Resto Shaman: where to put last 6 talent points :: Free Realms

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I have a 69 Resto shaman, and I'm about to hit 70. At the moment, my build is this:

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/classes/shaman/talents.html?0000000000000000000050000000000000000000055235051355310510321

I have one talent point left, and I'm thinking I'll put it in Nature's Guardian. However, that +10% would only proc 10% of the time, which is kind of a waste of a talent point as I see it. However, taking out the 5 points in Ancestral Knowledge and putting them in Nature's Guardian would give me some added survivability in PvP (and, to a lesser extent, PvE).

I've read both sides of the Ancestral Knowledge-or-not debate for Restos, and to be honest I can't decide.

Also, if I put those points in NG or not, where should I put my last remaining talent point? Perhaps Focused Mind for the reduction on silence effects (great in PvE and Arena, methinks)?

Any and all help will be much appreciated!

Sunsoarer, I'm counting on you =D

Edited, Nov 6th 2007 11:19pm by GWynand

#2 Nov 06 2007 at 8:44 PM Rating: Decent

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The AK debate is an interesting one, it is certainly an optional point spend IMO. Personally I really like Nature's Guardian and Focused Mind. The build I use for Resto is this. I'm not really happy with it because it's not "neat" but that's just me, I don't like half filled talents. Smiley: glare

You could certainly move the 3 points from AK to Totemic Focus, I like the extra mana and don't tend to find myself redropping totems too often so I personally tend to take AK. It's going to depend on your style.

#3 Nov 06 2007 at 10:13 PM Rating: Decent

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I tend to like Totemic Focus because in fights, I tend to need to drop totems to fit the situation. For instance, when my group is taking a lot of poison/disease damage, a poison/disease cleansing totem is actually cheaper than a single Cure Disease cast...and a whole lot cheaper than casting it on each of the players in the group. Also, in some caster-heavy fights I'll need to drop grounding, then once it's eaten up, I'll redrop Wrath of Air (or WF/Grace of Air, depending upon group composition of course) while I'm waiting for the grounding CD. So, totems need to be recasted for sure; it's a huge part of the class and you need to have at least 3 out (usually fire's excluded, except for some rare cases) most of the time, IMPO.

And my main concern is the NG/AK/FM part...do you find that 50% to get back 10% of health really useful in PvE and in PvP? Also the FM talent, how well does that work? Is it a must-have? And I think that the Ancestral Knowledge would take a backseat to other options, as 5% is not exactly crucial. Of course, if I find myself hard pressed to reach raid reqs for mana pools, I would probably take it...only time will tell. =D

And thanks SunSoarer! =D I was counting on you haha.

EDIT: I doubt it, but does Ancestral Knowledge count towards INT? I think not, but I just want to make sure. Because if so, it would be a great talent -- Nature's Blessing would affect that, thus increasing general +healing.

Edited, Nov 7th 2007 1:15am by GWynand

#4 Nov 06 2007 at 11:14 PM Rating: Decent

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Quote:

I tend to like Totemic Focus because in fights, I tend to need to drop totems to fit the situation. For instance, when my group is taking a lot of poison/disease damage, a poison/disease cleansing totem is actually cheaper than a single Cure Disease cast...and a whole lot cheaper than casting it on each of the players in the group. Also, in some caster-heavy fights I'll need to drop grounding, then once it's eaten up, I'll redrop Wrath of Air (or WF/Grace of Air, depending upon group composition of course) while I'm waiting for the grounding CD. So, totems need to be recasted for sure; it's a huge part of the class and you need to have at least 3 out (usually fire's excluded, except for some rare cases) most of the time, IMPO.

Absolutely, totems DO need to be re-placed, I guess I have just not ever found it to be an issue when it comes to my mana conservation so I tend towards AK, as I said TF is just as viable depending on your playstyle and situation. I almost always raid with another shaman as well and we are rl friends who know how to complement each other so this decreases the need to re-place totems as often also.
From the sound of things TF is the better option for you. I would still settle for just 3 points in it and take FM and NG though.

Quote:

And my main concern is the NG/AK/FM part...do you find that 50% to get back 10% of health really useful in PvE and in PvP? Also the FM talent, how well does that work? Is it a must-have? And I think that the Ancestral Knowledge would take a backseat to other options, as 5% is not exactly crucial. Of course, if I find myself hard pressed to reach raid reqs for mana pools, I would probably take it...only time will tell. =D

NG is really nice in PvE and absolutely awesome in PvP, you'd be amazed what 10% health back will do for you. 50% is a pretty reasonable proc chance and from my observations it does not just proc on the attack that takes you below 30% but can also proc on the attacks that keep you there.

