Totem Talk: Cataclysm beta impressions
by Joe Perez 
Jul 13th 2010 at 6:00PM
The excitement from this past week and the Real ID fiasco seems to be finally calming down, so I think it is safe to talk about other things. On July 13, Rich Maloy , Matt Sampson and myself will be appearing in a pre-recorded episode of RaidWarning's podcast. They put together a shaman roundtable by the name of Totem Recall. It was a ton of fun to record, and there were a lot of people from around the WoW community who joined us. For the restoration section, I joined Jhaman of Castaclysm, fellow Zul'jin dweller Borsk from Borsked, Vixsin from Life in Group 5, Pewter from The 'Mental Shaman and even the shaman crew from Elitist Jerks. We had a lot of fun not only answering reader questions, but just getting to sit down and talk to each other while sharing ideas and comparing notes. If you get the chance, make sure to download it when it becomes available and give it a listen; should be a good time!
The Cataclysm beta has been going pretty strong now, with news trickling in from various sources. If you haven't heard, a new round of invites for the beta will be going out soon. While you keep checking your email and Battle.net pages, I thought I would share some of what I have seen healing the first few instances and doing a little questing.
Gear availability, stats and talents
A lot of people have been asking how our current gear will hold up compared to quest rewards and drops we will be seeing early on in Cataclysm. Honestly, I can tell you things are quite a bit different so far than what we are used to seeing. First of all, we have to keep in mind that the level gap is only five levels this time around. Compare that to the other two expansions, which saw 10 levels of growth, and you have to realize that mob drops and quest rewards will be a lot closer to the items we are ending the expansion with.
Take a look at Crepuscular Shield at ilvl 279; compare that to Bulwark of Smouldering Steel, an ilvl 264 raid epic. The stats compared between the two are not that far apart. Keep in mind, too, that INT will be giving us not only our mana pool, but will also be the stat that drives our spellpower. Also remember that spirit will be replacing MP5 on gear for us. The rest of our mail gear so far seems to be right in line with this, as well. In several cases, there have been green items that have borderline challenged ICC-25 epics. The bottom line for those asking if they should be hitting the raids and instances hard to get the best items they can: I can tell you not to really worry about it so much. It appears it won't be nearly as important as it was in the past expansions, as quest items and drops are already shaping up to fill in any gearing gaps that you may have. It really seems that there is going to be a big equalization at 85 in terms of gearing among all the players.
Stat-wise, you are going to be very much in the same place that you are when you end the Wrath of the Lich King expansion. What I mean by this is that your stats won't be too much different from where they are right now. As it stands, expect to lose a little bit of spellpower and a little bit of MP5. When I loaded Lodur up, I was down about 200 or so spellpower and about 60 MP5.
Talent-wise, things are unchanged on the beta. We have heard that there is a very specific vision for the talent trees that will see a radical change from what we are used to. As of yet, though, this change has not been implemented. I am looking forward to the build where they include this, as I'm very interested in how they change things around to trim the fat out of the tree.
Falling in love with new spells
Greater Healing Wave is one of the new spell additions you have to look forward to. I know before I talked about it's being a situational heal, and it very much is a situational heal. That said, though, it is a wonderful situational heal. As it stands right now, as a backup nuke heal, GHW is pretty effective. I've been using it as an emergency heal tied to Nature's Swiftness, and it has saved a tank many times over. Healing Wave is earning its place as a staple heal. It is very mana-efficient for the amount of healing it does, and with a healthy amount of haste, it gets even better. I find myself using this spell almost as much as Chain Heal, and it has been a very reliable heal.
Unleash Elements is so-so right now. You pick this up at level 81. It allows you to unleash Earthliving Weapon, causing a minor heal on your target, and buffs your next healing spell by 20%. The super-charge is nice, but right now it is the only reason to use the ability. The heal really is minor, and there were several instances where the global cooldown was better spent on a regular heal. I think that the healing portion of it may wind up being altered soon in the upcoming beta builds.
I have not yet hit level 83 on the beta, so I have not been able to play with Healing Rain yet. Aside from Spiritwalker's Grace, this is one of the abilities I'm looking forward to playing with the most. An area of effect HoT that is not Healing Stream Totem intrigues me. I am curious to see how effective it is and moreso how useful it is. I am curious how often we will be using this compared to our standard heals.
Healing is harder!
