It's a rough draft right now, and I'm going to need some help with this one.
You guys post things you think should be on the FAQ and I'll edit them in.
Hopefully this thread can end up a sticky.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Also, for this FAQ I will be using the following text colours:
YELLOW = Section Title
AQUA = Most recently updated/added (Table of Contents only)
PINK = Something added/quoted from another member.
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1.0 - What is a Shaman?
Shaman are currently a horde-only class (Until the expansion comes out, when Alliance get Shaman and Horde get the current alliance-only class, Paladin).
Shaman are a support class (Like Paladin and Druid) and adds many things to a party, including Melee DPS, Elemental DPS, healing, buffing and their self-rez (Ankh) ability.
Shaman are not as strong as warriors or rogues with melee DPS, not as strong as Mages or Warlocks in Elemental DPS, and not as strong a healer as a Priest, but their ability to fill several of these roles is great for a party.
Shaman CAN do all of the above-mentioned things, but you will end up focusing on one or two of them, based on your talent selection (Which I will get into later).
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1.1 - Shaman’s role in a Group
Shaman tend to start out in the Enhancement or Elemental talent trees and can play as either a caster or a melee class, but in the later levels you will be asked to heal more often, so most Shaman tend to switch to their Restoration (Healing) talent tree.
In groups, regardless of what spec you are, you will be expected to keep your most useful totems down and you will also be expected to backup heal (or main heal).
Be sure to always carry drinks or mana potions, Shaman have a rather shallow mana pool.
In the later levels (once you get Reincarnation) be sure to always have a few Ankhs before leaving to go to an Instance.
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1.2 - What race is best?
Shaman can currently only be played by Tauren, Orc and Troll. But with the expansion the Alliance will be able to play this class as a Draenei.
Tauren get War Stomp (AoE Stun), Endurance (5% max health), Cultivation (+15 Herbalism skill) and Nature Resistance.
Orc get Blood Fury (25% increase to attack power), Hardiness (25% Resistance to Stun and Knockout), Command (Pet melee damage increase, useless to Shaman) and Axe Specialization (+5 Axe Skill)
Troll get Berserking (Increase Melee and Spellcasting speed while injured; the more injured, the larger the speed increase), Regeneration (Increased Health regeneration), Beast Slaying (Increased damage to beasts) and Throwing Specialization (+5 Throwing Skill, Useless to Shaman)
It really doesn’t matter tho, just play what you think looks best.
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1.3 - What is the plural of Shaman?
Shamans.
"WoWwiki.com" wrote:
Is shamen or shamans the plural form of shaman?
The correct plural form of shaman is shamans. Unlike man, woman, the word sha•man is not derivated from the base word man, so the plural form of man cannot be used. The word shaman is actually an incorporated foreign word to the English language (like the French word bureau) and not a word (or derived from a word) from the Middle or Old English like man. Like any incorporated word, it has to follow the same standard English rule for plural forms on nouns (e.g. paper/papers, prima donna/prima donnas) unless it already has a plural form from its original language (like the Latin syllabus/syllabi).
The correct plural form of shaman is shamans. Unlike man, woman, the word sha•man is not derivated from the base word man, so the plural form of man cannot be used. The word shaman is actually an incorporated foreign word to the English language (like the French word bureau) and not a word (or derived from a word) from the Middle or Old English like man. Like any incorporated word, it has to follow the same standard English rule for plural forms on nouns (e.g. paper/papers, prima donna/prima donnas) unless it already has a plural form from its original language (like the Latin syllabus/syllabi).
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1.4 - What are the most important stats for Shaman?
Depends on what talent tree you’re taking.
Enhancement Shaman will want a mix of Strength, Agility and Stamina.
Elemental and Restoration will want a mix of Intelligence, Spirit and Stamina.
Elemental Shaman benefit from +Spell Damage
Restoration Shaman benefit from +Healing
Shamans want to focus on MP/5 Gear if they are Resto or Elemental. It greatly helps our sustainability with our low MP. Also, since Shamans roles tend to have them casting alot (Totem Dropping, Shocks, Weapon Buffs/Lightning Shield, Heals) they are usually better off gaining MP/5 instead of Spirit Gear at the upper levels. - Aracelt
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1.5 - 1-handed weapon w/ shield or 2-handed weapon?
I’d suggest levelling both.
1-Handed w/ Shield is good for fast damage and added armor.
2-Handed weapons deal the most damage, but they are slower and you lose the armor bonus from carrying a shield.
Generally you should use a 1-handed and shield on melee-class enemies, 2-handed on squishies (caster enemies).
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1.6 - Shaman Totem Quests
WoWWiki has a great walkthrough on these quests here:
http://www.wowwiki.com/Shaman_quest
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1.7 - Skyfury Helm Quest
Start out by doing Material Assistance from the Shaman Trainer in Orgrimmar. Bring him an Azerothian Diamond and a Pristine Black Diamond.
Once that is done, do The Darkreaver Menace. Helpful guides are posted in the forum section at the bottom of the pages.
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2.0 - Talents
ELEMENTAL
Elemental increases your offensive spells like Chain Lightning, Lightning Bolt and Shocks.
Many Shaman claim that Elemental is the best PVP build.
ENHANCEMENT
Enhancement increases your melee. Talents include 2-Handed Axe/Mace, Improved Ghost Wolf, Parry, Flurry.
Enhancement is the best build for PVE / Questing / Grinding. Since you’re doing melee damage mostly, you’ll be using less mana which you can save for heals.
RESTORATION
Restoration is your healing tree. Increases your heals with talents like Tidal Focus, Nature’s Swiftness, Mana Tide Totem.
You’ll most likely end up in this tree in end-game if you want to do high-end Raids, as most people will expect you to heal/totem in the group.
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2.1 - Example Builds
My sample builds were out of date now that patch 2.0.1 is out.
Theophany has posted a great Talent Build thread here:
http://wow.allakhazam.com/db/class.html?wclass=8;mid=116668246174173596;num=2;page=1
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2.2 - What new Talents/Spells do we get in BC (Expansion)?
Blizzard has posted these on the official BC website.
New Talents:
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/classes/bc-shaman/talents.html
New Spells:
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/classes/bc-shaman/spells.html
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2.3 - Helpful Links
Wow-Loot (List of great Shaman gear, and where to find them)
http://wow-loot.com/shaman.htm
WoWWiki Shaman Sets
http://www.wowwiki.com/Shaman_set
WoWWiki Shaman TalentList
http://www.wowwiki.com/Shaman_talent
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2.4 - What are some useful Add-Ons for Shaman?
These are a few of the Add-Ons I use that really benefit Shammy.
TotemTimer:
http://www.curse-gaming.com/en/wow/addons-107-1-totemtimer.html
Times the totems and lets you know when they're going to expire (Countdown).
CT RAID ASSIST:
http://www.curse-gaming.com/en/wow/addons-694-1-ct_raidassist.html
this is a MUST have if you're going to do End-Game Raids.
Edited, Dec 21st 2006 8:18am by Galanda
Edited, Dec 21st 2006 8:19am by Galanda
Edited, Feb 10th 2008 8:51am by Wordaen