Maybe hate is too strong a word. But I find Warsong Gulch to be a demoralizing affair. More than any other battleground, it seems designed to expose the paladin's weaknesses. Unfortunately, ever since the introduction of multiple queues, it is the most played battleground on Bronzebeard.
WSG is all about mobility. And the paladin has no speed to outrun or catch people, and no snares to slow them down, and no ranged weapons to hurt them at a distance. Seeing a tauren druid or shaman drop down, grab the flag, warstomp, and shift to travel form and run away while you are stunned is soul-destroying. Paladins really have only one snare, Hammer of Justice, which we can use once a minute. A second pally snare, Repentance, is a 31-point Retribution talent which does not work on animal forms. This is terribly unfortunate given that animal travel forms (druid and shaman) are the preferred Horde flag carriers.
Paladins on offense is equally hard. Since you have no speed, you cannot keep up with the flag carrier. If you start a heal, given that it is 2.5s long, odds are the person you are healing will be out of range before the heal finishes. If you are the flag carrier, you're so slow that you are easily caught. You can't move while healing, meaning you have to stay still for 2.5s to get a decent heal off. Finally, you can't use your bubbles or you drop the flag.
There's no real role for paladins in WSG that I can see. The best paladin role, that of battlefield healer, doesn't work as well when the point of battle moves faster than your heal. It works in Arathi Basin, as the points of battle are fixed and so people are almost always within range of a heal.
I switched enchants on my [Mirah's Song] from Fiery (chance of +40 fire damage) to Icy (chance of slowing) in order to shore up this weakness. So far, I'm not too sure if it's working. It doesn't seem to be proccing all that much. I'll play a few more games to see if it is an effective strategy.
I know this is totally necroposting but I can resist. The most useful thing I ever did in a warsong was running with the flag carrier. Personally I've found druids in bear form to be the most effective. Use your most underrated blessing on them... Blessing of Sacrifice. If possible have him put a nature's grasp on if you've managed to get outside and away from attackers and shift back into bear. Switch to Blessing of Freedom as needed to clear Frost Nova and roots from other druids etc. Remember that he can't be sheeped, but be ready to cleanse hibernate/fear/scare beast/dots etc. With BoS on him, you cannot be sapped or sheeped for long and if you start getting focussed just bubble. I 3 capped with a druid just like this one game.
ReplyDeleteLol. If I remember correctly, at this point in time the optimal flag carriers were druids and shamans in travel form. So I could not keep up with them.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the tactic of using a heavily armored carrier with multiple supporters had evolved yet.
Admittedly, when that happened, paladins got a lot more useful.
Funny thing is, my 78 ret pally was able to stay top of the charts horde side, simply by using HoJ and my repentence. True these really are the most useful skills I have in WSG, I really see no clear reason as to why a paladin would FAIL in WSG. All I did was simply jump into a group fight, spam concecrate and Divine Storm, and keep up random judgements. I did do better using Seal of Corruption, than I did using Seal of Command. Both are good, but if you want to better your chances of landing the killing blow for the honorable kill, your gonna wanna use SoCorruption for the DoT is gives. It does help to have a druid or healer with you obviously (I had a friend join me as a mooncow XD). A well geared ret pally CAN cap a flag. I am currently wearing full savage saronite gear, which is amazing for dps pvp. Use the HoJ and Repent and your golden. Hammer of Wrath is great for pickin off the lowbies and stealin a kill. Use Blessing of Freedome for the snares and crap, and keep up cleanses or purifies on magics and disease. Obviously use your bubble when your near death, and as a last last last resort use your Lay on Hands.
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