Shaman endgame dps.Follow

No one will ever question that Shaman's in either Elem or Enh are GREAT DPS, some of the highest in the game in many cases. So its never a question regading the "effectiveness" of a shaman dps, but rather a question of raid/party "need" that shoe horns us into healing roles.

Regarding endgame raid/heroic dynamics, finish the end of the following sentences;

Rogues are good at dps, situational CC and _____?

Locks are good at dps, situational CC and _____?

Mages are good at dps situational CC and _____?

Hunters are good at dps situational CC and _____?

See the trend? Fact of the matter is MOST classes are DPS, and PURE dps at that. While its more than respectful that shaman's can play with the PURE classes as far as #'s are concerned, its the simple fact that DPS is a dime a donzen, and typically don't make or break a party/raid wither a party/raid is going to head out and due their thing. But lack a tank or healer...and your going NO WHERE!

This being said, shamans CAN heal, and few classes can do so (and ever fewer can tank btw), thus by default we are PUSHED to spec healing when in comes to endgame simply based on whats "needed" more.

Now, that doesn't mean that you can't dps, but I'm sure this enigma is similar to DPS warriors pushed to be Prot, or Shadow Priest pushed to be Holy or Dics. I think the only 2 classes that "tend" not to be pushed out of their "lvling/grinding" specs in order to suit endgame needs would be Feral Druids and Holy/Prot Pallys...but thats a different topic.

Now, I happen to be a DPS enh shaman, that does (actually I should said "did", before my RL schedual changed) raid as a 70 and have done so for a rather long while now. I tend to be at least on the top 3 in total dmg done, thru out the raid run, and typically in the top 5 in total healing done. There's been a recent elem sham that came to our guild, and he tends to be in the top 3 total dmg also (and DOESN'T EVEN MAKE THE LIST on the healing Done 0_o....noob!).

So shaman's DO put good #'s, but here's how I look at dps shaman's endgame. Putting up good #'s...well frankly thats easy! Just get good gear that supports dps stats that are associated with your spec, stay alive and go to town :P Here's the hard part, that MOST dps shaman's DON'T do. Where pretty much the ONLY class that can do BOTH dps and healing WHILE in combat, so play accordingly! A enh shaman JUST meleeing, is nothing more than a Rogue without a vanish, a elem shaman is nothing more than a mage without ice block. That being said, your worth can be looked at as such, thus REPLACED by either accordingly! SO what can you do, that other classes CAN'T!?

This all being said, no one can tell you to spec what THEY want...person that honestly pays their months can do whatever the HELL they wanna do :P If your on your parent CC, then please delete your account, save your parents money and go play maplestory or something free :p But, I digress...

Play what you feel comfortable with playing, but understand in a guild/raid/party setting DPS'ers aren't something typically "needed", but healers are! And that lazy rogue in your guild thats "lol" @ a dps shaman, is just too lazy to reroll a priest himself :p

my game is stomping gnome mages :D

and yeah elemental has the better dps of the specs due to it's reduced threat creation especially now with the new lit overload ( that caused some problems for me) while enh has benefitted from the addition 15% threat reduction addition to spirit weapons(now 30%) so all in all it's just gear and shock rotation dependant :D on my shammy I just managed to pick up rage and fury but I'm not going to respec quite yet since my enh gear in general doesn't live up to my elemental gears ownage, and the fact that I love to see big numbers

I tell you what they like about us. Our totems :)

We can boost the group's DPS VERY significantly.

In some instances, the tremor totem is VERY useful (e.g. SLABS). Sometimes, grounding, and often, Heroism (last burst phase in some bosses).

I'm a Ele DPS shaman, and i hate healing =P (I find it very stressful..... can someone help me here? IMO, it's damm tough to see where is everybody, stay in range, heal in time, etc. Arrgh)

Oh, Ironically, it was "easier" to heal (though gear is bad) as Enh, ... why? Because u dont have to worry about your heal targets being in range because u are at the centre of action. Everybody has to stay in range to hit the boss =)

Edited, Jan 18th 2008 2:25am by waihwang

Short version: While it's hard to wedge an enhancement shaman into a five-man heroic run, or even (sometimes) a ten-man Kara run, they are desirable indeed for 25-man raids.

Long version: in five-mans, DPS shaman have a significant problem: No crowd control. Even though shaman can compete in terms of straight damage, and contribute valuable totems, an extra Polymorph or Freeze Trap is really what most groups need from their DPS slots. Thus, most times a shaman gets into a heroic instance (it's not as big a deal in non-heroics), it's when he's Resto.

In raids, the dynamic changes. For a moment, we'll assume that your guild has sufficient healers. The question of whether or not an enhancement shaman is deserving of a raid spot is answered not just by his own production; it's a matter of what else he can bring to a raid. With comparable gear and skill levels, you just won't out-DPS a rogue. But that's okay, because you bring more than just damage.

Think about it this way. In a five-man, if you drop melee-oriented totems, they're benefitting only one or two people beside yourself. In a ten-man raid, where you're stacked with tanks and melee DPS, this rises; in a 25-man, your totems are boosting all five people. In fact, one of the reasons Enhance shaman lose to rogues on DPS is because the most group-enhancing totem, Windfury totem, doesn't benefit the shaman who drops it!

So, 25-man raids definitely have a place for an enhancement shaman, and most ten-man raids should too. Why? Because their own output might not beat a rogue, but the total package of buffs they bring more than covers the difference. But this is assuming that they have sufficient healers, and this can be a bad assumption to make. Let's face it... the limiting factors on most groups, and raids too, is a lack of healers and tanks. And if a healer is needed, well, you do what you have to do.

Grid is the single best raid-healing UI, end of discussion :P Very simple, easy to see the health bars, rough mana estimate, debuffs, buffs, and range, depending on how you set it up. The little buff checkers in the corners take some getting used to, but once you're used to them it's wonderful. If I weren't a raid leader I'd still use it in a heartbeat, but the lack of buff icons and real mana bars means I use Pitbull instead.

Play whatever spec you find fun. If your guild doesnt let you into raids, find a different guild. Enjoy playing. Dont pay money to do something you dont like.

Elementals Shammies put out great dps.

Enhancement Shammies do to.




Expect to be pushed to be Resto. Do it if you like healling, stay feral if you dont.