Ordinn
09-22-2008, 03:42
Keen's Guide to playing the Goblin Shaman
by Doug "Keen" Lundberg
Introduction
So you want to play a shaman? Good choice! The Shaman fits into the caster/healer archtype making him the perfect choice for players who want to sit back, cast offensive spells, and heal. However, this is totally the wrong choice for players who want to be up in the thick of the action taking hits. The Shaman is a very squishy class since he is restricted to lighter armor but is quite capable of dealing out both damage and healing when played properly.
In this guide I hope to aid you, but in no way claim to give you the best or only way of playing, the Shaman class.
Shaman Mechanic
Channeling the WAAAGH! power, Shaman can produce all types of spectacular green magic, which he can unleash as a testament to the might of the Greenskin dieties, Gork and Mork. Greenskins are a little unclear on exactly which god it is that they worship at any given moment, however, so the Shaman decide to play it safe and offer up power to both. This constant back-and-forth between Mork and Gork allows a Shaman to greatly improve his magic, making their dimutive figures into unexpectedly powerful forces on the battlefield.
How about in English? The Shaman class operates on a give and take, back and forth, mechanic of two types of magic: Gork (Damage) and Mork (Healing). These two types work together in a symbiotic relationship allowing the shaman to cast damage spells to improve his healing and healing to improve his damage. Simple enough, right?
Shaman Masteries
Path Of Mork
This path is primarily focused on healing and restoring the Shaman's allies. As he casts spells from this path, the Shaman builds up the power of Mork's WAAAGH!, which he can then use to fling swift and powerful offensive magic. Because of this, many an enemy who dismissed a Morkish specialist as unthreatening has quickly learned a brutal - and fatal - lesson.
If you're planning on playing on doing a lot of healing then this is the tree for you.
The core abilities of this tree that gain in strength with each point spent:
Bleed fer' Me (a DoT and Heal)
Bigger, Better, an' Greener (A large heal susceptible to setback)
Don' Feel Nuthin (Damage absorption shield)
Gather Round (Group Heal)
Path Of Gork
A specialist in this path prefers to destroy his enemies first, and tend to his allies later. By blasting his enemies into oblivion, the Shaman builds up the power of Gork's WAAAGH!, which can then be used to hasten and improve his healing magics.
If damage is your style then Gork'll get it done.
The core abilities of this tree that gain in strength with each point spent:
Life Leaka (DoT)
Bunch o' Waaagh (Concentration "laser" nuke)
Stop hittin' Me! (Detaunt with damage reducer and disruption increase)
Scuse Me! (Conal damage with elemental debuff)
Path Of Da Green
Not wanting to get caught between Gork and Mork, a master of this path simply declares that green is best, and promptly goes about making his allies even greener and better than they were before. Naturally, anyone who isn't green must be put into their place, and a specialist in this path is equally adept at crippling and hindering his enemies as well.
This is where all the other types of abilities that aren't damage or healing based end up. While there are a lot of debuffs, there are several abilities that buff your team in here as well. The jury is still out on whether or not speccing heavily in this line is worth the points. In a recent beta patch this line was given some attention and I'll reserve judgment until I can test it for myself. However, based on the Shaman's class mechanic he will either be casting nukes or heals to build Waagh. Many spells in 'Path of Da Green' do not contribute to either pool so while they can be useful, they are not used as frequently in a fight. More than 90% of a Shaman's actions used in battle will be either Gork or Mork to take advantage of Waaagh generation.
The core abilities of this tree that gain in strength with each point spent:
'Ere we go! (Group buff that adds damage on next attack)
Mork's Buffer (Increases resistances of group for 1 hour)
Get'n Smarter (Steals intelligence from the enemy)
Yer a Weaklin' (DoT + Strength debuff)
You got Nuthin! (DoT + Silence)
Stats
There are sixteen different stats, attributes, and resistances in Warhammer Online but luckily a Shaman need only concern himself with a few of them. I'm not going to bother listing the resistances for you because I think it's obvious you need to worry about getting them as high as possible. I'm also not going to tell you that raising your armor, dodge, and parry are all good things... Okay, I just did. But what about the main stats in the game? Which ones are for me? Read on, git!
