TalonBot
03-26-2009, 01:42 PM
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/), Odds and ends (http://www.wowinsider.com/category/odds-and-ends/), PvP (http://www.wowinsider.com/category/pvp/), (Shaman) Totem Talk (http://www.wowinsider.com/category/totem-talk/), Battlegrounds (http://www.wowinsider.com/category/battlegrounds/), Arena (http://www.wowinsider.com/category/arena/)
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.wowinsider.com/media/2009/03/shamanpvpseason6mmo.jpg (http://www.mmo-champion.com/index.php?topic=45924.0)So far, if you look at every PTR round up for shamans we've done here at WoW insider, you'll note that the changes are primarily aimed at PvP (http://www.wowinsider.com/2009/02/26/totem-talk-ptr-roundup/) balance (http://www.wowinsider.com/2009/03/12/totem-talk-ptr-build-9684-undocumented-changes/). There have been a few tweaks to resto aimed at mana regen (like Mana Spring going exclusive with Blessing of Wisdom (http://www.wowinsider.com/2009/03/11/blessing-of-wisdom-and-mana-stream-totem-go-exclusive/)) but in general, it's safe to say that 3.1 will be the shaman's PvP patch.
The most recent PTR build has a confusing bug fix to Totem of Wrath (http://blue.mmo-champion.com/28/15864789409-totem-of-wrath-nerf.html) (Okay, so it's not changing to 30 yards, because it was 30 yards anyway and now it will be the 40 yards the tooltip reads) and a nice buff to Storm, Earth and Fire (http://ptr.wowhead.com/?spell=51486). Each new tank reduces the cooldown on Chain Lightning (http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=49271), meaning that at max rank the six second cooldown will be reduced by 2.5 seconds. Combined with Lightning Mastery (http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=16582), you will be able to cast a Chain Lightning every 3 seconds. While shorter cast times are always good for PvP, this change will affect PvE just as much by giving shamans more casts of chain lightning during AoE pulls. It doesn't really match true AoE, not even with the glyph (http://www.wowhead.com/?item=41518) on, but it's something to add to dropping Fire Nova or Magma Totem. And unlike those, it won't cost you Totem of Wrath to use. There was also this nice discussion of Totem Stomper macros (http://blue.mmo-champion.com/28/15864259148-in-defense-of-totem-stomping-macros.html), which I call a nice discussion because it's blatantly in favor of destroying them and scattering their virtual ashes across the wide and bitter plains.
So then, if we're patching shamans to be better in PvP, what then is the current status of the class therein? We know that the arena isn't actually setting many people's hearts afire (http://www.wowinsider.com/2009/03/24/65-fewer-arena-teams-in-season-5/) lately, where do shamans fit into this decline? Well, actually, better than some folks (http://www.wowinsider.com/2009/03/25/blizzard-posts-another-arena-tournament-update/)... if you're resto, anyway.Continue reading Totem Talk: Patch 3.1 and Shamans - The PvP patch (http://www.wowinsider.com/2009/03/26/totem-talk-patch-3-1-and-shamans-the-pvp-patch/)
http://www.wowinsider.com/media/feedlogo.gif (http://www.wowinsider.com)Totem Talk: Patch 3.1 and Shamans - The PvP patch (http://www.wowinsider.com/2009/03/26/totem-talk-patch-3-1-and-shamans-the-pvp-patch/) originally appeared on WoW Insider (http://www.wowinsider.com) on Thu, 26 Mar 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds (http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/).
Permalink (http://www.wowinsider.com/2009/03/26/totem-talk-patch-3-1-and-shamans-the-pvp-patch/) | Email this (http://www.wowinsider.com/forward/1499050/) | Comments (http://www.wowinsider.com/2009/03/26/totem-talk-patch-3-1-and-shamans-the-pvp-patch/#comments)
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http://www.blogcdn.com/www.wowinsider.com/media/2009/03/shamanpvpseason6mmo.jpg (http://www.mmo-champion.com/index.php?topic=45924.0)So far, if you look at every PTR round up for shamans we've done here at WoW insider, you'll note that the changes are primarily aimed at PvP (http://www.wowinsider.com/2009/02/26/totem-talk-ptr-roundup/) balance (http://www.wowinsider.com/2009/03/12/totem-talk-ptr-build-9684-undocumented-changes/). There have been a few tweaks to resto aimed at mana regen (like Mana Spring going exclusive with Blessing of Wisdom (http://www.wowinsider.com/2009/03/11/blessing-of-wisdom-and-mana-stream-totem-go-exclusive/)) but in general, it's safe to say that 3.1 will be the shaman's PvP patch.
The most recent PTR build has a confusing bug fix to Totem of Wrath (http://blue.mmo-champion.com/28/15864789409-totem-of-wrath-nerf.html) (Okay, so it's not changing to 30 yards, because it was 30 yards anyway and now it will be the 40 yards the tooltip reads) and a nice buff to Storm, Earth and Fire (http://ptr.wowhead.com/?spell=51486). Each new tank reduces the cooldown on Chain Lightning (http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=49271), meaning that at max rank the six second cooldown will be reduced by 2.5 seconds. Combined with Lightning Mastery (http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=16582), you will be able to cast a Chain Lightning every 3 seconds. While shorter cast times are always good for PvP, this change will affect PvE just as much by giving shamans more casts of chain lightning during AoE pulls. It doesn't really match true AoE, not even with the glyph (http://www.wowhead.com/?item=41518) on, but it's something to add to dropping Fire Nova or Magma Totem. And unlike those, it won't cost you Totem of Wrath to use. There was also this nice discussion of Totem Stomper macros (http://blue.mmo-champion.com/28/15864259148-in-defense-of-totem-stomping-macros.html), which I call a nice discussion because it's blatantly in favor of destroying them and scattering their virtual ashes across the wide and bitter plains.
So then, if we're patching shamans to be better in PvP, what then is the current status of the class therein? We know that the arena isn't actually setting many people's hearts afire (http://www.wowinsider.com/2009/03/24/65-fewer-arena-teams-in-season-5/) lately, where do shamans fit into this decline? Well, actually, better than some folks (http://www.wowinsider.com/2009/03/25/blizzard-posts-another-arena-tournament-update/)... if you're resto, anyway.Continue reading Totem Talk: Patch 3.1 and Shamans - The PvP patch (http://www.wowinsider.com/2009/03/26/totem-talk-patch-3-1-and-shamans-the-pvp-patch/)
http://www.wowinsider.com/media/feedlogo.gif (http://www.wowinsider.com)Totem Talk: Patch 3.1 and Shamans - The PvP patch (http://www.wowinsider.com/2009/03/26/totem-talk-patch-3-1-and-shamans-the-pvp-patch/) originally appeared on WoW Insider (http://www.wowinsider.com) on Thu, 26 Mar 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds (http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/).
Permalink (http://www.wowinsider.com/2009/03/26/totem-talk-patch-3-1-and-shamans-the-pvp-patch/) | Email this (http://www.wowinsider.com/forward/1499050/) | Comments (http://www.wowinsider.com/2009/03/26/totem-talk-patch-3-1-and-shamans-the-pvp-patch/#comments)
More... (http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WowInsider/~3/Qs0xcAKOIv0/)