World of Warcraft Shaman Strategy Guide

The shaman serves as a ubiquitous jack-of-all-trades in the World of Warcraft online game. In world terms, a shaman serves as a witch-doctor and spirit seeker for races, such as Orcs, Trolls and Tauren, utilizing powerful totems and calling upon the powers of the natural world to aid them. Playing a shaman takes a little getting used to for newbies, but the shaman also offers an excellent way to learn how the various bells and whistles of the game function.

Function

A shaman is essentially a utility infielders with a diverse bag of tricks to call upon at any time. While not as adept at spellcasting as the mage or warlock, he has a passing ability with many kinds of utility spells. Since the shaman hails from martial races, he can use more weapons than a mage or warlock, though not as many as a warrior or hunter. His healing skills are not as potent as a priest, but he will suffice in a pinch. And their ability to use totems grants him a sense of indemnity unique from other World of Warcraft classes. This makes them a healthy second banana to back up any of the other players in the party: from a back-up combat engine to an auxiliary healer and spellcaster.

Benefits

The shaman's biggest asset is his ability to use totems, which are discussed at length in the "Expert Insight" section. Because only he can access totem's effects, he is an absolute necessity in any party which hopes to use them. His spell-casting ability is best utilized with instant damage effects and similar quick strikes. Use of armor is limited to cloth, leather, and eventually mail, which is still an improvement on a number of other classes and makes him a good choices for defensive maneuvers. The weapon types usually stress close combat--maces, staves, and axes--though spell and totem use provides the shaman with a certain amount of range as well. Accordingly, he can do fairly well in head-to-head combat, and can leap to the defense of more vulnerable party members when the situation calls for it.

Considerations

The tricky part about being a jack-of-all-trades is that you are the master of none. A shaman will need to get used to other party members being better at many of the things he can do, and accept the role of team player with grace and good humor. Indeed, "team player" is a vital aspect of a shaman's survival ethos. He doesn't do as well on his own as other classes, and he has a set dependence on the mana pool to provide power and strength. Banding together with other party members can help offset that. Finally, his biggest asset--use of totems--can also be his greatest vulnerability. Since totems can be easily destroyed, it is imperative to protect them properly during combat. Plan for their defense when you intend to use them in a fight.

Expert Insight

The shaman's greatest power is the use of totems, representing some aspect of the four elements (air, earth, fire and water). A shaman must complete quests in order to gain the power of totems, which are bound by a number of restrictions. Totems are stationary, which means that you and your party must stay close in order to benefit from them. You cannot give another player a totem you have earned, and you can normally only use one at a time. When you cast the totem on the ground, other players and monsters can attack and destroy it, making it imperative to protect it if you wish to benefit from its effects. In exchange for all that, totems grant unlimited usage of them, provided you have the ability to use them in the first place. They are also immune to area effects, meaning that enemies will need to attack them directly if they want to destroy them. A shaman can use that as bait to draw an enemy in close or plan a defensive strategy with a totem as the rally point.

Expert Insight

In a general sense, a shaman works well as a "fixer," bolstering any deficiency which the party may encounter. If a warrior or other combatant is weakening, a shaman can step in to help finish the enemy off. If a spellcaster is running out of tricks, the shaman can be there to fire off some instant damage. If a priest or paladin's healing abilities aren't quite covering all of the injuries, the shaman can help out. As a player, it thus benefits you to learn as much as possible about as many different aspects of the game, and use your Swiss army knife of a class to make the best possible use of them.