PVP Tips & Tricks - Shamans

Today I’m continuinga new mini-series of PVP from the viewpoint of the Marksman Hunter. I’ll cover each class and what you should look for each of them to do. We continue today with Shamans.

Shaman
Shamans come in three pretty distinct flavors and it’s not always possible to tell what spec they are at a glance. Seeing two melee weapons (usually slowish maces) means Enhancement. The two casting types (Elemental and Restoration) will use either a staff or a one hander and a shield.

Things to watch for:

• You can get an earth or fire elemental off of you by feigning.
• If a shaman is healing, use silencing shot or scatter shot to interrupt. This is especially useful if the spell is Chain Heal.
• Most shaman totems have very little health and are immune to AOE attacks. They must be single target killed. Auto Shot works wonderfully for this. Be aware that the Earth and Fire Elemental Totems have a ton of hit points.
• An enhancement shaman will want to be into melee range with you. Such a shaman will use Frost Shock to help close the distance. Use your movement inhibiting effects (Wing Clip, Frost Trap, Scatter Shot, Concussive Shot) to prevent or minimize that.
• Totem buffs cannot be removed with Arcane Shot. You must kill the totems instead.
• Shamans have some rather shallow mana pools. A Viper Sting can help keep that shallow pool drained.
• If you choose to use a Serpent Sting on a shaman, make sure to kill any Poison Cleansing Totems first. Shamans can also cleanse without the totem, but this is a single target cleanse.
• Beware of tab-targeting with Auto Shot on. Shooting at an Earth or Fire Elemental Totem can draw its aggro.
• If a shaman lays down new totems too quickly, kite them away from their totems. Most have a fairly limited range.
• While Ghost Wolf form has fewer defenses and attacks, many Shamans will use that to run away. In this case, treat them like a fleeing druid. Concussive shot to slow them and keep them in range. If you are lone chasing a fleeing shaman, consider Aspect of the Cheetah to keep up.
• (From Owaru) Earth shield is removable with Arcane Shot. Simply stripping this buff from a resto shaman will make them lose health much faster. The shaman will usually (but not always) apply this buff to themselves. Watch for it in a number of places.
  

Versus

When Burning Crusade was about to come out, I remember there being a lot of QQing over the fact that the Alliance was getting Shamans and the Horde was getting access to Paladins. I also distinctly remember someone from Blizzard saying that since the classes were once available only to one faction (each) that the two classes had moved closer and closer to one another thematically for balance. Blizzard (or at least the alleged representative I recall) seemed excited that for once they'd be able to move these classes further apart so that they could be more thematically accurate.

A year has gone by. What evidence do we have that they've done just that?

To my unpracticed eye (my alt shaman is 29, my alt paladin is 8), I don't see much evidence. Not having played Horde much prior to BC, I can't say I'm an expert on Shamans. I can't really relate how they've changed since BC. I know in the little PVP I did prior to BC that they seemed to kill any of my characters with relative ease. Now that we're both 10 levels higher, shamans don't strike the fear that they once did. I mean, it's not like "Ohnoes. Run! It's a Shaman." Rather, I'm more like, "Okay, dead shaman coming up." All this says, is that to my unpracticed eye, this appears that most shamans still carry bruises from being beaten with the nerfbat. And reading over the changes it seems my analysis is mostly correct.

Paladins on the other hand have been greatly enhanced. The only viable spec for Paladins back in the day was holy. The added 10 levels have only allowed them to shine even more in this regard. The retooled trees also allowed them to effectively tank. And with recent changes, it seems like all three of their trees will be viable.

So, if by buffing paladins and nerfing shamans, Blizzard feels that they've thematically shifted the classes to where they belong, I think they've succeeded.