Got Bored so I designed a Tank Spec

BG art by Veli Nystrom off Artstation

Earthwarden Spec - Sample Tree (Explanations down below)
Meant to be played with Maelstrom Weapons from class tree

Mastery: Stoneskin: Increase the effectiveness of your self absorb shields by X%

Tier 1
Row 1
Rockbiter - 1/1
10 yd Range
Instant 6 sec recharge
Requires Melee Weapon

Assaults your target with earthen power, dealing X nature damage. Has a 50% chance to generate 1 Maelstrom Weapon.

Row 2
Guardian Totems - 1/1
Instant - X Mana
Please a Strength of Earth and Grace of Air totem at the feet of the caster increasing your chance to parry by X% and dodge by X% for 2 minutes.

Stoneclaw Totem - 1/1
Instant - X Mana - 20 sec cooldown
Summons a Stoneclaw totem at the feet of the caster that taunts all creatures within 8 yards to attack you.

Rockbiter Weapon Enchant - 1/1
Instant - Requires Melee Weapon
Imbue the Shaman’s weapon with the fury of the earth, increasing all threat generation by 30% and increasing all physical damage dealt by 5%. Lasts 60 minutes.

Row 3

Choice Node: Improved Guardian Totems / Colossal Totems - 1/1
Improved Guardian Totems
Increase the effectiveness of your Guardian Totems by an additional X%.

Colossal Totems
Your Guardian Totems also increase your stamina and armor by 10%.

Totem of the All-Master - 1/1
Instant - 30 sec cd.
Enter an Elemental Stance. Successfully dodging or parrying an attack allows you to unleash a powerful Elemental Counterattack to enemies in front of you as you assume the next stance.
Fire: Counter attack for X fire damage, burning enemies for an additional X fire dmg over 6 seconds.
Frost: Counter attack for X frost damage and heal yourself for X health each second for 6 seconds.
Wind: Counter attack for X nature damage and increase your haste by X for 6 seconds.
Earth: Counter attack for X nature damage and increase your armor by X for 8 seconds.

Shield Specialization - 2/2
Increase your block chance by X%/X% and the amount blocked by X%/X%.

Row 4
Grounded Totem - 2/2
Passive
Enemies in your Earthbind Totem’s area also have their attack speed slowed by 10%/25% and their spell power reduced by 5%/15%.

Feral Lunge - 1/1
8-25 yd - 30 sec cd - Instant
Lunge at your enemy as a ghostly wolf, biting them for X physical damage.

Fortified Maelstrom - 1/1
After spending Maelstrom Weapons, take 1% less dmg for each stack spent for 1 second per stack spent.

Stone Bulwark - 1/1
After blocking an attack, you gain an absorb shield equal to X% of the dmg blocked for 3 sec.

Choice Node: Sinkhole Totem / Static Discharge - 1/1
Sinkhole Totem
X mana - 30 sec cd
Summon a sinkole totem at the feet of the caster that pulses every 4 seconds, collapsing the ground and pulling all enemies within 20 yards to it, inflicting X nature dmg. The totem pulses 3 times.

Static Discharge
X mana - 30 sec cd
Overload your lightning shield, dealing X damage to all enemies within 8 yards over X seconds.

Tier 2
Row 5
Boulderfist - 2/2
Rockbiter’s recharge time is reduced by 5%/15% and it deals 8%/20% increased damage.

Hunger of the Wolf - 1/1
Your feral lunge deals an additional X damage and heals you for X% of your maximum health.

Rolling Thunder - 1/1
After hitting an enemy with lightning bolt or chain lightning your next auto attack will generate 1 stack of Maelstrom Weapon.

Spiked Slab - 1/1
Instant - X mana - 40 sec cd
Cover your shield with jagged spikes of earth for X seconds. Any enemy that attacks you with a melee or ranged attack bleeds for X physical damage over 3 sec. This effect stacks up to 5 times, but may only be applied once per second.

Stone Hand - 1/1
0.5 sec cast - 25 yd - 1 min cd
Summon a hand of stone from the ground, incapacitating your target for X seconds. This effect ends upon receiving damage.

