The 2.3 patch notes have brought a lot of focus on making certain class and class specs more valuable in the Arena PvP setting. As we have witnessed from season 1 to season 2 of the Arena, several lineups have been created and made popular along with certain classes and specs becoming more popular for it. Four DPS lineups with Rogues were discovered in season 2 for 5v5 Arena, and have changed how other teams makeup their lineup as well, such as using a Druid healer instead of a Paladin. Evolution exists everywhere, and the WoW Arena scene is no exception. Changes happen and new ideas are discovered to bring lineups and class specs into play, even with so much previous doubt. Patch 2.3 has many changes for the rare specs and low populated classes in Arena play, so let’s take a look at some of what may be up and coming class/spec combinations.

Shaman (Restoration and Enhancement)

Although the Resto Shaman does exist to an extent in arena play, other healers are preferred over them for several reasons, especially in 5v5 Arena. The offensive play-style a Resto shaman brings can be great for burning an opposing player down, but when it comes too outlasting and keeping his teammates up, he may struggle compared to the likes of a Druid or Paladin healer. With that said, some key changes have been made in the upcoming patch that should increase the Restoration population in Arena play, which can be seen here.  The first thing that probably stands out in this list of changes for a Restoration Shaman is the Water Shield.

“The second change impacts water shield. This spell will no longer cost any mana to cast (which also means the five-minute rule will not be affected) and the mana granted per globe has been substantially increased. Additionally, the spells duration has been shortened to one minute and at the end of its duration it now grants mana for any remaining globes.” - Eyonix

This is a huge change from the current Water Shield, which has 3 charges, lasts 10 minutes, and returns 120 mana per charge used along with costing 63 mana to cast in the first place. It is very easy to dispel and notice when cast, especially when a Fel Hunter is on the Shaman, and in the end may not even be beneficial. Not to say that the Water Shield right now isn’t that great, because it sure has saved me in some late game battles, but this change will now make it cost 0 mana, give ALL of the charges not used at the end of the minute buff back to the user. Along with that, if the Water Shield is Purged in the patch, you will gain the mana back immediately, you don’t even have to wait the minute. This will prove to be huge against Fel Hunter pets especially, along with of course opposing Priest/Shaman players looking to Dispel/Purge you late game, kind of like the same deal with a Druid Lifebloom, except for mana.

Along with the Water Shield, another change that can prove to be key for outlasting in Arena is the improved Mana Spring Totem.

“Previously it restored 12 mana every two seconds at maximum rank, for your entire party. As of patch 2.3 it will restore your groups mana by 20 every 2 seconds.” -Eyonix

This change do effect all Shamans yes, but it will effect the Restoration Shaman even more, simply because they will always get the Improved Mana Spring Totem talent, which increases its effect by 25%, which in turn will make the new effect 25 mana every 2 seconds. This results in 125 mana in a 10 second period, compared too the previous 75 mana in a 10 second period. Again, may not seem like a huge amount of mana, but it definitely adds up in the long run. And the fact that it only costs 90 mana to casts, having it down for 6 seconds will already return your mana used to place it, along with granting the rest of your team that much mana as well. So as far as the team mana pool looks like, this upgrade to the mana spring totem is a decent one for a Restoration Shaman to be liked in the Arena even more. Talent changes are not all that is being made however to have an effect on Arena play, the changes to gear bonuses is significant as well. The new 4 set bonus for Restoration Shamans will decrease the cooldown of your Grounding Totem by 1.5 second. Anyone who plays an opposing caster against any Shamans knows how irritating the Grounding Totem can be, especially if used right as your cast is about to go off. With that said, this reduction in cooldown time will reduce it from 15 seconds to 13.5 seconds, and then if you add the 2/2 talents under the enhancement tree of Guardian Totems, it will reduce the overall cooldown time of Grounding Totem from 15 seconds too 11.5 seconds. This means more spell interrupts to prevent big bursts or key CC to either the Shaman or his/her team that may lead to a victory in the end.

The Restoration Shaman is getting some key changes to make them even more viable in Arena play, and we should see more of them in the future 2.3 patch. The Enhancement Shaman however has been a much un-liked class for all Arena competition. Although they do exist in some high end Arena teams, the amount is very small, and for good reasons. But again, Blizzard has recognized the lack of presence from them, and has made a couple of key changes to perhaps increase their number. The big change, which is obviously a PvP one, is the change to Shamanistic Rage.

“An example of one helpful adjustment surrounds shamanistic rage, which will also reduces all damage taken by 30% for the duration of the ability (30 seconds), in addition to its current effect.” -Eyonix

Shamanistic Rage, which is currently the 41 point talent for Enhancement Shamans, returns mana equal to 15% attack power of the Shaman while activated for 30 seconds. This change will add a much needed defensive ability to Enhancement Shamans speccing past 41 Enhancement. The idea of this is obviously to not only reduce the chance that an opposing team will choose to focus the Enhancement Shaman, but will also give more survivability to the Shaman while being focused, especially switching to a shield to add that extra armor bonus against melee. So in theory this change can prove to be pretty vital for Enhancement Shamans and could bring them into more competitive play throughout. One thing though that still hurts the Enhancement Shaman, is they can still be kited/CC’d with ease, and this ability, nor do any of the changes made, addresses this issue. However, there is one new change that might prevent some kiting done to an Enhancement Shaman.

