WoW devs confirm more Shaman changes are on the way in The War Within

World of Warcraft‘s next expansion, The War Within, is almost here, and it’s bringing a raft of changes to the game’s existing classes. Unfortunately, Shaman has remained relatively untouched, but Blizzard’s announced more changes are coming.

The War Within has been going through an active Beta period and players are getting the opportunity to try out many of the changes that will be implemented for their class. While most are happy, Shaman players have been growing increasingly concerned with the updates on offer for each spec.

Fortunately, Blizzard is aware of this, and a raft of new alterations are on the way. In a blue post on the official forums, the developer confirmed a host of updates to the existing talent trees for the class, as well as features for the new Hero Talents system.

The full list of upcoming changes includes the removal of often useless abilities and the introduction of some exciting new ones. Read on for the full list of class alterations.

WoW: The War Within Shaman changes and fixes

Class Tree

• Many talents have moved locations or have had their pathing updated in all trees.
• New Ability: Skyfury – Harness the fury of the Windlord to grant a target ally 2% Mastery and empower their auto attacks to have a 20% chance to instantly strike again for 1 hour. If the target is in your party or raid, all affected party and raid members will be affected. Learned at level 17.
• New Talent: Elemental Resistance – Healing from Healing Stream Totem reduces Fire, Frost, and Nature damage received by 6% for 3 seconds. Healing from Cloudburst Totem reduces Fire, Frost, and Nature damage taken by 3% for 3 seconds.
• New Talent: Refreshing Waters – Your Healing Surge is 25% more effective on yourself.
• New Talent: Traveling Storms – Thunderstorm now can be cast on allies within 40 yards, reduces enemies movement speed by 60%, and knocks enemies 25% further.
• New Talent: Seasoned Winds – Interrupting a spell with Wind Shear decreases your damage taken from that spell school by 15% for 18 seconds. Stacks up to 2 times.
• New Talent: Encasing Cold – Frost Shock snares its targets by an additional 10% and its duration is increased by 2 seconds.
• New Talent: Arctic Snowstorm – Enemies within 10 yards of your Frost Shock are snared by 30%.
• New Talent: Ascending Air – The cooldown of Wind Rush Totem is reduced by 30 seconds and its movement speed effect lasts an additional 2 seconds.
• New Talent: Enhanced Imbues – The effects of your weapon imbues are increased by 20%.
• New Talent: Stone Bulwark Totem – Summons an Earth Totem at the feet of the caster for 30 seconds, granting the caster a shield absorbing damage for 10 seconds, and an additional absorb every 5 seconds. 2 minute cooldown.
• New Talent: Jet Stream – Wind Rush Totem’s movement speed bonus is increased by 10% and now removes snares.
• New Talent: Primordial Bond – While you have an elemental active, your damage taken is reduced by 5%.
• Voodoo Mastery has been redesigned – Your Hex target is slowed by 70% during Hex and for 6 seconds after it ends. Reduces the cooldown of Hex by 15 seconds.
• Flurry moved from Class tree to the Enhancement tree.
• The cooldown of Gust of Wind has been reduced to 20 seconds (was 30 seconds).
• Earthgrab Totem and Windrush Totem no longer share a choice node.
• Lightning Lasso and Thundershock no longer share a choice node.
• The following talents are now 1 point:
  • Totemic Focus
  • Elemental Warding
  • Nature’s Guardian
  • Winds of Al’Akir
  • Nature’s Fury
  • Totemic Surge
• The following talents have been removed:
  • Go With The Flow
  • Flurry
  • Maelstrom Weapon
  • Enfeeblement
  • Stoneskin Totem
  • Tranquil Air Totem
  • Ancestral Defense
  • Surging Shields
  • Swirling Currents

Hero Talents

• Farseer (Restoration/Elemental)
  • Restoration
    • Undulation can now trigger Call of the Ancestors.
• Totemic (Enhancement/Restoration)
  • Restoration
    • Healing from Chain Heal from Totemic Rebound increased by 400%.

