Faction Champs Down / 3.2.2 dropping

After wiping all night to the Faction Champions on 25 man Heroic Sunday night, we managed to take them down on our 3rd go Monday. I really felt that we had it, as we were making good progress as the night went on Sunday.

The difficulty of the fight really varies based on which comp you happen to draw. We had Disco Priest, Resto Druid, Resto Shaman, Ret Pally, Shadow Priest, Mage, Hunter, DK, Warrior, Rogue. We ended up burning down the Disco, Resto Shaman first then taking out the Dps one by one. Its a fight that if you can get the first couple down with out losing many people it gets so much easier.

We spent the next couple hours burning through 19 tries on Valkyr Twins. We died to balls to the face a lot. But getting people to see the fight and learn was good.

Patch 3.2.2 drops today. Updated Onyxia should be fun.
The following are the key changes for shaman

Shaman

•Cleansing Totem: No longer pulses instantly when dropped.
•Flame Shock: The duration of all ranks has been increased by 6 seconds.
•Lava Burst: This ability no longer ever consumes a Flame Shock debuff off of the target.

Elemental Combat

•Shamanism: Your Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning spells gain an additional 3/6/9/12/15% and your Lava Burst gains an additional 4/8/12/16/20% of your bonus damage effects.

Enhancement

•Earthen Power: No longer causes Earthbind to pulse a persistent snare immunity aura. It does still remove snares from allies as an instant pulse, but there is no lingering immunity. Earthen Power now also brings Earth Shock’s melee attack speed reduction up to -15%/-20% (with 1 or 2 points in it, respectively).

A bit of a nerf to cleansing totem. A nice buff to Flame Shock. It looks like it should now go into our rotation. 3:1 ES/FS looks to be the ratio I think. I also need to keep an eye on EJ to see of the new Flame Shock glyph is a worthwhile addition. (Dots can crit)

The change to earthen power is a pvp change so I dont really care much.

Also if you are a Leatherworker like myself they are bringing back drums.

Leatherworking

•Added a recipe for Drums of Forgotten Kings. These drums increase all stats by 8% for all players in a raid. The effect of these drums is exclusive with Blessing of Kings.
•Added a recipe for Drums of the Wild. These drums grant a buff equal to the highest rank of Mark of the Wild (untalented) to all players in a raid. The effect of these drums is exclusive with Mark of the Wild.

Just a way to fill out some missing buffs.

They buffed the enahncement Totem to bring it in line with the other T9 relics

•Totem of Quaking Earth: Attack power value increased to 400.

and as I mentioned above they redid glyph of flame shock

•Glyph of Flame Shock: Redesigned. This glyph now makes Flame Shock periodic damage able to be critical strikes.

Should be a nice little buff, and might replace glyph of windfury.

finally the bug fixes

Shaman

•Grounding Totem will now properly protect against the Death Grip spell.
•Lava Burst can no longer deal critical damage to targets who are immune to critical strikes (due to, e.g. Roar of Sacrifice, Blessed Resilience).
•Lightning Shield: This spell will no longer set off some trinkets when it is cast.
•Stoneclaw Totem's pulses will no longer break stealth on nearby hostile units.
•Thunderstorm and Shamanistic Rage can no longer be used while Frozen, Cycloned, Sapped, or Incapacitated.

Trial of the Grand Crusader

Lord Jaraxus Down
I was very impressed with how well we did on this boss last night. It is an extremely fun and chaotic fight. Lots of fire to not stand in, Buffs to Purge, Tank killing spells to Wind Shear. Portals to nuke, Volcanos to kill. He also dropped, Cuirass of Cruel Intent I already had the normal version, but heroic is a pretty big upgrade, so now I have my first ilevel 258 drop.

We had enough time left for a handfull of pulls on Faction Champions. We need work there. :)

Trial of the Crusader

Well 5 weeks in and 5 new bosses down. Now Heroic is open and from what I've read its much harder. < Fire and Blood > did a full clear of normal mode last night. We one shotted the newest and final boss, Anub'Arak. I think that he's the easiest boss in there, at least on normal mode.

Heroic mode is going to be a bit of a struggle for us at first. Normal was so easy we could just brute force our way through it, so people don't really know what they are doing. They spread fire, stand in fare, don't run away from charges, and many more. A night or so of wiping on heroic will hopefully motive people.

It also seems like people are saving DKP for heroic drops. I won 3 items last night, the last two no one else even wanted. Northrend Beasts dropped Cloak of the Untamed Predator. I think its a great looking cloak (see above). Faction Champions then dropped Icewalker Treads None of the rogues wanted them and as they were better than my brass-lined boots I took them rather than seeing them get sharded. Finally Anub'Arak dropped Hellscream Slicer I had finally gotten Golden Saronite Dragon a week or so ago, so I need to do a bit a simming to see what weapon combo works best. I'm leaning to offhanding the new Axe along with GSD rather than main handing it with a Vulmir I'd get the expertise bonus with both weapons that way, a 2.7 speed MH and a large dps upgrade OH at the cost of a small MH dps downgrade.

