Shaman PvE guide

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Contents 1 Things Shamans want Non-Shamans to know 1.1 Shamans and groups 2 Things Non-Shamans want Shamans to know 3 General tips 3.1 Rogue 3.2 Warrior 3.3 Priest 3.4 Warlock 3.5 Mage 3.6 Druid 3.7 Hunter 3.8 Shaman 3.9 Paladin

Things Shamans want Non-Shamans to know

Shamans and groups

It seems that often Shamans are thought of as nothing but Priests with shocks, which isn't true. We straddle the border between 3 worlds: we're good (but not great) damage-dealers, we're good (but not great) damage-takers, and we're good (but not great) healers, with those abilities becoming great depending on which talents we choose. A shaman who specializes in Enhancement becomes a very good melee damage dealer. So don't be surprised to find us up with the warriors, at least at the start of the battle.

Elemental and/or Enhancement shamans typically come in guns blazing at the beginning of a fight (dropping totems as needed), then gradually fall back to a healing position to keep everyone else alive. Warriors & Rogues will always be at the front kicking ass, Mages and Priests will always be in the back throwing out spells and heals, but a shaman will be where he's needed most. Don't expect us to hang around in the back waiting for you to bleed. Not only is that boring for shamans, but it's also a waste of a slot in your group. If you want a priest, get a priest.

Shamans are (as at patch 2.1) arguably the best healers for large groups of people taking damage in raids. This is thanks to Chain Heal. Chain Heal is not only extremely mana efficient (512 if the shaman is specced for it), but also extraordinarily good at utilizing +heal. Chain Heal has for a long time been the shamans trademark spell, but has only recently become the best healing spell in the game. Compare to other Shaman heals; Lesser healing wave has a +healing coefficient of 43%. That means that a LHW that would heal 1500, would heals up to 2145 with the addition of 1500 +healing. Healing Wave is slightly better, using 86% of +healing, but Chain Heal has a healing coefficient of 126%. To stop the number-crunching and finish this off, when you have good gear chain heal is absolutely awesome.

Shamans can make capable off-tanks. If you ask a shaman to do this, however, their capacity to heal is seriously reduced, as much of the time they will be forced to heal themselves. Shamans can main tank instances, but often at such a high level that the shaman is unlikely to see any point for being in the instance. Though Blackrock Depths is generally considered the highest level instance a shaman can hope to tank, few shamans have been known to have tanked Karazhan. (See here)

Enhancement shamans will greatly increase your group's melee DPS, because of Unleashed Rage.

Much like Druids, shamans should bring multiple gear sets, and use mods such as ItemRack to quickly toggle between them. A versatile shaman should not hesitate to go between 2H weapons, 1H and shield, or stepping back into a healing role, with gear choices that complement these tasks.

If a shaman drops three or four totems, whether in combat or just outside aggro range of the next group to kill in an instance, it's probably a pretty good idea to do what you can to fight within the limited range of those totems rather than outside of them. They do cost mana and time to reposition, so waiting for a shaman to drop their last totem then charging after the next group rather than pulling them to the totems or running around outside their range can be fairly frustrating.

If you want a shaman to drop Windfury Totem, Grace of Air, or Wrath of Air; just ask politely. And if you do ask for Windfury Totem, just make sure to cancel anything that is on your main hand weapon. Also while in a raid, totems do not effect all raid groups, just the one the shaman is in, hence if you want to maximize DPS or give the tank Windfury, make sure you place the shaman in that group. Enhancement shaman love Leader of the Pack, for the 5% critical rate, so its always nice to have the feral druid and shaman together. Elemental Shamans and Restoration Shamans will enjoy being in a group with a Balance Druid for the 5% spell crit bonus. Also, Tremor Totem doesn't cancel all fears, so don't yell at us if we don't have one down.

Things Non-Shamans want Shamans to know

Rogues USED to have the complaint about Windfury totems replacing their poisons. However, Blizzard has fixed that problem and it no longer occurs, but it's always best to ask your rogues if they prefer Windfury Totem or Grace of Air Totem.

Warriors want to have all aggro. Getting hit is good for their rage and they have the best armour anyway. Frost Shock generates additional threat and can steal aggro from them. Avoid using it for damage dealing.

If you're not off-tanking (or tanking), consider not using Lightning Shield. Since you're not tanking, you don't want to maintain aggro when you get it, and Lightning Shield will only do damage in this case anyway, increasing the difficulty for the tank to re-acquire aggro from your attackers.

