For mages in World of Warcraft, an era is coming to an end. The loyal water elemental is disappearing for frost mages in its current form.
World of Warcraft is constantly evolving. The gameplay experience of classes is continuously changed by reworks. However, Blizzard does not dare to touch some of the most iconic abilities. But that seems to be changing now. With the upcoming patch 10.1.5 “Tears of Time”, it’s the mages’ turn. A major talent rework is on the way, which means drastic changes. Mages will have to say goodbye to their water elemental.
Is the water elemental completely disappearing? No. However, frost mages will no longer have the option to choose the elemental as a permanent companion with patch 10.1.5. Instead, the elemental can only be selected as an option that is active during the “Icy Veins” spell and supports the mage for a few seconds.
A short trailer for the next patch can be found here:
Why is the elemental being “axed”? There are several reasons for this. On the one hand, the talent to summon a water elemental has long been unpopular among players. The elemental was simply too weak and almost always lost to the alternative “Lonely Winter” – as a result, the mage lost access to the water elemental, but most of the mage’s spells became significantly stronger.
In addition, the water elemental turned the mage into something he should never have been. For Ion Hazzikostas, the game director of WoW, explained in an interview with wowhead:
The pet [water elemental] already has a low rate of talent choice, and when we go through the interactions – is this a class that we try to force into the role of a pet class instead of a pure ranged spellcaster? […] and I believe that having the elemental as part of Icy Veins contributes to that fantasy and makes it more significant when active, while simultaneously clarifying that mages are not a pet class – just as most have played him anyway.
Since when has the water elemental existed? The frosty companion has a long tradition among mages. For already in Warcraft III, the human hero Archmage could summon a water elemental, making him one of the best and most versatile starting heroes. In World of Warcraft, the elemental only came with the end of Vanilla, i.e., the “pre-patch” of The Burning Crusade. At that time, the water elemental was the final talent in the frost tree of mages.
So, on the upcoming Wednesday, an era for mages ends. Even though it is a shame to lose the water elemental as a loyal companion, the reality was already such: Most mages have given up this pet.
How do you feel about it?