“in patch 2.3 frost shock will no longer be subject to diminishing returns. This should prove useful.” -Eyonix

Frost Shock not being subject to diminishing returns, meaning an Enhancement Shaman could use Frost Shock whenever a player may begin to get away and not have to worry about them being immune or having it only last 1 second or so. Again, this was a great idea by blizzard and can prove to help Enhancement Shamans from being kited, but a quick Dispel on the Frost Shock will refrain from this having too much effect. Never the less, Enhancement Shamans still are subjected to the other changes as well such as the Water Shield and even the Mana Spring Totem, so with all of that in consideration, there may still be hope for a bright future in the Arena for Enhancement.

Tags: Shaman · Articles

21 Responses to “Patch 2.3: A Spot for the Underdogs? Part 1”

1. Sheriff Says:
   November 6th, 2007 at 7:12 pm

   : /
   A new meaning to Frost Shock spam.

   Ziss: You meant FROST SHOCK! Sorry couldn’t resist…

2. Morgan Says:
   November 6th, 2007 at 7:16 pm

   frost shock = curse of exhaustian with elite dps!

3. akkando Says:
   November 6th, 2007 at 8:19 pm

   I thought other healers were getting some mana related buffs too? If so won’t this offset the shaman buffs to some degree?

   • Meditation (Discipline) increased to 10/20/30% mana regeneration.
   • Prayer of Healing, Circle of Healing and Holy Nova (healing effect) now gain additional benefit from spell damage and healing bonuses.
   • Power Word: Fortitude, Divine Spirit, Prayer of Fortitude and Prayer of Spirit mana costs reduced.
   • Power Word: Shield now gains additional benefit from spell damage and healing bonuses. Base absorb values of ranks 10, 11 and 12 have been reduced.

4. Phate Says:
   November 6th, 2007 at 8:28 pm

   mmm Pain supression priest + enhancement shaman 2v2?

5. Breaky Says:
   November 6th, 2007 at 8:31 pm

   @3

   You are right to an extent, but that still dosn’t make the changes for a resto shaman null towards opposing dps. I did not neccesarily state that resto shamans would be prefered now, but instead, more played and liked.

6. LolEnhance Says:
   November 7th, 2007 at 10:59 am

   Going to stay Elemental for a few weeks into S3 to get full Enhance S3 gear… I mostly play 2s and 3s so it will be interesting to see how viable SR is in practical use (how often you can avoid it from being dispelled when it matters).

   You also neglected to mention the free 400+ damage/healing Enhance Shamans will get, meaning they can actually toss a heal in a dire situation. Plus their shocks will be cheaper to cast and hurt a bit more.

   But as you said, mobility is the real issue.

7. shyst Says:
   November 7th, 2007 at 12:29 pm

   i’m leveling a shaman atm with the intent to play him in Arena (mostly for fun as i already have a war/lock that i play seriously)

   What do you guys think about a
   20/0/41 build? Will the added spell dmg on healing gear make this worth it (instead of deep resto)

   for enhance what would be better?
   41/20 for the new shamanistic rage or
   40/20 for natures swiftness?

8. Breaky Says:
   November 7th, 2007 at 1:00 pm

   @7

   20/0/41 build has been brought up because of the spell damage addition for healers. however, I think there are too many talents in restoration too give up 20 points into elemental for this to be successful. Not to mention, putting 20 points in elemental really isn’t that effective, considering the most you get out of that is 6% more crit on lightning bolt/chain lightning and casting through damage when crit. You cant even get the reduced casting time on your lightning spells or the 100% more damage on crits, so it renders going 20 points into elemental useless imo.

   As for enhance, It is debatable between SR or NS, but especially after the patch, I would think SR is prefered. With the addition of less damage taken while activated, it becomes very useful if getting focused, not to mention mana can be a huge problem for enhancement shamans in arena, and this ability allows one to regen mana rather quickly if timed right. An NS heal from an enhancement shaman wouldn’t be worth it with the lack of +heal they have.

9. shyst Says:
   November 7th, 2007 at 1:14 pm

   i was actually thinking more a long the lines of using NS for an instant chain lightning. And also, purely for Arena would 2h or DW be better? I know DW does more dmg overall but wouldn’t 2h give better burst potential?

10. Breaky Says:
    November 7th, 2007 at 1:36 pm

    NS chain lightning, especially with an enhance shaman, would prove to be very weak, and deffinitly does not out weigh the fact of gaining mana back at will and taking less damage if being focused.

    As for the 2h or DW question, I have prefered DW for the consistant damage, rather then relying on the slow swing to burst with WF. Also, resilience is a huge nerf to enhance shamans, especially 2h ones who rely on those big crits to get someone down. DW is the way to go imo.

11. Dajay Says:
    November 7th, 2007 at 2:38 pm

    After huge testings on the PTR, I can’t wait to play my Enhancement Shaman on Live. Will make q complete report on this.

