SHAMAN in Cataclysm Classic: Was It Any Good Though?

[@WillEmmo]

RestedXP has the best guides for leveling up fast and efficiently in Cataclysm so you can get straight into the end game ASAP - check them out there! www.restedxp.com/cataclysm/ref/WillE/ Use Code: WILLE for 5% off!

[@littleboots35]

As a shaman for Cata, I couldn't wait for this video. Cheers Wille!

[@doktorspock8910]

Although I've never mained a shaman in my life, their class fantasy has always been my favorite though. That primal power of the elements waiting to be unleashed just speaks to me and of course Skyshatter.

[@MrLolguy93]

Ever since WC3 and playing with Thrall, I always loved this Class

[@phantom0456]

Thrall cheats. Garrosh was handing him his bunghole until Thrall used the elements to cheat and then they abandoned him because they saw what a wussy he was. Even the Doomhammer decided to find a better wielder because of the wussiness of Thrall. Even Aggra be like “I shoulda picked Alpha Chad Garrosh instead of Beta Cuck Thrall” 😂

[@phantom0456]

@@420OngBak Gul’dan CHEATS!

[@babansif]

@@phantom0456nah wrong

[@Tom-hn5hn]

Lava lash goes from 125% wep damage to 260% so it is actually quite a large change, it becomes your highest priority spell

[@RadarFinsR]

Goes from a spell not worth the gcd to your main big ability

[@JayTheProduct]

Yeees Shaman finally, also lava lash is actually VERY changed in cata it becomes by far your hardest hitting ability. The overall priority for enhances rotation completely flips on its head in cata.

[@trousersnake1486]

Planning on leveling my first Shaman ever during Cata classic.

[@naejimba]

Great expansion for them; every spec is a blast to play. =)

[@ArtofPetri]

How did it go?

[@bstring7773]

First time I played an Enhance Shaman was in Cata and I loved it. I didnt do too bad on the meters either. Def not a pro raider or anything but its still delightful and output is fine. Maybe thats more of a testament to Catas overall class balance compared to previous expansions, but every Shaman spec has playability, fun dynamics, varied game mode usefulness, and you get to be soul brothers with Thrall. Win. 😂

[@naejimba]

"Maybe thats more of a testament to Catas overall class balance" ^This. There are a few outliers but the balance was solid in 4.3.

[@borgirlol]

i remember this eqrthquake was good in AV chokepoints, those random stuns when 10+ people sit in them were actually great.

[@R3ar3ntry]

Amazing videos again Will, thank you! My guild master wasn't sure if she wanted to play shaman or pally now this video is up it might help her

[@erickchristensen746]

Shaman being one of my favorite classes makes me excited to see this. ♥ Enhancement Shaman all the way

[@TheWarriorscat]

Enhance has been my main shaman spec since TBC but as a healer main…..resto looking real tempting!

[@ViewTube_Emperor_of_Mankind]

I hope we see a glyph that removes the stun and increases the damage of earthquake.

[@johnathanbowers5433]

Or does nature damage instead. Something to make it viable. I’m shocked they left it that way. I PvE so I’m curious to know if it’s commonly chosen in PvP?

[@EriSenshur]

It's not based on what the video says ​@@johnathanbowers5433

[@BamsenSlagbjorn]

@@johnathanbowers5433 Not chosen in pvp either, far too small area and far too long cast time for it to be worth it

[@naejimba]

@@johnathanbowers5433 , if you are having to guard a point it can be very useful to prevent people from capping. Other than that... not really.

[@JustCaow]

Or easiest and ”least broken” change: Have it scale with Fulmination as Earth shock does

[@mannyjimenez72]

Not gonna say is was about time, but it was about dang time :)

[@littleboots35]

Thanks!

[@SNTrepie]

Been thinking about what I wanted to play for Cata Classic and keep thinking Dwarf Elemental Shaman would be fun

[@radguy72]

9:57 Wow, Riptide does damage now?! That's insane!

[@brandonl7759]

You fr? I didn't see that

[@Ovrlol]

Or he just doesnt proof read his videos

[@AegeanGaming]

I have allways played Enha sham since I started back in TBC and I havent really felt that its so bad. But then again back then we diddnt min max to the bone about stuff we have now with all the info etc 😂 But I do find it kinda weird that Shaman in general is like you said, the user of the elements and now we enter the element expansion. So Ele is really good, Resto is really good, but Enha falls off abit. Now I am not changing my spec but I do hope that if this is the case that we Enha fall off, that Blizz would step in like they did with Feral in Wrath and make it a spec people want to play 😝 Great vid Wille 😍

[@JayTheProduct]

Its still very viable and respectable, solid B+ spec with some of the best sustained cleave in the game.

