I have played a shaman for a while now, and I do have to say that during some levels (probably 12-16) one starts to wonder if shamans are lacking something. But after that, you gain some new spells and more powerful versions of old, and suddenly shamans can handle themselves pretty well again. For example, I think at level 16 you get the next version of earth shock, which jumps in damage from 30 to about 80. Sure it's a mana hog, but now at least you can do a lot of damage quickly.
Beyond that, I could give some insight into how shamans play out at higher levels. I find that at those levels totems are not as useful in solo, unless you are fighting two monsters or a relatively high level one. The benefit that they provide is simply not worth the mana that they cost to use in shorter battles. But if I do get into a longer battle, stoneskin + healing stream will allow you to live much longer, and searing totems provide you with good damage support for relatively low mana.
At lvl 28, my most used combo is now basically a combination of melee (I use a nice dagger with flametongue), lightning shield and flame shock, since they all are pretty good dps-wise. I also like to start of a battle with a lightning bolt, but at higher levels the casting time becomes so prohibitive (3.5 sec) that you cannot use it for anything beyond that. I find that this combo provides me with decent killing speed, while preserving my mana and not costing a lot of life. If needed, I can dish out a lot of damage fast with earth shock, and if they like to run away, I'd use frost shock.
With lesser healing wave becoming available at lvl 22 with a constant cast time of 1.5 secs, the original healing wave becomes obsolete. And now you can actually heal midbattle, sometimes you can get it off even while being interrupted by two guys. This is probably one of the main reasons why you can take on more then one monster and live without even drinking a potion.
At higher levels you also get a variety of utility spells that are quite useful. Cure Poison, Far Sight, Tremor Totem, Purge would not be used often, but when you will need them, you would be glad you had them.
I think that's about sums it up. I'll be glad to answer any other questions that you might have.
Beyond that, I could give some insight into how shamans play out at higher levels. I find that at those levels totems are not as useful in solo, unless you are fighting two monsters or a relatively high level one. The benefit that they provide is simply not worth the mana that they cost to use in shorter battles. But if I do get into a longer battle, stoneskin + healing stream will allow you to live much longer, and searing totems provide you with good damage support for relatively low mana.
At lvl 28, my most used combo is now basically a combination of melee (I use a nice dagger with flametongue), lightning shield and flame shock, since they all are pretty good dps-wise. I also like to start of a battle with a lightning bolt, but at higher levels the casting time becomes so prohibitive (3.5 sec) that you cannot use it for anything beyond that. I find that this combo provides me with decent killing speed, while preserving my mana and not costing a lot of life. If needed, I can dish out a lot of damage fast with earth shock, and if they like to run away, I'd use frost shock.
With lesser healing wave becoming available at lvl 22 with a constant cast time of 1.5 secs, the original healing wave becomes obsolete. And now you can actually heal midbattle, sometimes you can get it off even while being interrupted by two guys. This is probably one of the main reasons why you can take on more then one monster and live without even drinking a potion.
At higher levels you also get a variety of utility spells that are quite useful. Cure Poison, Far Sight, Tremor Totem, Purge would not be used often, but when you will need them, you would be glad you had them.
I think that's about sums it up. I'll be glad to answer any other questions that you might have.