Shaman Leveling Guide

World of Warcraft Class Leveling: WoW Shaman Leveling Guide

Introduction

Shamans, the utility laden, one size fits all class of World of Warcraft. If you’ve never played a Shaman or are just getting into the idea of choosing a class for your account, then you’re in for a treat. This one is a fantastic, one size fits all kind of class that will challenge you, and almost always ensure you have a raid spot.

In World of Warcraft, Shamans bring the most utility to a raid or party instance. This being said, it doesn’t mean that they aren’t good at going solo. They are capable of doing DPS at melee range as well as from ranged, and are also capable of Healing. This guide was written by myself to try to explain the various differences of playing a Shaman based on different play-styles and also discusses the most efficient way of leveling a Shaman!

Without further ado, I present:

The WoW Authority’s Shaman Leveling Guide

“When A Shaman Dies, The Server Crashes!”

Enjoy!

Contents

1. A Basic Introduction to Shamans
   
2. Choosing a Race
3. The Early Levels
4. Gear & Weapons
5. Talent Specs
6. Totems Totems Totems!
   
7. Making Gold
   
8. Top 10 Shaman Leveling Tips & Tricks

1. A Basic Introduction to Shamans

A Shaman is a considered a World of Warcraft “hybrid” class, and is suited end-game to either heal, or deal massive amounts of damage. In addition to their individual abilities, they also support and enhance the groups they are in by using their unique Totems. In PvP, their ability to hit multiple targets, and their controlling totems are considered deadly due to their flexibility and effectiveness. Their 3 main roles can be boiled down to melee physical DPS, ranged DPS as a caster, and Healing.

Shamans are one of those classes that no one can quite peg down. You toss out totems, load up on buffs and then either sit back and cast like crazy, or run into the fray swinging – that’ll depend on your play style. To top it off, Shamans can heal and are wholly responsible for managing half a dozen buffs and debuffs in combat – meaning you’re a team player at all times! (If that’s not your cup of tea, go play a Hunter!)

2. Choosing a Race

Step one in setting up your Shaman is to pinpoint the perfect race for your needs. Before choosing a race and faction for your Shaman, there are a few things you need to consider. Different Races within the World of Warcraft have several different abilities, called Racial Traits, which make them stand out amongst each other. Although none of these Racial Traits can be considered “game breaking”, they do make a difference if you’re going to be staring at your selections from behind for days on end!

Once upon a time, Shamans were only available for Horde. Now, you can choose for both Horde and Alliance, though Alliance players are stuck with Draenei only. Luckily, that’s one of the better Alliance races for leveling your Shaman.

Horde Considerations

As for the side with some selection, the Horde can choose between Orcs, Taurens or Trolls. When you break them down, you’re generally going to find that they each have their benefits. Orcs are almost always a top choice because of Blood Fury – an attack and spell booster. Additionally, they have a decreased chance to be stunned in PvP, which is always nice. If you don’t care about lore or starting areas, go with an Orc.

3. The Early Levels

The first few levels with your new Shaman are pretty bland, like most starting areas. You stand in one spot, cast Lightning Bolt at the mobs around you, and when they get to you, finish them off with whatever large, heavy object you happen to be carrying. Sounds great, doesn’t it?

The key here is to figure out the basic mechanics of the Shaman – dealing as much damage as possible before your opponents ever get to you. This is why you’ll be choosing an Elemental Build, which will allow you to crank up your DPS output and hit your opponent for as much damage as possible before they can get within a five yard radius of you

You’ll probably burn through your mana bar on each enemy in those early levels, so get used to drinking a lot to refill it. You’ll find that if you go in another direction, with the Enhancement spec or the Restoration spec, you will use a lot less mana but have a much easier time with your health bar. You can choose ranged or melee after you reach Level 10, but I say go with ranged – it’s safer, and even if it’s not faster, you’ll be able to complete more quests this way because of the ease at killing mobs.

