savagedpuck
OG
Prelude
So why should you pick a shaman as your twink? Well that is a good question. The best way to answer it is to explain why I like playing my shaman. Really I love the versatility (a word I will use often) and role it plays either in a BG or an arena. Shamans are an offensive healer, though their heals aren’t quite up to what a priest, pally or druid can do but they can maintain some heals plus dish out some damage. They don’t need to stay back and hide the entire time. Because they are the only none mail wearing class that can use shields they get a decent amount of armor. Their shocks and totems are their greatest weapons being able to apply damage and interrupts from a distance at instant speed plus adding a AoE slow and other utilities means they are always on the move. Of course they do have some weaknesses, with the exception of having a tremor totem down, they can be CC’ed very easily. They still have range attacks with their spells. And that is another thing, they have the shocks and totems as instants but the rest tend to have a cast time which means it is subject to pushback, now with WotLK it is considerably less, but a full second added still can be enough to decide victory or defeat. Now I am going to go over some things to get you prepared as possible to play the shaman class. So study and grow strong.
Table of Contents:
1. Spells
2. Races
3. Specs
4. Sample Gearlist
5. Picking up Items
6. Professions
7. 1v1
1. Spells
I am pretty much just going to list all the spells available to the shaman with their cost and any other useful information I can provide
Shocks
All shocks are instant and use the same cooldown. For the most optimally DPS with them the rotation would be FS -> ES -> FS using other abilities while the shocks are on cooldown.
Flame Shock: 22% base mana, 6 sec cooldown
Flame shock is a DoT that lasts 12 seconds; it helps against bandages and stealth so try to keep that on as much as possible. Remember before glyph the duration is 12 seconds so you could always rotate in an earth shock. Flame shock is by far the ability I use the most. Jumping in water does not make this go away, neither does /stop, /drop, or /roll. Just an FYI.
Earth Shock: 23% base mana, 6 sec cooldown
This is your best source of burst damage, but it does do less than damage overall than flame shock.
Totems
Shamans don’t have buffs but with totems they provide various utility like effects, while maintaining mobility. With the exception of shocks, totems are the shamans most important trait. There is a variety of them and all can be useful during certain situations, so don’t be afraid to experiment and try different totems and various times to try to maximize your potential.
Earthbind Totem: 5% base mana, 15 sec cooldown
This is the ability that I use the second most. Being an AoE slow it has multiple applications. First it helps you kite a warrior or rogue when you are dueling, mean you can use shocks while on the move and when you have some distance drop a heal or lightning bolt. Repeat these steps until the opponent is dead. Second in BG’s it is useful against a FC trying to make their escape or helps your FC make their escape from a group of the opposing faction. When dueling Earthbind Totem should be used when the opponent is right next to you, drop it so you can strafe away. You don’t want to drop it when they are to far away because it can give them the time to destroy it and it will be on CD when you need to make your escape.
Searing Totem: 9% base mana
Searing Totem will always be a constant source of damage even when you are kiting, plus it can keep warriors in combat so they can’t charge you when you try to escape. It should always be down. Always.
Tremor Totem: 2% base mana
A well timed Tremor Totem can devastate any class that uses fear spells. Being able to get rid of the fear puts a hindrance on the classes that need it so they can escape. Time this right and duels become a little easier. Never forget you have this weapon.
Fire Nova Totem: 33%, 15 sec cooldown
This spell is great on the burst damage. I use it to help me take down hunter pets quicker or anything I am meleeing, which shouldn’t be much but there are times where it just happens. Also a great trick I love doing is when I see a warrior targeting me, I stop and drop this and start casting a lightning bolt. Now the warrior will probably charge me but he falls into the Fire Nova Totem. If he doesn’t charge I get a lightning bolt of, or if he charges the Fire Nova Totem I again get the bolt of, a win-win of burst damage.
Stoneclaw Totem: 8% base mana, 30 sec cooldown
The uses for Stoneclaw are minimal but sometimes it works. First the taunt ability can sometimes get pets off of you for a bit which is always nice. Second some players get totem destroying happy and just destroy any totem they see and if you drop this they might think it is an Earthbind and might get stun. Trust me the first time you get someone to fall for it you will be as happy as a clam. Go ahead have a tasty cupcake.
Stoneskin Totem: 13% base mana
So a 200 armor increase isn’t something you would write home about, but something you should realize you have in your arsenal.
Strength of Earth Totem: 13% base mana
You get a increase of Strength and Agility by 10, which is okay. This is probably your least used totem, and might even be your least used ability.
Other
The rest of these spells round out the shamans arsenal of what they have available. I have used every ability that the shaman has available at 19 in pvp.
