Wielding Doomhammer: For Dummies
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Hurriquake, in Shaman
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By CaperfinWoW
About
Hi, my name is Caperfin and welcome to my guide! For a long time there's been some negative stigma surrounding shaman tanking in original World of Warcraft, many players don't consider them tanks and not worth a second look. However, this stigma is typically fueled by misinformation or players refusing to go the extra mile to make it work. If you have more shaman tank questions, drop by the Twitch stream to chat.
Table of Contents
Introduction Basics Race Profession Shaman Tank Threat Threat Diminishers Totems Talents Rotations Buffs Debuffs Gear + Enchants Comparison Raid Composition Introduction
Can Shamans tank in original WoW? The short and to the point answer is, yes. You might be rubbing your eyes right now in disbelief of this answer. Perhaps concocting up an entire four page manifesto around how only warriors can and should tank. Although, I could go on a long rant about how there are many other classes that can tank, today, I will be focusing on our totemic friend, the shaman.
My intent and statement with this guide is not to upset anyone or downplay different classes but to bring to light a rarely talked about topic of the game. Nothing about what will be detailed in this guide is orthodox, many distinctive elements can be tied to other hybrid classes looking to stray away from the path of normality. Every possible subject that comes to mind will be dissected to answer any lingering questions you might have. In the likely situation a subject is not addressed or poorly please bring it to my attention. I expect the same amount of scrutiny from readers as I have put into writing this guide, so don't hold back. Before continuing, an important aspect needs to be brought to everyone's attention. For some players this will be old news, but for many others players this will be a much needed revelation. The topic of Viable and Optimal is a highly controversial topic as some people simply don't see the difference or mixed these words up and commonly interject their own misguided philosophy onto it. To put it simply, Optimal is the most efficient and foolproof solution to solve a problem that eliminates as many negative variables as possible and favors a more easy going route. Next, is Viable or commonly referred to as "possible", which is seen as the more challenging path can be bought on the Aubut feels like a greater personal feat. With all of this in mind, where are shaman tanks placed? Shamans are classified under Viable and with each theorycrafter joining our ranks and contributing their work, perhaps shamans could “feasibly” one day dethrone those braggadocious paladin tanks/bear tanks and reach a theoretical semi-optimal spot. Many shaman tanks will agree their motivation or drive comes from the glory of accomplishing something the the rest of the server population dares not even try. If this sounds like you, I encourage you to continue reading on. To restate my point, you decide to go shaman tank if you want a challenge in an otherwise easy to clear raid. For example, Molten Core can be cleared without any contention. If it wasn't made obvious before, shield bearing is a sizable undertaking. When experienced players pick up a shaman tank and put in the effort, it shines tenfold. Nonetheless, your guild must also be experienced and prepared for a tempestuous task ahead. You will often see experienced raiders from top guilds play as a restoration shaman in raid and build a tanking set while healing. Eventually, they will transition into shaman tanking due to its extra challenge in an otherwise easy to clear content patch, they usually make the switch after the initial rush to get world first on a boss or raid is claimed and the subsequent following content drought approaches. As I previously stated it is not for the faint of heart, if you are brand spanking new to World Of Warcraft consider leveling up a ranged class, for example: a mage to get an adequate grasp of the PVE raids. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Basics
Can me put your fears to rest, shamans are fully capable of tanking 5mans, 10mans, off-tanking and even main-tanking a few raid bosses. Of course, as stated before, each form of tanking is heavily reliant on personal and guild experience. An important fact needs to be stated before moving on. A shaman's overall armor will never approach a warrior's armor mitigation. This results in a lower mitigation of physical damage. However, you compensate in other areas and provide some beneficial assets as well better threat output on single targets.On this notion, pending any major weird coding or other factors, shaman tanks can do about the same threat as a protection talented warrior. But there is a drawback, many spells are mana intensive, so be prepared to farm some mana regenerative items before a raid. We share the most similarity with feral druid tanks as we don’t have a major block activating ability and rely on a assortment of stats. The next downside is the nature immunity of certain mobs and its burden on threat but don't worry there are solutions which will be explained in the upcoming sections.
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Race
Races play a big part as we are grasping for any amount of extra efficiency possible. Unfortunately, shamans aren't on the Alliance side, therefore, we are being relegated to spend our fighting days with the Horde. As for race, choose wisely as once the decision is made there is no going back. Some players might want to choose a certain race to assure the clearing of a specific boss or raid.
