Shaman Levelling spec

Mystique

Member
Joined
Mar 19, 2009
Messages
22
Reaction score
0
I'm thinking about rerolling a shaman. What is the best levelling spec in cata for a shaman?
 
Well. Either dps spec works. Enhance has some crazy survivability while leveling. Elemental on the other hand shares the same gear as resto so when you get dualspec it will be fast and easy to get groups for instances.
 
Elemental and resto doesn't have quite the same gear, but they are similar enough. Resto gear has will have spirit and no hit while elemental gear won't have it but might have hit.

If you are talented for spirit -> hit conversion, you can use resto gear for elemental, but using elemental gear for resto is iffy, since you'll suffer with mana regen. I don't think it will be an issue at lower level instances, but once you get to higher level stuff, you'll want the regen. It's definitely going to be necessary when you go into cata instances.
 
I got the following heirloom items from others chars - can I use any of these for my enhancement shaman: Stained Shadowcraft Spaulders, Stained Shadowcraft Tunic, Repurposed Lava Dredger, Venerable Mass of McGowan?
 
The Shadowcraft shoulders and chest can work for 1 to 40 now that Enhancement doesn't need int anymore, but Champion Herod's Shoulder and Champion's Deathdealer Breastplate is preferred. You can use Shadowcrafts until 80, but it's not the best. You have less armor, and at 50 you get Mail Specialization which gives an extra 5% Agility if you wear all mail items.

Mass of McGowan is the heirloom weapon for Enhancement. Lava Dredger isn't useful, since Enhancement is dual-wield from level 10 and Lava Dredger is a two-hander.
 
I have a shammy, for leveling via quests, enhancement is the way to go, for leveling via instances, resto is the way to go. Im normally duel spec resto/enhancement.
 
Elemental and resto doesn't have quite the same gear, but they are similar enough. Resto gear has will have spirit and no hit while elemental gear won't have it but might have hit.

If you are talented for spirit -> hit conversion, you can use resto gear for elemental, but using elemental gear for resto is iffy, since you'll suffer with mana regen. I don't think it will be an issue at lower level instances, but once you get to higher level stuff, you'll want the regen. It's definitely going to be necessary when you go into cata instances.

I think you are slightly overthinking things. The difference between hit and regen gear while leveling makes almost no difference with the changes to healing in instances. Its almost impossible to run out of mana currently. Leather heirloom items is more than good enough for healing as well. The 5% bonus stat isnt big enough to make a difference while leveling, and with enhance's already imba survivability the loss of armor makes almost no difference either.

After level 80 however mail is certainly the way to go due to those hard hitting mobs, but at that stage heirlooms isnt usefull anymore either, so quest gear can be taken to replace the leathers.
 
My second shaman is currently lvl 46 and enhancement. First one was elemental to 80 - switched to resto for raiding. Find enhancement to be more fun - it's what the game's all about anyway.:)
 
I think you are slightly overthinking things. The difference between hit and regen gear while leveling makes almost no difference with the changes to healing in instances. Its almost impossible to run out of mana currently. Leather heirloom items is more than good enough for healing as well. The 5% bonus stat isnt big enough to make a difference while leveling, and with enhance's already imba survivability the loss of armor makes almost no difference either.

After level 80 however mail is certainly the way to go due to those hard hitting mobs, but at that stage heirlooms isnt usefull anymore either, so quest gear can be taken to replace the leathers.

I never said you can't level to 80 with the leather heirlooms. I just said that they aren't the best for it and why.

Also, mana regen has been nerfed for healers at high levels. I'm not sure if it only kicks in at 85 or if it appears at 81. But I do know that mana costs of spells increase dramatically once you hit 81. I suggest that if anyone wants to run as Resto in an instance at 81+ that they have Resto gear for it.
 
I never said you can't level to 80 with the leather heirlooms. I just said that they aren't the best for it and why.

Also, mana regen has been nerfed for healers at high levels. I'm not sure if it only kicks in at 85 or if it appears at 81. But I do know that mana costs of spells increase dramatically once you hit 81. I suggest that if anyone wants to run as Resto in an instance at 81+ that they have Resto gear for it.

I ran into mana problems the moment I did my first cata dungeon. Keep in my I had pretty insane healing gear (having raided ICC).

Heirloom items stop scaling after level 80 so at that stage there is no point in using them anymore. So my recommendation would be to use the leathers until you hit lvl 80. From there upgrade every single piece with quest rewards. Hopefully you are in a guild with the perks to xp gain so you would not miss the bonus xp too much. Leveling after 80 is rediculously fast anyway, you will hit 85 in no time.
 
One of my best moments in Wow was with my enhancement shammy while leveling in Tanaris. There was a palidin in the same area and we decided to do the bug quests together. Some how we found ourselves in the worst possible spot. We just kept pulling mob after mob after mob. Either that or the Palidin had his righteous fury aura on or something. Anyways, we were one or two levels outlevelled by the mobs we were pulling.

It was like a sea of bugs around us. The paladin blew his cd`s keeping himself alive and every time my maelstroom proc`d I used it for a chain heal to insta heal us both. It was an amazing fight that lasted a long time. We just kept smashing and bashing, healing and damage dealing.

At the end there was a wall of dead carapaces around us and we were both like "omg shu!"

The nice thing about enhancement also.. .is you are a mini shamatank. Your tank goes down? No worries, drop the earth elemental totem and continue having fun.

Saying all that, Ive just respected my enhancement to elemental for raiding. Its just too hard to maintain the two kits (resto and enhancement) in the current raids. I so miss my shammy ball of fighting fury :( Now its just pew pew pew pew pew.
 
Last edited:
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X