Shaman Class Overview (2024)

Last updated on May 10, 2024 at 00:00by Seksixeny

Shamans are masters of the Elements who bringa huge amount of utility, often through their unique totems such as Mana Tide Totem, Spirit Link Totem, Fire Elemental Totem and supporting talents like Totemic Wrath. They can become Healers, Melee DPS and Ranged DPS, makingthem extremely versatile.

Shaman is a versatile hybrid class which can Melee DPS, Ranged DPS, or heal. AllShaman roles use Mana as their primary resource, though its importance as a resourceis mostly limited to Restoration, the healing specialization. Because of gear similaritiesdue their Primary attribute being shared, you will usually find Ranged / Healer Shamans(Intellect) or Melee Shamans (Agility), and only rarely Shaman whomix both Intellect and Agility specializations.

Shaman is able to choosefrom three specializations: Enhancement,Elemental, and Restoration.

• Enhancement —Enhancement is a melee DPS spec that deals significant spell damage as part of itscore rotation due to Maelstrom Weapon. While it is usually derided forits low single-target damage, Enhancement has massive area damage potential, greatoff-healing capabilities and a powerful defensive in Shamanistic Rage.
• Elemental —is a very strong ranged DPS with multiple DPS cooldowns in Fire Elemental Totemand Elemental Mastery, great mobility with Glyph of Unleashed Lightning,and excellent group utility with critical raid buffs such as Elemental Oathand Totemic Wrath.
• Restoration —is a specialist in stacked group healing with Healing Rain and Chain Heal,but also brings unique utility such as Spirit Link Totem and Ancestral Healing,as well as important raid buffs such as Bloodlust / Heroismand Wrath of Air Totem, and is well suited for spot healing in between areaheals with the Tidal Waves mechanic.

Each Shaman specialization is very different and the specialization you shouldplay depends on how you like to enjoy the game. Enhancement is a good option forplayers who enjoy the Battlemage feeling of melee DPS heavily mixed withinstant spells, Elemental is a powerful ranged DPS that brings an unique fantasy,many buffs and high mobility, and Restoration is one of the best stacked raid healersbut can also spot heal very well with Tidal Waves and Riptide.

Enhancement is a great option on encounters where you are fighting many enemiesat once, but even outside of its mass area of effect damage niche, it is still avery safe specialization to play that brings some important raid buffs and canseamlessly contribute off-healing in emergencies.

Elemental is one of the best casters to bring to 10-man raids because it bringsmany caster raid buffs by itself, including the rare Elemental Oath andeven rarer Totemic Wrath, as well as Bloodlust / Heroism.It is also just generally a good specialization because of its high damage numbersand capability to deal significant damage while moving with Glyph of Unleashed Lightning.

Restoration is well known for its strong and area heals Healing Rainand Chain Heal, but it can also provide huge unique support to its raidgroup with Mana Tide Totem, Spirit Link Totem, and Ancestral Healing,and is a surprisingly strong spot healer while Tidal Waves are active,which should be most of the time, especially as Riptide is meant to beused on cooldown or close to.

Shaman is a popular class due to its roleflexibility, unique raid buffs, and also unique ability to soak Mail caster gear.Enhancement is not the highest profile specbut can still be quite strong in the hands of capable players. Elementalis a very strong ranged DPS class with multiple DPS cooldowns, multiple rare raidbuffs, and great mobility, especially for a caster spec, making it an easy pickfor any sort of group. Finally, Restoration isalways a fantastic pick to solve area healing issues for large raids, but even insmall raids its capability to spot heal with Tidal Waves should not beunderestimated.

In Cataclysm Classic Shaman can be playedas Dwarf or Draenei if you are playing Alliance, and as Orc, Goblin, Troll, or Taurenif you are Horde. Draenei is the best Alliance Shaman race due to Heroic Presenceand Gift of the Naaru, while Orc is the best Horde Shaman race forDPS due to Blood Fury and Command, as well as Hardinessin PvP. For healing purposes Goblin also works, as it brings 1% extra Haste andextra mobility with Rocket Jump.

• Draenei's mainracial ability is Heroic Presence, which grants 1% spell hit. Atlevel 85, this is equivalent to 103 hit rating, making this a fairly decent choice. Gift of the Naaru can also provide some free healing.
• Dwarves have a fewnotable racials, especially for Enhancement. Mace Specialization grants3 expertise skill when wearing a mace, making it be worth 90 expertise rating atlevel 85, which is alright but not great. The other notable racial, Stoneform,removes all poisons, diseases and bleeds when activated and reduces all damage takenby 10% for 8 seconds, making it a useful defensive racial ability.

• Orcs remain the preferredchoice for Horde DPS Shamans, especially forEnhancement, who can benefit from Axe Specialization for extra 90 expertiserating at level 85. Blood Fury gives 1169 Attack Power at level 85 andshould be used with other cooldowns for maximum effect. Commandis a small but DPS boosting racial, and Hardiness remains one of the topPvP racials.
• Goblins are oneof the two new races added in during Cataclysm. Their main racial is Rocket Jumpwhich is a great mobility ability and Time is Money for 1% Haste,making them a fine race for Shamans, which can be great in specific encounters thatstress your limited mobility.
• Trolls are still afine choice for all Shamans due to their strongcooldown Berserking. This grants 20% Haste, which helps your throughputsignificantly when needed. Beast Slaying is also a good bonus against beastenemies.
• Taurens are theonly race without throughput bonuses, but they do have Endurance, whichgrants you 5% more base health. Note that base health is only theraw health that you gain from levels and does not scale with your gear at all, makingit weaker than it appears at first glance. War Stomp can also occasionallybe useful to stop enemy casts.

Shamans are relatively easy to gear due to a lack of competition for most Mailpieces, especially Intellect ones where they are the only class that wants to rollon them due to Mail Specialization, which forces each class toequip only its highest armor class available.

Shaman are able to wear Cloth, Leather, and Mail armor, as well asusing a large variety of weapons, including staves, daggers, one-handed and two-handedmaces, one-handed and two-handed axes, and fist weapons. What is important is using gearthat has your primary stat (Intellect for Elemental and Restoration, Agility forEnhancement) and is Mail in the case of armor, as it does not really matter whetheryou use a dagger or a fist weapon (when assuming equal weapon speed for Enhancement),for example, outside of cosmetic concerns.

Your stat priority as an Enhancement Shaman should be as follows: Agility> Hit > Expertise > Mastery > Crit > Haste.

Elemental Shaman will instead want to prioritize: Intellect > SpellPower on the weapon > Spirit / Hit > Haste > Mastery > Crit.

Finally, Restoration Shaman will aim for Intellect > Spell Power onthe weapon > Haste > Crit > Mastery > Spirit, although Spirit can bemuch higher if Mana is an issue, especially as it also scales the Mana awarded tothe group by Mana Tide Totem.

Agility Shaman will face competition from Hunters, and there will be high competitionfrom many classes for some of the more rare weapons, trinkets, and jewelry pieces.

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