Blood needs Heart Strike.

[zorkuus]

I think you're wrong about the damage bit, but really who cares about the damage? You just want to spend a blood rune to keep your resources moving. And of course the cooldown is not an issue the vast majority of the time.

Why do you keep coming back to such a tiny issue? With all the problems in beta, this is what you want to focus on? Really?

If a spec feels completely boring it's a pretty big issue in my books. It means I won't be playing it in that state.

[Schizoide]

There's two different concerns here. The first is mechanical, where you're about to cap blood runes and can't use Blood Boil because a CC'd enemy is close by. In that case you can just use Soul Reaper.

The second is feel. If you just don't like using Blood Boil all the time, that is a completely legitimate complaint.

[zorkuus]

There's two different concerns here. The first is mechanical, where you're about to cap blood runes and can't use Blood Boil because a CC'd enemy is close by. In that case you can just use Soul Reaper.

The second is feel. If you just don't like using Blood Boil all the time, that is a completely legitimate complaint.

There is a third one: the fun factor. And it is the most important one. I could live with "bad" mechanics or aesthetics if it's still fun. However it's not, it's mindnumbingly boring.

[Schizoide]

Fun factor is obviously the same as the second one. And that is a legit complaint.

[Pickwickman]

There's two different concerns here. The first is mechanical, where you're about to cap blood runes and can't use Blood Boil because a CC'd enemy is close by. In that case you can just use Soul Reaper.

The second is feel. If you just don't like using Blood Boil all the time, that is a completely legitimate complaint.

Thing with that is; they can remedy anything like this pretty easily. Just make Soul Reaper have no cooldown above 45% without applying the debuff. Like, I don't mind using SR as a replacement for HS, since even on two targets BB wins out with some decent vengeance anyway. And 45% is almost half the fight. And you'd be able to give SR the HS animation aswell, since it uses a blood rune after all.

Though, 6 seconds cooldown is a tad too much, especially considering sometimes you just dont need those DS's and 2xHS would outdps 1xDS.

As you already said, it's a lot of ANDS; but those are what make the gameplay more fun.

That said, if they reimplemented the Cata BB animation, I wouldn't even whine about BB being our main blood rune spender. That shit looked amazing. Not the glorified Hammer of the Righteouss wannabe soundwaves emanating from our character.

[Schizoide]

Thing with that is; they can remedy anything like this pretty easily. Just make Soul Reaper have no cooldown above 45% without applying the debuff.

They could indeed do that. But we have such a herculean task trying to get them to fix stuff that actually matters that it's at the very bottom of my priority list.

Actually to be honest, it's not on my priority list at all. I don't think it needs to be changed and wouldn't care if it was. Soul Reaper works fine. When I say "just use soul reaper" I reasonably expect people to respond with "D'oh, obviously you're right. Nevermind."

[matthias9742]

Considering they are in the numbers phase best you could hope for is SR strike damage to be a ST BB, that way there is a ST option even if its 6 seconds between uses.

[Deleted]

How is Heart Strike more "interestining" "flavorful", ect? Its a crap-ass cleave that barely hits more then Soul Reaper single-target, and Blood Boil currently already BEATS it in damage at high vengeance. Sure, Heart Strike was a decent ability back when it was a powerful cleave with a slow attached, but now it was trash.

In terms of look, it was just a slightly, barely noticable red gushing cleave. Blood Boil is much more interesting in terms of visual effect.

Tuning the damage to where HS is better ST+2, BB is better 4 or more is fairly pointless. Both of those are used with multiple targets, why have multiple abilities? Soul Reaper will fill the single target hole (Soul Reaper, from what I've seen, does more single-target damage then BB) and while it does have a CD, 10% haste next expansion means that you will always be able to spend BRs on SR without capping, outside of 10 seconds of continual RC recharging.

For SoB interaction, having it proc multiple times on cleave hits would defeat the current theme of SoB. You can either have a 20-40% buffed DS all the time, OR skip a DS, and have it 100% buffed with proper planning for abilties such as Execute and Static Shock, giving you a very good sized blood shield (Although, with the freaking huge mastery nerf, that may not be worth it anymore, unless blizz just nerfed the baseline mastery and left mastery scaling alone)

Heart Strike. Possibly add as a glyph that changes visual/name for Blood Boil to Heart Strike, and it otherwise preforms the same.

Responding to bolded part only, by this logic it is pointless to tune damage of any abilities, should just remove all abilities for all specs and classes and add an ability ''Strike'' wich deals damage to everything. More buttons is fun, sure HS in its latest iteration could have been more engaging, but I do not think the answer to that is removing the ability altogether.

[Deleted]

Main thing that'd go away would be that Phyisical/Magic damage choice. And Necrotic Strike'd be sorely missed. Heart Strike was quite lame throughout all live, to keep in mind, though.

If anything I'd have it be as some kind of heavy nuke alternative.

Perhaps at the cost of two blood runes instead of one, and hit really hard. Or a Blood Rune+Death Rune. Something to compare with Obliterate in terms of effect, maybe with effects of the likes OP mentions, though I'd prefer Heart Strike be something purely offensive.


Otherwise it's no big deal, you can just not blood boil at all if you want to single-target. For fights like Garrosh, I greatly enjoy not having an AoE as part of my rotation as... say a Feral does, and could tank nothing but Garrosh without risk of aggroing the rest of the adds with bleeds and becoming a threat singularity, lots of quality of life there, really ^-^

[Mormolyce]

Changes to Active Mitigation
After toying around with other tanking classes in MoP, prior to the initial WoD alpha notes, I realized how significantly more fleshed out other classes active mitigation has become. For example, Paladins having to make meaningful choice on when and what to spend holy power on, and monks having total control over mitigation by keeping buffs up; elusive brew and purifying brew, etc.

