Created New Spec - Blood Spec (For Fun, slightly long)

[LocNess]

Table of Contents
I. Blood Mage Basic Information
II. Blood Mage Key Abilities
III. Blood Mage Stats
IV. Blood Mage Player Use (Raid and PvP)
V. Ragnaros' Thought on the Spec
VI. TL;DR

I. Blood Mage Basic Information:

Blood Mages are separate from the WC3 Blood Mages (being just slightly changed Mages and are more of a traditional sense of the Blood Mage (similar to the portrayal in Dragon Age). They can be seen as a mixture of a Warlock, a Shadow Priest, and a Mage, and focus on Empowerment Abilities, Vampiric Abilities, and using their Health as a resource along with their Mana, each changing based on their resource acquirement between Blood Charge or Mana Charge.

II. Blood Mage Key Abilities

Blood Charge/Mana Siphon:
Bar with 100 points total, 50 on each side (similar to the Moonkin resource bar). Each side, when maxed, grants a buff that lasts until the bar returns to the middle (caused by casting the opposite set of spells). This allows for stacking on one side. Each Blood Ability increases the charge to that side by 10. Each Mana ability increases the Charge to that side by 5.

Blood Charge:

Empowers your Blood Abilities, boosting their Damage by 5%, however they now use your own blood for their empowerment, causing a loss of 3% HP per spell cast for Blood spells. Blood Abilities casted also move your resource closer to Blood Empowerment buff, increasing damage by a further 10% (15% total), however, 3.5% HP per cast is now lost.

Aura Gained - Magical Replenishment - Mana regeneration is increased by 50%, allies gain 1% Mana per second when within 10 yards of you.

Blood Abilities:

Blood Siphon - 8000 Mana initially, 2k per tick - Deals damage (x% of current SP) and also heals you for 10% of the damage done, and restores 5% of your Mana per tick. Channeled over 6 seconds on target, increased by Haste.

Shadow Flames - 18000 Mana - Damage over time effect, places shadowed flames on the target dealing x% of your SP over 18 seconds.

Hemorrhage - 20000 Mana - 12sec CD - Target hemorrhage's blood, healing friendly targets within 5 yards for 3% of damage done, Damage over time, dealing x% of your SP over 12 seconds.

Blood Bolt - 8000 Mana - 3 second cast, deals damage (x% of current SP) that is increased by 50% for each player DoT on the target currently.

Siphoning Pool - 25000 Mana - Area of Effect attack, deals x% of SP damage to all enemies within it per second, also returns HP over 5% of damage done per tick. Lasts 8 seconds.

Mana Charge:

Empowers your Mana abilities, increasing their healing by 5%, and your damage taken is reduced by 10%, however damage done is lowered by 5% and Mana regeneration lowered by 50%. Mana abilities also cause your resource bar to move closer to Mana Empowerment, increasing healing by a further 5% (10% total), Mana Regeneration lowered by only 25% for the duration of Mana Charge.

Aura Gained - Blood Replenishment - All allies including yourself within 10 yards regenerate 1% health per second.

Mana Abilities:

Mana Siphon - 12000 Mana initially, 3k per tick - Deals damage (x% of current SP) and regenerates Mana for 10% of the damage done. Channeled over 6 seconds, increased by Haste.

Cauterizing Flow - 20000 Mana - Heals friendly target over 10 seconds for x% of your current SP. Instant cast.

Shadow Bloom - 1.5 Second Cast - 25000 Mana - When cast on an enemy, deals a quick burst of shadow damage equal to x% of your current SP. When cast on a friendly target, heals them for x% of your current SP, increased by a further x% if they have cauterizing flow already on them.

Abilities that are shared:

Blood Jump - 10% of your HP - Takes 10% of your current HP and transfers it to the 3 closest friendly targets, each gaining 10% of your HP.

Grasping Shadows - 25000 Mana - 10 yard radius spell, slowing all enemies within by 60%.

Thickened Blood - 30000 Mana - When casted on a friendly target, they gain a 30% damage reduction for the next 10 seconds.

Mana Shield - Damage taken reduces your Mana instead of your Health up to a maximum of x% of your HP (and also increased by x% of your SP).

Cooldowns:

Transfusion - Swap your current HP with the friendly target, if their HP exceeds yours, you stay at 100% of your normal HP - 2min CD

Blood Affinity - Automatically gain Blood Empowerment. CD shared with Mana Affinity - 5min CD

Mana Affinity - Automatically gain Mana Empowerment. CD shared with Blood Affinity - 5min CD

Magical Absorption - Increases Mana Regeneration by 100% for the next 20 seconds - 2m CD

Blood Radiance - Heal all friendly targets within 40 yards by x% over the next 6 seconds of the channel - 4min CD

Massive Hemorrhaging - All damage you deal is now increased by 30% for the next 15 seconds. Your spells no longer cost health for the duration of this - 1.5min CD

Blood Pact - You may resurrect up to 3 friendly nearby targets at the cost of your own life - 10min CD

Passive Talents:

Bloodbath - During Mana Empowerment, your Blood Spells each heal an extra 5% life to yourself.

Sadistic Personality - If the enemy is below 20% HP, your damage increases by 10%.

