I Wanna Hex You Up

I did it. Juggynaut is a Level 80 Shaman. What did I do when I hit 80? I definitely didn’t say ding. I spent my last talent point, turned in my quest, then Astral Recalled and trained one of my new favorite toys. Well, I actually trained about three levels worth of skills which cost me hundreds of gold, but the most important one for me was Hex.

For those of you who haven’t been paying much attention to shaman lately (including the devs), or those of you who haven’t been watching our features from the beta, Hex means I can crowd control a mob temporarily. While it only lasts 30 seconds and has a 45 second cooldown. I’ve found it terribly useful while soloing, grouping, and even raiding.

While questing, Hex can either eliminate an add for a short period, or it can decrease the damage output of the enemy for a few vital seconds in a fight. I utilized it in both fashions while attempting (and eventually defeating) a 5-man quest with my favorite Night Elf Priest (I love telling people we duoed Mal’Ganis).

In instances, I’ll Hex any animals or humanoids I see. It’s been great in both heroics and our first steps into Naxx 10, where we managed to down a handful of bosses.

In the end, Hex is a crowd control spell that mixes elements of a lot of the other CC spells that are out there. On the surface, it is polymorph effect, but it also counts as a curse. It can only be used once during a typical battle, like Sap, and has a cooldown longer than its duration, reminding me of blind. Similar to Fear, it doesn’t break immediately on damage. Instead it takes a certain amount of damage to break it, which according to my anecdotal evidence can vary. I think I’ve seen frogs drop dead from AoE before anyone in the group targeted them. While not an ideal CC spell, I’m definitely liking it over my past options (none).