It was supposed to make up for the fact that you couldn't use multiple spells from the same line any more. Obviously it's all broken now.
Of course, and that's to make up for the fact that we can't stack multiple dots from the same line anymore. The dots prior to the revamp were really bad (as evidenced by the fact that necros stack 15+ dots to try and get their damage at a decent level). The damage portion of the RoS dots should have been scaled back from what they were, although I don't think quite as much, and they needed to have some consistency so that our highest cost dot also had the highest base damage. That being said though, if the mana costs are reduced(and I really hope they are or it's just a terrible design) then I think we'll still be in a good spot compared to other classes.
I will admit i have no dog in this fight. However that being said. I personally don't feel a class that's been primarily a healer (read aka priest class) should be topping parses. I feel (again my personal thoughts) are such that pure dps classes should be the best dps in game.
I don't think that any of the vocal shaman think we should be topping dps parses. At least not the ones with any common sense. The issue comes from two oddities with the nerf. First off, the inconsistent damage reduction. Why did some dots get a 60% nerf and others only a 30? Why not just a straight 35% across the board? This caused our previous best dot(Jinx) to no longer be the best base damage. And second, the fact that there was no mana reduction to go along with the damage reduction makes no sense. I get that in the raid game it probably doesn't matter, but it's an absolute killer for the group game. The only benefit of using the dots previously was their decent short term dps. With that now gone, there's no reason to use them at the current mana levels. You'd be better off pulling more mobs and focusing more on healing and letting riposte/aoe dmg kill faster.
The problem I have with this post, and there are others like it, is it ignores half of the change. I don't think people would have been as aggrieved, if mana cost was changed. By rights mana cost should have been reduced by the same % as damage was reduced (that rarely happens). This is only going to cause some people to react to other classes abilities. More knee jerk reaction. I suppose it's all about perspective. When a class is nerfed, I see it as making the game harder and probably less enjoyable. Others, see it as less competition, and Daybreak must be pleased with themselves, making it harder for content to be completed, therefore longer to complete. The trick is not to alienate your clientele completely.
I would agree with you.. -->IF<-- shaman were intended to be DPS'ers .. However Everquest classifies them as priest class, which is by the very definition in everquest a healing class. That being said.. This show's that shaman are NOT supposed to push dps over healing. (if they do in fact not lower the mana cost per dot / dps / what ever they use) EDIT: If however they do not lower the mana cost per dps .. this will verify what I personally thought of as being the shaman's primary role .. that of being a healer in everquest.
We seem to be at cross purposes. I'm not arguing the damage was too high. I'm arguing that the mana cost should have been cut with it. This seems to be something you don't want to acknowledge as if it would weaken your position, which it would not. This may all be a moot point, the patch is now overdue and I am hopeful that it is the case because DBG are reducing the mana cost of the DOT's they nerfed.
That is their role in raid. This patch ruined the group game for them. If it has the same effect as their over-nerfing of the bard and enchanter classes had, it will mean less shaman will be playing the game. Luckily for raiders, half the melee/tank players have a shaman box. I hope you don't mind being asked to sit your main and play your shaman instead. This is what happened to me after the over-nerfing of the enchanter class caused 2/3rds of enchanter mains to quit. Overall, its very bad for the game. Less players mean less subscriptions. This means they make less money. This means they have less resources to work on/expand/better the game. Unfortunately for everyone they did not learn from their previous mistakes, and are now making yet another one. Maybe you think there are already to many priest players playing the game?
I do not understand how its mana is even a relevent topic to a class who has canni available as well as other stuff like potions they get per ping's .. which effectively doubles their mana verses any other class in the game ? EDIT: Shaman literally have what a full mana bar and +50% at a moment's notice, every how often 2 ish minutes ?
You just explained how EQ lost 2/3rds of all enchanters after they got nerfed, then you were asked to play another class. Guess my question to you is do you think all them chanters quit the game.. or simply rolled over to another toon, they prefurred after said patch ? I personally do not think any of those "players who play the favor of the month toon" ever quit, they simply move on to the next "flavor of the month" favored / blessed class.
oh shaman no longer have canni ? Ok then yes you guys have every right to be pi#### at this nerf they took canni !
Yes, they quit. They had both played the game for over a decade. There was a third enchanter who quit around the same time but he was more of a grouper and imo not invested in the game like the others were. Even more sad was the bard over-nerf in TDS-TBM killing off the bard class, two of the three raiding bards we lost were two of our founding members. They had played the game since the beginning. The third who quit had only played for a decade or so. As I said, none of these people were flavor of the month players. And I do not know how it is in your guild but we cannot afford to lose any of our shaman or druid mains.
For somebody with no dog in this fight you sure are vocal. Makes me think you really like talking out your other orifice. Now being one of those whose ox got gored, I can say that those who claim "priests aren't supposed to be able to dps" are just blowing smoke. EVERY class has some damage dealing ability, some are just better at it than others. Then also there is that part provided by the person behind the keyboard that can maximize performance turning straw into bricks. A cleric's main focus is healing with plate armor and defensive abilities. They can melee to some degree and arte pretty awesome against undead opponents, against regular mobs not so much. A shaman has decent group healing, but has chain so can melee to some degree as well as cast effective damage spells. A druid is lightly armored and provides mobility as well as both healing and damage from spells. The flexibility to fill in as either backup healer or dps is part of the class definition. Granted none of the three should be able to perform all these abilities at the same time while topping the parse. There is a tradeoff required for either the druid or shaman, do they focus on healing or on damage? And then when do they have to switch over and stop with the pew pew pew? Topping the parse consistently is out of line but they should be able to produce a respectable output in the role of dps, after all it is part of their job description. So yes the dots were overpowered, and needed to be toned down a bit. Seeing them out performing other pure dps classes consistently should tell you that somebody is slacking, and needs to look at what and how they are filling their role. Occasionally topping out could just be a matter of timing luck and great ADPS. This is NOT just a Shaman issue, the Druid class is also taking a similar hit with NO real means of recovering mana quickly. Druids are the weakest of the 3 priest classes in regards to healing, we don't have as many toys in our box because we HAVE to have space to fulfill our other duties.
Just a thought .. (least my "theory" on it) Perhaps the mana usage on the dots has not been changed .. Because DBG see's priests as healers not dps'ers .. Having said that .. Perhaps .. just maby .. They want a way to make Shamans not want to dps .. Thats simply by leaving the mana cost per dots .. at their current values. Lets be real here, yall are priests. In this game that mean's primary roles are healers. And as such making "shammy" dps "not efficent" would be an excellent way to keep them in line with historically what they have always primarily been .. Healers.