Tauren
Nature Resistance War Stomp Endurance Cultivation
What does this mean?: Considered the most suited race for surviving long fights and ideally clearing ZG/AQ, which will be the first raids where difficulties will arise. The 5% hp is great and is inherently based on absolute hp, so it will scale with the amount of hp obtained from gear and world buffs. In regards to War Stomp, be cautious you cannot dodge, block, or parry while casting the spell. However, its overall usefulness outweigh this slight inconvenience. The 15 skill increase to Herbalism is also nothing to scoff at while leveling. Troll
Throwing Specialization Bow Specialization Beast Slaying Regeneration Berserking
What does this mean?: The race focusing on dealing threat instead of anything else. Generally, threat is not an issue, if you glaringly foresee having threat issfessions. The goal is to gather a large sues, than I unquestionably advocate for troll above all other races. Their "Regeneration" racial is insignificant even with a lot of spirit. Troll will especially deal a lot of threat on "Beast" bosses, ex: Magmadar in MC, Whirlaxis and Gahz'ranka in ZG, etc... Orc
Axe Specialization Blood Fury Hardiness Command
What does this mean?: Orc sadly fall short in survival & threat aspects. Akin to the troll, orc's focal point is threat. However, they're seen as a more riskier race option considering the -50% to healing from Blood Fury, which is a negative to non-attentive healers. In all honesty, in our strict testing, they surpass other races for dealing threat on short fights but it made the majority of healers very nervous. On the bright side, they proved more effective in the off-tank position. In conclusion, they plunge too deep into the situational category to be justified. Professions
While leveling, select Herbalism & Alchemy. Herbalism provides reagents for Alchemy and a source of gold for our eventual endgame professions. The goal is to gather a large supply of gold and a bank full of potions the raid might need, for example the potion, Flask of the titans. After drop Herbalism and go for the late game profession, Engineering. In order to get a few tools, such as: Gnomish battle chicken, Goblin Sapper Charge among many other beneficial gadgets. Note: If you'll raid tank, get Enchanting for Smoking Heart of the Mountain and feel free to drop Enchanting after. Finally, for secondary professions, I urge grabbing all of them as they all provide valuable assets. In terms of fishing, you can farm those elusive Stonescale Eels that are highly contested after for Flask of the Titans. First aid grants bandages for healing that don't require any mana to use. Lastly, cooking has Dragonbreath Chili a sheer delight as it not only scales with spell damage but also with the trinket: Arcanite Dragonling and its fire increasing debuff: Flame Buffet. The debuff also scales with Goblin Sapper charge. All these items nicely combine into a decent boost in threat. Also, Dragonbreath Chili does stack with another single food buff.
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Shaman Tank Threat
Because a plethora of questions surrounding aggro/threat are bound to come out of confusion. I'd like to first reference Kenco's words about how gaining aggro on a mob and overall threat functions in World of Warcraft.
Now, let's examine shaman threat. They're on another tier when it comes to outputting threat, but demand a lot of dedication comparably to the more laxed tanks out there. With proper optimization, their threat is nearly equal to a pure protection warrior and in some situations just shy of a druid tank. Of course, the shorter a fight, the better, since a shaman can freely throw mana around without going out of mana as fast. Resulting in more dependable damage being dished out and correlates into predictable threat. Let's see how to get creatures more mad at you than unusual.
Earth Shock is first as it deal a high amount of threat because of its 2x damage threat modifier. The downside is nature damage is burdened on three fronts: no warlock curses bolster it, a spell coefficient of 40.71% of the caster's spell damage and some raid content is somewhat resistant to nature. Lastly, downranking our spells is crucial in tanking to be cost-effective. Anything resembling an elemental (noticeable in MC) will have a high resistance to nature damage. All the Dragons of Nightmare are also immune to nature damage or tend to have the same high resistance to nature as to fire. The same applies for some creatures in: AQ, ZG and Naxx. Basically, if an environment has a disease or poison theme, expect nature damage to be hampered. Here's a chart to better explain the notion. Don't fret, items exist to counter this damage dampening downside, ex: Eye of Moam & the debuff from Thunderfury, Blessed Blade of the Windseeker helps with Earth Shock's damage by reducing the target's nature resistance. Frost Shock is used against nature immune targets. Frost Shock or referred as "FS" doesn't consume a debuff slot on a boss impervious to movement impairing effects (most bosses). There are additional ways to circumvent the lack of threat done against nature immune targets, which will be peppered throughout the upcoming topics. Rockbiter Weapon at rank7, is 72 threat per second on hit. With 2.6 speed weapon, each hit is: 2.6 * 72 = ~172 threat. Weapon speed won't matter, but haste does. Haste effects are wanted to counter nature defiant mobs & low percent chance to hit. Once at an auto attack DPS of ~140, Rockbiter isn't optimal, instead use Windfury Weapon. Players use fast daggers because of its higher chance to trigger the effect. Lightning Shield or known as "LS" imposes conditions to be cost effective. Firstly, LS is on the GCD and shouldn't be casted over other spells, such as: Earth Shock so weigh your mana and threat. Secondly, downranking LS is vital to conserve our resources and maintain productivity. Each charge of LS scales with 33% of total spell damage but can't crit. Oil of Immolation might not seem like much but floats around fourth on the list. It will interrupt your swing timer but not trigger a GCD. It's undeniably good before a boss pull or versus many mobs. Can be bought off the Auction House. Lightning Bolt or Chain Lightning (depending on number of mobs) will be the first spells dealing threat on the target. Downranking isn't as harsh or compulsory since these spells are only casted upon engaging a boss. Goblin Sapper Charge and similar bombs are great to deal more threat and a definite must against multiple mobs. The majority of bombs are made through Engineering with the exception of the last two in the list below:
- Goblin Sapper Charge (It shares a 1 minute GCD w/other bombs)
d threat from teammates is a - Dark Iron Bomb will require you to stand still and a 1 second cast.
