I think this is what the spec needs. Maybe Chain Heal bounces extra to targets with Riptide on it, up to 3. In dungeon maybe CH hits someone with riptide twice , so it’s still effective outside of raid. It just needs something to tie it all together IMO. Some unique little mechanic that makes it separate and different
Unique mechanics that Resto shaman currently has:
-spirit link
-earth shield
-chain heal
-Ancestral protection totem
-Cloudburst totem
And I’m sure I’m forgetting plenty. I’m still not sure what you mean by identity.
Correct.
This is Resto’s entire healing identity, and all it will ever amount to.
As the Ancestors intended.
Well then.
I dont count holy words, atonement, echo, glimmer as unique class identifiers.
If we are gonna play this game.
But you dont claim that any current interactions are allowed to be counted. So why this?
This is the most moronic statement to date, so kudos to you. I didn’t expect the equivalent of sticking your fingers in your ears, but here we are.
Why shouldnt you expect the same exact things you have been doing since the first person disagreed with you?
Personally, I think Resto’s identity is that it’s the totem / cooldown healer, and it’s not a very good identity.
One thing I love about Resto Shaman (and Preservation Evoker) is that it doesn’t have a billion healer buttons. Like, Holy Priest is too many buttons. But the interplay Resto Shaman has is very limited. Healing Rain’s cooldown is too long for the tier set bonuses we’ve been getting to be fun, most of the Tidal gameplay has really bad RNG, and the Primordial Wave gameplay again has too long of a cooldown for not enough pizzazz. I also think Cloud Burst totem ends up feeling a bit like Overhealing Totem, since it often triggers after I’ve already done my healing and there’s no way to see visually how much healing the totem has banked.
I think having a Cloudburst gameplay where the totem kind of works more like Lightwell would be neat. You heal, then the totem immediately bursts afterwards. It could also be neat if Cloud Burst Totem dropped a Healing Rain onto the primary target of your Chain Heal / Healing Wave, so a Resto shaman’s presence ended up coating the battlefield in a rainstorm. It would definitely need some testing and work, since we’d be SUPER susceptible to movement mechanics, but it would definitely have more of an identity.
The number 1 thing I DON’T want is a billion more buttons, however!
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Yes! I agree. This type of interaction between the kit would be super interesting and give the spec more of an identity.
Holy priest absolutely suffers from having a few too many buttons. Resto Shaman has the buttons, but they need more interplay to really feel like it has some sort of unique identity. Identity is so much more than individual spells, it’s how they function together that gives the other healers so much more identity comparatively.
I think what the OP is trying to get at, replace the word identity with “Gimmick”.
Resto’s gimmick is basically shared through other specs of Shaman, actually most are literally from the Class Tree rather then something from the actual spec tree.
While Earth Shield and Chain Heal and Totems are more amplified through the Spec tree, it’s an ability that all specs share, it’s not truely unique, nothing truely spec defining.
Something that may be a good Identity for Resto (outside of long cooldowns) is something like Earthliving Weapon, Weapon imbues are a Shaman thing since Vanilla, none share Earthliving sadly it’s so undertuned it’s really nothing to brag about.
But in short, the OP does have a point, a lot of Resto Shaman “Identity” or “Gimmick” is accessible to every other spec as a majority is from the Class Tree rather then a unique thing from the Spec Tree.
Maybe Riptide?? If we have the 4pc s3 bonus as a baseline thing in future that could be a Resto unique thing, riptide continues to spread?.
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10 seconds.
What
Riptide, spirit link totem. Cloud burst totem. quite a bit of resto shaman usage isnt in class tree.
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Yep, I agree completely. I think Riptide is where the resto shaman “gimmick” (identity) should come from. It just is currently lacking some sort of key interaction with the kit to make it stand out compared to its peers, Holy Shock and Renewing Mist (two other ST instants that leave a HoT on the target). But these two are far more integrated into their respective specs than Riptide is for Resto.
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I do agree with Riptide, Spirit Link like I mentioned outside of long Cooldowns, I don’t think any spec should be known just for its CDs, Cloudburst is hard, since the buffs to Healing Stream Totem as of recent Cloudburst isn’t a must pick so it’s a “maybe” but definitely not spec defining.
I think they need to improve on Riptide more somehow, like I suggested I think the 4pc bonus baseline would be a cool thing to always have, and I strongly think Earthliving Weapon does need some love.
I’m pushing more so for Earthliving as weapon imbues have been with Shamans since the beginning, they definitely could do more with it.
But a lot is still up in the air, Hero Talents may change everything, just I wish they’d give us a little news on that aswell.
Like I think the issue is Resto Shaman is too much focused on a jack of all trade play style, like when you think of Holy Priest you instantly think Holy Words, you mention Disc you get Atonement’s, heal through dps, Shields.