Ghost Wolf: 3% base mana
One of the new things that shamans acquired in patch 3.2 is ghost wolf. It is a 40% speed increase form. Tricks to remember, it is a 2 sec cast unless specced into Improved Ghost Wolf, it can be dispelled, and with it on you are immune to sap. That being said it is a very powerful ability and shouldn't be underestimated, really only being overshadowed by druid's travel form.
Wind Shear: 8% base mana, 6 sec cooldown
Wind Shear is the shamans interrupt. With patch 3.2 it is now the only interrupt now that Earth Shock lowers melee speed. Also it no longer uses the same cooldown as the shocks so get used to the new timing.
Purge: 8% base mana
Other powerful weapon in the Shamans spellbook. Being able to get rid of the opponents buffs like extra health and HoTs is amazing. Besides priests, shamans are the only class that can get rid of those buffs. Some things you should remember that can be dispelled: Aura of Protection from Arena Grand Master, Speed increase from Speed Potion, and Hand of Freedom buff from Paladins.
Lightning Shield: no mana
This should always been on your shaman. While you are being attacked it will always deal damage back. Plus with it being a free spell it doesn’t invoke the 5 second rule, however it still triggers the GCD.
Healing Wave: 32% base mana
The only heal spell available to shaman at 19, not counting racials or professions of course. Never let yourself get to low on health before you cast this spell the pushback plus cast time can give the opposing class time to kill you. Also even though the lower ranks have the same mana cost don’t be afraid to use one to get a heal of sooner, Rank 3 is really good at that.
Lighting Bolt: 13% base mana
You might go tons of BGs and duels without using this or you might spam this non stop. It is a simple and elegant damage spell. I use lower ranks for quicker cast when dueling rogues and warriors when they are a distance away while my shocks are on cooldown.
Flametongue Weapon: 8% base mana
So not only does it give +13 spell damage but it adds about another 14 dmg per hit with most of the weapons you use.
Cure Toxins: 7% base mana
Sure it only is really effective against one class, but hey when that class is one of the top classes in the bracket any weapon you have against them is a good one. I have ran completely OOM from a full bar on mana running from a hunter just spamming this. But hey, I had next to full health before I got away.
Rockbiter Weapon: 8% base mana
Even though it is deemed so useless you stopping getting ranks after level 24 I have used this occasionally on a Smite’s Mighty Hammer and done some nice burst damage. Fun times.
Ancestral spirit: 72% base mana
Hey it is a rez spell, it might get used during a BG, not often but it is there.
So why should you pick a shaman as your twink? Well that is a good question. The best way to answer it is to explain why I like playing my shaman. Really I love the versatility (a word I will use often) and role it plays either in a BG or an arena. Shamans are an offensive healer, though their heals aren’t quite up to what a priest, pally or druid can do but they can maintain some heals plus dish out some damage. They don’t need to stay back and hide the entire time. Because they are the only none mail wearing class that can use shields they get a decent amount of armor. Their shocks and totems are their greatest weapons being able to apply damage and interrupts from a distance at instant speed plus adding a AoE slow and other utilities means they are always on the move. Of course they do have some weaknesses, with the exception of having a tremor totem down, they can be CC’ed very easily. They still have range attacks with their spells. And that is another thing, they have the shocks and totems as instants but the rest tend to have a cast time which means it is subject to pushback, now with WotLK it is considerably less, but a full second added still can be enough to decide victory or defeat. Now I am going to go over some things to get you prepared as possible to play the shaman class. So study and grow strong.
Table of Contents:
1. Spells
2. Races
3. Specs
4. Sample Gearlist
5. Picking up Items
6. Professions
7. 1v1
1. Spells
I am pretty much just going to list all the spells available to the shaman with their cost and any other useful information I can provide
Shocks
All shocks are instant and use the same cooldown. For the most optimally DPS with them the rotation would be FS -> ES -> FS using other abilities while the shocks are on cooldown.
Flame Shock: 22% base mana, 6 sec cooldown
Flame shock is a DoT that lasts 12 seconds; it helps against bandages and stealth so try to keep that on as much as possible. Remember before glyph the duration is 12 seconds so you could always rotate in an earth shock. Flame shock is by far the ability I use the most. Jumping in water does not make this go away, neither does /stop, /drop, or /roll. Just an FYI.
Earth Shock: 23% base mana, 6 sec cooldown
This is your best source of burst damage, but it does do less than damage overall than flame shock.
Totems
Shamans don’t have buffs but with totems they provide various utility like effects, while maintaining mobility. With the exception of shocks, totems are the shamans most important trait. There is a variety of them and all can be useful during certain situations, so don’t be afraid to experiment and try different totems and various times to try to maximize your potential.
