Pros
It’s no secret that my main toon is a Restoration Shaman so naturally , there is some biase towards my preference for this class. In my opinion, Shamans are the MacGyver equivalents in the world of Azeroth. With their forest of totems and seemingly endless bag of tricks, Shamans have the ability to wiggle their way out of some dangerously tight situations. Chain Heal is the Shaman money maker and they do exceedingly well at raid healing. Mail armor increases their durability and Water Shield coupled with Mana Spring totem make running out of mana a matter of little concern. Totems provide raid wide buffing abilities that are instant and far reaching. Shamans have the ability to affect multiple targets at once in a variety of ways. Reincarnation provides a nice wipe prevention utility since the Shaman can self resurrect during battle. Shamans also have a 3 in 1 cleanse that removes a poison, disease, and/or curse from a target.
Cons
Shamans are not as ideal for healing single targets like main and off tanks. Most often, raid leaders will assign Shamans to heal the raid group which can be less glamorous than having the responsibility of keeping the main tank alive. Though they have one HoT, it only pops every 6 seconds which makes healing on the go very difficult. Shamans need to stand in one place, and preferably by their totems, to be the most effective.
click to enlarge
A. Useful Stats
a. Intellect
b. MP5
c. Haste
d. Spell Power
B. Strengths
1. AoE Heal
a. Chain Heal – Heals the friendly target then jumps to heal additional nearby targets. Heals 3 total targets
2. Direct Heals
a. Lesser Healing Wave – Smallest heal but is cast quickly at 1.5 seconds
b. Healing Wave – The slowest direct heal at 3 seconds, but the Shaman’s most powerful
3. HoTs
a. Riptide – Is actually a direct heal and a HoT in one. It heals the target for a specific amount then provides additional healing over 15 seconds
4. Self Buffs
a. Water Shield – Surrounds the Shaman with 3 globes of water which grant MP5. When an attack hits the Shaman, a water globe is expanded restoring mana back to the caster.
b. Earthliving Weapon – Imbues the Shaman’s weapon to increase healing done. Each heal has a 20% change to proc Earthliving on the target, healing for an additional amount over 12 seconds.
5. Raid Buffs - Totems
a. Earth Shield – Cast a shield on the target with 6 charges. Each time the target is damaged, earth shield heals them. It can only be active on one target at a time
b. Mana Spring Totem – Restores mana to group members within 30 yards
c. Healing Stream Totem – Heals group members within 30 yards
d. Flametongue – increases healing and spell damage to all party members within 30 yards
e. Wrath of Air Totem – Provides 5% spell haste to all party members within 30 yards
f. Strength of Earth – Increases strength and agility to all party members within 30 yards
g. Tremor Totem – removes fear, charm, and sleep effects from party members within 30 yards
6. Cleansing
a. Cleanse Spirit - Cleanse the spirit of a friendly target, removing 1 poison effect, 1 disease effect, and 1 curse effect.
7. Oh $#@* Button
a. Mana Tide Totem – Restores 6% of mana every 3 seconds for a 12 second duration to all group members within 30 yards
b. Reincarnation – Instant self resurrection that pops once per hour
c. Nature’s Swiftness – Turns next spell into an instant cast
d. Bloodlust (Horde) Heroism (Alliance) – Increases melee, ranged, and spell casting speed by 30% for all party members. Lasts 40 seconds
e. Ghost Wolf – I invest the 5 points required in the Enhancement tree to get Improved Ghost Wolf so that I can cast it instantly. This allows me to flee from danger so that I can find a safe place to heal myself back to full life.
click to enlarge
C. Weaknesses
1. Only two direct heals available. The most powerful heal takes 3 seconds to cast
2. Not effective against single targets like tanks
