12-26-2004, 04:02 AM
Given Mortal Strike's recent nerf (and the fact that I'm having a lot of trouble justifying all the points that must be spent on what I consider mostly useless talents to get to the sublime Flurry), I've been giving thought on switching from a two-handed weapon user to a sword-and-board user, sacrificing sheer damage output for enhanced defense and the use of Shield Bash.
The more I look at the Protection Talents, the more I realize how much that entire tree sucks. While there are some REALLY good talents in there (the improved One-Handed Weapon Spec, Concussion Blow, Improved Bloodrage, Improved Sunder Armor, and Improved Shield Bash are my favorites), they all require a lot of points spent in what I would consider to be largely useless talents as far as PvP play is concerned. Unfortunately, the Fury tree (and the 20-point section of the Arms tree, Sweeping Strikes aside) also suffer from this problem.
Currently, I plan on getting Sweeping Strikes (the utterly sublime 21-pointer of the Arms tree) and Piercing Howl (a godsend for tanking jobs, though it pales in comparison to Hamstring in terms of PvP), but most everything else is still up in the air. Although I'd downright LOVE to get Improved Shield Bash (and maybe Concussion Blow), they just require too many points into the lackluster Protection Mastery tree. Likewise, Flurry requires too many points in the only-slightly-better Fury Mastery tree.
Thinking about it a little, I'm thinking five points into Shield Spec and Toughness, with two points into Improved Bloodrage (I've been a staunch supporter of Bloodrage, and the recent buff it got made this talent almost impossible to pass up.) For the remainder of the points, I'm thinking five points into Unbridled Wrath for efficient Rage-generation, which leaves me two points to play with.
The strongest candidates are Improved Execute (I'm falling in love with this skill, though with Shield Bash and Pummel around, I'm not so sure it's going to be necessary anymore), Improved Charge (it's not the best talent in the world, but I use Charge frequently, and it would make me very likely to win 1v1 PvP encounters where I get the first shot in), or two ranks of Booming Voice. Two ranks of Improved Battle Shout are also an option, as are two ranks of Improved Shield Block.
What do you guys think?
The more I look at the Protection Talents, the more I realize how much that entire tree sucks. While there are some REALLY good talents in there (the improved One-Handed Weapon Spec, Concussion Blow, Improved Bloodrage, Improved Sunder Armor, and Improved Shield Bash are my favorites), they all require a lot of points spent in what I would consider to be largely useless talents as far as PvP play is concerned. Unfortunately, the Fury tree (and the 20-point section of the Arms tree, Sweeping Strikes aside) also suffer from this problem.
Currently, I plan on getting Sweeping Strikes (the utterly sublime 21-pointer of the Arms tree) and Piercing Howl (a godsend for tanking jobs, though it pales in comparison to Hamstring in terms of PvP), but most everything else is still up in the air. Although I'd downright LOVE to get Improved Shield Bash (and maybe Concussion Blow), they just require too many points into the lackluster Protection Mastery tree. Likewise, Flurry requires too many points in the only-slightly-better Fury Mastery tree.
Thinking about it a little, I'm thinking five points into Shield Spec and Toughness, with two points into Improved Bloodrage (I've been a staunch supporter of Bloodrage, and the recent buff it got made this talent almost impossible to pass up.) For the remainder of the points, I'm thinking five points into Unbridled Wrath for efficient Rage-generation, which leaves me two points to play with.
The strongest candidates are Improved Execute (I'm falling in love with this skill, though with Shield Bash and Pummel around, I'm not so sure it's going to be necessary anymore), Improved Charge (it's not the best talent in the world, but I use Charge frequently, and it would make me very likely to win 1v1 PvP encounters where I get the first shot in), or two ranks of Booming Voice. Two ranks of Improved Battle Shout are also an option, as are two ranks of Improved Shield Block.
What do you guys think?
ArrayPaladins were not meant to sit in the back of the raid staring at health bars all day, spamming heals and listening to eight different classes whine about buffs.[/quote]
The original Heavy Metal Cowâ¢. USDA inspected, FDA approved.
The original Heavy Metal Cowâ¢. USDA inspected, FDA approved.