Strength: We're not a melee class so we don't care about melee damage. Ignore it.
Willpower: This increases your healing and your chance to disrupt magical attacks. If you plan on healing (and since you're a shaman you DO) then this one is important.
Weapon Skill: Increases chance to parry and armor penetration. Parrying is always nice but we have other things to worry about. Whatever you can get is good enough.
Initiative: Increases your chance to evade and reduces chance of being critical hit which is never a bad thing. However, I find that this is just like Weapon Skill and not worth actively worrying about.
Wounds: This increases your hit points. That's a GOOD thing you git!
Toughness: Reduces all damage taken. That means you don't die as fast.
Intelligence: Increases Magic Damage and reduces your chances of being disrupted.
Ballistic Skill: We're not Squig Herders so ignore it.
Shaman should focus on raising their Willpower, Intelligence, Wounds, and Toughness most of all. Our two MAIN stats however are Willpower and Intelligence. Which should you focus on more? Right now that's tough to say. You're obviously a healer but you can deal damage as well. Think about which mastery you're focusing on. If you want to be more offensive then Intelligence is a natural fit. However, I strongly believe that all Shaman should focus on willpower as their main stat. Right now we have a hard enough time keeping a group healed up and if you skimp on the Willpower it's just going to be that much tougher.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How to play a Shaman: Tips and Tricks of the trade
The Early Levels of a Shaman
Many consider this to be the hardest time in the life of a Shaman. Until our late teens our abilities are a little lackluster when compared to other classes and our ability to take damage, especially in RvR, is less than ideal. You may feel like you can never keep up with the healing and your damage isn't much better but I urge you to stick it out!
Levels 1-4: You start your career off with two very simple spells: Brain Bursta (bolt nuke) and Gork'll Fix (heal with a HoT (Heal over time) component.) Combat at level 1 is very simple. You find an enemy, get yourself to max range, and cast Brain Bursta over and over. It really doesn't get much easier than that. When your fight is over, or in the middle of the fight if necessary, heal yourself then continue on to the next mob. At level 2 you will receive Life Leak (DoT) which makes life a little easier when soloing. I find it best to lead off with at least two Brain Bursta's from max range then using Life Leaka before continuing to Brain Bursta the mob util it dies. Level 3 gives you a new HoT which will also help. At level 4 you will receive 'Ere we go! which is pretty much only ideal in groups because it buffs melee damage for ONE hit. Use it sparingly when soloing.
Levels 5-13: This is when life begins to change drastically for a Shaman, although not at all like it does in the late teens. At level 5 we receive Bunch o' Waaagh which is our channeled nuke. This makes all the difference in the world for our damage output and ability to solo early on because of its burst damage. If you're doing much RvR at level 5 you will also notice it packs a nasty punch and scares players into retreating to get out of range. Ideally when soloing you will want to lead off with Brain Bursta, then Life Leaks, then Bunch o' Waaagh. At level 6 we receive a notable ability that DoT's the enemy and heals your defensive target over time. This is very handy for keeping yourself alive when soloing multiple mobs or trying to live in RvR. The other abilities worth mentioning are Bigger, Better, an' Greener (Our big heal) and Divine Favor (our first morale ability that heals for a lot). Overall you should have no big problems in PvE at this level range but you may find your healing and survivability in RvR to be rather lacking. This is normal.
Level 14: This is where the tide begins to slowly turn for us. If you haven't noticed by now we are very squishy and will die in 4-5 hits from almost any class. At level 14 we receive our damage absorption shield will will allow us to live just a couple of hits longer. Many times just a few hits can be the difference between life and death. By level 14 you should have a strong understanding of your damage capabilities. In PvE you won't have much trouble pulling with a couple brain burstas then stacking your DoT's and burst o waaaghing the mobs to death. In RvR you'll notice that you do almost no damage to beefy characters like tanks or to anyone being healed. Pick your targets wisely!