Catacyslm

Man I didn't realize it had been so long since I had updated. Work installed some heavy duty web blocking so I can't post in my free time there anymore.

Anyways Blizzcon '09 is going on as I type and all sorts of reports are pouring in. Lots of changes are going to happen. Some I like, like flying in Azeroth, But I'm not a fan of a lot of the major changes.

Quote from Blizzard staff

* Casters will finally get a Legendary item in one of the first raids of the expansion.
* Cataclysm will change the ways abilities are learned. Abilities ranks are gone and ability will just scale progressively with levels instead.
* Most of the Talent Trees will be changed dramatically, a lot of the passive bonuses will be removed and talent trees should be more fun. (No more "Hurray! Level up! I just got 1% more hit!)
* There is no plan to allow players to train more than 2 profession.
* There is no plan to allow more than 2 specs with the dual-spec system.
* Bags might get slightly bigger with Cataclysm.
* You will never be able to cleanse the Corrupted Ashbringer.
* Developers want shaman to be good AE healers and might buff Chain Heal even more.
* Multi-passenger flying mounts could be added in the future. They might also allow crafters to craft 310% flying mounts if they already completed an achievement rewarding one.
* Every healer class can now dispell magic, the niches will other debuffs.
* Engineers might be able to craft bows in the future.
* If you already own a 310% mount, you might be able to boost the speed of all your 280% mount to 310% just to let you use the one that you prefer.


Hunter

* Hunter's new ammos might drop from bosses or bought with emblems, nothing is decided for the moment.


Priest

* Shadow Priests will most likely get a nuke without cooldown in Cataclysm.


Shaman

* Shamans (Elemental) looks like "turrets" in PvP for the moment, the idea is to make totems funnier in the future ("put a totem down and something cool happens") but not a lot of details for the moment.


Warrior

* Warriors won't be as affected as other classes by the itemization changes, the goal is to make other classes gears look a lot like what warriors have.

Funny totems is our big change. I hope it throws a pie in the mobs face. (rollseyes)

Professions are getting some changes as well and I kind of like them

Archaeology
Archaeology is the new secondary profession that will be joining the ranks of cooking, fishing, and first aid in World of Warcraft: Cataclysm. Archaeology allows the player to unlock new abilities and rewards by discovering ancient treasures throughout the world. Each archaeologist uses the profession to uncover clues hidden in the world around them, such as troll relics or map fragments, and decipher their meaning, enabling the clever archaeologist to manipulate pieces of the past, learning the location of a treasure cache or valuable artifact. Such artifacts are highly sought after by the Archaeology Society, and they pay in gold and items for their return. Those who have mastered archaeology can find Titan artifacts, earning special currency used to unlock character paths and allowing the player to further customize their character.

Reforging

* Reforging is another way to customize your gear.
* It will be relatively cheap, you will need a Blacksmith / Leatherworker / Tailor / Jewelcrafter / Engineer to do it. Each profession get to reforge a type of items.
* It lets you reduce one stat for another. Some restrictions will apply, you can't put the extra stat on something that is already on the item.


Professions

* Multi-gains will be added, while you level up your trade skills, rare items will give you more points as you skill up. (Rare items will give you 5 points for example, while green bracers will only give one)
* Gathering should be a little more fun.
* Engineering is a very fun tradeskill, but it's either amazing or it sucks and everybody drops it. More convenient items like Jeeves or Wormhole Generator will be added to the profession in the future to get back to the roots of Engineering.
* Fishing will also have some big changes, no details yet but it's going to be more fun.

Itemization is getting a huge overhaul.

Itemization
In World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, there are plans to streamline the statistics found on items. We want to remove all unnecessary stats, make all existing stats understandable, and make all "core" stats more appealing. Here are some examples of such plans.

* MP5: This will be removed from items and replaced with Spirit. All healers will be given a meditation-like ability.
* Spell Power: Spell Power is being removed from items as well. Don't panic, we'll be improving Intellect so that it provides mana and Spell Power.
* Attack Power: We're removing Attack Power from items as well. Instead, we're allowing Agility to provide the necessary Attack Power for leather and mail wearers. Strength will provide the appropriate amount of Attack Power for plate wearers. This means leather and mail items will no longer be desirable for plate wearers.
* Defense: The Defense statistic is also being removed from items so that players no longer have to worry about juggling around "the cap." Tanks will receive the necessary anti-crit from talents, like Survival of the Fittest.
* Armor Penetration: This ability is too confusing and "mathy." It is being replaced with Mastery, a stat that makes you better at what you do. More on that later!
* Haste: Will also increase the rate at which you gain energy, runes, and focus. Retribution paladins and Enhancement shaman will have a talent that allows them to take advantage of this benefit.
* Block: Block Value is being removed. Blocking will now always mitigate a percentage of damage.
* Stamina: Players will notice more Stamina on gear as Defense, Spell Power, Attack Power and Armor Penetration are removed.

