Shaman Tank?

[Espeonagetieler]

you got enhance and ele back wards there. Air ascendance and fire ascendance.

anyway I would fucking love this because then I could have an off spec I'd enjoy. I'm not a healer and ele is so bleh.

[Raugnaut]

I had a concept fleshed out a while back (Start of WoD). Let me see...

Shaman- Warden. (Possible other names, Contractor, Spirit Binder)
This is both a tanking spec AND a pet-spec. These Shamans get a powerful passive that both A) makes their Elemental's permanent, controllable pets that no longer require a Totem to summon, and have no CD, and B) Causes their health and healing recieved to split with the summoned Elemental, akin to pre-5.4 Soul Link. The Earth Elemental would have higher health and cause a small amount of damage to be absorbed, the Fire elemental would increase the damage and self-healing of the shaman, and the Storm elemental would give increased utility and cause the shaman to generate an amount of healing from damage, as well as increasing haste and multistrike. Essentially, each Elemental would be a stance, as you could only have one elemental out at a time. Earth Elemental, increased EH, Fire Elemental, increased damage and healing, and Storm Elemental would be a combination and generally the default elemental should you choose it, given that you would have to give up the other 2 talents, which would be just as good.

The resource/active mitigation model for the Warden shaman would be cooldown instead of resource driven. Primal Strike would morph into a different form depending on which active pet you had out. Earth Elemental would cause it to deal physical damage and make the shaman take reduced damage, say 20% for 4 seconds, Fire Elemental would cause it to deal more damage and increase both self-healing and damage by 30% for 10 seconds, and Storm Elemental would cause it to do Nature damage and heal for 100% of damage dealt, as well as increasing haste by 50% for 4 seconds.

Lightning Bolt becomes Lightning Strike, which is a filler ability that has a chance to randomly restore the cooldown of one ability. Lighting Strike, unlike all other abilities in the game, can go all the way down to a .5 second GCD.

Earth Shock causes the shocked target to deal less damage to the shaman (20%) for 12 seconds, Flame Shock is a powerful single-target DoT that generates a stream of healing for the shaman, but only lasts for 15 seconds, and Frost Shock becomes a high-threat AoE ability.

Rockbiter Weapon makes its return as the tanking weapon available to this spec at level 10- it increases threat generated by 900%, causes the shaman to take X less damage, and prevents critical strikes. In addition, it has a random proc that increases armor contributation from items by 100% for 5 seconds, with about a 40% uptime.
Unleash Element will increase the block chance of the shaman by 30% for 8 seconds.
For the longer, “tanking” cooldowns, Shamanistic Rage will be available for the shaman tank, and the shaman will have Warden's Oath, which gives an effect depending on the active Elemental. Earth Elemental will increase health by 30%, Fire Elemental will increase all healing by 100% and damage by 20%, and Storm Elemental will increase haste by 30% and cause all healing to also heal all nearby party members for 10% of the healing.

. Ascendence will be that of an Earth Elemental Ascendant, and will increase all secondary stats by an additive 30% for 15 seconds. +30% haste, mastery, crit chance, and block chance.

Mastery will increase the effect of the various buffs by X%. Flame Shock does more damage and heals for more, Earth Shock causes the target to deal even less damage to the Shaman, Rockbiter grants more armor contributation, Primal Strike would have its various buffs increased, ect.

Critical Strikes will reduce the CD of all abilities by .5 seconds per critical strike, or perhaps just have the Riposte effect of the plate tanks, increasing dodge/parry rating.

Healing Rain would not be available to Warden Shamans.

Healing Surge has its healing buffed 100% when used on self, making it an ability to use for emergency healing.

Thus, this creates an extremely fast-paced whack-a-mole tank, with you prioritizing abilities based on what you need at the time. You will, at times, have numerous abilities ready to be used, and would thus need to decide on which abilities to use a priority order. Preferably, you would want to swap between elementals throughout a fight in order to get the various buffs, mostly between Fire and Earth/Storm elementals. (Attempt to get a 20 second Fire strike, and then go to Earth or Storm for the other strikes for 20 seconds.)


So, thoughtful thoughts/comments?

[melodramocracy]

So we were discussing fistweaving as a 4th spec to monks in the monk forums and a lot of talk about Earth elemental shaman tanks. I got curious as to how many of you shamans would like to have Shaman tanks using earth elemental as a theme like how resto is water, ele is lightning and enh is fire. Only one missing is earth.

I certainly wouldn't mind it.

[Yajiboi]

I think it would be cool, but it doesn't really fit the meaning of "enhancement". I think they really missed an opportunity with "survival" not being the first ranged tank.

[CDXX]

I don't want a tank spec for Shaman but I want Enhancement to be able to equip shields again. I don't know where we'd get shields from, maybe give us a shield along with the Enhancement artifact. Until Legion I hadn't played since WotLK and I'm finding I really miss being able to throw on a shield if shit hits the fan in a dungeon, PvP, or tanking huge groups while questing/farming.

