It’s time for Blizzard to balance the Legendary distribution in Season of Discovery. Elemental and Resto Shamans have been completely left out, while Paladins have stacked up three Legendaries—and even had their nerfs reverted. Meanwhile, Prot Paladins are running around with Thunderfury, making it clear that certain specs are getting preferential treatment.
Introducing: Stormbound Bulwark
This Legendary shield would provide a powerful defensive and utility boost, catering to both Elemental and Resto Shamans, as well as Holy Paladins, who have also been overlooked.
Key Features:
Electrified Barrier: Increases spellpower for Shamans while providing stronger shielding effects for healers.
Resonance of the Elements: Grants mana regeneration on successful blocks for caster specs.
Adaptive Augmentation: Can be swapped between versions, allowing Ele Shamans to get spell benefits while healers get defensive perks.
Exclusive Quest Variant for Shaman Tanks
To ensure Shaman tanks aren’t left behind, an alternate version of Stormbound Bulwark would be obtained through a Shaman-specific questline, allowing enhancement tanks to get their own defensive bonuses, akin to how Prot Paladins received Thunderfury.
Why This Is Necessary:
Every Hero spec would finally have at least one Legendary.
Balances out the favoritism shown toward Paladins in Legendary distribution.
Recognizes Shaman tanks, providing them with a fitting defensive item.
Gives Ele and Resto Shamans something meaningful instead of just being ignored.
There’s no reason to keep leaving Shamans and Holy Paladins out while certain specs get overloaded with buffs and Legendaries. This would provide a much-needed balance adjustment that fits the game’s direction.
So Ret and Prot Paladins get to stockpile Legendaries, but asking for just one for the other specs of the Hero classes is somehow too much? The idea that
falls apart when you realize that not everyone is being given the same opportunity. Paladins have already received multiple Legendaries—meanwhile, Elemental, Resto Shamans, Holy pallys and Shaman tanks have gotten nothing.
This isn’t about handing out Legendaries like candy—it’s about balancing the distribution so that every Hero spec gets at least one meaningful Legendary. If Blizzard can give Prot Paladins Thunderfury, there’s no reason Shamans and Holy Paladins should be left empty-handed.
So maybe the real question is: why is it okay for some specs to be “super” while others stay forgotten?
This is your problem. Nothing wrong with making suggestions for stuff, but don’t act like this is so paladin sided on this situation. They added ONE new legendary, and they chose that legendary primarily based on popularity and content match.
Oh, just one Legendary—so that makes it fair now? That argument conveniently ignores the fact that Paladins have received three Legendaries overall while certain specs—like Elemental and Resto Shamans—have gotten zero. Not only that, but Retribution Paladins had their nerfs reverted, keeping their overpowered damage intact. So yes, the favoritism is still very much there.
And let’s talk about the supposed “popularity and content match” reasoning. If that logic held up, shouldn’t Shamans and Holy Paladins, who have been key parts of WoW’s class fantasy, also get their share of Legendary gear? If Blizzard can hand Thunderfury to Prot Paladins, then why is it suddenly a problem to suggest a Legendary shield to balance things out for the neglected specs?
This isn’t about asking for random handouts—it’s about making sure the Hero class specs don’t get completely left behind while others rake in the benefits.
Sulfuras was more a Feral legendary than anything else.
Thunderfury, tank legendary which includes warriors and rogues despite your constant mentions of paladins. And of course some DPS also used it, neither of which were generally paladins. Funny, huh?
Then Atiesh which is of course for casters.
But hey, gotta love disingenuous framing to make it out as though pallies were casually collecting dust on their Sulfuras and Thunderfury collections.
argument—except that conveniently ignores the fact that certain certain Hero class specs have been handed multiple Legendaries, while others—like Elemental and Resto Shamans, Holy Paladins, and Shaman tanks—have gotten nothing.
Sulfuras was definitely great for Ferals—but let’s not pretend Ret Paladins didn’t use it too. In fact, they got plenty of value out of it, adding to the pile of Legendaries they’ve already had access to. Meanwhile, Elemental and Resto Shamans still sit at zero!!!
