World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, like other expansions, has multiple class changes in store for players, targeting, to a greater or lesser extent every playable spec, including Enhancement Shaman.
Enhancement Shaman will benefit from the ability unpruning that Blizzard has set off to do with World of Warcraft: Shadowlands while having some of its own abilities changed, removed or replaced.
The most significant change to Enhancement Shaman – and the other two specs – in Shadowlands is the removal of its Maelstrom resource which shifts the class away from its current builder-spender gameplay style to a more cooldown-based one.
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands Enhancement Shaman Changes
As far as ability unpruning goes, Shadowlands will give all Shaman specializations, including Enhancement, the following spells:
- Chain Heal
- Chain Lightning
- Flame Shock
- Flametongue Weapon
- Frost Shock
- Healing Stream Totem
- Lightning Shield
Moving onto Enhancement Shamam-specific changes, Maelstrom Weapon returns as a usable ability, albeit with a different effect.
In Shadowlands, it makes every attack have a chance of triggering a buff that results in your next ability, whether damage or healing, triggering instantly.
The ability has also had its stacks increased to 10 from 5, while each stack grants additional damage and healing to the abilities with which Maelstrom Weapon synergizes.
Enhancement Shaman’s Chain Lighting’s synergy with Crash Lighting now consists of both increasing damage and reducing cooldown per target hit, while Windfury Totem’s radius has been significantly nerfed from 30 to 12.
Where Lava Lash has had its cooldown increased to 18 seconds, Stormstrike’s cooldown has been slightly reduced to 7.5 seconds.
Stormbringer, on the other hand, can no longer refresh Stormstrike’s cooldown.
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands’ Enhancement Shaman changes also make Feral Spirit instantly grant a stack of Maelstrom Weapon when cast and an extra 5 over its duration.
Windfury Weapon and Flametongue Weapon will also be a bit easier to use, automatically applying their effects to the proper equipped weapon.
Shadowlands’ Enhancement Shaman spec changes also see players’ Haste stat reducing the cooldown of both Flame Shock and Frost Shock.
Lastly, Lighting Shield can grant stacks of Maelstrom Weapon when damaging opponents, while Rockbiter has been removed from Enhancement Shaman in WoW: Shadowlands.
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands Enhancement Shaman Talent Changes
The list of World of Warcraft: Shadowlands Enhancement Shaman changes also extends to the specialization’s talents whose spread has been altered to accommodate the expansion’s level squish that moves the maximum level cap to 60 once more.
Thus, Fury of Air has been removed from the Shadowlands Enhancement Shaman Talents list. Forceful Winds can be picked starting with level 15 while Hot Hand is now one of the three level 25 talents.
Also on the level 25 row, Enhancement Shaman players will find Ice Strike – which deals frost damage, snares opponents and resets the cooldowns of both Flame Shock and Frost Shock – alongside Stormfury, which replaces Landslide and reduces the cooldown of Stormstrike by 1 second every time Windfury Weapon activates.
Back on the level 15 row, Lashing Flames now replaces Boulderstrike – after the removal of Rockbiter –, making Lava Lash increase the damage of Flame Shock by 100%.
Two Enhancement Shaman talents on the level 35 row are also being reworked in Shadowlands. Searing Assault will be known as Hailstorm. Picking it makes each stack of Maelstrom Weapon consumed – from a maximum of 5 – increase the damage of the next Frost Shock ability by 50% and hit 1 extra target per consumed stack.
Overcharge will become Fire Nova, making all targets affected by Flameshock erupt into flames, dealing damage to up to 6 nearby targets.
Going higher, on the level 45 row, Stormkeeper turns the next two Lightning Bolt or Chain Lightning spells into instant casts.
The list of World of Warcraft: Shadowlands Enhancement Shaman changes can still be altered as Blizzard receives feedback from players who are taking the 9.0.1 pre-patch for a spin on the PTR.
On top of this, Shadowlands-specific features like Covenants and Soulbind Conduits will also apply their own changes to the class’ base abilities and playstyle.
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands is set to release on PC at some point in Fall 2020.
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