Shaman's Hut
#1
Stealing this idea from the Rogues, but I have been curious about how other Shaman are set-up.

My build is 0/21/30, and here is a link to it
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Basically, it goes enhancement to Parry, and Restoration to Purification. I tried a mana tide spec, but found it to be less than useful while
sacraficing at that time too much soloing ability. I like my current build because I can be an effective healer, if needed, or contribute DPS with melee and shocks, or both healing and melee allowing me to conserve mana.

On raids, I tend to wear +healing gear for a total of about +180 healing. I know there is some debate on +healing versus +int, but I find that
the +healing allows my mana to last longer. As a healer, I think mana is the primary limitation of shaman, so I have several +spirit enchants on my healing gear.

Finally, I have been using Benecast for UI mod. Mostly, I use LHW and usually drop a Mana Spring totem. Recently, I have been trying Shaman Party Heal mod. It is also quite useful, but I think its algorithm needs modification to take +healing into account. Thus, I have been trying to use HW at lower ranks to conserve mana. I have still not decided on the utility of this yet.

What say you other shaman?

GO TEAM SHAMMIE!
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#2
My spec, shall remain a mystery to you guys.

But I do feel that in certain situations, Chain Heal can be effective.
Here are a few that come to mind:
- Molten Core Lava Surgers (the ones that AOE)
- MC Imps
- MC Doggie flame breath
- ZG the Jellik's AOE fire

Keep in mind that for Chain Heal to work the group most be in close proximity to each other, and I think that 3 or more folks must be injured.
(You can choose the initial person that gets healed, but where the chain heal 'jumps' to is a proximity thing)
Vote Akora for MA!
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#3
Dear Abby,

I am thinking of ‘whoring’ myself out – and respecing the restoration tree.
This seems to lend itself to the instances I play now, because I only do large scale instances with Akora now. I don’t PvP, or defend Horde lands diligently.

I am so picky now, I usually only raid 20+ members instances now. Usually ZG, MC, Onyxia, AQ (hopefully). And in these large scale instances I am primarily a healer and support class. I farm runecloth & herbs but I don’t need uber dps to solo kill stuff in western plaugelands and the like.

I am hesitant of this respec, because I enjoy my DPS spec very much. I love seeing that 1200-1400 damage Crit message pop up when the Earthmother allows it. My DPS contests with Eve will be missed, if I respec. 

My current spec, which is 24 Elemental & 27 Enhancement. Often times being one of the top three-five damage dealers and healers. (with my Akora-centric raid DPS meter)

But the all out restoration tree would be the most beneficial to raiding and what instances I currently play.

So those that have given up either Elemental or Enhancement for Restoration, I’d love to hear your comments. Do you miss the destructive prowess of your shocks, or your enhanced furry? Also what are you thoughts on the 2H-Axe/Mace ability. Is Finkle’s Lave Dredger better than the Staff of Dominance?

Please help,
Ms. Mid-Life Shaman in Crisis
Vote Akora for MA!
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#4
I've been channeling the fury of the elements lately, with a 30 elemental/21 restoration setup (full elemental boosts, plus Nature's Swiftness). This is a respec from an enchancement/elemental build that I used for four or five months before that. I do a bit of farming and soloing, I join the Ironsong raids when I can, and I do a modest amount of PvP.

I'm relatively new to the raiding game, but I've noticed that a feature of Ironsong raids is that the shamans frequently are free to add DPS due to the quality of our tanking and healing -- which is all good as far as I'm concerned since it helps us keep the pace up!

My elemental/restoration build supports this role quite well - I feel like the only thing I'm missing from restoration is Mana Tide, and, frankly, it's not that great (and I have my Water Spirit, which is like a 60% Mana Tide anyway). I have enough DPS to be effective in PvP as long as I maintain some range, and Nature's Swiftness provides a great finishing move.

I don't really miss my enhancement spec at this point. Admittedly I'm not at the level of deciding between Dominance and the Lava Dredger yet! My survivability is definitely lower, but I'm not really in situations where I need solo survivability all that much anymore -- and, these days, in the situations where I am getting pounded, the enhancement boosts wouldn't make much difference.

