In the world of World of Warcraft, the Dragonflight expansion will forever be remembered as the one that brought forth Augmentation Evokers, the very first support specialization. Season two was a nightmare for healers, struggling to maintain their Mythic+ rating, but there is hope on the horizon with the upcoming WoW Patch 10.2. While healers will receive some much-needed buffs, these buffs come at a cost, potentially eroding the identity of one particular specialization.
Blizzard’s plan is to bolster single-target spells, granting healers more power in that area. However, this comes at the expense of the impressive area-of-effect abilities like Cloudburst Totem, which will be toned down. Restoration Shaman, historically renowned as the top raid healer, faces the risk of losing its unique identity.
A concerned player perfectly articulated the main grievances that Restoration Shaman mains will have with this change in a Reddit post on September 17th:
“If I wanted to constantly cast small heals followed by a big heal, I would play a Priest. If I wanted to rely on healing over time effects that spawn even more healing over time effects (as seen in tierset 10.2), I would choose a Restoration Druid. And if I wanted my single-target heals to be directed towards targets with my healing over time effect (Primordial Wave), I would opt for a Mistweaver.”
The player suggests that Blizzard should refocus Restoration Shaman’s power back into Chain Heal, an iconic ability that bounces between multiple players, and Healing Rain. This would reinforce the specialization’s identity while still maintaining clear strengths and weaknesses.
Additionally, players are calling for Healing Rain to become an instant spell, similar to Restoration Druid’s Efflorescence. This change would make repositioning much easier and reduce the punishment, particularly in Mythic+ dungeons where constant movement is necessary to avoid deadly mechanics.
As a dedicated Restoration Shaman main, I wholeheartedly agree that these changes would align perfectly with the class fantasy without making the specialization overpowered. No one chooses to play a Shaman to spam single-target heals, and Blizzard has unfortunately taken the wrong direction with this specialization. However, there is still time to rectify this mistake.
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Source: DOTESPORTS
