More info on 1.9
Fangtooth confirms what we've known already, that we won't be in 1.8. He also says he'll tell us about the changes when he gets more info, again... Some people just don't seem to understand that what they're asking has already been common knowledge for weeks, jeez. I really appreciate his patience, but I hope that he doesn't feel like he has some kind of debt to us -- the Paladin community, just because he promised to play our class. I hope the reason he's playing the Paladin isn't to just please us and calm us down. That wouldn't be right.
We're already half-way to 1.9!
Hornwood on my server's forum alerted that 1.8 is going on to test already: New Test Realm Phase: Patch 1.8.0He also listed the patch notes, and here are the items that affected the Paladin: Paladins
Judgement of Light and Judgement of Wisdom will now benefit players that are immune to Holy effects (e.g. Divine Shield).
Added level 50 class quests for the Warrior, Shaman, Paladin, and Warlock. Trainers in the major cities will let you know where to start your quest.
Quote of the day, 9/28/05
Zileemo: I was looking at paladin and shaman talents and in the paladins healing tree, or holy tree, they get a skill that is based off the staple of the shaman class, it is called Holy shock.
So looking at the shaman's healing tree, they get manatide which seems like crap.
So it seems fair to me that the shaman end restoration talent should be a Divine shield type spell like the paladins except with a 15 min cooldown or something (since holy shock has a longer cool down than our shocks) Hans, which responds with: Yes, because shamans are so underpowered. sarcasm ftw
Quote of the day, 9/27/05
Paladin concerns on their way
Busko writes and complains about where our class concern summary is. CM Vaneras is kind enough with a response to say that's what holding things back is the collection from the French and Germans (I'm not going to be joke about their nationality, getting kinda sick at since it's not constructive and just childish). Turns out that our concerns were delayed. Probably because of vacation. So, don't worry -- continue to roll your thumbs.
Alright, Fangtooth brings the news
Yuber asks, "That Paladins won't be getting their talents fixed in 1.8? or is there still a slight chance we might get it on 1.8? " Fangtooth responds with, "The Paladin changes did not make it into patch 1.8." Dang.
Immune Capping will definetly be fixed
Hopefully we won't be totally empty handed
I've been trying to find a post that Fangtooth made which was going to prove my point, but you'll have to take my word for it: Not too long ago he said that Hammer of Wrath is just one of many upcoming additions to the class. Puzzling! He probably knew stuff that's coming for us, but that he can't tell what it is. Considering that they barely have started to scrape the surface of what's going to come in 1.8, I don't think it's entirely out of the question that they're going to give us something in that patch. Might it be the Seal of Vigor?
Hammer of Wrath video!
Fellow Paladin player Nevs posted a thread to promote his new Paladin movie which you can download here (Divx, AVI-format). It's very well-produced, with an 'interesting' ending.
Arathi Basin tip
As you know, lately Paladins have been getting a lot of flak for being able to take over nodes in Arathi when shielded. Here's a guy with a fake flag-takeover tip in Arathi Basin. I totally concur with the guy who said "Applause for thinking outside the box."
Druid talent changes, and what's coming for us
You guys've already probably seen or heard about the new Druid talent changes. Pretty sweet, eh? I can't believe how good and perfect they are. I can't even decide whether to spec Feral or Balance, with my now level 59 Druid. It really makes you wonder how good the talent changes to the Paladin is going to be. Because for example, these changes not only buffed all three trees, they also changed some abilities such as shortening the cooldown of Tranquility and making Hurricane a spell everyone can buy from a trainer. So when CM's say the upcoming Paladin changes are limited to talents only take it with a grain of salt. Spells, abilities and talents all go together. When they change one, they'll eventually have to change another. I also have a gut feeling that we're getting our healing abilities severely toned down so that they're quite limited (adding cooldowns to our heals, etc), and as a result the Holy-tree won't become the Healing-tree, but rather the Caster-tree. Hammer of Wrath is classified as a Holy spell is really a tip for this. I.e. the reason why HoW is not Retribution isn't because it does damage, but because it's a ranged spell.