- Crystal Charge this can be stacked up to 20 & used when moving.
- Note: Not a bomb but Clutch of Foresight (shares CD with bombs) is an arcane spell, great versus fire resistant mobs. Major Rejuvenation Potion & similar potions are global and .5x of the amount replenished. Health and mana effects will not cause threat if at maximum capacity. Players on coherent battles will use a heal pot after Goblin Sapper Charge to deal a lot of threat. In order of threat, there is:
- Major Rejuvenation Potion is the highest threat but can be costly.
- Major Healthstone is next on the list and given to us by a warlock.
- Major Mana Potion is buyable on AH. (Shares CD with the above)
- Demonic Rune / Dark Rune (Shares a CD with the below item)
- Night Dragon's Breath easy to acquire, so place them in the bank. Thorns is the highest damaging reflective effect. Typically, these type of buffs are great against many mobs but still have relevancy in single target scenarios. You can only have one reflective buff on you at a time with the exception: Gift of Arthas (debuff causes threat). The second highest damaging reflective effect is: Fire Shield. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Threat Diminishers
We’ll be and threat from teammates is a daunting obstacle to tackle. Luckily, there are ways for classes to reduce their threat. Firstly, ranged classes are favored because any aggro they mistakenly get is likely from a 30-40yrd range, so it's easier to supervise. Also classes standing out of the 30-40yrd range will not draw aggro until they exceed the threat level of the mob's current target by 30% as opposed to 10% for melee classes. Here are a few examples of threat reducers or resets, in no particular order:
Classear, except the weapon & drink mana. Placs:
Rogue deal with threat thanks to Feint and wipe threat with Vanish. Mage have the talent Frost Channeling and the talent Burning Soul. Druid in cat form can use: Cower & healing druids can get Subtlety. Priest reduce threat with the talent Silent Resolve & the spell: Fade. Shaman who heal can get Healing Grace & use: Tranquil Air Totem. Items:
Formula: Enchant Cloak - Subtlety: Used by high threat dealers in raids. Limited Invulnerability Potion: Will prevent aggro gain during its effect. Fetish of the Sand Reaver & Eye of Diminution: Available in AQ/Naxx. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Totems
We’ll be asking our shamanistic brothers from the restoration side to land a hand with totem utility, so be kind and compliment each others advantages in the group. keep in mind, there can only be one type of totem per shaman so having another shaman is welcomed. Also, fire totems can crit & scale with spell damage. Each totem below is in order of importance per category.
Earth
Strength of Earth Totem: Put by a 2nd shaman w/Enhancing Totems. Stoneskin Totem: Dropped by us or 2nd shaman w/Guardian Totems. Stoneclaw Totem: For AoE tanking a mob in a pack you don't have aggro. Earthbind Totem: A tool for kiting possible unbound trash in an instance. Tremor Totem: This totem will see some relevancy on a few boss battles. Fire
Frost Resistance Totem: Ideal for fights with high doses of frost damage. Fire Nova Totem: Usually for bursting down low HP adds on encounters. Searing Totem: Damage totems are costly since they don't grant threat. Magma Totem: Superb for AoE damage on high HP adds in encounters. Flametongue Totem: A weak enchant incomparable to other enchants. Air
Grace of Air Totem: Optimally, put by a shaman w/Enhancing Totems. Nature Resistance Totem: To counteract nature damage, mainly ZG/AQ. Tranquil Air Totem: All raid party groups should have this, except yours. Grounding Totem: Sadly, this totem will rarely if ever used when tanking. Windwall Totem: Never used. I don't recommend purchasing this totem. Windfury Totem: Our Rockbiter enchant is better. But it may help others. Water
Mana Spring Totem: Usually, put by a shaman w/Restorative Totems. Healing Stream Totem: Place if the before totem is put by a 2nd shaman. Poison Cleansing Totem: Good against a high poison output, ex: AQ/ZG. Fire Resistance Totem: Ideal versus high amounts of fire damage, ex MC. Disease Cleansing Totem: Unfortunately, it will rarely see the light of day. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Talents
Naturally, if you're only doing dungeons the road ahead is much easier and there's more freedom to move talent points. However, raid tanking follows strict guidelines to be effective. The last two talent setups assume you're in a serious guild who confidently clear raids.
"The Basic"- 14/37/0
The new player starter pack in 5mans. Pick if unsure of an upcoming boss fight or are still learning about dungeon shaman tanking. "The AoE" - 23/28/0
For tanking many targets at a time in raids. It mainly uses Chain Lightning alongside Eye of the Storm for threat. Against +3 mobs, see: AoE Tanking. "The Advanced"- 21/30/0
For Raid Tanking. The highest threat setup & for mobs resilient or immune to nature damage. Good gear and a solid knowledge of tanking is needed. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Rotation
First, on the list is a simple dungeon tank rotation and we’ll be presuming the boss fight is simple.
