ImprovedFireNovaTotemnowappliesaslowingeffect.UsefulbothforPvPandintryingtocorralmobsforAoEpurposes.ElementalShieldsnolongerfunctionslikeakindofResilience,insteadsimplyreducingallphysicaldamagetakenby6%.Hmm.6%reductiontoallcrits,physicalandspell,or6%physicaldamagereduction,withabsolutelynohelpagainstmagicdamageatall.Well,Iguessit'sthreecheap聽talentpointsyouknowyouwon'tbespending,right?
TotemofWrathisprettydrasticallychanged.Firstoff,unlessI'vemissedachangesomewhere,itprovidesakindofdebufftoallenemieswithin40yards,makingitmorelikelythattheywillbecriticallyhitbyspells.ThismeansitstackswithElementalOathandMoonkinAura,becauseit'snotbuffingyou,it'sdebuffingthem.Secondly,duetochangesinWrathofAirandothertotemswhichwe'llbecovering,TotemofWrathisnowaflatdamageboostingtotem.Whilethismeansthatyouraverageelementalshamanwon'tbeabletodrop聽thecheapwowgold聽andFlametongueTotematthesametime(Flametonguenowaddingoutrightspelldamageandhealing)italsomeansthatapartyorraidwithtwoshamanscaneasilyhaveWrathofAirandFlametongueandtheydon'tcanceleachotheroutviathenewbuffsystem.I'msortofcautiouslyoptimisticthattherewillbemoreofareasonfornonelementalshamanstodropfiretotemsnow.
LavaFlows,AstralShift,Storm,EarthandFireandThunderstormarethenewtalentsthatgetyoufrom41to51pointsinthetree.AstralShiftisprettyobviouslyaPvPorientedtalent,althoughitmightcomeinhandyinPvEfromtimetotime.LavaFlowswon'thavethenicecriticalbonustoLavaBurst(sinceyouwon'tgetLavaBurstuntilyou'relevel75)andsoI'dsayit'suptoyouifyoureallywantyourFlameShockrangeextendedthatbadly.Youmight,ifyoutakefullStorm,EarthandFiretogettheChainLightningcooldownreducedby2.5secondsandthereforehave50%moredamagefromyourFlameShockDoT.You'llalsogetanextra5yardrangeonEarthShock...I'mnotsurehowmuchthatwillmatter.AndThunderstormistheelementalshaman'smanaregenerationtoolinPvE,andthe%26#8216;Gettheheckawayfromme'toolforPvP.
Finally,FlametongueWeaponhasbeenchangedtobetterfititsroleastheElementalShamanWeaponImbueofChoice.(TM.)Yes,Iknowit'sanenhancementability.We'llbetalkingmoreaboutitwhenwegettoenhancement,whichisnow.
Enhancement
Onereallybigchangeforenhancementshamansishowyou'llwanttogear.WithAgilitygranting1APandStrengthgranting1AP(priortoTuesday'spatch,Strgrants2AP)mailwithAgiandAPonitbecomesmoreattractive.Inaddition,thetalentMentalDexteritywillallowyoutogainAPfromahighInt,makingmailwithintonitmoreattractive.Alotofgearthatcurrentlyhasstrengthonit(likeyoursetpiecesandPvPgear)willbeconvertedtoattackpowerinstead.ThisismostlikelyalsothereasonfortheAncestralKnowledgechange,givingyouintellectinsteadofmanatosynergizewellwithMentalDexterity.
ThunderingStrikesischangedtoincreasespellandmeleecriticalhitchance.Thereasoningforthischangeandmostoftheotherchangesyou'llseetoenhancementistoencouragemoreuseofshocksandthenewMaelstromWeaponability.Ineffect,youwillbeusingalotmorespells,soTSwillbehelpingyoucritacrosstheboard,notjustonmeleedamage.ShamanisticFocusisn'taprocanymore,justaflatreductioninshockcosts.ImprovedShieldsreplacesImprovedLightningShieldandhasthattalent'seffectsplusbonusesforWaterShieldandevenEarthShieldforrestoshamans.ElementalWeaponsmovesdownthetreeandreplacesRockbiterwithEarthliving.(AsfarasIknow,Rockbiterisgone,butIhaven'tlookedforit.)Anticipationisdroppedtothreeranksbutgainsdisarmreduction,whileToughnessnowonlyreducesmovementslowingeffectsby30%.WeaponMasteryis3pointsforthesameeffectitnowhasforfive.
