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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsEnhancement shaman itemization and the end boss effect
by Matthew Rossi 
Jun 9th 2011 at 10:00PM
As you may or may not be aware, I've started gearing up my enhancement shaman and have been having a really good time playing him. I enjoy enhancement for a lot of reasons, including how different it feels from playing a warrior or feral druid, the other two melee classes I'm familiar with.
However, finding weapons can be a bit of a pain. The best weapons for me outside of a raid are the two fist weapons in ZG, which drop from a randomly summoned boss. So you may not even get the boss who drops them, and the off-hand doesn't even drop from the same boss as the main-hand -- and in either case, it means I'm leveling archaeology on a fourth toon because half the time, no one can summon any of them.
As annoying as this is, for raiding, it can get even worse. Getting a 2.6 speed agility main-hand weapon from raiding means killing Nefarian and praying that this week he drops your axe. (You can get an off-hand from trash, but you can't use it in your main hand, meaning you need at least one Neffy axe). Blizzard has come out and said it's fine with this for now.
However, finding weapons can be a bit of a pain. The best weapons for me outside of a raid are the two fist weapons in ZG, which drop from a randomly summoned boss. So you may not even get the boss who drops them, and the off-hand doesn't even drop from the same boss as the main-hand -- and in either case, it means I'm leveling archaeology on a fourth toon because half the time, no one can summon any of them.
As annoying as this is, for raiding, it can get even worse. Getting a 2.6 speed agility main-hand weapon from raiding means killing Nefarian and praying that this week he drops your axe. (You can get an off-hand from trash, but you can't use it in your main hand, meaning you need at least one Neffy axe). Blizzard has come out and said it's fine with this for now.
Takralus - Enhancement Shaman Itemization and Loot Drops
In general, we don't set out to provide perfect itemization for every spec in every tier of items, however we try to not neglect anyone either. This sometimes results in situations where, say for example the mainhand slot, is easier to obtain for one spec over another. We have seen some comments from Enhancement Shaman about Nefarian's axe (Crul'korak, the Lightning's Arc) being a harder item to obtain for raiders than different spec counterparts.
While we don't go out of our way to make these differences, we are fine with them happening from time to time. In the above example with Nefarian's axe, we chose to go that route because historically, Nefarian also dropped a similar type axe in Blackwing Lair. We also like the idea of weapons being on an "end boss", as they generally are quite sought after items.
That said, Firelands will be dropping two weapons suitable for Enhancement Shaman that do not involve killing Ragnaros. One of these will even be able to drop from multiple bosses.
While we don't go out of our way to make these differences, we are fine with them happening from time to time. In the above example with Nefarian's axe, we chose to go that route because historically, Nefarian also dropped a similar type axe in Blackwing Lair. We also like the idea of weapons being on an "end boss", as they generally are quite sought after items.
That said, Firelands will be dropping two weapons suitable for Enhancement Shaman that do not involve killing Ragnaros. One of these will even be able to drop from multiple bosses.
Now, I'm not going to go the "hilariously outraged" route here. It's annoying to have almost all of your loot hopes tied to one boss, and it's annoying to end up using a strength weapon on a shaman because your agility options won't drop. It's even more annoying once you start doing heroic raid content that there's exactly one weapon for you.
I'm glad to read that Firelands will have more options for shaman, but I think the experiment of the Claws of Agony/Torment was a mistake; we ended up with a weapon set no one really wanted. Making them both agility weapons would have at least meant that enhancement shamans would have wanted them.
As for the two weapons suitable for enhancement in Firelands, I'd guess Gatecrasher and Shatterskull Bonecrusher will be your new huckleberries. The Shatterskull reminds me of the Syphon of the Nathrezim in looks. Hopefully, one of these two weapons will be fairly easily available. Sadly, I'm not seeing any fists yet, but if we're not going to get what I want at least we'll get what we need.
The news is already rolling out for the upcoming WoW Patch 4.2! Preview the new Firelands raid, marvel at the new legendary staff, and get the inside scoop on new quest hubs -- plus new Tier 12 armor!
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 2)
joff_graham Jun 10th 2011 3:23AM
I was wondering the same thing, Elam! Just sidetrack him with a question of who is the better expansion boss - Deathwing or the Lich King. Twitter gave me an awesome read on that debate this morning, courtesy of Rossi and Whitcomb
Josh Myers Jun 10th 2011 1:19PM
PSH, DONT HIDE BEHIND THEM.