If you are tanking, especially main-tanking, please use a shield. You won't survive without a miracle otherwise.

Mages can Polymorph, but be wary of your Chain Lightning spell as it can interrupt the often-wandering sheep. We can't DPS or CC properly if our sheep gets interrupted!

Squishies (Mages, Priests, and to a lesser extent Warlocks) might like a Frost Shock to get their mob's attention if they get aggro. This is especially true when they have Crowd Controlled a mob as it will run right at them when the CC wears off. Frost shock is best for this, because it is instant, doesn't have a DoT, it slows target and generates extra threat to boot.

When you're in an instancing group, watch the puller's target and get ready to Earth Shock. There are times where the puller shoots his bow on a caster, who starts casting and ruining the pull. Mages' Counterspell can help, but your Earth Shock has a lower cooldown (30 sec. vs. 6 sec.). Consider this when you have a mage in your instancing party.

When in doubt, Grounding Totem in boss encounters.

General tips

Rogue

• Grace of Air totem is great for Rogues, because it gives them even more agility.
• Windfury Totem gives even more benefit to a rogue.
• Strength of Earth Totem is good as well, because it gives them additional strength.

Warrior

• Strength of Earth and Windfury Totem are great for warriors as they help then give/take more damage. When you are in a group with 1 or more protection warriors, you might want to use Stoneskin Totem to reduce their damage taken.
• Warriors have a ton of HP, so they need big heals. It's best to primarily use Healing Wave on Warriors, unless they're dying fast and you're taking damage. Then use a whole lot of Lesser Healing Wave. Remember: they don't have negative health points, so even a huge Healing Wave is worthless if they're dead.
• Try not to use Frost Shock until the end of a battle (after the Warrior has built up a lot of aggro), unless you're using it to stop runners. It causes an enhanced aggro (more than its damage) and will peel mobs off the warrior. Alternate between Flame Shock and Earth Shock - Flame Shock is the most mana-efficient, whereas you use Earth Shock while Flame Shock's DOT is still going.

Priest

• When in a group with a priest, the best totems to use are Wrath of Air Totem, Mana Spring Totem and if you have them Totem of Wrath and Mana Tide Totem. When the priest has problems with managing his threat, Tranquil Air Totem might be a wise decision.
• Keep your eyes on the Priest's HP and Mana bars. They often become so engrossed in keeping others alive that they forget to heal themselves.
• If you see their mana bar getting too low, it's time to kick YOUR healing into high gear. Try not to blow your mana early in the battle!
• Dropping a Healing totem can help make a priest's job a lot easier by filling in the piddly amounts of damage that are done by AoEs and stuff.
• Just like with Warlocks, if you see a mob on a Priest, Frost Shock them to get them off!

Warlock

• When in a group with a warlock, the best totems to use are Wrath of Air Totem, Mana Spring Totem and if you have them Totem of Wrath and Mana Tide Totem. When the warlock has problems with managing his threat, Tranquil Air Totem might be a wise decision.
• Warlocks are suicide machines. Keep them alive!
• If you see a mob on a Warlock (or any caster), Frost Shock will likely get them to attack you instead - better that they're attacking the Mail-user than the Cloth-user. Then find a way to get the Warrior's attention.
• Try to keep their pet alive as well, they are like an extra, minor party member.

Mage

• Mages can do a lot of damage with their spells, which may draw mobs onto them. Use Frost Shock to draw those mobs off the Mage, then let the Warrior pull them off of you.
• When in a group with a mage, the best totems to use are Wrath of Air Totem, Mana Spring Totem and if you have them Totem of Wrath and Mana Tide Totem. When the mage has problems with managing his threat, Tranquil Air Totem might be a wise decision.
• If working with an ice mage that is skilled at grinding mobs, it's a good idea to allow the mage to go about their business generally unhindered. Good ways to help are to drop a nova totem between the mage and frozen mobs, so that by the time the mobs unfreeze and head towards the mage it goes off. Keep in mind to drop it far enough from frozen mobs that they won't attack it whilst frozen.
• Make sure that you are standing next to the mage, so that if you do aggro mobs they continue to head in the right direction and stay within the mage's AoE.
• Drop a magma totem between the mage and mobs after your nova goes off, to increase AoE damage.
• Stand next to the mage and cast chain lightning into the mobs, this will aggro mobs onto you but if you are in the right place they will stay on the right path. Drop your nova totem again when it has cooled down, then after it has gone off drop another magma totem.
• Get ready to run, as when mobs reach the mage they will cast frost nova again to freeze the mobs and then blink away. The best thing to do is stand slightly behind the mage so that when they cast frost nova you are not in melee distance of the group of mobs. Then skirt around until you are between them and the mage, drop a nova totem and retreat back to the mage's side again.
• If any of the mobs are ranged, break free of frost nova, or are not affected by the slowing affect of the mages AoE, use your Frost Shock to aggro the mob away from the mage. If the mob is a melee mob, keep them as close to the mage as possible, so that when the mage next casts frost nova that mob is also affected. If the mob is a caster or ranged, get them down as quickly as possible, then go back to assisting the mage with the other mobs.
• If the mage is attempting to AoE grind a group of ranged mobs, they are stupid and deserve to die. Run away and find another mage.

