What specialization are you? Why? What talent are you using? How are you gearing your Shaman? What are your thoughts of 5.0.4 Shaman so far?
I've been armorying some of the most active Shamans to gain some ideas on how to gear and right now I'm leaning towards a Cata Holy Paladin gear setup with a focus on Crit/Haste. I feel that our heals are strong enough that the extra spell power doesn't make much of an impact.
Dasfizzla @ Bleeding Hollow - Game Guide - World of Warcraft
Tell me what you think.
Post your speculation below!
Das, you should have armoryed my shaman. I'm always active.
Rvrstar 5.0.4 Shaman Thoughts:
My Specialization:
I have gone Restoration Specialization because after extensive testing this seems to be the only logical spec in 5.0.4. As Enchancement your damage is not that high and your main utility is healing. Same as Elemental. Elemental is alright, but the damage is not good enough to cop w/ the burst of other class. For example the burst of a holy paladin is insane. I can't believe I said holy but it is what it is. Ret is also extremely bursty. Not only does Holy have the burst to take down a EFC they also have the utility and heals to as well. Feral is also a good example. They have semi-decent healing but their FB crits are extreme. I can remember being crit for 2k. Bascially went from Full HP to less than 10% in a second. As for the abilities you get as restoration, its an go to choice. They have Healing Surge as well as Riptide. Riptide provides an endless HoT, that not only heals you but gives you health from Ancestral Vigor. Not to mention that the mana regeneration and usage is quite OP to say the very least.
My Talents:
I have seen that not one talent in the 15th tier is better than the other. Meaning there is not one that is cookie cutter. That is awesome! I however decided to go w/
Nature's Guardian while FCing. Because it will give you the extra health when you get bursted on, which brings you below 30% HP. If I am
healing Mid or healing the FC I find its more beneficial to go w/ Stone Bulwark Totem. This is because if your getting hit on, you can pop this to negate some of the incoming burst. The last talent is very good because it can be used when you need it. Its not like a proc or w/e.
My Gearing:
I have also been armorying some of the most active shaman in the bracket, including you, Dasfizzla. I have thought about weather or not the extra SP is worth it. But after testing I find the same results as you. I am gearing my Shaman towards a Cata. Holy Paladin, which is basically Crit/Haste. I find our heals are fine and the extra SP is not worth it.
My thoughts on the 5.0.4 Shaman Changes:
I like what Blizzard has done w/ the game. I feel Shamans got what they've been needing, which is Healing Surge. We had a 2.9 second heal, which was incredibly useless in the bracket. The bracket in general, in my eyes, seems quite balanced as it will ever be. I found that its like the way BC was. Games are now fun and competitive. And the queues are popping everyday at around 12am-10pm EST. This is awesome. I saw some say Feral isn't viable, have you seen their critz?
Those are my thoughts right now. Hope this was helpful to anyone.
As always, keep up the good work my fellow Twinking Friends. See you in the Gulch!
-Nick (WorldofZenon)
