Work and WoW continue to be busy, so I’m still running off blog posts about largely trivial things in the spare minutes I get to do it.
(Still sad about Pirate Day, by the way)
Ages and ages and ages ago, Kahleena wrote a post that I can’t quite find any more about playstyles that just didn’t work for her, and singled out the Enhancement shaman for particular criticism.
Kahleena’s complains were that (particularly at low levels) Enhancement Shaman gameplay is an annoying mix of caster-play (“hey Bill, how do I hurl bolts of lightning?”) and auto-attack.
Funny thing is that’s exactly what I like about it.
I enjoy leveling. I enjoy it because it’s something you can do with half an eye on the TV, or while composing a blog post in your head, or while trying to work out whether your use of the centre-of-mass frame in the two-dimensional momentum problem you gave your A2 set was legitimate (it wasn’t, I am a sad teacherdin). One of the things I really liked about being an Enhancement Shaman was that you could basically meander through the world zapping things with lightning and then when they got up in your face you could hit them with an axe until they died. Yay shaman!
Yes, there’s some quirks, you get your totems fairly slowly, and some of them involve infuriating quests (why *hello* Call of Water, seriously what the fuck were they on when they wrote this? “Hey, let’s make comparatively low level players trek across the entire freaking world on foot in order to get hold of some damned water so they can prove they understand the lesson of wetness.” Bastards), until patch 3.2 you had to carry around four bloody sticks at all times just to use your core abilities, and of course the signature skills of the Enhancement Shaman – dual wielding and Stormstrike – don’t kick in until level 40.
Still there’s just something really cool about being a shaman, particularly a melee shaman. I really like the fact that the Shaman is a religious (or if you insist “spiritual”) class with an actual warrior aesthetic. Yes I know there’s the Paladin, but they’re something slightly different, they’re Holy Warriors, knights in armour. Every other religiousy, healey class either stays well back from the fighting or fights in a shapeshift form (which is a different vibe from the “I will hit you with an axe” motif I like so much). I just really like the fact that the spiritual leaders of the Orcs are guys who will smack you in the face with a two-hander.
Plus, y’know, Thrall.
I think the other thing about the Shaman that I like so much is the fact that they feel like the most hybrid of the hybrid classes. Sure, Paladins can heal, but they’re basically a plate wearing melee class. Sure Druids can heal, tank, cast or melee, but because they do each one in a different form, it very much feels like you’re locked into one role (when leveling as a kitty I very seldom bother to shift out of catform, which means I very seldom actually cast about seventy percent of my spells). By comparison a Shaman has everything at their fingertips, always. If the enemy’s a long way away, you can blast them with lightning. If they’re up close, you can chop them up with your axe. If you get hurt, you can heal yourself, and all without breaking your stride.
They’re one of those classes that make me wish the rest of the game worked more like they do, instead of falling into the old “squishy healers at the back, you either fight with swords or magic” mentality that characterizes so much of Fantasy gaming. Fire-throwing, axe-wielding, storm-riding warrior healer is so much cooler than “priest”.
I agree totally; shaman is also my most favorite class. (and I play them all, except the warrior that I keep deleting)
I leveled as enhancement back in BC, then switch to Elemental for PvP. when Lich King came out, I continued to level as Elemental, then took Restoration as my off spec.
The abilities of a shaman just feel more natural to me. As a warlock, mage or priest, I feel like I’m playing a character. With the shaman, however, I feel much more immersion, like it’s really me flinging lightning around.
One of the first toons I rolled (on a trial account I allowed to expire) was a Shaman.
I was totally sold on that class by “I’m William Shatner: and I’m a *shaman*”
I would so love to try to play a shaman – but as Alliance I only have the option of doing that as a draenai. I’ve tried. So many times. But that tail is so freaky. Then there’s the hooves and the wrongly jointed knees – ewwwww.
Aww! I love my Spacegoat! She is all blue and pretty.
Although most of what I like about Shamans doesn’t really jibe with the Draenai aesthetic. They just seem so all-about-the-light that it doesn’t seem to make sense for them to be lightning-slinging dervishes.
When Cataclysm comes out you could always be a Dorf.
Shaman does hybrid better than any of the other healing hybrids in the game, at least until you get to endgame where roles are locked into place by how hard the mobs are hitting.
As an enhancement shaman, we didn’t need a healer for our instance runs, because I just tossed out some heals while I was DPSing. My shocks cost next to nothing, and I couldn’t weave lightning bolts into my rotation until near 60 anyway, so I had plenty of mana left over to stop whacking something with my axes and heal at a moment’s notice.
