The great class (re)balancing of 7.1.5 has left the Shaman in a fantastic place!
Three massive buffs have improved our single target dps immensely and we have lost none of the Cleave/AoE.
The Lava Burst buff, while much enjoyed, is a straight buff to our dps and doesn't alter our gameplay much on it's own.
The biggest, and most welcome (by me anyway), change was to make Elemental Blast the best option for raiding.
It is a fantastic looking spell, one of the best in the game, and is on a medium-length cooldown which slightly increases the complexity of the rotation.
It was pretty lacklustre beforehand but now hits quite hard and gives a hefty buff to one of our secondary stats.
In a fit of unparalleled generosity towards us Shaman, Elemental Blast also benefits from our Mastery!
This is epic!
Not only do we see two casts flying towards the target, we can also benefit twice from the resulting buff!
The final 'major' buff was to Icefury.
Another interesting buff, which also came with a buff to Frost Shock damage making this talent viable (or even best) for raiding.
A medium cooldown of 30 seconds for a hard-hitting spell which massively buffs the next 4 Frost Shocks cast within 15 seconds... sounds like a mouthful even on paper!
Where Elemental Blast added a little complexity to our simple rotation, Icefury completely transforms it!
The fact that we use them both together makes the rotation absolutely mental!
Having to keep Elemental Blast, Icefury, Stormkeeper and Lava Burst constantly on cooldown and making sure none of the buffs are wasted, while managing Maelstrom and Flame Shock is one hell of a juggling act!
A juggling act I haven't quite mastered just yet but I'm having a lot of fun trying! :-)
When I gather my tier 4-set I will also need to ensure my Elemental Focus procs are used effectively which will add even further complexity and the true min-maxxers will even optimise Power of the Maelstrom procs... I fear this may be beyond my plate-spinning skill level though.
Aside from the increase in pure damage, the buffs (and talent reshuffle) have also opened up more variety in the talent builds.
At the start of the expansion, I was extolling the virtues of the talent tree and the options it gave us.
It may have taken a few months but that has now been fully realised with almost every level giving us (close enough to) equally powerful yet diverse choices to make, some which radically alter our gameplay.
All these choices to make mean we can adjust our build very effectively for whatever fight we are facing...
Skorpyron's AoE-fest? Lightning Rod and Liquid Magma Totem.
Trilliax's high-movement? Icefury for more instant casts.
Krosus' short dps race? Ascendance times out really well.
High Botanist's cleave? Maybe Elemental Fusion gets a run-out
The list goes on...
Icefury even covers one of our notoriously weakest areas, low-HP adds and target-switching, with up to 4 booming Frost Shocks ready to unload on them.
It suddenly feels like we don't have any weaknesses!
But it is more than that... we actually feel powerful in every situation!
Running round Trilliax as his laser beam keeps us moving and I am the only caster able to maintain my dps!
One of the worst situations for the WoD Shaman is now a strength!
It feels like I can turn every situation into a strength... which is why I think the nerfs will come at some point.
Being powerful in some, or even most, areas is fine as long as there are weaknesses as a counterpoint but they just don't exist right now.
This doesn't quite translate to the top level where we still sit mid-table on some fights whilst excelling on others.
I am not sure what makes the difference to those raiders.
Perhaps other classes have a level of min-maxxing that is available above what a Shaman possesses, and only the top echelon of players are capable of accessing that level?
I don't know but it might be enough to protect us from the nerf bat.
Either way, I am just going to enjoy it while it lasts! :-)
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