{"id":413,"date":"2010-04-23T11:21:12","date_gmt":"2010-04-23T17:21:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thrallatemybaby.com\/?p=31"},"modified":"2010-04-23T11:21:12","modified_gmt":"2010-04-23T17:21:12","slug":"wow-cataclysm-priest-changes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.bigdamnheroes.org\/?p=413","title":{"rendered":"WoW: Cataclysm Priest Changes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here’s the reported Priest class changes for Cataclysm.\u00c2\u00a0 “Leap of Faith” is an odd spell to give priests I think, (it’s death grip for Priests, and only works on party\/raid members).<\/p>\n

Overall, I’d say that Priest changes aren’t too drastic, and there are some interesting refinements.\u00c2\u00a0 Power Word: Barrier will come in handy for encounters when there is lots of AoE damage.<\/p>\n

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Linky to original post<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, we’ll be making lots of changes and additions to class talents and abilities across the board. In this preview, you’ll get an early look at some of the changes in store for the priest class, including a rundown of some of the new spells, abilities, and talents, as well as an overview of how the new Mastery system will work with the different talent specs.<\/span><\/p>\n

New Priest Spells<\/span><\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n

Heal (available at level 16)<\/strong> : While priests already have a spell called Heal, the existing version becomes obsolete at higher levels, which is something we intend to change in Cataclysm. Introduced at a low level, the “new” Heal spell will functionally work much like a down-ranked Greater Heal did in the past, adding more granularity to your direct-healing arsenal. If you need to heal someone a moderate amount and efficiency is an issue (making Flash Heal the incorrect spell for the job), then Heal is what you want to use. Heal is intended to be the priest’s go-to direct-healing spell unless they need something bigger (Greater Heal) or faster (Flash Heal). We will be following a similar philosophy with all the healing classes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mind Spike (level 81)<\/strong> : Deals Shadowfrost damage and puts a debuff on the target that improves subsequent Mind Spike damage. The intent of Mind Spike is to fill a niche missing in Shadow DPS, though it may be occasionally useful for healers as well. Mind Spike provides a quick nuke to use in situations where the priest doesn’t have time to set up the normal rotation, such as when adds are dying too fast or you have to swap targets a lot. Spamming Mind Spike will do about as much damage as casting Mind Flay on a target afflicted with Shadow Word: Pain. The idea behind the debuff is that when you cast Mind Spike, we expect you to cast a lot of them; we don’t intend you to fit it into an already full Shadow rotation. It also provides Shadow with a spell to cast when locked out of the Shadow school. (School lockouts will no longer affect both schools for multi-school spells.) 1.5-second cast. 30-yard range. No cooldown.<\/span><\/p>\n

Inner Will (level 83)<\/strong> : Increases movement speed by 12% and reduces the mana cost of instant-cast spells by 10%. This buff will be exclusive with Inner Fire, meaning you can’t have both up at once. Inner Fire provides a spell power and Armor buff; Inner Will should be useful on a more situational basis.<\/span><\/p>\n

Leap of Faith (level 85)<\/strong> : Pull a party or raid member to your location. Leap of Faith (or “Life Grip”) is intended to give priests a tool to help rescue fellow players who have pulled aggro, are being focused on in PvP, or just can’t seem to get out of the fire in time. Instant. 30-yard range. 45-second cooldown.<\/span><\/p>\n

Changes to Abilities and Mechanics<\/span><\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to introducing new spells, we’re planning to make changes to some of the other abilities and mechanics you’re familiar with. This list and the summary of talent changes below it are by no means comprehensive, but they should give you a good sense of what we intend for each spec.<\/p>\n