All joking aside, couldn't have said it better myself!
Lemons Jun 10th 2011 4:07AM
Things are tough all around for the enhancement shamans. I read some of the questions for the upcoming DPS Q&A and it was like swimming in a sea of deep blue (meaning shaman blue, not mage blue, mages are just keeping quiet and hoping Blizz continues to not notice how OP they are).
Emophia Jun 10th 2011 6:18AM
Being an enhancement shamans is depressing, worse than mediocre dps, no really unique utility, worst survivability for a melee in both PVE and PVP, no real damage in PVP.
But man oh man are they fun to play.
Crispn Jun 10th 2011 6:39AM
I disagree about "worse than mediocre dps" we're pretty much in the middle of the pack, I even usually top the meters in my 10man, granted we are a casual group.
Agreed, my favorite spec in wow
SmokyBG Jun 10th 2011 7:25AM
I'm regularly in the top 5 in our 25-man, and being beaten by hunters and fury warrs which both are getting nerfs in 4.2 and which both have access to heroic weapons. Also, I'm in bottom 5 in damage taken on Nef, with judicious use of Shamanistic Rage, glyphed Stoneclaw and wolves... So, while we're not The DPS, I'd say we do pretty well :-)
mdienekes Jun 10th 2011 9:49AM
This article misses the mark, although Rossi does hint at some larger issues. There is absolutely no discussion of the main hand agility weapon Claws of Torment, that drops from trash in normal mode... it literally has the exact same stats as Crul'korak, the Lightning's Arc. Admittedly though relying on a trash drop is just as frustrating as putting the weapon on the final boss. It's made even worse when you consider that both of the best weapons in normal mode are trash drops, in an instance that has a minimal amount of trash in the first place.
As mentioned earlier in this article the true problem lies in heroic mode, where we can't rely on trash drops. Itemization is a huge problem across all of WoW, but enhancement feels it the worst because we are the minority when it comes to mail armor, and slow one handed weapons (behind hunters and warriors/rogues respectively).
I've always felt that it would be incredibly easy for Blizzard to fix this through the crafting professions, by bringing back weaponsmiths. Axemasters could be given the ability to change a sword to an axe for example, without changing any stats. Blizz could just use the standard tier axe artwork for the newly crafted axe, which would require minimal work on their end.
Additionally, I've always felt that reforging was poorly implemented as well. It should entirely replace one secondary stat, and again it should be done through the player crafting professions.
I really feel that these two changes would solve the vast majority of itemization issues for all the classes, not just enhancement.
Djinn Jun 10th 2011 10:42AM
The shaman class has a long legacy of poorly itemized gear why should it be any different now. They roll on hunter gear thats generally lacking Expertise... They used to have to waste item budget on MP5 if they were elemental... This poor itemization is nothing new to them at all..
Djinn Jun 10th 2011 10:45AM
It also furthers the cause of this idea of "mail spec" or "leather spec" a total joke.
Both Shamans and Hunters should wear leather and they should get rid of mail all together. That way Kitties and Enhancement Shams and rogues could share gear, Boomkin/Resto/Elemental could all have the same gear.. and they could still have stuff for hunters. Hunters should just reforge expertise if they don't like it. Give them some crap stat to deal with for once..
nobbie Jun 10th 2011 2:18PM
In 2 weeks you can buy the two epic axes from sesaon 9.
ptay313 Jun 10th 2011 2:18PM
I know this is off topic but i have a enhancement question. Some guildies and I have decided to freeze our XP at lvl 60 and raid some vanilla content, as most of us didn't start playing untill Burning crusade. I only have one talent point to place in either Maelstrom Weapon or Improved Lava Lash, and was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on where to put that point.
Thanks
conundrum Jun 10th 2011 4:37PM
It took no time at all for my enhancement shaman alt to snag both of the zg fists.
My guid is 12/12 with 2 or 3 heroic kills and the damn mh dagger off ODS hasn't dropped once for my rogue..
ONCE!
Tanro Jun 10th 2011 10:50PM
http://www.wowhead.com/itemset=41
Here we have Dal'Rend's Arms which is apparently a set of DW Tanks? Or was it Off tank dps? Or really I am not sure why these 2 items were put in the same set.
And I guess the fist of fury, which was the set I was thinking of from TBC was changed, or never had str on it. Though I do remember a guildy Fury warrior wearing it. But warriors used a lot of agility gear then.