TLDR
Shamans feel out of place IMO as a class currently and feel like battle mages that have no arcane affinity. I have listed some changes to the totem system, elemental system, and a few spells in general along with some cosmetic alterations/additions which would just feel good IMO.
Totems
Totems become permanent drops with stackable benefits per each element.
They disappear when leaving a 30m(40?) range and/or dispelled/destroyed, which if destroyed, incur a spell lock penalty to summon that elements totem for 5-10s perhaps (<- to help balance perm totems).
This would support the notion that I am a SHAMAN, one who invokes the elements for support to utilize them to bring down foes.
Each element would have, let’s say 3 (maybe 2) maximum benefits able to stack and each spec (resto, ele, enh) would have more options than others per each element.
For example
Air Totem
Windfury: (Windfury Totem’s effect)
Stormsurge: Imbue your weapon with the power of the storm (Windfury Weapon’s effect & replace the name with something else)
Earth Totem
Stoneskin: (Stoneskin Totem’s effect)
Rockbitter: Imbue your weapon with the power of the earth (Rockbitter Weapon’s effect)
FireTotem
Searing: (Searing Totem’s effect)
Magma: (I forget the name of the AOE fire totem)
Flametongue: Imbue your weapon with the power of fire (Flametongue Weapon’s effect)
Water Totem
Stream: (Healing Stream Totem’s effect)
Mana Tide: (Mana Tide’s Totem’s effect)
Poison Cleansing: (Poison Cleansing Totem’s effect)
Disease Cleansing: (New totem to cleanse diseases)
Curse Cleansing: (New totem to use the spell, Cleanse Spirt’s effect.)
Tidal: Imbue your weapon with the power of water (New weapon effect for healers?)
And more for those that are light on effects^
Honestly, the fact that stoneskin totem lasts 15s and has a 30s cd is not worth the extra GCD; if I can reduce 10% dmg for 15s every 30s, that equals a nice 5% dmg reduction permanently. A windfury totem with a 2m duration and no cd makes abs no sense and is just an example of poor implementation of the system in general when you can just drop a perm totem (and honestly it’s useless)??? Poison cleansing totem, 45s cd 6s duration 1.5s tick, which is 4 posions in 6 seconds within 45s. Not only is this not worth the talent it will never be worth the GCD to re-plop mid-fight (PvP). I would rather the totem cleanse a posion every 11s and then never worry about having to plop it down again!
Having the totems add effects rather than be individual totems would make more sense even lore-wise. I’m asking the fire elements for imbuements on my weapon AND a DOT as long as I’m in range of the totem. Why do I need to cast flametongue weapon every hour rather than be a perm buff like a warrior stance, pally aura AS LONG as I’m near the totem, which is the way we communicate with the elements?
Having totems effects could be basic class spells and then talents as well. You may learn an infinite amount of effects but the totems we have can only handle a certain amount of elemental magic; they are after all just devices to communicate with the elements.
Therefore, we would have “defaults” essentially of which effects take place when a totem is plopped in order of significance ie. from top → bottom. An option to never override an effect is also vital to never remove, for example, flametongue weapon. The totem spell casts as we have them would then just overwrite the effect we specified in the order. If I no longer need poison cleansing I can override it with curse cleansing or disease cleansing or manatide for example.
Now, these only cover ones which, IMO, are not situational like capacitator, earth-binding, and other PVP talents.
Each {Air|Earth|Fire|Water} totem would then also have a separate situational effect, limited to 1, which would have a default and an option to be overridden when clicking the totem button. Thus each element would need a new spell that would overflow the totem with elemental energy unleashing the situational effect; something like {Air|Earth|Fire|Water} Totemic Overflow. With the new totemic relocation, this can be achieved seamlessly as well for totems placed at range. Once an ability is then overloaded you have to wait until the cd is down to change situational effects; does not get reset upon school lock either.
