More Shaman Cata Discussion (mostly Enh)

[Pwnafone]

I have been playing a Shaman since early TBC and have primarily played Enhance. I go back and forth between being concerned and excited for the state of our class. There are a few primary areas in which I am most concerned. Incoming wall of text...

Talents:

I am not going to break down every talent, as this has been done in a combination of several threads, but give my opinion on changes I think we need.

Elemental Weapons:

This talent should be baked into the Shaman class IMO. Because of Ancestral Swiftness (correct me if I am wrong) every spec of Shaman will spec into the Enh tree and be forced to take this talent. It reminds me of the current threat reducing talents, and those are being baked into tank threat in Cata.

Static Shock:

Boring. More RNG. All stuff you have read before. All stuff Blizzard doesn't like. I would like to see this talent built into another ability (maybe on WF procs or SS to eliminate RNG). Whether this talent stays in its current form or is changed, I would love to see it reduced by a point.

Searing Flames/Improved Lava Lash:

I actually like the concept here from a PVE standpoint. I just (again) think that requiring 5 points to prop up 2 abilities is a tad much. This will keep our priority exciting and make LL useful and fun.

Shamanistic Rage: I actually have no issue with the new change except it does not reduce healing costs. My thought behind this is not from a PVP point of view (which would actually be nice) but the fact when we pop SR we could actually afford to toss out a healing rain, thus actually helping us feel like "hybrids."

Primal Wisdom: Generic way to regenerate mana. Sure its fine. Seems boring. I think this will cause problems in PVP though. I obviously have no idea how we will play in Cata for sure but I can see priests/lock mana draining/burning us to death very easily, and us not being able to recover very easily. I'm not PVP expert so Paladins may already deal with this issue. Not sure. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Totems:

OK Blizzard has made a few things very clear for a long time.

1) Totems are not going away
2) We are Hybrids, and will thus suffer from Hybrid tax
3) Bring the player not the class

I trust that Blizzard (famous last words, I know) will adjust our numbers, and abilities, to make movement easier on us. Also I trust they will get the "hybrid tax" closer to the 5% or so that I have seen thrown out. That being said, our totems should play a more active role in our class instead of being just being tossed out once and forgot about. My solution, which I personally do not think would be OP, is to make each Element of totem bring several lesser buffs and be able to use a ability (similar to fire nova). This would get rid of all of the "active" totems and incorporate them into new spells that emanate from each element of totem. These lesser buffs would be improved based on the spec of the shaman, and possibly bring 1 spec specific ability. This would be similar in the way each DK tree has a way to improve their presences. Let me give an example. Keep in mind I have not run any numbers, and realize this would take some balancing.

Earth Totem

Str/Armor/Pushback Resistance (?)

Air Totem

Agi/Spell Crit/?

Fire Totem

Melee Haste/Spell Haste/Spellpower % (Wrath)

Water Totem

HP Regen/MP Regen/?

Now before you run around saying "OMG Shaman bringing EVERY buff is OP" Here is how you balance it. Each of these buffs are 50% (or less) of what the Cata endgame buffs will be. Each spec will then have a talent to increase the buffs that apply most to that spec, and add a spec specific totem ability.

Enhancement

Enhancing Totems: (2pts)

This increases the effect of your Melee haste, Agility, Strength, and (insert water totem effect) from totems by 50/100% and gives you access to a new searing totem spell that allows your fire totem to shoot fire for 1 min.

If this would still be OP because of the peripheral buffs when you talent this, you could have this remove or diminish the other buffs.

I also think another way to enhance the totem system would be to make a "consume totem" ability similar to our totemic recall, that would have a personal buff/effect, but potentially place a cooldown on that Element of totem for a period of time, to add a reward/penalty system. You could tie in a battle rez to Resto there, but make it so they couldn't replace their water totem (assuming it was actually good) for 5 min or something. This would be a nice change to pvp so that we could have a way to "consume" our totems for different effects (shields, hots, stuns, damage, etc) but give us a penalty to doing so. This would make a more interesting and interactive way to use totems.

