I’ve also been leveling a Shaman in the Forever beta, currently through the early teens. There are already things I really like, especially the longer weapon imbues, but Shaman is also the class where I keep running into mechanics that feel more like maintenance than actual gameplay.
For me, Shaman should be one of the defining support classes of Classic-style WoW. I don’t mean that Shaman needs to top every damage meter. I mean that when a Shaman joins the group, everybody should notice that something useful just happened.
Please don’t build Enhancement around Totem Twisting
This is probably my biggest concern. I really don’t want Enhancement gameplay to become constantly switching between Windfury Totem and Grace of Air just to squeeze both buffs into the group. Yes, Totem Twisting can technically add another layer of skill. I just don’t think it is a fun layer of skill.
I want to choose the right totems for the situation, put them down and then actually play my Shaman. Hit things, react to procs, use utility, heal somebody when necessary and make decisions in combat. Totems should support the rotation. They shouldn’t become the rotation.
One possible solution would be combining some of the competing buffs. Windfury could eventually also provide Agility, or Grace of Air could become an upgraded version of Windfury. Another option would be combining Strength and Agility into one Earth Totem.
The exact implementation is less important to me than the result: please don’t make repeatedly replacing buff totems the core Enhancement gameplay loop.
Give the weapon imbues clear roles
The longer weapon imbue duration is already a very good change. Sixty minutes feels much better than constantly refreshing them. I’d just push their identities further.
Rockbiter should clearly be the tanking/threat imbue. Windfury should be the Enhancement/melee option. Flametongue should lean much harder into Elemental and caster gameplay.
Instead of Flametongue mostly being “your weapon also does some fire damage,” I’d like it to provide something like Spell Damage or another meaningful caster benefit.
The same goes for Flametongue Totem. Shaman has plenty of melee-oriented support, but there is room for a real caster-support totem. Spell Damage, Spell Crit or another caster-oriented bonus would give Elemental and Restoration something interesting to bring as well.
Dual Wield and two-handed Enhancement should both work
I would absolutely like Dual Wield for Enhancement. But I don’t want that to mean deleting two-handed Enhancement. Give us both.
Dual Wield could be baseline or unlocked through a Shaman quest. At the same time, two-handed weapons should remain a proper option with whatever passive tuning is needed to keep the gameplay smooth.
Maybe two-handed Enhancement gets a little more Hit, Haste or some other compensation. The numbers can be tuned later. The important thing is choice.
Some players want the classic giant Windfury hit with a two-hander. Others want the faster Dual Wield playstyle. Forever is a great place to support both instead of deciding one of them has to disappear.
I would just restrict obviously weird caster Dual Wield combinations if necessary. I don’t want the optimal Enhancement setup to become two caster daggers because of some unintended stat interaction.
Maelstrom Weapon should work with Chain Lightning
This one seems pretty straightforward to me.
If Maelstrom Weapon works with Lightning Bolt, it should also work with Chain Lightning. That gives Enhancement an actual choice between single-target and multi-target spell usage instead of artificially locking the mechanic to one spell. It also just feels right for the class.
Lightning Shield is still maintenance gameplay
Ten minutes and three charges is not something I find particularly interesting. I see two directions that would both be better. The simple version is to make Lightning Shield a long-duration buff, maybe 60 minutes, and remove the charge limitation.
The more interesting version would be turning it into an actual active defensive/offensive tool with a cooldown. Cast it on yourself or maybe another player and have it produce a stronger lightning effect for a short period.
Either way, I’d rather make Lightning Shield something I either set and forget or something I actively choose to use. Constantly refreshing a short buff because three charges disappeared is the awkward middle ground.
Lava Burst should feel like Lava Burst
Lava Burst should be a big, satisfying Shaman spell. I’d strongly prefer bringing back the Flame Shock interaction where Lava Burst becomes especially powerful, ideally through the guaranteed Crit we know from later versions of WoW.
Put Flame Shock on the target, hit Lava Burst and get the payoff. Simple. Clear. Satisfying.
I’d also seriously consider making Lava Burst baseline for Shaman rather than locking such an iconic elemental spell deep inside one spec. Elemental would obviously make it much stronger through talents, but Enhancement and Restoration having access to a cooldown-based ranged burst spell would make the baseline Shaman kit feel more complete.
Fire Nova should work from Flame Shock, not from babysitting a fire totem
I’m also not a big fan of tying Fire Nova to a damage totem. I’d rather have Fire Nova interact with Flame Shock. For example, Fire Nova could erupt from up to three targets affected by your Flame Shock. The ability already has a cooldown, so it doesn’t need to become unlimited AoE spam.
That would create a much more natural interaction between Shaman spells and would work for both Elemental and Enhancement. It also means I’m using my fire totem because I actually want that totem, not because another spell refuses to function without it.
Damage totems should not become rotational pets
This applies to Searing Totem and Magma Totem too. Personally, I don’t want Shaman to become a class where a significant part of my DPS comes from constantly maintaining tiny five-HP damage objects on the ground.
Totems are great as utility, support and situational tools. A damage totem could also work as a meaningful cooldown. Drop Searing Totem and for the next short period it actually hurts. Great. But “keep this little turret alive because it is permanently part of your DPS rotation” is much less interesting to me.