This is just dumbing the game down. Taking away choices, and I HATE this idea.

Legendary Item

* Shadowmourne - You won't get Frostmourne in Icecrown but Death Knights and Hunters will get a Legendary Axe named Shadowmourne.


Goblins

* Rocket Jump - Activate your rocket belt to jump up to 20 yards, every 2 min
* Rocket Barrage - Fire your belt rockets at an enemy within 30 yards, every 2 min. (Shared cooldown with Rocket Jump)
* Time is money - Cash in on a 1% increase to attack and casting speed.
* Best Deals Anywhere - Best possible gold discount, regardless of reputation.
* Pack Hobgoblin - Calls in your personal servent, allowing you bank access every 30 min.
* Better Living Through Chemistry - Alchemy skill +15, Your potions give more health / mana
* Goblins can be all classes except Paladin or Druids


Worgens

* Darkflight - Activate your true form, increasing movement speed by 70% for 6 sec, every 3 min.
* Viciousness - Increase damage by 1%.
* Abberation - Reduced duration on Curses and Diseases used against you by 15%.
* Flayer - Skinning skill +15, you skin creature fast, and you don't even need a knife.
* Worgens can be all classes except Paladins or Shamans


Worgen Form

* The Worgen Form is cosmetic only
* out of combat you can pick between Human or Worgen.
* In combat you will be a worgen.

Hunters get a Legendary STAT STICK? WTF Blizzard? WTF!
Worgen are OP. a sprint, a skill bonus, and 1%dps bonus? Goblin bonuses are pretty cool, but not overpowered.

More class changes

Hunter

* Hunter's mana is GONE!!!
* Hunters now use focus, no longer care about intellect or mana regen.
* Focus regenerates contunously, Steady shot improves the rate of getting focus bag.
* Rogue energy comes back at a 10 / sec rate, Hunter focus comes back at 6/sec (12/sec with steady shot)
* A shot costs 30 to 60 focus.
* Hunters will have fewer cooldowns on abilities
* Ammos will become an item, not a consumable.


Warlock

* Soul Shards are no longer in your bags. The goal is to make them fun, not a hassle.
* Soul Shards will be integrated to the user interface. (Just like Death Knight runes)
* You get three shards per fight, they will regen very quickly out of combat.
* It will be possible to get more for long fights or mistakes through Drain Soul.
* Soul Burn (New Spell) : Cost 1 Shard, 30 sec cooldown, off the GCD. Empowers your next spell, many (not all spells) behave differently when empowered.
* Empowered Searing Pain : Next 3 Searing Pains crit
* Empowered Summon Demon : Instant Cast
* Empowered Soulfire : Instant Cast
* Empowered Fear : Instant Cast
* Empowered Death Coil : Longer Horror, more healing received.
* They are only used in combat, summons or demons won't use your shards.

The hunter changes make sense. But, now they will need armour itemized differently from shamans again. A smell a dearth physical dps mail a mile away.

I know the expansion is a long ways off, but man, I am not liking what I see so far.
Don't even get me starting on the Lore changes. Screw that whiney baby Hellscream right in his ear!

At least Deathwing looks bad ass. :/

Patch 3.2 notes - PTR

Big changes.

First for Orcs ( and all good enhancement shamans are orcs now aren't we?

Axe Specialization (Orc): The weapon bonus from this effect now applies to fist weapons in addition to axes.

Then the class changes.

