I started off playing shaman simply because I loved the style of play: being able to heal as well as fight with the elements sounded really cool to me.
After playing through several expansions and seeing how shamans are perceived by others made me realize that shamans don’t have the same role in every society. While they are spiritual leaders among the Tauren, they also take on the role of warriors among the orcs while still leading their people.
In BFA, we meet a Kul Tiran shaman that doesn’t know she is a shaman. I guess Kul Tiran shamans are shipwrights? What do you guys think?
The biggest thing that sets shaman apart from other classes is their ability to communicate with spirits. Doing this provides the shaman with use of elemental and spiritual magic. Depending on culture, shaman are more or less valued, but they are often in leadership or support roles. Nobundu the draenei shaman is supportive of Velen and the draenei and has become a teacher of young shaman. Thrall and other more martial shaman are warriors and leaders in combat.
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The real life and original definition of a shaman is someone who communicates with ancestral spirits and is considered wise.
In WoW they took this theme and added specifically elemental spirits, and over time the elements theme has completely overtaken the spiritual theme.
As far as shaman being warriors, they can be, but don’t have to be. Shaman in Warcraft 3 attacked from melee but mainly were buffers/support for their allies. That used to be shamans role in wow as well, bringing bloodlust, wind fury totem etc. but over time that was neutered or given to multiple other classes.
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Agreed. Shaman doesn’t stick out enough even though it clearly can.
Imagine a mage, but instead of using the arcane, they use natural forces for their magic.
And, shamans are also warriors most of the time.
They are basically a magic class that’s also proficient in close combat. But they are more limited in what they can do with magic compared to something like a mage.
The WC3 Shaman unit may have a fist weapon, but their attacks were ranged.
Little lightning orb projectiles flew out from their claws.
Shamans are Africa’s version of doctors.
The origins of Shamanism stem from indigenous peoples of far northern Europe and Siberia.
That’s more so a witch doctor.
Shamans are usually just spiritual leaders, doesn’t necessarily have to mean a doctor.
A spiritual medicine man in indigenous cultures can use a sacrament as a spiritual medium, like the Quechua ayahuasquero and act as a healer, but I wouldn’t say “doctor”
Where did you get a laughing skull mask?
Warlords of Draenor garrison. One of the buildings gave orc clan sets.
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Build the trading post in your warlords of draenor garrison as a horde player, upgrade your trading post to level 2, which gives you access to the laughing skull clan shop, then build rep in Gorgrond at that iron pit place. If you upgrade your trading post to level 3, you also get reputation gain bonuses.
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Orcs and their brand of shamanism is definitely based on northern Eurasian steppe nomads. The Huns in particular.
Shaman are similar to clerics from DnD but instead of receiving aid from a god they receive it from the elemental spirits. The exception to this being the Spirit of the Wilds(or Life) which as far as I have been able to find is the sole “elemental spirit” for the element of Spirit who is made of and resides in the essence and souls of every living thing. It is the consciousness of life itself. It is through the favor of this Spirit that the Shaman can summon the Ghost Wolves. It cannot be compared to anything else WoW has labeled a “god” but probably the closest thing WoW has to God so far.
Long story short, Shaman>Druid. Life itself likes us more. Blizzard, however, does not.
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Spirit is the same thing as chi, so monks use it as well.
Not druids though.
Difference is though that Monks use their Spirit. Shaman receive aid from THE Spirit alongside utilizing their own.
Shaman are Jedi, change my mind.
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Dev’s need to come back to this question when building new kit for us.
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I agree that shaman are similar to Jedi in that they listen to essentially invisible forces and try to follow the wills of those forces to keep balance in the world. That’s why I allied myself with Venthyr back in SL, I thought the idea of a shaman trying to helps spirits come into balance was meant for us. Shaman need to have a bigger presence in TWW though, if our boy Thrall is a major character of the expansion.
Thrall is going to be to TWW what Baine was to SL. Predicting it now. Best not let me get my hopes up. They even added another alliance character to the artwork.
A miserable little pile of sha-secrets.
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