And once, I actually tanked a Sunken Temple run, because our warrior was fail and had no idea what he was doing, while I at least grasped the concept of “hit the mobs so they stop eating the mage” so I slapped on a shield and did my best to keep the group alive, and did a hell of a better job than that warrior was doing.
I didn’t even have to swap out my gear to do it, because I wanted intellect anyway for the attack power bonus, and then I was getting spellpower from my attack power that made my heals better.
Priests can’t really do that because DPSing effectively costs so much mana. Druids can’t because your spec and gear often lock you into being effective in only one or two forms (and shapeshifting is expensive!). A retribution paladin might be able to do it, I suppose, but it just doesn’t feel the same.
I’m really into the hybrid thing. It’s just so nice to be able to do a bit of everything.
Oh, clicked reply too early – I think the reason ret pallies don’t feel the same is that they’re basically a pure melee class, most of their attacks are melee strikes. Plus there’s the whole “two healing spells” thing.
My significant other has a midlevel enhancement shaman, and his shammy and my ret pally are together just about unstoppable. We could two man 5 man content for approximately our level with me tank-heal-dpsing and him heal-dpsing… yay! Facesmashing!
It’s nice to have a partner to do stuff with, particularly if you’re, like, totally imba.
The first time I saw a shaman, he turned into a wolf and started to dance. That was me sold on the class however nothing is cooler than priests.
Yeah, ghost wolf is pretty awesome. Doggyform!
I agree totally; shaman is also my most favorite class. (and I play them all, except the warrior that I keep deleting)
I leveled as enhancement back in BC, then switch to Elemental for PvP. when Lich King came out, I continued to level as Elemental, then took Restoration as my off spec.
The abilities of a shaman just feel more natural to me. As a warlock, mage or priest, I feel like I'm playing a character. With the shaman, however, I feel much more immersion, like it's really me flinging lightning around.
I would so love to try to play a shaman – but as Alliance I only have the option of doing that as a draenai. I've tried. So many times. But that tail is so freaky. Then there's the hooves and the wrongly jointed knees – ewwwww.
Shaman does hybrid better than any of the other healing hybrids in the game, at least until you get to endgame where roles are locked into place by how hard the mobs are hitting.
As an enhancement shaman, we didn't need a healer for our instance runs, because I just tossed out some heals while I was DPSing. My shocks cost next to nothing, and I couldn't weave lightning bolts into my rotation until near 60 anyway, so I had plenty of mana left over to stop whacking something with my axes and heal at a moment's notice.
And once, I actually tanked a Sunken Temple run, because our warrior was fail and had no idea what he was doing, while I at least grasped the concept of "hit the mobs so they stop eating the mage" so I slapped on a shield and did my best to keep the group alive, and did a hell of a better job than that warrior was doing.
I didn't even have to swap out my gear to do it, because I wanted intellect anyway for the attack power bonus, and then I was getting spellpower from my attack power that made my heals better.
Priests can't really do that because DPSing effectively costs so much mana. Druids can't because your spec and gear often lock you into being effective in only one or two forms (and shapeshifting is expensive!). A retribution paladin might be able to do it, I suppose, but it just doesn't feel the same.
My significant other has a midlevel enhancement shaman, and his shammy and my ret pally are together just about unstoppable. We could two man 5 man content for approximately our level with me tank-heal-dpsing and him heal-dpsing… yay! Facesmashing!
The first time I saw a shaman, he turned into a wolf and started to dance. That was me sold on the class however nothing is cooler than priests.
I have to admit I main a resto/enhancement shaman or is that enhancement/resto… these days I can never tell spending as much time in either spec.
You’re right though in that it doesn’t get really fun till after 40 and then at 60 when you get “the puppies”, well nothing beats that. Before then paladins are easier and have higher survivability.
But one downside is that gear is a nightmare and the whole axe wielding lightning dervish is a finicky rotation. Too bad I’m not as good as the best but I try to hold my own.
And I love me some space goat action, what can I say. Though the thought of a dwarven shaman does have it’s appeal.
I’m really looking forward to the puppies. That and Maelstrom weapon for more funky melee-with-casting action.
I have to admit I main a resto/enhancement shaman or is that enhancement/resto… these days I can never tell spending as much time in either spec.
You're right though in that it doesn't get really fun till after 40 and then at 60 when you get "the puppies", well nothing beats that. Before then paladins are easier and have higher survivability.
