[WoW] Thinking on coming back, how much has it changed?

[TheOkapi]

Originally Posted by Vorph

Shouldn't that be rogue gear, since that's what hunters wear too? Seems like neither class wants the int, etc. they get stuck with on mail.

I'd have to agree with Twobit, enhancement is pretty well off right now, in PVE anyway. Who cares if you have to wear leather, if you need armor as a shaman someone in your raid is doing something wrong.

The primary stats for enhancements shaman are, in order; Str, Agi, Sta

There's almost no gear with those stats. Next to nothing in chain that adds to str, which IS the primary attribute for shamans.

[EmiliaEQ]

Originally Posted by Danth

Warriors are still popular in PvP. They're no longer 'the' tank for PvE content though they're still quite capable in that regard

I think most of the stuff i hated and made me quit has been fixed :
thunderclap can be cast in defensive
free tactical mastery
+block exists
rage normalised (no more rage-less & aggro-less 2nd tank)
one real offensive skill devastate

Still i wouldnt come back because the game is too PvP oriented.

[Nakilos]

Every fucking patch has at least one elemental nerf since 2.0 hit. Go ahead and look if you don't believe me.

Every class can claim *an* aspect has been nerfed in every patch. Go ahead and look if you don't believe me. In other words, that is a stupid argument.

So basically what you are saying is elemental is balls. I even said in my first post elemental is probably the weakest of the 3 specs for PVE raiding. However, this atrocity you seem to refer to is plenty more raid viable than a lot of other classes have it. How many raids have Moonkin in them? Only dog shit Karazhan pugs. No one wants Arms warriors in raids. Ret paladins? Maybe if you are horde, otherwise very, very uncommon in any raiding guilds especially Alliance side.

The irony of course is Elemental Shaman are actually very effective and popular in arenas, which in the arena circuit Enhancement actually ends up the weakest of the 3 specs. Weak in 2s, but effective in 3s and 5s. Of course, Elemental is arguably the strongest shaman spec for 2s. How many other classes have all 3 talent specs represented and are actually viable in arenas? Oh right, none of them.

[TheOkapi]

Originally Posted by Lorrac

Aren't armor sets class-locked anymore?

Do you want it in quotes? Fine, they're all wearing "hunter" gear. Look, it's pretty simple.

Real enhancement stat gear Look, 1 non-tier piece!

"hunter" gear look! a fuckload more when I only take away the str stat!

see what I'm saying? It's just not out there

[Vorph]

Originally Posted by TheOkapi

The primary stats for enhancements shaman are, in order; Str, Agi, Sta

There's almost no gear with those stats. Next to nothing in chain that adds to str, which IS the primary attribute for shamans.

Yup, I know that. They stick you with AP instead so that the same items appeal to both hunters and enh. shamans (in theory anyway). That doesn't stop hunters from dropping down to leather because they get the same primary stats without the int/mp5/whatever baggage, nor shamans from doing the same and just gemming with str, or possibly picking up feral druid gear rather than rogue gear. Hell, it's even tempting for me to do that in several slots as a ret paladin, and I have the same primary stats and very little need for hit rating as an enh shaman.

Edit: Why do you have agi listed rather than crit rating as your primary stat? Crit is nearly identical to str, while agi lags behind a fair bit, in dps terms.

[TheOkapi]

Originally Posted by Nakilos

moreblah

I played elemental for a year, you don't need to explain this to me. I'm aware of all of this. Again, I was only trying to answer the OP's question. And I'm not saying other specific specs may or may not have it worse. I don't know, I don't play those. All I know is I was elemental for a year before the nerfs were just to much for me to take anymore. I know shamans, because that's all I've been since BC came out. Elemental gets nerfed and has shitty itemization. Enhancement is finally starting to look good, still has shitty itemization. Resto is great. That pretty much sums it up.

[Elsebet]

Priest Discipline tree is now the PvP dispel bot support tree, Shadow is the mana battery tree, and Holy is the "lol let a resto shaman do it" tree.

[TheOkapi]

Originally Posted by Vorph

Edit: Why do you have agi listed rather than crit rating as your primary stat? Crit is nearly identical to str, while agi lags behind a fair bit, in dps terms.

meh, I was typing fast and my boss was coming, I'd actually do : Str, Crit/Hit, Sta, Agi, now that I think about it. Still, bascially, "of the champion" I think is the right random drop type that's the only one that's worth a shit, and there's nothing like it in dungeons.


edit: and I guess I was thinking only "stats", and not ratings and shit like that.

[Lorrac]

I always liked the idea of enh shaman. Anyways, gotta find an EU server with a solid horde population - the one I was before had like a 6:1 A:H ratio.

[Cordan]

So basically after one year of resting what shall I do with my beloved Heal Priest ???

[Aulirophile]

1. Shaman are the least played class now, since Druids became FOTM.
2. There is some decent math behind 5 Shaman (3 Resto, 1 Ele, 1 Enhance) being optimal for a 25man raid, meaning more Shaman then any other class.

Put these two together and Shaman are in extremely high demand, it doesn't matter how shitty their itemization is or how gimped people think they are.

[Wilfan]

Originally Posted by Cordan

So basically after one year of resting what shall I do with my beloved Heal Priest ???

Options, options...

1. Respec shadow and melt faces. Well, be mana bitch for your group while you pretend to melt faces.
2. Train CoH and hope to spend as much time as possible raiding in BT so they'll love you almost as much as resto shammies.
3. Go Disc and burn mana in Arena.

[Miele]

Originally Posted by Nakilos

... shamans in terms of raiding can pretty much write their own ticket into any raiding guild due to heroism ...

Heroism? There is no heroism, it's only Bloodlust, if you cast heroism you're on the wrong faction and should reroll.
Shamans in PvE are just awesome, no matter the spec, in PvP they do fine in BGs and apparently not so good in arena, but I never play arena so I couldn't care less.
I played enhamcement and now I'm elemental, I prefer the latter but YMMV here.

[Wilfan]

In the raid game, Ele shamans have similar stigma as moonkins and ret paladins and fit somewhere between them in actual performance. Enhancement is OK, both perception and performance, but has usually just one spot per raid - in the single melee group.

Resto, on the other hand, can decently buff any kind of group and can main heal just fine when the godly chain heals are not required by the encounter.

[Suineg]

Priests are really only around for a few spells in the raid game and the whole PvE thing.

Power Word: Shield
Prayer of Mending
Circle of Healing
Prayer of Healing

Single target healing can and is done just as good or better by other classes.