Enhance shamans extinct?

[Omanley]

I don't understand why you make the post so incredibly condescending and hostile though, when if you actually read what you have stated against what I did, it's remarkably similar.

The part I quoted was making it sound like they did a lot on the highlighted parts, such as totems, or defense, which simply wasn't the case. It turned into a longer post, but it wasn't derailing in my mind, as it shows just why enh, or shamans generally, are less popular: because we never manage to catch up. We were always behind since tbc.

You stated that we saw a horrific amount of changes, and I responded in disagreement, nothing less. I'm sorry if I offended you in doing so.

[Embermoon]

Enhancement is affected by how strong elemental is, because some people simply play Shaman, and not specifically Enhancement. If Elemental is significantly outperforming enhancement, there will be a portion that shift, because they want to optimize. It's the same reason DKs shifted between UH and Frost for the entirety of Cata.

I suspect that there are a greater number of players (total, in the game) who would continue to play the spec they like, as opposed to those who would shift specs just because one spec is currently performing "better." If elemental is outperforming enhancement, at the moment, I believe it's only because of the design of the encounters; not the capabilities of either spec.

The spec was noticeably more difficult in Wrath, when risk/reward for GCD and gear maximization was far more reliant on using MSW effectively. Now, it is shifted to CDs. It's not exactly an easy spec, but nothing really is anymore. The difference between going through the motions with your priority now, and in Wrath, is like light and day. Messing up MSW (which was damn near every other GCD at the top of the pack) was a difference of anywhere between 25 and 50% of your DPS. Now, you have a priority that is a lot less random, and a lot more clear cut. You plan it. You have time to think. That is a huge, glaring difference. Also, if you think there's a lot of questions about Haste vs. Mastery now, I'd dare you to go find the bowels of the forums that spawned the Haste or AP threads, the "SIM IT YOURSELF" and all the other crap.

Heh, I remember those threads, but I was also out for most of ICC. I left after we completed 10 man heroic ToGC, and came back when there was already a very significant ICC raid buff. I want to say it was at 20 or even 25 percent, at the time. I don't recall the spec being that difficult, at that time, though. I simply popped MSW5_LB whenever it was up. Difference of perception, maybe?

The spec has changed in it's design a huge, HUGE amount. It went from an incredibly strong buffing tool in TBC, to a high intensity proc based class in Wrath, to a Cooldown priority based rotation class in Cata, to what it is now, which is a Burst DPS cooldown spec. It has changed in it's design, play style and nature without fail every single expansion. It's had an absolutely horrific number of changes to mechanics such as totems, wolves, Elementals, AoE, utility and Defense vs. Offense compared to near every other melee. You can't honestly say if you've played this spec, that it has not seen a great amount of changes, else you aren't playing it nearly enough, or properly.

Well, I guess it's a good thing that I never said anything even remotely close to the statement that the class hasn't seen a great amount of changes. It's all I've played, as my MS, since I started playing in BC. I remember being elated when 3.0 hit, and the toolkit opened up, to much more than being a 3-button wonder. My take on the changes in every xpac, has been that they've been increasingly good. Do we have room for improvement? Absolutely. But, I suppose I've adapted to what you're calling horrific changes, with the idea that they've been good, each time. As an aside, is it just me, or does it seem to be that the middle of each of the past few expansions is where enhancement is the worst off? As for playing the spec properly, I've never had any performance complaints from my guildies. I've never had a raid leader feel the need to counsel me. They'll rib me about the shaman instant-aggro-dump, as well as standing in fire, but a study of encounter survivability shows that I'm usually one of the last players alive. I also tend to be at the top of my raid groups' damage/dps meters, while still helping out with utility, when needed. So, hmmm....

The spec is not as difficult to DPS with as everyone seems to be portraying. It is a priority based spec, not notorious for it's difficulty...

Let's clear up one disparity: I said that the spec is more difficult to play, than most other dps specs. You're saying that it's not difficult to play. These are two completely different arguments. Mine is a relative comparison of the current complexity and skill required, to play the various dps specs. Yours is a case for the skill of the player. To your point, I've had more than a handful of buddies/guildies tell me, that they've tried to play enhancement, but found it to be too hectic, and difficult to play, in comparison to their hunters, warriors, pallies, etc. If that sentiment exists with the small portion of people I know, how likely is it, to be echoed throughout the rest of the player base?

...Being able to AoE as enhancement again, is not difficult, it's just bad...

To my earlier point, I said more difficult than...; not 'difficult,' period. I agree, how hard is it, to line up 3 or 4 buttons? However, in relation to other dps specs, it is more challenging to pull off enhancement AoE. Perhaps I'm nitpicking, by calling 4 buttons more difficult than 1, but you're arguing a different point, than I am. To link this back to GC's "efficiency" concept, I see enhancement AoE as one of those "more difficult = inefficient = less mass player appeal" things.

...People just don't like the style. It is not that they are peer pressured out (although the spec DPS swings very often depending on key items) or that it's difficult...

And why don't they like the style? Relative complexity, versus other specs? In my experience, at least a handful of players have expressed to me that they thought the spec was difficult. As for me? I've adapted with every change in every patch, and I just keep humming along. So no, I don't think it's difficult. But, I think that many players likely do.

...There is virtually no gimmick that enhancement has though other than high off healing...

What are you defining as a gimmick? I'd call our current crazy-high burst dps a gimmick. I could see bloodlust as a gimmick. Are you suggesting that people play DKs, just because of mass death grip? I'm not going to say they don't, but I also don't believe people abandon a spec, simply due to not having (what I think you're referring to as) a gimmick.

---------- Post added 2013-05-15 at 07:34 PM ----------

Also, I didn't perceive Omanley's post to be either condescending, or hostile. I'm not sure what would have read that way.