Blizzard's PR problem, and why it must stop
You know what, I love this company, I love their games -- but that doesn't mean I have to suck up to them. Credit is due where credit is due. This hasn't anything to do with Paladins, but I consider it to be of crucial importance anyway: Slashdot is one of the most influential websites on the internet. They hold a lot power, they have a lot of influence. It's rigorously visited by pretty much all people from all corners of the the entire tech industry, from game developers to nuclear fusionists. I'm sure a lot of Blizzard workers visit the website as well. Slashdot let members submit their questions to Blizzard over a month ago. I waited so long I totally forgot about it. But, today CmdrTaco posted the answers. Result? In his opinion neutered responses by the Blizzard PR-department. And he's true. It's the same old, same old. No detailed responses. Just more PR-fluff you've heard many times before. For example, a question that was asked regarding the monitoring on the economy made the guy who asked it quite outraged. This isn't the first time. Worldofwar.net was kind enough to have the same thing several months ago as well. It was as well promoted as a "developer interview". The response came in. And the even most convicted Blizzard fans were displeased. Using the word "thrilled" to promote something of your product -- who ever uses that word except public relations people? Nobody, I tell you! (50% seriously, 50% in a jokingly matter) Let me cut to the core argument of why I am bringing this up: What Blizzard is doing here is really a disservice. They're trying to be good. They're trying to be nice to answer peoples questions. I mean, it sounds great: let fans answer questions, you respond and everybody is happy. The problem here is that they're simply doing it completely wrong. They're not treating those who asked the questions with dignity. Slashdot is a website that's filled with intelligent people who want intelligent answers. They want advanced, complicated responses who explain things in detail. That Blizzard expects them to be pleased with anything less is, really, an insult to them. Blizzard didn't even try. Heck, add to the fact that many of the Slashdotters still keep in mind the fact that Blizzard shut down BnetD (go to link for more info). Simply put: When these people ask questions about your game, you can't copy and paste stuff from your FAQ or Battleplan. These guys expected much more. This is why I hope Blizzard stops doing this. I love them as a company. But, for their own good, I hope they stop doing this because it's biting them right back in the butt. Edit: Thread on the community forum regarding this has been deleted. Edit 2: Second thread up. Edit 3: Second thread deleted as well. All thread regarding this has been purged from the forums. Edit 4: Actually, the second thread and all others weren't deleted. The forums were just down for updates. Doh!
Eyonix isn't on Smolderthorn
Paladin is the best battleground class in the game
Paladin = Best class at dragging out fights, due to our excellent survivability. Alliance in Battlegrounds = Loses most battles by far. And by far, I really mean, by far. Horde Objective in Battlegrounds = Win. Alliance Objective in Battlegrounds = Not making Horde win. Hence: Alliance = Drag out the battleground fight for as long as possible Paladin = Best Battleground class in the game.
Pristine Black Diamonds
More good news due to 1.7: The prices for these guys are dropping fast. There are many reports of them dropping much more frequently now. I checked on my server's auction house and there were 13 (!) of them up. Some bids started at 240g, whereas buyouts were at 300g! Nice! Now if I only had 550g and a bunch of Arcanite Bars to spare...
I'm stupid... And our nightmare's been confirmed
Phriday Phofurm update
Fang gives an update on his Pally. Level 14. Standard Retribution build (I can't blame him -- the only viable build until level 60, really). But today marks a milestone regarding this blog... The first totally unrelated post regarding the Paladin: Silencer's work on gathering information regarding hero classes to prove Blizzard originally intended it to be in the main game was too good to not share with you. Looks like we'll have to buy the expansion to get them. I'd say "it sucks", but I'm going to buy the expansion regardless the content anyway. *cough* Holy Light instant cast with a 20 sec cooldown *cough* Flash of Light AoE heal with a 45 sec cooldown.*cough*
Funny analogy
Diesal's analogy is funny:i just realized that the Blizz devs are huge Looney Tunes Fans... and paladins with engineering represent Wile E. Coyote... with all of the gadgets and gizmos (they might as well stamp ACME on them) and the enemies ability to just run away and we cant catch them.
thats all folks......
Bites of the day
The core reason why I think Hammer of Wrath rocks: Finally I can convert mana in to damage. The class is in desperate need for more spells this. Holy Shock needs to have a 6 second cooldown and either slightly decreased mana cost or an effect. Reports are in that we've been stealth nerfed, involuntarily due to the fact that now with 1.7 the lower level the ability is -- the more chance it has to resist on higher level targets in relation to the level of that ability. Resists regarding all of our abilities have gone up, so for example someone resisting Hammer of Justice or Repentance is now more common. Awesome! Large rope nets don't drop anymore in Westfall. Too bad for you guys who relied on those to snare runners.
The developers are on vaccation?
Mazerin was asking on the US general board regarding resists and how it's destroying PVP. Fangtooth replies: I am going to ask the developers their opinion on the matter, but they will not be back until Monday Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!Vacation? Other projects? Regardless that -- undeniably, this is another addition to the speculation that they haven't begun working on us yet. I don't have an opinion on it, but some people will draw that conclusion.
Developers are still gathering data
"Best build ever"
I've been seeing this one posted around quite a bit, often accompanied with someone bragging that this is the build he had to become "Grand Marshal". It's just the most worthless, most crappy distribution of talent points you can have as a Paladin. I don't think you can try harder to make a worthless build. It makes me laugh out loud in real life, because it's just so darn funny.