Pre-pull: Cast Lightning Shield and assure all possible buffs are present and max duration. Next, place the appropriate totems. Lastly, if it hasn't been done get the addon: KTM Threat, it displays the threat of members. A scenario can turn ugly quick, so watch KTM often. At any moment, you need to be sure of the fitting Earth Shock rank to use. Pulling: Cast Lightning Bolt/Chain Lightning and Earth Shock. If all goes smoothly, Earth Shock again and turn the boss away from the group. If the boss suddenly targets someone or drops aggro, use rank7 Earth shock to aggro them. For future threat problems, see: Threat. Second is a complex rotation mainly for raid tanking, it has great results but requires good gear, buff, etc... Naturally, if you aren't able to perform every single action below don't get discouraged, its mostly to showcase the maximum potential possible.
Pre-pull: Cast Rank7 Lightning Shield. Place Stoneclaw Totem in front of you & back up 25-30yrds. (It will later halt the boss for 0.5 seconds or the boss hits it) Place Mana Spring Totem. Activate Oil of immolation. Pulling: Equip a spell damage weapon, ex: Staff of Dominance and cast Lightning Bolt, while the bolt travels, equip a healing weapon (ex: Will of Arlokk). As the bolt hits, Cast R6 Lesser Healing Wave on a warlock who recently Life Tap. Equip all normal tanking gear. Immediately after cast R7 Earth Shock. Activate Juju Flurry and Juju Escape, if the situation is ideal. Repeat the appropriate rank Earth Shock until boss is dead. Situational: If mana allows it, cast a suitable rank of Lightning Shield. If mana is foreseeably a problem, use Oil of immolation often. If mana is foreseeably an issue but threat isn't also cast R1 Frost Shock. Note: Versus nature immune bosses, to pull: use Magic Candle (equip spell damage weapon). After, follow the healing-threat tactic above & cast Lesser Healing Wave as much as possible until the boss is at melee range than Frost Shock. If more threat is needed: Flame Shock instead. MUST need Flame Buffet (don't bother otherwise) & similar debuffs. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Buffs
Prioritize obtaining Defensive buffs before acquiring Threat related buffs. Agility for example has the added byproduct of helping with defensive and threat measures. Generally, off-tanks or known as "OT", take less damage, therefore, it's not fully needed to aim for Defensive buffs. Also, some buffs are unobtainable due to certain patch restrictions or unable to stack with others. There is a max of 32 buffs: Talents, Set bonuses & Equip effects don't count. But Gear enchants count with exceptions: (Crusader enchant and enchants from the profession enchanting don't count.) Resistance enchants however need to be reconfirmed as they make it seem now like those should count. Let's move on and explore relevant buffs to our tanking duties. The following buffs are classified into sub-groups to better highlight their usefulness and showcase different options.
Threat Increasing Buffs
Rallying Cry of the Dragonslayer: Gnomish Shrink Ray: (can backfire increasing group's attack power) Fengus' Ferocity: From Dire Maul. Trueshot Aura: +50 Attack power. Battle Shout: (Improved by Battlegear of Wrath (3/3) tier set bonus) Juju Might: +40 Attack power. (from repeatable Winterspring quest) Sayge's Dark Fortune of Agility: +10% Agility. From Darkmoon Faire. Ground Scorpok Assay: +25 Agility. Elixir of the Mongoose: +25 Agility, +2% Melee Crit. Grace of Air Totem: +77 Agility (effect is increased through a shaman talent) Call of the Raptor: +12 Agility for 30min. (non-repeatable quest reward item) Grilled Squid: +10 Agility for 10min. (does not stack with other food buffs) Strength of Earth Totem: (effect is increased through a shaman talent) Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian: (can't stack w/Moonkin Form) Slip'kik's Savvy: From Dire Maul. Moonkin Form: +3% Spell Crit. Headmaster's Charge: +20 Intellect. Arcane Intellect: +31 Intellect. Gnomish Battle Chicken: Upon attacking it might give party +5% Attack Speed for 4 min. Warchief's Blessing: Fist of Shahram (Blackblade of Shahram) : +25% haste to party for 8sec. Juju Flurry: +3% Attack Speed for 20 sec. (Others can cast it on you) Swift Wind: (Only receivable upon finishing