Castsequence reset times

[Vyndree]

It is possible this has something to do with the changes in 2.3 to the GCD.

This was identified by me pre-2.3... In fact, I haven't played any of my shammy/pally team since before 2.3 because of the pending ele shammy changes and my frustration with how Blizz is deciding to handle the direction of the class.

Anyway, totally off topic, but the point is I noticed this pre-2.3

[Vyndree]

Vyndree - You do know that Blizz decided to un-nerf the elemental 2.3 shammies changes, right? The +Spell Damage nerf was completely undone.

Also, I beleive Earth Sheild is getting a change making it undisspellable in 2.4.

I do realize this, however it's a hint at the direction they're looking at for Ele shammies.

I started my shammy when clearcast was buffed from 10% chance of free spell to 100% mana reduction on the next spell after every crit.
I persisted after the change to 60% mana reduction after crits.
I persisted after the change to 2x40% mana reduction after crits.

The proposed "buff" to elemental dps that was promised ended up being a coefficient nerf. The shaman on the forums erupted, and blizz ate their words at the "buff" that really was a nerf and altered the coefficient until they can find a better solution.

I predicted the hidden LO cooldown (much like the hidden WF cooldown). Blizz reverted this as well once it was discovered by the shaman community.

IMO, Blizz has mishandled the shaman class multiple times and this was kinda the last straw for my 4x shammies. I'm keeping my 70 shammy, as I do enjoy playing resto, but will not be leveling my 4 nublet shaman any further.

They're focusing on nerfing the burst damage of elemental shaman in exchange for mana efficiency. Stacking crit isn't the be-all-end-all anymore. I just don't like the overall DIRECTION of the buffs/nerfs/proposed buffs/proposed nerfs and I'm not willing to pigeon-hole myself into a single class.

Earth shield, as far as I know, will continue to be dispellable. If you have info otherwise, I'd love to see it. However, they're decreasing the mana cost, since, at 500 mana to cast and no dispell resistance, it's very hard to keep it active in PvP encounters. Not to mention the giant rock screams "I'M A HEALER, KILLME!"

Anyway, end of the story is I'm sticking with some other classes. Sticking with one class and only one class puts me at risk of being totally disappointed if and when they nerf elemental to oblivion. Whereas, if I have multiple classes, at least ONE is bound to be OP

[Vyndree]

Oh, I have no problems with people doing whatever makes them happy. It's just I am still stuck in the "golden days" mindset and it's disheartening to see the direction my favorite DPS spec is heading.

I still love my 70 resto shammy, no doubts about that, and I'm glad they're buffing enh since they sorely needed it.

[Djarid]

I'm with you Vyndree,

my lvl 70 Enhancement Shammy is sitting idle... I used to love PVP with him, then we got nerfed into a laughing stock in the BGs. I have dabbled with Elemental and Restoration but really can't be bothered with them. I have no time for instances so the only viable spec (restoration) is useless to me unless I want to play a PVP healer. Considering I rolled a Shaman to be a melee offensive hybrid with a big 2h I also find the direction blizzard are going with the class to be very disappointing.

[shivetya]

Vyndree brings up an extremely good point.

reset=# is pretty much worthless. I can't really see an instance were I'd use it instead of combat or target. The whole point of /castsequence is to be able to push the button over and over again to do multiple things. If the timer increases with every button push... uh... ya. Pointless!

Perhaps someone should try and open a thread on the official forums about it? (or not. :lol: )

I don't think it is useless. I use reset= with EarthShock. Each of my Shaman have Earthshock on the same key - using commas in different positions to they can fire off at different times. Now why reset? Because for the most part I only need the main to cast it to interrupt and its easier to control facing with the main - let alone targetting issues with the followers (get don't assist till target is dead etc)

[shivetya]

I persisted after the change to 2x40% mana reduction after crits.

The proposed "buff" to elemental dps that was promised ended up being a coefficient nerf. The shaman on the forums erupted, and blizz ate their words at the "buff" that really was a nerf and altered the coefficient until they can find a better solution.

I actually find the 40% off for two spells not a problem, but I would prefer 60% for both

[Zaelar]

If you just use one comma in a cast sequence it will save you from one bad key press every cast. Whether you wait the duration or use up your bad key press it will be back at holy shield.

[Vyndree]

I persisted after the change to 2x40% mana reduction after crits.

The proposed "buff" to elemental dps that was promised ended up being a coefficient nerf. The shaman on the forums erupted, and blizz ate their words at the "buff" that really was a nerf and altered the coefficient until they can find a better solution.

I actually find the 40% off for two spells not a problem, but I would prefer 60% for both

There's nothing wrong with 40% off two spells.

This is the problem:
Crit, Non-crit, Non-crit = 80% off
Crit, Non-crit, Crit = 80% off, refreshed buff for the next 2
Crit, Crit, Non-Crit = one of your 40%'s is wasted, 80% off, refreshed buff for next 1
Crit, Crit, Crit = 80% off, refreshed buff for the next 2

Some of those crits are "wasted". Shammies with 40% crit or more weren't uncommon, which means that it's now more efficient to stack +dmg rather than +crit after 30% crit or so.

This is pushing shammies away from the burst damage, slowly but surely. You can see just based off of the iterative changes:

100% clearcast = crit is AMAZING
60% clearcast = crit is still good to stack, but not AS mana efficient
40% x 2 clearcast = crit will now start to lose effectiveness in mana-efficiency if you stack it too high

Then look at what they tried to do for 2.3:
- Lower spelldamage coefficient on lightning bolt, making shammies want to use their +crit itemization points to get more +spelldmg -- this change was last-minute reverted after elemental shaman noticed a significant dps decrease that would have ruined the spec entirely.
- Increase LO proc rate, but lower damage by half on the procs as well as 0 threat on that proc, spreading the damage out over time so it is less bursty, good for PvE, bad for PvP
- Water Shield changes make ele shammies less dependant on their clearcast talent for mana efficiency

You can clearly see what they have in mind for elemental shaman. Anyone care to predict any future changes?