Also I would like to see a small perk added to BL for Shaman. Since Mages got BL (which in all honesty, we knew SOME class was going to get it) and an added effect (which kinda makes sense based on the name) we need one as well. Personally I would like to see them double the personal effectiveness of totems for the shaman when they cast it, but that would probably be too much hah. Maybe since we are "Bloodlusted" we could have the cannot be feared or "stopped until killed" like some of the warrior enrage effects. Those last few things were not well thought out, but I think the discussion has been overlooked. Regardless I would still like to see something.

Here are a few more examples of things that would be good to see based on my ideas and the wants/complains of Shaman I have seen.

-Give Resto Spirit Link as their 31 pt and build Riptide into their Improved Totems talent I discussed earlier. Get rid of the gradual heal effect of healing stream totem and make it Riptide the lowest % player in the raid every 6(?) seconds. The spell would last for 30(?) sec. This would free up some GCDs for Resto and allow room for Spirit Link, assuming Blizzard could make it work.

-Let the Improved Totem talent for Ele give them an earthquake the comes from the earth totem. This allows them more use of the totem and gives them room for a different 31 point talent.

-Give our weapon enchants the ability to enchant shields. There would have to be separate/different effects obviously. This would give us flexibility/survivability in PVP and also give resto and ele the ability to have dual enchants.

-Consume Totems. Gives shaman a bubble if earth totem is out, HoT if water totem out, Increase movement if air totem out, Fire damage pulse from shaman if Fire totem out. For each totem consumed a 30 sec cooldown is applied to that element of totem. These numbers and effects are EXTREMELY rough. Lots of balancing to do here. I just liked the idea.

-Please dear God, spread some of the useful effects out among totems (Read: Stop letting Earth Totem be the most/only useful PVP totem.)

Thse are just examples of some of the reworkings I would like to see. I know Blizzard has said we are very close to being done, so I doubt we will see hardly any of this. Several of the moderators have mentioned that now is the time to make the suggestions to Blizzard, as they are making changes every day, and that they have listened in the past. I just figured I would give my 2 cents. Thank you for reading and I look forward to the feedback. All I ask is that you look more at the general ideas than the numbers. Also thanks to all the moderators who put in wayyy more work on the forums and research into the class than I ever could.

[Deleted]

Your title is misleading. This thread is mostly enhancement discussion, not shaman discussion about the shaman in general.

[Pwnafone]

Yeah I probably should have specified that in the title. There are some changes there that would apply to all specs though.

[barrsftw]

i love you totem ideas.. just gets me thinking about how much more skill would be involved in PvP if you could say.. consume your wind totem for a 3 second stun or w/e.. but if you didnt kill them in that time, then you wouldnt be able to use grounding for 2 min or w/e.. i like it.

[Nynax]

All of this is pretty cool, and i would love LOVE to see some real functionality to these useless totems that somehow "define" our class.

Unfortunately its not going to happen. Blizzard obviously has a blatant zero desire to rework the shaman class. Pallys are on their third one, shamans have been mostly skipped at every major class update getting only quick fixes, and now we are apparently one of the farthest classes along and Blizz wont even talk about or even say they are thinking about any major changes or additions to the shaman class.

[Pwnafone]

I honestly don't think any of this will happen, though I really don't think we need a complete overhaul like Paladins. Just some fresh ideas for totems would be nice. Blizzard has been taking hints from us though, as is evidenced in their beta changes to Static Shock. Just keeping my fingers crossed that they are willing to consider some more advice, as I am much more concerned with totems than Static Shock. Not complaining by any means. Positive changes are positive.

[Nikoll]

anyone else feel the enh tree is still very bloated? there is still no choices. it is :here are the dps talents. you have to take them all and when you do you still won't have enough points. than try making a pvp build, thats even rougher. major pruning still needs to be done. Such as making flurry and static shock one point. maybe bake totemiv vigor and range into the same talent. unleashed rage needs to be made one point, its one for hunters. earthen power should only be one point. primordial wisdom should be an enhance bonus you dont need to talent.