The last spec to talk about for the Shaman class in arena play is the Elemental Shaman, aka master of burst. The Elemental Shaman when BC came out was perhaps the least preferred spec for most Shamans when it came to BG and PvP in general, and a large reason for this was the lack of gear for it. With the introduction of countless pieces of mail spell damage gear, the Elemental Shaman has grown into one of the most valuable class/spec combos in competitive 5v5 arena play. The “cookie-cutter” lineup, or most popular, consists of Paladin/Priest/Mage/Warrior/Ele Shaman. This 2.5 healer lineup has developed into a very strong team and the Shaman is the backbone of it. Being able to burst damage when needed, and to spot heal when needed are huge assets this spec brings and there is no reason for this breed to die out in Arena play anytime soon.

The typical Elemental spec, 40/0/21, brings the best burst available to any class in the game if everything procs right. 40 points in Elemental all the way down to 5/5 Lightning Overload, although a chance proc, can be huge when it does and the 21 points in Restoration for the Nature Swiftness ability provide either a huge added burst or a quick spot heal on a teammate. Now, lets get into the basic job of an Elemental Shaman in successful 5v5 play. When playing with a 2.5 healer lineup, the quick burst is not so necessary in most cases, thus allowing for the Shaman to go around Purging target after target along with throwing in rank 1 Earth Shocks to prevent CC or damage dealt to his own team. This is a huge mistake a lot of in-experienced Elemental Shamans make early on in games, they think “omg, I need to burn everything right away to burst this player down”, and sometimes they even forget to Purge the target they plan to burst down. Purge is a Shamans best friend and should be used in Arena play like its the only skill you have, not only does it weaken the players you are trying to burst down, but Purging others as well will weaken the chance for resistance (Shadow Resistance buff, Mark of the Wild), and lessen their stats (BoK, Fortitude, AI) just to name a few. Now, Elemental Shamans are not the only ones who should be focusing on Purge, both Resto and Enhance should as well. However it’s even more important for an Elemental Shaman to, simply because he is the offensive support of the team and needs to do whatever he can to give his team the advantage. Once most buffs are Purged, feel free to start casting Lightning Bolts to put pressure on the target you are looking to focus, but still keep in mind to off-shock any incoming damage or CC to your team.

If you have a Warrior, its good to drop WF Totem of course, but Grounding Totem should still be used in most cases, just drop Grounding when you see a CC incoming that you cannot interrupt or a big burst, then switch back to WF totem once its destroyed. Then, usually when your Warrior calls for it, pop your trinkets/EM/Bloodlust, cast Lightning Bolt, NS+chain lightning, Earth Shock, and watch the pretty numbers light up. It is VERY crucial when you go to burst that you make sure no enemy Grounding Totem is up, and to drop a Grounding Totem of your own to prevent a CS or even CC to yourself. Remember as well to spam Purge the target especially if hes low so you can remove buffs like BoP quickly, allowing the Warrior to finish off the target with an Execute.

Now, in a 4 dps lineup, the play style is a little different. Because you usually will have a decent amount of CC with such a team, Purging other targets is not as necessary. The idea of this lineup as well is of course to burn down one of the opposing teams players very fast making them play completely defensive allowing your healers job a lot easier. Just make sure to Purge the focus target, most likely a Warrior, then proceed to destroy any Totems you see, then use the same burst rotation as if you would on a 2.5 healer lineup. Also, instead of using Earthshock on the focus target, it may be more efficient to save that rank1 Earth Shock for a healer when your team goes to burst down a player. Just because you are not putting out huge damage on the target, does not mean you are not helping your team kill that target.

If you do find yourself getting focused by the opposing team, play defensively. That is the beauty of an Elemental Shaman, he can adept to the situation a lot better then most other classes, and can fall back to line of sight and help heal himself. Also, drop Grounding when you see a casted spell incoming to you to make it easier on the healers as well. There may be some games where you put out very little damage, but that does not mean you are not doing your job. If heals are what needed to be done to win the game, so be it, realize that its what makes this class/spec so valuable in arena play. If a team wanted just pure DPS, they would choose a Frost Mage or Hunter instead. Elemental Shamans are brought into lineups for there versatility and it needs to all be used to make them efficient.

