Blood DK info from Blizzcon

[Aughyssul]

All ability names are most likely subject to change, plus it being possible I didn't remember them properly.

* New Ability: Blood Strike. Costs 1 rune, generates double RP. Single Target.

* New Ability: Marrowstrike. I don't remember its cost, but it adds a charge to bone shield.

* Bone Shield: Is now a form of active mitigation, likely to be maintained through Marrowstrike.

* Death Strike: Now an RP spender. Death Coil is gone.

* New ranged ability, similar to Icy Touch in damage/utility. Blood DKs will no longer have icy touch.

* Death Strike is back to relying on a 6 second damage taken window with resolve gone. This applies to all scaling forms of active mitigation.

* Blood DKs will have a second RP spender, don't remember the name. It will do a lot more damage than Death Strike, but have no defensive benefits.

That's all I managed to get, but seems like the playstyle is being completely revamped.

[Milocow]

Source pls?
/10char

[Aughyssul]

Source pls?
/10char

Managed to catch Celestalon after the mechanics Q&A, spoke with him for a few minutes.

[Milocow]

Death Strike is back to relying on a 6 second damage taken window with resolve gone. This applies to all scaling forms of active mitigation.

So resolve still exists but its just hidden?

[Vereesa]

So resolve still exists but its just hidden?

By the sounds of it that's accurate, yes; resolve still effectively exists but it's just not displayed on the UI as intuitively. Seems in line with the other changes being made to simplify things like stacking buffs.

[Aughyssul]

So resolve still exists but its just hidden?

By the sounds of it that's accurate, yes; resolve still effectively exists but it's just not displayed on the UI as intuitively. Seems in line with the other changes being made to simplify things like stacking buffs.

Not quite. Resolve was based off unmitigated damage, while this 6 second window is based off damage after mitigation.

[Zao]

If what you're saying is correct, this sounds quite interesting.

Not sure about losing DS as our primary AM ability, but as long as it stays around in the from you described, I'm willing to give it a try.

[Chubathingy]

You should have asked him some good questions... About Ele shamans >.>

[Utiliti]

Hey, I was there for these questions! <3 Aughy

[Aezral]

If this is accurate, i approve highly. Sad it is blood strike instead of heart strike, but oh well.

[Murderdoll]

If this is accurate, i approve highly. Sad it is blood strike instead of heart strike, but oh well.

Eh the name is really irrelevant. Single Target damaging ability that generates RP. Im sold.

I kinda of like how its sounding. Marrowstrike is your utility to keep your defensives up. Death Strike is your RP spender and mitigation. Blood Strike is your spam this to generate resources. With the option of having more damage if your defense is fine via unnamed RP spender.

[Milocow]

I seriously hope that bone shield has a minor glyph to convert bones to blood globules...
If DS is based on mitigated damage wouldn't we hate disc priests?

[Frolk]

I seriously hope that bone shield has a minor glyph to convert bones to blood globules...
If DS is based on mitigated damage wouldn't we hate disc priests?

PW:Shield is gone as far as ive understood it, but i do get ur concern

[Northern Goblin]

I seriously hope that bone shield has a minor glyph to convert bones to blood globules...
If DS is based on mitigated damage wouldn't we hate disc priests?

Shields are going. Edit: also if the calculation works like resolve it calculates damage you should have taken raw. Hence why dodge/parry won't screw you.

Edit of edit: I reread the thread. Nevermind.

I like the theory of this design, need to see it in practice tho.

[Leviatharan]

Hmm. On the one hand, I don't know why they didn't play around with Bone Shield as much before. Will be neat to see how they go with it, especially with expanding on the Bone motif.

On the other hand, it feels like in being pushed to the "core identity" of the spec, we're losing some of the unity of the class - like the only thing the specs have in common is Acherus. Icy Touch being turned into a new spell for Blood (probably Bloodbolt or some kind of bone shard), and Death Strike as Blood's RP dump? Aside from cooldowns, how many abilities will actually be shared between the specs? If you haven't picked a spec, what will you have left to fight with?

[Northern Goblin]

There was a bloodbolt like ability used by the San'layn in ICC, that would fit thematically.

[Viradiance]

Fuckin' aughy, I knew it was you.

Well uhh, rip the rune system. I was thinking about switching mains to DK for Legion but the new runes sound incredibly unattractive. Howling Blast x6 as my entire rotation eh?

[Xkiller9000]

If this is what it sounds like, im pretty excited, itd be a major gameplay/rotational change

[longxia]

I seriously hope that bone shield has a minor glyph to convert bones to blood globules...
If DS is based on mitigated damage wouldn't we hate disc priests?

I've always thought Priests synergise best with DKs because their absorbs don't top off our health, so our self-heals aren't wasted on overheals

- - - Updated - - -

So the new Blood DK priority system would be:
1) DS if badly hurt, and have the RP
2) Bloodstrike until max RP
3) Marrowstrike if max RP and not badly hurt

Sounds different than present, maybe easier to counter damage spikes by pooling RP for them.

Different is good in itself, I will enjoy learning the new style but with nearly a full year to go I wont think about it and ofc I wont maintain subs all that time. Who would? Subs will absolutely plummet over the next year imho. My realm and guild will be wrecked so cross-realm and multiple guild membership had better be running smoothly by then.

- - - Updated - - -

On the other hand, it feels like in being pushed to the "core identity" of the spec, we're losing some of the unity of the class - like the only thing the specs have in common is Acherus. Icy Touch being turned into a new spell for Blood (probably Bloodbolt or some kind of bone shard), and Death Strike as Blood's RP dump? Aside from cooldowns, how many abilities will actually be shared between the specs? If you haven't picked a spec, what will you have left to fight with?

Well "class unity" could also be called "spec homogenization" and is seen by Blizzard as having been a big problem with hunters.

[Leviatharan]

Well "class unity" could also be called "spec homogenization" and is seen by Blizzard as having been a big problem with hunters.

I don't mean that, so much as from the aesthetic standpoint.

My DK is Unholy, but he has the potential to spec into Frost or Blood. In-universe, this would mean that my DK chooses to put some additional effort into expanding on his Icy Touch or Blood Boil spells to get stronger variants, and the time spent training primarily these means he loses some practice with his Unholy attacks.

Now, if a Blood DK wants to expand into Frost instead, he really has no basis - he just wakes up one day and forgets all about Blood magic, but suddenly knows Howling Blast. I presume the same will follow with making each spec have more exclusive rotational skills, only spec nonspecific cooldowns between them.

... have to imagine what a newly-rolled DK fights with if he hasn't specced yet...

It just seems jarring to have an expansion in which the design is based on the "fantasy" of the spec, while ignoring that each spec is still part of one class.