


With these buffs boosting the abilities of your entire group or raid, shamans can be a useful support class in any group situation. In addition to their totems, shamans have some other powerful buffs, like Bloodlust/ Heroism, Burning Wrath, Grace of Air, Unleashed Rage, and Elemental Oath. This definitely requires some strategy in their placement and use - which might interest you or might just sound like a lot of work. You can only have one of each totem type out at a time - so while you could have Stone Bulwark Totem and Searing Totem out at the same time, you couldn't have Stone Bulwark Totem and Earthbind Totem out at the same time. You'll notice that each of these totems is associated with a certain element: air, earth, fire, or water. Here are the totems you'll encounter as you level up: So if other races strike your fancy, the shaman class just won't be for you.īut what makes a shaman more than just another hybrid class is the totems and other unique buffs they can provide to themselves and their group. If you're interested in giving shaman a try, you have a fairly limited racial selection, however: your only options are draenei, dwarf, goblin, orc, tauren, troll, and pandaren. They can wield daggers, fist weapons, one-handed axes, one-handed maces, staves, two-handed axes, and two-handed maces - and, as mentioned earlier, an enhancement shaman can dual-wield one-handed weapons in each hand to maximize their melee damage. But unlike other caster classes, shamans wear mail armor (starting at level 50) and can equip shields (though enhancement shamans will prefer to dual wield) - this gives shamans a lot of survivability for both casters and healers. Like other caster classes, shamans use mana to fuel their spells and abilities. With the powerful buffs shamans can provide, they make for an excellent healing and support class. Restoration: This specialization is for healing, with skills like Earth Shield and Spirit Link Totem.The ability to dual-wield might make them seem like a rogue or warrior, but enhancement shaman use plenty of elemental magic to power their abilities. Enhancement: This type of shaman is a melee expert, with the ability to dual-wield weapons and perform deadly, elementally-powered strikes like Stormstrike and Lava Lash.They dish out damage with spells like Lightning Bolt and Lava Burst - gameplay can be a bit like a fire mage, though shamans have heavier armor and the use of totems to buff them. Elemental: This type of shaman is a standard ranged caster, focusing on elemental damage-dealing spells.But is shaman the right class for you?īlizzard describes shamans as "spiritual guides and practitioners, not of the divine, but of the very elements." And, indeed, shamans are masters of the elements, though different specializations utilize their elemental skills in different ways: It's a class that gives you the flexibility to play the way you want while also providing a lot of utility for both you and your group. Unique to the class are totems, which a shaman can summon to boost their group's abilities or harm their foes. Shaman is a hybrid class: they can serve as healers as well as doing magical or melee damage to their enemies. Shamans are a bit like priests in that they're spiritual leaders - though they have nothing to do with the holy light that fuels most priestly abilities - and a bit like druids in their use of nature magic - though the shaman's channeling of the elements themselves is unlike anything a druid can do. Today we're talking about the shaman, a class that channels the raw power of the elements to heal or harm. How do you know if the class you're considering today is going to still be interesting next week - or in the next ten levels? Being informed can help: so our new player class guides try to give you an idea of what you're getting into before you burn time playing through a class that you don't really enjoy. If you're just getting started in World of Warcraft, the class and race options can present a dizzying variety of options.
