Maybe there are other classes with equally conflicting, and contradictory lore, but I play a Shaman, and any time I go researching about Shaman in the lore, I get sad. I thought DF would help solidify things, but it seems like the Elemental lore will be sucked up with the Evokers.
I went looking for a good reason why Night Elves couldn’t be Shaman. I came across some old post that said “They were cool with the Tauren, and the Tauren could be Shaman, so what gives.”
One of the top responses said “The Tauren are more spiritual toward the elements.” And then I realized that, because Shadowlands lore was cut regarding (amongst other things) Baine and the Tauren, we were also robbed of Shaman lore.
Shamanism is a religion like the Light is a religion. And every race can be Priest (and yet not Paladins…) but not every race can be a Shaman - maybe there’s a good reason, but we don’t have one.
When Farseer Nobundo’s faith in the Light was not rewarded, it was the wind that came to him. The elements can come to anyone. And yet we are here in this weird universe where the Night Elves, who currently have two forms of worship in Druidism and Elune don’t seem to have any amongst them who consider the path of the Shaman.
Maybe DF will deliver in 10.1 or 10.2 but at this point in time, I’m just voicing a complaint that we’re not getting the explanations that we should have had in the past 18 years.
Yes. I miss my old shammy. I dont see why they removed mana and are trying so hard to make it something that it isnt. Not to say shamans are terrible right now…but there are a few ways away from being great, or even close to what they used to be. Thats why I went into Wrath Classic with mine. Only way to get true shaman gameplay that we have been missing for quite some time.
Baine wasn’t a shaman though. Just because he may follow the “religion” of shamanism to the point of having some sorta appreciation for the dead, doesn’t mean he would have given some sorta insight into shamanism…when he isn’t a shaman. If anything, this would have come from Thrall.
The Night Elves are definitely fanatics and zealots when it comes to night elf society and revering Elune above all.
Night elf shamans I believe sort of exist.
In wailing caverns you see the druids there start to use shaman spells. Druids of the fang.
The night elves that served Azshara had a great deal of elemental knowledge/summoning. In Nazjatar you see a mage experimenting on elementals for example in an Arcane way. The Naga became shaman but it is sort of implied that the shaman knowledge mostly elemental mastery was known before they became shamans. Night elves show us shamans and mages are sort of connected. The resto artifact was based on a mage item. Then we have the DS boss of a shaman/mage mix hero.
The restoration artifact also features Azshara, much of the lore was based on when she was a night elf as well.
The shaman religion part does dominate a bunch of the tree, but then you have shamans like pandaren or goblins who have a culture less focused on that. Ultimately a shaman is someone who has a connection to elements. That connection could be synergistic or all selfish like the taunka. Shamans dont have to do whats best for the elements, they can do things entirely based on there own will.
The dragon stuff is more so that dragons are descendants of creaturez from the elemental planes. Basically they are part elemental creature.
Night elves and nightborne would be more akin to battle mages, and elementalists. We see nightborne using water magics in nighthold to water plants.
Both mistweaving and restorations use water magics to heal. Nightborne and night elf had elementalists in there ranks if you see during the reign og Azshara. Blizz could just say it was a lost art brought back with there alliances and rediscovery of culture/historical figures.
Only took them 10k years to get over it and allow a small amount of them back. They also killed a few of the ones they allowed back if you remember that story. Give it another 10k and they might be okay with shaman