World of Warcraft has a very ambitious plan and with the upcoming release of The War Within, the team at Blizzard has introduced a brand new Hero Talents system for the expansion.
We will be taking a close look at one of the three Hero Talent trees for Warriors and examining just how powerful we can expect the talents to be.
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WoW The War Within Mountain Thane Warrior 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.
Mountain Thane Warrior Hero Talent Tree Keystone
Lightning Strikes:
- Damaging enemies with Thunder Clap, Revenge, Raging Blow, or Execute has a 10% chance to also strike one with a lightning bolt, dealing moderate Nature damage. Lightning Strikes occur 50% more often during Avatar.
Mountain Thane Warrior
Hero Talent Tree Row 1
Call of Thunder:
- The Stormstrike damage or Nature damage your abilities deal is increased by 5%. Stormstrike damage ignores Armor. Thunder Clap damage increased by 50%.
For Fury only, Thunder Clap generates 5 Rage and Improved Whirlwind and Meat Cleaver now improve Thunder Clap as well as Whirlwind.
Ground Current:
- Lightning Strikes also deal low amounts of Nature damage to enemies near their target. Damage reduced beyond 5 targets.
Strength of the Mountain:
- Shield Slam damage increased by 20%. Bloodthirst and Rampage damage increased by 10%.
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Mountain Thane Warrior
Hero Talent Tree
Row 2
Thunder Blast:
- Shield Slam and Bloodthirst have a 20% chance to grant you Thunder Blast, stacking up to 2 charges. Thunder Blast causes your next Thunder Clap to become a Thunder Blast that deals Stormstrike damage.
Choice Node: Storm Bolts & Storm Shield
Storm Bolts:
- Storm Bolt also hits 1 additional nearby target, stunning them for 2 seconds.
Storm Shield:
- Intervening a target grants them a shield for 5 seconds that absorbs magic damage equal to 3 times your Armor.
Choice Node: Flashing Skies & Valarjar Training
Flashing Skies:
- Chance for Lightning Strikes to critically strike is increased by 5% and their critical strike damage is increased by 10%.
Valarjar Training:
- Lightning Strikes reduce the cooldown of Ravager by 0.5 second.
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Mountain Thane Warrior
Hero Talent Tree Row 3
Choice Node: Steadfast as the Peaks & Keep Your Feet on the Ground
Steadfast as the Peaks:
- Victory Rush increases your maximum health by 10% for 5 seconds.
Keep Your Feet on the Ground:
- Thunder Blast reduces damage you take by 4% for 5 seconds.
Choice Node: Gathering Clouds & Thorim’s Might
Gathering Clouds:
- Your attacks trigger Lightning Strikes 15% more often.
Thorim’s Might:
- Lightning Strikes generate 3 Rage. Revenge, Raging Blow, and Execute damage increased by 15%.
Burst of Power:
- Lightning Strikes have a 20% chance to make your next 2 Shield Slams or Bloodthirsts have no cooldown.
Mountain Thane Warrior
Hero Talent Tree Capstone
Avatar of the Storm:
- Casting Avatar grants you 2 charges of Thunder Blast and resets the cooldown of Thunder Clap. While Avatar is not active, Lightning Strikes have a 10% chance to grant you Avatar for 4 seconds.
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Summary
Overall, this Hero Talent tree aims to increase the utility of Warriors whilst not only giving way to making them stronger damage options but also giving the Protection spec some more threat generation, damage, and survivability, so whichever role you decide to play, you will have adequate stats and abilities from these new talents.
It surely is exciting to see that else will be added in WoW's newest expansion. Hopefully, the new direction and design philosophy will lend its way to a better and more enjoyable experience for players. As of now, it is difficult to examine and predict whether or not the new Hero Talent trees will break the game or offer insufficient stats, abilities, etc. to make a big enough impact on gameplay.
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