Previously you’d say Resto Shaman was the king of stacked Healing but we have now a strong contender in Preservation, just I think that’s another issue, what does Resto Shaman say to players that no other spec can do…
Our utility is all on the class tree that really any shaman can bring, Bloodlust is more common now, every healing class realistically can do everything with their own distinct flavour aswell.
What’s Resto Shamans flavour? What says “hey a Resto Shaman is in queue we definitely need them”, what’s the play style that we have that no other healing spec has. What’s our niche.
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Holy Words are cds that just do “healing” in different flavors that we all have.
But this is irrelevent to
I have never heard anyone say “We need a holy priest because we specifically need the holy word mechanic” or “We need a disc priest because we specifically need atonement”.
What? I’m trying to say many Healer specs especially now since Resto Druid has Grove Guardians and with Hero Talents double downing on it a lot has changed for most Healing Specs especially a way to differentiate them the other specs in the class. Which was mentioned in the first post.
While Healers may have their own abilities shared and some not across the class, for example Holy Paladins are the only spec to get Light of Dawn but all can Word of Glory but only Holy Paladins are now “for better or worse” known for its “Glimmer” play style, which is something i completely agree with the OP.
My issue with Resto Shaman is we are known for our utility, our Class Tree has so much insane utility but it’s something completely shared across all specs.
Tremor, decurse, Wind Rush, Poison Cleanse, HST, Capacitor, Stoneskin etc.
Even our healing spells and defensives are all Shared. Like I mentioned are amplified through our spec tree but base is available to all.
I personally just think Resto Shaman has lost its identity, like I said previously we were greatly known for stacked healing but that’s a thing of the past, I’m in no way saying Resto Shaman is struggling in content, everything is achievable now days, but it’s definitely lost its identity on the way.
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Just chiming in to say that you completely get it.
A healer isn’t identified by any of their specific CDs, either. Disc priest is identified by Atonement, not Ultimate Penitence. Preservation is identified by Echo, not Rewind or Emerald Communion. Holy Priest is known for Holy Words, not Divine Hymn.
This is why Resto Shaman isn’t identified by a major CD. It also doesn’t have some core mechanic (gimmick), which is why I’m saying it doesn’t have an identity. It has a variety of buttons that move health bars, yes (like every other healer) but the interplay between those buttons is sorely lacking in comparison.
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What do you think holy words are
Starting to feel like you’re being deliberately obtuse here.
Holy Words are only cooldowns to the same extent that Feral Spirits are cooldowns at this point, as the major gameplay loop of the spec is about bringing them back online through cooldown reduction.
This is what is trying to be expressed here. Resto shaman does not have a core gameplay loop to its healing that gives it a clear sense of identity the way cycling Holy Word CDR does for Holy, healing through Atonement damage does for Disc, or rolling dozens of HoTs does for Resto druid. This leaves the spec feeling unanchored, as it has nothing to play around except the same “make bars go up” overall goal of all healers. There’s no feeling of, “Yes, THIS is why I’m playing this spec and not another,” to the moment to moment gameplay the way there is to blasting fat instants out on a fraction of their base CD, or keeping your party’s health bars maxed through a major damage event while spamming nothing but dps spells.
The closest thing Resto has to such a loop is Cloudburst Totem, but it’s so poorly integrated into the spec that it’s an optional talent on a choice node. You can play Resto without ever even talenting into it. That’s a far cry from a Holy paladin’s Holy Power or Holy priest’s CDR, which are both fundamental aspects of the spec which their kits are built around. And even if you are using it, the learning curve to use it effectively enough to actually notice its impact is steep, and dependent on encounter design actually having the right damage profile for it not to be wasted effort anyway.
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No. I am not.
Anything resto shaman related is either dismissed as a cool down or “just something that moves up health bars”
But holy words are being praised as something unique.
I get it’s a gameplay loop. But to laud holy words while complaining that resto shaman abilities are boring because all they do is move up health bars.
It makes me a bit eye-rolly.
Obviously the issue is not that resto sham abilities just heal. So let’s not say it is.
Compare Healing Rain (10 seconds) to Efflorescence (0 Seconds). The two have almost the same size and HPS; the only real difference is that Resto Shaman can talent into Acid Rain to make Healing Rain deal damage.
Plus 10 seconds is WAY too long when 2/3 of our Tier Set bonuses need DPS to stand in a tiny blue circle for us to get a benefit.
Yes! Thank you! You hit the nail square on the head for why I made this post and why I think Resto Shaman needs a little bit of love in the identity department (or gimmick or playstyle, however you want to label it).
I still think Riptide is the obvious choice for where to put that identity. A strong argument could be made for Cloudburst, but to do so would require some major revamping of the spec tree and it would not be an optional talent if it were to become the core Resto Shaman identity.