Would u like to have Searing Totem back as a base class ability ?

[Porcos Voadores]

in the time we had more totem skills and all, do u enjoyed or thought it was annoying to summon them every time u had a fight?

maybe it would be good to have them again if it was incorporated as part of the mechanic, releasing more fire balls or liquid magma or sorta.

[themortalgod]

I don't think searing totem did anything useful. I don't think it contributed meaningfully to the class fantasy. (I define the totem fantasy as a toolbox of situational utility buffs that are themed around the elements, not a turret) It didn't make the class more fun. Its entire function was to be a button you have to press because it increases dps but depends on awful AI and has huge issues related to movement and being able to be killed.

[Triceron]

Just make a Shadow Hunter class and give it to them instead

[Rageonit]

Searing Totem was so pointless and annoying I only remember it ever existed when other people remind me of it - and I main a shaman for a looooong time.

[deenman]

I don't think searing totem did anything useful. I don't think it contributed meaningfully to the class fantasy. (I define the totem fantasy as a toolbox of situational utility buffs that are themed around the elements, not a turret) It didn't make the class more fun. Its entire function was to be a button you have to press because it increases dps but depends on awful AI and has huge issues related to movement and being able to be killed.

Wile i agree mostly,the ai these days would be fine,just have it hit only targets with shock on it,prio on the most recent dot aplied,it could work in the same way fire elemental does,as a cd,but a shorter one

[muffinss]

i voted yes because i simply would like a fire totem back. i would rather have magma totem. i also miss grounding totem being baseline.

[Advent]

HELL no. Why isn't that an option for this poll?

[Rendark]

I loved searing totem so yes i want it back.

[ifrah]

As a fun retro vanity stuff, maybe. As anything meaningful part of your normal gameplay, most of the old totems were atrocious. If a totem's sole function in your play is just to drop wherever and whenever you moved, please no, never again.

[ChronoSul]

Didnt they bring it back during the shadowlands beta and people hated it? So they removed it again

[Puri]

It did meaningless padding damage. I don't think it was fun or engaging in it's form.

If they make it baseline and give it some meaningful damage (and/or cooldown) it could be fun, but that spot is pretty much taken by the fire elemental now. So I'd rather vote for making the fire/damage elemental baseline for all specs.

[Thestrawman]

It was a crap DoT that could be outranged. Keep it dead.

[Ghanir]

I don't think searing totem did anything useful. I don't think it contributed meaningfully to the class fantasy. (I define the totem fantasy as a toolbox of situational utility buffs that are themed around the elements, not a turret) It didn't make the class more fun. Its entire function was to be a button you have to press because it increases dps but depends on awful AI and has huge issues related to movement and being able to be killed.

This sums it up pretty well.

Any totem that deals damage will either be underpowered and therefore neglected or significant to be in your rotation but will mostly feel janky and awkward to use because of how a totem works.
If they can't make damage-dealing-totems satisfying to play with then they might as well not exist.

[KOUNTERPARTS]

I think the visual of Searing Totem was cool-- a fire-based totem that shot out ranged fireball projectiles.


Perhaps reworked into a passive proc based spell?


Something like "X% chance to summon a Searing Totem that assaults the enemy for Y Fire damage for 5 seconds" or whatever.

[Aleksej89]

Searing totem would have to be powerful to be a good part of the class.
Just being a visual clutter that does next to nothing (as it was for a decade+) is not good design.
And relying on an AI is often not the happiest situation in WoW.

In terms of PVP it would have to be unkillable, otherwise forget viability.

[saixilein]

Rather i would like to get back firenova, where you could spread flameshock dot with using lavalesh and then using firenova, where every target with flameshock making a firenova... So much damage in BGs wirh stacked group. Was fun

[csguba]

Absolutely not, it was just irritating to maintain and subject to AI. Just a worse version of a DoT. To be honest, moving totems to being to utility was one of the better decisions they've made for the Shaman class where they now feel much more meaningful.

[Kithelle]

Yes and no...kinda want it back, but at the same time it really didn't do much and I understand why they got rid of it in beta, I play mostly enhancement and it was a little bloated compared to most of the other things I play

[shammypie]

Not going to lie, I miss having 4 totems you set out to buff the raid. PvP and dungeons yeah it sucked but i love my glow sticks.

[wushootaki]

Searing Totem already exists in modern form for Elemental through Earthen Rage. Earthen Rage is an attack that repeatedly hits your target while you are in combat for a small amount of damage. It prioritizes the target you last hit.

Its modern searing totem --- which did the same thing, except Earthen Rage cannot be removed by attacking it --- and Earthen Rage is not locked into a static location.

So if you want "searing totem" just take earthen rage.

What they SHOULD actually do though is revamp Searing Totem to be a deep end talent in the talent tree, and re-design it in a way that it works as a dps cooldown for the class in the vein of untargetable summons (like DK Gargoyle, our Feral Spirits, or paladin's Guardian of Ancient Kings).


It could do lots of things as a dps cooldown, some examples of things you could have the totem do:

- High Single Target Burst Dmg
- AoE Dmg by targeting all enemies in range with flame shock
- Apply/Refresh flame shock on all enemies in X range upon use before single target dmg to an enemy
- Consume all active flame shocks to deal X damage to current target, increased for each flame shock consumed

An example

Searing Totem - (3 min cd - cooldown same as the DK gargoyle)
40 yd range
- Plant a searing totem into the ground at the target location that attacks your target for 30 sec (duration is same as DK gargoyle) and applies searing flames to your target.

Searing Flames: Increases searing totem damage to this target by X% for each stack of searing flames (maximum X stacks) (an additional dmg rider, just like Gargoyle)


- so we now have an untargetable totem so it can't be removed or dispelled like DK gargoyle
- it has 40 yard range, meaning players have to run away (which means you have synergy with earthbind and frost shock to keep them in range of the totem)
- It has an additional rider, similar to the gargoyle.

So now, we have an iconic fire totem, redesigned to be an actual USEFUL DPS BURST COOLDOWN, that doesn't have immediate totem penalty counterplay because it has no hp and operates like a gargoyle, feral spirit, etc.