Shaman viable in Cataclysm?

[Volitar]

I think out of the 3 specs resto is the best we have, ele isnt to bad but it really pisses me off when i can play my shitty dps mage and almost crank out as much dps(tldr dps is kinda shitty compared to others) and enh is pretty meh

[Hardcream]

Elemental in its current state is still very RNG. They will have to make that more balanced or reduce the RNG a bit in order to balance our ele for Cataclysm. Right now I would suggest Resto if you are looking to play any shaman for Cataclysm. They may correct this issue, but right now i'd suggest going a different class.

[Zevex]

Elemental has it's ups and downs currently and what I've seen on the PTR/Beta videos I've seen. Sadly no matter how the numbers are or stats are for Ele, I will maintain that to be my class/spec combination for my main character, I've toughed it through all of Vanilla, BC, and WOLTK as an Elemental Shaman, and that's what I'll stay as. Resto changes do look somewhat intriguing, I will try it out and see how it goes as an offspec, I can't really say anything for Enhancement, it's never been my cup of tea as it were.

[Rotomon]

all three specs are fine. The only thing i see a problem with is enhancement mastery fire frost and nature damage boost doesnt seem to be reflecting the damage increase the %ages are sugesting when reforged with mastery.

Elemental is very strong right now imo. Resto will always be fine Chain heal can carry any mistake the spec can have really.

---------- Post added 2010-09-30 at 02:50 AM ----------

A lot of enh shaman are complaining right now because they havent adjusted to the new rotation

[Narfwak]

Elemental is pro as fuck right now. Roll that.

[xanos]

As a shaman who has been playing since vanilla and having played enhance almost exclusively pre wotlk, and then ele almost exclusively afterwards (only healed heroics and kara a few times in bc then in wotlk ive been resto in 2v2)- i will give my personal feelings towards shamans so far - from the ptr and what ive read / seen of cata.

Elemental is by far my pet spec at the moment, I like it, i like the idea of it and being an oceanic player i suppose i feel that being a caster is slightly more bearable than being a melee when lag comes into play. From what ive seen of ele on the PTR (just for clarity i mean i am on the ptr testing) I am very happy with elemental, it doesnt look like it had has many changes and truthfully it was never too bad (maybe just needed a damage boost for pve) but it looks like they have given ele the few tweaks it needed to compete better with the other classes and more importantly to be fun, because lets face it spamming LB with the occaisional fs / lava burst got pretty boring. I am pretty optimistic about elemental so far.

Enhance is a spec ive always loved because of how different it is to other classes, there is truly nothing (bar a dw frost dk to some degree) that remotely represents what an enhancement shaman is. From what ive seen of enhance on the test realm it feels like they have gone to some lengths to improve the quality of life of enhance in the form of better mana regen , slightly easier rotation / ramp ups and ultimately unleash weapon (which i dont have access to yet) seems like it will provide a bit more on the fun factor for the spec. Just a last personal opinion though i still sometimes feel like i have too many things to keep watch on with this spec, i can handle this more when at range but coupled with the fact that you have to be chasing a target (say in pvp) i find it a bit much sometimes. But maybe im just bad

Resto has always been the reliable spec to me , i cant think of a time when resto shamans were in a bad place, they always seem to have everything they need and more or less do their job, after all they have said they are balancing the new cataclysm healing model off this one spec so i think i am stating the obvious when i say resto is / has been / will continue to be a solid spec to play.

From what i have seen of resto on the ptr it continues to be fun and interesting and mechanics like telluric currents are a cool and interesting twist on the spec (for me) and i think it should work out quite well.

Anyway , just a bunch of opinions (and slight wall of text sorry!) on my part, would appreciate if anyone wanted to correct me on anything i may have said that is incorrect or misleading, i wont turn down the chance to learn more about the class, the learning never ends!


TLDR: My opinion -
Ele is good now, and looks better in cata
Enhance is ok now but seems to be missing something , in cata it looks like it has had a healthy number of issues fixed but perhaps still needs some changes
Resto - is / has / will always be a solid and good spec to play that people will appreciate you for and likewise you should enjoy playing.

[Driizzt]

Every class will be viable, not every spec will be viable. How it has always been.

[ShamanLicksYourFace]

Elemental is pretty overpowered at the moment on the Beta/PTR, I'm hearing a lot of people complaining about how OP they are.

Enhance is looking pretty garbage, definitely worse than on live and it's one of the worst Speccs in-game already.

Resto is looking good compared to other healing classes but the whole healing system has been overhauled so healing in general will be tougher and take more skill.

[Gilian]

Hey guys, I want to reroll a new class in Cataclysm, so I'm asking you if the shaman is viable in Cataclysm.

I saw a few videos but I cant see a result from that.

Are Elemental, Enhancement and Restoration good?

Thank you!

>.<

No! Only hunters are viable.

