"Chakra"

[grimkiller]

My guess is it will be a timed buff, say 30 second duration.
The buff will be obtained by charges, so you will have a combo meter or sorts.
Once you obtain 3 charges of a type (single, aoe, damage), you enter your Chakra state.
If you cast something else before Chakra occurs, you reset your combo meter.
Once Chakra is activated, for the next 30 seconds, any spell that fits the current Chakra will have an increased effect while other spells will be normal.
If you cast another type of spell 3 times in a row during Chakra, you get combo points towards that different Chakra, then when you hit 3 your Chakra changes.

Could be a fun dynamic if it plays along these lines and would make it very interesting.
Priests would juggle Chakras making sure that they have one up the whole fight as well as keeping everyone alive.

I would expect flashy fun symbols above the priest's head to help identify Chakras.

[Frumpy Frumpy Frak]

Let me make that clear again before it happens:

Any Naruto images or similiar things will get you banned.

Believe it!

OT: This new feature is relevant to my interests.
Also, shouldn't this have been posted on the sticky?

[Eversor]

Hurr, Naruto invented the term "chakra". Hinduism? What's that?

[gunner_recall]

I'm curious how Chakra is going to play out. After reading it the first time(mind you, this was at 2 in the morning), I was sort of like "huh?". But now that I've looked at it a bit more it seems like it could be interesting. I'm also wondering if it'll be in a place where a disc priest can get it.

[Zanter]

I never said Chakra was invented in Naruto did I?
I meant when someone writes or says chakra, my mind is immediatley going to Naruto, aswell as when you hear or read the word epic, you probably think of WoW.

[Deleted]

I am going to have to go against both Blizzard and the majority of commenters here, who say Chakra will improve Priest versatility. I could easily see this being a horrible mechanism that turns priests into single spell spammers like current paladins.

Talents like Light's Grace for palas that improve the next cast of the same spell tends is what has made paladins become either HL spammers or FoL spammers.

Chakra could become the same thing for priests. So you get designated to be CoH/PoH spammer, stack up your chakra before pull, then have to stick to spamming those. or you get assigned to Flash Heal (or Heal or GH) spam and are expected to stick to that.

How the heck is that improving the "versatile" character of priests???

Talents that do encourage you to mix and match different spells are this who give you a boost to ANOTHER spell after casting a certain one, not talents that lock you into spamming one type of spells.

I don't get it how Blizz is thinking here.

[Zeuq]

bregtann, that's not what it says at all. If you read farther down, it basically says that we cast single target heals, which would probably include Flash Heal, Heal, Greater Heal, and maybe Binding Heal and Renew; we're not forced to spam a single spell, nor are we even forced to only cast those spells, but by focusing on single target spells, we'll be better at it. By the same token, we'll get a bonuses for AOE heals like Prayer of Healing, Circle of Healing, Prayer of Mending, and possibly Renew and Binding Heal; we're not forced to spam one spell or even stick to those, but we'll be able to AOE heal better when we focus on it.

Sure, it means on a fight akin to Bloodqueen, we'll probably be in the AOE chakra the entire time, but it also means that we can tank heal or spot heal effectively on other fights. The way I see this concept really shining is on fights where the damage patterns change. Imagine a fight like Festergut, we could be in an AOE chakra for 0-1 inhales, then switch to the single target chakra for 2-3 inhales. Or imagine another fight where perhaps the tank healing Paladin drops; we could pop Guardian Spirit on the tank, and by the time it drops, we'd be fully switched into tank healing mode and be able to cover for him. THAT is the type of versatility that I would love to see a Holy Priest have.

That is, rather than now where we largely have to spec and gear one way or another, this concept seems to me that we can reasonably quickly change roles in the middle of the fight. We won't be able to spam the best AOE heals then throw the best single target heal then go back to spamming awesome AOE heals again, but in the same fight we could definitely switch roles as the circumstances dictate. Obviously, it could be messed up if they do it wrong and it could very easily turn the class into something very tedious, but I can also see it going very well. I'd prefer to remain optimistic about it.

[Myria]

Someone started a thread here (http://www.mmo-champion.com/class-pr...ur-holy-form!/) about "Holy form" -- as pretty much everyone must know by now, a longstanding healing priest request -- which was immediately closed by a mod with an odd, to me, statement claiming that Chakras were "Holy form".

I've read what little is available, and I can't see where such a claim is even remotely coming from. Far as I can see Chakras are just another pseudo-resource like runes or, more directly, a reverse version of the proposed warlock shard system (nearly exactly the same in practice, I'm betting) and not-so-distant cousin to the way Inner Fire/Will choice being discussed is going to work (pick one for buff A, the other for buff B, never the twain shall meet). Nothing I've seen has indicated any change in appearance, form, or really anything like what has long been discussed.

So I have to ask, am I missing something? Has there been anything said about Chakras being at all like or involved in a new form?

Whatever the case, personally I'd prefer a "Holy Form", even if it was just cosmetic, over anything mentioned in the preview.

