To Shaman - This would be just awesome...

[Deekhay]

Some quotes from MMO-Champion:

(original article here - http://blue.mmo-champion.com/8/17730193271-class-qa-series-shaman.html )

Q. Are there plans to look at totems in general, the way they are managed, their uses, and their benefits in the future?

A: Absolutely. One of the features we have been working on is a way for shamans to drop all four totems at once (on one global cooldown).
In PvP, we want to make sure we end the use of “totem stomping macros” where a pet class essentially programs their pet to automatically kill any totem they see. It’s perfectly acceptable for pets to kill totems, but the player should at least have to make a decision and spend some of their attention to do so.

In Pvp it'd make such a difference... it'd mean for example that pressing the one button kill them all is just ONE GCD away and not 4 if you want to put down everything....

[Catamer]

I don't understand Bliz's logic on this.
right now a shaman has to make an effort to drop totems and keep a particular one done and someone with a pet can spam a button to have the pet kill the totems.
so they want to take away the ability to kill all totems but at the same time they are giving the ability to drop all totems at once.
the argument is the totem killing should be an effort... while dropping totems shouldn't. hmm.

this is going to make the shaman OP if you ask me and the hunter/warlock would be diminished.

I really don't like them getting rid of the totem killing macros and I run with 4 shaman all the time.

[Redbeard]

I really think they should keep the totem mechanic for active effect totems (stuff like grounding totem, magma totem, etc) and remove buff totems (replacing them with spells as GC mentioned they might do). I think shaman buffing vs pally buffing, hands down pallies have it easier / better.

[Dominian]

I don't understand Bliz's logic on this.
right now a shaman has to make an effort to drop totems and keep a particular one done and someone with a pet can spam a button to have the pet kill the totems.
so they want to take away the ability to kill all totems but at the same time they are giving the ability to drop all totems at once.
the argument is the totem killing should be an effort... while dropping totems shouldn't. hmm.

this is going to make the shaman OP if you ask me and the hunter/warlock would be diminished.

I really don't like them getting rid of the totem killing macros and I run with 4 shaman all the time.

No it just require some multitasking of the warlock/hunter atm 90% have it bound to some random dps macro. You can still kill totems now you just have to target them yourself.

The pets will pretty much kill your tremor totem at the same rate as you drop it and the warlock doesnt even have to be worried about targeting it to kill it.

[Tdog]

the argument is the totem killing should be an effort... while dropping totems shouldn't. hmm.

I think the argument is that Shaman have to burn 4 global cool downs to prepare for battle, while the opponent just spent four global cool downs beating on you.

All other classes can prepare for battle prior to actual combat. Shaman can... but then they can't move.I think this is what it comes down to as well. When I'm pvp'ing on my shaman team playing say AV. While we are pushing the alliance back towards SPGY, by the time I drop all 4 sets of totems the front line has moved out of reach of the totems and it's time to move up and set them down again.

[Ualaa]

I have zero issue's with a Warlock/Hunter who targets a totem and tells their pet to attack it.
That is the same effort as a Mage who wands a totem down etc.
It was a GCD for the shaman to place it, and its an action for the Pet Class to destroy it.

The stomping macro's are bull shit though.

#show
/petattack [target=Mana Tide Totem]
/petattack [target=Earthbind Totem]
/petattack [target=Tremor Totem]
/cast Steady Shot

Or whatever the macro goes. So the hunter/warlock can have their pet stomp the correct macro's in a priority sequence (last one listed is stomped first), without even targeting the totems themselves. Having totems stomped, by a hunter (or warlock) who is just casting their dps spells and may not even be aware of a totem within range of their pet is bull shit.

[asonimie]

I don't understand Bliz's logic on this.
right now a shaman has to make an effort to drop totems and keep a particular one done and someone with a pet can spam a button to have the pet kill the totems.
so they want to take away the ability to kill all totems but at the same time they are giving the ability to drop all totems at once.
the argument is the totem killing should be an effort... while dropping totems shouldn't. hmm.

this is going to make the shaman OP if you ask me and the hunter/warlock would be diminished.

I really don't like them getting rid of the totem killing macros and I run with 4 shaman all the time.WRONG. They are 2 separate issues. Totem stomping is obvious. Totem dropping is its OWN problem however and has been for a long time. No class has to spend 4-5 GCDs, in combat, at the start of every new fight before being fully functional. Everyone elses buffs are either previously applied on their person, or are procs that require no in-combat management either.

THANK GOD FINALLY

[Tdog]

I have zero issue's with a Warlock/Hunter who targets a totem and tells their pet to attack it.
That is the same effort as a Mage who wands a totem down etc.
It was a GCD for the shaman to place it, and its an action for the Pet Class to destroy it.

The stomping macro's are bull shit though.