When the developers said that they were going to make healing harder, they were not kidding. Mana consumption has definitely gone up. You can't simply spam heals anymore, and this is just in the first available instances! Things hit a lot harder now, as well, making healing a little more interesting. You have to pay special attention to your mana and what heals you are choosing for what. If people are spread out, Chain Heal may not be the best choice for you at that time, whereas Healing Wave may be just what you need. There were a couple of points where I was healing and was attempting to gauge incoming damage and a tank died -- from full to zero in two shots. Part of this is that some of the tank mechanics are wonky in the beta, but you can definitely see an increase in difficulty, mana usage and a need to be aware of your environment and how your group is interacting with it. It is a bit refreshing to be so challenged right at the start, but I have a feeling this will be tweaked and fine-tuned at least a little bit in the upcoming builds.
My hopes are high for this one. Logging into the game feels fresh and new, and healing was exciting and dynamic, if not a bit frantic. I will have more for you in the upcoming weeks and hopefully a few videos for you showcasing our abilities in action, as well as some leveling advice for people interested in starting over in Cataclysm (I do love my dwarf shaman in the beta). May luck and fortune smile upon you and find you with a beta key this week -- but for those who don't get one, I'll be trying to get as much information to you as I can in the weeks to come.
Show your totemic mastery by reading Totem Talk. Whether it's Matt Sampson's (forthcoming) elemental edition, Joe Perez's coverage of restoration or Rich Maloy's enhancement edition, we have you covered.Filed under: Shaman, (Shaman) Totem Talk
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Prydde Jul 13th 2010 6:19PM
I don't mind that healing will be harder.
However having a tank die in 2 hits is ridiculous. This is counterintuitive to what Blizzard has been saying about giving everyone more health and Time to live.
I sure hope that this is because tanking is broken.
mor8idhomogenosuicide Jul 13th 2010 6:26PM
My thoughts exactly, I was a bit surprised when I read the tank got 2-shot, that doesn't seem in keeping with what they said they were going for at all.
I was expecting tanks to be killed somewhere in the region of 3-5 hits, maybe 8-15 seconds depending on swing timer, but having to plan in advanced which heal to use to keep them in the safe zone without ooming.
Hearing that the bosses can 2-shot tanks has me a bit worried about them keeping the design goal in mind, but it is still early in the beta I suppose. :) Ah well, I'm hoping they keep to the design they suggested they were after, would make a nice change for me having only experience spam-spam-spam Wrath healing. ^^
Sean Jul 13th 2010 6:27PM
"a tank died -- from full to zero in two shots" worries me greatly. Yes, this is beta and much still needs to be implemented and balanced, but if you're having this hard a time keeping the tank alive and running out of mana at the same time, healing could become as frustrating as tanking already is.
Blizzard is not taking into account how ridiculously stupid DPS players are. They get hit by whirlwinds and cleaves and just expect to be healed through it. This will just make healing more stressful while DPS stay stupid.
Nick S Jul 13th 2010 6:50PM
I understand that tanking is somewhat broken... but if a tank really does die in two hits in a dungeon, the entire "bigger bars, smaller heals" philosophy sounds like it's somewhat down the drain.
Tom Jul 13th 2010 7:13PM
Yes, tanking is in fact broken at the moment. Let's stop freaking out - it is a beta, after all. :P
Hawkeye Jul 13th 2010 7:16PM
Healing is already the toughest job in the game in my opinion. I don't mind Blizzard making mana an issue again so long as the incoming damage isn't quite so fast and furious as it is now. Having a tank go from full health to dead in a couple shots means you have to spam heals. This is going to be problematic if they make it so we go oom from spam healing.
In my honest opinion healing isn't broken right now. It's at times a very difficult and often thankless job. but I like it that way. In their attempt to "fix" the healing situation I'm slightly concerned they might break it or make it just mind bogglingly more difficult than tanking and dpsing. Healing in the game could certainly use a little tweaking right now, but please don't fix what aint broken.
Glaras Jul 13th 2010 7:17PM
I'm going to echo the concern over that 2-shot of a tank. Blizz very explicitly said that we were going to get away from the era of such ridiculous burst damage. I'm praying they're going to fix this.