Elemental

• New Talent: Fusion of Elements – After casting Icefury, the next time you cast a Nature and a Fire spell, you additionally cast an Elemental Blast at your target at 60% effectiveness.
• New Talent: Storm Frenzy – Your next Chain Lightning or Lightning Bolt has 40% reduced cast time after casting Earth Shock, Elemental Blast, or Earthquake. Can accumulate up to 2 charges.
• New Talent: Elemental Unity – While a Storm Elemental is active, your Nature damage dealt is increased by 10%. While a Fire Elemental is active, your Fire damage dealt is increased by 10%.
• New Talent: Lightning Conduit – While Lightning Shield is active, your Nature damage dealt is increased by 8%.
• New Talent: Everlasting Elements – Increases the duration of your Elementals by 20%.
• New Talen: Thunderstrike Ward – Imbue your shield with the element of Lightning for 1 hour, giving Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning a chance to call down 2 Thunderstrikes on your target for Nature damage.
• New Talent: Earthen Rage – Your damage spells incite the earth around you to come to your aid for 6 seconds, repeatedly dealing Nature damage to your most recently attacked target.
• New Talent: Echo of the Elementals – When your Storm Elemental or Fire Elemental expires, it leaves behind a lesser Elemental to continue attacking your enemies for 15 seconds.
• New Talent: First Ascendant – The cooldown of Ascendance is reduced by 60 seconds.
• New Talent: Preeminence – Your Haste is increased by 25% while Ascendance is active and its duration is increased by 3 seconds.
• New Talent: Fury of the Storms – Activating Stormkeeper summons a powerful Lightning Elemental to fight by your side for 8 seconds.
• Primordial Fury has been redesigned – Now increases the critical damage bonus of Elemental Fury by 25%.
• Icefury has been redesigned – Casting Lava Burst has a chance to replace your next Frost Shock with Icefury, stacking up to 2 times.
• Icefury now empowers the next 2 Frost Shocks (was 4).
• Mastery: Elemental Overload has been redesigned – Now increases all Physical and Elemental damage dealt. The damage of Elemental Overloads is now 25% of normal damage (was 85%).
• Lava Surge is now learned at level 12 and has been removed from the Class tree.
• Inundate is now learned at level 14 and has been removed from the Elemental tree.
• The trigger rate of Lava Surge and Searing Flames now scale based on the number of targets Flame Shock is on. In single target, it should trigger slightly more often, and in AoE, it should trigger less often.
• Flash of Lightning now also increases the critical strike chance of Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning by 10%.
• Swelling Maelstrom now also increases the damage of Earth Shock, Elemental Blast, and Earthquake by 5%.
• Master of the Elements now increases the damage of the next spell by 15% (was 10%/20%).
• Echo Chamber now increases the damage of Elemental Overloads by 10% (was 8%/15%).
• Power of the Maelstrom now causes the next Lightning Bolt or Chain Lightning to trigger an additional Elemental Overload (was 2). Can now stack up to 2 times.
• Magma Chamber now stacks up to 10 times (was 20).
• Elemental Equilibrium is now a 10% damage bonus (was 8%/15%).
• Elemental Equilibrium no longer has a tracking debuff.
• Eye of the Storm now reduces the Maelstrom cost of Earth Shock and Earthquake by 5, and Elemental Blast by 10.
• Maelstrom generation has been updated for the following abilities:
  • Lightning Bolt is now 6 (was 8).
  • Lightning Bolt Overload is now 2 (was 3).
  • Chain Lightning is now 2 per target hit (was 4).
  • Chain Lightning Overload is now 1 per target hit (was 3).
  • Lava Burst is now 8 (was 10).
  • Lava Burst Overload is now 3 (was 4).
  • Icefury is now 12 (was 25).
  • Icefury Overload is now 4 (was 12).
  • Frost Shocks empowered by Icefury is now 10 (was 14).
• Flow of Power no longer increases Maelstrom generation from overloads.
• Stormkeeper has been removed from its choice node with Lightning Rod.
• Earth Shock is now a choice against Elemental Blast.
• Earthquake is now a choice node with an option to have it be cast on your target.
• All nodes are now 1 point.
• The following talents have been removed:
  • Tumultuous Fissures
  • Focused Insight
  • Refreshing Waters
  • Primordial Bond
  • Call of Thunder
  • Call of Fire
  • Electrified Shocks
  • Windspeaker’s Lava Resurgence
  • Oath of the Farseer
  • Further Beyond
  • Rolling Magma
  • Primordial Surge
  • Maelstrom Weapon