[@naejimba]

Except for a few outliers, the balance for this expansion was pretty tight by 4.3. In Cata your skill matters more than anything else. It's not that Enhance is bad, just that other things are a bit busted. For instance, your AoE is REALLY good this expansion but things like the most broken version of Combustion for Fire Mages exists. Your damage is fine but Arms had an insane blow up and was dominant for the whole expansion. Unless your guild is super sweaty and insists on optimal comps you can just play good and down bosses. Your attendance, knowing mechanics, and optimizing your rotation will matter more to your guild than that bit of damage from picking the optimal spec. IMO: I think the fix if they don't want to increase damage is: 1) allow them to provide the 3% dmg buff that only Arcane, Ret, and BM Hunters provide. The Mages want to go Fire this xpac and the Hunters do far more damage on SV. Ret is the only real choice for this, and considering it brings CDs that prevents wipes in an expansion where b rez is now limited AND does more damage than Enhance it's not losing it's spot with this change. It just makes Enhance a better option. 2) They passively provide the 10% SP buff that is only covered by Ele and Demo Warlocks. There is a lesser version that gives 6% (Mages and Affliction provides) but that extra 4% is pretty valuable for a comp considering it also buffs the heals. Only having two SPECS cover this (not classes that could cover multiple specs) isn't enough since their goal was to make comps easier to put together for 10s. Furthermore, both Ele and Destro are very strong and there are other good reasons to take one, so we are not challenging their spot, again, just making Enhance a better option.

[@TheDerpp]

I mained elemental for all of Wrath and I always did well and stayed competitive, even tho Ele was never very highly regarded. Don't let a preview or a tier list dictate what you do (unless you're actually seeing really bad results)

[@Jamezama]

loved ele with the firelands set pumping out fire elementals

[@TheDerpp]

Elemental main for a couple years now. STOKED for this expansion

[@Kalisparo]

Dont sleep on just how good spirit link is. It is arguably the strongest ability in cata, as it can negate some seriously dififcult mechanics on certain bosses, and it can empower all other healers, as their big healing CDs will now be spread out over the entire raid.

[@ThisIsBatchet]

I really hope blizz gives shaman some love in cata. Nothing to put them into S tier but make them more competitive. Id love mental quickness to give enhance 6% spell hit as well, It sucks as one of the few melee classes with a kit majority of spells and needing to sacrifice stats on gear to get 17% hit just feels bad, just like wrath.

[@naejimba]

This is a fantastic suggestion.

[@tonyyeehaw69]

Anyone who plays a shaman in general is a real one. I see like 2 max in a Bg sometimes only one and it’s me 😂

[@Dronesh_Tythun]

Finally been waiting for this one!

[@naejimba]

Finally. I've enjoyed these vids, now time to hear about my main. =)

[@pouria6952]

Thats a really good guide! Thank you

[@travismarshall4914]

Earthquake is a hot topic for ele.. I plan on taking it, im aware it is a dps loss, but most notably at the start heroics will be tougher, so will mostly just have it for utility.. seeing as shamans are designed to be a utility class.. Depending on how heroics go, if they fall over easier than i expect ill likely drop it

[@19thomsen87]

You actually forgot a HUGE CHANGE to shamans.. and a very big deal in raids... Ghost Wolf can now FINALLY BE USED INDOORS.. meaning in raids as a movement speed tool and an ability to move from shit during encounters.... Patch notes is as follows from org cata: "Patch 4.0.1 (2010-10-12): Speed buff reduced to +30%, down from 40%. Can now be learned at level 15 (was 16). Now usable indoors." THANK GOD.. Been waiting for this update

[@MoonTurky]

Its so weird seeing people hyped for an update that happened 10+ years ago

[@spooky_zen]

in mop, unleash life gave movement speed buff and it was usable in ghost wolf, was very enjoyable.

[@Muffnman007]

IIRC glyph of riptide no longer removed the hot from being chain healed. Increased duration is the wotlk one.

[@runeserpent1449]

Stopped playing almost a year ago but still was waiting for this vid xD

[@ahetzel9054]

I think an easy fix for earthquake is to make the cast time faster and reduce the mana cost. It's like 3 second baseline which is absurd

[@greyraingames]

FINALLY! Shaman let’s gooooo!

[@Flowerz__]

5 sec interrupt seems very powerful

[@derricksnyder6535]

My man coming through with the one I have been waiting for.

[@Pants_uk]

Resto shaman back in cata was amazing

[@bucket6988]

10:46 What is this UI called?

