A detailed revamp for the elemental shaman class in World of Warcraft, shifting the theme from fire towards a lightning and earth elements theme. This includes visual and mechanical adjustments, introducing concepts like Storm Form, Earth Fragments, and focus on Lightning Rod for a more dynamic playstyle.
The desire for a distinct playstyle arises due to the abundance of fire casters in the game. There is such a huge potential with the earth and storm themed spells, and this is so underused I feel. We so often end up with a fire lava focused tier-set, and just looks like an underperforming mage, or Destro lock, even DH has fire abilities, and the new dragon people have fire abilities.
To begin with we are no longer casting flame shock, This is being replaced by “Storm shock”. Storm shock applies the lightning rod debuff, The lighting rod now does nature tick damage over time, this effect used to be on the flame shock but is now on the lighting rod debuff. The lighting rod also keeps its previous effect while on the target. Receiving part of the damage dealt by either of our Lighting cast abilities.
Lava burst acts like before, but is now called Lightning burst. Still acting like the previous lava burst, procking on crit from the now lighting rod debuff.But with an enhanced storm theme visual.
Ascendance replaced by “Storm form”: Can act the same but with new visuals, The current Ascendance form looks like some weird outdated cata NPC. Storm form visuals is something players can pick, like the ghost wolf, one idea would be to have it : your character bursting with lightning. Or you could get new secret “skins” where you look like Ra-den or like a MOP storm serpent. While in Ascendance your lightning is so hot and powerful that it becomes straight beams of concentrated blue plasma.
The big change:
Okay, I know Earthquake has had its fair share of criticism, but here’s the twist. We’re tying it to a Lightning Rod target and throwing in these metallic/magnetic “Earth fragments” from Earthshock and Earthquake. So, when you cast your spenders, you’re not just dealing damage; you’re adding value without making things overly complicated. It’s like a win-win, contributing to more damage over time especially in major AOE, Cool, right?
So, here’s the deal with Earthquake and Earth Shock – people have been saying they’re a bit weak, and I totally agree. The proposal here is to give them a boost by having both abilities slap the target with a new debuff called “Earth fragments”. And guess what? These fragments go boom after you’ve cast your next three Lightning Bolt, Lightning Burst, or Chain Lightning spells.
Let’s break it down a bit. These “Earth Fragments” are basically metal bits of earth that stick to the target after a hit/cast by either Earthshock or earthquake. You cast 3 more Lightning spells, and boom, they explode. Simple, right?
Earth fragments could also address or capped AOE in a major way, Right now we do fall behind. And you never see Ele get picked in MDI or in tournaments. Earth fragments could be uncapped. Of course we are still dealing damage like we are now, but adding some sauce into the major pulls would lift the class in my opinion.
(thematic explanation the earth fragments gets overloaded by your lighting spells, causing them to heat up and explode, as they can no longer contain the energy stored with in)
Following earthquakes
Now, imagine you’re shaking things up with an Earthquake now having sparks of lightning shooting out from the ground when you drop it. And it follows the target with the lightning rod debuff, kind of like magnets attracting each other. Picture an electrified Earthquake naturally chasing the target with lightning rod debuff.
(thematic explanation for earthquake: it’s now super charged with electric earth fragments, making it now follow targets that are afflicted with lighting rod, like a magnetic attraction)
Unchanged Storm Keeper and Primordial Wave now apply Lightning Rod.
Transforming Magma Totem into a “Storm Totem”, causing everything in the storm to take damage and become lightning rods.
Stoneskin Totem should visually cover group members, reducing ALL incoming damage.
Windfury, a signature shaman ability, should remain a staple.
What does this fix:
All these changes address the three main issues with Elemental Shaman: the lack of defensive cooldowns, group buffs, and our area of effect (AOE) damage. The upgrade to Stoneskin Totem is significant, providing a much-needed group damage reduction that enhances its utility. Windfury, being a valuable buff, should be accessible to all shamans, not limited to Enhancement. The introduction of Earth fragments and the ability to move Earthquakes contribute to our uncapped AOE damage, allowing for more flexibility and effectiveness in various situations. This ensures that while there may still be AOE caps, Elemental Shamans now have additional sources of uncapped damage, addressing a long-standing concern.
My thoughts:
Proposed changes facilitate the creation of new tier sets and class bonuses, reducing the dominance of a single ability for an entire tier. We have for the longest time either been good in single target or in AOE. like you either press bolt or lava burst a whole tier. Making the spec like this could make it so you do not end up pressing just one ability for a tier. There is no synergy for the spec right now. I Understand that the way it is now is to provide the spec with a lot of flavor, But you end up with just picking either or when it comes to fire or lightning,Then add a tier set into the mix and one build is just not competitive. I know people say they love the lava burst and ascendance, I think it is the feel and power that people love when you use those spells. And I think that this could be achieved with pure earth and lighting focus. And would eventually actually give people more options when choosing talent points for their character. I love Flame shock on its own and lavaburst has been a favorite spell of mine since I first casted one as a little child. But I am ready for change. Written by a person who has played elemental every tier since WOTLK.
Short Summary:
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Visual Update: Focus on earth and lightning spells for a more thematic and immersive, and unique experience.
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Flame Shock Replacement: Storm Shock as , The new storm shock applies Lightning rod . Lightning rod Debuff can also come from various sources.
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Lightning Rod: Replaces the flame shock debuff dealing nature damage over time while also acting like a guaranteed crit for the new Lighting burst.But also acting like the current lightning rod where “rod targets” take damage from a certain % of damage dealt to other targets from our lightning spells…
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Earth Fragments: Shards of earth infused with metallic splinters/ores applied from Earthquake and Earth Shock. Overloaded/heated fragments explode after the next 3 casts of Lightning Bolt, the new Lightning Burst, or Chain Lightning, dealing massive AOE or single-target damage.
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New Lightning Burst: Similar to Lava Burst but better synergizing with other spells in the kit.
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Earthquake Enhancement: Earthquake sends out metallic earth fragments, now easily following a target with the debuff lightning rod. New visual effects with small sparks of lightning from the ground, following targets afflicted with lightning rod.
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Storm Totem: Replaces Magma Totem, dealing massive nature damage and applying Lightning Rod debuff.
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Ascendance Rework: Ascendance is now Storm Form.
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Stoneskin totem becomes a real cooldown, with upgraded visuals, applying a stone effect to let players know they have gotten the shield. Reduces all damage to 5 players by X %
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Windfurry totem/ is something all shamans should/could bring. Perhaps an end node where you pick windfurry or stoneskin would be balanced