The Totem Purge

[Nihilux]

As someone who didn't play shaman much after WotLK, despite playing it as main during vanilla and TBC, I have at times returned to my shaman only to drop it. Generally because of a sense of alienation from the class, especially the class identity, and as well how unfun the combat felt. What I've especially realized is the purging of totems, especially for elemental and enhancement. Does anyone else feel the slow decay of the class fantasy just looking at this list?

Patch changes

• Legion Patch 7.0.3 (2016-07-19): A majority of totems have been changed to not be part of a category. Fire and Air totems still exist.
• Warlords of Draenor Patch 6.0.2 (2014-10-14): Totems will no longer cause hostile creatures to enter combat with the shaman based on proximity.
• Mists of Pandaria Patch 5.1.0 (2012-11-27): All totems are now considered spells, and summoning totems can be prevented by silencing effects. [Searing Totem], [Magma Totem], and Fire Elemental totems fall into the Fire school, while all other totems fall under the Nature school.
• Mists of Pandaria Patch 5.0.4 (2012-08-28): Stone Bulwark Totem, Earthgrab Totem, Windwalk Totem and Healing Tide Totem added. Stoneskin Totem, Stoneclaw Totem, Strength of Earth Totem, Flametongue Totem, Elemental Resistance Totem, Mana Spring Totem, Totem of Tranquil Mind, Windfury Totem and Wrath of Air Totem removed.
• Cataclysm Patch 4.0.1 (2010-10-12): Totem of Wrath has been removed (being replaced by the Totemic Wrath talent), along with Sentry Totem, Cleansing Totem, and Frost, Nature, and Fire Resistance Totems (which have been merged into one totem, Elemental Resistance Totem). In addition, a new totem has been added, Tranquil Mind Totem.
• Wrath of the Lich King Patch 3.3.0 (2009-12-08): Each of the horde races now have unique totem artwork. Some of the totems are going from party-only buffs to raid buffs. Tranquil Air Totem has also been removed.

[Nitwit]

And here I sit thinking the removal of totems was one of the best things to happen to the class.

[Imnick]

Buff totems are the worst form of buff. Utility totems are fine and a good way to put utility on Shaman.
But I absolutely don't want to see buff totems ever again.

[Aoyi]

I’m not happy with the removal of totems. I’ve been an enhancement shaman main since BC. Our roles have changed significantly over the years. My enhancement shaman barely enhances anything for the raid. I get stormlash. A buff that I have 0 control over. I hope we eventually regain some of the old buffing playstyle that originally drew me to shaman. We’ll see what direction Blizzard chooses to go in the future.

[Kralljin]

The Totem mechanic does simply not fit into the current game.

Tying strong buffs or effects to sticks that cannot move and easily be destroyed is a burden in PvE and PvP, they're fine as short timed effects such as Healing Tide or Earthgrab.

Ever since Powerful Totem buffs were turned into generic raid buffs, the Totem version was always worse because it remained a burden to keep it up and people that moved out of range just lost the buff.


Bringing Totems up to the current design would require a massive re work for all 3 specs, not even mentioning the fact that it would be rather controversial since most people don't really like that their power is tied to pets / guardians / totems.

[Nihilux]

Tying strong buffs or effects to sticks that cannot move and easily be destroyed is a burden in PvE and PvP, they're fine as short timed effects such as Healing Tide or Earthgrab.

You had a great response, but I just want to comment on this part. Strong buffs with disadvantages tends to be good design, that's what made the buffs more interesting. In PvP it's a question if you're going to spend time destroying the totem or not. In general it depends on the totem, making for interesting gameplay. That said, yeah the buff totems being so many was a problem and they'd almost always be ditched for the utility totems. So strong buffs with much shorter duration is prefered over the long ones, yes.

However, nowadays, how does Enhancement or Elemental use Grounding Totem? What about your fire totems? What about Cleansing totems? Tremor Totem? Resistance totems?

[Ealyssa]

Any sane shaman players take it as a blessing.

Totem were unfun, passive, press-it-every-minute, buffs. Shaman gameplay is currently way better it ever was.

[endersblade]

I liked it back when we could drop four at once. Set the totems you want in, what was it, 3 groups? Drop one group at a time, all four totems in the group. To me, that was the pinnacle of totems.

[Kralljin]

However, nowadays, how does Enhancement or Elemental use Grounding Totem?

Became a Resto PvP Talent.

It was removed "from PvE" because on certain encounters you could cheese a few spells due Grounding.

In other words, the removal of grounding happened because Blizzard can't tell their QA to test Encounters on Grounding Totem.

What about your fire totems?

Victim of spell pruning.

Searing totem was just boring.

Magma / Fire Nova were removed because both Dps specs focused on different AoE Spells, Ele on Cl / EQ, Enhance on Crash Lightning interaction, it also was annoying when mobs got dragged around and you had to throw down Magma totem again.

Elemental still can spec into Liquid Magma Totem, which is similiar to Magma totem.

