Blizzard has shown another set of brand new hero talent trees that will be coming in the next World of Warcraft expansion- The War Within. We will be taking a look as this hero talent tree will be centered around Affliction and Destruction Warlocks so we will see how much the gameplay will be impacted.
Blizzard has set a lot of high expectations following their reveal of the three next expansions that will be rolled out over the following years. Although the concepts and ideas behind these hero talent trees share similarities with features from previous expansions, it is exciting to see how this will be integrated into retail WoW.
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WoW The War Within: Hellcaller Warlock Hero Talent Tree
Since there is a lot to cover in the initial Hero Talent tree, we will be separately examining all of the nodes so we can get a better understanding of the core concepts.
Hellcaller Keystone
Wither: Bestows a vile malediction upon the target, burning the sinew and muscle of its host, dealing Shadowflame damage over 18 seconds. Replaces Corruption (Affliction) or Immolate (Destruction).
Hellcaller
Row 1
Xalan’s Ferocity: Shadow damage increased by 5%. Fire damage increased by 5%.
Blackened Soul: Your damaging abilities further corrupt enemies affected by your Wither, increasing its stack count by 1. Each time Wither increases it has a chance to become acute, dealing Shadowflame damage to its host every 1 second until 1 stack remains. Wither will always become acute after reaching 8 stacks or when its host reaches 20% health.
Xalan’s Cruelty: Fire critical strike chance increased 10%. Shadow critical strike chance increased 10%
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Hellcaller Row 2
Choice Node:
- Mark of the Legashi: Curse of Weakness also applies Curse of Tongues.
- Aura of Enfeeblement: Enemies within 10 yards are affected by your Curse of Weakness and Curse of Tongues at 75% effectiveness.
Choice Node:
- Hatefury Rituals: Wither deals 100% increased damage but its duration is 50% shorter.
- Bleakheart Tactics: Wither damage increased 15%. When Wither gains a stack from Blackened Soul, it has a chance to gain 1 additional stack.
Choice Node:
- Zevrim’s Resilience: When you consume a Healthstone, you also restore 10% of your maximum health as Soul Leech.
- Illhoof’s Design: Sacrifice 10% of your maximum health. Soul Leech now absorbs an additional 15% of your maximum health.
Hellcaller
Row 3
Mark of Xavius: Agony damage increased 10%. Agony is now a combo skill (Affliction). Directly recasting Agony within 2 seconds applies Agony to 1 other nearby enemy. Wither damage increased 10%. Wither is now a combo skill. Directly recasting Wither within 2 seconds applies Wither to 1 other nearby enemy (Destruction).
Cull the Weak: Casting Wither directly or refreshing Wither with less than 4 seconds remaining causes Wither to gain 3 stacks.
Mark of Peroth’arn: Blackened Soul deals 5% increased damage per stack of Wither (Affliction). Agony deals damage 10% faster. Wither deals damage 10% faster (Destruction).
Hellcaller
Capstone
Malevolence: Dark magic erupts from you and corrupts your soul for 20 seconds, causing enemies suffering from your Wither to take Shadowflame damage and increase its stack count by 3 (Affliction). While corrupted, your active Withers are acute, your haste is increased by 10%, and Malefic Rapture grants 1 additional stack of Wither to targets affected by Unstable Affliction. While corrupted, your active Withers are acute, your haste is increased by 10%, and Chaos Bolt grants 1 additional stack of Wither (Destruction).
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Summary
Overall, these are some very interesting design choices behind making Affliction and Destruction Warlocks not only have stronger burst damage but also AoE dots.
As more is being revealed regarding the newest World of Warcraft Expansion: The War Within, we are slowly starting to see just how much the scales have changed for Retail WoW. Here is the entire Hero Talent Tree as presented in the most recent blue post.
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