1.7 out this tuesday
Nebu screwed up: Tuesday, September 13, 2005 - Nebu
1.7 Site Updates
*Quests: Basics (quest text speed)
*Basics: Slash Commands (added text to random)
*Basics: Action Bar (consumables)
*Battlegrounds: Info (added holidays and line about Battlemasters)
*Mounts: Wolves (Tauren can now ride)
*Basics: Combat (added weapon switching, added possession)
*Basics: Spells (added line to interruption from 1.6.1, added de-buff limit, added spell stacking)
Questions and answers about the blog
Do you really think the Paladin sucks? Why is this blog called PaladinSucks.com?It's really just named that way to provoke and catch eyesight -- to break way through the internet media noise. When I criticize the class because I love it and want the best for it, not because I hate it. Love is about taking the good with the bad and being honest at all times, which includes admitting shortfalls. I still play the class every day. What was the initial the purpose of this blog?To initiate and take part of the Blizzard media infrastructure with the Paladin in mind. Instead of sitting and complaining in forums, I thought it was time to do something. I've been more and more distancing away from my original goal of strictly writing about a single class because I find it to be more enjoyable to write about anything that has to do with World of Warcraft. It was tough to limit yourself to only one subject. Progression is something that's natural, and it's best not to fight it. However, this blog still is written from the perspective of being pro-Paladin, however. Why aren't you posting about other stuff, such as the new desktop wallpapers just released?If it's not newsworthy, it's not worthy anyones time. I'm not going to mirror everything that Blizzard post on their Community website. That'd be useless. I consider this blog to be a compliment of big and established World of Warcraft websites more than anything else, really. You get the press releases on their website, you get what's between the lines here. How experienced are you with the class?That's very subjective. I'd consider myself to be more knowledgeable than skilled. Who are you?I'm a student that live in both Europe and the United States, though I'm currently in Sweden at the moment. Going back to the US to live there permanently in December. Edit: I live in Phoenix, Arizona now. Where's my shotgun? I've been a huge Blizzard fan most of my life, which all started with Warcraft 2. I have a Blizzard shrine in my bookshelf where I keep all the copies of the games and memorabilia. I own at least two copies of every Blizzard game. I've been loosely monitoring the Blizzard community ever since I got internet around the time of Warcraft 2. I owned a registered copy of Kali. That should say something. Any more questions should be emailed to me.
Fangtooth is on another roll -- and some more stuff
Fangtooth needs your help! He put up a suggestion on what build he wanted with his Pally: It was the standard 20/0/31 build (we've all been there!). Here's he playing a wise-cracker in jest to someone who hasn't researched what is up and coming in 1.7. It's quite unbelievable, but it's true: Some poor soul asked and hoped that they wouldn't "destroy" the Paladin talent trees. New community manager Tseric answered with that it's inevitable that they get changed in the future (that's what he really means). Someone asked if the Paladin review is pushed back to 1.9. Caydiem responded with (what's been the common knowledge for weeks) that they're scheduled for 1.8 but that they could get pushed back to 1.9. Edit: Fangtooth's name on the PVPRP server is exposed.
Ninja fix on Blessing of Wisdom
Igniter runs it down:The problem: BLessing of Wisdom causes massive amounts of agro. This was ninja put into the game, with no warning, and often prevents us from using the blessing in BWL/MC because of the nature of the de-agro spells. ex: flamegor's flame buffet. It's also bugged, preventing groups to get out of combat. More discussion here.Weird.
World of Warcraft Battleplan - Vol. 2
World of Warcraft Battleplan - Vol. 2 is out, from lead producer Shane Dabiri. Read it, it's good stuff -- here's where Pallies are mentioned: Talent Improvements
We’re currently in the process of improving underused talents for all classes. The goal of the talent reevaluation is to allow all classes to have three viable talent trees to choose from. That is, each class should be able to pick from any tree available and still end up with a character that has desired utility in a specific role. The task is a major undertaking and one we're carrying out with great enthusiasm.
Some classes have already been completed (Warriors, Warlocks, and Hunters in the upcoming content patch), others are currently being worked on (Druids and then Paladins), while still others are yet to come (Shamans, Mages, Priests, and Rogues). Our priority is to address first those classes that have limited choice in talent trees, and move from there. Each class should receive attention to areas where the designers feel talents are lacking, though the scope of the changes will be based on need, with some classes receiving more drastic changes than others. (Emphaphis mine.)
No update on the Paladin status
Moomantha asked Eyonix if he had any new info on the upcoming Paladin changes. The answer was "nope".