[Littleshashi]

The tanking kit is already basically in the game, or has been in the past:

Rockbiter (Would function like Hammer of the Righteous)
Earth Shock (Would function like Shield of the Righteous)
Earth Shield (Would function like Bone Shield)
Earthquake (Similar to Consecration)
Chain Lightning (Would function like Avenger's Shield)

[Deleted]

blood dks use 2 handers and have bone shield around them, literal same concept, just change bones into lightning orbs and sword into mace

I'm not arguing 2-handers can't tank. It just feels weird that a class that can actually use shields, does not do so for the one thing where it makes most sense.

[Maletalana]

I'm not arguing 2-handers can't tank. It just feels weird that a class that can actually use shields, does not do so for the one thing where it makes most sense.

Ohhhh right, why would resto and ele use shield, but the tank spec not use shield.

Very solid point, I don't really have a proposition there.

You know how Ret just has a passive to do way more damage when using a 2 hander, to incentivize Ret only using 2 handers? They could just say, "When wielding a 2 handed axe or mace, the strength of Earth surrounds you with increased armor and magic resistance". Or something along those lines. It's an arguably cheap way to just 'make it work', but many specs have shit like that already on live, so it would at least fit the current meta.

Just wanted to say, gotcha, I see your point now.

- - - Updated - - -

The tanking kit is already basically in the game, or has been in the past:

Rockbiter (Would function like Hammer of the Righteous)
Earth Shock (Would function like Shield of the Righteous)
Earth Shield (Would function like Bone Shield)
Earthquake (Similar to Consecration)
Chain Lightning (Would function like Avenger's Shield)

This is great, it's easy to be able to see the simplicity of this, and imagine how little it would take to implement. This is of course compared to the time it takes to create a new class.

I would be fine if you took the feel and rotation of prot pal, but removed the self heal aspect and put in a preemptive active mitigation kit like prot warrior.

That would feel so tanky!

- - - Updated - - -

Are you naysayers CRAZY? We're playing in an expansion that has melee hunters, a class with 4 specs, a class with 2 specs, dynamic zone levels, mob sharing, instanced resource nodes, no spec restrictions, and flexible talents.

Yet adding back in a Shaman tanking spec - an idea that has game precedent and perfectly believable class flavor - is something blizzard would "never do."

Right.

This. Just this x1000. Blindness and deafness at its best

[Apanonar]

I'd love to see it happen, and it makes sense. However, I don't think Blizz would add a new spec for only one class. They would need to add a new spec for every class, or face masssive outrage. This is not happening for 2 reasons:
- Not all classes have design space left for another spec
- 12 new specs would be a nightmare for Blizz to create, balance and distinguish from existing specs

[dashaus]

I'd love to see it happen, and it makes sense. However, I don't think Blizz would add a new spec for only one class. They would need to add a new spec for every class, or face masssive outrage. This is not happening for 2 reasons:
- Not all classes have design space left for another spec
- 12 new specs would be a nightmare for Blizz to create, balance and distinguish from existing specs

Why wouldn't they add it for just one class? It's happened before ala druids. Maybe my memory is off but I don't remember any massive outrage about that.Also, they've made a class with 2 spec's so they clearly aren't totally averse to bucking the system one way or the other. Maybe the expansion that this happens a handful of classes could get a 4th spec where it makes sense. Would that be a good middle ground?

[Saverem]

The day Shamans get a 4th spec for tanking is the day Warlock get's a 4th spec for tanking and DHs get a 3rd spec for ranged DPS.

It could happen... But not any time soon.

[Shammyrock]

A tank built around a perm earth elemental could be interesting, but I'm not that fussed about adding an extra spec to each class.

[Brav5115]

I put that I would like to see it. I think it could be something very fun and dynamic. Giant earthen shields and armor, but there is no way it will happen. Blizz has already said that any tanking or 2h enhance is done. It was kinda fun to tank dungeons back in Vanilla, wasn't the most effective but it worked haha

[nazrakin]

Why wouldn't they add it for just one class? It's happened before ala druids. Maybe my memory is off but I don't remember any massive outrage about that.Also, they've made a class with 2 spec's so they clearly aren't totally averse to bucking the system one way or the other. Maybe the expansion that this happens a handful of classes could get a 4th spec where it makes sense. Would that be a good middle ground?

Druid is a bad example because at the time the Feral talents were entirely split between both Feral Tank and Feral DPS and you had both roles being widely utilitzed by players and supported by the developers... so there would have been very justified outrage if Druids didnt get a 4th spec. Unfortunately, that never happened with Shaman tanking. Similar to Warlock or Hunter pet tanking it never evolved past the niche/shits and giggles phase that anyone took seriously and its been carved out entirely.

[Goradan]

Hit it bitches.

[gambit998]

I voted yes but for only one reason the 'Earth Warden' Spec does fit the role of a shaman very well. (Hi Hi to green Jesus) but they would have to fix and balance the other specs within the shaman class aswell. Elemental is in line for a massive rework a rework for ages already it is in such a bad state atm that it is heavily under preforming which is sad.

In conclusion fix Elemental and then add a 4th spec to us . that would be a good time then.

[Deleted]

Mail tank now.
And make demo a cloth tank that uses demons as disposable shields since everyone hates it anyways.