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The Wrath of the Shaman Part 1: Enhancement |
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Okay, there's so much happening with Shamans that I don't think we can wait for the next Totem Talk to discuss it all. Between itemization changes, patch notes and new talents, there's a lot to discuss. First off, it is the new itemization.
In part, the real power of the shift towards granting AP from agility isn't even that it will make agility more attractive on our gear, although it will. The real power is in this move's synergy with the incoming enhancement talent Mental Dexterity. A great deal of the mail currently sneered at as 'hunter mail' has both agility and intellect on it. One example is the Mantle of the Tireless Tracker, an SSC drop. Under current itemization these shoulders grant 64 AP. With the new way items work with shamans, they will grant 86 AP or 109 AP if you have full Mental Dexterity.
Clearly, this allows Blizzard to save time and effort on designing what we might call 'physical DPS mail'. Since both hunters and enhancement shamans deal physical damage (the hunter dealing it at range, the shaman dealing it up close and personal like) there's certain logic to the idea of making the same mail viable for both classes. In a way, it's similar to what is being done with spellpower and is consistent with how they're itemizing, say, DPS plate for paladins and warriors (and soon, death knights). Effectively, instead of four kinds of mail, there will be two: spellpower mail for elemental and restoration shamans (whose talents will decide how it functions) and physical DPS mail for hunters and enhancement shamans. I'm cautiously optimistic about the change.
The upside is, of course, less reliance on leather for our needs. |
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