Frustrations with the Developers

At what point does community feedback sink in? When is the tipping point where the Blizzard developers go “Okay, I can see the point these guys are making, let’s take a look into it”? I am understanding of limitations of the development team to cater to everyone playing every class at every skill and gear level, but there has to be enough of a movement to prick up some ears at the Blizzard HQ at a certain threshold.

There is a reason I bring this up. Recently there was a post by everyone’s favourite designer, Ghostcrawler, which grazed a nerve for me (the post I refer to can be found here). Now, this was not aimed at elemental shaman by any stretch. It is a general message posted in the Damage Dealing forums as a ‘sign-on-the-wall’ style notice to let everyone know that being annoying and kicking up enough dirt is not going to get Blizzard to succumb.

I took particular aversion to this because I believe that, for the most part, us elemental shaman have done most everything right. Obviously, like every other spec in this game, there are those who act inappropriately and think that they deserve something bestowed on them for whatever reason. Some classes/specs (*cough* mages *cough*) more than others, but it is certainly present to some extent across the board. However, for the most part we have been very cooperative with the manner we have conducted our complaints in. My particular focus fell on this paragraph:

"Here is how the process should ideally work: If you have an issue, bring it up. See if other players agree with you. If they disagree, don't shut them out. Once you've explored the issue a little bit, you've done your job. You don't need to keep starting new topics on the same issue nor bumping those already so long that no reasonable person is going to read them (though I try to)."

There are some genuinely great players that have put forward well constructed, technically sound ideas about changes that can be made to our spec. I will not name these people for the fear of retribution from the ones I will inevitably forget to name, but those who frequent the official forums on a regular basis are familiar with them and their work. These ideas have been presented to the community. They have been agreed upon, as a general consensus. They have been analyzed, debated over, tweaked and finalized until they are a polished suggestion that, if instituted, could genuinely improve our class.

And they are ignored.

Now, this claim may be a bit unfair. I cannot claim that Blizz ‘ignored’ them. The developers may have read them and even given some consideration. However, Blizzard has chosen not to respond to them. Not even acknowledge them for the most part. The latest patch with our grand total of zero spec specific changes proved that pretty boldly.

I am aware that elemental is not the biggest spec around. I am aware that we do not hold a lot of weight in the grand scheme of WoW, simply because our population just isn't there. We are a small, relatively menial class. The “forgotten casters”. But does that really justify us being the hotfix junkies? Because we aren’t popular we can't earn a dynamic change?

Our DPS by comparison is slipping at the cutting-edge levels, our population is declining and there are still no changes in sight. Magma totem is still our viable AoE. Totem of Wrath is still our unique selling point. We are still the only caster with absolutely no scaling ability from our base stats. Our itemization is still laughable.

The shaman forums are a barren land in regards to blue activity. To the developer’s defence, they have stated they will not post in class forums for the most part. That said, even our Damage Dealing forum posts are without blue contributions. It has been 6 months since GC’s posts here and here. This is a thread where GC’s first post commends the quality of the thread; (I quote) “We could use many more posts like this in this forum. Thanks!” and he himself goes on to agree with and list these issues which even back then had been known for a long time. His appreciation? Yes. Actively following up on his points and answering to the community? Still patiently waiting.

Ghostcrawler needs to stop lecturing on how he ‘ideally’ wants us to contribute. Instead, start commending those who are doing the right thing and actively contributing. If not, there hardly seems inclination to do otherwise. The proof is staring right at them and has been for a long time.

-Puut

Edit: As a follow up, I would like to draw attention to this thread that is currently active in the DD forums. GC has given this thread recognition by posting in it (twice), and in the second post he says "Good data make stronger argument than opinions or anecdotal observation..." when discussing how to make an impact in the community. Funny, coming from a thread that starts with an intellectual gem like this.

First Things First: An Overview of the Class

A good place to start is with an overview of Elemental Shaman; and as such Shaman as a whole:

Shaman are the spiritual leaders of their tribes and clans. They are masters of the elements, using spells and totems that heal or enhance their allies in battle while unleashing the fury of the elements upon their foes.

- WoW Community Site (http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/classes/shaman/)

Shaman come in three varieties: Restoration, Enhancement and, of course, Elemental. We as elementals are a damage dealing spec that most closely aligns with casters such as Moonkins (a.k.a. Balance Druids) and Mages. Casting lightning (nature) and lava (fire) spells are our mainstay for dealing damage to our enemies. We are a hybrid class, and are arguably the best off-healers in the game which increases our value in group or raid situations.

The Shaman class is orientated around its buffing ability; ours being particularly unique in that we use totems. These are area of effect (commonly shortened to simply 'AoE') buffs that are not cast on our targets like the majority of other buffs, but rather given as an aura-like effect that radiates from the totems we place in our locale. We can place a maximum of 4 totems down at any one time, one from each element under our influence. These are Fire, Air, Water and Earth. As elemental shaman we are offered the powerful Totem of Wrath that makes our role particularly valuable in a raid situation. At max rank, this fire totem provides additional Spell Power to all members of the raid (considerably more than that offered by the similar Flametongue Totem which is generic to all Shaman specs), as well as providing a debuff to all enemies within a 40 yard radius.

There is a plethora of other topics I could talk about in this one post, but for now this will conclude the overview. As we continue with this blog there will be a greater understanding of what makes elemental shaman individual and I may feel the urge to edit this post accordingly. I know for many of the readers this post will be redundant and I appreciate your patience. I am attempting to cater to all levels of experience and knowledge with my posting and felt a initial summary post was necessary.

Next up, we will delve into stats and what they mean in relation to us.

- Puut