General Healing Strategies
Keeping your realm mates alive is one of your most important roles as a Shaman. I want to reiterate how important it is to remember that we ARE healers even though we can deal damage. Here are a few basic tips that you may find useful when you find yourself responsible for another life:
Dealing damage makes you heal better, so why not deal damage when you aren't healing?
Don't let the health of the person you are healing get too low before you begin healing. You will find it hard to play catch-up as a Shaman.
Heal early with our medium heal that has a DoT component.
If you find your team mate taking a lot of damage then use the BIG heal as long as you aren't being hit yourself. In the low to mid levels this is the only way to keep someone alive if they're taking a lot of damage. Your HoT and heal+HoT won't be enough.
After healing toss an instant HoT on to take advantage of its healing while you queue up the next spell. It's never a bad thing to always have HoT's up on targets who take damage (Unless they are pulling - in which case you will want to hold off until they establish aggro)
Use your damage absorption shield to help you keep up with heals - it's not much, but it helps in a pinch.
RvR
Hopefully you understand your role as a Shaman by now. Well, I have some bad news for you. Your enemies probably know your role as well and that means you are now a primary target during RvR encounters. Shaman are VERY squishy little guys and unless we're careful we can find ourselves running back to the fight more than actually participating. Here are a few basic tips that might come in handy:
Do not draw unnecessary attention to yourself! If you stand off to the side you're going to get noticed. Blend in with the pack by hiding behind the bigger guys.
Don't stand in the front. This is the absolute best way to get focus fired to death.
Have your damage absorption shield up if you're going to be taking damage. This spell SAVES LIVES!
Know your enemy. Tanks are going to have a lot more HP than casters. Pick your battles and do not expose yourself to an enemy that will survive long enough to be aided by friends.
by Doug "Keen" Lundberg
Introduction
So you want to play a shaman? Good choice! The Shaman fits into the caster/healer archtype making him the perfect choice for players who want to sit back, cast offensive spells, and heal. However, this is totally the wrong choice for players who want to be up in the thick of the action taking hits. The Shaman is a very squishy class since he is restricted to lighter armor but is quite capable of dealing out both damage and healing when played properly.
In this guide I hope to aid you, but in no way claim to give you the best or only way of playing, the Shaman class.
Shaman Mechanic
Channeling the WAAAGH! power, Shaman can produce all types of spectacular green magic, which he can unleash as a testament to the might of the Greenskin dieties, Gork and Mork. Greenskins are a little unclear on exactly which god it is that they worship at any given moment, however, so the Shaman decide to play it safe and offer up power to both. This constant back-and-forth between Mork and Gork allows a Shaman to greatly improve his magic, making their dimutive figures into unexpectedly powerful forces on the battlefield.
How about in English? The Shaman class operates on a give and take, back and forth, mechanic of two types of magic: Gork (Damage) and Mork (Healing). These two types work together in a symbiotic relationship allowing the shaman to cast damage spells to improve his healing and healing to improve his damage. Simple enough, right?
Shaman Masteries
Path Of Mork
This path is primarily focused on healing and restoring the Shaman's allies. As he casts spells from this path, the Shaman builds up the power of Mork's WAAAGH!, which he can then use to fling swift and powerful offensive magic. Because of this, many an enemy who dismissed a Morkish specialist as unthreatening has quickly learned a brutal - and fatal - lesson.
If you're planning on playing on doing a lot of healing then this is the tree for you.
