View Poll Results: Would you prefer a Shadowpriest class, and a Holy Priest class with less shadowform?

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69. This poll is closed
  • Totally!

    13 18.84%
  • Never. Please no. By the light.

    56 81.16%
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  1. #1

    Cool Priests and Shadowpriests as separate classes?

    How would you feel if they separated the Priest into "Priest" and "Shadowpriest"?

    Imho, Sunwalker Tauren wouldn't be messing around with shadow magic, (Nor would Draenei), and not all Undead and Worgen should be able to wield the Light.

    At least, not EVERY priest.
    Example specs:

    Priest:
    Holy (Healing)
    Discipline (Healing)
    Balance (Ranged Damage: Shadow and Light, for the Pandaren-style light/dark feel.)

    Shadowpriest:
    Shadow (Ranged Damage)
    Psychic (Ranged Damage - illusion/shadow pets, a Mind Control that turns your target into a controllable pet for 8 seconds, replacing their spells based on what they are. Also, a cool effect for this could be City of Heroes style Illusion damage. More damage per second, but puts a HoT on them.)
    Darkness (Shadowform + Shadow Orb bubbles, tanking. Or some undead-style healing spec.)

    Races that don't make sense with both:

    Forsaken are forsaken from the light. They are held together by shadow magic. A Forsaken Shadowpriest completely and totally rejects the Light, as it has rejected him. He would don robes of a human priest, and allow them to be covered in blood and dirt, as an insult to their order. Except, in BGs I constantly see Forsaken Priests in shadowform casting healing spells. There are more Shadowpriests casting holy spells than there are unplayable High Elves in the alliance.

    Draenei hate all things dark and wicked. Of course they can be priests. But the only reason any Draenei would turn to the shadow is for the balance.

    Tauren priests aren't even supposed to know anything about shadow. They're Sunwalkers, Sun Priests. They worship the god of the sun. Light. And stuff. Why should they be able to turn into shadowy figures with orbs of darkness and psychic beasts?

    Worgen can't even be paladins. They aren't one with the light, not anymore. I don't see why the light wouldn't have forsaken them like the undead. They're, for lack of a better word, abominations.

    Every other Priest class could keep their priestliness and actually gain a class.



    To sum it up:

    Priests and Shadowpriests shouldn't overlap, just like Rogues and Hunters shouldn't be the same class.


    I don't think Blizzard would ever change this, but how many of you would enjoy playing a shadow priest class, or a holy priest, without so much shadowform?

  2. #2
    Elemental Lord
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    uhm.. well I like the general idea, but blizz will have to make 3/4 full new specs?..

  3. #3
    I don't think that would be wise. The lore states that yes, undead shouldn't wield the light, but how many people honestly care? if you see an undead holy priest, you know he gives 0 fucks about the lore and just likes the cast animations or the racials. Priests would definitely not be high on my list of classes to split into two. If anything, change disc into a ranged dps and leave holy as their healing spec, but even then I don't think that would go over very well.
    Quote Originally Posted by Socialhealer View Post
    judging 25man raiding by LFR standards saying it requires no coordination, is like saying 5mans require cheese sandwiches because i like turtles.

  4. #4
    Too little basis for its own class, like you can see in your own description of what the specs would be like. They would just feel like normal shadowpriests but skinned down to allow enough variety for 3 specs.

    I'd rather have a new class that feels original.

  5. #5
    Herald of the Titans Northem's Avatar
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    I agree with the creator of the thread. But I would go one step further.

    I would eradicate all traces of dark magic of the priests and create a new class that makes use of black magic, specifically, I mean the antithesis of the priests: the necromancers.

  6. #6
    I would jump on Necromancers so hard.

  7. #7
    Yeah that would be great! I'm thinking a plate spec that wields the aspects of undead service to the Lich King. They could have magic and physical attacks and could raise undead minions- OH WAIT
    "I feel bad for people who don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day." - Frank Sinatra

  8. #8
    Herald of the Titans Northem's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by drake741 View Post
    Yeah that would be great! I'm thinking a plate spec that wields the aspects of undead service to the Lich King. They could have magic and physical attacks and could raise undead minions- OH WAIT
    It seems that you are trying to be sarcastic, in a obscenely unsuccessful way ...

