Sooo... Shamans.

[shieldmaidenjen]

I'm trying to get the feel of the two classes that I've always been leery of for some reason: Rogues and Shamans. So let's talk Shamans first. Understand that I haven't gotten a Shaman past about level 8. They intimidate me, frankly (yes, pixels can intimidate

Comments

[kaelstra]

I've been leveling mine as resto. Easiest thing ever.

[shieldmaidenjen]

Healing terrifies me (yeah, I'm a wimp). But if it's not too hard, I might try it. Are you leveling through the Dungeon Finder? Normally I just quest so I don't know if Resto would work well for that. :-/

[janplayswow]

i'm leveling my shammy through lfg as resto. shammy healing is a lot of fun. i'd probably start once you get earth shield though (not sure when that is).

[manicmarsupial]

I'm pretty sure you get Earthshield once you specialise in Resto.

[artistic_g4m3r]

I know everyone used to say level as enh but I leveled as ele. Leveling as enh used to be pretty painful (pretty much autoattack + shocks + lightning bolt until lvl 40) but with how they redid things for Cata it's MUCH better. Either one is vaible for leveling, so I'd just go with the playstyle you're more comfortable with.

As for totems, at low levels I honestly just kinda ignore them. You're right that you have to constantly put them down as you move, and it's not really worth it imo. It's better when you get into the higher levels and get the spells that let you put down multiple totems down at once and recall them to get some mana back. But at low levels, putting down your 1 totem that may not even be relevent to your spec (because strength of earth is so useful for elemental) is just not really worth it.

[bex]

Ahaha, I share your feelings about leveling a shaman, especially re: totems. SO ANNOYING. I don't know, it's just a mechanic I can't handle for some reason. My shaman is rotting away at level 20, which sucks because I would really like to level her and have a resto shaman to play with.

BUT NO.

Naaargh.

[ilesere]

Level as resto through LFD. It's really fun! The first time I did it I had a pocket tank with me all the way up to 80. I raided with my troll boy in Wrath for a bit and he was my second 85 but then I deleted him just so I could relevel another resto shaman. I deleted that one (at 54) so I could level a goblin. She's only 25 now and I intended to level as elemental but I out leveled all the zones I wanted to go through so I just said "screw it!" and went resto so now I'm doing it all over again.

What? No... no I don't sufer from major altoholism. >.>

[hooves]

After you get the "drop all totems at once and pick them all back up" spell, leveling a shaman becomes a joy. I just ignore totems for the most part (except boss fights/elites/etc) until I get that spell.

[janplayswow]

i was in your shoes - not really loving my shammy very much. i was even going to delete her and use her to make a worgen when cata dropped. i am so very very glad that i didn't. she is now in her mid 70s and i absolutely adore her.

i started healing with her and that's when i really fell in love with her. you put an earth shield and then spot heal with the other spells - so easy. i rarely have a problem with mana and when i do it's usually because aggro is all over the place and the tank is running way ahead. it is my second favorite healing class, only after resto druid. (and i've tried them all!)

and ghost wolf for the win!

[the__ivorytower]

Honestly, I don't usually cast my totems when I'm soloing, particularly at low levels. I whirlxplode things and move on. If I plan to stay in one place for a while, I'll plop them down and pull things closer. Keep in mind, they have a 40 yard range, like a paladin aura, so you don't have to feel leashed.

My first shaman leveled elemental, and I liked it. My second one I leveled with the new enhancement and I liked it more. It's odd considering how little I used to like melee classes, but now it's so much fun.