[@outriggerunderground]

dwarf seems really cool but shaman gear looks so sick on Orc. especially the shoulders

[@darbeefarb2491]

Finally, A class that matters.

[@ryanglacier30]

Shaman was incredibly good. Had two specs that could make rank 1 2's and 3's and did great in raids. But that's Cataclysm for you. Probably the best class balance the game ever had.

[@quinn562]

Nice video as always, had a nice blast from the past moment seeing a name I remembered in the pvp video (gumbot!) - really sucks how they took away poison/disease dispel....is a defensive dispel as resto an upgrade? I'd arguably say yes. Underwhelmed by the sets except the firelands one, easily the best imo the last looks too similar to frost witch

[@naejimba]

Some great set bonuses on some of them for the different specs, but visually I don't really care for any of them. Good thing this was the expansion for transmog. XD

[@GabLeGamer]

Solution to earthshaker: a glyph that buffs damage but removes the stun chance

[@Evan-mt7bc]

Shaman is a really fun option in Cata, Elemental is for once in it's life a top spec which happened I think like 3 times in it's entire existence. All 3 Shaman specs have a lot going on and they'll all be fun as hell to play and learn, Enhancement seems like the ugly duckling of the class but it's still really fun and will do work, if you're an Enhance player you'll still be happy as hell in Cata, it's just Elemental and Resto may seem more tempting at times. Even if you're not a Shaman player my personal recommendation would be to level 1 up because it is really fun even if you don't plan to raid.

[@johnathanbowers5433]

Just don’t level up as elemental lol

[@jeanpierre3061]

Are shamens hard? I've always avoided them in Retail and classic since I always found their kit so complicated.

[@dmitriyobidin6049]

I don't care how good he was, shaman is the ultimate lore class. Shaman == Warcraft.

[@CriTicOfsOrts]

Id like to quote wowcrendor. "Im a shaman, every class can do what i do but better"

[@DanielDailey639]

All I know about cata shaman is they like to chain heal the melee, even when the tank is dying, and their spirit link totem is boss af.

[@maxximus330]

Mana isn’t an issue in Cata. I remember it was being complained it lowered the skill of not needing to be mana efficient

[@xxDUPAxx1]

elemental tree here have wrong talents, as ele pve ur go with increased totem time = elementals last much longer = more dps and u dont play with earthquake its waste of talent point

[@cristhianmlr]

Ur means old

[@skeeve55]

where can I find the raid buff calculator you use?

[@afscrew123]

Just google

[@naejimba]

@@afscrew123 , did and can't find it.

[@albeshino8875]

Your videos are the best

[@derekjanisch584]

Does resto get a cleanse or is that later? I felt like it was a thing in Cata or MOP for PVP.

[@derekjanisch584]

16:50 yes

[@naejimba]

By default you can only remove curses, but for one talent point you can remove magic effects as well (must have for PvP). Seems like a nerf but it doesn't get a CD until MoP so very powerful.

[@derekjanisch584]

@@naejimba Thanks, always nice when you get exactly the answer you were looking for.

[@RadarFinsR]

"lava lash is really just unchanged" Well other than it's now one of your hardest hitting abilities instead of in wrath where in pve you almost never pressed it and in pvp you didn't even take it. Earthern power and frost power both function identically to how they do in wrath and are fine talents, though funnily enough you don't use frostbrand offhand in pve any more since the 40% bonus to lava lash is so big.

[@DescendedfromOdin95]

For pvp from a singular experience, an enhancement shaman hit me for 45k with a lava lash crit as an unholy dk… it still traumatises me.

[@Ireland609]

Nothing was better for a shaman after hitting a huge mob with earthquake and chains procs

[@spooky_zen]

Why do the retail lightning animation suck?

[@TKGxCOD]

FINALLY SHAMANNN

[@cactuss33ds]

man, that rockbiter change makes absolutely no sense. why do they play with my heart like this? shammy tank in cata content would be incredible.

[@Djupadalar]

I won’t have time to raid and will only play 5mans. Are Resto shamans decent at that?

[@Graahk-r8u]

yes

[@xuseinspaxiev4651]

they shuld add when lightning shield reach 9 stack earthquake to be insta cast

[@naejimba]

That's a really cool idea, I'm just worried that it still won't be powerful enough. As it is during 4.3, three conditions have to be met: 1) Six or more mobs, 2) That will live for the full 10 sec., 3) and won't move during that time. Instant cast helps a ton, but it still needs a bit more damage IMO considering how niche it is. I think we can justify boosting the output via a glyph, and I think the best thing to do is to bake in the glyph of Lightning Shield into the Fulmination talent to free up space (everyone has to take it and it limits options for Ele). Now as a glyph we can remove the knockdown effect meaning it isn't viable in PvP and can be balanced for PvE, meaning we can up the damage to the point where at 2 or more targets you want to spend Fulmination charges on Earthquake.