Thoughts on the leaked notes
I'm getting reports that Spybot, who leaked this, was the same person responsible for the 1.5 and 1.6 notes leaks, which were as I recall, completely accurate. (Edit: Turned out to be totally false)So far there have been no reports of factual inaccuracy. There were claims, such as that Tauren Wolfriding is to be included in 1.7, but they were shot down.Some people say this is fake because "it's not possible that they've got all these things done already in advance". Think about it for a minute: This could very well be a list of things that is planned for 1.8. Also, consider the fact that 1.7 has been out on the test server for two weeks now, and when you include the internal test, it's definitely had a content freeze for over three weeks. Could possibly be four, or even five. Who knows? The sad part about this is that the only thing we can do now is drool over these notes for at least a month. Definitely won't be released until the end of October, coincidentally around the same time as BlizzCon (and the expansion announcement).
Leaked 1.8 patch notes. This looks like the real deal.
Edit: If these notes are false, it's the last straw!The irony. The very day after I said that I wouldn't touching "leaked" notes with a ten foot pole, the notes for 1.8 leaked. What I said came right back and bit me in the butt, so to speak. Obviously Blizzard isn't confirming or denying these, but they look absolutely too elaborate to be faked. Fellow guild member Tanis alerted my guild on this. Trust me, these notes look dang true (already deleted off of the official boards). Let's focus on the things that affects the Paladin: Judgement of Fury – Design changed. Now forces the target to attack you.
Blessing of Salvation – Design changed. Now causes a friendly target to generate no additional threat for 10 seconds.
Consecration – Fixed a bug where the spell sometimes did nothing if cast in rapid succession.
Sanctity Aura – Design changed. Now increases healing done by 10% for party members within 30 yards.
Holy Shock – Cooldown reduced to 6 seconds.
Improved Blessing of Salvation – Design changed. Now increases the duration of your Blessing of Salvation by 2/4 sec. Bye bye, current incarnation of Salvation! (let's face it, it was pretty expected). Awesome buff to Judgement of Fury, much needed because requiring holy damage to grab aggro was just completely unnecessary. Awesome buff to Sanctity Aura, Healadin aura of choice from now on! Awesome buff to Holy Shock to make it in line with Shaman's shock cooldowns, one thing it misses though is an effect. But I guess it's better to have a ranged attack than none. For all that we know, these notes could be incomplete and more things will be added to the list as development progresses. If you read the list, the changes to the Druid seem to be pretty much complete (for example they got their own version of Shadowform now). So, I would not be surprised at all if we also got our talent revamps in 1.8. Caydiem said they were giving the Druid a priority -- and the changes look pretty much complete there to me. But... If you only read the Paladin part you've already skipped over one of the most crucial changes that will affect how we play our class forever: Hearthstones can no longer be used while invulnerable. It is an end of an era. The defining ability of the Paladin class will be sorely missed and forever remembered. R.I.P. Shield + Hearth.
So-called "leaked" patch notes
Read bottom of this post for an update.There's been a lot of talking in recent days about the "leaked" patch notes WCRadio has (audio). You can read the list in text here.I've been sceptic of them myself, and I've learned from my mistakes in the past by linking to rumored notes -- so it would be a disservice to just link and speculate on all that pop up. It's a waste of my time and your time if they're false. However, there's just so much discussion on these that I'll have to talk about it: Lets start with the good parts: Instant cast heal, Divine Light -- good stuff. Longer blessings. Holy strike (!). A lot more stuff that's too much to list up. I love the changes to make the Paladin a better healer. Bad parts: The notes seem to be a bit garbled and confusing. For example according to the notes Improved Hammer of Wrath is in the Retribution tree, whereas the actual spell really is in the Holy tree. Many talents are unaccounted for, for example Improved Lay on Hands, Consecration. Auras, seal and judgement system are untouched when the developers said they were going to make the system more interactive. Why they fall flat is because these notes are too out too early, and what considering Caydiem said recently ("Druids have higher priority in 1.8, Paladins are after that.") sends conflicting messages. If the developers are spending their time with the Druids, how come these notes look finished? To me these changes could be put in 1.8 immediately. That is why I caution you to be heavily sceptic towards these notes. I personally think that Blizzard will never make our shields (Divine Protection/Shield) talent-gained damage absorption spells. One of the essences of a Paladin is the total immunity it gives us every five minutes, for good and bad. Edit: Yep. I was right. I'm not going to touch these things with a ten foot pole from now on.
We're no longer adolescent girls
Caydiem says they're removing it before it goes live. (if you don't know what I'm talking about, check this out) One guy made the comment that "The doll one is being changed not because of it's mention of Paladins, but it's comparison of punctured dolls and adolescent girls." That makes sense -- so I wouldn't overanalyze why they decided to remove it.
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