05-06-2007, 10:08 PM
We have a little bit of everything in our guild. Of our 4 level 70 shaman, 2 are elemental, 1 is enhancement and the final one is Restoration. While the Resto shaman has the most obvious utility, the elemental and enhancement shamans offer enough buffs (Wrath of Air/Totem of Wrath or Unleashed Rage) to make them worth including.
Plus certain buffs to the group are shared amongst all shaman: totems and Bloodlust/Heroism, which is probably one of the best single buffs in the game. (30% faster casting and attack speed? For 40 seconds? Gimme!). Plus even non-Resto shaman can spot heal when the situation demands it which can be enormously useful.
So yes, there will almost always be a place for shaman in end game raids.
Taking a look at some of the other hybrid classes in our guild: We have a mix of resto druids, feral druids and 1 moonkin. Throwing the Moonkin and Elemental Shammy in the same group makes for some crit-happy casters. I'm not sure how frequently the druids shift between one role and another.
Of the hybrid classes, paladins seem to be able to shift most easily between different roles. One of our paladins is 41/20 Holy/Protection. He's main healed and off-tanked in Karazhan, and healed and main tanked in Heroics (obviously not in the same set of gear). On the other hand, he finds his build frustrating for solo questing and grinding.
Of all the possible talent builds, Retribution paladin is the one I can't see an immediately obvious role in raids. (Any ret paladins out there care to enlighten me?). It seems like almost any other option would be preferable for a DPS slot. (Obviously ret paladins have the same blessings everyone else does, but I don't see a unique buff equivalent to Unleashed Rage).
Chris
Plus certain buffs to the group are shared amongst all shaman: totems and Bloodlust/Heroism, which is probably one of the best single buffs in the game. (30% faster casting and attack speed? For 40 seconds? Gimme!). Plus even non-Resto shaman can spot heal when the situation demands it which can be enormously useful.
So yes, there will almost always be a place for shaman in end game raids.
Taking a look at some of the other hybrid classes in our guild: We have a mix of resto druids, feral druids and 1 moonkin. Throwing the Moonkin and Elemental Shammy in the same group makes for some crit-happy casters. I'm not sure how frequently the druids shift between one role and another.
Of the hybrid classes, paladins seem to be able to shift most easily between different roles. One of our paladins is 41/20 Holy/Protection. He's main healed and off-tanked in Karazhan, and healed and main tanked in Heroics (obviously not in the same set of gear). On the other hand, he finds his build frustrating for solo questing and grinding.
Of all the possible talent builds, Retribution paladin is the one I can't see an immediately obvious role in raids. (Any ret paladins out there care to enlighten me?). It seems like almost any other option would be preferable for a DPS slot. (Obviously ret paladins have the same blessings everyone else does, but I don't see a unique buff equivalent to Unleashed Rage).
Chris