[@licho6558]

Always played enhancement and will be doing so again. Nothing more fun to play a hard to master class and competing in dps with 1 2 1 2 classes :)

[@Djupadalar]

Any lore on why they removed our ability to remove poisons and deceases?

[@RatsoMan20]

In 10 man heroic dragon soul raid we had 2 shaman me enh and an ele we were top dps me only being beat out on aoe fights over 4 targets

[@garrettohyeah7365]

So torn between if I want to main my hunter or Ele shaman

[@johnny_eason_iii]

Epic!!!!👏👏👏👏👏💪🏼💪🏼😲😎💯💯💯💯💯💥💥✨✨💫💫

[@ramones1314]

Resto kinda struggles in 10m raids, as it doesnt pump in raid healing like a holy priest or resto druid can, and it doesnt tank heal like a paladin can. it also has no externals, and no raid heal CD. but yes extremely good in 25m where it can get a lot more value out of its skills. Enhancment is like the random step brother melee dps class, its just sorta there. its fine, but usually a rogue/war/unholy just do more, and the random melee slot already goes to ret paladin for the 3% damage buff.

[@ramones1314]

@@420OngBak no.... no its not.... and even if we use your definition, what a fucking waste as its ONLY usable when stacked. have fun running to the tank on nef to drop totem and only distribute health between you 2 and then you die to the breath.

[@ramones1314]

@@420OngBak its not an external thats like calling commanding shout for the health bonus an external. you stupid fuck lmao

[@afscrew123]

​@@420OngBakhes right tho, externals are something you put on the tank, thats what people always have been calling it. Spirit link is more akin to a raid cd (and imo the weakest one by far)

[@crusher1980]

People like being able to cast while moving but I think thats exactly where class design started to go wrong, other changes are good tho.

[@joel75]

Does anyone know the best race for PvP on Alliance?

[@thedoomdog]

I'm a little worried, we did 10 man H throughout wrath and I will admit with the comp of Resto shaman *Me* and holy pally H lich was an absolute nightmare. I hear things get even worse so im a little worried

[@afscrew123]

If u actually wanna progress heroics in a pretty good pace then id recommend just go elemental or go rdruid or disc together with ur hpala. Rshaman is giga rough in Hard 10mans especially early on, spiritlink is a poop CD outside of chogall mage cheese and maybe alakir p2, everyone needs to be stacked for ur healing rain etc. Ur gonna struggle super hard with mana until you get 4set bonus, tsunami card and fall of mortality trinket from chogall. U wont have time In 10mans usually to regen mana with lightning Bolt, because you dont heal anything while you cast LB. Compared to other classes mana regen. Theyre more fit for 25man. But if u rly rly want u can still make it work. Its just not "optimal" thats all.

[@Nshipman87]

That's interesting because in my 10-man team we also ran Resto Shaman (me) and Holy Paladin. It seemed to work out great for us; it felt like great coverage and we were able to clear all the Heroic modes. But I understand YMMV. I'm interested to dig into Cata and see what's in store.

[@amosmonk]

what race for horde ele?

[@Titan.Fox56]

Orc or troll.

[@kalejarmar3187]

Do not choose your race because stats , its a bêta move . Chose the one you like , as a true chad

[@amosmonk]

@@kalejarmar3187 No

[@kalejarmar3187]

@@amosmonk expected. cuck .

[@babansif]

@@kalejarmar3187no

[@NakaliTama]

Played Resto Shaman through Cata the first time around, played Disc priest this time. Is Disc priest a stronger healer? technically. Is it more fun? No. Shadow priest is more straightforward than Elemental, But Elemental is by faaaar more fun.

[@willb6913]

When I think of Cata Shaman the first thing that comes to mind is snapshotting the fire elemental for insane damage.

[@afscrew123]

Which is a wrath thing but go off king

[@willb6913]

👍

[@SalimKhan-uc7xn]

TBC and Wotlk were only expansions where Blizz did not F up enhancement....every since then we got screwed and they forgot about us.

[@HooFbauer]

I never had more fun in PvP than with my Ele in Wrath, sad that shaman PvP might struggle now.