Fun story, a group of us were naked dueling (no armor, weapons or spells) outside SW a few weeks back, I was resto for arena's and our usual MT was fury for the same reason, he and I had a duel and initially it appeared he was going to wipe the floor with me, all of a sudden he's like " hey you cheated, you just healed". I of course denied it and it wasn't until the third time my health jumped up I realised what was going on, I ended up beating him with about 35% health just because he couldn't get me past that 30% mark.

I know that's situational as his DPS was obviously severely hampered by being unarmed/armored but then I wasn't healing and didn't have ES etc up... basically what I'm saying is that that 10% life back (potentially reccurringly) WILL save your life some time.

FM is also a situational talent but probably even more useful than NG. For Arena it is essential IMO, but even for PvE it is extremely useful. Do the Aran fight with and without it and tell me which you prefer. Smiley: wink

Quote:

EDIT: I doubt it, but does Ancestral Knowledge count towards INT? I think not, but I just want to make sure. Because if so, it would be a great talent -- Nature's Blessing would affect that, thus increasing general +healing.

Nope, AK directly effects your mana pool, not your int.

#5 Nov 07 2007 at 4:29 AM Rating: Excellent

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If you have 10k mana at level 70, Ancestral Knowledge gives you 500 extra mana. I don't find that particularly impressive really. You would probably end up saving more mana over the course of a long boss fight if you take Totemic Focus. My shaman isn't level 70 yet, so not sure how much those totems cost and how much you would save on each one, but if it's a long fight it would definitely add up.

#6 Nov 07 2007 at 10:50 AM Rating: Decent

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Khalane wrote:

If you have 10k mana at level 70, Ancestral Knowledge gives you 500 extra mana. I don't find that particularly impressive really. You would probably end up saving more mana over the course of a long boss fight if you take Totemic Focus. My shaman isn't level 70 yet, so not sure how much those totems cost and how much you would save on each one, but if it's a long fight it would definitely add up.

You have a point. I respecced out of AK and into NG/FM. I'm putting my last point into TF again, for a total of 3 points in it. My build is basically SunSoarer's, but with the 3 points moved from Ancestral Knowledge to Totemic Focus.

Thanks guys! =D

#7 Nov 09 2007 at 10:13 AM Rating: Good

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If you plan on raiding, don't overlook Elemental Warding as an option. It's 8 points in elemental and doesn't directly contribute to your healing prowess, but is very useful overall. 6/6 SSC and 2/4 TK bosses have some sort of fire/frost/nature splash damage (though some are frontal-cone), and -10% from damage you're going to take anyway adds up and extends your survivability while reducing the load on your raid healers. I originally took it just to try it out, and haven't switched back since it really is noticable.

Besides, 5/5 Convection is awesome during trash when you've nothing better to do than sling Lightning Bolts (which 2.3 will help a LOT with). And Elemental Warding is great to have for PvP too.

As for AK... it was nice to have... but the further you advance (and the longer fights get), the less emphesis there is on total starting mana. It's not required for restos IMO.

#8 Nov 09 2007 at 1:25 PM Rating: Decent

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Viduus wrote:

If you plan on raiding, don't overlook Elemental Warding as an option. It's 8 points in elemental and doesn't directly contribute to your healing prowess, but is very useful overall. 6/6 SSC and 2/4 TK bosses have some sort of fire/frost/nature splash damage (though some are frontal-cone), and -10% from damage you're going to take anyway adds up and extends your survivability while reducing the load on your raid healers. I originally took it just to try it out, and haven't switched back since it really is noticable.

Yes, I heard that once you hit SSc and TK this is a vital talent, and I'm planning to take it. For now, however, I'm not even geared for Kara...so, it'll be a while before I need to take this.

Thanks for the advice, though, as what you said is certainly true.

#9 Nov 14 2007 at 11:02 AM Rating: Default

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IMHO put 5 of them into ancestral knowledge in the enhancement tree

#10 Nov 14 2007 at 5:15 PM Rating: Decent

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Quote:

IMHO put 5 of them into ancestral knowledge in the enhancement tree

Wow, did you even read the thread...

#11 Nov 16 2007 at 3:41 AM Rating: Good

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Dread Lord SunSoarer wrote:

Draeneipally wrote:

IMHO put 5 of them into ancestral knowledge in the enhancement tree

Wow, did you even read the thread...

...ah yes, Draeneipally's advice is always...interesting, if not too helpful.

By the way, why is your name Draeneipally, instead of Draeneishammy? In your sig you just have that one shaman...but no paladin. I'm confused.

EDIT: I checked the armory, your toon isn't level 65. Velena in <Faith No More> is level 61. Lying is useless over the internet, honestly (pun intended).

Edited, Nov 16th 2007 6:42am by GWynand

Edited, Nov 16th 2007 6:56am by GWynand