Bring back Elemental Mastery as a real Elemental cooldown
Elemental Mastery feels like exactly the kind of ability Elemental should have. But instead of just making it a personal damage button, I think Forever has an opportunity to lean into Shaman’s support identity.
One idea would be that Elemental Mastery gives the Shaman some Haste immediately. Then, while it is active, casting Lightning Bolt builds Haste for the whole group, while Lava Burst builds it faster.
For example, Lightning Bolt could add one stack and Lava Burst two stacks, with a shared group cap of maybe 15 stacks. The important part is the shared cap.
If you bring two Elemental Shamans, they reach the maximum faster, but you don’t suddenly get twice the maximum buff. That means Shaman remains great group support without encouraging ridiculous class stacking. The exact numbers are just examples. The concept is what I like: the Elemental Shaman enters a burst phase and the whole group feels it.
Enhancement could have the same support identity through Feral Spirits
I’d do something similar for Enhancement, but through Feral Spirits. Make the wolves a real Enhancement cooldown, maybe around three minutes, where they deal meaningful damage for something like 30 seconds.
Then every successful wolf attack could build a small group-wide Haste and Crit bonus, again with a shared cap. So while the wolves are attacking, the whole group gets more aggressive. That feels incredibly Shaman to me.
And again, if there are multiple Enhancement Shamans, they help reach the cap faster but cannot stack the buff into something ridiculous. This would give Enhancement a really clear identity: strong melee damage, Windfury and a burst window where the Shaman gets the entire group fired up.
Shaman should be a support class without being a buff bot
That distinction matters to me. I want the group to care that a Shaman is there. But I don’t want my entire gameplay to consist of refreshing buffs and twisting totems while everybody else gets to play their class. Support should come from things I’m already doing.
Elemental casts Lightning Bolt and Lava Burst, and the group benefits.
Enhancement sends in the wolves and attacks, and the group benefits.
I’m still playing my spec. I just happen to make everybody around me better while I do it. That’s a much more fun version of a support class.
Riptide should be baseline, Earth Shield should define Restoration
I’d also move some of the healing toolkit around.
Riptide is such a useful general Shaman spell that I’d consider making it baseline. Give every Shaman access to a modest instant heal plus HoT on something like a six-second cooldown.
Elemental and Enhancement could use it as limited emergency healing without suddenly becoming healers. Then Restoration can take that spell and improve it. For the big Restoration-defining talent, I’d much rather see Earth Shield. Earth Shield feels iconic, fits the spec perfectly and gives Restoration a clear identity.
If necessary, tone the healing bonus down compared with later versions. The exact percentage doesn’t matter much to me. The spell itself belongs there.
Move the Intellect-to-Spell-Damage support earlier
I also noticed Enhancement talents that first convert Intellect into Attack Power and only later start connecting Intellect to Spell Damage. I’d look at moving the Spell Damage interaction earlier or making it accessible enough that Elemental and Restoration can actually make use of it.
Hybrid talent trees are one of the fun parts of Classic. If there is an interesting cross-tree talent that supports spellcasting, let caster Shamans realistically reach it.
Ghost Wolf should become instant through talents
A one-second Ghost Wolf cast is better than the original long cast, but I’d still make the talented version instant. Ghost Wolf is one of the defining Shaman abilities.
Having the player invest talent points to make it instant seems completely reasonable and makes the ability much more useful for movement, PvP and general outdoor gameplay without changing the base spell for everyone.
Elementals could become meaningful situational cooldowns
Fire Elemental and Earth Elemental could also become a really interesting choice. For example, both could have something like a two-minute cooldown, last around 30 seconds and share that cooldown.
Fire Elemental is the offensive choice. Earth Elemental is the emergency defensive choice. Maybe your tank dies and you need something to hold enemies for a few seconds while the group recovers.
Because they share a cooldown, you have to make a decision instead of simply pressing both. That feels much more interesting than treating them as two unrelated buttons.
The basic Shaman toolkit should feel complete before talents
This is probably my main design philosophy for the class.
Give the baseline Shaman a proper toolkit: weapon imbues, shocks, Lightning Bolt, Chain Lightning, Lava Burst, healing, Riptide, totems, Ghost Wolf and the core utility that makes the class feel like a Shaman.
Then let the talent trees tell me what kind of Shaman I am. Enhancement makes the melee side much stronger. Elemental turns the spellcasting side into a real ranged DPS spec. Restoration turns the healing toolkit into something powerful enough to keep a group alive.
Talents should specialize the class, not hold half of its identity hostage.
What I want from Forever Shaman
I don’t want fewer Shaman mechanics. I want the mechanics to work together better. Keep the totems, but don’t make me twist them constantly. Keep the weapon imbues, but give each one a clear purpose. Let Enhancement choose between Dual Wield and two-handed weapons.
Make Lava Burst exciting. Let Maelstrom work with Chain Lightning. Give Elemental and Enhancement real cooldowns that reinforce Shaman’s support identity. Most importantly, let me play the Shaman while supporting my group instead of making “supporting the group” a separate maintenance job.
Shaman should feel elemental, flexible, unpredictable and incredibly useful to have around.
That’s the class fantasy I’d love Forever to lean into.