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wow class:shaman  

 shaman
RacesDraenei, Dwarf, Gnome, Human, Night Elf, Orc, Tauren, Troll, Undead
Talent TreesProtection, Fury, Arms

SpellsAbilitiesQuests
TrainersMacrosForum
This page needs to be merged into Shaman. Afterward, this page should be replaced with #redirect [[WoW Class:Shaman]]
See also: Shaman ability list, Shaman talent trees, useful Shaman macros
For a more detailed set of information about the class, see Shaman FAQ.

Contents [hide]

Theme

In tune with the elements, Shamans are masters of air, earth, and fire. Capable of fighting with the elements at their side, unleashing devastating magic on their opponents, or healing their allies, shamans are a very powerful hybrid class.

Available Races

The shaman class was originally only available to the Horde. After the release of Burning Crusade, Blizzard gave the Alliance access to shamans by making it available for Draenei. According to lore, a broken named Nobundo who believed the Light had forsaken him, given his current form, sat idly in the wastes for many many days until he heard the very wind itself call out to him. Gradually he came to realize that each of the elemental powers was always surrounding him and how to manipulate these energies. At that point, he returned to Draenei civilization and shared his teachings with the rest of the Draenei.

More traditionally, shamans have been thought of as members of the Troll, Tauren and Orc peoples. Each of these races has a different tie with shamanism, but it is more significant to the Orcs, who once threw down their ties to shamanism when they were corrupted by demonic blood. Thrall, the new warchief and a shaman himself, has made it a point to return to the old ways.

Class capabilities

Weapon proficiencies:

  • Maces
  • Axes
  • Two-handed Maces
  • Two-handed Axes
  • Daggers
  • Staff

Armor proficiencies:

  • Cloth
  • Leather
  • Mail (at level 40)
  • Shields

Although the typical image of a shaman is a spiritual healer or a witch doctor, Warcraft shamans are not afraid to get physical. Of course, they can cast lightning spells as well or use their "shock" abilities to cause sudden short-range damage to their opponents.

The most distinct characteristic of the shaman class is the use of totems. Separated into four categories -- fire, air, earth and water -- the shaman can "drop" a totem on the ground related to each element. There are many different totems, providing many different effects, but most typically create a short-range buff to the shaman and nearby party members. Some affect nearby enemies instead.

The three areas of focus for the shaman are Elemental, Enhancement and Restoration. Restoration relates almost exclusively to the healing powers of a shaman. Elemental is on the damaging aspects of their magic. Enhancement is for improving the shaman's melee prowess and for dealing damage during combat.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Shamans are a hybrid class, and can be very powerful in one of their three different spheres. They tend to be lackluster in the other two. Although they can use a shield, shamans can generally not tank effectively. Rather, they deal damage, provide support and utility, and heal.

Perhaps the biggest limitation for a shaman, at least while earning experience, is mana. Unlike many other classes, shamans are incredibly limited by how much they can do with their mana. As a result, shamans are quite possibly the most gear-dependent class, needing either physical boosts or magical bonuses to operate well.

Group roles and expectations

Like other hybrids, the shaman's role will be determined by their specialization. In all likelihood, if the group has an expectation, it will be to heal. Generally any class that cannot heal expects any class that can heal to do so. The use of appropriate totems is also very important in a group context.

Class Quests

Nearly all shaman classes are based around the acquisition of their totems. While earth totems are learned very early, it requires a special quest to learn the use of fire totems at level 10, water totems at level 20, and air totems at level 30.

For a complete list of Shaman quests, look here.

This page last modified 2008-06-13 09:57:32.