Originally Posted by
Annesh
The spec has awesome damage, spread/rot and single-target burst, and its party support is top notch. It's also got some really potent general utility like dispels/mass dispels. I love the way the mana system works with it, feels really nice.
It's just horribly, horribly weak to melee. I've never felt so vulnerable/disadvantaged.
This works out well for some pvpers because when supported by dedicated teammates and healers, the spec really shines and looks really strong. But in casual pvp when you can't count on help, when you don't have anyone you can rely on, it feels absolutely horrible. This sucks for players like me who only do unrated bgs.
Shadow desperately needs the ability to trade away some of its much-lauded party support for some ability to defend itself.
For example:
"Your Power Word: Shield can no longer be cast on other players, but is 40% more effective and makes your next cast-time spell instant cast"
"Your Shadow Mend is half as strong when cast on other players, but is instant cast"
Call it something like Lonely Shadows, bam.
There are a number of other things that would start bringing the spec together as something that isn't borderline unplayable vs melee. Things like, for example, making Void Torrent similar to Bladestorm in that it makes you immune to interrupts and all loss-of-control abilities for the duration would be really nice. Why not? It's your big Artifact power that the whole spec is built around, why should it be stoppable?