BC Shaman Group PvP Spec

[Belarin]

I was thinking about what would be a good group PvP spec for alliance shamans post Burning Crusade. However, as a level 60 alliance priest all I know about shamans is what I get from being on the recieving end of purge/earthshock. Was wondering what you thought.

Current Spec Thoughts(http://tinyurl.co.uk/j3rb):
38 Resto through Purification
23 Enhancement, picking up Anticipation, Toughness, Parry, and Imp. Weapon Totems

-Bel

[morrison]

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/classes/bc-shaman/talents.html?2523015003001530100000000000000000000 000005032051005013500000

[Belarin]

Ahh thanks. I didn't notice that Shaman's got a talent like Martyrdom. That does seem superior.

[Soruss]

I don't think I'd make a pvp healing build without eye of the storm. It's pretty sexy.

[azzyboi]

There isnt a need for a shaman healing spec anymore. There will be paladins priests and druids available for groups... be what blizzard intended the offensive hybrid. Groups will want you for your enhancement/elemental party buffs.

[azzyboi]

http://tinyurl.com/p7jrd
will be bitchin.

[duds]

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/classes/bc-shaman/talents.html?5503015003001000000050000000000000000 000005032351005013500000

[Snamuh]

For me either a small variation of Duds spec (maybe 28/0/33, not sure) if I decide to go into elemental, or a survival spec which I'm leaning towards at the moment.

Following is an early version of a spec I'm considering:

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/classes/bc-shaman/talents.html?0000000000000000000055002000505210000 000005035351005013500000

One option is to move 3 points out of Totemic Mastery and the 2 out of Ghost Wolf and put them into Convection.

I'm not really sure what my spec will be at this point as it's really just theory-crafting until we see what the expansion brings.

[Snamuh]

There isnt a need for a shaman healing spec anymore. There will be paladins priests and druids available for groups... be what blizzard intended the offensive hybrid. Groups will want you for your enhancement/elemental party buffs.

One thing to think about is that the expansion focus will be arena fights - 2 man, 3 man, and 5 man teams.

A lot of it will depend largely on your group makeup and we will sure see a lot of varying group makeups as the new skills and talents bring a wide range of options.

Personally, I feel that a 23/5/33 or 28/0/33 build might be the best overall makeup especially when considering 2v2 fights. A survival based spec of 0/25/36 or some variation might be best for 5v5. Personally, I still don't think enhancement will be viable in PvP but who knows really (I'd rather be proved wrong).

[azzyboi]

Yes i did consider those, and no one atm knows what is going to be best or if there will even be a "best" combination. Hell for all we know a warrior and shammy can just win every 2 man and lead the honor points and buy all the rank 14 crap before anyone.

[Shaneequa]

Call me crazy but I think I'm cool enough for
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/classes/bc-shaman/talents.html?5500015000000000000050052301005000000 000005032041005310000000

Clearcasting, 2h wpn, 10% armor, NS, healing way. Versatile = win.

[Snamuh]

Call me crazy but I think I'm cool enough for
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/classes/bc-shaman/talents.html?5500015000000000000050052301005000000 000005032041005310000000

Clearcasting, 2h wpn, 10% armor, NS, healing way. Versatile = win.

Crazy :)

[auren]

here (http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/classes/bc-shaman/talents.html?0503215203001530130000000000000000000 000005032351004013000000)

this in my opinion is the best spec considering the -6 crit, which is way better than +10% healing imo, elemental mastery provides some versatility when grouping with anyone who has a timer for that extra ~2300 crit for no mana, also included is elemental precision, which nullifies the need for +hit gear so gear only has to be focused towards crit and dmg

[Apotheosis]

I think we all agree -- Shamans are going to be the closest thing to a non-healing healer as we see in PvP.

This is really going to depend on group makeup. Perhaps one day your Arena 5v5 group only has one Priest and a Shaman as healers; then, most likely, a more healing-intensive build might be best. The next day, perhaps you have both a Druid and Paladin along with the Shaman; then the Shaman may want to be Melee/Caster support more than a full healer.

For most classes, I'd say there's a single build that will obviously be best for group PvP regardless of the specific group makeup that day. I'm not sure that's true for Shammies anymore.

I'm going to assume that Shamans are still healers first, so I might go with this build:

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/classes/bc-shaman/talents.html?5023014003000000000050202320105000000 000050005051004012000000

The goal is to get Eye of the Storm in Elemental, Toughness in Enhancement, and NS in Restoration. Survivable healer build.

I don't think Dual Wield is going to be a viable PvP DPS solution for Shamans. My gut tells me it will tend towards sustainable PvE DPS, as it is for Warriors. If you're going to be meleeing as a Shaman -- and not wearing a shield -- there's nothing like a Windfury bomb with a big, slow 2her.

[SandDemon]

No one likes Lightning Overload?

[Apotheosis]

Oh I do, Sand Demon.

If there is any viable group PvP spec besides support/healing, I'd go full Elemental for sure. The burst damage, combined with the 41 point caster-support totem, would far exceed the enhancement stuff, I think.

Something like this:

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/classes/bc-shaman/talents.html?5023015503021035105150000300000000000 000005005001000000000000

Might be what I'd go for. There's a few points I'd tinker with -- it's painful passing up Elemental Shields, Concussion, and Improved Ghostwolf, but I'm not sure what to give up to get them. One serious concern for any Elemental build would be sustainability: if you're healing at all, you'll go down in mana fast, and Blizzard has said that they expect the PvP game to be more slower paced, requiring more complex strategies such as efficiency and positioning. I haven't played my Shaman consistently in a long time, so perhaps my gut responses are off on this, but I get the feeling these elemental builds won't tend towards efficiency and long-term planning.