#show
/petattack [target=Mana Tide Totem]
/petattack [target=Earthbind Totem]
/petattack [target=Tremor Totem]
/cast Steady Shot

Or whatever the macro goes. So the hunter/warlock can have their pet stomp the correct macro's in a priority sequence (last one listed is stomped first), without even targeting the totems themselves. Having totems stomped, by a hunter (or warlock) who is just casting their dps spells and may not even be aware of a totem within range of their pet is bull shit.All they have to do is toss
/petattack [target=playertarget]
on the first line of that macro then as soon as the pet is done destroying the totems they start assist the hunter/warlock/DK with absolutely no thought on the player's part. I think you should still be able to target totems by use of a macro, but I think the lock/hunter/dk should have to target it themselves when telling the pet to attack it rather then the player never even having to switch targets or even realize it's there before the pet kills it.

[Ualaa]

I have no issues with a pet class targeting a totem and destroying it.
If the warlock/hunter uses their own toon to destroy it, via a macro that's fine too.
A GCD for a GCD, so to speak.

If a shaman can drop four at once, on a single GCD, then maybe AoE can destroy 4 at once, provided the totems are the target in which case only the totems are hit.
That way its still a GCD for a GCD, and the class has to manually target them, not auto destroy them without thinking while concentrating on something else entirely.

I just don't like the pets destroying totems, in priority order (or any order) with zero thought on the hunter/warlock's part.
It would be the equivalent of a shaman being able to.... /cast Lava Blast and having that spell purge 3 buffs which the shaman could choose before hand in a priority sequence.
Well.. maybe not three at once, but one spell purged per keystroke of the dps spells... LB, FS, LvB etc, in the priority sequence.

[Stabface]

It's about time. No other class can have their buffs taken out by every other class in the game with relative ease.
Look at Mana Tide vs Innervate for example.

[Redbeard]

Yep. But even ignoring the totem stomping issues, the sheer "quality of life" issues that totems present are ridiculous.

[Deekhay]

I have no problem on ppl killing my totems, my problem is wasting 4gcds to bring them up again :p I lose over 50k dps (resilience moderated oc ^^) during that time ^^.

[Marious]

What you guys fail to realize if they put the GCD on the totems as one is the fact that they will make the totem CD much longer, so where talking about not being able to actually use our totems for lets say 30 sec, I highly doubt that they will have a CD of 10secs. Even thought you can drop 1 totem and waste a GCD then no big deal you can set it down again in a mater of seconds. I guess I am confusing this, what I mean is the Totem CD, while its ok to drop 4 totems on one GCD does that mean that they will increase the CD of totems themselves?

[Deekhay]

What you guys fail to realize if they put the GCD on the totems as one is the fact that they will make the totem CD much longer, so where talking about not being able to actually use our totems for lets say 30 sec, I highly doubt that they will have a CD of 10secs. Even thought you can drop 1 totem and waste a GCD then no big deal you can set it down again in a mater of seconds. I guess I am confusing this, what I mean is the Totem CD, while its ok to drop 4 totems on one GCD does that mean that they will increase the CD of totems themselves?If they did that, it's be a major nerf and they're presenting it as an update/fine tuning.
What would be the point of putting it under a big cd if they can still be destroyed? They only said it'd be HARDER to destroy.

[asonimie]

What you guys fail to realize if they put the GCD on the totems as one is the fact that they will make the totem CD much longer, so where talking about not being able to actually use our totems for lets say 30 sec, I highly doubt that they will have a CD of 10secs. Even thought you can drop 1 totem and waste a GCD then no big deal you can set it down again in a mater of seconds. I guess I am confusing this, what I mean is the Totem CD, while its ok to drop 4 totems on one GCD does that mean that they will increase the CD of totems themselves?This is completely unfounded and ridiculous. Cooldowns of certain totems have nothing to do with the problems totem casting presents to the shaman class overall. Unrelated. This will never happen.

[Owltoid]

Warriors do not start the battle will full functionality, either.

Shamans have a good amount of burst DPS to make up for the totem dropping. If they're going to make all totems on one GCD, then I'm guessing they'll compensate in other ways, namely removing some burst damage.

[Marathon]

Killing totems is fine with me. I mean there are other classes that can remove buffs from players like shamans purge or a priest ability to dispell magic

[Ualaa]

You can worry a buff to shammies is accompanied by a nerf as well.
However, there is zero indication of this in the blue info posted.
Not saying a nerf is not included.
Not saying a nerf is included either.

From what we've been told, its a buff in two ways.
a) drop 4 totems at once, instead of 1 totem at a time.
b) stomping macro's broken, so pet classes will have to target totems and wand/shoot/cast/command pet to attack, instead of dps and have pets destroy totems automatically.

[Kruschpakx4]

1 gcd, 20 totems, have fun pet

[Multibocks]

Why do they keep making changes to the shaman that make me want to play mine again?

[Powerwar]

Make totems have the same HP as warlocks voidwalkers... problem solved with totem stomping macros.