Now, all that has been discussed is 5v5 play, what about 2v2 and 3v3 arena? Well, simply put, an Elemental Shaman in both of these brackets in most cases is much less valuable. A large part in this is the simple reason that they can be locked down very easy, and in a scene where burning down an opposing team player fast is more necessary, getting locked down will not allow you to freely burst. There are some lineups that are doable however, such as Paladin/Warrior/Ele Shaman or Ele Shaman/SPriest/Warlock. The first lineup suggested was very popular in season 1, and has still stood its ground to an extent in season 2. Freedom on the Ele Shaman can allow for him to more freely kite an opposing Rogue or Warrior trying to lock him down. It is very important though for the Shaman in such a lineup to keep CC off of the Paladin, whether it be with Grounding Totem, Rank1 Earth Shock, or Tremor Totem. Rotate between your Totem and Earth Shock to keep Sheeps/Cyclones/Fears off of your Paladin and a win is possible. Have your Warrior Intercept whoever is on you when you want to burst, and take that opportunity to pop everything and blow up the focus target. With the second lineup suggested, this was a popular lineup in season 1, but has died down in season 2. 3 DPS lineups in 3v3 are not that effective anymore because outlast teams are more popular, and Rogues can lock down every class in that lineup. The idea of this 3 dps lineup however, is to get a quick fear off, and have your Priest/Warlock Silence two casters and nuke the 3rd player. The dps put out from the 3 can be very powerful and if able to get off will destroy almost anyone. You may find yourself playing a lot more defensive in the 3v3 and 2v2 brackets, but whatever it takes to win needs to be done. As far as 2v2 goes, an Ele Shaman just cant hang that well, and its only partner choices really are a Rogue or Mage. They just have to get the burst off pretty early, or things may turn out to be bad for the Shaman as he can get dropped decently fast with an MS debuff on himself.

In the end, the Shaman class has many choices for Arena play, and all when played right can be very effective for your team. They provide some of the biggest burst in the game, along with the versatility to heal in spell damage gear effectively. No matter what spec you choose for arena, prepare to have a lot of fun and be ready to make a lot of differences for the team.

Tags: Shaman · Articles

6 Responses to “Shamans in Arena, The True Hybrid Part 3”

1. Mousaka Says:
   September 30th, 2007 at 2:22 am

   Good summary of how a Shaman should be played in mid-high end arena.

2. Hodan Says:
   October 2nd, 2007 at 6:57 pm

   In a 4 DPS team you don’t purge the warrior, you lightning bolt. This set up relies on the quick execution of an enemy player before the healers can adjust - purging a warrior doesn’t do much other than waste precious GCDs.

   Well, I am going to disagree with you here, simply because purging the focus target no matter what team your lineup consists of is basically doing dps to them. If you dont bother to dispel there shadow buff or fort or kings, that is an extra 2k+ health you will have to burst through, plus a larger chance for resists from your warlock/spriest.

3. Adiara Says:
   October 2nd, 2007 at 7:08 pm

   Warlock/Shaman is probably the strongest 2v2

4. Tjjoris Says:
   October 9th, 2007 at 4:05 am

   Nice guide, i like the way you went into detail on what spells to use in each situation.
   Im looking forward to doing 5v5’s when my friends hit 70. Our team will be holy priest/warlock/warlock/survival hunter/ele shammy. Probably a crappy makeup, so anyone want to give me advice so we dont always lose?

5. Gatoja Says:
   October 9th, 2007 at 6:16 am

   Yeah you covered the general basics of what makes the difference between the scrub shaman and the veteren, but nothing in depth.

   I would have made mention on setting up focus macros for both purge and earth shock. A focus-purge macro is especially useful, saving you valuable seconds by allowing you two purge two targets in concert. Especially nice if your team using a switching strategy often in 5’s.

6. Doc Says:
   October 14th, 2007 at 3:34 pm

   SL or Aff. Warlock is definitely stronger than a Mage or Rogue for 2v2. That’s my opinion of course but I have seen this in many battlegroups.

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