Beta Mists, 4: Shaman and Priest

Ok, I've been playing Duskhawk in the Jade Forest for a while, so I figured I'd take a look at some of my other toons.  First, my elemental shaman, since I hear totems have gotten serious work.

Elemental Spec

 Shaman talents are interesting.  First tier is defensive, and second is about movement - either rooting or escaping roots.  Third tier is totems - reset cooldowns, refund cooldown if destroyed or replaced early, target them.  Fourth tier is the hard decision - elemental mastery (haste buff) vs. ancestral swiftness (5% passive haste and next nature spell isntant) vs. echo of the elements (like elemental overload, but for any direct damage or healing spell).  Fifth tier is healing focused, with a totem, an atonement copycat on a cooldown, and a healing rain related spell.  Sixth tier (that I can't take yet) is a buff to weapon imbues, turning elemental pets into real pets (albeit on their totem cooldown), and an elemental damage spell.

Shaman Talents

So, without talents, what have I got left for totems?

• Earth: Tremor Totem, Earth Elemental Totem
• Fire: Searing Totem, Magma Totem, Fire Elemental Totem
• Air: Capacitor Totem (AOE stun), Grounding Totem, Stormlash Totem (adds electrical damage to allies' attacks)
• Water: Healing Stream Totem

Totem bar is gone; you get totem pullouts now.  Not very handy if you need to hit them fast, but with only nine totems without talents, that's not a ton of toolbar space to just put them all on one.  Weapon imbues got a pullout too, which is pretty nice for them.

Elemental loses access to the Healing Waves and Fire Nova.  No more water breathing. :(

Huh.  I just realized that the bank got a recolor.

Some of the elemental glyphs (Lava Burst, Unleashed Lightning) don't really seem enticing.  Telluric currents sounds like it's probably a Resto-focused glyph (reduces damage by 30%, restores 50% of damage done as mana), but we'll see how mana efficiency is for Elemental.

Okay, I'm done running around Orgrimmar; let's go see how the spells look.

Oh, my God.  I just noticed that Shields and Imbues have 1 hour durations.  FINALLY.  But now - Pandaria on the shaman.

The new Lava Surge not only resets your Lava Burst cooldown, it also makes the next one instant.  The best part: you get a graphical notice around your character, like for fulmination, so you know when it procs with less staring at your toolbar.

Mana seems okay for basic questing; Elemental is still nice and bursty.  Haha, one of my new totems aggroed a critter, which ran over to attack me.

Okay, now to check leatherworking...  Oh, hey, it gave me Zen Master Skinner already.  Leatherworking patterns aren't in yet.  Cooking looks to have two skill 500 recipes in - probably so people can catch up their cooking.

Over to my discipline priest.  Last time I tried to look at her was one of the server crashes, so I haven't gotten to do more than glance through her stuff.

Priest tiers are a bit different than the shaman ones; the first tier is about control - fears, roots, mind control.  The second tier is movement - the bubble speed buff, removing movement impairing effects.  Third tier is incomplete, but it's where they've got Archangel and what used to be Surge of Light, which now has a shadow alternate effect; the third option is TBD.  The fourth tier is emergency buttons - instant self heal, health swap, and a proc'd bubble.  The fifth tier has utility abilities; sixth tier has three options for damage or healing abilities, all of which look cool and make me want to get to 90 on my priest just to try out.  Cascade looks like Prayer of Mending on Steroids with a damage alternate; Divine Star is like a boomeranging fire orb that heals or damage; and Halo is like a healing or damaging Blast Nova.

Priest Talents

Like the shaman glyphs, other than Atonement, there aren't a bunch that excite me.  Hunter glyphs were much more fun.  There is, however, an offensive version of the dispel magic glyph - it deals damage when you do an offensive dispel.  Nice for PVP, probably.

On to the priest spells!  Offensive and defensive dispel have been split up - Dispel Magic and Purify.  Purify has Cure Disease rolled into it.  Discipline no longer has Heal, Holy Nova is MIA, and Divine Hymn is Holy-only.  Most of the shadow damage spells have gone over just to Shadow spec, but they left us Mind Sear and Shadow Words Pain and Death.

No tailoring recipes in yet, but hey!  There's some enchanting stuff.  ... and Zen Master Enchanter requires Blacksmithing (500).  [giggles ensue]  They haven't updated graphics for the new enchanting materials - they have Spirit Dust and Mysterious Essences, but the Cataclysm enchanting graphics.  Several of the skill-ups are 2-5 per crafting.  (FINALLY.  I've been leveling an alt enchanter, and some of the levels are so slow to get past.)  The numbers are large, of course (spirit by 200, etc.).

Enchanting - entry recipes in, but a few bugs

Now to go test discipline soloing!  Actually I really just want to see the void tendrils graphic.  You may have notices I also gave my shaman the earthgrab totem; I like RUN AWAY options, since I have been known to get my characters in over their heads.

I like how prevalent flight paths are in the Jade Forest.

Okay, discipline soloing is as nice as always; I accidentally pulled three wasps, and had no trouble with them.  Void tendrals are HUGE!  Hm, Archangel isn't flashing at me anymore when Evangelism hits five stacks.  All those little things I like are still there - Divine Aegis, Train of Thought, etc.

Void Tendrils

No healing attempts yet - too much to do around the house, and I've spent all weekend beta-ing.  But soon!  (I'll try to remember to screenshot the discipline spec next time.)