    Anyway, people still think that Death Knights are the same as the necromancers ... in short, at the end of the day there are still people who think that when they die go to heaven ... dupes are everywhere ...

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Dantastic View Post
    I would jump on Necromancers so hard.
    Sad thing is they already incorporated Necros into the DK class. DK essentially is a Necromancer+Runemaster. Old old blizz cast read around 2:11 into the interview and it talks about it. http://us.blizzard.com/en-us/communi.../episode7.html

    - - - Updated - - -

    Quote Originally Posted by Northem View Post
    It seems that you are trying to be sarcastic, in a obscenely unsuccessful way ...

    Anyway, people still think that Death Knights are the same as the necromancers ... in short, at the end of the day there are still people who think that when they die go to heaven ... dupes are everywhere ...
    DK's are not Nercormancers, but the dev's did incorporate Necros into the DK class when they could not decied between Necr, DK, and Runemaster for WotLK

  10. #10
    The Lightbringer chrisisvacant's Avatar
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    Seriously? No. Why?

  11. #11
    As a priest, no. Shadow and Light is a core thematic of the class as far back as classic with the Benediction quest chain. It's been like this for years, and it separated it would make very bland specs.

  12. #12
    I am Murloc! Sy's Avatar
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    i can see why you would want to split them, but you have to understand that game/class mechanics do not equal lore. the former reflects the later to some degree, but blizzard doesn't want that to be the cause of the game choices becoming overly restrictive.

    lorewise, it's true that forsaken holy priests are exceptionally rare, but they do exist. i believe the opposite is true for draenei, although i don't think we ever got an official statement on that (only on demonic magic, which apparently they really simply never use, ever).

    think of it this way: a gnome would obviously not be able to tank anything the size of a tauren, let alone a dragon. but for gameplay and balancing reasons, they are (just as obviously) equal to any other tanks.
    the same is, although to a lesser degree, true for many things regarding classes. trolls priests in lore, for example, aren't actual 'priests' in the usual sense at all (though the name is the same regardless), but practitioners of voodoo magics.

    still, there are many priests who are skilled in wielding both the light and shadow, and the player should be able to chose, not only from a gameplay but also from an rp perspective. and some of the most interesting rp characters actually tend to be the ones that stray from the average and expected (in my experience and opinion, anyway) as long as the background of how and why is well thought out.


    oh, and on a sidenote: tauren sunwalkers aren't priests at all, lorewise, but a druid 'sect' of sorts. and at least when they were first introduced ingame, they also were paladins, not priests, in game mechanics (though i haven't played in a while, so it could be that there are some holy priests in the game that are labelled sunwalkers aswell).

  13. #13
    The Lightbringer chrisisvacant's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sy View Post
    think of it this way: a gnome would obviously not be able to tank anything the size of a tauren, let alone a dragon. but for gameplay and balancing reasons, they are (just as obviously) equal to any other tanks.
    the same is, although to a lesser degree, true for many things regarding classes. trolls priests in lore, for example, aren't actual 'priests' in the usual sense at all (though the name is the same regardless), but practitioners of voodoo magics.
    Uh, sure they would. It's a fantasy world with fantasy rules. Gnomes are wielding exceptionally powerful items to tank those mobs.

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by Saicam View Post
    DK's are not Nercormancers, but the dev's did incorporate Necros into the DK class when they could not decied between Necr, DK, and Runemaster for WotLK
    I still would have loved to seen a full blown Necromancer class. There's a certain charm about controlling hordes of minions in battle that makes it exciting. Though I would probably be satisfied if they could make an Army of the Dead glyph that lowers its cooldown or something.