Oh, and I have a +healing/+mana outfit that I use on some raid bosses, but I've found that more often than not I need the extra stamina from my more tankish gear to stay up during those fights - I guess a healer that's alive but OOM is marginally better than a dead one!
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#5
Dear Ms. Mid-Life Shaman in Crisis,

My heart goes out to you. Too often, shaman are required to prostitute their services to the group. They are forced to hang back with the cloth wearers, when they are really happiest melting faces with shocks, or lopping off limbs with a well-timed windfury. This is the shame that all shaman have felt. In reality, other classes should be the ones ashamed for limiting our "services" so much.

Now, I have a confession. I used to be elemental spec'd (30/0/21). I do miss the carefree days of lightning bolt-shock-shock-shock, opponent dies, drink for mana, rinse, repeat. Yes, hard as it might be to believe, but even jABBYdue had his wilder side in his younger days.

But that is all in the past. I am here to give you hope for your resto future.

It seems to me that the real question is whether to go for mana tide totem or not. I tried it for awhile, and was unhappy with the number of talent points that I had to spend for a talent that was not used that often. Perhaps, if you are always grouped with the clothies, it would come in handy. But how often does that happen? More often, I am grouped with a variety of classes, and rarely does the fight last long enough to make mana tide come into play. Granted it can be a life-saver in certain situations, but is it worth 10 talent points.

Thus, I went for purification and (0/21/30). The 21 points in enhancement allow me to mix it up in melee, while saving my mana for healing. With a good two-hander, I can put out fair DPS, and can hold my own healing. Shaman will never be as good a healers as priests or resto druids. We do not have the mana pools or heals over time (except for healing stream token, but enough said...). But then again, we wear mail, so that when the clothies are going down, we can still be up and healing.

Sadly, if you elect to go this way, your days of competing with Eveline for DPS will be over. That is the plight of the resto shaman, ok at DPS, ok at healing, better at surviving, and still a good utility tool for a group or raid.

My own plan is to stick with this build until the shaman talent review is out. Then, I can reevaluate based on the changes. Hopefully, some of the things that need to be fixed with the Shaman talents will be fixed.

I personally like the two-handers, just because I can still look dangerous with it equipped. In raids, I use the two-hander on trash mobs, but go to one-hander and shield on bosses to improve my survivability. I don't see any difference between an appropriately spec'd staff and a two-hander, other than the look.

Best of luck to you Ms. Mid-Life Shaman.

Happy Trails,

jABBYdue

PS: Since I respec'd to resto, PVP has lost all appeal for me.
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#6
My spec is 30 elemental 21 restoration.

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I had been tossing around the idea of going resto to get the mana tide totem and I just can't bring myself to take away my ability to solo well.

I'm not finding I have a big problem in raids healing well. I usually don't use shocks often in raids unless healing is well covered and I feel I'm not wasting mana doing it that could be better spent healing.

...So I don't think I"ll be changing. I like me how I am Smile
Don't mess with the trees!


"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody."

~Bill Cosby
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#7
Thanks for your many replies.

How often do you restro speced folks use Nature's Swiftness.
Since you have to 'press a button' to us it, I am worried that it won't get used that often?
Vote Akora for MA!
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#8
I use it in PvP very, very often; I'd say that it's nearly always on cooldown for me. The Alliance don't quite know how to deal with it, and I think it leads to a lot of the "omg nerf shamans" comments. (Take your pick: an insta 1000+ heal, an insta lightning that's good for finishing off runners, or an insta chain lightning, which tends to make hunters think twice before sending a lightning rod out into the midfield).

In raiding and PvE, I use it mainly in an emergency-recovery mode, and nearly always with Healing Wave. It's rare to be in lightning-but-not-shock range, so the offensive role is minimal. But, occasionally, you're the only active healer near a tank, and there isn't enough time to get a whole wave off. Having it bound to a fast key is critical here - it's instant (and doesn't interrupt the 5 second rule), so if you're quick on the fingers and the lag demons don't attack, you can usually get it off in time.
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#9
I actually use it. I have a little macro that casts Nature's Swiftness and then, healing wave on myself. Good for those desparate situations. I have another macro that I can use the same combo on my current target. I find that I use these "get our of death" free cards about once per raid or instance run. It can be useful on the main tank in boss encounters, and I tend to use it there often.
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#10
I use nature's swiftness ALL the time
Don't mess with the trees!


"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody."