For example…
I have an air totem out which is giving me windfury and storm-surge (which is basically windfury weapon and windfury totem). I also have a capacitator totem as the default situational effect. I want to use the capacitator totem on enemies in melee, well I should and most likely have my totem up, so I press Air Totemic Overflow and it will surge with air energy unleashing the capacitor totem. If the enemies I wish to stun are at range then I can use totemic relocation and then hit totemic overflow.
Note this adds an extra step into the mix rather than just placing the totem itself at the enemies, but also an element of surprise to the enemy not knowing which totem is going to do what (can also be bluffs to waste their CDs).
If totemic relocation is off GCD then this would be the exact same thing as plopping down a capacitator totem with a macro or even good keybindings. Either way, you’d have to use your brain and such actually to make things go brr.
Another take; is to use the following: earth-bind, capacitator, and counterstrike totem; there all share the same GCD. Having the GCD drop actual totems or just activating situational effects is virtually the same with the perm totems being better due to added benefits. The only con I can see is losing the ability to plop totems down individually but I, personally, could care less. For extra mobility see the next line.
Finally, a new ability to relocate yourself to your totems with a 30s cd or something. Would be our “heroic leap” or blink. Can be used in pursuit, fleeing, resetting, and defending methods and would be a much-needed defensive ability. (Replace gust of wind)
Elements
Adding the elementals to the totems again would make more sense, from a lore POV, and be easier to implement with the following. Not sure if being a situational effect or a third effect specific to elementals makes more sense. Either way, both are CD based. (3 effects, 1 situational, 1 elemental per totem)
Having elementals as temp pets makes sense, we’re asking for help from the elements. But a 5 min CD for earth elemental sucks ESP since I’m SQUISHY AS HELL. A lesser elemental with a 1.5m CD would feel better than one single greater elemental every 5 mins. Warlocks have a chance to summon a pit lord during combat… amongst 50 other demons… I mean cmon…
Maybe some-ranged elementals? I never got why shamans don’t summon water elementals but OK, summon some type of elemental that can help heal or something. An air/fire elemental that blasts the enemy from range?
Resto shaman elements could help with damage reduction and healing thus earth elementals could provide damage resistance etc.
All of the above would make a shaman class feel more like the actual purpose of a shaman, asking the elements for help and actually introducing a need for totems and a need to destroy totems from an attacker’s POV.
If this is considered OP, destroy the totem… I am squishy as hell ALREADY… without the totems consider me a free kill.
Cosmetic QOL
Note, some of these do not need to have the above changes to happen
For the love of god change the ascendance form. You don’t even need a new elemental form. Have my body levitate off the ground in a gust of air (a foot in the game), a storm cloud raining and crackling with lightning above me, and earth rumbling around me with lava spurting out. This screams to me, holy Jesus that shaman has ascended. Not a twilight hammer corrupted elemental form? Bonus points for audio cue: “Storm earth and fire… heed my call”. (The ability deff needs a rework but the class itself is heavily reliant upon maelstrom so I won’t even touch that topic).
Let me please have my elementals be any cool elementals you have introduced into the game. Why should frost who has a water elemental have 3-4 glyphs but as a shaman, we don’t have that option??? There are numerous models per elemental but we’re stuck with a single.
A small animation with small critter-like (size) elementals dancing, playing, and fighting around the base of the totem would show how many benefits are active at once. When the totem is overflowing it can overflow with elemental energy to show us, and by extension, the enemy that we have a situational totem effect active or elemental being active. If not added, some small-like elementals would still be cool AF and some flavor to the game. Bonus points for glyping the model also.
Spirit wolves match your ghost wolf glyph. This makes sense for all types of shamans that are not orcs, as wolf = orc.
If ranged elementals are added have them appear almost ethereally above the totem which summoned it. (If added)
I don’t know where the totem hate came from, whether it’s from poorly implemented/outdated mechanics are people trying to merge everything into one MEGA-class but it’s currently the worst system in the game and doesn’t feel VITAL to our gameplay.