The main problem is Blizzard doesn’t want unique tanks. When I said they’re just slightly different flavours of the same thing, I meant it. Back in BC and WotLK tanks were very different from each other, but it led to an issue where certain tanks were better for certain fights, though that might not be so much of an issue as it is a feature depending on your outlook.
Then Blizzard started homogenizing them, so that they can all be good in all situations (though results of that effort varied). For example, at one point Paladins were the aoe tanks, Consecration picked things up and held them easy and a combination of Blessing of Sanctuary, Holy Shield, an absurdly high block rate and maybe even a shield spike meant they did huge retaliation dps in aoe situations, but Warriors held and killed single bosses the best, while Druids survived burst damage the best with their ridiculously high hp pool. Now they are all practically the same thing.
This is by design, and Blizz seems to want to go with the class fantasy aesthetic rather than actual functionality. So, if a shaman tank was made, I’d guarantee it’d have a single target damage attack, an aoe cleave, a shield bash, a gap closer, a stun, and a bunch of cooldowns for both offense and defense.
The class fantasy would come in by the spell effects. The stun would be a lobbed rock, the interrupt a shock, the cleave an earth erruption, the gap closer would be that earth burrowing form you use in Deepholm a couple times, and the cooldowns would all be totems, and maybe a rock barrier.
I’d expect nothing more from Blizzards homogenization team.