The core abilities of this tree that gain in strength with each point spent:
Bleed fer' Me (a DoT and Heal)
Bigger, Better, an' Greener (A large heal susceptible to setback)
Don' Feel Nuthin (Damage absorption shield)
Gather Round (Group Heal)
Path Of Gork
A specialist in this path prefers to destroy his enemies first, and tend to his allies later. By blasting his enemies into oblivion, the Shaman builds up the power of Gork's WAAAGH!, which can then be used to hasten and improve his healing magics.
If damage is your style then Gork'll get it done.
The core abilities of this tree that gain in strength with each point spent:
Life Leaka (DoT)
Bunch o' Waaagh (Concentration "laser" nuke)
Stop hittin' Me! (Detaunt with damage reducer and disruption increase)
Scuse Me! (Conal damage with elemental debuff)
Path Of Da Green
Not wanting to get caught between Gork and Mork, a master of this path simply declares that green is best, and promptly goes about making his allies even greener and better than they were before. Naturally, anyone who isn't green must be put into their place, and a specialist in this path is equally adept at crippling and hindering his enemies as well.
This is where all the other types of abilities that aren't damage or healing based end up. While there are a lot of debuffs, there are several abilities that buff your team in here as well. The jury is still out on whether or not speccing heavily in this line is worth the points. In a recent beta patch this line was given some attention and I'll reserve judgment until I can test it for myself. However, based on the Shaman's class mechanic he will either be casting nukes or heals to build Waagh. Many spells in 'Path of Da Green' do not contribute to either pool so while they can be useful, they are not used as frequently in a fight. More than 90% of a Shaman's actions used in battle will be either Gork or Mork to take advantage of Waaagh generation.
The core abilities of this tree that gain in strength with each point spent:
'Ere we go! (Group buff that adds damage on next attack)
Mork's Buffer (Increases resistances of group for 1 hour)
Get'n Smarter (Steals intelligence from the enemy)
Yer a Weaklin' (DoT + Strength debuff)
You got Nuthin! (DoT + Silence)
Stats
There are sixteen different stats, attributes, and resistances in Warhammer Online but luckily a Shaman need only concern himself with a few of them. I'm not going to bother listing the resistances for you because I think it's obvious you need to worry about getting them as high as possible. I'm also not going to tell you that raising your armor, dodge, and parry are all good things... Okay, I just did. But what about the main stats in the game? Which ones are for me? Read on, git!
Strength: We're not a melee class so we don't care about melee damage. Ignore it.
Willpower: This increases your healing and your chance to disrupt magical attacks. If you plan on healing (and since you're a shaman you DO) then this one is important.
Weapon Skill: Increases chance to parry and armor penetration. Parrying is always nice but we have other things to worry about. Whatever you can get is good enough.
Initiative: Increases your chance to evade and reduces chance of being critical hit which is never a bad thing. However, I find that this is just like Weapon Skill and not worth actively worrying about.
Wounds: This increases your hit points. That's a GOOD thing you git!
Toughness: Reduces all damage taken. That means you don't die as fast.
Intelligence: Increases Magic Damage and reduces your chances of being disrupted.
Ballistic Skill: We're not Squig Herders so ignore it.
Shaman should focus on raising their Willpower, Intelligence, Wounds, and Toughness most of all. Our two MAIN stats however are Willpower and Intelligence. Which should you focus on more? Right now that's tough to say. You're obviously a healer but you can deal damage as well. Think about which mastery you're focusing on. If you want to be more offensive then Intelligence is a natural fit. However, I strongly believe that all Shaman should focus on willpower as their main stat. Right now we have a hard enough time keeping a group healed up and if you skimp on the Willpower it's just going to be that much tougher.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How to play a Shaman: Tips and Tricks of the trade
The Early Levels of a Shaman
Many consider this to be the hardest time in the life of a Shaman. Until our late teens our abilities are a little lackluster when compared to other classes and our ability to take damage, especially in RvR, is less than ideal. You may feel like you can never keep up with the healing and your damage isn't much better but I urge you to stick it out!
