Totems in MoP

[Deleted]

I just saw for the first time what they did to totems in MoP now that there's PTR up...

Guys... Did shaman community really want this? My shaman is not my main, but I loved how old totems worked... But now I feel just like if I were just another mage or something...

[nazrakin]

It seems most Shaman are happy with the change, and its something a lot of folks since buff homogenization made totem mechanics obsolete. The new system isn't yet perfect, but it is a vast improvement.

[xChurch]

I didn't really enjoy having to drop totems every single fight. Big improvement in my opinion.

[Wataurenyew]

I just saw for the first time what they did to totems in MoP now that there's PTR up...

Guys... Did shaman community really want this? My shaman is not my main, but I loved how old totems worked... But now I feel just like if I were just another mage or something...

I feel the change is for the better, I was only dropping Searing and Healing Stream on live since all the buffs were already covered and Stoneclaw before some large damage. Our totems have gone from set and forget to CDs that actually have some meaning and usefulness.

I didn't really enjoy having to drop totems every single fight. Big improvement in my opinion.

Not quite sure what you mean by this, we'll still be dropping totems every single fight.
Elemental and Enhancement may be able to get away with just using Searing, the Elementals, and Stormlash.
Resto will be making a lot of use out of Healing Stream as well as Healing Tide, Spirit Link, Mana Tide and Stormlash and the Elementals if you you take PE.

And that just if you absolutely refuse to heal as dps or do damage as a healer.

It seems to me as Resto I'll be dropping totems a lot more than I use to drop them.

[Deleted]

I'm happy with how totems work now (on beta/PTR). Dropping them as a stat stick was boring.

[Merk]

I love the new totem system. I play both Resto and Enhancement.

[Deleted]

Doubt DPS shamans will even use another totem than the Searing and AE fire one - talking about PvE. Thats the bill for a change like this.

[Wataurenyew]

Doubt DPS shamans will even use another totem than the Searing and AE fire one - talking about PvE. Thats the bill for a change like this.

What were they using before the change? Searing and Healing Stream? All the buffs were usually already covered there was no need to drop anything else.

In MOP they'll also be using Stormlash for sure and probably Healing Tide Totem.

[Deleted]

Maybe if they are the type of DPS who won't ever help their team out with a Healing Rain, Tremor Totem and all sorts of other things that are about utility rather than topping the meters....

Now if we'd be in the top 5 of the DPS list, we'd have the time to use some GCDs for utility, but like its now on Beta - No time, sorry. Tremor Totem is different than the 100% useless water and wind totems. Earth totems got some nice options for ourselves (absorb), and the fire totems are a must due to dps.

[JuicedawgYO]

I love the totem change, I bet you will too when you get used to it :-) They even made old, boring, passive healing stream totem into a "soft" cooldown healing ability as I said would be smart and fun in the official feedback thread back during Firelands.

[Deleted]

What's the point in having a totem which wastes several GCD's in the average boss fight, to supply a buff that other classes can do? Pretty much all of our totems are now obsolete.

In PvP, pet macros took the piss when they're able to destroy our totems far too easily.

Personally i'm really glad with what Blizzard have done, a very nice change imo

[takolin]

Doubt DPS shamans will even use another totem than the Searing and AE fire one - talking about PvE. Thats the bill for a change like this.

Enhance has empty GCDs for utility so they should at least drop HST when they have nothing else to do.

And utility in PvE always comes at the cost of damage and it doesn't matter if you use a GCD on a totem or a GCD something else.

[RagequitTheShaman]

It's O.K.; I'm perfectly fine with the old system and the new system doesn't seem terrible so in my opinion it'll be about the same for me, save Stormlash Totem

[Abysire]

I like it apart from the fact that they're still on the global cool-down. :/

[Wishblade]

Not a shaman main but the old system really turned me away from the class, I didn't like dropping totems constantly. Situational use is much better I feel.

[Drebbin]

The only thing I really liked about the old totem system was the appearance of the four totems dropped at the same time and that is easily kept up with the totemic encirclement glyph.

[Deleted]

I logged in to my Shaman on beta. Played a couple of quests. Noticed the totem change.
Placed all the totems on my actionbars. And I tought to myself: Noooo what have they done?
There is usually enough going on in a fight, I liked it that I placed my totems at the start of the fight, and only occasionally had to replace one.
I don't want to watch all those extra totems on the global cooldown, on top of so man other things.
I played my shammy since 2007, it only had to share it's place in WotLK when I also played my druid.
Seeing a player placing his totems in a low level dungeon made me relog after the dungeon and make a shaman, never to abandon it again.

Maybe I'm a bit of a habit person, but I don't want to play my shaman anymore

[NyghtBlind]

I like the way they are going with totems now in MoP. Only thing I would like them to change is not being locked into 1 totem per element. I would like to be able to have searing totem with Fire elemental or mana tide with healing stream. Say something like we only get to have a max of 2-3 totems down at once.

I think this has been mentioned somewhere else as well.

[Orrion]

Doubt DPS shamans will even use another totem than the Searing and AE fire one - talking about PvE. Thats the bill for a change like this.

In 25 mans, that's pretty much what dps Shaman did in Cataclysm. Oh, sure, Healing Stream and earth/air buff totems were down, but the buffs were redundant and HS basically did nothing.

I don't know about you, but I'll be using Stone Bulwark Totem when I spec into it. And HST and HTT if I spec into it. The rest will be pretty highly situational (as they always have) but I'll use them if the situation calls for it.

[thegempolice]

New HST is such a pain in the arse it's just not worth dropping if you're trying to dps. It's a decent heal but dropping every 30s for 50% uptime, no thanks.