Hey, as of PTR we have a problem of having 4 different versions of “DPS” Paladins - Shockadin, Exodin, Classic Ret, Seal Twisting Ret. None of them are completely on their feet and require some litte or some more balancing.
Shockadin - a good idea for a unique class that has offensive/defensive spells with good selfhealing. A very solid PvP Paladin version, hopefully we will get more runes working around it and new R9/10 gear that works around Shockadin. Let Shockadin use Fast 2H for offensive solution, but also let it be useful for tanking as well, like in P2.
P.S. I never played Shockadin, so for more deepdive feedback check other Shockadin forum posts. Just wanted to add my 5 cents into keeping this unique DPS options on the table
Exodin - a very unique way of playing Ret with fast 2H and Exospam. Its unique design more aligned in calculating your gear and Consumes/WB’s than the gameplay itself, but its still an interesting way of playing Ret for thoose who want to wield fast 2H. Requires a bit more fast pre-raid 2H weapons(With adjusted Holy Damage modifiers built in) and some Exorcism damage buff/DoT. A Good solution for fast dying bosses. Will definetly use it with World Bosses over slow 2H.
Classic Ret - as of now the most underwhelming class variation to play. Class balance and runes are entirely dependant on your weapon damage, CS/DS/RV/SoC. CS/DS is in dire need of heavy Buff. One solution i see is to balance CS/DS Around Weapon speed(Weapon Speed x Attack Power/N%). Or just flat buff CS to 125% Holy Damage and DS to 150% Holy Damage to first 4 targets and 100% to other targets(Beyond initial 4). Also remove Target Cap for DS, we wont use it in Boss fights, we will take Hallowed Grounds over it for passive healing(You still want us as utility, right?). And talking about Hallowed Ground, remove 50% Consec mana reduction Libram and add it in Hallowed ground(For Rets) rune or/and some prot rune(GbtL,HoR). 50% Consec mana reduction shouldnt be a Libram. We literally dont have a single DPS Libram solution, which is hopefully an oversight.
Seal of Command is useless now, a baseline seal shouldnt be as bad as it is now. It either needs to be tweaked to be more useful or just made into passive damage buffer. Like, adding 30% as Holy strike damage on each melee attacks and abilities. Two handed weapon Spec needs to be buffed a little bit, to 10% at least.
1 main problem in PTR, Testwerk is Undead, which means Exorcism is critting every CD. Which isnt going to be a thing in MC and beyon(except Naxx and etc). A slight damage buff or DoT on Crit (Via AoW) would be nice addition to it, ExoSpam wouldnt be an issue if you read my Hammer of Wrath rune solution . Buff Improved HoW and make it both useful from 20%(Instantly) AND give it same reset as with Warrior execute and buff the damage a little bit. Theres no reason to take it over Purifying Power. But with this change you will take it over Purifying Power and ExoSpam wont be a thing for Classic Rets with SLow 2H
As much as I appreciate Divine Steed, having Turalyons Might(Slightly adjusted) would be more fun, for simply it being something actually NEW to us. Also Long Arm of the Law into AoW with also putting deleted Enlightened Judgement in AoW would be a welcomed change.
Art of War as of its current form is basically Art of Exorcism. It needs more stuff into it. Some that I mentioned above, something new and a bit more passive buffs. Apart of passives that will help with Weapon Damage, Flash of Light being instand and on ~5-6s CD(optional addition, could be placed in some other runes, like Sacred Shield in case some people dont like it) will help with sustainability and will move Paladin closer to Shaman in balancing for PvP BG’s
Seal Twisting - first of all i want you to understand, im not totally against your love for Seal Twist, im against its current implementation(I dont consider T1 set bonus in this one, but i’ll talk about it in a minute) which requires you to have 3rd Party Application to even BE ABLE to use it properly. T1 set tier bonus gives us completely different type of gameplay and its implementation of Seal Twisting should be in the BASE GAME, it shouldnt be a tier set bonus. Its not a simple buff to damage, its complete overhaul of our gameplay style. Most of people do not like Seal Twisting, simply because you required to have 3rd party applications to use it. Make it base game ability and you’ll have a perfect middle ground.
Its a long one, but i hope overall i was able to show my concerns and hopes for each of different “DPS” Paladin playstyle enjoyers. Cheers