Why does Stormkeeper have a cast time still?
I think Stormkeeper should be instant at this point.
Another alternative idea is keep the cast time but make Stormkeeper apply lightning rod, that way u dont need to build maelstrom to apply lightning rod to a fresh group. (just food for thought)
Is stormkeeper strong already? Definitely, I still dont think it should have a cast time though.
I could possibly understand if it was an extended damage buff, but even then most of those are instant, While Stormkeeper requires u to cast it, to get 2 instant casts which kind of defeats the purpose of the instant casts >just a little bit< in my opinion.
If it was made instant it would fall more in line with a nature equivalent to primordial wave, and sure fire shamans could still take it, but at least it would feel better for storm shamans.
even if it was instant you still have 1.5s gcd, so it really doesnt matter.
if you then also remove it from the gcd, it would be just macroed to something to use on cd or so.
syormkeeper not only gives you 2 instant casts, but they are also empowered.
it was made so you can plan around a short window to fire them off in the most optimal way.
the cast time is only there to make it less clunky and show the animation.
holy pala has the same thing. it is basically a trade off since you still save cast time by using it
Response -
Honestly i think alot of people would prefer the 1.5s gcd with an instant cast, over the cast time, im pretty sure its used on cd anyway.
If they took it off gcd and we macro’d it to something else, would mean one less button to press that could also be a win to a lot of people.
Comparative -
Personally i feel like the cast time and animation are wasted, i mean primordial wave is also an instant cast buff spell that saves time by using it, it also has the ability to cleave and reduce its own cast time.
The issue i have with it -
In my opinion it just never feels good to cast something and have nothing happen in a sense (i know youre getting a big damage buff on your next LB/CL but it still doesnt feel good to press Stormkeeper).
Possible suggestions that will never be seen by blizz -
-Like i said i think a bunch of people would probably prefer the instant on use regardless if on gcd or not.
-I imagine some people would probably prefer it was baked into another on use spell which is the same as having it off gcd like u said.
-It might even be cool if they kept the cast time but using Stormkeeper directly applied lightning rod itself or something <could be too strong though).
These are obviously just some wild ideas im throwing around.
for the most part instant activation would feel odd, because you activate it and then need to wait. the upside is you can use it while moving, the downside is you need to check if you actuall have the buff now or you pressed it too fast and it didnt go off.
generally speaking stormkeeper in the current ele version feels not good anyways as lb and cl barely do dmg anyways. on top if you use it with cl your maelstrom bar is just exploding
i am not sure how it feels on beta with stormbringer, but i assume not much better.
it should be an exciting ability but it just feels meh.
still better than primordial garbage, which has good functionality but just feels not right. with s4 tier set going away, pmw will feel quite underwhelming as well
For the most part i agree with everything you said in your response with the exception of not knowing u pushed Stormkeeper since it lights up your LB and CL after use.
But you are right both Primordial Wave and Stormkeeper do feel lack lustered and after the overload changes i imagine Stormkeepers going to be doing less dmg aswell.
Even though primordial wave isnt much better i think the fact its instant and applies flame shock makes it feel a tiny bit better to press then Stormkeeper because it does something on use and it creates versatile combos with other spells like magma totem, but ye both dont feel great overall when they should and the S4 set makes PW/LB insane XD.
They should give them a better on use, like primordial wave, flame shocks 3 targets instead of 1 or spreads flame shock if your target already has flame shock or something since i know a lot of shamans want a better way to spread FS.
Stormkeeper could apply lightning rod (since they are pushing the lightning rod thing for Stormbringer) but only on the spell activation of Stormkeeper to your current target, if u have the lightning rod talent. Would not apply to the attacks and not the passive Stormkeeper activation from the hero talent for balance reasons.