I did some RSS as Flameshaper in S1 before Engulf was hit with heavy-handed PvP-focused nerfs. There’s a whole lot of problems with it:
- It requires Fire Breath on the target to deal damage. Healers dispel it for free when they know you’re Flameshaper.
- Setting up the 3 DoTs to maximize the burst means several GCDs of you going “I’m gonna blast ya” for the enemy to see it coming and prepare for it. Or just dispel your entire setup.
- When the stars align and you get your setup out and you push Engulf… If it doesn’t crit, it’s weak.
So at most, Flameshaper can two-tap undergeared players who aren’t paying attention or have a healer paying attention for them. Meanwhile, Scalecommander gets more damage more consistently, with no real setup required and it can have FIVE hover charges to bully melee with to the point where after you’re done hovering the first time, deep breath is up again for you to do it all over again.