But one downside is that gear is a nightmare and the whole axe wielding lightning dervish is a finicky rotation. Too bad I'm not as good as the best but I try to hold my own.
And I love me some space goat action, what can I say. Though the thought of a dwarven shaman does have it's appeal.
One of the first toons I rolled (on a trial account I allowed to expire) was a Shaman.
I was totally sold on that class by "I'm William Shatner: and I'm a *shaman*"
Aww! I love my Spacegoat! She is all blue and pretty.
Although most of what I like about Shamans doesn't really jibe with the Draenai aesthetic. They just seem so all-about-the-light that it doesn't seem to make sense for them to be lightning-slinging dervishes.
When Cataclysm comes out you could always be a Dorf.
I'm really into the hybrid thing. It's just so nice to be able to do a bit of everything.
Oh, clicked reply too early – I think the reason ret pallies don't feel the same is that they're basically a pure melee class, most of their attacks are melee strikes. Plus there's the whole "two healing spells" thing.
It's nice to have a partner to do stuff with, particularly if you're, like, totally imba.
Yeah, ghost wolf is pretty awesome. Doggyform!
I'm really looking forward to the puppies. That and Maelstrom weapon for more funky melee-with-casting action.
I am currently PvPing my Enh Shaman at level 69 (XP NOT stopped) and it is so fun in WSG/AB. People under estimate me all the time – namely Death Knights.
Oh how fun it is, level 65 DK deathgrips me I drop cleansing totem, earthbind totem, ghost wolves, shamanistic rage, my wolf healing+sham rage extra survivability makes my HP barely drop then Stormstrike WINDDDDFURYYYYYY BOOOOOM, DK HP drops fast.
The same goes for rogues, Stunlock, Shamanistic Rage, wolves, Flame Shock to stop stealth, winfury, booooom dead
My shaman could truely become my main if they are this fun at level80. I often find my druid a little dull as anything other than healing, but then find healing in PvP a little unrewarding.
That does sound cool. How do you stun as a Shaman, is there something I’ve missed or not got yet?
Healing in PvP is a bit odd. You get all the usual “y u not heal me?” horseshit, but multiplied through a forty man battlegroup. Plus PvP heal specs tend to be a bit niche, it seems like you have to really say “I want to use this character to heal Battlegrounds and *nothing else*”
I am currently PvPing my Enh Shaman at level 69 (XP NOT stopped) and it is so fun in WSG/AB. People under estimate me all the time – namely Death Knights.
Oh how fun it is, level 65 DK deathgrips me I drop cleansing totem, earthbind totem, ghost wolves, shamanistic rage, my wolf healing+sham rage extra survivability makes my HP barely drop then Stormstrike WINDDDDFURYYYYYY BOOOOOM, DK HP drops fast.
The same goes for rogues, Stunlock, Shamanistic Rage, wolves, Flame Shock to stop stealth, winfury, booooom dead
My shaman could truely become my main if they are this fun at level80. I often find my druid a little dull as anything other than healing, but then find healing in PvP a little unrewarding.
That does sound cool. How do you stun as a Shaman, is there something I've missed or not got yet?
Healing in PvP is a bit odd. You get all the usual "y u not heal me?" horseshit, but multiplied through a forty man battlegroup. Plus PvP heal specs tend to be a bit niche, it seems like you have to really say "I want to use this character to heal Battlegrounds and *nothing else*"
To me, Shaman is the perfect blend of caster and melee. You blast them with some lightning, they wander in thinking you’re a softy caster and it’s BOOM! Stormstrike, earthshock, lavalash, dead!
I don’t really care for totems much, in solo play, unless there’s multiple mobs, they seem like a waste. . .
Yeah, it’s really nice being effective in all areas, as it were. You don’t have to charge into packs of mobs like a pure melee, and aren’t screwed if they get close to you like a pure caster.
Win.
To me, Shaman is the perfect blend of caster and melee. You blast them with some lightning, they wander in thinking you're a softy caster and it's BOOM! Stormstrike, earthshock, lavalash, dead!
I don't really care for totems much, in solo play, unless there's multiple mobs, they seem like a waste. . .
I had actually leveled my shaman up enhance, and played all of TBC with her as enchancement.
I changed her up in this expansion to make her my third healer, with a elemental off spec. And honestly, all three specs with her are a *lot* of fun. There are not many classes you can say that about.
What race did you make? Mynn is a troll!
Mine’s an Orc. I had a Tauren shaman for a little while, but that was on the trial account I let slip, and eventually I decided that druids were more Taureny anyway.