Fire Elemental because the mechanic was just weird, since the Fire Elemental was considered a Pet of Totem rather the Shaman and thereby caused AI issues.

What about Cleansing totems?

First off, because of the 8 second CD on any Dispel ability introduced in Cata, it was considered OP against any class using Diseases / Poison (Don't ask me on Pure of heart).

Second, it was decided that every hybrid dps can only dispel two effects.

Druid - Poison / Curse
Monk - Poison / Disease
Pally - Poison / Disease
Shaman - Magic Buff (Purge) / Curse
Priest - Magic Buff / Disease

Tremor Totem?

Blizzard seemingly took issue with raidwide Anti CC.

Legion was a heavy hit for Shaman utility as far as PvP is concerned.

Resistance totems?

Resistance as stat was scrapped in MoP, hence the removal (Similiar buffs and auras were removed as well).

[Azzurri]

Yea, not a fan of having to drop multiple totems every min or so. I still don't like the lvl 15 talent for Ele that is basically always used.

[Nihilux]

Searing totem was just boring.

Blasphemy! It was the spell-pushback, interrupt First Aid, interrupt attempts at going OOC (to eat/drink or mount).

Resistance as stat was scrapped in MoP, hence the removal (Similar buffs and auras were removed as well).

Yeah, but I don't see why they didn't make it a short "reduces damage from x element by y% for z seconds (up to % of HP)". With the various elements connected to types of totems, it would be a good choice between short damage reduction at a specific element or the lost utility from another totem at the same element.


Meh, the removal of totems just seems to take away the uniqueness of the class. Especially removing essentials, such as Tremor and Grounding. I don't buy the justifications for them either, as there are ways to avoid the grounding absorbing boss spells, and Tremor used to be party, so it could've just been downgraded.
I guess this is how streamlining slowly grinds away the features of a class. :\

[Murderdoll]

And here I sit thinking the removal of totems was one of the best things to happen to the class.

Same.

They were a huge hindrance. We look back now with fond memories of utility and raid usefullness. But we forgot things like totems being out of range, talents to aid in placing them, low health, targeting axis etc.

I dont mind having a couple here and there for flavor, but having everything tied to them was nothing more than a hindrance.

[Darleth]

Blasphemy! It was the spell-pushback, interrupt First Aid, interrupt attempts at going OOC (to eat/drink or mount).




Yeah, but I don't see why they didn't make it a short "reduces damage from x element by y% for z seconds (up to % of HP)". With the various elements connected to types of totems, it would be a good choice between short damage reduction at a specific element or the lost utility from another totem at the same element.


Meh, the removal of totems just seems to take away the uniqueness of the class. Especially removing essentials, such as Tremor and Grounding. I don't buy the justifications for them either, as there are ways to avoid the grounding absorbing boss spells, and Tremor used to be party, so it could've just been downgraded.
I guess this is how streamlining slowly grinds away the features of a class. :\

Searing Totem was a boring Spell. It was just a dot that you had to keep up. Nothing more, nothing less. Nothing exciting about it. Magma Totem was exactly the same; an AoE dot that you used during AoE. Grounding, while good on paper, didnt work on all encounters and most recently got used in HFC during WoD, where it negated a mechanic COMPLETELY - the most use it had was in PvP. Tremor was basically a raidwide anti fear that was too strong to balance correctly in PvP and too strong in PvE whenever a raidwide fear happened - it was borderline OP in that regard and even if they would've changed it to party members only again, you would put a shaman with a priest into the same group to counter fears with mass dispell.
Healing Stream totem from restoration shamans still have the effect of reducing incoming damage if I remember that correctly.

Most Buff totems were inconsistent in terms of people walking out of range, gaining nothing from it.

If they would ever bring back buff totems in one way, I could see them more as a Aura buff that you give out, carrying the totem on your shoulders or your back with some kind of buff. It would be very similar to the old Paladin auras though, less clunky to use though.

[Rukario]

Same.

They were a huge hindrance. We look back now with fond memories of utility and raid usefullness. But we forgot things like totems being out of range, talents to aid in placing them, low health, targeting axis etc.

I dont mind having a couple here and there for flavor, but having everything tied to them was nothing more than a hindrance.

Ofc...Grounding, Tremor and Healing stream were all so useless, good riddance! /s

[Sylar Hao]

Maintenance totems ? No, thanks. Totems with cool effects and cool visuals that I don't have to constantly spam and replace and keep track of... Are welcome... But then again, what's coolest, an Earthquake created by a totem or one caused by the power of the shaman themselves? The later no doubt.

Totems are really nice as a concept but gameplay wise they have never really worked without causing problems to the shaman player, their allies and their enemies,

[MiseryIndex]

I've been playing just as long, and I remember hating the way totems worked. Destroyed, targeted by bosses(it was a bug, but it happened a lot), outranged. I won't deny I miss the ridiculously fun utility toolkit (windwall anyone?), but the small issues they caused coupled with the direction game design has been headed in just made their removal sensible.

