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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsRaid Rx: What druid and shaman cooldowns would you like to see?
by Matt Low 
Feb 18th 2011 at 2:00PM
No beating around the bush today. There were some upcoming healer changes that were announced earlier in the week. I can tell you as of right now, I'm worried about the Power Word: Shield change -- not because I think discipline priests will remain overpowered, but because holy might go the route. I'll explain that later on in the post.
The main focus of today's post is defensive cooldowns for shaman and druids. I'm sure a number of players don't believe there's a need for the two classes to get defensive cooldowns, but in order to compete for utility, I think druids and shaman would benefit greatly from having those spells available. The argument here is that since the four healers are approximately the same across the board (from a throughput perspective), the edge might be given to paladins and priests because of the additional cooldowns they have to offer. Shaman and druids might end up being even more attractive in 10-player raids.
The case for cooldowns
When I'm referring to healing cooldowns, I don't mean spells like Innervate or Mana Tide totem. Those are great utility spells. Instead, I'm referring to defensive cooldowns that can be used to keep tanks or other players alive. There are three main mechanics that come to mind:
- damage absorption
- damage reduction (Pain Suppression)
- healing increase (Guardian Spirit)
NethaeraWe agree with the sentiment among some players that Restoration druids and Restoration shaman are lacking in the healing cooldown department. The shaman buff and Power Word: Shield adjustment above should bring all healers reasonably close in terms of throughput. The decision on who to bring then might end up being dictated by the strong cooldowns offered by paladins or priests. This isn't the kind of thing we can address via a hotix, but it is something we are looking at for the next major content patch.
I know as a raid leader that my decision to bring one healer over another in the past has been dictated by the additional utility that some classes have to offer. By offering utility capabilities to shamans and druids, the decision would be that much more interesting. Would that mean additional homogenization? Yes and no -- yes in the sense that this would mean all classes have the capability to assist the tank through really hard phases, but no because they can save players through other means than damage absorption, damage reduction, or increased healing.
But yeah, it is high time for druids and shamans to get something else. Each healing class should have the tools to accomplish certain objectives, like AoE healing, tank healing, fast healing, and so forth. Player saving shouldn't be any different. I hope that new designs wouldn't resort to being Pain Suppression clones, but I wouldn't be entirely opposed to it even as a temporary measure.
This is where we can innovate and think of some other ways to accomplish this goal that's in line with individual class philosophy.
Ideas for druids
Let's use Barkskin as an example. Barkskin cuts down incoming damage by 20% to the druid. It has a 1-minute cooldown and can be used in all forms. That is one spell I wouldn't mind seeing castable on others. I know I'm not the only one who feels the same. But the 1-minute cooldown timer and the fact that the spell is usable in any form means it becomes a touch overpowered.
How about modifying the Barkskin glyph? Increase the cooldown timer to 3 minutes. Increase the damage reduction to 40%. Make it usable only in humanoid form, and allow it to be used on other targets. Clearly, that needs some further balance modifications. I confess, I'm not as well versed with restoration talents, but glyphs are another avenue to explore. A major glyph slot, perhaps?
Actually, it might just be easier to add another spell or talent specifically in the talent tree instead. Another spell might be the more simple solution instead of modifying another spell.
Ideas for shaman
When asked about the a cooldown wish, all that WoW Insider resto shaman specialist Joe Perez had to say was:
Joe's got some interesting ideas for cool resto shaman cooldowns. One idea he suggested that I liked is Aegis of the Tempest. Essentially, it increases the dodge rate and reduces incoming damage. I had the wacky idea of a water elemental totem. What would said elemental do? I have no idea. Perhaps the elemental could absorb a percentage of incoming damage within a certain radius before it dissolves or something.Make Riptide a baseline spell or a resto specialization. Replace the talent slot with the new defensive cooldown.
A note about priests
For priests, the Power Word: Shield cost reduction benefits from the Body and Soul talent absolutely terrify me. Once holy priests go down that tree, they can still invest points in the following talents:
I think Power Word: Shield is too powerful for holy. Cheaper shields from Body and Soul and Mental Agility? Stronger shields from Improved Power Word Shield? I just have a bad feeling about that.
But hey, hopefully I'm really wrong about that.
I can't wait for 4.1.0. No idea when that will come out, but it's another patch to look forward to for healers. With luck, we'll get a sneak preview of what they have in store. A variety of different solutions are available. Talents, spells or glyphs can be used to make adjustments.
What ideas would you suggest for druids and shaman so that they have similar capabilities to priests and paladins?