When comparing the interactivity with other classes, it became apparent that Death Strike did too much for one keybind. It functioned fine though, it being a heal, an absorb, and having to game it to make the most of it, but a single ability can only be so interesting before it gets dull, even if it is the button you press the most to keep yourself alive.

I completely disagree, I've played all the other tanking classes and I feel like Blood is still way ahead of them all as far as toolkit/rotation goes. It works well and feels satisfying. The new MoP iteration of Prot Paladin is the only thing that comes close. Warriors are clunky and Druids still feel like a 3 button piece of crap. Monks are decent but overly fiddly at times, particularly if pulling a large group from scratch.

I can see what you mean about DS, being both a heal and an absorb sort of means there's no wrong time to DS. They could split its functionality into two abilities, a strong heal and a weaker absorb, so you'd choose which to use based on circumstances. Though that could be irritating because you might get healed as you go to heal yourself, effectively wasting those runes.

Personally I'd be fine with them leaving Blood exactly as it is. Although making Rolling Blood baseline and removing Pestilence makes a lot of sense because that talent is such a no brainer. Oh and I also love losing RS and getting DC back, I've never liked RS.

It's going to be weird to lose HS, but not the end of the world. As HS is a cleave, really RB/BB is superior in every way. Only reason we don't use it today is because it's deliberately tuned lower than HS.

[Aezral]

I completely disagree, I've played all the other tanking classes and I feel like Blood is still way ahead of them all as far as toolkit/rotation goes. It works well and feels satisfying. The new MoP iteration of Prot Paladin is the only thing that comes close. Warriors are clunky and Druids still feel like a 3 button piece of crap. Monks are decent but overly fiddly at times, particularly if pulling a large group from scratch.

I can see what you mean about DS, being both a heal and an absorb sort of means there's no wrong time to DS. They could split its functionality into two abilities, a strong heal and a weaker absorb, so you'd choose which to use based on circumstances. Though that could be irritating because you might get healed as you go to heal yourself, effectively wasting those runes.

Personally I'd be fine with them leaving Blood exactly as it is. Although making Rolling Blood baseline and removing Pestilence makes a lot of sense because that talent is such a no brainer. Oh and I also love losing RS and getting DC back, I've never liked RS.

It's going to be weird to lose HS, but not the end of the world. As HS is a cleave, really RB/BB is superior in every way. Only reason we don't use it today is because it's deliberately tuned lower than HS.

But Blizz thought so too compared to other tanks. Thats why they redesigned rune tap

[Stacie]

Feels a little better than before on beta at the moment i still really do miss it though. Can finally see from playing why they did remove it and the rotation they had it mind. BB and HS together would be sort of useless. Would have rather another single target ability instead of BB if anything though (BS perhaps?).

[Blur4stuff]

soul reaper glyph to allow final hit at any % would be nice. with a dmg decrease of course.

[Deleted]

I think Death Strike and Blood Boil is iconic Blood spells. Heart Strike, while certainly a part of the spec, was never something I felt was the standout ability.

[Deleted]

I don't really like Blood Boil. Aesthetics wise, i think it's borderline Warlock territory. Blood, in Blood DKs, is the macabre part of the undeath, blood&bones. And it's always about infusing ones body with powers of blood, like, vampiric abilities as vampiric blood, and not to control another's blood, which is usually a mage's or a lock's thing.

We are not blood mages. We are Death Knights. The macabre part of undeath is still our territory, but blood boil i don't like at all. Blood Infestation, yes. Something that corrodes the blood of the opponent indirectly, like your diseases or something similar, yes. But Blood Boil? I don't know, i never liked it.

AT LEAST, make it have a targeted cast animation or a new animation, not this damn taunt animation. Yikes.

[Notshauna]

Yeah they really need to get their head out of their ass with the blood boil thing, I don't really find anyone who enjoyed using it.

- - - Updated - - -

I think Death Strike and Blood Boil is iconic Blood spells. Heart Strike, while certainly a part of the spec, was never something I felt was the standout ability.

See for me blood boil was completely forgettable, it was a clunky AoE spell that never really did anything I wanted.

[blasterion]

Yeah they really need to get their head out of their ass with the blood boil thing, I don't really find anyone who enjoyed using it.

- - - Updated - - -


See for me blood boil was completely forgettable, it was a clunky AoE spell that never really did anything I wanted.

I enjoy it, I really do, I enjoy it so much that it carries over to Unholy, and becomes Festersimple. Reminds me of the jumping arcane explosion mage, And I LIKE IT.

[Bosen]

The name and the icon, yes. Not sure about the ability.

I was thinking the same thing. I like the name.

[Aezral]

In terms of look, it was just a slightly, barely noticable red gushing cleave. Blood Boil is much more interesting in terms of visual effect.

Opinion, which I, and many people, dislike blood boil sound/animation

For SoB interaction, having it proc multiple times on cleave hits would defeat the current theme of SoB. You can either have a 20-40% buffed DS all the time, OR skip a DS, and have it 100% buffed with proper planning for abilties such as Execute and Static Shock, giving you a very good sized blood shield (Although, with the freaking huge mastery nerf, that may not be worth it anymore, unless blizz just nerfed the baseline mastery and left mastery scaling alone)

We aren't talking about "current," this is about WoD. SoB in it's current form doesn't exist in WoD.

[blasterion]

Opinion, which I, and many people, dislike blood boil sound/animation



We aren't talking about "current," this is about WoD. SoB in it's current form doesn't exist in WoD.

I can't see what's so bad about it better than practically no animation at all