

Mainly because healing is the province of either Holy or Shadow, not of Arcane. So Arcane healing is kind of out of character for the school.

Healing using Arcane magic is, yes. Studying Arcane magic to come up with new innovations is not out of character for anything in the game - even the Cenarion Circle studies and innovates (and obviously has an Arcane connection in their history). The entire story in Silithus shows that the most "traditional" society in the game will innovate, so I see it as perfectly sensible that the High Elves, with their culture being what it is, would innovate as well.

What if the HElf Priest racial was a bubble that protected against magical damage only, but not physical damage?

Closest thing I can think of to an already existing spell would be a combination of Amplify Magic and Dampen Magic available to Mages. Except in the case of a High Elf Priest, you'd only get the "best" of both spells ... meaning you'd get the damage reduction (only) of Dampen Magic and the healing bonus (only) of Amplify Magic ... in a single spell. So instead of needing to choose between less magic damage and less healing taken (so use against foes who deal primarily magic damage) ... or ... more magic damage and more healing taken (so use against foes who deal primarily physical damage) ... you don't have to choose either or, you get both (probably at half strength of Amplify/Dampen Magic effects).

Proposed High Elf Priest Racial spell
Magic Shell (max rank): decrease damage taken from spells by up to 45 and increase healing from spells by up to 90.

I'm not sure if you're saying that your post is what I was saying or if you're suggesting a similar idea to my post. Magic Shell as you described it is too similar to Amplify/Dampen so it wouldn't make sense to put it in the game. Magic Shell would also be incredibly unbalanced in PvP and would make certain PvE content easier.
I was suggesting a spell that provided absorption versus only magical damage. We currently have Ice Barrier and Power Word: Shield in the game that absorb both physical and magical damage. We currently have Mana Shield that absorbs only physical damage. Fire Ward and Frost Ward both absorb only magical damage, but they are self-cast spells that absorb one specific school of damage, not targeted spells that universally absorb magic damage.

[Balake]

High Elves are all about drawing magic from their environment. What if this magic damage shield increased their spell damage and healing temporarily the more magic it absorbs?

[Axoc]

High Elves are all about drawing magic from their environment. What if this magic damage shield increased their spell damage and healing temporarily the more magic it absorbs?

This would be really cool.

[Roxanneflowers]

High Elves are all about drawing magic from their environment. What if this magic damage shield increased their spell damage and healing temporarily the more magic it absorbs?

At that point, you're reaching for something more akin to the Magic Absorption talent for Mages (tier 2 Arcane). Except, instead of doing a Resist All schools (except Physical) that upon full resistance of an incoming attack converts the attack into a mana gain ... you'd be doing a Resist All schools (except Physical) that upon full resistance of an incoming attack yields a temporary buff to Spellpower.

Alternatively, for a more "Priestly" reinterpretation ... do a Resist All schools (except Physical) that upon full resistance of an incoming attack yields a buff that duplicates the effects of a Spirit Tap (+100% Spirit and +50% mana recovery from Spirit while casting for 15s) without being in conflict with Spirit Tap (meaning you could have Spirit Tap AND this magic absorption buff active concurrently). Which may not sound all that impressive until you realize that Spiritual Guidance at tier 5 in Holy adds +1 Spellpower per 4 Spirit (drop fractions) at 5/5 investment, and anything that adds +100% Spirit synergizes VERY WELL with the Spiritual Guidance talent for supercharging spellpower. However, even if you don't have Spiritual Guidance in your build (because, Shadowform/Power Infusion/etc.) the gain in mana recovery from Spirit while casting ought to (favorably) skew the mana efficiency of spellcasting in a positive direction for the Player, in effect yielding a "deeper" mana pool that takes longer to deplete until OoM.

So a blended Magic Absorption styled self buff to proc a Spirit Tap (type) self buff ought to work out well enough that it would be unique without being horrifically game unbalancing (see: Fear Ward) and which would tend to keep the High Elf Priest more "flush with resources" if they can fully resist incoming magical attacks. Make it a 10 minute duration self only buff (think Omen of Clarity for Druids as precedence) and call it a day.