Questions about duoing with a Warlock and EnhFollow

Hello,

This could possibly be an xpost from the Warlock forums, although i posted my questions in an existing thread the response has been.. ahem minimal which is partly the reason why im posting here, (please no offense).

My friend is going to start playing WoW this week once his version of the game arrives and he plans to be a Human Warlock. Now i have been playing for a few weeks now (and having a blast playing my Tauren Druid^^) and im going to make an alliance character to join him.

I think we plan to duo together, but PvP will be a major aspect of our playing. In fact its one of the only reasons for playing at the minute as we both really enjoy it. Now as i want to duo with him i want to pick a class which will help more than hinder. I do not really want to heal, i end up doing a lot of healing in my MMO experience and its something id like to cut down on if possible. Now i realises straight away that Shaman is seen as one of the 'only' healing classes in the game, indeed ive done a tiny bit of reading to enlighten myself. I would like to put forward the following questions to you if i may, and before i do i will again apologise for any x-posting. Now, on to the questions :D

1) My first question is about taking the talent tree Enhancement. I have read that this is the quickest way to level up Shaman and that it is to an extent melee orientated. In an earlier post i think someone even used the term 'battle mage' to describe this tree. Yet later on people seem to respec to the healing tree or to elemental. My question is why? (I can assume part of it is for end game, for example if your guild needs a healer and you can respec).. but does the Enhancement tree 'weaken' the higher up you go so that by 70, nobody keeps it because the other trees are significantly better? Indeed are there any Enhancement Shamans at level 70? I seem to be reading about a lot of people switching which is the reason for this question.

2)For duoing with a Warlock, i can imagine people saying go Enhancement/Restoration. The only thing with that is, i would prefer not to heal if possible. I mean i already have a druid, and i heal on that quite a bit (even though im trying to be feral go figure!) So i was wondering if you think that (regardless of what the Warlok specs, indeed i dont think he knows what a talent tree is yet and i sympathise), an Enhancement/Elemental build would work?

3) Getting down and dirty seems fun! But if im a 'glass cannon' then slaying one person and then falling seems a bit.. fragile. So how fragile is the suicide build?

4) An armor/weapon question, Am i right in saying that shamans can wear mail but not plate? Oh and also, do shamans have a weapon they specialise in? (This question arises from my time in ffxi, where certain jobs e.g. Dragoon which i played :D specialised in using polearms, lances etc.)

I guess the overall thing thats bugging my mind is this. My friend wants to play a warlock, i need to accompany him but i want to be more of a hybrid Melee/Mage class which wont crumble straight away and will give out good damage to take out people quick-ish in PvP. Can shaman fit this role?

Heh maybe i should have asked that. Its 1.48am, i have a few more questions in my head but i have to be up early heh.

Thanks for any answers or advise, sorry for any reptition and/or errors, (its late :D)

Sarathai

Excellent questions. First off, the dynamics of shaman lvling at first is mostly based on gearing. Sounds typical enough like other classes, but the main difference shows its head post 40, when shamans can start wearing mail armor. Mail armor is generally stat'd for "melee" stats, and very little is angled for caster stats. Meaning that typically caster shaman's are forced to "down graded" armor types to keep current with caster stats. This trend continues until Outland, when more mail gear stats become avaliable for casters. So, by default this kinda forces shaman's to spec Enh. Not to mention any "caster" class "active" time is directly related to how much MP they have, and dead in the water without MP. Elem or Resto are no exception. Enh, on the other hand aren't as dependent on MP, and even to some degree can continue to opperate without MP, which obviously favors lvling. While the term 'battle mage' can apply, IMPO its a 1/2 truth, since a enh shaman does use MP for our abilities, unlike other pure casters, we lose about 30% of our effectiveness, not 99% like a "typical" caster.

On that note, just based on the "math" of classes and class roles, Elem and Resto's are more "typical" in endgame for a few reasons.

#1- Obviously endgame no longer involves lvling :P So unless your main focus of play is "farming/soloing" @ lv 70, "downtime" isn't so much of a big deal, so "caster" spec's become more viable.