[Embermoon]

My problem with Enhancement is that it's going to become everything that's uninteresting to me about playing a melee spec. I've been Enhancement for all of ICC, and was making Enh WOL regularly until boredom got the better of me. But let's take a detailed look at where Enh is going in Cataclysm:

* A bunch of autopilot abilities that you press whenever they're off cooldown (Stormstrike, Unleash Weapon, Flame Shock, Earth Shock). In case none of you played Ret this expansion, that's about as exciting as watching paint peel.
* A single charged proc that's highly predictable and can be timed without watching your bars with >90% accuracy (Maelstrom Weapon).
* A God mode cooldown that you need to stay competitive in PVE, so you have to push it whenever it's off cooldown (Spirit Wolves). See my comments about Ret, above, it's Avenging Wrath: Pet Mode.
* The Searing Flames debuff always stacks to 5 before Lava Lash comes off cooldown. I think Searing Totem scales with Haste. But it makes our one ability "with room for error" (GC's claim for spec direction) 100% idiot proof. Was this a communication breakdown? Because the only error you can make is whether you wait to 5 stacks the very first time before you use Lava Lash.

What part of that is not totally boring to play? Where's the excitement? Where's the cool new ability? Unleash Weapon is Judgment with a better range and different graphics, Wolves are the new Avenging Wrath, Maelstrom Weapon is the only thing remotely close to interesting and it's not new in the slightest. With the exception of Maelstrom procs, you're on Autopilot the entire time.

First, let me say that I appreciate such a well-supported argument in this thread, as opposed to "Enh sux!"

Second, let me add the qualification that I haven't played on the PTR, but have played enhance since early BC, when our rotation was a whopping 3 buttons - FS, SS, ES, rinse, lather repeat. I didn't get tired of that, but loved the changes to the spec that WotLK brought.

Third, to answer the question of what part of your scenario isn't boring to play, I'd argue that what you described is little different than what we do now. Are you saying that the priority queue is completely out the window? If not, then we're still playing CD whack-a-mole to a certain degree. The one thing that I think I might like about having room in between CDs, is that (IMO) a huge part of enhance's squishiness comes from the seesaw between situational awareness, and rotation timing. The more you're paying attention to ability-mashing, the less you can focus on what's happening in a boss fight. It seems to me that just by simply adding a few spare moments, we'd gain the ability to pop some hexes, perhaps cleanse a poison, etc., and still be competitive on dps (assuming we'll be competitive on dps in the first place).

One of my biggest disappointments in Wrath was that the pre-Wrath patch brought hex to the table, allowing us to CC for the first time. Then, absolutely not a damn thing outside of the first time you went through heroic instances in blue gear, did you ever need to use hex, in PvE. With them bringing the need for CC back, I like the idea of not having my dps drop (significantly), due to helping the party or raid out, when needed.

As for the searing flames mechanic, I can't really speak for that, but it sounds okay to me, given that magma would've pulled too many things, or broken CC.

[Lylz]

I don't understand why the complaints about a reduced rotation for Enh...

Its no longer the GCD locked nightmare it currently is now and it is still vastly ahead of the 3 button joke that it was in BC. What we have now is a relatively happy medium in terms of rotation and some new abilities that are admittedly mediocre/broken. A bit of work on the new stuff and we'll be in a good place.

Being GCD locked during PvE is not fun. Period.

[Endus]

I don't understand why the complaints about a reduced rotation for Enh...

Its no longer the GCD locked nightmare it currently is now and it is still vastly ahead of the 3 button joke that it was in BC. What we have now is a relatively happy medium in terms of rotation and some new abilities that are admittedly mediocre/broken. A bit of work on the new stuff and we'll be in a good place.

Being GCD locked during PvE is not fun. Period.

Some of us LIKED being GCD locked. It meant you had to learn how to prioritize, rather than simply playing whack-a-mole on whatever ability came off cooldown next. It meant you had to pay attention to what was up at any given time. This was entirely why I preferred playing my Enhancement shaman over any of my other characters.

Since it's going away in Cata, I'm speccing Elemental. At least that's gaining the RNG and proc-watching that Enhancement is losing.

[Xanity]

Enhancement Shaman is my favourite class/spec in this entire game, by a long shot.

I sense alot of these people here are actual haters of the Enhancement spec, so I would not listen to them.

If you enjoy Melee DPS, you will love Enhancement.

I hate Elemental, in WotLK at least. Its so fucking boring its unbelievable.

Melee for the win, especially when it comes to Shamans.

[guser]

excitement you ask? i had some before they removed lavaburst from maelstrom.. all they left us was this broken searing flames mechanic

[Lylz]

Some of us LIKED being GCD locked.

Yes, ok its fun on Saurfang where you can stand completely still.

Also, trying being a RL and playing Enh.

[valiorik]

As for current beta, resto is most valuable imho. Elemental does nice damage, but not bringing any unique buffs to raid, we may not find a lot of raid spots as elemental shamans in Cata. Why should you take ele if you already have mage + lock + boomkin? Propably you would take second mage, not ele.

[Embermoon]

So enhance is losing the priority queue? How so?

Also, ditto on the bit about raid leading as enhance. It's impossible to do so, and sustain your top dps potential.

[Cael]

As for current beta, resto is most valuable imho. Elemental does nice damage, but not bringing any unique buffs to raid, we may not find a lot of raid spots as elemental shamans in Cata. Why should you take ele if you already have mage + lock + boomkin? Propably you would take second mage, not ele.

If you are a good player, you'll get picked regardless.