World of Warcraft
Shaman Guide & Strategies
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PURGE.  This works amazing wonders in PvP, as it negates a buff.  Consider a priest, for example.  He has no armor, except for his shield spell.  Casting Purge on him will remove it, making him as vulnerable as a naked worm.

Lightning Shield:  Have this one on the hotkey.  This is most critical in PvE.

Ghost Wolf:    Increases your speed by 40% (if you invest your talent points), enabling you to flee if your opponent is killing you.  Its always good to have an "out"!

The bread and butter for a Shaman PvP is SHOCK and PURGE.


Talent Distribution  Enhancement is not recommended for PvP.  BUT it is a great way to level your character.  I believe that the secret of the Shaman is to go with an Enhancement build for the purposes of leveling.  Your 'down' times will be minimized with this build.  With enhancement, you do more damage, and can heal with first aid bandages.  Then, once you are higher in level, re-spec' your talents to a restoration/elemental build for PvP. Here is the optimum PvP build for a Shaman.   You will find that the best PvP Shaman players use this exact build, with only slight modifications.

Elemental Combat (22 points)
Concussion Rank 5/5
Convection Rank 5/5
Elemental Focus Rank 1/1
Call of Thunder Rank 5/5
Reverberation Rank 5 /5 
Elemental Fury Rank 1/1

 

 

Enhancement Talents (7 points)
Ancestral Knowledge Rank 5/5
Ghost Wolf 2/2

Restoration Talents (22 points)
Tidal Focus Rank 5/5
Totemic Focus Rank 5/5
Improved Lesser Healing Wave Rank 5/5
Combat Endurance Rank 1/1
Tidal Mastery Rank 5/5 
Nature's Swiftness Rank 1/1
 

Chain lightning is not worth it.  Too high manna, too low damage.  Your points are better spent elsewhere than this.  It is a seldom used spell in PvP.  Lightning mastery is the same.  Costs too many talent points for what you get from it.

Elemental Fury is your big ticket for PvP!  It guarantees a critical hit, something that has a high prize in PvP.  A guaranteed critical spell hit for the Shaman is like having a Rogue finishing move :)

Natures Swiftness is a very important PvP talent.  When you fight classes such as priests and warlocks, you will really appreciate it.  It allows you to get off a full healing spell that cannot be disrupted or stopped with silence.  This is very very handy in PvP!

Solo
A Shaman is very good at playing solo.  Probably one of the better solo players in the game.  One popular technique to use when PvE: casting a couple lightnings on the mob, use your lightning shield can often leave a mob greatly weakened before it even reaches you. Open up with Melee, while your totems are layed out around you, with your lightning shield on.  Now Flame Shock, and as your shocks refreshes the mob will be running or already close to it, at which point you can cast a frost shock to stop it dead in it's tracks and finish it off.
 

Professions:
Once again, as with all classes, I recommend maxing out First Aid skill.  Whether you are a healer class or not, First Aid will always be a source of additional HP's.  Having first aid simply gives the Shaman more emergency HP access and this is always useful in PvP OR PvE.  Alchemy/Herbalism is my recommended profession.  The potions generated from Alchemy can be used while in combat and to me are more useful than anything else (except possibly the explosives you get from Engineering). 

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