#2- DPS is a dime a dozen! Healers are few, and tanks are even fewer. That being said, Shaman's are only as "hybrid" (flexable) as the gear they are wearing in that moment. Enh are nearly just "pure" dps, while they can still cast "heals", their stat on gearing doesn't support anything else BUT dps! On the other hand Elem gearing stats offer "ok+" effectiveness to healing AND upholding dps stats, making elem's arguably the most flexable of shaman specs. Resto's are obviously healing focus, and what party/raid doesn't like a healer :p

So if by the #'s there's always a NEED for healers, something a resto can fulfill obviously, and a elem can take up in a pinch if needed, a Enh can fulfile the role ONLY if they are currently equipped in their gear related for it. Which means their role is defined pre-combat, since gear changes mid combat is not possible, which means they are going to be a grade "A" dps'er with a rapid fire bandage gun, or (in healing gear) a "B-" healer with NO dps possible :P



I know this experiance ALL TOO well :-( See, my RL GF got me into WoW way back when. Course she's been playing since the initial WoW release, I've only been playing alittle more than a year prior to TBC. Needless to say, All I've EVER played was JUST shaman, thus I know the class well. She's pretty much exclusively played Lock (destruction to be specific). So once we both got to 70, we "trained" for PvP and Arena's by Dueling. Actually, let me rephrase "trained" with..."a practice in humbling"...not in my favor!

Shaman's in general are "cluster" fighters...bigger the situation (BG's, Arena 5v5) the more effective a shaman can bring its abilities to bare. The smaller the situation (2v2 arena's, 1v1 encounters and dueling) the weaker we are.

On paper, it "seems" that Shaman's in general should be a lock KILLER! The simplest of the Lock's game plans are based on Fearing. Q: Well we have a obvious totem to counter that, should be a breeze right? A: Unfortunetly, NO!
See, totem's work on a "chance" system, so it doesn't make us immune to the effects that the totem in question is made to resolve, it just means it gives it a "chance" to remove the effect...a luck based gamble if you will. As many know, once a lock "locks" anyone into that "fear" game...its over! I've beaten my GF about 10% of the time....IF THAT! Now, I'm a pretty "not bad" Enh/Resto Shaman, everything i wear is of at least epic quality (mixed Arena and Kara sets). My GF has "some" epic, doesn't raid much, never PvP's on her own (will only join a BG if I'm with her and we're partners on a 2v2 team) but has at least a years worth of game play on me (for whatever thats worth). Needless to say, without much effort, she can easily get me into the "fear" game (even with the tremor DOWN), and can end a fight without even taking one hit from me! I used to even duel her when I was a Elem/Resto...without much better results...actually I'd say it was even worst :P

"Luck and mistakes" has much to do with a Enh Shaman's MO (Method of Operation). We're many classes have some MO regarding a encounter, victory is highly likely IF they stick to the MO. Things like "crits" or ability procs are like,"Oh cool, that helps me accomplish my MO faster!" Unlike a Enh Shaman's MO which RELIES on things like "crits" or procs! Big difference! Dueling against my GF was a micro-chasim of what general encounters in 1v1 type pvp. In regards with a lock fight, we NEED luck! Luck for our Tremor to catch fearing, and luck for WF+Crit to HIT "IF/WHEN" we actually have a chance to connect! For the times I have beaten her, I basically SS Crit + Double WF Crit...which killed her in 1 turn! While that "sounds" impressive...my base crit % is about 35% (not to shabby), WF is a apx. 13% proc rate (not 20% due to the WF proc CD), and (from what I hear) crit doesn't apply to WF crit, which kinda makes a high crit % a moot point sorta. So in practice, I might only have 1 shot the entire duel to actually HIT her. Even assuming that I get "lucky" and the totem catches a fear (typcially fear runs you out of the totems range anyhow), she usually wands the tremor away anyhow, the ONE shot I get only has a 13% chance to proc WF, and even a less % chance if it does to CRIT! IF that 1 chance doesnt' kill them, then you reapply a grounding tot, or tremor and pray that they catch the next fear. Course in that time, DoT's are still ticking away on you, and you "could" be dead already, which means you can either drop your defenses completely and try to heal, which previously the 2 seconds it took for you to apply the last attack, has been enough time for a 1/2 decent lock to hit fear/coil again...and its off to the races for you! In short, a enh's victory is based on a string of events that at BEST has a <13% chance, a lock's victory has a 100% chance of success as long as they stick to their MO without mistakes (course against something like a unfearable warrior, things are very different..but thats a different topic).

Enh are 1 dimentional DPS. Just melee, period! Yes, we have LB's and CL, but due to gearing, its about as good as throwing 9volt batteries at our targets. Due to our lack of range flexability, it is very easy to counter our effectiveness, and due to the fact that we don't have a reliable CC counter, we're a kitting waiting to happen. Making Enh shaman's the least effective of PvP options for shaman. Course, gone unnoticed a Enh shaman can reign death on unsuspecting targets rather easily, but when your opponent see's you coming (like a duel) and is ready to slow your advance, victory isn't in our favor.

