01-10-2007, 03:06 AM
1: Frostbrand Weapon is effective as a snare and modest burst DPS. It's not Windfury or Flametongue, but it gets the job done, especially if you don't want to worry about having to waste mana on a Frost Shock.
2: Earth Shock I works just as well as Earth Shock VI, and costs 30 MP base. Elemental and Restoration specs are likely to have solid +INT to benefit from their talents, as well as a decent amount of MP5. Enhancement specs won't have much of either, but they'll just go through you like a blender anyway.
3: Won't work on Shamans with a brain or SpellAlertSCT or a similar mod. Hell, even the Blizzard ECB works; a Shadow spell's cast animation looks much different than a Holy spell's.
4: The Shaman can drop decoy totems to make you waste precious time destroying them or considering to destroy them. Most totems are cheap to replace, especially if you pick up 5/5 Totemic Focus from Restoration.
5: Not much we can do about it, but most Shamans will be in melee range for as long as your Psychic Scream is down, anyway.
6: Won't work against an Elemental Shaman, and won't work quite as effectively against a Restoration Shaman. Elemental Shamans will just chuckle and bombard you with Lightning Bolts, and Restoration Shamans will have extended Totem ranges (and could also just bombard you.) Enhancement Shamans probably won't waste much time or MP on totems since the fight will be over rather quickly, anyway.
7: Restoration and Elemental will both bring out a two-handed weapon, either a staff or two-handed axe/mace if they've gotten some Enhancement in their build. A shield does nothing for you against a caster, unless you absolutely MUST have the extra stats at the cost of extra melee damage output. A Restoration Shaman will always be wearing mail (with perhaps a piece of leather or two) unless it's a duel, where they don't have to worry about physical classes interrupting the duel. You can switch between a staff and heater-and-beater setup in combat; you can't switch armor sets.
8: I generally don't waste mana on Lightning Shield against classes with the capability to dispel it. It's highly unlikely you'll have a chance to dispel Nature's Swiftness since it will likely be part of a macro (e.g. it will be instantly consumed.) You might have a shot at Elemental Mastery if they choose to use it for a Lightning Bolt or Chain Lightning, but not if they use it for a Shock.
Additionally, you might not win an endurance fight against a Restoration Shaman. While the loss of Earth Shield will hurt them (it's dispellable and a Priest won't be meleeing anyway), they'll still have superb mana efficiency, solid damage (melee damage is MP-free, remember), and numerous ways to get rid of your longevity abilities. You may also have trouble with Elemental; they also have a large MP pool (for Shammies, anyway), the same melee damage, and only somewhat less effective heals. You'll win an endurance match against an Enhancement spec, but if they get a double WF proc on you, you're dead.
2: Earth Shock I works just as well as Earth Shock VI, and costs 30 MP base. Elemental and Restoration specs are likely to have solid +INT to benefit from their talents, as well as a decent amount of MP5. Enhancement specs won't have much of either, but they'll just go through you like a blender anyway.
3: Won't work on Shamans with a brain or SpellAlertSCT or a similar mod. Hell, even the Blizzard ECB works; a Shadow spell's cast animation looks much different than a Holy spell's.
4: The Shaman can drop decoy totems to make you waste precious time destroying them or considering to destroy them. Most totems are cheap to replace, especially if you pick up 5/5 Totemic Focus from Restoration.
5: Not much we can do about it, but most Shamans will be in melee range for as long as your Psychic Scream is down, anyway.
6: Won't work against an Elemental Shaman, and won't work quite as effectively against a Restoration Shaman. Elemental Shamans will just chuckle and bombard you with Lightning Bolts, and Restoration Shamans will have extended Totem ranges (and could also just bombard you.) Enhancement Shamans probably won't waste much time or MP on totems since the fight will be over rather quickly, anyway.
7: Restoration and Elemental will both bring out a two-handed weapon, either a staff or two-handed axe/mace if they've gotten some Enhancement in their build. A shield does nothing for you against a caster, unless you absolutely MUST have the extra stats at the cost of extra melee damage output. A Restoration Shaman will always be wearing mail (with perhaps a piece of leather or two) unless it's a duel, where they don't have to worry about physical classes interrupting the duel. You can switch between a staff and heater-and-beater setup in combat; you can't switch armor sets.
8: I generally don't waste mana on Lightning Shield against classes with the capability to dispel it. It's highly unlikely you'll have a chance to dispel Nature's Swiftness since it will likely be part of a macro (e.g. it will be instantly consumed.) You might have a shot at Elemental Mastery if they choose to use it for a Lightning Bolt or Chain Lightning, but not if they use it for a Shock.
Additionally, you might not win an endurance fight against a Restoration Shaman. While the loss of Earth Shield will hurt them (it's dispellable and a Priest won't be meleeing anyway), they'll still have superb mana efficiency, solid damage (melee damage is MP-free, remember), and numerous ways to get rid of your longevity abilities. You may also have trouble with Elemental; they also have a large MP pool (for Shammies, anyway), the same melee damage, and only somewhat less effective heals. You'll win an endurance match against an Enhancement spec, but if they get a double WF proc on you, you're dead.
ArrayPaladins were not meant to sit in the back of the raid staring at health bars all day, spamming heals and listening to eight different classes whine about buffs.[/quote]
The original Heavy Metal Cowâ¢. USDA inspected, FDA approved.
The original Heavy Metal Cowâ¢. USDA inspected, FDA approved.