~Bill Cosby
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#11
I'm the odd duck here that went from full resto to full elemental.
I did this because I pvp so much at the moment, but I am sure I will respec once my pvp goals are met. In my current build I do not have natures swiftness and it is Probably the thing I miss the most. Not for pvping, but for the fact that I have saved Kosath's fanny many times by using it. Being able to cast an instant heal is quite handy.

The fact that we have to spend 11 points in enhancement in order to use a two hander really screws up a lot of really nice potential specs and I'm hoping it is one of the the things that gets addressed in the shammy fix it patch. It is a sad truth that if you want to beat a clothy in a pvp situation that you almost need to have a two hander out because a shield doesn't save you from them, and having to spend talents to use one really pisses me off, to be blunt.

As for manatide, I used to have it and on some fights it is a big help. However, it is not needed on most fights and I'm not sure that I can recommend spending the pretty much useles 10 points needed to get it.

My first spec, pre resto, was 11/19/21. This gave me a bit of everything and is the one I may go back to long term.

Masai
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#12
(( Assembled shaman-types,

With the upcoming shaman changes I have a few questions on your current preferences and thoughts on the apocalyptic 1.11.

How useful do you enhancement shaman find parry? Minor extended survivability or a significant difference? What about ancestral knowledge vs sheild specialization?

Even with the reduced mana cost, I still think stormstrike is an aweful talent. Am I missing something there? Or is that still the concensus?

The decreased casting time on ghostwolf. Do you still use ghostwolf that often? Is it valuable in PvP or are they points better spent elsewhere?

Last point, elemental warding vs eye of the storm in 1.11. Is 10% reduction vs frost, fire and nature significant enough to be worth it. Granted the major raid instances are aligned to those elements ( with Nax adding frost ). But do you get critted enough to make the non-interrupt useful?

Signed,
Asking-Questions-in-Idaho ))
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#13
Dear Flu's Shaman

I like parry, 5% melee damage reduction. But the Enchancment tree suffers greatly in v1.11. In raids I never get melee damage, as I am 80% back row healing.
In 20 main raids, I am 50/50 melee & healing. If you do alot outside of Molten Core, it is still useful.

I like both Ancestral Knowledge & Shield Spec (This gets improved in 1.11).
I know people bash Ancestral Knowledge, b/c most say its just enough for one more heal, but mo mana, is mo mana. I have a nice 1H weapon, so that is why I have Shield Spec.

I am not so hot on Stormstrike too.
Its a finishing move, I'm always afraid of the aggro love it will draw off the MT.

I still like the 1 sec. Ghostwolf.
I don't PVP and I use it more often than I think.
But if you want that 2H weapon ability this is a talent to spend points in.

I generally don't choose the talents that require a Crit to activate the talent.
Vote Akora for MA!
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#14
Some random thoughts on talent changes post 1.11:

I went 0/11/40. Here is the build <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.wowhead.com/talent/?GZxf0zZEzxtAcqo">http://www.wowhead.com/talent/?GZxf0zZEzxtAcqo</a><!-- m -->

So far, I have battled the sourge invasion, been to Molten Core, and run UD Strat, and am fairly satisfied. I was able to keep the 6 of us alive during the invasion, only running out of mana once in a particularly nasty pull. I was at the top of healing charts in MC, and mainly backed up healed in UD Strat.

I have not got to use healing way to its full advantage yet. It does produce some big heals (2500k plus). In MC, even with improved healing wave, it is just too slow. With all of our healers, somebody beats me to the punch, and my heal is wasted. I did use it some on Pinto during the Scourge Invasion, and was useful there.

Mana tide has been a plus. I have used it in all situations to aid the party in tight spots, or just to keep us fighting and healing longer.

Healing grace and totemic mastery seem to be doing their jobs. So far, I draw much less agro spamming LHW than before, but it is still early. Added range on totems is a plus, but I don't have earthfury bonus yet.

My mana pool seems to be lasting longer. I have not noticed much drop-off in damage over pre-1.11 when I was 0/21/30, but then again, it was pretty poor then.

Now the rest of you shaman give me your impressions of talent changes.

-Jaba
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#15
I went 24/0/27, not a big change from my previous 30/0/21, but different. I haven't had too much of a chance to play around. I'll let you know after MC tonight! ...If there's room for me <cower>
Don't mess with the trees!


"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody."

~Bill Cosby
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