Cataclysm Class Preview: Shaman

[Krushi]

This is not what we always wannted. I mean, oh I can walk while casting every 2 minutes. In PvE maybe helpful if we need to run out of an AoE and someone drops low in this time. But it doesn't change the gameplay, because no raid boss does its AE only every 2min. Afterall we still need to stand still while casting. And "Healing Rain" is a spell that depends on other palyers movement - again (chainheal has the same problem).
Unleash Weapon - same problem as there is for riptide. I don't use a GCD to buff the "real" spell. It's not effektiv and drops your hps. If its not on GCD it will be clearly nice.
Spirit-Link will be nice if there is a holy pala who easily heals two targets. But for a shamy it's harder to heal two targets than only one. (but if it breaks CC, as it does on wotlk beta, i will love it )

In my view:
Shamans are no class with big movement. We are more like "the man in the middle". Our totems and shocks have a short range, and we have to stay near the enemy. And that's ok - if we have the right tools for this.
in my opinion we need more felxible totems (range drop, with a green circle, if you know what i mean), or maybe a shild of little totems surrounding us and negates dmg. Or a ele/resto talent/mastery bonus that buffs our haste if we stand still for a few seconds. Or a channeling spell that increases the hps done by healing stream totem by a few hundred percent for 5 seconds, like a raid wide "Tranquility" with CD.

There were so many suggestions made, and most of them are better and more shaman-like than this preview.

at long last - sorry for my english ;>

[broods]

As elemental with resto offspec i am SUPER STOKED for these proposed changed.
Spirit link, spirit walk, unleash flametongue, improved lightning overload. (mastery + changed overload talent for maximum pew) and earthquake.

Im reserving judgment on earthquake. It may yet prove to be copy of rain of fire or something, only with nature damage and different animation. That would be a disaster. Sure, ROF is a good aoe spell but it would be TERRIBLY boring if we just got a mirror of that spell.

Earthquake needs to be spectacular. Maybe do a slow, knockdown or siege damage as a cool secondary effect. Can you imagine the borefest if it was just a targeted chanelled aoe?

[Denjell]

when i saw
Flametongue Weapon – Deals instant Fire damage and buffs the shaman's next Fire attack by 20%
i thought ... oh joy even bigger lava burst damage
then i read
Elemental Overload: Your direct-damage spells have a chance to proc a less powerful 'bonus" version of the spell. This will work much like the current Lightning Overload talent, but would also apply to Lava Burst
then it was a facepalm... i guess shammy's will be able to one shot every thing with PVP gear on too then

wake up nub, burst isnt gonna be viable anymore to the degree it has been lately, and a lava burst crit will probably do about 10-20% off your health in cata, as healthpools vs dmg has changed

[DiscoMoonkin]

my question is, will unleash weapon eat up the enchant?

cuz it wont be good to waste a gcd/weapon swing just to enchant the weapon again.

wake up nub, burst isnt gonna be viable anymore to the degree it has been lately, and a lava burst crit will probably do about 10-20% off your health in cata, as healthpools vs dmg has changed

considering how lava burst can hit for 10k still in t9 equivalent, 10-20% is a estimate if you are a TANK

[OtisJay]

Anyone else planning to macro a /s PURPLE RAIN when casting healing rain?