the Call of Air totem quest) Mana Spring Totem: +10 mana every 2 sec. (Only causes threat if you cast) Mageblood Potion: +12 mana per 5 sec. (regen effect doesn't cause threat) Innervate: Increases Mana regen by 400% for 20 sec. Oil of Immolation: 50 Fire dmg to target within 5yds every 3 sec for 15 sec. Lightning Shield: (Scales with spell damage) Static Barrier: From Electromagnetic Gigaflux Reactivator. Crystal Spire: (From a repeatable quest & anyone can cast it on you) Fire Shield: Deals 13 Fire dmg to melee attackers. Thorns: (Improved by Cenarion Raiment (3/3) tier set bonus ) Brilliant Wizard Oil: On a swappable weapon for the pulling of a mob. Blessed Wizard Oil: Ideal for Scholomance, Stratholme & Naxx. Flask of Supreme Power: (Can't stack w/Titans, so choose wisely.) Greater Arcane Elixir: +20 dmg dealt from spells & abilities. Traces of Silithyst: +5% damage to melee, range and spell damage dealt. Power Infusion: The target receives +20% spell damage & healing for 15 sec. Songflower Serenade: Boost melee, ranged, or spell to crit 5%, +15 all stats. Mark of the Chosen: 2% chance when hit of increasing all stats by 25. Spirit of Zandalar: +10% move speed, +15% all stats. Mark of the Wild: +384 armor, +12 all attributes,+27 all resistance. Elixir of Greater Firepower: Bolster fire damage by up to 40 for 30 min. Blessing of Blackfathom: +5 intellect & spirit. +15 frost damage. Elixir of Frost Power: Increases spell frost damage by up to 15 for 30 min. Dragonbreath Chili: (scales with spell damage and fire increasing buffs) Defensive-Buffs
Sayge's Dark Fortune of Stamina: +10% Stamina (+10% Armor also exists) Dirge's Kickin' Chimaerok Chops: (can't stack w/other food buffs) Rumsey Rum Black Label: From Booty Bay. Power Word: Fortitude: +54 Stamina. Mol'dar's Moxie: +15% Stamina overall. Spirit of Zanza: +50 Stamina, +50 spirit. Blood Pact: +42 Stamina. Flask of the Titans: +1200 Hp. Elixir of Fortitude: +120 Hp. Regrowth: From the (6/6) Dreamwalker Raiment tier set bonus. The Lion Horn of Stormwind: (a friendly tank can activate it for you.) Greater Stoneshield Potion: +2000 Armor for 2min. Elixir of Superior Defense: +450 Armor. Polished Armor: (AWAITING CONFIRMATION OF ITS EXISTENCE) Crystal Ward: From repeatable quest in Un'Goro Crater. (allies can also cast on you) Inspiration: Increases armor by 25% for 15 sec. Power Word: Shield: Absorb 1105 dmg for 30 sec. While active... Scarab Brooch: (Healers can trigger its effect on you before a fight) Greater Heal Renew: From the (4/4) Vestments of Faith tier set bonus. Bloodkelp Elixir of Dodging: +3% dodge for 30 min. (one time usable item) Juju Escape: +5% Dodge for 10 sec. Healing Stream Totem: Doesn't cause threat for you. Greater Heal Renew: From (8/8) Vestments of Transcendence tier set. Rejuvenation: Heal for 888 over 12 sec. Regrowth: Heal for 1064 over 21 sec. Renew: Heal for 970 damage over 15 sec. Stoneskin Totem: Reduce melee damage taken by 30. Dampen Magic: Useful for magical heavy fights. Amplify Magic: Useful for physically heavy fights. Resistance Buffs
Greater Fire Protection Potion: Absorbs fire damage. Fire Resistance Totem: +60 fire resistance. Frozen Rune: Absorbs 1500 to 2500 fire damage. Juju Ember: +15 fire resistance for 10 min. Greater Frost Protection Potion: Absorbs frost damage. Frost Resistance Totem: +60 frost resistance. Juju Chill: +15 frost resistance for 10 min. Greater Nature Protection Potion: Absorbs nature damage. Nature Resistance Totem: +60 nature resistance. Greater Shadow Protection Potion: Absorbs shadow damage. Crystal Basilisk Spine: +10 Shadow resistance & Frost for 1 min. Gift of Arthas: +10 Shadow resistance for 30 min. Mind Control Buffs
It is possible for an Alliance priest to use Mind Control or someone with engineering to use the head slot item Gnomish Mind Control Cap versus players on the Horde. For that duration the mind controlled Horde character is now considered an Alliance player. This allows the character to receive buffs from paladins. In the many guild raids I’ve taken part, we'd have 2-3 players on their paladins and priests stationed near the raid entrance for mind control buffing. It's also possible for a priest of any faction to Mind Control certain mobs, which can dish out buffs to all raid members.
