In this article I wanna write about how I'd imagine a melee priest in this game.
Adding a custom talent tree, mentioning gameplay, strengths, weaknesses.
Creative corner, not a suggestion topic.
What is a melee priest?
A melee priest is a cloth-using DPS, relying on inner fire and power word: shield to survive. His base game-mechanic is converting a big chunk of his spirit into strength and using his 2 melee skills and 1 shock-like ability (which I add) for the combat.
Strengths:
* Uses holy damage
* Surprisingly bulky
* Fear-based CD with scream
* Can DoT and 'shock' from further away
* Increasing efficiency against lower health enemies
* Added group utility for holy damage
Weaknesses:
* No close-in mechanism
* No stun
* No cleave or aoe
How the talent tree would look like?
1st row:
Holy Embrace (5) - Stealing the base idea from warlocks. Holy embrace would increase your strength (pre-buff) by 50% for the cost of 25% of your spirit.
Holy Bonk (5) - Increasing the melee weapon damage you deal by 10%.
2nd row:
Improved Inner Fire (3) - Increasing the effectiveness of your inner fire by 30%.
Vengeful Shield (5) - Increasing your melee haste by 5% as long as you are within a bubble.
Improved Smite (2) - Reduces the casting time of smite by 100% but adds a 6 sec CD and a 50% range reduction to the spell.
3rd row:
Mark the Sinner (3) - Increasing melee and spell crit chance by n% (to be tested) on targets who have shadow word pain on.
Big Bonk (1) - Gives the priest a melee ability on 10 sec CD which turns your next auto-attack into a big bonk. Big bonk deals 120% base damage, 20% added holy damage (140% together) and has a +10% crit modifier.
Blessed Biceps (5) - A flat-out 10% strength increase, similar to the paladin talent.
4th row:
Burning Fire (1) (you need Improved Inner Fire for it) - Every time you lose a stack from Inner Fire, a smaller amount of holy damage is dealt to the attacker.
Staff Mastery (5) - Giving the priest +5% weapon skill to two handed staffs.
5th row:
Holy armor (3) - Giving the priest 15% extra armor from items and -1,5% chance to be critically hit from any source. I am generous with the numbers here because cloth barely gives any armor.
Super Smite (2) - Adding 5% crit chance to Smite.
6th row:
The end is near (3) - Giving the priest 6% added melee damage against targets with 50% or lower HP.
Hyper Smite (2) (Super Smite needed) - Smites have a 100% chance to apply a debuff on the target which increases holy damage taken by 5% for 12 sec.
7th row:
Sacred Smack (1) - Giving the priest a melee finisher move, similar to execute. Can only be used if the target has 20% HP at max. Costs 25% of the priest's mana and deals n% (should be tested) base damage during the next autoattack.
So what would a melee priest do?
1. Melee priest sees the enemy. Approaches him.
2. Inner fire, shield up. Shield gives melee haste.
3. Uses a shadow word pain to mark the sinner.
4. Autorun in, optionally /roar. Keeping on a HoT on himself.
5. Smites the target for added holy damage.
6. Autohit, uses big bonk when available.
7. Reshield, re-inner fire when needed. Watching happily as inner fire takes the enemy's HP slowly away.
8. Uses smite on CD.
9. When target has low HP, goes for sacred smack.
What limits them in PVP?
* De-magic/purge is very good against them.
* Can't chase you too well.
* Fear-break is a problem for them.
* Not a high dodge-chance+wearing cloth.
* Breaking their bubble means their melee haste is gone until they are allowed to put up a shield again.
What enables them in PVP?
* Best friend of a pala.
* Is always healing himself and hitting him hurts you.
* Can shock you like a shaman would.
* Shocks makes pala bonk bigger.
* Usual priest utility, including demagic, buffs, healing, fear.
* If you're HP is kinda low, they become monsters.
* Some added crit received-prevention to help them survive.
