The Shaman, Bliz describes this class as a Jack of all trades and master of none, we will see about that… The Shaman will definitely be a challenge for those of you who take him into high level PvP, as his skills are extremely spread around, not really being able to do any one thing like an expert.

Race played = Orc
Level obtained = 15
Armor = cloth, leather, can wear mail at 40 with training.
Weapon of choice = Mace/Shield until 10 then Ax/Shield(I switch to Ax at 10 to get that extra 5% Orc damage bonus for using axes.)
Leveling Difficulty = Medium (hard in PvP)
NOTE: the cost to buy each skill is listed next to its name.

The Shaman Leveling 1-20

At the lobie levels this is not apparent at all until you start to hit 10+, think of the Shaman as a pala… Oh?!? almost said the “p” word, being a Horde peep that is against my religion. The biggest single problem you will face will also be your greatest asset… Totems Yes they are awesome if used correctly, but even if used correctly will you be able to convince an alliance member to step inside your Shamanitstic totemic circle of doom? ummm no… In PvE where the mobs have the intelligence of a high school senior on prom night, they will simply run right up to you, never stopping once to see the 4 totems you have sitting on the ground. So if you dare to enter the world of the Shaman do not expect to get massive kills in PvP as the opposing side will simply nuke you from range or totally ignore you, its not like you can just pick your totems up and start chasing them, no the Air totems do not have the fly ability enabled. Am I bashing the Shaman? Oh no, quite the opposite, the shaman will be the greatest challenge of all to play in PvP. That is why 90% of peeps play MMORPG’s, for the challenge of being the best there is, and letting everyone else know it. Necessity is the mother of invention and if it is humanly possible to find a way to rack up the kills with a Shaman in PvP, then it will be done. O.K. lets get you to 15 before I start a Shaman ritual or something… The first thing you want to do is open your inventory and right click on the scroll, or other object that will open the quest window on the left side of the screen and give you your first quest, accept the quest and if you look on your minimap you should see a little yellow dot this dot represents the NPC that you talk too to complete your first quest.(You may have to walk a little ways, but just starting off the quest NPC is usually very close to your starting location) For future reference anytime you see a little yellow dot on your minimap this is the location of an NPC that you have completed a quest for. When you get to level 5 you may take a trade skill, which may also show you little yellow dots on the minimap, these will either represent a “mine node” (if you have the skill “mining”)that can be mined or a “herb plant”(if you have the skill “herbalism”) that can be harvested.

Leveling 1-4

You will have (or may buy) these skills at lvl 1-4

Lightning Bolt Level 1
Cost = 35 Mana —– Casting time = 1.5 secs. —– Range = 30 yards.
A lightning bolt that hits your target for 26-30 damage.

Healing Wave Level 1
Cost = 35 Mana —– Casting time = 1.5 secs. —– Range = 40 yards.
Heals yourself or a friendly target for 39 to 49.

RockBiter Weapon
Cost = 30 Mana —– Casting time = Instant.
Buffs the Shamans wep by increasing the attack power by 26.
Spell lasts 5 minutes.

Stoneskin Totem
Cost = 35 Mana —– Casting time = Instant —– Must have the tool “Earth Totem”
Instant cast
Tools: Earth Totem
Summons a Stoneskin Totem with 5 health at the feet of the caster. The totem protects party members within 10 yards, reducing physical damage taken by 3. Lasts 45 seconds.

For your fist few levels The “Lightning Bolt” spell will be your main pulling spell, Healing wave is here as well in case you need to heal between pulls.(Notice the really fast 1.5 sec cast rate) RockBiter is a wep buff that you should always have on when about to begin melee, the stoneskin Totem is awarded to you after completing a quest, this is your first totem so make sure you get some good use out of it. Since Totems are insta cast spells, you really do not need to cast these before combat, simply cast one when you receive your first melee hit. Later on when you can drop 4 different totems you will have to do a little more advanced planning. Approach a “mob” and as you approach you will see that the numbered box that your Lightning Bolt spell is in turn from red to white, this means that the mob is in range for your spell. If the spell “Lightning Bolt” is not on your hotbar you will have to open your “abilities” page and left click to drag the icon to a place on your hotbar so that you may use it. So the mob is in range, what I do is right click the mob, this puts you into “combat mode” if the mob is in range you will swing at the mob with whatever weapon you have equipped, but hopefully the mob is still a little distance away so that you may cast Lightning Bolt to damage it. Once you do this, the mob will come to you to do battle.(At the lower levels you will only experience the “melee” type mob’s later on you will face mobs that once you cast a spell on them they will start casting spells on you!) Once you cast Lightning Bolt you will see the “timing bar” start to fill when the bar is fully filled the spell will be casted, IMMEDIATELY click the spell again so that you may start another Lightning Bolt spell. In most cases you will be able to get off 2-3 spells before the mob actually gets close enough to hit you. If the mob is in melee with you and you try to cast a spell the mob may hit you, if that happens your bar will “jump back” and the spell will attempt to continue casting. At the lower levels after the mob gets within melee range just whack him with your weapon a few times and he should die. A little trick on casting spells… some spells when you get higher level have a “cooldown” time so you cannot keep casting over and over again, however at the lower levels wait until you see the green bar hit the end of the line and click again, do not wait for the bar to fill and disappear, click it as soon as the bar is filled this gives you about a .1 - .2 seconds of advantage over other players that simply wait until the bar disappears. By now you should be getting to level 4.