SinceWindfuryTotem(notWindfuryWeapon,that'sunchanged)nowprovidesmeleehasteinsteadofachancetoprocameleeattack,ImprovedWindfuryTotemsimplyaddsmorehaste,replacingImprovedWeaponTotems.UnleashedRagemovesdownthetreebutprovidesthesameeffect(raidwide),Stormstrikeisnowlimitedtotheshamanwhocastsit,andtherearetworanksofImprovedStormstrikeaswell.Nomoreroguesorelementalshamanseatingupyournaturedamagedebuff,ifthatbotheredyou.
Notallshamansdothis,butenoughdothatitbearsmentioning.IfyouuseadownrankedEarthShocktointerruptspellsyoudon'thavetoworry,asBlizzardhasareplacementspellforyou.WindShockistrainableatlevel16,soevenifyourshaman'snotatthelevelcapyou'llgetsomethingthispatch.IfyouuseddownrankedtotemstoflushoutroguesorforotherusesinPvP,ordownrankedyourhealingspellstoconservemana,thenyouhavemoretobeconcernedabout.Combinedwiththefactthatyoucanonlyuseonemanaorhealthpotionperfight(thepotionsicknessdebuffisnowgone,buttheeffectisstillingame-ifyoudrinkapotinafight,youwon'tbeusinganotheruntilthefightends)youwillhavenochoicebuttochangehowyouhealorDPSininstancesandraids.Otherchangestokeepinmindthataffectallshamansaremanyspellsnowworkingoffofapercentageofbasemana(theamountofmanayouwouldhavenaked,withnogearon)andthenewbuffsystem.Totemsnowaffectanentireraid,ratherthanjustyourparty,andmosttotemslastfiveminutes.
Bloodlust/Heroismnowinflictadebuffthatpreventstheiruseforfiveminutes,endingchain-castingheroism,buttheireffectisnowraidwideaswell.Totemsarealsointhephysicalschoolnow,meaningthatifyou'resilenced,orinterrupted/lockedoutfromaspecificschool,youshouldstillbeabletodropthem.(I'mnot100%sureonthesilence,becauseamazinglyI'vemanagedtoneverbesilencedmyentiretimeintheBeta.Ihaveweirdluck.)Also,manytotemshavechangedeffectsentirely:WindfuryTotem,WrathofAirTotem,StrengthofEarthTotemandFlametongueTotemtonamejustafew.GraceofAirisgone,foldedintoSoE.
ElementalCombat
WeknowspellcoefficientsarechangingduetotheexistenceofdebuffsthatcanbeappliedtonaturedamagelikeLightningBoltandChainLightning.Soyou'llprobablyseeaDPSdropwhensoloingorotherwisenotrunninginagroupwithCurseoftheElements.Shamansshouldkeepinmindthat,ifyou'reinagrouporraidwithanelementalandenhancementshaman,theelementalshamangetsnobenefitatallfromtheenhancement'sStormstrikedebuffanymore.
Severaltalentshavebeenmovedorchanged:ElementalDevastationdropstothesecondtiertomakeitmorereachableforenhancementshaman,ElementalFocusisnowapre-requisiteforCallofThunder,whichnowalsorequires20pointstopickup.ElementalFury,anewtalent,isthepre-requisiteforLightningMastery.ElementalPrecisionnowaddsonly3%hitratingat3pointsinvested,butwillreducethreatby30%atthesamelevel.ElementalOath,thenewtalentfollowingElementalMastery,willaddaspellcriticalaurasimilartoMoonkinAura(andwhichwillnotstackwithMoonkinAurainthenewbuffsystem)whenyoucriticallyhitwithspells.