Greater Blessing of Sanctuary: (Will stack w/Stoneskin Totem) Greater Blessing of Wisdom: (Will stack w/Mana Spring Totem). Greater Blessing of Salvation: (can't stack w/Tranquil Air Totem). Greater Blessing of Might: (can't stack w/Strength of Earth Totem) Greater Blessing of Kings: +10% to all stats for 15 min. Improved Lay on Hands: Possible once it expires to go outside to get re-buffed then re-enter the instance & summoned back to allies. BONUS: You can get Fear Ward from dwarf priests and if survivability is secured Curse of Recklessness from horde warlocks. Mind Control Buffs from mobs
Fury of Ragnaros: From Twilight Emissary in BRD. Resist Arcane: From Scarlet Medic in Plaguelands. Resist Fire: From Scarshield Spellbinder in BWL. Bloodlust: From Gordok Mage-Lord in DM. Bloodlust: From Hamhock in Stockades. Special Event Buffs:
On an ending note for buffs, we can also get buffs from special events. An example, is The Midsummer Fire Festival an event celebrating the hottest season of the year. It lasts about two weeks (mid-late June to early July). The next ones are Love is in the Air, Lunar Festival, Wickerman Festival and Scourge Invasion. The following buffs are separated by their event.
Thunder Bluff Gift Collection: +30 Intellect for 1 hour. Ironforge Gift Collection: +30 Intellect for 1 hour. Stormwind Gift Collection: +30 Intellect for 1 hour. Undercity Gift Collection: +30 Intellect for 1 hour. Orgrimmar Gift Collection: +30 Agility for 1 hour. Darnassus Gift Collection: +30 Agility for 1 hour. Fire Festival Fortitude: (stacks w/stamina buffs above) Midsummer Sausage: Bolsters damage from spells by up to 23. Fire-toasted Bun: +2% hit chance for 1 hr. Fire Festival Fury: +3% spell and melee crit for 1 hr. Elderberry Pie: +13 defense for 1 hr. Buttermilk Delight: +13 defense for 1 hr. Very Berry Cream: Bolsters damage from spells by up to 23. Dark Desire: +2% hit chance for 1 hr. Celebrate Good Times!: +10% to all stats for 30min. Elune's Blessing: All stats increased by 10% for 1hr. Wickerman Festival (October 18th - November 1st) Invocation of the Wickerman: +25% health & mana regen. +25% stamina. Scourge Invasion Soul Revival: +10% to all damage caused for 30 minutes. Debuffs
There can be a total of 16 debuffs on a boss. Having as many debuffs on a raid boss is crucial. All debuffs on the list below benefit us in either Threat or Defensive aspects and assumed to be at their maximum rank and talent improvement. The following debuffs are placed into sub-groups to better highlight their utility and showcase different options.
Curse of Recklessness: - 290 armor but bolsters melee attack power by 45. Expose Armor: (can't stack w/Sunder Armor but it reduce more armor). Sunder Armor: Reduces armor by 450. Can be applied up to 5 times. Annihilator: Reduces an enemy's armor by 200. Stacks up to 3 times. Faerie Fire: Reduces armor by 505 for 40 sec. Improved Shadow Bolt: Curse of Shadow: Reduces Shadow & Arcane resistances by 75... Shadow Weaving: Wail of the Banshee: (affected by spell hit, usually casted by healers.) Insect Swarm: Reduces target's chance to hit by 2%... Thunderfury, Blessed Blade: (can't stack w/Thunder Clap) Thunder Clap: (can't stack w/Thunderfury's slow effect) Improved Scorch: To increase Flame Shock's damage (niche scenario). Flame Buffet: To increase Flame Shock's damage (niche scenario). Curse of the Elements: -75 resistance to Fire & Frost and increase Fire... Winter's Chill: To increase Frost Shock's damage (niche scenario). Stormstrike: Next 2 sources of Nature damage dealt are increased by 20%. Gift of Arthas: If a target strikes you, they have a 30% chance... Nightfall: Spell damage taken by target increased by 15% for 5 sec. Demoralizing Shout: Reduce attack power of mobs by 140 for 30 sec. Curse of Weakness: (effect is increased through a warlock talent) Gear
If unsure of guild or group performance, carry several focused gear sets: Stamina set, Dodge set & Armor set to cater to any possible encounter. Certain pieces of gear from PvP through Honor Ranking remains the best forever but demands a large amount of Honor grinding.
Below is a Gear Spreadsheet to help with gear progression.
- Gear Spreadsheet Link Below are BiS sets by Phase for defensive aspects, see above for threat gear.
- PreRaid AoE
- Phase 1 AoE Fire resist
- Phase 2 (no PvP) AoE
- Phase 3 (no PvP)
- Phase 4 (no PvP) Nature Resist
- Phase 5 (no PvP) Nature Resist for Huhuran
- Phase 6 (no PvP) Nature Resist Enchants
Similar to gear, enchants must be tailored against the specific boss you will be facing. Allies can also help us, by enchanting their own cloak with Formula: Enchant Cloak - Subtlety.
Here is the Enchant Spreadsheet Link. Tank Comparison
To showcase our max potential a full BiS geared and buffed shaman will be the closest in stats to approach a Druid tank. Let's look at the stats to see the differences. As a guideline, the Example Druid Tank below is BiS/buffed and able to clear most bosses with no issue. A shaman like other tanks tailors his gear versus the boss they're facing. Obviously, the Example Druid Tank can reach higher numbers and has a plethora of defensive spells, but the goal is to showcase the class with the closest similarity to a shaman in stats across the board that gets the job done in high-end raids.