4. Gear and Weapons

Because your Shaman can be any number of different builds, you’re going to need different stats depending on your build. If you go with an Enhancement Shaman, load up on the Strength, Stamina and Agility stats. If you go with an Elemental Shaman, you should be looking for Intelligence and Stamina. In fact, Stamina should be high on your list no matter what you spec you are because if you’re a low level character with not enough health, you’re going to die a LOT. It can and will make a huge difference!

For the most part, you’ll find all the gear you need from quests. But if you find yourself behind at any point, keep in mind that Shamans before Level 40 wear Cloth and Leather depending on their spec (cloth tends to have better magic stats while leather will help you out with the heavy duty skull cracking stats). Once you reach Level 40, mail is possible and can provide all the stats you need for either spec. If you roll Enhancement, seek out any gear that says “of the Bear”. If you’re an Elementalist, load up on “of the Eagle”.

5. Talent Specs

Talent specs – the one place where nearly any player can easily get confused and/or mixed up. I’ve run a Shaman with dozens of different talent builds, so I like to think I’ve got it down at this point. Restoration isn’t really an option for leveling, so you’re going to focus almost solely on either Elementalist or Enhancement stats. In my book, melee is the way to go, though some may prefer the melee bashing as compared to the long range nuking. To each their own!

When it comes to Enhancement talents, you’re going to snag up Dual Wield around level 40, which is going to put your DPS through the roof. You’ll also get Shamanistic Focus early on in the game which is a big one for knocking out some solid DPS in melee combat. Basically, with this build, the sooner you get the higher numbers, the sooner you’ll be able to kill the enemies without risking your own life.

On the other hand, Enhancement focuses pretty big on upgrading things like Concussion and Elemental Focus and, for the most part, can be done later in the game. Here’s a breakdown of the best way, in my book, to spread out those talent points:

6. Totems Totems Totems!

Fire Totem!

I can’t possibly go through all your totems, but I want to spend some time telling you about how much cool stuff you’re going to be able to do with them. To start with, you will be unlocking totems with most of your leveling progression, up to around level 40.

Once you hit Level 40, and complete the last of your Totem quests, you should have around 35 different totems that you can use. A lot of these are damage dealers but many more are support totems and are going to be hugely useful for you later in the game.

One of my favorites is Tremor, which removes any fear, charm or sleep effects from party members in 30 yards for 5 minutes. In short, it’s awesome in PvE. It also help out in PvP if you know how to use it properly. Another great Earth Totem is Stoneskin which is huge for anyone trying to stay alive in solo play. Your Water Totems will load you up with resistances and cleanses for diseases and poisons and your Fire Totems do all sorts of fantastic damage. Searing does all sorts of DPS over the course of 30 seconds to anyone around you, perfect for groups of mobs in camps.

7. Making Gold

You’re not getting anywhere without this shiny stuff. Shamans should undoubtedly be specced as Leatherworkers and Skinners if possible. Make sure to skin everything in sight. Those early levels are loaded with skinnable mobs, especially in the Barrens.

Another great tip is to use those totems like a pro to AoE your enemies down. Make sure they’re around 2 to 3 levels below you or you might run into some serious trouble, but if you do it right, you should be able to kill between 2 to 4 mobs at once and snag all that loot. Take everything, even the grays, and then sell it all off to the vendor or at the Auction House

Everyone loves a Shaman in an instance too, so if you need some cash, run an instance or two. Those Bloodlusts and Resurrection spells will get you into ANY group, without fail!

8. Top 10 Essential Shaman Leveling Tips & Tricks

1. Don’t Bother with Gems and Enchants Just Yet.
Worry about these things when you hit Level 70 and up. For now, while leveling, they’re unnecessary.

2. Glyph it Up.

I hope you enjoyed reading my fairly simple Shaman Leveling Guide, and that you’ll find it useful in your adventures! Keep ‘em totems up!

~ Toxico plays for a top guild in Blackrock and is their resident Shaman Class Leader. He has leveled multiple Shamans in the past, and enjoys switching between DPS and Healing.