Choice Node: Earthen Shields / Elemental Conduit - 1/1

Earthen Shields
You and your allies within the range of your sinkhol totem gain a shield equal to X% with each pulse. This shield lasts 4 seconds.

Elemental Conduit
For up to 5 seconds after activating static discharge, hitting an enemy with this effect gives the nearest 4 allies a shield equal to X% for 5 seconds.

Row 6
Choice Node: Refreshing Waters / Focused Insight - 1/1
Refreshing Waters
Your Healing Surge is 25% more effective on yourself.

Focused Insight
Casting Flame Shock reduces the mana cost of your next heal by 20% and increases its healing effectiveness by 30%.

Call of the Wolf - 1/1
Reduce the cooldown of Feral Lunge by 8 seconds.

Ground Slam - 1/1
1% of base mana - Melee Range - Instant - 12 sec cooldown
Slam the ground with your shield dealing X physical damage to all enemies within 4 yards.

Elemental Shields - 2/2
Reduce the chance you will be critically hit by melee and ranged attacks and offensive spells by X%/X%.

Spirit Shield - 1/1
25 yard range - 2 minute cooldown
Summon an ancestral spirit to shield you or a friendly ally, reducing the damage of the next incoming ability by 90%.

Row 7
Landslide - 1/1
Rockbiter now also enhances your weapon, increasing your primary stat by 8% for 10 sec.

Echo of the Elements - 1/1
You gain an extra charge of Rockbiter and Ground Slam.

Rupture - 1/1
Your ground slam ruptures the ground causing three lines of rock spikes to erupt outwards dealing X physical damage to enemies caught in the spikes.

Molten Slag - 1/1
Instant - 40 sec cd
Heat your shield with molten fire for 10 sec. Any enemy that attacks you with a melee or ranged attack takes X fire dmg. Enemies inflicted with flame shock take additional damage.

Ancestral Protection - 2/2
Gaining a stack of Maelstrom Weapons reduces the cooldown of Spirit Shield by 1/2 seconds.

Tier 3
Row 8
Primordial Earth Elemental - 1/1
Your Earth Elemental is drawn from a primal elemental 80% more powerful than a regular elemental, with additional abilities, and you gain direct control over it.

Primordial Wave - 1/1
3% of base mana - 40 yd range - Instant - 45 sec recharge
Blast your target with a Primordial Wave, dealing X shadow damage and apply flame shock to an enemy, or heal and Ally for X.

Your next Rockbiter will also hit all targets affected by your flame shock.

Improved Totem of the All-Master - 2/2
Reduce the cooldown of your Elemental Counter Attack by 5/10 seconds.

Choice Node: Deeply Rooted Elements / Ascendance - 1/1
Deeply Rooted Elements
Rockbiter has a 3% chance to activate Asendance for 6.0 seconds

Ascendance
Instant - 3 min cooldown
Transform into an Earth Ascendant for 15 sec, instantly granting you an absorb shield equal to X% of your maximum health for X sec. While transformed this way, increase your stamina and armor by X%. Rockbiter and auto attack damage increases the amount your shield absorbs by 100% of the damage dealt.

Ancestral Wrath - 1/1
After consuming 5 stacks of Maelstrom, gain a stack of Ancestral Wrath stacking 8 times. At 8 stacks of Ancestral Wrath, you summon an ancestral spirit to deal X dmg to your current target and you heal for 150% of the damage dealt.

Row 9
Crumbling Earth - 1/1
When your primordial earth elemental dies, it instead breaks apart into two lesser earth elementals that last for 15 seconds.

Rumbling Earth - 2/2
Damage dealt from Spiked Slab and Molten Slag reduce the cooldown of primordial wave by 0.25/0.5 seconds.

Windwall Totem - 1/1
Instant - 2 min cooldown
Summon a Windwall Totem with 5 health at the feet of the caster creating a wall of wind that protects friendly allies within 20 yards, reducing incoming ranged attack and spell damage by 25% for X seconds. While in radius of the totem, you cannot be crit by ranged attacks or spells.

Earthwarden’s Resolve - 2/2
Reduces the cooldown of Ascendance by 15/30 sec and your shield lasts for an additional X/X seconds.

Big Bad Voodoo - 1/1
Instant - 5 min Cooldown
Turn all friendly allies within 10 yards invulnerable for 4 seconds. You do not turn invulernable.

