WoW How to play a Shaman

The Early Levels of a Shaman

Many consider this to be the hardest time in the life of a Shaman. Until our late teens our abilities are a little lackluster when compared to other classes and our ability to take damage, especially in RvR, is less than ideal. You may feel like you can never keep up with the healing and your damage isn't much better but I urge you to stick it out!

Levels 1-4: You start your career off with two very simple spells: Brain Bursta (bolt nuke) and Gork'll Fix (heal with a HoT (Heal over time) component.) Combat at level 1 is very simple. You find an enemy, get yourself to max range, and cast Brain Bursta over and over. It really doesn't get much easier than that. When your fight is over, or in the middle of the fight if necessary, heal yourself then continue on to the next mob. At level 2 you will receive Life Leak (DoT) which makes life a little easier when soloing. I find it best to lead off with at least two Brain Bursta's from max range then using Life Leaka before continuing to Brain Bursta the mob util it dies. Level 3 gives you a new HoT which will also help. At level 4 you will receive 'Ere we go! which is pretty much only ideal in groups because it buffs melee damage for ONE hit. Use it sparingly when soloing.

Levels 5-13: This is when life begins to change drastically for a Shaman, although not at all like it does in the late teens. At level 5 we receive Bunch o' Waaagh which is our channeled nuke. This makes all the difference in the world for our damage output and ability to solo early on because of its burst damage. If you're doing much RvR at level 5 you will also notice it packs a nasty punch and scares players into retreating to get out of range. Ideally when soloing you will want to lead off with Brain Bursta, then Life Leaks, then Bunch o' Waaagh. At level 6 we receive a notable ability that DoT's the enemy and heals your defensive target over time. This is very handy for keeping yourself alive when soloing multiple mobs or trying to live in RvR. The other abilities worth mentioning are Bigger, Better, an' Greener (Our big heal) and Divine Favor (our first morale ability that heals for a lot). Overall you should have no big problems in PvE at this level range but you may find your healing and survivability in RvR to be rather lacking. This is normal.

Level 14: This is where the tide begins to slowly turn for us. If you haven't noticed by now we are very squishy and will die in 4-5 hits from almost any class. At level 14 we receive our damage absorption shield will will allow us to live just a couple of hits longer. Many times just a few hits can be the difference between life and death. By level 14 you should have a strong understanding of your damage capabilities. In PvE you won't have much trouble pulling with a couple brain burstas then stacking your DoT's and burst o waaaghing the mobs to death. In RvR you'll notice that you do almost no damage to beefy characters like tanks or to anyone being healed. Pick your targets wisely!

General Healing Strategies

Keeping your realm mates alive is one of your most important roles as a Shaman. I want to reiterate how important it is to remember that we ARE healers even though we can deal damage. Here are a few basic tips that you may find useful when you find yourself responsible for another life:

Dealing damage makes you heal better, so why not deal damage when you aren't healing?

Don't let the health of the person you are healing get too low before you begin healing. You will find it hard to play catch-up as a Shaman.

Heal early with our medium heal that has a DoT component.

If you find your team mate taking a lot of damage then use the BIG heal as long as you aren't being hit yourself. In the low to mid levels this is the only way to keep someone alive if they're taking a lot of damage. Your HoT and heal+HoT won't be enough.

After healing toss an instant HoT on to take advantage of its healing while you queue up the next spell. It's never a bad thing to always have HoT's up on targets who take damage (Unless they are pulling - in which case you will want to hold off until they establish aggro)

Use your damage absorption shield to help you keep up with heals - it's not much, but it helps in a pinch.

RvR

Hopefully you understand your role as a Shaman by now. Well, I have some bad news for you. Your enemies probably know your role as well and that means you are now a primary target during RvR encounters. Shaman are VERY squishy little guys and unless we're careful we can find ourselves running back to the fight more than actually participating. Here are a few basic tips that might come in handy:

Do not draw unnecessary attention to yourself! If you stand off to the side you're going to get noticed. Blend in with the pack by hiding behind the bigger guys.

Don't stand in the front. This is the absolute best way to get focus fired to death.

Have your damage absorption shield up if you're going to be taking damage. This spell SAVES LIVES!

Know your enemy. Tanks are going to have a lot more HP than casters. Pick your battles and do not expose yourself to an enemy that will survive long enough to be aided by friends.