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Much ado is being made about a recent change on the Public Test Realm (PTR) in regards to the Shaman class in World of Warcraft (WoW). In short, Shamans have the ability to apply a single weapon enchant to any of their weapons, and one of these enchants, Flametongue Weapon, now applies a healing debuff to the Shaman’s target. The argument made by dissenters is that the ability mimics the Warrior’s Mortal Strike, which applies a similar debuff to targets.

What these same people fail to realize is that Mortal Strike is still very different from the new Shaman “buff”. In short, Mortal Strike’s key utility is giving the respective Warrior an instant attack on a slow two-hand weapon, which gives the Warrior tremendous burst damage on a very short cooldown. This is why Mortal Strike Warriors are great in PvP, where high burst damage is of utmost import given how unpredictable it is for the target and the target’s healers.

The change to Flametongue Weapon, however, does the opposite of what Mortal Strike does, in that it reduces a Shaman’s burst damage because Flametongue Weapon is a stand-in for Windfury Weapon, the enchant which allows a Shaman to potentially attack multiple times on a given weapon swing. In other words, Flametongue Weapon is a situational enchant used on a target receiving heals, when other sources of burst damage are available.

Blizzard’s addition of the healing reduction attribute for Flametongue Weapon is a direct descendant of the concept that Shamans are a utility and support class. By giving them the capacity to reduce heals on a target, it allows them the opportunity to properly assist a DPS class in group PvP, and it keeps them away from healers, which is a direct advantage healers will have as a result of this change. The followup effect from a healer’s inability to heal as effectively means that they can either struggle to keep up with healing debuffs, else engage in combat themselves, which is very much what other massively multiplayer online roleplaying games (MMORPGs) are attempting to do. Furthermore, the change directs Shamans to focus fire on the DPS’ target, which in Battleground scenarios, will help make fighting enemy encounters more efficient when Shamans are employed successfully. And in situations where the Shaman feels he is best utilized to go after a healer, he can drop a Flametongoe Totem for his allies to reduce healing on a target, while he himself keeps Windfury Weapon up to take chunks out of healers some yards away.

In the end, the change brings nothing but further potential for Shamans, while those who are not inclined to use Flametongue Weapon regardless of its respective buffs can still keep using Windury Weapon. The fact that Shamans now have more options for various encounters is not a bad thing, however, but quite a good one.

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