Priest Survival Series - Shaman
Posted by Jay | Filed under Arena, Priest Survival Series, PvP, World of Warcraft
Welcome to another addition of the priest survival series! With the expansion around the corner, I figured it would be better to wrap up this series as soon as possible to make room for Priest Survival Series 2.0 ala WotLK.
First things first, let’s examine the differences in Shaman specs. Unlike Paladins, shaman can either be a handful in 1 on 1(enhancement) or a cakewalk(resto, but annoying!). This isn’t to say that any 1 on 1 battle against another opponent will be more or less, it largely depends on their skill and your awareness. Let’s jump right in!
Enhancement
You’ll be able to spot these guys easily, they sport two weapons! Most important to watch is that they have below 8k mana. This is an important area to watch for one simple reason! MANA BURNZ! That’s right folks, you’ll be juggling three tasks to bring down these dual wielding punks:
- Mana Burn
- Totem Killing
- Fearing
You’re best defenses don’t work against a good shaman. Don’t bother putting up shield or renew (unless rank 1, be mindful of global cooldown) it’ll just get purged. Juggle AE fear and mana burn. Drop the AE bomb after killing their tremor totem if any. Juggle mana burn and healing as you need to. The trick will be fighting on your territory… that’s at range against enhancement.
Summary:
- Kill grounding and tremor totems. You should have a fast melee weapon, right click it.
- Constantly move, Shamans are really good once they get their totems up, if you can kyte em, you’ll win.
- Drain their mana. Enhancement shamans have low mana reservers. It’s to your benefit to take this resource from them.
- Do not let your health drop below 50%. Those windfury crits will burst you down before you can say OMG I JUST GOT BURST DOWN REALLY QUICK BY AN ENHANCEMENT SHAMAN 3 times fast.
Elemental/Resto
These guys are very similar. In 1 on 1, you’ll do the same routine as above! Burn burn burn!
Resto will have access to Tide and Ele will be constantly lightning bolt spamming you. You don’t want to wait for either. The great aspect of fighting Ele and Resto shaman is that you CAN use you’re regular defense. Shield up, drop a renew and cast through the first lightning bolt or two. Get in both of their faces in 1 on 1. Keep them on their toes and they’ll make a mistake. Again you’ll fear bomb, burn their mana, top off your life and finish them off.
Note: Against elemental shaman it is particularly important to be IN THEIR FACE! They will destroy you in a casting contest, don’t let it happen. Force them to use their shocks! It’ll force a gcd and interrupt the lightning spam. Always remember you can win!
Summary:
- Get in their face. Lightning bolt is a longer cast than spec’d mana burn. Use it to your advantage.
- Don’t let them chain spam. You can hide behind your shield for about 2k damage, that’s roughly 2 casts.
- Mana burn until you’re blue in the face. Keep their mana low.
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