Upcoming Shaman ChangesFollow

Tidal Waves -- Riptide now also procs this effect.

Riptide -- We're going to increase the initial healing component.

Storm Reach -- now called “Elemental Reach” and includes Lava Burst.

Improved Fire Nova Totem - Increases the damage done by your Fire Nova Totem by 10/20%, and your Fire Nova totem has a 50/100% chance to stun all targets damaged by your Fire Nova Totem for 2 sec.

Thunderstorm -- We will probably boost the mana return to 8% of total mana. That seems more in line with similar effects. We talked a lot about buffing its damage, but decided that may not be a good idea. With its short range, it isn't a great rotational spell for a raiding Elemental shamans, and making you run up to hit a boss and run back is giving up a lot of cast time. Instead we're going to try to keep the damage and knockback more situational (in PvP it will get used a lot) and make the mana return the big PvE raiding focus.

Maelstrom Weapon -- We have a concern that the proc per minute frequency is too often. According to our numbers, it's balanced for a two-handed weapon and a bit generous for a dual-wielder. However, this would be a nerf to Enhancement dps overall that we'd have to make up elsewhere, and it seems to be a fun change shamans are enjoying. So we're going to let this ride for now. It's something to keep an eye on, but we aren't going to change it yet.

Lava Burst and Lightning Bolt -- And now for a few words on Elemental damage. One of the things we were trying to do to make Elemental dps more interesting was to have a Lava Burst + Flameshock variant. We also themed some new deep talents to support this play style. The problem is that lightning still seems to do more damage than fire, which in turn makes the new talents feel lame because they benefit fire and not lightning.

Now we think that Lava Burst is doing appropriate damage for its cost and if anything Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning are a little too good. (Remember they benefit from Curse of the Elements and similar spells now.) However, nerfing lightning would make it harder to level as well as making 3.0.2 kind of brutal for Elemental shamans, since Lava Burst is level 75. Hurting lightning would feel like a flat out nerf, and even though you'd partially make up for it at higher level, overall we think this would feel, um, yucky. So no big changes to lightning spells.

We talked a lot about just buffing Lava Burst and a deep fire-based talent or two. This will make Lava Burst too good on paper, but it might work out okay in the game itself. We'll just have to see. We aren't 100% sold on this course of action, so I'll update when we decide for sure.

Once again, these decisions were the consensus of our design team, so please don't give me the credit. In fact, if there are any changes you specifically don't like -- those I had nothing to do with. :)

One of the things we were trying to do to make Elemental dps more interesting was to have a Lava Burst + Flameshock variant.

The comments about Maelstrom are just plain incomprehensible, I don't know what's going on to be honest. Enhance still can't PvP and it's crit-dependent, so it's a pure PvE talent. Enhance PvE damage is lagging badly behind almost everyone according to the parses from beta and PTR, so seeking ways to nerf it further is so bizarre. Since they ALSO want to nerf the Lightning Bolt it procs, they must really have a grudge.

I think the primary problem is that despite their statements about talents, the devs seem keen to prevent any class/spec being able to raid and PvP on the same spec. This comment about Thunder rotations is just bizarre, I don't think many distance-reliant casters were going to give up any cast time at all to run in and cast Thunder... it just doesnt make sense. Increasing the damage of Thunder would be a significant PvP buff though, as it's an instant spell you'll be using all the time. Mages are meant to be the Kings of AoE remember, so they can't allow Shamans to snatch that crown.

The comments about Maelstrom are just plain incomprehensible, I don't know what's going on to be honest. Enhance still can't PvP and it's crit-dependent, so it's a pure PvE talent. Enhance PvE damage is lagging badly behind almost everyone according to the parses from beta and PTR, so seeking ways to nerf it further is so bizarre. Since they ALSO want to nerf the Lightning Bolt it procs, they must really have a grudge.

I agree that Elemental Shamans should have some kind of spell rotation; from a Warlock perspective, just spamming the '2' button for the whole fight is desperately boring. However, trying to smack a square peg into a round hole and try to force Elementals into a rotation by nerfing their existing damage is just... backwards.

I understand what you guys are saying but I can't honestly say I get it. I don't see how Shaman is under powered or nerfed, etc. It seems to me everyone wants to concentrate on the downside of things. There's so much upside to this update I can't help but be excited. I looking so forward to an actual cc I can't see straight. The combining of totems so 1 can do the job of 2 ZOMG! Seriously this is exciting stuff. I could careless about Lava burst, I'm looking forward to seeing it but I can't say I'm going to make a decision based on it's usefulness.

Contradiction much?

Um, Thunderstorm has a 45 SECOND cooldown. I don't consider that spammable. LOL Here they mean Lightning Bolt/Chain Lightning. Chain Lightning costs A LOT of mana to only hit 3 targets. Imagine if Blizzard from a mage could only hit 5 targets. @_@ Or Arcane explosion could only hit 4. Or Seed of Corruption could only hit 6 targets (or 4). You'd cry. No other caster dps has this issue.

LOL A warlock telling an elemental shaman about boring spell rotations? >.> At least you get to put up a curse sometimes. Lightning Bolt x29384209849238940324809238432840 is worse than Shadowbolt Spam.

But people at the high-end keep getting buffed and people at the low-end keeping getting nerfed. Then they say "we're making the game balanced" when it looks like they're trying to make it as IMBALANCED as possible.

I knew in advance there was going to be someone to claim my post is a contradiction.

Then why did you post it?

the devs seem keen to prevent any class/spec being able to raid and PvP on the same spec

The fact that they're giving every spec the option to be better at PvP doesn't at all change the fact that they're also making it harder for any one spec to be optimal for both PvP and PvE due to the sheer bloat of talent choices within those very trees.

There is a reason why it per definition isn't posible to do top notch PvE and PvP with the same spec... It's the very simple fact that some talents are PvE orientated and some PvP. It's impossible to min/max a build for both raiding and PvP, since min/maxing it for PvE is equal to 'picked some pure PvE talents over pure PvP talents'. And vice versa.

You know for someone who's 'disagreeing' with me you seem to be saying almost precisely the same thing. You wax on about the impossibility of optimal PvE/PvP specs, and I have said the devs seem keen to prevent it. If the devs werent keen on preventing it they would do exactly as you suggest, consolidate PvP and PvE talents to allow the creation of a single cookie-cutter that can effectively raid and PvP.

I really don't see, at all, how we are in any disagreement.

The argument that it is becoming easier within one tree is valid, in that some trees (ours being Ele) are getting both PvP and PvE talents, but since you cannot build a decent spec by mixing the two you just end up with exactly what we've always had, annoying choices between PvP and PvE.

You may argue we are 'more capable' and I might agree, but as is always the kicker for Shamans there is a wide and draughty chasm between 'capable' and 'effective'. Any Shaman who tries to spec PvP/PvE will suck at both, I say the devs want to 'prevent' a double-spec because they are not taking any clear steps towards consolidation, and instead continue to make decisions (as illustrated in the OP) that support their divisive intentions.

Any Shaman who tries to spec PvP/PvE will suck at both

Seriously, you're whining and complaining about Beta parses when, as Blizz has posted numerous times, they have not done a numbers pass yet.

If the grass looks so much greener on the other side of the fence, I encourage you to just go over instead of whining and complaining.

They go back to the point where I thought Sinstralis agreed with you when he did not. Nów I'm confused,

I'm rolling in the greener grass right now, and let me tell you, it feels good.