[@naejimba]

Sure, your burst isn't as scary and you lose dmg reduction when under CC effects, but the overall increase in health and the slowing of damage negates that a touch. In addition, you can cast while moving, your Thunderstorm has a slow attached to it, ghost wolf can be used indoors, and the magical damage reduction from the talent elemental warding has been doubled for the same points. Adding to this the fact that while Ele might not start out as dominant in Cata PvP as in Wrath at the beginning, they fixed the scaling issues so it's not like it will fall off as the expansion goes on. So it's not all bad.

[@Scülly0626]

I rolled a shaman in t11 when my guild needed more dps becuase i knew ele would be good in cata.

[@mojotmn]

I feel like blizzard hates ele shamans

[@fuzzelump3]

Bliz hates shamans. Period.

[@mojotmn]

@@420OngBak i was talking about pvp but point taken.

[@TheHarimir]

ench strangely are better at burst aoe than elemental due to being able to aply and spread flame shock far faster

[@afscrew123]

Yeah ele is not great at massive aoe, theyre goated at 3-5 targets

[@Feledged]

Its a Shame we’ll likley see the nerfed t12 4 set for ele, it used to be just reset the cooldown (changed in t13 Cus it wouldnt get replaced kekw)

[@knor6469]

Thanks

[@spooky_zen]

ull want atleast one restro for spirit link to nullify boss mechanics

[@Voodooray007]

I don't wanna have a Goblin shaman on my team cause I don't want to be charged for that person's services. 😒

[@teriyakiwilson7072]

So just level up one. Acting like it's hard nowadays...

[@Voodooray007]

@@teriyakiwilson7072 I kid, man.

[@phantom0456]

@@teriyakiwilson7072he make a joke! he make a joke!

[@MorgQ7]

Level one up become the Heal Shark you know you must be.

[@maxpowers5055]

Resto FOR LYFE!

[@nerddotcom5817]

Bring back mobile Lightning Bolts!

[@unknownvitster]

Earthquake is fine in certain situations in BGs. Other than that, it sucks.

[@primuschill]

your intro forgot the element of Spirit.(the most important one)

[@cervisiamdc114]

Frozen Power wasn't introduced in cata. It is a wotlk talent and also no changes to it from wotlk to cata. Same goes for Earthen power. Anyways, Enhance in arena will slap, cope

[@davidsawyers8754]

Enhance is straight up dog shit in PvP. At the start of the expansion, warriors in blue gear could kill you as Enhance in full pvp gear. Their mortal strike free healing made them impossible to solo. Elemental and Resto Shamans are the bread and butter of the expansion for Shamans.

[@General12th]

Hi Will!

[@joedarling5175]

Ele pvp is pretty much garbo 1v1 nearly anyone. Zero defensives, ez to get slowed, rooted, stunned, silenced. Thunderstormed anyone, doesnt matter they all have the ability to close in. best case is pvp as resto. at least gives you more survival capabilties.

[@tylerc137]

Windfury Totem gets no respect

[@cristhianmlr]

10:00 insta DAMAGE?

[@quinn562]

LOL that's what I said too 🤔

[@toogoodforya123]

Where is the DK Video :D

[@CanIGetANumber2]

Yess givce us the tools to tank and still not allow us to tank

[@Slashresto]

Resto FL is useless compared to all other healers who gain 10 or 20% raw healing bonus in their set. Only rly DS tier is good enough for resto. FL is the tier where u start to drop healers cause theres barely any needed on baleroc or Ragnaros and only Bethilac is healing intense somewhat.

[@Zeth408]

WHEN IS ROGUE!!!!!!!!!!!

[@ramones1314]

last now cuz of you

[@Slashresto]

Enha PvP with other off-healing classes like ret is extremely good or atleast was in retail. Im the worst PvP player ever buy even i made 2k rating with 0 pvp gear in retail cata wirh ret/enha /Rruid (i was the druid) They might not be like 2600 rating glad ranked but good enough.

[@MoonTurky]

Why did you not talk about earthquakes first visual effect? It was so bad blizzard didnt even bother to fix it, instead just remove it entirely and only left the rubble effect lmao It looked really bad tho i will admit

[@kulan331]

-Talks about Earthquake being not worth it -Shows clip with shaman using Earthquake and is topping the damage meter -Talks about Enhancement shamans not being that great -Shows clip where Enhancement shaman is topping the damage meter ??? Haven't played cata, so i'm confused

[@markomancikas]

I think you did enha dirty. Based on both Apollo (private) and my memory of OG Cata, enha will beat ele until ele comes online with dragonwrath staff. Enha is an amazing spec if played well and will definitely bring a lot of damage AND utility as it can do very decent offheals if needed in some fights

[@sgtbilko2950]

Shamoan mf'er eeeheee