Shaman is my favorite class, and I wanted to main one in Wrath. Yet everything I have read online has led me to believe that in WOTLK, Enh shaman is simultaneously one of the most complicated classes to play properly, and they have underwhelming dps to boot. Ele shaman is just underwhelming. And Resto shaman is stupid easy. None of which really appeals to me.
Can anyone who played Shaman back in the day share their thoughts?
While Shaman aren’t as needed as TBC (you won’t have 5+ shamans in a raid), shamans are still going to be played. Enh dps should be fine, you might not be #1 in dps every fight but you won’t be last on the meters. In the end content is generally easy, and if your not in a super min max guild, play what you want to play and have fun.
Shamans are perfectly fine in WotLK. Most classes have versions of Shaman’s buffs, but the shaman versions are stronger.
Both DPS specs are viable, and resto is still very strong.
This isn’t true, only buff that is superiors is the improve str/agi totem. Both Ele buffs are beaten by Demo locks and Moonkins.
No /thread
I loved Shaman in Vanilla, but hate it in TBC. I wish I had not used my boost on my Shaman now. I would stop playing Shaman if I were you they start getting all kinds of changes going forward that ruins the classes IMO. I will not go through it again. Switch now and save yourself heart ache later.
Boomkin only gives 5% crit, whereas shamans give 6% (Elemental oath + totem of Wrath.)
Imp moonkin form only gives 3% spell haste, while Wrath of Air gives 5%.
The only one you that does supersede shaman is Demo lock, but only because it scales off their stats.
People are sleeping on enhance. I think it’s going to pop off just like it did in TBC.
Ele PVE dps is very underwhelming, but they are the best caster dps in PvP.
Resto is good, but disc and holy paladins are just monsters and shine above the other healers.
Play what you want, WoTLK content is so dang easy, it will make P1 TBC look fun.
Nothing wrong with shaman in Wotlk. The only people making a big deal are the meta slaves.
I mained enh in Wrath and did just fine with it. It’s not a 3 button rotation and was more challenging to play well than other classes but that was the fun of it for me.
yes
you just dont need 5 of them
Played Enhance all through WotLK in all the content… they are great, a good player will still shine over most FOTM rerollers. play what you enjoy.
Man my thoughts exactly on enh, I still remember being told enh was going to be terrible in TBC and then hitting 4th on the meters on gruul my first night there, beating people who had 2 weeks of karazhan gear under the belt already.
Same as before, people are saying “enh will not be that good” and I fully intend to crush these gents on the meters as well come wotlk.
Wotlk classes/specs were quite balanced, play whatever you want, none of the content will require super min/maxing of classes anyway. Bring good players and a decent balance of specs to ICC Heroic or TOGC Insanity and you will clear it.
very much so
enhancement is great for pvp/pve but elemental isnt as good in pve but its a monster in pvp.enhancement is also pretty gear dependent while elemental still scales like crap in wrath much like it did in tbc.
to sum it up enhancement needs gear to be good if your going to pvp as enhance in pvp blues id sugest another class and elemental doesnt need much gear to own in pvp.i never play resto so i cant comment.
Every class is “viable” in wrath. You can play whatever you want. It does not matter if you have top DPS or not. It never did.
“Incorrect, time warp was cata and so was hysteria flies away”
-You are right about time warp but hysteria is in wrath. It’s in the blood page for death knight.
Yes, exactly! We were supposed to be the buff warrior and hunters, but in reality we pump as much as they do.
I am really excited for the even more intricate rotation in LK.
Stop reading what streamers and youtubers post then the morons parrot. Just play what you like
Not sure if you care about this but Shamans are incredible in PvP in Wotlk. Resto has a lot of amazing comps, Ele is S tier (best it ever was out of any expansion in the history of WoW), and Enhancement has a few comps too. On top of that, all specs are fun to play (unlike TBC). It’s a GREAT time to be a Shaman.
To clarify on buffs/debuffs:
3% Spell Haste and 5% Spell Haste are different, stacking buffs. 5% Spell Haste is a unique buff only Shaman can provide.
Totem of Wrath gives +3% critical that does not stack with a Ret Paladin’s Crusader debuff. However, Totem of Wrath is the only way to get this debuff on all targets in the area (the other options are single target only).
Totem of Wrath and Demonic Pact do not stack. Totem of Wrath is better initially, but Demonic Pact eventually becomes better. For speed-run guilds, what you’re likely to see is both being used because Demonic Pact counts Totem of Wrath in its value if you don’t already have the Demonic Pact buff. So the Demo Warlock clicks off their own buff and when DP refreshes, it counts Wrath as well.
Stoneskin is a buff I haven’t heard mentioned, but it’s a unique buff only Shaman provide as well.
Only Shaman bring Bloodlust/Heroism, though you only need one.
Cleansing, Grounding and Tremor totems remain group-only, so it’s very helpful to have multiple groups covered by them in certain situations. Healing Stream is also group-only, but it’s an effect like Judgement of Light that is nice for padding meters, not particularly useful for keeping people alive.
Mana Tide totem is the best of the mana cooldowns (Innervate, Hymn of Hope being the others) and it’s group-only.
Strength of Earth has higher values than other Str/Agi buffs (which don’t stack).
Most 25-man raids will take two Shaman, one of whom is Resto.