Shamans were the first to get a look at what was in store for their class in the Cataclysm expansion and Blizzard certainly did not disappoint, dishing out a myriad of promising ideas including an arsenal of new spells (most available at relatively low levels) including:
Primal Strike - Available at level 3 this spell is a weapon-based attack that was added to make leveling as Enhancement more viable. Most players tend to level Elemental, as it is currently the easier leveling method. This new strike may be the key to allowing players to level whatever spec they choose with ease.
Healing Wave - Available at level 4 the name of this spell can be deceiving, as it is not the Healing Wave Shamans know and use so well. The Healing Wave Shamans have access to now will be renamed, making these two spells much akin to Priest’s Lesser Heal and Greater Heal. Implementing two distinctive Healing Wave spells should give Shamans more of an interactive experience while healing, allowing them to choose which healing spell is appropriate for the situation.
Unleash Weapon - Available at level 81 this spell is something like a Paladin’s various Judgment’s as it will allow the Shaman to unleash the power of the Shaman’s weapon enchants (Windfury Weapon, Flametongue Weapon, Earthliving Weapon) for additional effects. Dual-wielding Enhancement Shamans will be able to use the effects on both of their weapons. The spell is instant cast and has a 30 yard range with a 15 second cooldown, and promises to give Shamans of all specs a little extra boost.
Healing Rain - Available at level 83 this is a brand new area effect HoT that will bring down rain in a selected area (think Tranquility) healing all players within it. Shamans have always been powerful AoE healers, but this spell has the potential, depending on how powerful it turns out to be, to put Shaman healers on a level all their own.
Spiritwalker’s Grace - When this self-targeted buff is active, the Shaman’s spells are no longer interrupted by movement and possibly even by their own attacks.
Discipline Priests will be getting Power Word: Barrier, which is supposed to be something like a Power Word: Shield. This is pretty awesome and I’m sure Disc Priests will be pleased they will have another option other than shielding players one by one. Perhaps it will make Disc Priests more viable for raid healing?
Holy Priests that cast Prayer of Healing, Heal or Renew three times in a row will enter an improved healing state (Holy Form?). Ok this talent sounds pretty awesome as is, but I think the awesomeness of it could be greatly improved by granting the Priest who enters this state, let’s say, laser beam eyes or something. As we all know, laser beams coming out of random orifices makes everything better. I am curious if when in this state the Priest will have restrictions on what they can cast much like Shadowform or if they will be free to cast at will.
Like the classes previewed before it, the Priest class preview has it’s share of not so savory tid bits:
Hasted HoTs and DoTs will benefit from Haste and Crit innately, giving them a shorter period in between ticks. So basically Priests are still going to have to worry about clipping the end of their HoTs and DoTs. I think it would have been a much better idea to make changes here similar to the Warlock changes, cutting down on Priest micromanaging.
Divine Spirit and Pray of Spirit are going the way of the dinosaur and will be taken out of the game in an attempt to balance all aspects of game play. The Spirit buff is something that (in my opinion) really set the Priest class apart and seeing it go is a sad thing indeed. The only good thing is that Priests will have one less buff to worry about. At least they aren’t taking away any other buffs that set the Priest class apart….oh wait.
No changes to Lightwell were announced in this preview. I think many Priests were looking forward to seeing this now pretty useless talent being made into something awesome, and the absence of it from this preview is more than a little disappointing. There is still time to spare, and hopefully we will see changes announced sometime in the future. If no changes are planned perhaps it would be prudent for Blizzard to simply remove the talent from the tree.
The Priest class preview was to say the least underwhelming.
It was the least exciting of the previews currently released and compared to the previews that came before it, I believe Priests are getting more than a little of the short end of the stick. Don’t get me wrong, there are some amazing changes here that will put the Priest class as a whole in the right direction, but I just don’t think it will be enough. While healing Priests are pretty solid as a whole, Shadow spec is and has been struggling for some time now.
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