[Restors]

As someone who didn't play shaman much after WotLK, despite playing it as main during vanilla and TBC, I have at times returned to my shaman only to drop it. Generally because of a sense of alienation from the class, especially the class identity, and as well how unfun the combat felt. What I've especially realized is the purging of totems, especially for elemental and enhancement. Does anyone else feel the slow decay of the class fantasy just looking at this list?

Patch changes

• Legion Patch 7.0.3 (2016-07-19): A majority of totems have been changed to not be part of a category. Fire and Air totems still exist.
• Warlords of Draenor Patch 6.0.2 (2014-10-14): Totems will no longer cause hostile creatures to enter combat with the shaman based on proximity.
• Mists of Pandaria Patch 5.1.0 (2012-11-27): All totems are now considered spells, and summoning totems can be prevented by silencing effects. [Searing Totem], [Magma Totem], and Fire Elemental totems fall into the Fire school, while all other totems fall under the Nature school.
• Mists of Pandaria Patch 5.0.4 (2012-08-28): Stone Bulwark Totem, Earthgrab Totem, Windwalk Totem and Healing Tide Totem added. Stoneskin Totem, Stoneclaw Totem, Strength of Earth Totem, Flametongue Totem, Elemental Resistance Totem, Mana Spring Totem, Totem of Tranquil Mind, Windfury Totem and Wrath of Air Totem removed.
• Cataclysm Patch 4.0.1 (2010-10-12): Totem of Wrath has been removed (being replaced by the Totemic Wrath talent), along with Sentry Totem, Cleansing Totem, and Frost, Nature, and Fire Resistance Totems (which have been merged into one totem, Elemental Resistance Totem). In addition, a new totem has been added, Tranquil Mind Totem.
• Wrath of the Lich King Patch 3.3.0 (2009-12-08): Each of the horde races now have unique totem artwork. Some of the totems are going from party-only buffs to raid buffs. Tranquil Air Totem has also been removed.

Totem Mastery - Go nuts and have fun.

[Murderdoll]

Ofc...Grounding, Tremor and Healing stream were all so useless, good riddance! /s

Congratulations on totally missing the point. Truly, give yourself a pat on the back.

The utility attached to them may have been useful, noone is disputing that. The totem system it was tied to was a total hindrance to gameplay.

The solution is not "Delete Utility". It is to either a) make totems less cumbersome to use compared to other click and forget utility or b) use totems for large cooldowns such as Healing Tide to retain flavor and then have other cooldowns simply spell cooldowns - much like we have now.

The current system of having a few totems is fine, stuns slows movement speed etc, but again, we have this notion of rose tinted glasses. Our utility at the moment is shit, so we look back on years gone by and think "OH LETS ADD MORE TOTEMS!11!!!!".

Thats not the answer at all, its actually fucking retarded. The utility was the benefit, the totems were simply the leaky boat they came in. Focus on the utility, focus on the benefit, not the silly little stick that you had to talent into projection to use at a mediocre level.

[Rukario]

Congratulations on totally missing the point. Truly, give yourself a pat on the back.

The utility attached to them may have been useful, noone is disputing that. The totem system it was tied to was a total hindrance to gameplay.

The solution is not "Delete Utility". It is to either a) make totems less cumbersome to use compared to other click and forget utility or b) use totems for large cooldowns such as Healing Tide to retain flavor and then have other cooldowns simply spell cooldowns - much like we have now.

The current system of having a few totems is fine, stuns slows movement speed etc, but again, we have this notion of rose tinted glasses. Our utility at the moment is shit, so we look back on years gone by and think "OH LETS ADD MORE TOTEMS!11!!!!".

Thats not the answer at all, its actually fucking retarded. The utility was the benefit, the totems were simply the leaky boat they came in. Focus on the utility, focus on the benefit, not the silly little stick that you had to talent into projection to use at a mediocre level.

I disagree with you on that, to me the totens were part of the shaman identity...instead of just removing them they should have extended their range, increased their HP or w/e was the issue.
Also, i was very specific with the totens i mentioned bc aside from ppl breaking them i have never had an issue with the way they were handled or the fact that they were totens.

To each their own i guess, i just can't imagine why someone who hates totens so much would have ever made a shaman.

[Deleted]

I'm conflicted. I still believe totems are a very strong aspect of the shaman class lore, looks and identity, but the mechnics always felty rather clunky. Blanket solutions like more range, HP, etc. would not make them more fun tbh.
As resto I feel it's pretty good as is atm. You have a totems you use enough to make it feel they matter. Even though there are very few of them.
When ele I don't really miss them tbh. I would love it if they found a way to make them work without it being an annoyence, untill then I guess I can live without them.

A solution that could work but feels like a cheap trick is tying them to spell we already have anyway. It's not a stretch to have an EQ totem or a Healing Rain totem for instance. The riptide totem from your artifact could be tied to the base spell (although movement would again be an issue as it has always been with totems). Not sure if that would satisfy my totem needs, but it's something I guess.