Glaras Jul 13th 2010 7:25PM
@Sean: I think, frankly, if we get DPS... or tanks or healers... who cling to the old ways of "just heal thru it", they're going to get an attitude adjustment pretty soon after Cataclysm hits. They'll wise up, or they won't be your concern anymore, after a RL drops them from the roster because they keep dying to avoidable damage.
Elmouth Jul 13th 2010 9:41PM
"we won't just be spamming heals"
I keep hearing this crap, what else are you doing exactly? Running around the room? Dpsing? Writing a book? No, you're still just healing.
And as far as choosing which spell to use when, real healers already do that all the time...
Also, Tanks dying in 2 hits? The tanking changes were supposed to have tanks with twice the health pool as they do today with boss hitting for less, wtf happened to that? Or did blizz change their mind -again-.
Steinar Jul 14th 2010 7:16AM
Two shot? Was it two normal swings or was it an special boss ability? Thats a huge difference, you know =)
Rodalpho Jul 13th 2010 6:28PM
You probably haven't hit level 83 because the beta is currently capped at 82.
Sylux Jul 13th 2010 6:37PM
I don't think he meant "I haven't gotten there YET," I think he meant "I can't get to 83 now, so I don't know about it."
Purf Jul 13th 2010 6:29PM
Although I do not play a shaman, I do feel the need to say that your description of the healing requiring much more management was spot on. I often find myself watching buffs for an Omen of Clarity proc as to increase my mana's duration. It does make healing much more interesting. :]
As for tanks dying in 2 or so hits, I've only witnessed that in Blackrock Caverns with the Evolved Twilight Cultist's Gravity Strike, which isn't cast quick enough to become a huge issue unless you have multiple on the tank (which would only logically happen during Corla's encounter)
Glaras Jul 13th 2010 7:22PM
I'm considering the information about the gear, and how we probably shouldn't be killing ourselves to gear up before Cat. I'm curious if anyone has any comments about how well a toon, decked out in i232/245 gear will do when the expansion hits. Although my main is in ICC-25 gear (averaging about i270), I have 4 other 80's, in gear ranging from an average of 240 all the way down to an average of 210. I simply don't have the time (nor the gold) to bring all of them up to my main's level. How well is, say, my DK who's still got a few NR blues on, going to perform?
mor8idhomogenosuicide Jul 13th 2010 7:43PM
The very first monsters in the new cataclysm zones will be lower in health and damage most likely than other monsters of that level.
Apparently (unconfirmed myself) the very first areas in Borean Tundra and Howling Fjord have monsters such as I described above near them, as well as starting area in Hellfire Peninsula.
I'm going to go see if I can find the applicable monsters on WoWHead, if I do I'll post links for those interested. =)
Nipah Jul 13th 2010 7:53PM
I don't think you'll have too much of a problem... When BC came out, my Enhancement Shaman was decked out in crappy blues and basic greens (Black dragonscale armor? Hell yeah!), and he did just fine at the beginning, and only got better with a few of the "free armor" quests under his belt.
Fast forward to LK, and the same deal... My Shaman running around in a collection of meh-quality blues and greens, and punching faces in the Tundra, getting by just fine.
I'm quite sure that come Cata, we'll all be doing just fine in those first few quests that simply hand you green level armor on par with mid-level "last expansion" blues.
zdave Jul 13th 2010 7:29PM
disc priest healing in cata looks to be very OP. since haste doesn't affect duration, penance gets extra ticks out of it's 2sec channel. with borrowed time and bloodlust, i'm getting 5-6 ticks in. add in an 8-9k bubble and disc is sitting pretty.
i can't wait to see how mastery scales. disc priests stacking mastery for insane shields? yes please.
Hellhath Jul 13th 2010 7:40PM
Concerning the tank being 2 shot, any more details? I know tanking is a bit wonky ATM, but was it a boss fight, a trash pull, etc. I remember magister terrace when it first came out and how ppl whined it was impossible bc they tried to aoe tank with no cc. Do you see predictive healing with stopcast returning or with larger health pools
If so how do we teach an entire generation or two of wow players the things we learned in vanilla? Spoiled brats :)
jdraff74 Jul 13th 2010 7:45PM
I meant to add "with larger health pools, a more reactive model with dps either being responsible for their own mitigation or healing such as with rogue recuperate."
Bluwatr Jul 13th 2010 8:19PM
My guestion is does it still feel like whack a mole healing? I would think so with Chain Heal taking a back seat.