Atonement needs a fix, but how?

[harky]

There's blue posts here:

http://blue.mmo-champion.com/topic/1...-403a-hotfixes

Stating that they are actively trying to get smite as a viable option, matching it to the value of heal.

Viable: Capable of working.
Optimal: Working in the best way.

Confusing the two is bad. Using Smite is meant to stay viable. The problem Blizzard was facing is that the talent points were too weak to be considered viable due to the buff to Heal. Smite's scaling was improved so as to not punish people who liked using the talents.

Blizzard has never stated that they want Smite healing to be how Discipline heals. Only that they want the option there to satisfy the cries for a Smite spec. They did not want Smite to be competitive DPS, so they designed a way to make it into a heal through Atonement. Nothing more, nothing less. It is what they have repeatedly called a 'fun' or 'optional' setup. There is a very long way to go before it is an optimal setup.

[Lysdexic]

What if Archangel reduced the mana cost of healing spells?

+15% healing
X% base mana returned per stack (harky suggested 30%?)
Your healing spells cost 8% less per stack for the duration of Archangel.

??

[Deleted]

Meh, I don't care that Atonement is useless for PvE at the moment. If you want to DPS, go and DPS, if you want to heal, go and heal. I haven't got it in my current Discipline build, and I don't intend to have it in any future builds. It's a novelty talent at best. I really don't see what all the fascination is with it at all. I raised an eyebrow when the new talents were released and thought it sounded pretty interesting, but after a little though I realised it's a pretty pointless talent.
The only time you could really defend it's use is because you're lacking DPS. And if you're lacking DPS then your DPS have to play harder. It's as simple as that.

Blizzard has never stated that they want Smite healing to be how Discipline heals. Only that they want the option there to satisfy the cries for a Smite spec. They did not want Smite to be competitive DPS, so they designed a way to make it into a heal through Atonement. Nothing more, nothing less. It is what they have repeatedly called a 'fun' or 'optional' setup. There is a very long way to go before it is an optimal setup.

Yeah, pretty much this. People are treating it far too seriously.

[Deleted]

Viable: Capable of working.
Optimal: Working in the best way.

Confusing the two is bad. Using Smite is meant to stay viable. The problem Blizzard was facing is that the talent points were too weak to be considered viable due to the buff to Heal. Smite's scaling was improved so as to not punish people who liked using the talents.

Blizzard has never stated that they want Smite healing to be how Discipline heals. Only that they want the option there to satisfy the cries for a Smite spec. They did not want Smite to be competitive DPS, so they designed a way to make it into a heal through Atonement. Nothing more, nothing less. It is what they have repeatedly called a 'fun' or 'optional' setup. There is a very long way to go before it is an optimal setup.

It still wouldn't be how to heal as disc, even if it was slightly higher output as heal it would still be a filler spell, most of your output would still be shields, mending, prayer of healing and maxing spam heals under archangel.

There's no question that smite shouldn't be competitive dps, but atm it is simply heal with massive drawbacks by comparison, no skill component, no deciding whether its an appropriate time for that method of healing, just massive talent dumping site, even by arguing that having the free talent points is beneficial by dropping archangel/atonement altogether, the remaining options are minor utility at best.

If it's in the tree it should have a place, if Atonement doesn't cut it, then essentially, all the other talents and abilities it buffs are nulled.
Edit: Nobody wants for smiting to be the optimal way of healing, just exploring ways to make it a more appropriate, less naggy filler heal.

[harky]

Uh... your primary filler spell will almost always be your top healing spell. If you're using Smite as your filler instead of Heal you're doing it wrong. The point is unless Smite is buffed to do well beyond Heal's HPS it will never be optimal. If it is buffed to that point then Atonement will quickly be nerfed. Atonement is currently perfect for what it does: It's 2 points that lets you do a little damage + healing when healing is unimportant and damage is really light. See: Leveling, normal dungeons, etc. The only way it 'doesn't cut it' is if you count Archangel + Evangelism. News flash on that; They're Shadow talents. The synergy with Atonement is there so that they make sense in the tree while giving Discipline a 'fun' talent.

You're taking a screwdriver and wondering why it doesn't pound nails well. If you don't want it to be an optimal way of healing, why do you want anything done to it? Why do you want to play suboptimally? It's not as if you'll have more fun mindlessly hitting Smite on your Focustarget will be more fun than casting Heal on people in the raid, so who cares? If it isn't functionally worthwhile in a raid setting, but it is functional for what it was intended to be why change it at all?

[Deleted]

You're taking a screwdriver and wondering why it doesn't pound nails well. If you don't want it to be an optimal way of healing, why do you want anything done to it? Why do you want to play suboptimally?

Because the annoyances with Atonement are nothing to do with numbers,
second line/first post. Smite shouldn't be optimal, it's a precharge for activating archangel, also in the first post.

The fact that it often misses any target from its tiny range
Chooses targets from the centre of the bosses hitbox

That needs improvement without making smite the only keybind you'll ever need.
If you actually have a blue post stating that it isnt intended for raids then please, share. Lets atleast try and focus on construction rather than lengthy 'no just no'.

Why play suboptimally? Yr answering yr own question, because if it was equally optimal then it would overtake heal as filler 100% of the time, there needs to be drawbacks to encourage decisiveness.