Levels 1-4: You start your career off with two very simple spells: Brain Bursta (bolt nuke) and Gork'll Fix (heal with a HoT (Heal over time) component.) Combat at level 1 is very simple. You find an enemy, get yourself to max range, and cast Brain Bursta over and over. It really doesn't get much easier than that. When your fight is over, or in the middle of the fight if necessary, heal yourself then continue on to the next mob. At level 2 you will receive Life Leak (DoT) which makes life a little easier when soloing. I find it best to lead off with at least two Brain Bursta's from max range then using Life Leaka before continuing to Brain Bursta the mob util it dies. Level 3 gives you a new HoT which will also help. At level 4 you will receive 'Ere we go! which is pretty much only ideal in groups because it buffs melee damage for ONE hit. Use it sparingly when soloing.
Levels 5-13: This is when life begins to change drastically for a Shaman, although not at all like it does in the late teens. At level 5 we receive Bunch o' Waaagh which is our channeled nuke. This makes all the difference in the world for our damage output and ability to solo early on because of its burst damage. If you're doing much RvR at level 5 you will also notice it packs a nasty punch and scares players into retreating to get out of range. Ideally when soloing you will want to lead off with Brain Bursta, then Life Leaks, then Bunch o' Waaagh. At level 6 we receive a notable ability that DoT's the enemy and heals your defensive target over time. This is very handy for keeping yourself alive when soloing multiple mobs or trying to live in RvR. The other abilities worth mentioning are Bigger, Better, an' Greener (Our big heal) and Divine Favor (our first morale ability that heals for a lot). Overall you should have no big problems in PvE at this level range but you may find your healing and survivability in RvR to be rather lacking. This is normal.
Level 14: This is where the tide begins to slowly turn for us. If you haven't noticed by now we are very squishy and will die in 4-5 hits from almost any class. At level 14 we receive our damage absorption shield will will allow us to live just a couple of hits longer. Many times just a few hits can be the difference between life and death. By level 14 you should have a strong understanding of your damage capabilities. In PvE you won't have much trouble pulling with a couple brain burstas then stacking your DoT's and burst o waaaghing the mobs to death. In RvR you'll notice that you do almost no damage to beefy characters like tanks or to anyone being healed. Pick your targets wisely!
General Healing Strategies
Keeping your realm mates alive is one of your most important roles as a Shaman. I want to reiterate how important it is to remember that we ARE healers even though we can deal damage. Here are a few basic tips that you may find useful when you find yourself responsible for another life:
Dealing damage makes you heal better, so why not deal damage when you aren't healing?
Don't let the health of the person you are healing get too low before you begin healing. You will find it hard to play catch-up as a Shaman.
Heal early with our medium heal that has a DoT component.
If you find your team mate taking a lot of damage then use the BIG heal as long as you aren't being hit yourself. In the low to mid levels this is the only way to keep someone alive if they're taking a lot of damage. Your HoT and heal+HoT won't be enough.
After healing toss an instant HoT on to take advantage of its healing while you queue up the next spell. It's never a bad thing to always have HoT's up on targets who take damage (Unless they are pulling - in which case you will want to hold off until they establish aggro)
Use your damage absorption shield to help you keep up with heals - it's not much, but it helps in a pinch.
RvR
Hopefully you understand your role as a Shaman by now. Well, I have some bad news for you. Your enemies probably know your role as well and that means you are now a primary target during RvR encounters. Shaman are VERY squishy little guys and unless we're careful we can find ourselves running back to the fight more than actually participating. Here are a few basic tips that might come in handy:
Do not draw unnecessary attention to yourself! If you stand off to the side you're going to get noticed. Blend in with the pack by hiding behind the bigger guys.
Don't stand in the front. This is the absolute best way to get focus fired to death.
Have your damage absorption shield up if you're going to be taking damage. This spell SAVES LIVES!
Know your enemy. Tanks are going to have a lot more HP than casters. Pick your battles and do not expose yourself to an enemy that will survive long enough to be aided by friends.