Druid vs Shaman

Classes Druid
1

I’ve been away for about nearly a year from retail between moving to classic and then on to other games.

I’m looking to possibly come back and was hoping to get feedback on the status, pros, and cons of the shaman vs Druid argument related to both PvE and PvP.

Specifically related to Ele Shaman and Balance Druid mainly setup with heal off spec as needed. I’m not really interested in playing other classes at this time, its between those 2.

PVP wise im not looking to do top ranked 3 or anything mostly BGs i dont take it that seriously, but i want to be competitive.

If anyone wants to chime in i would appreciate it greatly.

Cross posting to Shaman forums as well.

2

Don’t play Druid because you will get spoiled at how convenient of a class it is.

Instant cast flying

Stealth

Off heals

The best class for farming professions

Can be tank/heal/melee dps/ranged dps

12 Likes
3

Oh ive played both extensively, im just planning to try to concentrate on one due to how alt-unfriendly most things seem to be anymore.

Thanks though, and it is a valid point.

4

I had to make the same decision this expansion and I ended up going with the druid. I enjoy Elemental and Balance, so it came down to healing specs and I like Druid better. You may find Resto druid a bit more accessible as a healing style if you get used to proactive healing.

That being said, you really can’t go wrong.

5

Yeah that’s a myth.

I have 12 characters I play daily. Most of them are just WQ toons, but I have a few with the cloak for M+ and raiding.

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6

As you say, 12 characters you play daily… some of us are not able to do that.
In my experience to date, and i might add one of he reasons i left, without these grinds being account wide it was pointlessly irritating to have to do them over, and over, an over again.

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7

Go for druid. Shammys only benefit is lust but you will almost always have a shammy in your group. Druids can be off heals and can just do much more. Druid dps is better im pretty sure and you get a lot more options in bgs.

8

Just made the switch to Druid, and I love it so far! Balance rotation is straight forward, nice utility overall (both PvP and PvE), and the versatility of playing whatever role you want is amazing

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9

actually for those who like to play like me BFA is very much an alt killer.
I paid over $500 for nine boosts to take a bunch of characters into BFA.
That Neck grind crap killed it in less than 6 weeks.
and I dont have ‘alts’. I have ‘characters’.
All of which are easy enough to play the way Iike until I get to WoD, Legion and then the horror show…BFA.

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10

This was exactly my experience as well, and i might add what drove me away to begin with. Compounded by the cloak which was brought it as another grind after i was already grinded out.
I understand they have made some adjustments in this regard but it still seems far from what i would consider friendly until its all account wide.

1 Like
11

Druid is my main on alliance (has been since 2004), shaman has become my main on horde. I love both classes and characters almost equally, though druid holds a special place for me since I’ve been playing it from the start.

Balance and elemental play very similarly in concept. They have similar builder/spender abilities and similar resource usage. Lightning bolt/Solar Wrath, Lava burst/lunar strike, earthshock/starsurge, earthquake/starfall, flame shock/moonfire, they all measure up pretty well.

Shaman suffers whenever fights dont last very long though. My druid starts at 50 astral power and can build it pretty quickly and easily with instant casts, but the shaman always starts from zero maelstrom and it takes a lot longer to build up to decent levels. Once you get rolling, shaman works really well, but it’s meant for longer fights and has a hard time on trash that dies quick.

Druid definitely has an edge in utility with better heals, roots, bird form, etc. Also has a built in slowfall for moonkin form with the flap ability. Shaman has some utility in tremor totem, earthbind totem, purge, etc. but they dont see use as often as the druid’s utilities do. Both have a ‘travel form’ (flight not withstanding) with ghost wolf / stag. Ghost wolf isnt as fast (stag goes normal ground mount speed, ghost wolf is only 30% / 50%-60% with talents), but ghost wolf can be used inside as well.

Druids have stealth, and shadowmeld as a vanish if you’re a night elf druid, and that helps a lot when soloing/questing whereas a shaman has to fight through everything. However, balance druid can - especially at lower gear levels - be extremely squishy and have a hard time with tough mobs/elites, whereas shaman has earth elemental to tank in a pinch.

Only way to really decide which one you like better is to play them. I play both, and love both.

2 Likes
12

Ive played both, a lot, i have 120 on both factions for both Druid and Shaman. Youve summed it up pretty well save for the shaman nuke hitting like a feather :slight_smile:
Thank you for the reply but i guess what im really looking for is pros cons at a high level, such as issues getting groups., perfomance in them, pvp viability and such.