Need advice on working with the healers in your guild? Raid Rx has you covered. Send your questions about raid healing to mattl@wowinsider.com. For less healer-centric raiding advice, visit Ready Check for advanced tactics and advice for the endgame raider.Filed under: Druid, Priest, Shaman, Raid Rx (Raid Healing)
Reader Comments (Page 3 of 6)
Still Wingless Feb 18th 2011 2:37PM
The hotfix notes state that the BnS changes won't be reflected in the tooltip until the next client patch.
Saeadame Feb 18th 2011 2:46PM
There was a hotfix either yesterday or sometime in the past week that changed this talent to also reduce the mana cost of PW:S. It is not reflected in the tooltip, but if you cast the spell with and without the talent you will see that it's cheaper.
nekorion Feb 18th 2011 2:25PM
shaman have healed with water long enough.
Their cool down needs to be "eroding winds"
Cast on a target they gain a few stacks of a damage reduction buff. Each hit lowers the damage reduction, but increases movement speed and dodge!
MAKE IT SO!
Heii Feb 18th 2011 2:33PM
I like this idea better. Puts a stacked buff on the target that reduces damage but increases attack and movement speed. Or Dodge and Attack Speed. Have it give a different buff depending on class/spec. I don't know, it sounds nice though.
Oh, and Water Elemental could just be a supercharged Healing Stream or something like the Guardian of Ancient Kings;
'Heals everyone within range for X over it's duration' or, 'When summoned, heals the lowest health targets for it's short duration. These heals will splash to nearby targets at reduced effectiveness' ala the old Holy Light glyph, just lower hard heal and larger splash
Heii Feb 18th 2011 2:26PM
Glyph of Barkskin; Increases the cooldown to 3 minutes, and allows it to be cast on other targets.
I'd like to see something like this;
'Wind Elemental Totem'
"The Shaman summons a wind elemental who reduces the damage done to all players within 40 yards by 20% and increasing the dodge chance of the current Earth Shield target by x%"
10 minute cooldown, can be glyphed to 5 minutes ala Fire at the reduction of the dodge chance.
And; 'Nature's Swiftness (For Druid and Shaman) now has 3 charges, but all 3 are consumed when used in conjunction with a damaging spell. In addition; all healing spells cast while under it's influence are free of mana.'
Then bump up the cooldown to about 3-5 minutes.
Lissanna Feb 18th 2011 10:57PM
Why do resto druids have to lose something to gain something?
Heii Feb 18th 2011 11:08PM
Simply because I haven't healed in a raid environment on a druid, or know anything that would help a Druid towards healing (Cooldown wise anyways.)
I apologize if it came across as me shorting Druids or such. And now that I think about it; You could add a damage reduction to Thorns (40%) or so. It wouldn't effect feral much in PvP or PvE as they'd really only be able to pop it before pulls/combat, or get caught with their pants down, as it were. Worst case; the damage reduction only applies to you when in Caster, Tree or Moonkin form.
Me Feb 18th 2011 2:27PM
Part of the problem is that I think he misrepresents Guardian Spirit.
The huge thing with Guardian Spirit is the Ardent Defender-like proc. The tank gets one free death.
Two types of cooldowns:
Keep the Tank Alive CDs:
There are any number of fights where we've established rotations along these lines:
"Priest X uses cooldown first, then Paladin Y, then Priest Z, then Paladin N*
Halfus Wyrmbreaker leaps to mind in current content. Early Lich King 25 also leaps to mind. As well as Sarth 3d. You weren't going to "pop tree of life" on a breath. You were going to use Guadian Spirit, Pain suppression, or a paladin ability. We chose our healers in some attempts based very clearly off those cooldowns.
None of a druid's cooldowns are comparable to these.
We need as much Healing as Possible CDs:
Shamans are especially hit hard because, does anything compete with Divine Hymn/Raid Wall/PW:Barrier/Tranquility for a shaman? Although here I think mana tide is at least relevant because it lets people use very mana-inefficient, high-througput spells more. [With more mana, my HPS goes up, that's true of most classes under the current design. There's a direct correlation. Tree of life can also be strong here.
While they don't strictly speaking have good burst healing cooldowns, priests also have the ability to spam poh, and our efficient raid heals mean we can conserve mana for flash heal type spam - which makes up for our lack of druid like, low-cd burst healing. Similarly, paladins have more mana control than druids and shamans, so they can make conscious burst-healing mana-based decisions in how they heal the whole fight.
