Design alternatives to how WoD implements toning down of priest CC?

[varkar]

One of the stated goals of WoD is to lower CC in PvP towards what it was some expansions ago, with a perception that, by MoP, the arms race had gotten excessive.

Up until MoP, disc priests had 2 such abilities: Mind Control (the old weaker version of Dominate Mind) and Psychic Scream.

WoD would make a player choose only 1 of those 2 abilities (or nerfed void tendrils but either way only one CC available at a time).

So, in that context, it is striking how WoD beta actually reduces disc priest CC to less than they ever had, less than in vanilla even.

Priests weren't too overpowered in PvP in most pre-MoP expansions, because of how old design set some numbers. For example, Mind Control was a slow 3 second cast and a mere 20 yards range, but such existed with the corresponding depth of playstyle and interesting attempts at pulling it off possible.

Contrary to naive perceptions based on reading widely proclaimed statements rather than actually looking at classes, the magnitude of CC reduction in WoD is not even across the board. For example, as can be seen on wod.wowhead.com, rogues in WoD have 7 baseline CC or CC-like abilities relevant against casters on beta, exactly as many as they have now: Sap, Kick, Gouge, Cheap Shot, Blind, Kidney Shot, and Garrote.

They didn't drop from 7 to 3 or something like that. They didn't get CC halved like disc priests (going from 2 to 1 total, or from 1 to 0 baseline).

Arguably that is the way it should be, for rogues. Rogues have always been a high-CC class, intrinsic to their playstyle and fun. The preceding are iconic abilities for them. I mainly agree, especially since preventing a class from being overpowered does not require crippling its playstyle but just adjusting numbers, like setting right the max duration of some CC abilities and so on.

Yet, if the preceding can be said for rogues, what can be said for priests?

What could best be done:

If going ahead with nerfing psychic scream and moving it into the talent tier (no longer baseline), meanwhile move Dominate Mind out of the talent tier while nerfing it numerically if needed. (Put some new option in its place within the talent tier).

In WoD, in many environments, many priests will feel obligated to choose psychic scream as their one CC from talents. If having old style Mind Control as baseline, though, that would restore the feel of priests in older expansions, not too overpowered (if proper numbers are set) as priests weren't back then.

Priests would still have less CC than now in MoP. I wouldn't mind even if psychic scream was numerically reduced to a max duration of a mere 4 seconds in PvP, as it rarely lasts long (trinkets, incoming damage, and so on) anyway but can provide an important brief chance at escape when there are multiple opponents.

I really do not, though, want to play a single-CC class below even what existed way back in vanilla/TBC. If I wanted that, I would have rolled a paladin, but I don't like what to me is a more boring playstyle. Paladins were designed from the beginning to be a single-CC class, including having plate armor and invulnerability shields. Priests never were, never should be so.

[thunderdragon2]

imo they dont need to change it, they need to make locks choose also, im sick of going into arena and have my games go like the following if theares a lock:

fear,horify,saduse,saduce,fear,saduse,dead

if theres a priest: fear,fear,diorintate,MC,fear,dead

warriors also just as anoying imo

[Nurasu]

I just want an interrupt =( So painful watching cast timers (especially in WoD dungeons) and not being able to do anything but heal the damage back up after everyone missed it...

[Larynx]

but such existed with the corresponding depth of playstyle and interesting attempts at pulling it off possible.

This is actually just word salad.

[Deleted]

This is actually just word salad.

Word salad. Yummy yummy. Word Salad. Yummy yummy.