12. Sealteam Says:
    November 7th, 2007 at 7:44 pm

    You guys mind seeing if you can dig anything up for a ret paladin? Wondering if mine’s going to be worth using in 2.3.

13. Breaky Says:
    November 7th, 2007 at 8:26 pm

    I will have part2 coming out very soon, and it will include the Ret Paladin, so stay tuned!

14. Thecrazy Says:
    November 8th, 2007 at 12:33 am

    BTW: We do NOT regain mana from the water shield when it is purged, thats a mistake.

15. Breaky Says:
    November 8th, 2007 at 2:01 am

    Are you sure about that… because I could have sworn on the test server when I was dueling priests and hunters, the dispel would give the mana of the 3 globes back.

    I may be wrong, as I cannot find any evidence I guess that proves me right, but I fail to find any evidence that proves me wrong…. if you can post a link or something for more information, I would greatly appreciate it :).

    But I would really be disappointed if I was wrong, because I have really been looking forward too that :(.

16. Reinhold Says:
    November 8th, 2007 at 8:16 am

    Yeah, so in the name of making enhance nubs less kiteable they go ahead and make ALL shaman even more OP at kiting? An AOE snare AND a spammable non DR ranged snare? huh?

    I just don’t get changes like this… it is like the hunter changes. Instead of making small targetted changes to address certain issues they slap on fixes that will further OP other areas of the game/class.

    It is like handing someone a grenade because they have a mouse in the basement.

17. Breaky Says:
    November 8th, 2007 at 12:52 pm

    I do not see the frost shock DR thing being that big of a deal, you make it sound like there is no CD at all on either the totem or the shock.

    The shock, with talents, is 5 seconds. So yes, theoretically you could frost shock someone and keep them chain kited, but that is only if no dispel is placed on the player. Not to mention, there are several ways everyone has to get out of snares, including the trinket. And the only classes that could be kited are rogues and warriors. Rogues not only have the trinket, but they have improved sprint AND cloak of shadows. Warriors have the trinket, along with intercept and even spell reflect if timed right.

    Again, I fail to see why you think it is so ridiculously overpowered, if anything, it gives elemental shamans a chance in duels again rogues/warriors imo.

18. Reinhold Says:
    November 8th, 2007 at 2:02 pm

    Shamans as a class have always wrecked rogues, they needed no help.

    See: PTR video of Geecee vs Inactive, Neilyo, Ming, et al. Clean sweeps, 4-0.

    Spammable snares without a DR will trivialize this matchup even more.

    It is a lame class wide solution to a problem that was experienced by 1 spec. Shaman were just fine from my point of view. They had two solid arena specs that were widely used and desired… a rock solid pve spec… a dueling spec… all of this is more than most classes can boast. I just never understood the angst on the Shaman forums. A class wide buff to kiting and snaring seems like overkill. Enhance could have received targetted buffs without making resto and elemental even better than they already are.

    Just my opinion.

19. Breaky Says:
    November 8th, 2007 at 2:15 pm

    Well, I do not consider myself much a dueler, so I cant say I have a lot of experience in it, but personally rogues/warriors usually rape me in duels.

    But even so, your points are only towards that of dueling, just that. If that is what you enjoy, then of course I can see why you are upset, because in dueling along yes it may be a problem. But I look at the big picture of actual arena play. Most teams in all brackets will always have a dispel, and that alone nerfs this anyways. Even if they do not have a dispeler, using well timed stuns when say a BOF is placed on the shaman well prevent him from kiting in the first place. Not to mention, all the shock timers are on cooldowns, and if a shaman is using his timer to keep someone kited, it prevents him from earth shocking to interupt a CC or a heal. Then there is also the fact that a shaman has to actually stand still to do his burst damage, and if hes spending the whole time trying to kite someone he will not have much opportunity to do so.

    So in the end, I really think you are looking at it to one sided. Your argument is soley on kiting, when it really wont even help that much from the reasons I discussed above. This buff instead was more for enhancement shamans, who actually needed this to have any chance in arena play, even though I still dont see it being that useful.

    Good debate though, feel free to respond :).

20. Irradiate Says:
    February 7th, 2008 at 1:53 pm

    Good discussion. Enhance needs some sort of stun. I love the new shaman rage and frost shock, best thing shamans have gotten for awhile. Enhance actually have a chance in PvP now. They are still gimped in arena because if they get targeted their dead unless they get a bubble or overhealed. I got 4/5 vengeful and over 430 resil but all that does is give me 1 more sec of being kited before i die in arena. Best thing i can do is purge/earthbind/bloodlust/WF totem and hope for the best. If i stay alive for the first minute, we usually win because I can dps everyone down fast enough. Other than that, I die and we lose because it ends up being 4 vs 5. I’d sleep with someone at blizz to replace a totem or some other skill with some kind of stun though, shit.. every other class has SOME kind of chance to stun in their skills or specs. xD

    Just my 2 cents. =P

21. blue stue Says:
    June 10th, 2008 at 5:33 am

    ehh, i dont think enhancement shammys need anymore CC then they already have. and if your smart, you would roll a tauren shammy for the hp and the war stomp.

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