Druids have the luxury of having multiple categories covered and a broader safety net on top of having access to join Alliance for the added advantage of paladins spells, while shaman tanks are required to significantly maximize a specific category for a certain boss.done in high-end raids.
Now, let's explores the threat generated by other classes to showcase where shaman tanks stand. Remember, threat depends on gear, boss, etc... But in general, the current standing of tanks that can do the most threat are:
Feral Druid/Warrior. Paladin/Enh Shaman. Dem warlock. Priest tanks AoE Tanking
Although I slightly talked about it in "Talents". Let me go into more detail here.
Against 3 targets and/or dungeons, AoE tanking is about Chain Lightning proccing with Eye of the Storm as the main conduit to deal damage and preserve threat on 3 targets. Because it isn't possible to dodge, block, parry while casting, this method is suggested versus mobs dealing little to moderate damage. Against heavy hitting targets it's advisable to grab the weapon Hand of Edward the Odd and wait for its procs to cast. If you don't foresee a random mob being aggroed by someone, cast R1 Frost Shock to save mana and increase the proc chance of Elemental Devastation and Elemental Focus. This is all done while auto attacking a different target after every 4-5 melee hit. Items such as Skull Flame Shield, Force Reactive Disk, Oil of Immolation are beneficial. With a coordinated raid group, it's possible to heal designated players as they "stand in fire" in between boss melee swings. Another way for players to intentionally receive damage is for designated warlocks to use Life Tap alongside items, such as Demonic Rune or Goblin Sapper Charge. Equipping a weapon with bolstering healing attributes such as: Hammer of the Twisting Nether before healing a member wield yield more threat. Raid Composition
Raid composition differs with each boss but is seen as a skill that evolves over time and reflects the playstyle of a guild or raid. The following composition is an example with minor exceptions differing from the norm. By no means is it perfect since compositions change along side: patches, gear, experience, etc... With the raid leader's permission offer your advice on an ideal comp catering to your needs without overstepping.
In (Group 1): A fellow tank in your party can equip The Lion Horn of Stormwind, granted the trinket slot isn't needed for anything else. A bear can replace a prot warrior in the tank party, if the raid is comfortable enough with the idea and could probarbly use an emergency Innervate or Rebirth Also, only bring the bare minimum of tanks. This will open a spot for either: a lock with Blood Pact, or a hunter with Trueshot Aura. Rogues are favored over fury warrior, they Feint, Sprint, Evasion and Vanish to manage their threat/aggro. Feral cat druids can offer similar utilities as a bear and can Cower and Dash to manage their threat/aggro. Discipline priest with experience and ease of mind may occasionally throw a Power Infusion on a shaman tank during the pull phase. In (Group 6): The shaman is elemental since healing is not an issue and we are relying mostly on Tranquil Air Totem. In the situation, you are taking too much damage this spot can be replaced by a restoration shaman. In (Group 7): A mage could be replaced by a shadow weaving healing priest. In (Group 8): Mages gravitate to Fire Specialization after AQ but keeping a single mage as Frost with the talent Winter's Chill is advisable. A rogue can be replaced by a melee hunter on Nightfall duty. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Thanks for Reading! If you have any questions regarding shaman tanking, feel free to drop by the Twitch stream to chat. -
By RelliksPast
Introduction
This build is fairly interesting, and relies on two commonly overlooked aspects of the Necromancer's kit. The first being Maltorius' Petrified Spike, a legendary item that boosts your bone spear by 700%, and Bone SpearTeeth, a skill that sprays half the map in death and shoddy dentistry. The Spike itself has fairly terrible stats, but it's unique ability and enough intelligence make up for this aspect.
Gameplay and Strategy
This is a very easy build to execute and yields extraordinarily high results. It's more of a medium range build, with plenty of variance as it only relies on a small combo. The rest of the build is mostly just to optimize the amount that you can use Bone SpearTeeth and making sure you survive well, with a fair bit of boss killers, such as Command SkeletonsFrenzy and Corpse LanceBrittle Touch. You can alter the range and play style with substitutions, and overall this is a very solid and general build for beginners and experienced players alike.
Your main combo rotation is going to be using SimulacrumReservoir and spamming Bone SpearTeeth. Then follow up with Corpse LanceBrittle Touch to finish off any remaining units. Corpse lance does not consume any essence to cast, and is very resource efficient while still dishing out significant damage. You may ask, why pick these runes. Well, Reservoir provides more resource, Brittle Touch helps with higher health bosses, and Teeth is actually a bit complicated. Now this may be a bug, but it certainly seems like the splinters from Bone SpearTeeth do too much damage, especially when combined with Maltorius' Petrified Spike. Because of this damage, you can easily clear massive waves and bosses alike.
