One thing I’ve noticed is that there is a lack of retaliation love in the expansion masteries/devotions to the point where there are zero instances of retaliation damage sources/buffs in either of the two new masteries or any of the new devotions.
A retaliation character isn’t really the best way to go as it is simply because caster/ranged enemies (especially bosses) are an absolute nightmare, so it’s already pretty gimped. However, I really enjoy playing my retaliation Warder, mostly in multiplayer as a tank with multiple taunts to enable the DPS to just melt the mobs. Regardless, I find it odd that there are literally zero new sources of retaliation damage/buffs–not even a single star or afterthought on a buff.
Granted, I’m sure there might be some new items that show some love to retaliation, but it seems like the devs forgot to add this particular damage type to their checklist when making the new content.
Here are some places that retaliation damage might fit in well:
Inquisitor: Inquisitor Seal (inside the seal would be a perfect place for some retaliation flat damage and/or buffage) or Word of Renewal (a la Emboldening Presence for Shaman or Temper for Demolitionist).
Necromancer: Pet retaliation on Call of the Grave, Master of Death, Soul Harvest, etc. or anywhere on Blight Fiend considering its taunt abilities (even the Occultist’s Hellhound has some retaliation damage, but not this monster?). Player retaliation on Siphon Souls (maybe during the duration enemies damage taken by retaliation is increased. Not sure if that’s doable with the engine), Soul Harvest duration-based retaliation flat damage and/or buff, Mark of Torment to include a huge flat retaliation due to its low uptime/cooldown ratio, or Spectral Binding (although this one might be confusing since it already includes an “on hit” aspect that isn’t retaliation).
There are already acid, pierce, and lightning based retaliation builds. Having an elemental retaliation Inquisitor or vitality retaliation Necromancer added to the mix would be pretty groovy. Based on the Necro’s theme of ADCTH and punishing enemies that hit it, I would really like to play a vitality retaliation Death Knight.
Edit: Now that I think about it, we haven’t seen all the new items yet either. With the introduction of adding new item skill modifiers to certain items, it didn’t occur to me that there might already be some Necromancer/Soldier set that adds “10000 Vitality Retaliation to Mark of Torment,” “+500% Vitality Retaliation Damage to Harbinger of Souls,” and “+300% All Retaliation Damage to Soul Harvest” or something similar… although it would still be nice to have at least a few constellations with some fresh retaliation love (I mean, that Stone Matron would be a perfect place for some physical type/all retaliation, Attak Seru or Quill could add some elemental retaliation, and Typhos could add some vitality/all retaliation)