Shaman

* A customizable totem bar will now be available for shaman allowing the storing of 4 different totems. These totems can be placed on the ground at once in one global cooldown for the combined mana cost of all 4 totems.
* All Shocks now have a default range of 25 yards, up from 20 yards.
* Base health increased by approximately 7% to correct for shamans having lower health than other classes.
* Chain Heal: Jump distance increased to 10 yards. In addition, the amount of healing now decreases by 40% as it jumps to each new target, instead of 50%.
* Ghost Wolf: Can now be learned at level 16. While in this form, snaring effects may not bring the shaman below base normal run speed.
* Talents
o Enhancement
+ Shamanistic Rage: Cooldown is now 1 minute, down from 2 minutes. Successful melee attacks now have a chance to generate mana equal to 15% of the shaman's attack power, down from 30%.
o Restoration
+ Ancestral Healing: The buff from this ability now reduces the physical damage taken by the target by 3/7/10% instead of increasing the target's armor.
+ Cure Poison and Cure Disease: Combined into a single spell, Cure Toxins.
+ Earth Shield: Dispel effects will now remove charges of Earth Shield rather than the entire aura.
+ Healing Way: Redesigned. Rather than providing a chance of increasing Healing Wave spells on a friendly target, this talent now innately increases the effectiveness of the shaman's Healing Wave by 8/16/25%.
+ Mana Tide Totem: Totem health now equal to 10% of the shaman's health.
+ Nature's Guardian: Redesigned. Now has a fixed 100% proc rate, has a 30 second internal cooldown, and increases the shaman's maximum health by 3/6/9/12/15% for 10 seconds.
+ Nature's Swiftness: Cooldown is now 2 minutes, down from 3 minutes.
+ Tidal Waves: No longer reduces the cast time of Lesser Healing Wave by 30%. It instead now provides +25% critical strike chance to Lesser Healing Wave, along with the previous 30% cast time benefit to Healing Wave.
+ Improved Water Shield: This talent now has a 10/20/30% chance to be triggered by Chain Heal, and the charges of Water Shield are no longer consumed by this talent.


The Resto changes are nice and well needed, but as this is an enhancement blog, lets talk about those.

Range on Shocks increased to 25 years is nice. Nit a biggie for PvE , but nice when switching targets none the less. Really good PvP change.

Shamanistic rage, effect halved, usable twice as often. Double uptime on mini shield wall. Really nice in PvP, situationally useful in PvE.

Totem bar changes are a nice buff

And Finally 7% more health. THANK YOU!. Having less health than clothies bothers me. 2k less than lesser geared rogues, as much as 8-10k less than DK's, Warriors, and Retadins sucked. Now perhaps I wont always die on every Trash pack that includes whirlwinding mobs!

Change is gonna come

We have changed these spells for 3.2. And yes, there are some other changes. The main buff to Chain Heal is likely to come in increasing the jump distance to 10 yards and buffing the amount of healing decrease with subsequent targets to 40% down from 50%. CH, HW and LHW should all be doing bigger numbers when you consider all the talent changes.

We'll try to get the full notes out soon, but even then remember that this is a major "new tier" patch and is likely to have more iteration due to PTR feedback than the last few patches.


We have changed Healing Way to work better with HW and we have changed Improved Water Shield to also work with CH. We also dropped the cooldown of NS to 2 min so that you can HW more often. We'll try to make a post of all of the Resto changes soon.

[...] Improved Water Shield procs will not consume Water Shield charges. The tooltip says something like "as if you had consumed an orb.


There comes a time in all shaman’s lives when they must learn to harness the power of nature and wield powerful totems. As they grow in power, so do the opportunities to use these instruments of healing, protection, and destruction. In the upcoming content patch, Call of the Crusade, the shaman will be able to quickly place totems of each element, aiding them in managing these powerful focuses of nature.

We wanted to provide some insight regarding the upcoming shaman-specific interface addition, the Totem Bar. Shaman will be able to utilize this new bar to manage their fire, earth, water, and air totems in a more accessible and convenient way. This bar will appear on the left-hand side above the standard toolbar, similar to warrior stances or druid forms. The bar contains space for four totems of the player’s choice, one of each element. Clicking the respective button will drop that totem. To the right of the four totems is a button for Totemic Call, which we have renamed Call of Earth. To the left of the four totems is a new ability named Call of Fire which will drop all four totems on the bar at once. The mana cost is the same as if the shaman dropped all four of the totems one at a time. However, it takes but a single global cooldown.

Questing shaman will be able to quickly move their totems of choice forward, while a shaman in an instance, Arena, or Battleground will be able to replace their totems if they have to move or if the totems are destroyed.

Shamans will also be able to customize their bar to set Call of Fire to drop less than four totems if they choose. Access to this functionality is made available at the same level as Call of Earth (currently level 30.) At higher levels, Shaman will gain two additional spells, Call of Air and Call of Water. These function exactly the same as Call of Fire, essentially giving the shaman three different sets of totems that can be placed at once. New key bindings will also be made available for all of these slots.

As with all new content under testing, we want to caution players that, as a new part of the interface, there may be additional changes during the period of the PTR until the release of the Call of the Crusade content patch. We look forward to constructive feedback once it is available for testing.

Some nice resto changes. Longer jesus beams healing for more? Awesome. Reduced CD on Natures Swiftness? Nice. Some watershield stuff is ok as well I suppose.

But the big thing is totem changes. Perhaps not all that they hinted at, in fact no where near that, but still one GCD to drop all 4 totems is still pretty damn awesome. Now I just need to make sure I don't land a triple WF crit right away and pull agro. Dropping 4 totems kinda kept threat down at the start. :p

Shaman Q&A

The Developers have posted their Shaman class Q&A here