  15. #15
    I am Murloc! Sy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by chrisisvacant View Post
    Uh, sure they would. It's a fantasy world with fantasy rules. Gnomes are wielding exceptionally powerful items to tank those mobs.
    true, the dragon part at least was probably a bad example.

    but the fact still stands that most gnomes (not talking about players, but the general gnome population in lore) do not have super powerful magical artefacts, but common, unenchanted chainmail and the like. they might have some cool technological gadgets, but nothing that just makes them as heavy and strong as something many times their own size, yet they seem to be doing fine fighting trolls and yetis in dun morogh.
    the same would be true for any low level gnome player.

    it's in the end still a problem of "suspension of disbelieve", of lore versus gameplay, of authenticity versus convenience.
    in the rts games, gnomes usually weren't really frontline soldiers of any kind, but still essential for the alliance due to their technology and engineers. in wow that has slightly changed, since gnomes were turned into a playable race that had to be equal in most respects to the other races.

  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by Thimagryn View Post
    I still would have loved to seen a full blown Necromancer class. There's a certain charm about controlling hordes of minions in battle that makes it exciting. Though I would probably be satisfied if they could make an Army of the Dead glyph that lowers its cooldown or something.
    Oh don't get me wrong, I would of loved to see that too. Necro's have always been a fave of mine back since EQ, and it was always fun to have a screen full of undead in Diablo 2.

  17. #17
    The Insane Aquamonkey's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dantastic View Post
    Races that don't make sense with both:

    Forsaken are forsaken from the light. They are held together by shadow magic. A Forsaken Shadowpriest completely and totally rejects the Light, as it has rejected him. He would don robes of a human priest, and allow them to be covered in blood and dirt, as an insult to their order. Except, in BGs I constantly see Forsaken Priests in shadowform casting healing spells. There are more Shadowpriests casting holy spells than there are unplayable High Elves in the alliance.
    Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
    Q: When undead use or are healed by the Holy Light, does it cause them any actual damage or harm, or does it only cause them pain (in addition to the intended effects of the spell)?
    A: Channeling the Light in any way, or receiving healing from the Light, only causes pain. Forsaken priests do not disintegrate or explode from channeling the Light for an extended period of time… though they may wish they would. (Source)

    Q: Are there long-term effects on an undead who is in regular contact with the Holy Light in a positive way?
    A: It is difficult to say, as there are no known records of undead wielding the Holy Light before the Third War. There are reports, however, that some Forsaken have slowly experienced a sharpening of their dulled senses of touch, smell, etc., as well as an increase in the flashes of positive emotions that have otherwise become so rare since their fall into undeath. Unfortunately, this may be the cause of the Forsaken priesthood's increased attempts at self-destruction; regaining these senses would force the priests to smell their own rotting flesh, taste the decay in their mouths and throats, and even feel the maggots burrowing within their bodies. (Source)

  18. #18
    I am Murloc! Sy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Aquamonkey View Post
    Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
    [stuff]
    not sure why you would just post that without anything else. it neither confirms nor contradicts the op's statement, which you quoted.

    yes, forsaken in lore are able, given a sufficiently high power of will and/or selflessness, to use the holy light.
    no, it is not common for forsaken in lore to wield holy powers on a regular basis. it is, in fact, exceptionally rare.

    whether the op was under the impression forsaken could never be holy priests or not, he/she is still right in that the main reason forsaken players are able to chose the priest class is because of shadow priests (that is why they can not chose paladins, even though lorewise they are about as possible and likely as holy priests).
    Last edited by Sy; 2013-08-06 at 08:52 PM.

  19. #19
    Just no.

    /10char

  20. #20
    The Insane Aquamonkey's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sy View Post
    not sure why you would just post that without anything else. it neither confirms nor contradicts the op's statement, which you quoted.

    yes, forsaken in lore are able, given a sufficiently high power of will and/or selflessness, to use the holy light.
    no, it is not common for forsaken in lore to be wield holy powers on a regular basis. it is, in fact, exceptionally rare.

    whether the op was under the impression forsaken could never be holy priests or not, he/she is still right in that the main reason forsaken players are able to chose the priest class is because of shadow priests (that is why they can not chose paladins, even though lorewise they are about as possible and likely as holy priests).
    I thought it was pretty self-explanatory... OP said Forsaken are forsaken by the light. Blue post clearly shows that not to be the case.

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