13

Ele shaman has supremely better utility in M+ than a balance druid. You have a 1 min cd aoe silence that is also your only interrupt besides a ghetto interrupt like typhoon (and typhoon only makes the target recast when they land back). And you have treants for skittish week at the cost of balance of power.

Meanwhile ele has an aoe stun, a purge, a 12 sec cd interrupt which is huge in M+, an aoe knockback in thunderstorm, hex (entangling roots only works on melee), and an aoe snare totem on top. On top of heroism. On top of reincarnate. With better self healing since resto affinity is trash and your 3 heals combined heal what only 2 healing waves do, without costing the shaman any talents, and without costing them a GCD to get back in form.

The druid offers role flexibility, but that’s about it. Both enhancement and elemental are far better fleshed out specs with better utility kits than either balance or feral.

Of course, if open world world quests is all you plan to do, nothing rivals druid.

1 Like
14

Good points, ill be honest im not that much into the higher level mythics. For me its mostly about raids, dungeons, open world, and battlegrounds.

15

Uhh what?

the neck grind isnt even a grind, you get tons of azerite just for playing. Cloak? Maybe. This just shows ur the type of person to throw tons of money at stuff and give up at the first sign of hardship.

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16

Uhhh I disagree completely… Balance is far better off because it has unique class/spec utility. Who cares about interrupts/stuns when you have 3 melee or a tank that can do the same? Many melee classes already have AoE stuns as well. All of Ele’s utility is unnecessary/repeat and triggers DR. Hex really isn’t that useful either because of it’s low range and only being usable against humanoids. Solar Beam is exclusive unique utility to Boomkin. Heroism isn’t needed because of drums, and Battle Rez is much rarer. Enrage dispel can be a lifesaver, and I think you’re severely underestimating resto affinity, treants, and stealth.

It is much easier to build a group around a Balance Druid and reap the benefits. Ele is strong, but it’s utility isn’t necessary/unique and it’s survivability/mobility is god awful in comparison.

17

I consider balance to be the random BG spec. That’s not to say that it doesn’t do exceptionally well in rated content as well, but it’s flexibility and self-sufficiency make it particularly handy where randomly assigned allies can’t really be relied on.

It’s just excellent in solo node defense, scouting, 1v1 and teamfight presence alike, offers great support in the form of offhealing (talented) and combat res, can be quite tanky (talented), carries flags and orbs well in the absence of a guardian or vengeance friend… it just does it all. Rots well. Bursts well. More mobile than most. Better than average CC. What else can I say?

18

You just listed solar beam as some special utility when all it is, is at best a 5 mob interrupt on a whopping 1 min cd, and that’s assuming tightly packed mobs by some DK or DH aoe grip.

Purge is used far more in M+ than a pacify.

You care about interrupts and stuns because by M +12 mobs live long enough where rotations of aoe stuns and interrupts matters. Most dungeon mobs are humanoids. Battle rez has a limit and not only is the strongest M+ healer equipped with a rez, but the strongest M+ dps class as well (unholy DK) assuming you don’t have a DK tank. Brez utility is limited, whereas heroism and an aoe snare and an aoe stun and a purge and a 12 sec cd interrupt are not.

Resto affinity is absolute garbage. Trashfire tier talent. Regrowth+Rejuv+wild growth will heal for what 2 lesser healing waves will heal, and that’s at the cost of an entire talent row. It’s terrible. The only good thing about it is swiftmend.

It’s not much easier to build a group around a balance druid. For one, balance druid aoe is trash tier. There goes most of the value of a class in M+. You’re only really useful in tyrannical weeks. And guess what, ele shaman is not only one of the best aoe/cleave specs, but has great single target as well to boot.

Your claimed druid mobility is basically a hunter disengage with half the distance. Dash makes you unable to cast, and ele has lava surge procs, frost shock, timing stormkeeper 2x instant cast lightning bolts while moving on top of earthshock.

Balance druid damage while moving? Your one spender which you need builders for, and renewing some piddly moonfire/sunfire. If you’re lucky and are somehow getting attacked by some physical aura, maybe an owlkin frenzy proc in a blue moon.

I don’t even know how you can claim survival being bad when astral shift is a flat out better version of barkskin, and you have reincarnate as a one time version of saving a BR.

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19

These are my two favorite classes so I say this with the upmost respect and love.

Play enhancement or feral you cowards.

20

I used to main shaman. Now that I have played Druid don’t think I’ll be going back to that character any time soon.
Druids always seem to have at least one good spec each expansion whereas Shaman get no love and immediate nerfs if they somehow start to do well in PvP.