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am i correct in assuming that generally speaking, a shammy will bring slightly more dps and slightly less healing than a pally to a 5/10 man group?
More or less, but it is highly dependant on spec. Some raid restoration shammies don't do
any damage, but can out-heal priests (probably b/c PW:Shield doesn't count for anything on the damage meters... but it still looks nice).
The other side is (generally) enhancement shamans, a surprising number of which I've never seen heal. Personally I like to see a blend of our abilities, but these extremes are good examples of how hybrids are forced to specialize at end-game. Hopefully we'll see the re-emergance of true hybrids during the leveling process.
IMO, the real difference is in tanking: a paladin could do it effectively, while a shaman can only tank for brief periods and are losing taking abilities in the expansion. The trade-off is that (in theory) a shaman can do more damage.
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In raids the main thing they'll be bringing is Earth Shield.
That is the one saving grace that I'm looking forward to: so far it looks badass. However, my question is: with the integration of paladins and the apparent raid viability of elemental/enhancement shamans, how much of a need for resto shamans will there be? I suppose that's another wait-and-see.