TalonBot
03-19-2009, 11:31 AM
Filed under: Shaman (http://www.wowinsider.com/category/shaman/), Patches (http://www.wowinsider.com/category/patches/), Analysis / Opinion (http://www.wowinsider.com/category/analysis-opinion/), Talents (http://www.wowinsider.com/category/talents/), Buffs (http://www.wowinsider.com/category/buffs/), (Shaman) Totem Talk (http://www.wowinsider.com/category/totem-talk/)
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.wowinsider.com/media/2009/03/closevishy2.jpg
Yesterday, a new PTR patch dropped with changes for shamans. We'll be covering them. But first I wanted to talk about the change to the Windfury Glyph (http://www.wowhead.com/?item=41542) that I've frankly been avoiding discussing for weeks now. I've avoided it because, frankly, I haven't wanted to discuss it until I could come up with something to say that wasn't a lot of cursing. Amazingly this change was so extreme that the highest damage an enhancement shaman can get right now is to use the Torch of Holy Fire (http://www.wowhead.com/?item=40395) in your mainhand and a fast offhand with flametongue on each weapon.
Yes, that's right, a healer/caster weapon is the highest DPS an enhancement shaman can get. This is the sound of me banging my head against the desk. My forehead's got splinters. Honestly, I still don't know what to say about this. When the attack power was taken out of WF glyph (http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=14990771453&pageNo=38&sid=1#751) they might as well have just removed it from the game.
In the above post Blizzard hightlights their intention for the class (slow MH/slow OH with WF/FT), the problem here is not what they intended but what they did. By reducing the WF glyph and removing the attack power bonus it was giving, the glyph became inferior to double flametongue with a caster MH/fast OH, due to how Flametongue Weapon (http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=58790) works.
Right now, the base damage on each Flametongue proc scales with weapon speed, but the percent of spellpower that affects the damage that the imbue does is always a flat 10%, meaning that until 3.1 flametongue does more damage on a faster weapon. The enhancement playstyle (http://elitistjerks.com/f79/t48210-enhancement_fire_knives/) that takes advantage of this is an anomaly, in that we know it will be much less effective in 3.1, but as of right now we know that if you are an enhancement shaman, you will do more damage with a caster weapon and a fast offhand.
Continue reading Totem Talk: When things go off the rails (http://www.wowinsider.com/2009/03/19/totem-talk-when-things-go-off-the-rails/)
http://www.wowinsider.com/media/feedlogo.gif (http://www.wowinsider.com)Totem Talk: When things go off the rails (http://www.wowinsider.com/2009/03/19/totem-talk-when-things-go-off-the-rails/) originally appeared on WoW Insider (http://www.wowinsider.com) on Thu, 19 Mar 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds (http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/).
Permalink (http://www.wowinsider.com/2009/03/19/totem-talk-when-things-go-off-the-rails/) | Email this (http://www.wowinsider.com/forward/1492646/) | Comments (http://www.wowinsider.com/2009/03/19/totem-talk-when-things-go-off-the-rails/#comments)
More... (http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WowInsider/~3/o04hJ2jsoJU/)
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.wowinsider.com/media/2009/03/closevishy2.jpg
Yesterday, a new PTR patch dropped with changes for shamans. We'll be covering them. But first I wanted to talk about the change to the Windfury Glyph (http://www.wowhead.com/?item=41542) that I've frankly been avoiding discussing for weeks now. I've avoided it because, frankly, I haven't wanted to discuss it until I could come up with something to say that wasn't a lot of cursing. Amazingly this change was so extreme that the highest damage an enhancement shaman can get right now is to use the Torch of Holy Fire (http://www.wowhead.com/?item=40395) in your mainhand and a fast offhand with flametongue on each weapon.
Yes, that's right, a healer/caster weapon is the highest DPS an enhancement shaman can get. This is the sound of me banging my head against the desk. My forehead's got splinters. Honestly, I still don't know what to say about this. When the attack power was taken out of WF glyph (http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=14990771453&pageNo=38&sid=1#751) they might as well have just removed it from the game.
In the above post Blizzard hightlights their intention for the class (slow MH/slow OH with WF/FT), the problem here is not what they intended but what they did. By reducing the WF glyph and removing the attack power bonus it was giving, the glyph became inferior to double flametongue with a caster MH/fast OH, due to how Flametongue Weapon (http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=58790) works.
Right now, the base damage on each Flametongue proc scales with weapon speed, but the percent of spellpower that affects the damage that the imbue does is always a flat 10%, meaning that until 3.1 flametongue does more damage on a faster weapon. The enhancement playstyle (http://elitistjerks.com/f79/t48210-enhancement_fire_knives/) that takes advantage of this is an anomaly, in that we know it will be much less effective in 3.1, but as of right now we know that if you are an enhancement shaman, you will do more damage with a caster weapon and a fast offhand.
Continue reading Totem Talk: When things go off the rails (http://www.wowinsider.com/2009/03/19/totem-talk-when-things-go-off-the-rails/)
http://www.wowinsider.com/media/feedlogo.gif (http://www.wowinsider.com)Totem Talk: When things go off the rails (http://www.wowinsider.com/2009/03/19/totem-talk-when-things-go-off-the-rails/) originally appeared on WoW Insider (http://www.wowinsider.com) on Thu, 19 Mar 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds (http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/).
Permalink (http://www.wowinsider.com/2009/03/19/totem-talk-when-things-go-off-the-rails/) | Email this (http://www.wowinsider.com/forward/1492646/) | Comments (http://www.wowinsider.com/2009/03/19/totem-talk-when-things-go-off-the-rails/#comments)
More... (http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WowInsider/~3/o04hJ2jsoJU/)