Druid

• When in a group with a restoration druid or a balance druid, the best totems to use are Wrath of Air Totem, Mana Spring Totem and if you have them Totem of Wrath and Mana Tide Totem. When the druid has problems with managing his threat, Tranquil Air Totem might be a wise decision.
• Restoration druids, like priests, will run out of mana if forced to heal too much. Be prepared to throw out some healing to help.
• Healing druids can only lose aggro with Cower, and that stops them from healing. Help protect them from adds like any other healer.
• Druid tanks have high armor but no block or parry. Expect a steadier stream of damage and be charging up Healing Wave instead of reacting with Lesser Healing Wave.
• Druids in bear and cat forms cannot gain the benefit of "proc on hit" and other weapon enhancements, so Flametongue totem and Windfury totems do not benefit them. Also, druids gain a large amount of dodge per points of agility, so putting down your Grace of Air totem while a druid is tanking in bear form will make a good impact on his ability to mitigate damage. Druids in cat form also gain attack power from agility as rogues do and will also benefit from Grace of Air.

Hunter

• Hunters are really the only class that you usually don't have to worry about healing much, or keeping aggro off. They can Feign Death, giving them time to heal themselves with bandages or whatever they have.
• Remember, with a Hunter, there's another member of your party you need to keep track of, their pet! You can quickly target a pet by pressing the function key of their master twice in rapid succession. In the event that your interface does not show pet health you can press "V" (by default), it'll put a health bar above the pet (if you have that option turned on in the interface settings), which makes it a lot easier to track.
• Grace of Air Totem helps Hunters do more damage and last longer. Enough said.

Shaman

• Organize with them beforehand to make sure you're not dropping the same totems they are, since most effects don't stack. Two effects that DO stack are healing stream and wrath. You can never have too many healing streams.
• With 2 shamans in a group, you could have Strength of Earth and Stoneskin, Grace of Air and Windfury Totem, Healing Spring and Mana Spring, etc. Your party will be MUCH harder to kill.

Paladin

• If the Paladin is tanking, he'll love you for a Wrath of Air Totem for more spell damage, as Seals do not proc on second hits(minus from Reckoning). Dropping Wrath of Air while asking for a Blessing of Salvation will create more than enough of an aggro gap for you to DPS (or heal) comfortably. It is a common misconception that paladin tanks need strength. They don't, so don't give Strength of Earth to them. Give them Stoneskin Totem instead, especially during AOE tanking.
• In contrast, retribution paladins benefit from strength but not much from spell damage since 2.4, so Strength of Earth and Windfury Totem helps them more.
• Enhancement Shamans really shouldn't have too much of a problem keeping their mana bars topped off with Shamanistic Rage, so ask for a Blessing of Salvation as opposed to Wisdom. Restoration Shamans are another story, and Blessing of Wisdom is probably the better choice. Elemental Shaman need both, but usually a well geared one need the threat reduction from Salvation more than mana regeneration from Wisdom. Of course, don't turn your nose up at Blessing of Kings.
• Come to think of it, if you're enhancement, get Blessing of Salvation under all circumstances. It will allow more DPS while generating less threat. Only get Blessing of Might, Kings, or Wisdom if there is a 2nd Paladin in your group or raid.
• If the Paladin is healing and you are DPSing, he'll thank for a Wrath of Air Totem. Nothing beats a Totem of Wrath, however, as the extra spell crit that they receive makes their healing that much more mana efficient.
• There's not too much raid synergy between a Holy Paladin and a Restoration Shaman. Aside from 101 +healing, they're not missing out on anything important from not being in your group. Generally, they can spam Flash of Light without the need for a Mana Spring/Tide Totem. Let them group with and heal the tank while you take care of any AoE damage with Chain Heal in the caster DPS group.