I have a slightly ambivalent relationship with trolls, I really like the way they look, I like their dark syncretic religion (only race in the game to get Shamans, Mages and Priests – and they’re getting Druids too) It’s just the “ya mon” voices that freak me out, because they just strike me as crossing the boundary from “fantasy race based on a non-European culture” to “actually faintly racist”.
Plus a lot of what I like about Shaman is the way they fit in with Orcish culture, which they don’t do in quite the same way with Trolls and Cows. It’s for much the same reason that if I were to roll an Alliance Priest they’d be Human or Draenai, the WoW priest mechanics just don’t scream Elune to me.
Sorry, that was a really long post to answer a really short question.
I had actually leveled my shaman up enhance, and played all of TBC with her as enchancement.
I changed her up in this expansion to make her my third healer, with a elemental off spec. And honestly, all three specs with her are a *lot* of fun. There are not many classes you can say that about.
What race did you make? Mynn is a troll!
Thank you for reminding me of how much I love my shaman… and why! *filters thru alts to dust of the shaman*
Yeah, it's really nice being effective in all areas, as it were. You don't have to charge into packs of mobs like a pure melee, and aren't screwed if they get close to you like a pure caster.
Win.
Mine's an Orc. I had a Tauren shaman for a little while, but that was on the trial account I let slip, and eventually I decided that druids were more Taureny anyway.
I have a slightly ambivalent relationship with trolls, I really like the way they look, I like their dark syncretic religion (only race in the game to get Shamans, Mages and Priests – and they're getting Druids too) It's just the "ya mon" voices that freak me out, because they just strike me as crossing the boundary from "fantasy race based on a non-European culture" to "actually faintly racist".
Plus a lot of what I like about Shaman is the way they fit in with Orcish culture, which they don't do in quite the same way with Trolls and Cows. It's for much the same reason that if I were to roll an Alliance Priest they'd be Human or Draenai, the WoW priest mechanics just don't scream Elune to me.
Sorry, that was a really long post to answer a really short question.
Mine's an Orc. I had a Tauren shaman for a little while, but that was on the trial account I let slip, and eventually I decided that druids were more Taureny anyway.
I have a slightly ambivalent relationship with trolls, I really like the way they look, I like their dark syncretic religion (only race in the game to get Shamans, Mages and Priests – and they're getting Druids too) It's just the "ya mon" voices that freak me out, because they just strike me as crossing the boundary from "fantasy race based on a non-European culture" to "actually faintly racist".
Plus a lot of what I like about Shaman is the way they fit in with Orcish culture, which they don't do in quite the same way with Trolls and Cows. It's for much the same reason that if I were to roll an Alliance Priest they'd be Human or Draenai, the WoW priest mechanics just don't scream Elune to me.
Sorry, that was a really long post to answer a really short question.
Mine's an Orc. I had a Tauren shaman for a little while, but that was on the trial account I let slip, and eventually I decided that druids were more Taureny anyway.
I have a slightly ambivalent relationship with trolls, I really like the way they look, I like their dark syncretic religion (only race in the game to get Shamans, Mages and Priests – and they're getting Druids too) It's just the "ya mon" voices that freak me out, because they just strike me as crossing the boundary from "fantasy race based on a non-European culture" to "actually faintly racist".
Plus a lot of what I like about Shaman is the way they fit in with Orcish culture, which they don't do in quite the same way with Trolls and Cows. It's for much the same reason that if I were to roll an Alliance Priest they'd be Human or Draenai, the WoW priest mechanics just don't scream Elune to me.
Sorry, that was a really long post to answer a really short question.
Mine's an Orc. I had a Tauren shaman for a little while, but that was on the trial account I let slip, and eventually I decided that druids were more Taureny anyway.
I have a slightly ambivalent relationship with trolls, I really like the way they look, I like their dark syncretic religion (only race in the game to get Shamans, Mages and Priests – and they're getting Druids too) It's just the "ya mon" voices that freak me out, because they just strike me as crossing the boundary from "fantasy race based on a non-European culture" to "actually faintly racist".
Plus a lot of what I like about Shaman is the way they fit in with Orcish culture, which they don't do in quite the same way with Trolls and Cows. It's for much the same reason that if I were to roll an Alliance Priest they'd be Human or Draenai, the WoW priest mechanics just don't scream Elune to me.
Sorry, that was a really long post to answer a really short question.
Thank you for reminding me of how much I love my shaman… and why! *filters thru alts to dust of the shaman*