Shaman talents may change again early next year

Shaman players who hoped for quick changes will have to wait. Principal game designer Kris Zierhut says in an interview that Blizzard may revisit the Shaman talents early next year, in a patch, and not sooner. Druid talents are on that list too.

The Discord protest

Before the launch, the Shaman Classic Discord went to read only in protest against how Blizzard handles the Shaman specs in Forever. It opened again after 13 hours. Zierhut calls part of the criticism fair:

I think some of their issues are legitimate and some of them are that they’re mad they can’t have improved Ghost Wolf.

Enhancement and Elemental

Enhancement gets the closest look. The spec is pushed too far towards spell power gear right now. Blizzard wants an Enhancement Shaman to look for Strength, Intellect and spell power, like a Retribution Paladin, and not to run around in a cloth robe.

Elemental is being watched closely as well. Removing Lava Burst was a last-minute call by Zierhut: he heard that players did not like the spell and wanted a stronger Chain Lightning instead. He admits the change could have used more time. More in our post about Lava Burst and the Elemental guide.

When

I wouldn’t be surprised if early next year we revisit Shaman talents a little bit. It’s not going to be sooner than that. It’s going to be a Patch.

Before that, there will only be tuning once Blizzard has data from the raids, which open on 9 December.