Resourceful - If your Mana is reduced to 0, you now use Health instead of Mana at a 1:1 ratio.

Lingering Spirit - If you die, your current aura still applies to allies within 10 yards for the next 15 seconds.

III. Blood Mage Stats

Mastery - Increases the damage done by your Blood Spells by x%, increases amount healed by your healing spells by x%.

Haste - Decreases timers of Dots, and CD of Hemorrhage by x%.

Crit - Nothing different.

IV. Blood Mage Player Use

Raiding:

The Blood Mage is a mix of damage dealing with healing utility. With the ability to flow into a different style throughout the fight, they can provide extra healing during more painful phases, and more damage during burn phases. They would not be the type to top charts, offering more survivability to your raid than the typical DPS, however due to the passive Sadistic Personality talent, they can provide a great damage boost to the burn phases of the fight. Blood Pact can allow up to 3 resurrections for the cost of the Blood Mages life, which could be raid saving if 3 healers were down, or 3 high end DPS you needed.

Player versus Player:

The Blood Mage would find it hard to be able to use both sides of the spec to its advantage in the middle of PvP, however can be adept if given the time, allowing burst of players, good utility with abilities such as Transfusion, or a good healing backup if they can get Mana Affinity off. Both Affinity cooldowns would be the most dangerous spells, turning a healer into a damage dealer in a GCD, or vice versa, allowing the fight to change its normal flow.

V. Ragnaros' Thoughts on this Spec

Being fairly tired as I wrote this, I might have left out an ability I wanted there, or worded what I meant differently and made it confusing. If you have any questions or suggestions, please ask. I believe this would be a great introduction in as a 4th spec for the class, however obviously our current talent choices do not currently reflect how to affect this class (I may add this in later). This would be the first true spec in the game to allow DPS or Healing on the fly (Moonkins being a close second).

VI. Suggestions

N/A

VI. TL;DR

Blood Mages work in a combination of healing and damage dealing, with raid utility. Could work as 4th spec.

[deviantcultist]

If you check the Dark Animus fight you will notice some possible Blood Mage upcoming applications. Your spec is kind of nice although I think you should focus on a spec that does not involve shadow damage or healing since though are not Mage perks. By checking the fight I mention, you will find out that this could be a Fire spec addition since the blood essence is materialized into fiery/crimson particles and every source of damage is fire with some exceptions being arcane.

I personally think that the two power sources being adapted by Jaina and Lor'themar, thunder king essence and life blood respectively, are possible revamp material for Arcane and Fire spec. Check out the links I'm providing below.

First one: Dark Animus fight
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIAeKAKkMLc

Second one: Ra-Den, the Titan who gave this power to the bosses. Notice the wounds containing the Anima/Blood essence of the Dark Animus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=803VXl-ybC0

All of these can be no coincidence, so that can be quite an influence for Fire/Blood spec theories.

[Polarthief]

I feel like if Blood Mage ever became a specc, it'd just become a class.

"But Pewpewblast, is there enough stuff behind a Blood Mage for it to become a class?"

I'm glad you asked! While on the surface, it doesn't seem like a lot, that's because we haven't seen a ton of Blood Mage stuff happen. We've killed a few in ICC (them all being either quest or dungeon bosses and returning for the end of Lich King) and some magic users from the Blood Elves could be considered "Blood" Mages in a form. What does that have to do with having enough to make a class? Well, they'd have to make more lore, or essentially borrow from what we know about vampires, or even Dracula a bit if necessary, granted, I feel like they've already done that if you look into it.

While my understanding of Vampires and Dracula as a whole is quite small, I have found one interesting video that taught me quite a bit (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDGCnw3qu98 start near the middle for the relevant parts) [PS: Game Theory is awesome, but I'm not here to advertise for them *chuckle*]; the part about Dracula having the power over weather, specifically, THE AIR, being quite special to this case.

Recall back if you will to Icecrown Citadel. The Blood wing just unlocked and you're greeted by three Blood Mages (or even Vampires, if you will...). The 'leader' of the three, Prince Valanar, having the power of AIR spells, and using his Shock Vortex and Kinetic Bomb abilities. While I can't speak for the Bomb being a part of Dracula's 'toolkit' (although the knockback could be considered a heavy force of air), Shock Vortex is air based. Furthermore, Prince Taldaram uses Fire attacks, and well, not only do so many games that have vampires/Dracula involve them casting fireballs, but the Sun is a source of Fire... (weak argument, I know).

Essentially what I'm getting at is there could be three speccs to this class. While Blood is obviously the primary factor of a Blood Mage, and all three speccs would use blood attacks/abilities, I feel it's necessary for one of the three to be more specialized in it. So we'd have Blood as specc 1, Weather (or Elements) as specc 2 (which would play close to Elemental Shamans without actually being a Shaman), which leaves one last specc which I'm still thinking of how that would work.

Unless I want to blatantly take from both Druids and Dracula (who can also Shapeshift) and just give the third specc a Shapeshifting ability, I'll need to think about it.

Regardless, I'd love for Blood Mage to be a playable specc (or class!). Still upset we didn't get Burnout in Cataclysm (Beta Fire talent that used your Health as Mana when you had insufficient Mana), as that'd push us one step closer to having the specc.