On the other hand, during those aforementioned halfus/LK/Sarth 3d moments, there's nothing at all a shaman or druid could do, even with a full mana bar.
Dan Feb 18th 2011 2:33PM
Is "cooldown" the cool kid word for "spell" now?
Saeadame Feb 18th 2011 2:40PM
????
It's the word for a spell that has a cooldown longer than a few seconds, meaning you have to pick and choose a little when you use it.
Firestyle Feb 18th 2011 2:33PM
Shaman need divine guardian. Only one spec of one class has divine guardian. We can call it Spirit Shield - All party or raid members partially shift into the spirit realm, reducing all damage taken by 20%. Lasts 10 seconds. 5 min cooldown.
Only difference is that this affects the shaman, whereby divine guardian does not affect the paladin.
Saeadame Feb 18th 2011 2:43PM
I wouldn't mind seeing more totems. I like the idea, but it would be cool if it was a water totem that they could drop.
Firestyle Feb 18th 2011 2:33PM
Shaman need divine guardian. Only one spec of one class has divine guardian. We can call it Spirit Shield - All party or raid members partially shift into the spirit realm, reducing all damage taken by 20%. Lasts 10 seconds. 2 min cooldown.
Only difference is that this affects the shaman, whereby divine guardian does not affect the paladin.
obarthelemy Feb 18th 2011 2:34PM
I'd like a "heal on the move" CD for my priest... maybe a repurposed Inner Focus ? I have both a Druid and a Priest healer. While the priest has the extra oomph for emergencies that I have difficulty finding on my Druid, my Priest has an extremely hard time with movement:
1- very few, very inefficient instant heals. PoM, Circle, Renew for Holy... PoM, Shield and Renew for Disc. Those are either on CD, bad+slow, small, all of the above...
2- slowish heals. Heal and PoH are my staple heals, @ 2.41s cast time. Canceling one of those to move quickly, or trying to stand in the fire till they complete, are both a Bad Thing (tm).
3- Making up for time lost moving involves Flash. Flash entails OOM.
I understand each healer has peculiarities. I just find Priests' "Don't Move" one very cumbersome, a bit like Hunters pre-cata.
A CD allowing us to heal on the move would be nice. Or a Chakra. Maybe carrying a penalty to healing done or mana regen ?
Saeadame Feb 18th 2011 2:42PM
I don't know, priests are significantly more mobile than Shamans, in my experience, which is partially why they got the spell that lets them cast while moving. Maybe it's changed, I haven't healed on my Shaman much since the end of wrath, but that's just what I remember.
Still Wingless Feb 18th 2011 2:52PM
I actually like that movement hampers my priest a bit more than other classes now, as opposed to the freak-out-and-renew-and-PoM-and-CoH days in Wrath. It gives me a sense that I fill a role that other classes can't quite fill, and allows me to work for a better overall synergy with the rest of my healing team. Having a strength is something that every class needs, but that I don't always feel on my shaman.
Fossless Feb 18th 2011 2:43PM
Why not make every class have the same spells? (Sarcasm) druids have enough spells, although shamans could use something
johnthediver Feb 18th 2011 2:44PM
As a resto shaman I would like to see a CD ability tied to Earth Shield. Something like press panic button to prevent x incoming damage to ES target. Each charge of ES remaining prevents X damage, any remaining damage absorbtion left from charges becomes a priest like shield. 1 or 2 minute cool down.
Toad Feb 18th 2011 2:46PM
As a shadow priest, PW:S feels really powerful right now. I find that the utility of a quick, powerful, instant heal can be invaluable in group and raid play.
It is slightly disconcerting to see both priest heal specs get a bunch of milage out of it, as it's one of the few spells in the game that forces a cooldown from other players, and the only one that is not considered a "cooldown," like heroism or forberance effects. I'd like to see weakened soul go through some sort of redesign where multiple priests can't step on each other's toes so much.
As far as resto cooldowns, I think shaman should get one similar to power word barrier - combo damage reduction and healing boost. Druids might do well barkskin being thown around, but perhaps we could see summoned treants perform resto tasks. The design of spells that do different things for different specs is always appealing, ala paladin guardians and priest's archangel.
Jacob Parsons Feb 18th 2011 2:46PM
For Resto shamans, how about a cooldown that allows our mastery to work more? The most extreme case would be a cooldown that caused our Mastery to act as if the target were at 1% health at all times. Alternatively, either a static improvement (20% more bonus from mastery, 50% more bonus) or a shorter-cooldown spell that allowed mastery to act as if the target were at most at 30% health or something.