Going back to my GF and me PvP combo, yes my Arena 2v2 team is a Lock and Sham combo. Concidering what I mentioned earlier, my GF is a "not bad+" lock w/ pretty good gear, and I'm a respectable BG PvP sham w/ respectable gear. This being said, I also mentioned that shaman's do "better" in cluster fights and BG's rather than "smaller" PvP situations. This being said...I can say our arena combo typically SUCKS! There are a "few" class combo's we can stomp on easily. I like clothy targets like fellow shaman's, mages and priest (even shad), she's partial to non-beast spec hunters, Shaman's and .... well anything that isn't immune to fears (which tends to be alot :P). Warriors (namely arms) and rogues are our bane, and classes that can repeatedly remove curses can be difficult. But, since arena has been around long enough for ppl to KNOW which classes fair better in arena than others...a Enh shaman is not typically a game breaker unfortunetly, and while a lock is pretty dang powerful, no class is a stand alone. We did have "better" success as a Resto Sham/Lock combo, but then again, typically Resto Sham's are DEADLY in PvP in general, and unlike the other sham specs...are not weak in smaller confrontations. Not "deadly" in the "I KIILL YOU in 1 SHOT" sense, but the "This is taking so long I'm gonna shoot myself in the head" deadly. Its a different type of play, but it works :p



You mentioned a Enh/Elem spec earlier, and you mention Suicide build now...I'm guessing you've heard that thoughs 2 phrases corilate to each other, and your right! Enh/Elem specs are suicide specs (usually used for BG type PvP), which means you plan on taking down as many as you can before you die...and you WILL die typically. "Typical" non-resto PvP specs usually put 21 into resto for the 5min "OS" button, which is basically one uncontested every 5mins, which obviously gives more needed survivability. Enh/Elem forgo's that completely. I am not a "Fan" of this spec option, since it basically makes a already 1 dimentional DPS spec, into JUST a BG DPS PVP spec, since the combination is nearly suicidal in PvE also (which is expensive), not to mention much of the Elem's abilitys aren't usable in PvE situations anyhow. But, none the less it is "effective" for what it does in BG PvP.

Understand this...Shaman's regardless of spec are seen as healers...not only to your teammates, but more importantly your ENEMY! Because of this fact, your public enemy #1 from the START! As soon as your enemy can single you out from a crowd, your going down! While the urge to "charge" in is overwhelming, especially if your intent is to blitz them...it just takes 1 charge or frost bolt or concussion shot, or etc....to slow your roll. And NO class survives the onslaught (even a plate wearing class) from 3-5 enemys for very long...you WILL die way before you get a single strike off! Stay in the background, let your teammates engage and occupy the attention of a few enemys, THEN start wacking! NOW, your more likely going to kill a few first before someone notices you...eventually someone will notice you, but by then you hopefully killed a few first. Think "Rogue w/o stealth", but yes...we are glass canons (with the exception of Resto).



Shaman's can wear up to mail. Shaman's can use (assuming you trained via the weapon masters) Maces (1h or 2h), Axes (1h or 2h), Staffs, Fist weapons and Daggers.

Pretty much that just leaves out wands, swords (1h or 2h) and polearms, which gives us a respectable usage of weapons. Now, unlike FFXI, all classes in WoW can use whatever weapon they can equip EQUALLY. Like FFXI, WoW has "skill" ratings per usable weapon, but the stats and traits associated with "skill" in WoW, don't carry the same "weight" as it does in FFXI. For example, both a Rogue and a Shaman can both use Daggers, talents aside and weapon bonuses, both will eventually MAX their skill to 375 @ lv 70 (assuming they constantly use it to skill it). Now, some classes CAN use talents to adjust some abilities for a given weapon type (shaman doesn't have any talents like this tho), but "skill" wise all classes are equal.

On a side note, since your familiar with FFXI, unlike FFXI weapon "type" is a moot point in WoW. Unlike FFXI where daggers/arrow/polearms are classes as "piercing dmg" and H2H, Clubs, Staffs are "Blunt dmg"....thus score additional dmg against mobs weak to that specific weapon type....its a moot point in WoW. All weapons don't have a "dmg type", and its simply based on the weapons stats rather than if said weapon happens to be a "axe" or a "mace". One might argue that "types" are meerly there for looks and style, rather than diversity.

Since you know FFXI, I can give these referances; Enh Shaman's are generally like War/Rdm (course without the "negative" stigma that came with that job combo from FFXI, and MUCH more effectiveness), a Enh/Elem are kinda like Mnk/Blm (odd huh O_0), Elem are Rdm/Blm (pretty common FFXI job combo) and Resto's are typically Rdm/Whm (another common FFXI job combo...notice I didn't say Whm/blm! I'd classify a Priest for that...not a shaman).

Hope this helps.

Edited, Nov 14th 2007 5:45am by gpyfb

enhancement/elemental is the suicide build, good for pvp not so much for pve =)