Under the leadership of Thrall, the Orcs have rediscovered their ancient Shamanistic traditions. In an attempt to rid the Horde of its demonic corruption, Thrall banned the use of Warlock magic and necromancy. Now, all Orc magic users practice Shaman magic which draws its power from the natural world and the elements.
The Orc Shaman is one of the most powerful spellcasters besides the HumanSorceress. The Shaman is powerful because of his Bloodlust ability mainly. Shamans can Bloodlust any friendly organic unit, including allied units, Orc units, and themselves. They cannot Bloodlust mechanical or magic-immune units like Demolishers and Dryads. You can further enhance this damage with Heroes and a Kodo Beast. Shamans can also slow escaping enemy units with Purge and wreak havoc with Lightning Shield on shadowmelded or tightly packed groups of enemy units. There are several methods of using Shamans. Many players build Grunts then work up to Shamans and use the two together. Shamans are also good when used with Wind Riders, or with Tauren, or with both.
Remember to research Adept and Master Training. Besides just giving extra spells, these upgrades also increase mana capacity and mana regeneration, which is exactly what you want on spell casting units.
Spells and abilities
Purge
Removes all buffs from a target unit, and slows its movement speed by a factor of 5. Purged units will slowly regain their movement speed over 15 seconds. Deals 400 damage to summoned units. Purge does not slow friendly units when used on them and causes units to stop for a brief moment when first cast.
Research Cost
Researched At
Requirements
None
Always Available
None
Duration (Hero)
Cooldown
Mana Cost
Range
Area of Effect
Allowed Targets
Effect
15 (5) sec.
1 sec.
75
70
Unit
Air, Ground, Ward
Spells removed, Movement Speed slowed, 400 damage to summoned units
Purge is useful for removing enemy spell effects. An example would be enemy Sorceresses Polymorphing your units.
Use Purge to prevent enemy units and Heroes from running away.
Lightning Shield
Forms a shield of electricity around a target unit, dealing 20 damage per second to units around it. Lasts 20 seconds.
Research Cost
Researched At
Requirements
100 50
Spirit Lodge
Shaman Adept Training
Duration
Cooldown
Mana Cost
Range
Area of Effect
Allowed Targets
Effect
20 sec.
None
100
60
16
Ground, Friend, Enemy
20 damage/sec.
Lightning Shield is useful for casting on groups of tightly packed enemy units. Cast Lightning Shield on an enemy unit surrounded by other units. The enemy player will be forced to move this unit away or it will kill off or damage surrounding units.
You can also cast this on your own units but be warned that good enemy players typically run away until it wears off.
Lightning Shield Counters
Select the unit with Lightning Shield on it and run it away from other units to prevent the Lightning Shield from hurting them. Use the Lightning Shield against the enemy, move a unit with Lightning Shield next to enemy units.
Bloodlust (Autocast)
Increases a friendly unit's attack rate by 40% and movement speed by 25%.
Research Cost
Researched At
Requirements
100 150
Spirit Lodge
Shaman Master Training
Duration
Cooldown
Mana Cost
Range
Area of Effect
Allowed Targets
Effect
60 sec.
1 sec.
40
60
Unit
Air, Ground, Friend, Organic, Self
Attack Rate +40%, Movement Speed +25%
Like in Warcraft II, Bloodlust is one of the uber spells in the game. Orc players should almost always try to build up to Bloodlust because it can greatly enhance their Grunts, Tauren, or Wind Riders.
It's best to turn off the autocasting of Bloodlust when you don't need it. That way your Shaman will have built up Mana for Bloodlust, Purge, and Lightning Shield.
Upgrades
Shaman Adept Training
Increases mana capacity by 100, mana regeneration rate by 30%, hit points by 40, and gives Shamans the ability to cast Lightning Shield.
Research Cost
Researched At
Requirements
Upgrade Time
100 50
Spirit Lodge
None
60 sec.
Shaman Master Training
Further increases mana capacity by 100, mana regeneration rate by 30%, hit points by 40, and gives Shamans the ability to cast Bloodlust.
battle.net Warcraft III - Orcs -> Units -> Shaman