Row 10
Splintered Elements - 1/1
Each additional Rockbiter generated by Primordial Wave increases your Haste by 10% for 12 sec.

Elemental Conduit - 1/1
Instant - 5 min cooldown
You enter perfect elemental harmony, unleashing every elemental counterattack at once.

Deeptremor Stone - 1/1
While you are in your Earth Ascendant form, you have a permanent Earthquake attached to you.

16 Likes

So a question. Is this meant to be weapon and shield, 2h or dw spec?

1h + shield

KK so would this be a high apm like enhancement or a slower playing like prot paladin?

Somewhere in between

Flame shock to keep it up
Rockbiter on cooldown
Keep Earthbind down to debuff enemies
When you get 5 stacks, LB/CL/HS depending on what you need
Hit your Elemental Counterattack when its available
Rotate your shield buffs: Spiked Slab and Molten Slag
and rotate your defensives

You aren’t auto-attacking as fast as Enhance to generate maelstrom at that rate, but you should get it fairly decent with rockbiter 50% and rolling thunder guaranteeing 1.

Sounds very interesting. over capped maelstrom? Like enhancement where at 10 stack it just does more damage or defensive stats? And would you have access to flametongue or other imbuements?

Sorry to ask but just trying to get a feel for what you’re wanting this spec to be with.

I didn’t increase it to 10 to make it different from Enhance. Maelstrom for this is just for a self-heal, or to throw out a Lightning Bolt/CL for rolling thunder.

Generating stacks also does some stuff like reducing Spirit Shield (reminiscent of how wolf bones works) and Ancestral Wrath — but its not the crux of the build like it is for Enhance.

Flametongue is baseline to the class, so its there. Rockbiter imbue is what you would use to tank with.

The idea is to cycle your elemental stances to keep those buffs rolling, keep your totems down so you maintain a solid dodge/parry rate for the elemental stances, and use your blocking to generate a personal shield while also dealing dmg via Stone Spike and Molten Slag.

The idea was to utilize all the elements, with Ascendance being Earth themed.

Yea I saw rockbiter was the attack. So flametongue so it is earth fire. Yea I would definitely play this I would love to see what could be done with it. Although with the stance dancing I could see that being a small issue.

Remember when warriors had that and it was removed because it was too “complicated” for people. That would be my one concern. But it definitely sounds fun.

It’s not like warrior stances. It’s a button you press when available, and the rest is passive.

It doesn’t change your abilities — all you need to track is what element you are in so you can decide when to press it to enter the next and gain it’s buff.

Ahh ok yea then hell yea I would love to play that spec.

1 Like

Since its a melee spec, and Enhance is more about managing your short cooldowns and reacting to what comes up, rather than true resource management, I tried to maintain that idea.

I like it definitely.

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Bumping because this is innovative and I’d ship it.

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Love the creativity. Shamans should have a way to tank as enhance or similar spec

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One of the other ideas I tried to integrate was the idea of a Tank that doesn’t just protect the team by soaking all the damage/aggro, but has other abilities that provide trickle protection.

Being able to give someone else a shield if they are targeted during a mechanic, or your AoE providing a small shield to your allies.

I know this crosses into healer territory, but if Healers are expected to also dps, then why can’t tanks have more group protection things.

Windwall and Big Bad Voodoo are other examples, where you could use Big Bad Voodoo to protect raid from a mechanic, but you die — then you can reincarnate yourself.

Looks great! I would switch and tank on my shaman permanently.

3 Likes

I would tank on my shaman but I would also change between tank and enhancement. But yes I would love to see this on Shaman as 4th spec.

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The idea isn’t to replace Enhance here. Just to utilize the mechanic already familiar to shaman melee (maelstrom weapons), take some aspects from the Legion rework that I feel would work well as a tank spec, incorporate the ridiculous Totem of the All-Master (it’s literally a shaman tank mechanic), and throw in some other thematics.

They’d probably take elemental away to do this rather than give a 4th class. But realistically doing a 4th spec HAS been done before so copium to make it happen because I love shaman so much.

I doubt if they added a tank spec, they would take away any existing spec. People would riot.

2 Likes