Players in the World of Warcraft community are expressing significant dissatisfaction with recent class-balance updates for the upcoming "WoW: Forever" expansion. A prominent Shaman Discord server, boasting approximately 80,000 members, has gone into lockdown, becoming read-only to protest what members describe as "completely ignored" community feedback and the destruction of class identities.
The protest stems from changes implemented in the game's latest patch notes, which aimed to boost power across all classes. While classes like Paladin and Rogue received major reworks, Shamans saw the removal of key abilities, such as Elemental specialization's Lava Burst, and alterations to others like Restoration's Riptide and Enhancement's Maelstrom Weapon. These changes have led to widespread discontent within the Shaman community.
The locked Discord server displayed a message explaining the "drastic measure" was intended to "give them [Blizzard] a sign and show them that the community is not [happy] with how they approached our beloved class." The players are demanding the return of distinct class and specialization identities.
The protest's scope extends beyond WoW: Forever, with all channels related to other "classic" versions of World of Warcraft, including WoW Classic and Mists of Pandaria Classic, also being locked. The server administrators clarified that their complaints are not focused on "damage output" but rather on the design and identity of the Shaman class. They also stated the server would eventually re-open regardless of the outcome of their protest.
Specific grievances detailed by the server included issues with various ability changes across Shaman specializations and what they term the "hybrid spell power issue." This concern highlights a perceived blurring of identities between Elemental and Enhancement specializations due to spell power and intellect gear being more effective for both.
The Shaman players acknowledged Blizzard's stance against "hybrid" classes dealing more damage than dedicated DPS classes, a concept known in the community as the "hybrid tax." However, they expressed a willingness to accept this "hybrid tax" if it resulted in a more cohesive class design with strong, represented class fantasies.
This is not the first instance of a World of Warcraft class Discord protesting changes. In August 2025, the modern WoW Paladin Discord experienced a partial shutdown over Retribution specialization's raid performance. That protest lasted less than 24 hours, and Blizzard did announce buffs for Retribution Paladins shortly thereafter, though the direct impact of the protest on those changes remains unclear.
It remains to be seen how long the WoW Classic Shaman Discord will remain locked. WoW: Forever is scheduled to launch on November 4, and Blizzard has indicated that significant class changes are not expected for at least another month.