Your other core skill is going to be Blood Rush. Every class ought to have a mobility skill in order to more efficiently clear floors and to speed up your farming. I prefer to use Molting to start a Corpse Lance chain in adventure runs, but the rune you choose is mostly up to preference. Potency is also a powerful rune, especially if you choose the close range variant of this build
Other skills include your essence regain, either Grim ScytheDual Scythes or Siphon BloodPower Shift. I like Dual Scythes simply because its a larger area (and therefor more essence), pulls enemies in front of you, and efficiently lines up the highest damage Bone SpearTeeth. An alternative to Dual Scythes is Grim ScytheExecution or Grim ScytheCursed ScytheSiphon BloodPower Shift is an excellent choice for melting bosses when low on essence. Other options include Siphon BloodSuppress, Siphon BloodBlood Sucker, or Bone SpikesBlood Spikes. Your choice of basic attack will determine your range for this build. Keep in mind that Teeth does more damage close up (like a shotgun) but due to Maltorius' Petrified Spike you can still use it at a range to great effect. For your non-combo damage ability, you want to choose based on your range. If you choose Siphon Blood, pick Command Skeletons with either Frenzy or Kill Command. If you choose Grim Scythe, go with either Bone ArmorDislocation or Death NovaBlight. Death nova does significant AOE damage, while Bone Armor is primarily a defensive skill, especially useful to preserve your Blood Rush cooldown. I personally prefer Frenzy for ranged and Bone ArmorDislocation for a closer range build.
Passives
Your passives will once again depend on your variant of the build. You will want Overwhelming Essence and Blood is Power regardless, but the other two slots will vary. Overwhelming Essence and Blood is Power are both integral skills to any ability and cooldown-based build. You want to minimize your cooldowns, and despite the intimidating requirement of Blood is Power, it triggers rather often. It counts premitigation damage, meaning damage before your armor and resistances. In any high level battle, you will proc this passive often. Overwhelming Essence is rather straightforward, as it simply increases your resource.
For the close range variant, I would recommend Stand Alone and Draw Life. Together, these passives will make you significantly more bulky and make up for a lack of sustain within your skills. An alternative to Draw Life is taking Life from Death and DevourSatiated over Corpse LanceBrittle Touch. This will somewhat lower your damage to bosses, but provide for more spam and sustain overall.
For the range variant, I would Aberrant Animator and Final Service. These both combine nicely with your Command Skeletons, while Final Service helps to improve your general lack of tankiness. Aberrant Animator gives your skeletons double your Thorns damage, while Final Service is your cheat death mechanic.
Skill list
A- Grim ScytheDual Scythes/Siphon BloodPower Shift
B- Bone SpearTeeth
X- Command SkeletonsFrenzy/ Command SkeletonsKill Command/Bone ArmorDislocation/Death NovaBlight
Y- Corpse LanceBrittle Touch
ZL-SimulacrumReservoir
ZR-Blood RushMolting/Blood RushPotency
Passives
Overwhelming Essence Blood is Power Stand Alone / Aberrant Animator Draw Life / Life from Death / Final Service
Now, into the parts that honestly don't matter nearly as much. Most of the build is in your hands, now this is just the nitpicky optimizations that I will honestly spend far too much/little time on. For the next sections I will be discussing gear, gems, Kanai's Cube, and paragon points.
For Gear I recommend going for a Legacy of Dreams build. This is rather standard, gives you an insane damage boost, and overall is versatile and workable. Make sure that you haveMaltorius' Petrified Spike. Another recommendation is your helm. Leoric's Crown is ideal for general battling, but Broken Crown is my preference for base gem farming, for hopefully obvious reasons. Honestly, just use common sense. LoD builds are incredibly player dependent, and you can build them just about however you want. Just prioritize whatever will feed into the general gameplan of spamming SimulacrumReservoir and Bone SpearTeeth.
For Kanai's Cube, you want to slot in Reilena's Shadowhook as your weapon, Krysbin's Sentence for jewlery, and the worse of either Reaper's Wraps or Nemesis Bracers. Shadowhook scales your damage based on your maximum essence, and with Overwhelming Essence and SimulacrumReservoir you're pretty well maxed out on your essence.
For Paragon Points you want to basically use common sense. This build is an ability spam build with limited sustain. Play to that. For example, you want to invest heavily into Essence, Cost Reduction, and Cooldown reduction. As far as defense, I recommend investing in armor so that Blood is Power is easier to proc.
For Gems you should put Bane of the Trapped, Enforcer, and Legacy of Dreams in your ring slots. Zei's Stone of Vengeance is a solid alternative. For your Helm, slot in Flawless Royal Topaz to provide resource cost reduction or Flawless Royal Diamond for CDR. Personally, since this is a teeth build you should go Topaz. For your weapon, you should go Flawless Royal Topaz if going the ranged build, and Flawless Royal Emerald for the close range build. And for your other slots, you should go (you guessed it) Flawless Royal Topaz. In my honest opinion, Topaz is the best base gem for necromancer. It provides Intelligence, thorns, and resource reduction. Sure, the thorns are only especially ridiculous with Aberrant Animator but once again, topaz is a godsend for Necromancer.
Changelog: 10/2/19 Fixed some grammar errors, clarified poor usage, and added more details to the build
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