LavaLashisanentirelynewabilitythatseemsdesignedaroundgettingshamanstomoveawayfromtheWF/WFSlow/Slowweaponcombo.Sofarthere'slotsandlotsoftestingonhowmuchdamageitdoes,ifit'sworthlosingdoubleWFtouseFlametongueontheoffhand,andforawhilepeoplewereactuallydoingmoredamageinelementalgearwiththistalent,whichledtosomeadjustments.I'mstillplayingwithitmyself,butjusthavinganotherinstantattackmakesmehappy.EarthenPoweristhenewtalentthatmakesEarthbindTotemalsoclearsnaresonyouwhenyoudropit.StaticShockwasaprettygoodcartoonbasedontheMilestonecomic,andnowwillalsobeashamanabilityallowingyoutohavemorelighningshieldorbsandgivingyouachanceforthoseorbstorandomlydischargewhenyou'redamagingsomeone.
MaelstromWeaponwe'vetalkedabout,butitbearsrepeating:thespelldescriptionreads"Whenyoudealdamagewithameleeweapon,youhavea100%chancetoreducethecasttimeofyournextLightningBolt,ChainLightning,LavaBurst,LesserHealingWave,ChainHealorHealingWavespellby20%.Stacksupto5times.Lasts30sec"whenyouspend5pointstomaxtheability,andthevarietyofspellsaffectedbyitmeansthatit'sagreat,versatiletoolfortheenhancementshaman.Needafasthealtokeepyourselforsomeoneelseup?Throwaninstantoff.WanttodoAoEdamage,aninstantCLcomesinhandy.Whenyouhit75,you'llusethisinconjunctionwithFlameShockandLavaBurstquitefrequently,butit'sworthtakingevenat70justforallthecasttimesyoucanmakeinstantwithit.Thisisanexcellentability.(Editedtocorrect:Sadly,despitethetooltiponBetabeingunchanged,MaelstromWeapondoesnotworkwithLavaBurstanymore.)
Finally,FeralSpirtmakesyoufeellikeThrallorDrek'Thar.Thewolveshaveavarietyofabilities,canAoEtaunt,canhealyouwhentheydealdamage,canevenstun.They'reupfor45secondseverytwominutes.Honestly,thisisthemostfunI'veeverhadplayingashamanrighthere.Ilovethisability.
Restoration
Thisisthetreethatmayormaynot(dependingonhowyouheal)feelthedownrankingandpotionchangesthestrongest.ImprovedShieldsoverinenhancementisalmostamust-haveforrestoshamans,Ican'timaginenotgoing8pointsinenhancement.Thiswillleaveyouwith53pointstospend,makinggettingthenew51restorationtalentabittight.Areyougoingtowantto?Thatdepends.
SomeplayersstillfindRiptidesomewhatunderwhelming.CombinedwiththeHoTeffectfromEarthliving,I'mfairlyinterestedingettingtotestthespelloutasaninstanthealforshamans,butIwouldliketoseethebasehealincreasedandthebasemanacostreduced.I'dalsolikeapony,butI'mprobablynotgettingoneofthoseeither.It'suptoyoutodecideifyouwanttospendyour51sttalentpointinrestorationonaninstantcastwithaHoTcomponent.
Fortherestofthetree,thefirstnewtalentisImprovedWaterShieldreplacingNature'sGuidance.Mostrestoshamansprobablywon'tmissnature'sguidance,Iguess.Andsinceyou'llprobablyhaveImprovedShieldsanyway,ImpWSmightworkouttohelpalotonmanaregen.Idon'tliketheideaofhavingtokeeptrackofWSandcastitalot...anythingthattakesupaGCD,Idon'tlikeasahealer...butthat'sapersonalbiasanddoesn'treallychangethespellsviability.ThenextnewtalentisTidalForce,replacingTotemicMastery(whichhasbeenfoldedintoalltotems,theyallhave30yardrangesnow)whichincreasesonuseyourchancetocriticallyhitwithhealingspells.Sincemanynewtalentsrequireacriticalheal,thisisaprettysolidtalent.
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