Resto Shaman Viability

Surtees

OG
Hey, im new to the these forums, so hi everyone, for a while now i have been considering twinking at 49, originally i was going to twink a 49 fury warrior but after hearing that the alliance on my battlegroup need healers more than anything i decided to do the helpful thing and level a healer. From what i have gathered from the 2/3 threads on here about healers Holy Paladins and Resto Druids are the way to go.



But i like to be out of the ordinary so i have decided to do some research on 49 resto shamans but it is damned hard, i havent been able to find a single armory for a good, respected shaman and the only shaman i can find that was a respected resto shaman, 'Bello' has become inactive.



So basically i would like to know your thoughts on whether or not Resto shamans are viable and also armory links to good resto shamans that you know.



Apoligies for the amount of text, Surtees.



EDIT: Hey, sorry to make the wall of text even bigger, but id just though i'd throw this in the mix. I personally would like to have full mail armour, as in a BG i feel healers always get targeted more so the more armour the better, and lets face it what use is a dead healer... :p. So i am wondering what you guys think, should i sacrifice some slots for better cloth/leather items?
 
Shaman healers are solid. The reason they're inferior to palies and druids imo is that you spend a lot of time shaman tanking instead of healing your team. One enhance shaman in your face and you stop looking at others.



Nûrse is a highly regarded resto shaman. Dunno if he posts here.
 
what use is a dead healer
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i have been considering twinking ... a Resto Shaman
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>_>

<_<



Resto Shaman are the weakest of the four healers in this bracket imo. (which is not to say they are "weak")

Paladins have survivability, Druids have motion on their side, Priests have either a ton of survivability or a ton of healing depending on how they're spec'd..



Shaman have a shield and Chain Heal. If you're running with people who know how to protect you (provided you know how to do the same) you can be really successful as a Resto Shaman. But you'll have to work harder than Paladins, Druids and Priests to pull off the same effects.



If that's cool with you, happy healing :)



Oh, and.. you should never skip on a better stat-ed armor simply because it's not your preferred armor "type" .. if there's a Cloth chest (for example) that trades 3stam, 3spell power for 100armor, you take the cloth chest every time. No contest.



There's a reason Druidboy had "locks and mages mad at me"

;)
 
nature's guardian is a sexy talent



i have a 46 resto sham with ~2.5k hp/2.5k mana, i do have problems if i get a few on me or if i'm interrupted but there are a few O SHIT features i have like nature's guardian, nature's swiftness, and that one talent that gives 60% more crit chance.
 
Wow, thank you very much for the quick replies everyone, Juke thank you for clearing the armour type thing up, ill take that into consideration when looking at gear, and also, i never like things that come easy to me, hence why i am thinking about going resto shaman because they have the least survivability but are awesome utility healers, so yeah that is cool with me as i like a challenge :D



Also thanks 'Yesintheface' for the armoury link. 4k Health, 5k mana and 233 Bonus healing is just absoloutely awesome :p. I hate to copy peoples gear exactly but im not sure there is actually anything on her that can be upgraded. However what do you all think about taking Grizlocks Hypertech Bucker over Wall of the Dead or should i take them both and just switch when more spellpower/stam is needed?
 
things that come easy to me
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You should not be under the assumption that pvp healing is anything near "easy", especially if you're PuG'ing BGs.



You will be focus fired after the first couple minutes of play; you will get a good amount of face time with the Spirit Healer; you will get aggravated.



If you're just starting to learn to pvp heal, pick a couple OP melee classes (Rog/Ret) and hide behind them until you get the pacing down. Keep em topped off. Lesser Healing Waves, Chain Heals and Earthbind totem.



Communicate. Vent > BG Chat.



Don't get caught solo. It'll only end in tears.
 
resto shammy: viable, yet not my favorite choice. imo intellect > spell power in most cases in this bracket. this doesnt mean have 8k mana and 21 bonus damage, just dont always go for SP. get a lot of Eagle gear, have a SP set though and keep an open mind about different gearsets/play styles
 
I wouldn't roll a resto shaman... I'm an enhance shaman myself.



Mail armor and a shield may seem nice but once you realize that you have zero real survivability skills, you'll wish you had rolled a priest (bubble, fear) or a druid (immune to CC and instant cast heals).



PvP is all about controlling the fight and shamans have very little of that.



If you are an awesome player you can do ok with your shocks and totems, but 99% of people will not be able to manage.
 
resto shams have plenty of survivability skills. they are just vulnerable to CC if they don't defend well against it.
 
druids aren't "immune" to CC, just roots pretty much. but druids have the best mobility on the battlefield with shifting to cat to sprint, or travel form. also HoT's kick@ss, as long as their not dispelled hah. the best part is healing touch glyph; i do over 1k HT's with 1.5 sec cast, still have strong hots and when glyphed my swiftmend doesn't even consume a hot. plus with intensity i seem to rarely run oom. basically i just love resto druids. pallys are my 2nd favorite since they have really strong single target heals, and with hand of freedom&bubbles they have great survivability. shaman can do good, but they are a lot less forgiving of healers, and take some good skill imo
 
Deadhed said:
resto shammy: viable, yet not my favorite choice. imo intellect > spell power in most cases in this bracket. this doesnt mean have 8k mana and 21 bonus damage, just dont always go for SP. get a lot of Eagle gear, have a SP set though and keep an open mind about different gearsets/play styles
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normally I'd agree with Int > SP but for 49 resto shaman your only defense is one NS healing wave, and from there its all about spamming LHW while faking, GL keeping up with 49 damage with less than 250 SP.
 