Earthbind Totem: 5% base mana, 15 sec cooldown
This is the ability that I use the second most. Being an AoE slow it has multiple applications. First it helps you kite a warrior or rogue when you are dueling, mean you can use shocks while on the move and when you have some distance drop a heal or lightning bolt. Repeat these steps until the opponent is dead. Second in BG’s it is useful against a FC trying to make their escape or helps your FC make their escape from a group of the opposing faction. When dueling Earthbind Totem should be used when the opponent is right next to you, drop it so you can strafe away. You don’t want to drop it when they are to far away because it can give them the time to destroy it and it will be on CD when you need to make your escape.
Searing Totem: 9% base mana
Searing Totem will always be a constant source of damage even when you are kiting, plus it can keep warriors in combat so they can’t charge you when you try to escape. It should always be down. Always.
Tremor Totem: 2% base mana
A well timed Tremor Totem can devastate any class that uses fear spells. Being able to get rid of the fear puts a hindrance on the classes that need it so they can escape. Time this right and duels become a little easier. Never forget you have this weapon.
Fire Nova Totem: 33%, 15 sec cooldown
This spell is great on the burst damage. I use it to help me take down hunter pets quicker or anything I am meleeing, which shouldn’t be much but there are times where it just happens. Also a great trick I love doing is when I see a warrior targeting me, I stop and drop this and start casting a lightning bolt. Now the warrior will probably charge me but he falls into the Fire Nova Totem. If he doesn’t charge I get a lightning bolt of, or if he charges the Fire Nova Totem I again get the bolt of, a win-win of burst damage.
Stoneclaw Totem: 8% base mana, 30 sec cooldown
The uses for Stoneclaw are minimal but sometimes it works. First the taunt ability can sometimes get pets off of you for a bit which is always nice. Second some players get totem destroying happy and just destroy any totem they see and if you drop this they might think it is an Earthbind and might get stun. Trust me the first time you get someone to fall for it you will be as happy as a clam. Go ahead have a tasty cupcake.
Stoneskin Totem: 13% base mana
So a 200 armor increase isn’t something you would write home about, but something you should realize you have in your arsenal.
Strength of Earth Totem: 13% base mana
You get a increase of Strength and Agility by 10, which is okay. This is probably your least used totem, and might even be your least used ability.
Other
The rest of these spells round out the shamans arsenal of what they have available. I have used every ability that the shaman has available at 19 in pvp.
Ghost Wolf: 3% base mana
One of the new things that shamans acquired in patch 3.2 is ghost wolf. It is a 40% speed increase form. Tricks to remember, it is a 2 sec cast unless specced into Improved Ghost Wolf, it can be dispelled, and with it on you are immune to sap. That being said it is a very powerful ability and shouldn't be underestimated, really only being overshadowed by druid's travel form.
Wind Shear: 8% base mana, 6 sec cooldown
Wind Shear is the shamans interrupt. With patch 3.2 it is now the only interrupt now that Earth Shock lowers melee speed. Also it no longer uses the same cooldown as the shocks so get used to the new timing.
Purge: 8% base mana
Other powerful weapon in the Shamans spellbook. Being able to get rid of the opponents buffs like extra health and HoTs is amazing. Besides priests, shamans are the only class that can get rid of those buffs. Some things you should remember that can be dispelled: Aura of Protection from Arena Grand Master, Speed increase from Speed Potion, and Hand of Freedom buff from Paladins.
Lightning Shield: no mana
This should always been on your shaman. While you are being attacked it will always deal damage back. Plus with it being a free spell it doesn’t invoke the 5 second rule, however it still triggers the GCD.
Healing Wave: 32% base mana
The only heal spell available to shaman at 19, not counting racials or professions of course. Never let yourself get to low on health before you cast this spell the pushback plus cast time can give the opposing class time to kill you. Also even though the lower ranks have the same mana cost don’t be afraid to use one to get a heal of sooner, Rank 3 is really good at that.
Lighting Bolt: 13% base mana
You might go tons of BGs and duels without using this or you might spam this non stop. It is a simple and elegant damage spell. I use lower ranks for quicker cast when dueling rogues and warriors when they are a distance away while my shocks are on cooldown.
Flametongue Weapon: 8% base mana
So not only does it give +13 spell damage but it adds about another 14 dmg per hit with most of the weapons you use.
Cure Toxins: 7% base mana
Sure it only is really effective against one class, but hey when that class is one of the top classes in the bracket any weapon you have against them is a good one. I have ran completely OOM from a full bar on mana running from a hunter just spamming this. But hey, I had next to full health before I got away.
Rockbiter Weapon: 8% base mana
Even though it is deemed so useless you stopping getting ranks after level 24 I have used this occasionally on a Smite’s Mighty Hammer and done some nice burst damage. Fun times.
Ancestral spirit: 72% base mana
Hey it is a rez spell, it might get used during a BG, not often but it is there.