"Meh" doesn't begin to cover it.

[Deleted]

The real question is: How hard has Xel been fapping since they said "Even smite"?

Hey! I'm a paladin, not a priest! Keep me out of this one! *Raises fist in anger*

[Zoros]

bregtann, that's not what it says at all. If you read farther down, it basically says that we cast single target heals, which would probably include Flash Heal, Heal, Greater Heal, and maybe Binding Heal and Renew; we're not forced to spam a single spell, nor are we even forced to only cast those spells, but by focusing on single target spells, we'll be better at it. By the same token, we'll get a bonuses for AOE heals like Prayer of Healing, Circle of Healing, Prayer of Mending, and possibly Renew and Binding Heal; we're not forced to spam one spell or even stick to those, but we'll be able to AOE heal better when we focus on it.

Flash Heal and Binding Heal already procs Serendipity. I think that Chakra will proc only with Heal, Prayer of Healing, Renew and a nuke spell.

Heal will be an efficient spell so probably to cast 3 Heal spells in a row will restore mana or reduce the mana cost of spells for a short duration.

We only cast 3 Prayers of Healing in massive damage fights, so probable to cast 3 in a row will increase our healing.

Maybe the third Renew spell we cast refresh all our Renew durations.

And I'm not sure about the nuke spell, we already have Surge of Light. Maybe 3 Smite or 3 Holy Nova in a row will increase our holy damage for a bit. Besides Chakra could work with Mana Burn giving to holy priests some PvP utility, in fact Serendipity could already work with Mana Burn.

[fabian]

Flash Heal and Binding Heal already procs Serendipity. I think that Chakra will proc only with Heal, Prayer of Healing, Renew and a nuke spell.

Heal will be an efficient spell so probably to cast 3 Heal spells in a row will restore mana or reduce the mana cost of spells for a short duration.

We only cast 3 Prayers of Healing in massive damage fights, so probable to cast 3 in a row will increase our healing.

Maybe the third Renew spell we cast refresh all our Renew durations.

And I'm not sure about the nuke spell, we already have Surge of Light. Maybe 3 Smite or 3 Holy Nova in a row will increase our holy damage for a bit. Besides Chakra could work with Mana Burn giving to holy priests some PvP utility, in fact Serendipity could already work with Mana Burn.

3 PoH a fight for holy? What content are you doing?

I am more concerned about how sexy the UI will be than how it will affect us in terms of healing atm, since we really have no idea, except for the general idea, of the concept.

[Zoros]

3 PoH a fight for holy? What content are you doing?

I suppose that CoH will proc as PoH. And ofc there are some combats that I spam a bit PoH button, Koralon and Deconstructor are good examples.

[tarkaz]

If Priest is low on health it will turn into a Demon Fox then?

Deathwing will have a hell of a fight

[darkriver41]

The author of Naruto got the idea of chakra from the ancient Hindu word (which is also what this and probably every other use of the term is based off of).

On a different note, why ban people for posting pictures?

[fabian]

On a different note, why ban people for posting pictures?

Because they have nothing to add to the thread? That is my guess anyways

I just want to see the UI dammit!!! XD

[Deleted]

Someone started a thread here (http://www.mmo-champion.com/class-pr...ur-holy-form!/) about "Holy form" -- as pretty much everyone must know by now, a longstanding healing priest request -- which was immediately closed by a mod with an odd, to me, statement claiming that Chakras were "Holy form".

I've read what little is available, and I can't see where such a claim is even remotely coming from. Far as I can see Chakras are just another pseudo-resource like runes or, more directly, a reverse version of the proposed warlock shard system (nearly exactly the same in practice, I'm betting) and not-so-distant cousin to the way Inner Fire/Will choice being discussed is going to work (pick one for buff A, the other for buff B, never the twain shall meet). Nothing I've seen has indicated any change in appearance, form, or really anything like what has long been discussed.

So I have to ask, am I missing something? Has there been anything said about Chakras being at all like or involved in a new form?

Whatever the case, personally I'd prefer a "Holy Form", even if it was just cosmetic, over anything mentioned in the preview.

"Meh" doesn't begin to cover it.

Blizz are moving away from "forms". While we haven't seen the druid class preview yet they've clearly hinted that they are not too fond of things like tree form, because it is boring game play (in Blizz opinion) when you have to give up say dps and offensive stuff altogether in favour of just healing. They've also said that they want druids to spend more time in humanoid form.

Given that trend, it is unlikely that they will be moving towards a holy form. What would be the actual benefit for game play of such a form? Aside from some cool sparkly art? Priests would still have to be balanced towards other healers with regards to your output in holy form, so the only thing it would change is that priests would have less tools in the toolbox because you will be forced to be in holy form.