Thunderfury, tank legendary which includes warriors and rogues despite your constant mentions of paladins. And of course some DPS also used it, neither of which were generally paladins. Funny, huh?
Thunderfury was a tank Legendary, yet somehow Prot Paladins ended up with it, along with Warriors and Rogues.
Atiesh was for casters—great for them!
And let’s not forget—this is Season of Discovery, a phase of the game designed to introduce new mechanics, items, and balance adjustments. So why is it that Blizzard is leaving entire Hero class specs out of Legendary distributions? With all the new additions being introduced, there’s no excuse for ignoring these specs while others continue benefiting from extra perks and powerful gear.
If Blizzard wants to evolve the game, it should be doing so for all Hero specs, not just selectively favoring certain ones
Death Knight was the first hero class added, and that was in Wrath of the Lich King, the second expansion to World of Warcraft. Your weird insistence on using the term for the benefit of your argument frankly gave me a good laugh. Thanks.
In the context of SoD, Shamans qualify as a Hero class due to the massive reworks Blizzard has implemented. The term “Hero class” isn’t being used in the traditional sense—like Death Knights in Wrath of the Lich King—but rather to describe the unique and powerful mechanics given to certain classes in SoD that significantly elevate their gameplay beyond what was originally intended in Vanilla WoW.
For Shamans, Blizzard introduced tank and physical DPS builds that did not exist in classic WoW, along with powerful Hero-tier abilities that fundamentally shift how the class functions. This includes runes that drastically alter playstyles and provide new tools that were completely absent before. Similarly, Paladins were massively overhauled, gaining abilities and scaling that put them in a Hero-class-like position. SoD’s system essentially makes certain specs feel more like Hero classes within this experimental season rather than sticking to rigid definitions from past expansions.
Adding to this, both Paladins and Shamans are faction-locked—Paladins to Alliance, Shamans to Horde—meaning each faction has its own version of a Hero class that introduces new gameplay mechanics beyond standard class design. This further emphasizes how Blizzard has reshaped these two classes into something distinct within Season of Discovery, making them stand out among the rest.
So while the traditional definition of “Hero class” began with Death Knights in Wrath, SoD has effectively introduced Hero-tier mechanics for Paladins and Shamans, uniquely tailored for each faction.
Sure, Druids had hybrid capabilities long before Season of Discovery, but the comparison falls apart when you consider the scale of changes Blizzard implemented in SoD. Druids were always designed to shapeshift and adapt, but their tank and DPS roles existed within the framework of their original class identity—they weren’t fundamentally rebuilt to function as something entirely new.
In SoD, Shamans and Paladins weren’t just given a few extra tools—they were entirely reworked to fit new archetypes that didn’t exist in Vanilla. Shamans were granted full-fledged tank and physical DPS builds, complete with mechanics that mimic traditional Hero classes. Paladins received similar overhauls, gaining scaling that turned them into something well beyond their original classic design.
And let’s be clear—Druids are NOT Hero classes in SoD. Their mechanics remain relatively unchanged compared to the complete class overhauls given to Shamans and Paladins. What sets Shamans and Paladins apart is that Blizzard essentially reimagined their roles, introducing Hero-tier abilities and playstyles that fundamentally alter how they function.
Adding to this, both Shamans and Paladins remain faction-locked, further emphasizing the idea that Blizzard has shaped them into Hero-class equivalents, each tied to their respective faction—Paladins for Alliance, Shamans for Horde.
So sure, Druids have had versatility for years. But in SoD, what’s happening with Shamans and Paladins isn’t just tweaking an existing class—it’s a fundamental redesign, one that goes beyond what Druids ever experienced in prior expansions.
Outside of a raid environment, both Paladins and Shamans could tank. Wasn’t great but they could do it. I personally tanked LBRS/UBRS as a Shaman many times when waiting on the guilds MC raid for lower levels to help get them geared.
Not saying a Legendary Shield is a bad idea, hell I’d love it for this Pally. Just trying to clear up some of the comment about this. Neither are a hero class, as both have abilities being pulled from later parts of WoW life cycle, like all classes. Doesn’t make them some complete re-work into something they weren’t, it just gave them better tools to do it.