I understand that shamans have the least survivability in this bracket, but i am going to be playing with a good set of people so i should be defended quite well. Thank you for the feedback, personally i think that a resto druid would probably be the best healer with HoTs and all but i think with the right amount of practice and knowledge of the class (as i play a level 80 resto shaman, but i play PvE which i understand is a lot different) i could do well. I'm bored with the whole PvE scene now so im gonna make a twink and i noticed the lack of resto shamans at this bracket (And most brackets really).



Do you guys think that given the right teammates and once i get the grasp of playing resto shaman PvP style that Resto Shamans could be somewhere close to as effective as a Holy Paladin or Resto Druid?



Also one last question, :p Do you guys think its cheap to run around as the personal healer of like a warrior or Enh Shaman? as they are basically a wrecking ball with a personal healer.
 
i am going to be playing with a good set of people
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So long as they understand that they need to keep you up so you can keep everyone else up, you'll be fine.



Do you guys think its cheap to run around as the personal healer of like a warrior or Enh Shaman?
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Cheap? Not really. Fun? Hell yes.

It's one of the best things about being a healer. Sending your Warrior into a group of 3-4 and watching him rip them all apart while you spam heals.



Being a pocket healer will make you focus-fired more quickly than just randomly healing people throughout a BG though... And you and your buddy will quickly become QQ targets on the forums. But if they were any good, they'd be (controlling/killing) you while (killing/controlling) your partner.
 
Druiddroid said:
resto shams have plenty of survivability skills. they are just vulnerable to CC if they don't defend well against it.
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No they don't. No fear. No shapeshifting. No bubble. What exactly are "plenty of survivability skills"?



Mail armor? LOL. This buys you another 2 seconds compared to leather or cloth.

A shield? LOL. This buys you another 2 seconds compared to not having a shield.

Earthbind? Please. A whole lot of good that does you vs a rogue appearing out of stealth and applying cripping, or vs a paladin with blessing of freedom, or vs a warrior with hamstring.

Frost shock? See above.



Don't tell me about shamans, because I doubt anyone knows them better than I do.
 
Surtees said:
I understand that shamans have the least survivability in this bracket, but i am going to be playing with a good set of people so i should be defended quite well. Thank you for the feedback, personally i think that a resto druid would probably be the best healer with HoTs and all but i think with the right amount of practice and knowledge of the class (as i play a level 80 resto shaman, but i play PvE which i understand is a lot different) i could do well. I'm bored with the whole PvE scene now so im gonna make a twink and i noticed the lack of resto shamans at this bracket (And most brackets really).



Do you guys think that given the right teammates and once i get the grasp of playing resto shaman PvP style that Resto Shamans could be somewhere close to as effective as a Holy Paladin or Resto Druid?



Also one last question, :p Do you guys think its cheap to run around as the personal healer of like a warrior or Enh Shaman? as they are basically a wrecking ball with a personal healer.
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Find a good enh shaman. Nothing compares to their damage. I rip through people in mere seconds. With a good healer, I can take on half a WSG myself. Earthbind, frost shock, ghost wolf to protect my healer.



And I don't mean some scrub with fast weapons or less than 750 attack power... I see so many terrible enh shamans who just don't have a clue.
 
the best part of playing a healer is healbotting people, its not cheap at all! healing pugs sucks so unless you do have a solid grp of ppl i would discourage it. and again you will get agro fast when ppl see you healbotting, so be prepared to heal yourself and ur friend at the same time and being aware not to overextend yourselves.



i would still suggest a druid or pally, but if you're hardset on a shaman, then by all means go for it. one of the best things about shaman are the totems, but i would rather have the mobility and heals of a druid. heck you have to drop 7 in enh if you want instant GW, and even then you're able to be CC'd easily.
 
You grounding totem, first mage sheep gets grounded. Second mage sheep sheeps you. You can't heal, your DPS dies.



Paly pops bubble and lolheals while your DPS crushes them.



Druid doesn't get sheeped.



Priests have the same problem.
 
cherzra said:
No they don't. No fear. No shapeshifting. No bubble. What exactly are "plenty of survivability skills"?
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awareness. use of totems in the right places and times. ghost wolf. when in control, a shaman is very powerful. it just has to know where it can live and where it will be assraped, at least to more of an extent than druids and paladins since it can't use SS or bubble.



i've seen a shaman at 39 with under 2k health and over 5k mana. when i saw him play he was always moving around at the right times, and was able to survive almost anything except for good twink rogues or larger groups of players. i'm sure the same thing could pertain to 49s.

Yesintheface said:
You grounding totem, first mage sheep gets grounded. Second mage sheep sheeps you. You can't heal, your DPS dies.
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earth shock or LoS after grounding or get out of range after grounding
 
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