[harky]

The author of Naruto got the idea of chakra from the ancient Hindu word (which is also what this and probably every other use of the term is based off of).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chakra

Pretty big concept having to do with eastern religions. Kishimoto didn't need to look very far to find references to chakra. :P

[M1kra]

No kidding! What's with all this Naruto stuff? I thought everyone knew that Chakra was originally featured as Xena's weapon ;-) (hey, at least Lucy Lawless is hot)

Haha, casting three single-target healing spells makes you throw healing chakras on your target on your next single-target spells <3

[Deleted]

bregtann, that's not what it says at all. If you read farther down, it basically says that we cast single target heals, which would probably include Flash Heal, Heal, Greater Heal, and maybe Binding Heal and Renew; we're not forced to spam a single spell, nor are we even forced to only cast those spells, but by focusing on single target spells, we'll be better at it. By the same token, we'll get a bonuses for AOE heals like Prayer of Healing, Circle of Healing, Prayer of Mending, and possibly Renew and Binding Heal; we're not forced to spam one spell or even stick to those, but we'll be able to AOE heal better when we focus on it.

Sure, it means on a fight akin to Bloodqueen, we'll probably be in the AOE chakra the entire time, but it also means that we can tank heal or spot heal effectively on other fights. The way I see this concept really shining is on fights where the damage patterns change. Imagine a fight like Festergut, we could be in an AOE chakra for 0-1 inhales, then switch to the single target chakra for 2-3 inhales. Or imagine another fight where perhaps the tank healing Paladin drops; we could pop Guardian Spirit on the tank, and by the time it drops, we'd be fully switched into tank healing mode and be able to cover for him. THAT is the type of versatility that I would love to see a Holy Priest have.

That is, rather than now where we largely have to spec and gear one way or another, this concept seems to me that we can reasonably quickly change roles in the middle of the fight. We won't be able to spam the best AOE heals then throw the best single target heal then go back to spamming awesome AOE heals again, but in the same fight we could definitely switch roles as the circumstances dictate. Obviously, it could be messed up if they do it wrong and it could very easily turn the class into something very tedious, but I can also see it going very well. I'd prefer to remain optimistic about it.

I'm not saying it is locking priests into one spell, but it does narrow the mix down. Instead of freely mixing PoH, CoH , FH, Ren etc as the situation requires, you will be narrowed down a bit. Unless the chakra bonus is very trivial, your single target heals will be pretty bad while in AOE chakra and vice versa. Instead of priests always having access to a wide range of tools at any given moment, you will have have some spells that you are supposed to use, and some you CAN use but which you will suck at. It's a bit like putting a paladin on raid healing. Yes they can do it, but in most situaions it will not be what your raid leader wants.

Some people enjoy playing a class with few choices to make at any given moment. I just imagine that those who play priest do so becuase they enjoy having more different tools available than most classes (druids perhaps excempt).

[Zeuq]

Apologies, I wasn't clear in my assumption. Considering that Serendipity is pretty similar to what Chakra will do, at least as far as I'm reading it, I'm sort of assuming this largely or completely replaces it. That is, it's kind of clunky that Flash Heal figures at all into casting PoH, but if we can suddenly cast it faster by charging up with PoM, CoH, Renew, etc. maybe the bonus will then be that we effectively have a full stack of Serendipity (and probably more mana efficiency, etc.) as long as that Chakra is active. I can see the current version of Serendipity effectively getting rolled into the single target chakra since it seems to pretty much serve the same purpose, just in a less clunky fashion. I can also easily see talents like Searing Light and the Smite portion of Surge of Light being rolled into a damage oriented Chakra that we'd use in burn phases or for soloing

Either way, anything at this point is just speculation on the mechanics and I think what's more important than the specifics of the mechanics at this point is the purpose, which is allowing us to be able to effectively have sub-specs on the fly. I think it's a creative solution that will allow them to fix the current major problem of supposedly being able to fill all the healing roles, so we have to be kind of mediocre at them all or risk being vastly superior because why have another healing class if Priests can do what they do best just as well as they do and do other stuff too.


As for the Holyform part, I think we'd all love to see some nifty graphics to go along with the different chakras, and it's kind of implied by the mention of the UI, but even if there are no graphics associated with it, the chakras seem as though they'll largely serve the same purpose as a Holy form without the sorts of restrictions that apply to Shadowform or Treeform. For instance, Shadowform boosts shadow damage, increases crit damage, yadda yadda, but they can't cast Holy Spells in that form and there's a substantial penalty for wanting to cast a Holy spell (switching forms and not being very good as those Holy spells). This was one of the major downsides of previous concepts for Holyform because it would pigeonhole Holy Priests, because we'd all have to have it in order to be any good at healing, and so we'd just lose utility in the end for nothing. So what this does is serve the same kind of purpose, by allowing us to have "forms" that specialize within different types of healing rather than healing as a whole, and so, because we're not changing role from healing to dps or whatever, the penalty is smaller, and we're also not forced to suck at one of the other roles, just not be as specialized. The other added benefit is that it will add more flavor than Holyform would because it's not just a button we press before combat to look nifty, but instead we'll be switching between them based on what the situation dictates.