The_Isatope8 wrote: »

Since the devs have announced that a variety of significant changes are going to be made to the classes, I'm very excited to see what they have in store. From what we've read in their deep dive article, it seems like they're finally making a massive effort to change the game for the better by making classes feel distinct again. While I like much of what they said (especially their sneak peak for their plans with DK), I found something that I, a Templar Main, am quite worried about.

In the image under the 'Identity' section, where all the power sources and power fantasies for the classes are laid out, I found the following text regarding Templar: "Holy warriors who channel the power of the sun and Aedric entities, Templars use light as both a weapon and a shield, and they create sanctuaries". This is the quote describing Templars source of power and it seems great at first because it aims to maintain Templars aesthetics and identity as a lightbringer/ paladin/ cleric archetype. The part I take issue with comes right at the end though; "and they create sanctuaries". Templar's Stand Your Ground playstyle has been a core part of their identity since the start, but has become outdated and needs to change.

Many new trials, dungeons, arena's and world bosses require the player to constantly reposition and having to recast abilities to maintain their Sacred Ground passive is no longer viable nor engaging. This problem is especially noticeable in PvP where speed and mobility are a top priority for most builds. Having so much of a classes defensive kit rely on barely moving in the current state of the game is annoying at best and actively detrimental at worst. As such, I have a proposition for how to fix this issue.

In game there are skill books for classes and the ones for Templar are the following:

• Aura of the Righteous
• The Friend of All Mortals
• Precepts of Stendarr
• Rituals of the Harmonious Masters
• Stendarr's Divine Spear

Many of these books mention the ability to create auras of light. I believe that Templar should lean more into its paladin/ lightbringer archetype and rework skills like Cleansing Ritual and Rune Focus to function like mobile aura's that are cast on the player themself, like Lightining Form. This would remove the need for constant recasting of the abilities and play more into the paladin like class fantasy of empowering your allies with your mere presence.

The devs have expressed their desire to modernize and rework all of the classes in the interest of balance and player experience. They have the perfect opportunity to address one of the biggest issues with Templar, but from what I've read, it looks like they are going to keep it the same. I sincerely hope that they make Templar fun again instead of keeping it frustrating.