Images courtesy of Peter Dorsi

One of the few hybrid classes in the World of Warcraft universe, the Shaman combines the qualities of the Priest, Warrior, and Mage. The mix alone makes the Shaman a very versatile class in the game as this class can provide enhancements for the party without being too specific on any aspect of the game. Depending on how the Shaman’s skills are built, the said unit can be developed into an offensive spell caster, efficient melee combatant, or an excellent healer.

The Shaman’s primary support buffs radiates from their stationary totems, which can either increase the performances and skills of the other party members or reduce the enemies’ effectiveness and efficiency. The effects of a totem can only be felt when the units are within its effective range, which is between 30-50 yards.

While the Shaman’s role in his or her society may be seen as a visionary who can foretell the future, a medium for the beings unseen by the normal eye, or as a healer; the Shaman is nevertheless a formidable foe. When angered, the Shaman can use his sorcery to do damage or his battle skills if he needs to. As someone who has a strong connection to the elements, having a Shaman for an enemy puts any hero in a grim situation.

Background
The art of Shamanism has long been practiced ever since sentient beings have treaded the earth and founded a relationship with the elements of earth, wind, fire, and water. In the broken plains of the Outland (formerly Draenor), the most prominent Shamans are Orcs. In fact, the most vilified Orcs who served under the command of the Burning Legion were once powerful Shamans.

In the Orcs’ political circle, the Shamans held a high stature and they can easily sway the council with regards to important matters. But when the Orcs — deceived by Kil’jaeden, the leader of the Burning Legion — attacked the Draenei hunting parties, the spirits were angered by their actions and were stripped off their shamanistic powers.

Worse, the Orcs turned to the Burning Legion as their new source of power. These Orcs who gained the power of the Burning Legion were turned to Warlocks. There were some who tried to hold on to their Shamanistic roots but this effort was futile.

It was when Thrall was installed as the Warchief of the Frostwolf Clan and ascended to power that Shamanism thrived once more with the New Horde.

Trolls and Taurens are the most prolific Shaman races in the lands of Azeroth. Unlike their Orcish counterparts, the flow of Shamanism among the Trolls and the Taurens were undisturbed and continues to flourish up to this day.

The Races

Originally, the Shaman is strictly limited to the Horde as the opposite of the Paladin, which was also exclusive to the Alliance.

Each race has a set of unique attributes for the Shaman, which may offer different advantages for the player. For instance, Tauren Shamans have the Warstomp ability (stun), which is quite useful when battling a large party since Shamans do not naturally posses stunning skills. Troll Shamans have the Da Voodoo Shuffle and Berserking powers, and the Beast Slaying bonus, which is good for leveling purposes. Orc Shamans’ Blood Fury enhances the Orcs’ melee attacks and spell damage. As for the Draenei Shamans, their Gift of the Naaru allows them to heal themselves or others without using mana.

The Weapons and Armor
The Shaman starting weapons consists of maces (one-handed), staves (two-handed) and shields. Weapons like daggers, fist weapons, maces and axes (both two-handed) can be wielded only when the Shaman has completed the training for the specific weapon.

The Dual Wield ability can also be gained through training.

The Shaman starts with leather armor but can be equipped with mail armor once they reach Level 40.

The Talent Trees
With different trees of abilities, the Shaman can play different roles with relative ease. Each tree has a unique set of skills that gives focus to Shaman’s preferred area of specialization.

Elemental Tree
This tree focuses on the Shaman’s offensive casting powers, basically making the Shaman a wielder of damaging spells. This tree reduces mana costs and casting time while increasing spell damage and the rates for critical strikes. A maximized Elemental Shaman is a great unit in PvP situations.

Several skills in the Elemental Tree are:

• Elemental Mastery – a self buff that refreshes every three minutes and guarantees a no-mana critical hit on the shaman’s next offensive spell.
• Totem of Wrath – grants the whole party with increased rates in critical strike and hit chances both with spells by 3%.

Enhancement Tree

This tree increases the Shaman’s melee damage output. What makes the Enhancement Tree appealing to leveling players is that melee attacks do not require mana. An enhancement-centered Shaman’s damage output is second to Rogues and DPS Warriors. However, Enhancement Shamans may not be as useful in PVP situations as they are vulnerable to snares.

Some of the abilities mastered under this tree include:

• Windfury Weapon – grants the Shaman a 20% chance to inflict additional damage equal to two extra attacks with XX extra attack power.
• Feral Spirit – allows the Shaman to call two Spirit Wolves under his command, aiding him when he goes solo and helping him wiping out enemy groups.

Restoration Tree
This tree, as the name implies, focuses on the Shaman’s healing abilities and mana regeneration. With a fully-maxed out restoration tree, the Shaman virtually transforms into a healer, a highly-coveted member for any party. But with lower damage output, the Restoration Shaman may have difficulty going solo.

Several skills in this tree are:

• Earth Shield – a nature-based buff that heals the target almost instantly when attacked.
• Mana Tide Totem – a totem that rejuvenates 24% of the maximum mana of the companions of the Shaman. It has an effective radius of 30 yards. When utilized in a group of spellcasters it is one of the most potent mana-replenishing abilities in the game.

Limitations of the Shaman
The Shaman class is not capable of wielding swords (both one-handed and two-handed) and polearms, as well as all ranged weapons. The restriction on all ranged weapons renders the Troll Shaman’s Throwing Weapon Specialization and Bow Specialization racial traits useless.