Enhancement

• Maelstrom Weapon is now learned at level 10 and has been removed from the Class tree.
• Feral Lunge is now learned at level 14 and has been removed from the Enhancement tree.
• Flurry moved from Class tree to the Enhancement tree.
• Elemental Blast damage reduced by 25%.
• The following talents have been removed:
  • Windfury Totem
  • Focused Insight
  • Refreshing Waters

Restoration

• New Talent: Tidewaters – When you cast Healing Rain, each ally with your Riptide on them is healed.
• New Talent: First Ascendant – The cooldown of Ascendance is reduced by 60 seconds.
• New Talent: Preeminence – Your Haste is increased by 25% while Ascendance is active and its duration is increased by 3 seconds.
• New Talent: Reactive Warding – When refreshing Earth Shield, your target is healed for each stack of Earth Shield they are missing. When refreshing Water Shield, you are refunded mana for each stack of Water Shield missing.
• New Talent: White Water – Your critical heals have 215% effectiveness instead of the usual 200%.
• New Talent: Spouting Spirits – Spirit Link reduces damage taken by an additional 5%, and it restores health to all nearby allies 1 second after it is dropped. Spouting Spirit’s healing is decreased beyond 5 targets.
• Spiritwalker’s Tidal Totem has been redesigned – After using Mana Tide Totem, the cast time of your next 3 Healing Surges is reduced by 100% and their mana cost is reduced by 50%.
• Master of the Elements has been redesigned – Casting Lava Burst increases the healing of your next Healing Surge by 30%, stacking up to 2 times. Healing Surge applies Flame Shock to a nearby enemy when empowered by Master of the Elements.
• Improved Earthliving Weapon has been redesigned – Earthliving receives 150% additional benefit from Mastery: Deep Healing. Healing Surge always triggers Earthliving on its target.
• Earthen Harmony has been redesigned – Earth Shield reduces damage taken by 5% and its healing is increased by up to 150% as its target’s health decreases. Maximum benefit is reached below 50% health.
• Downpour has been redesigned – Casting Healing Rain activates Downpour, allowing you to cast Downpour within 6 seconds. Downpour: A burst of water at the target location heals up to 5 injured allies with 12 yards and increases their maximum health by 10% for 6 seconds.
  • Downpour is twice as effective for Totemic Restoration Shamans.
• Living Stream has been redesigned – Now increases Healing Stream Totem’s healing by 100%, decaying over its duration.
• Lava Surge is now learned at level 12 and has been removed from the class tree.
• Current Control now reduces the cooldown of Healing Tide Totem by 45 seconds (was 30 seconds).
• Mana Tide Totem’s radius is now 40 yards.
• Ancestral Awakening now triggers at a 20% base chance and increases to a 40% chance when activated by a Critical Strike.
• Torrent now additionally increases the chance for Riptide’s initial heal to critically strike by 8/15%.
• Water Totem Mastery now activates on a chance, but its effect has been increased to 3 seconds of reduction.
• Water Shield now has 9 charges.
• Primordial Wave’s cooldown has been reduce to 30 seconds (was 45 seconds).
• Healing Rain now heals 5 targets (was 6) and healing increased by 17%.
• Acid Rain now damages 5 enemies (was 6) and damage increased by 16%.
• Overflowing Shores now heals 5 targets (was 6) and healing increased by 14%.
• Wavespeaker’s Blessing is now a 2-point talent.
• The following talents are now 1 point:
  • Tidebringer
  • Deluge
  • Improved Earthliving Weapon
• The following talents have been removed:
  • Improved Primordial Wave
  • Tumbling Waves
  • Continuous Waves
  • Resonant Waters
  • Flash Flood
  • Stormkeeper
  • Refreshing Waters

As with any of these things, the proof will be in the pudding. Players will be able to get their hands on the new iteration over the next day or two and it should quickly become clear whether Blizzard has gone far enough.