Dungeon Tips for Your Shaman - Part 1

On Monday Link from Big Daddy Gamer requested that I do a post about playing a Shaman in lower level dungeons. So in the interest of public service (hey, I’m a giver), I’ve written some tips for 5-man instances. I did, however, get a bit carried away so I need to break it up into a series. Hey, just think of it like one of those old-timey cliff-hanger matinee idol thingies!

Here’s what I’m NOT going to do in this series:

• Explain what an instance is
• Explain the basics of how a dungeon party functions or general party etiquette
• Differentiate between the Shaman specs (Elemental, Enhancement, or Restoration) — I’ll try to be spec agnostic
• Tell you about specific dungeons and strategies

What’s the Shaman’s Role?

Shaman are a hybrid class. For the other so-called “pure” classes, it’s easy to know what your role will be. For us? Not so much. We need to be clear at the outset what is expected of us. We usually have a primary role and a secondary role. For example, you can be the primary healer (especially in lower level dungeons) and be the backup DPS as long as your mana holds up. Or, you can be asked to throw DPS at range and off-tank as a secondary function. That’s the strength of the Shaman class: versatility. No, we’re not going to replace the mage or the warrior, but a party leader might just choose a Shaman over a rogue to back up both her warrior and her priest. So, pipe up at the beginning of the dungeon and ask what they want you to focus on and whom to support if they get into trouble.

How Shaman Stack Up Against Typical Dungeon Roles

• Tank: We’re not typically the tank of choice, but we can take more damage than pure casters and can pull aggro to the tank without crumbling into a fleshy pile. Enhancement spec is best at tanking.
• DPS: Elemental specs can deal quite a bit of casting damage — especially Nature damage — and can then take the hits that result. Shaman have only a couple of DoT spells so it’s really a moot point to even discuss them.
• Healer: Resto specs can often heal lower dungeons without backup. (Even as an Elemental spec, I healed most of the times I went through Scarlet Monestary and I was Elemental spec. Ideally, though, you want to be a backup healer and party wipe insurance (the ability to resurrect oneself and others).
• Crowd Control: Word on the street is Shaman have no CC. I’m going to disagree, but only partially. No, we don’t have the mad Sheep Skillz and whatnot, but in an instance you can still support CC with totems.
• Buffs: Again, we are not going to completely replace Buffy the Buff paladin or Arcane Intellect and whatnot, but totems do provide support that most classes really appreciate.

How to Prepare

1. Know your class. Know what you can and can’t do well. When you’re questing, pay attention to how long your mana lasts and what works against a variety of enemies. Notice what causes aggro and what can slip by. Notice whether you do better pulling enemies or bashing away at them. (More on this in future parts of this series.)
2. Know your role in the party, as described above and by your party leader.
3. Know your spells and what they do. The most important thing you can do to be invited back to more instances is to know your own class’s capabilities and play it well.
4. Repair your armor before you go.
5. Bring intellect and stamina scrolls or potions.
6. Bring healing and mana potions too.
7. Bring drinks, bandages, and food.
8. If you’re level 30 or above, bring a stack of ankhs for resurrection. I usually bring 5 to be on the safe side.

Now that I’ve convinced you that Shaman can have a viable, impactful role in the instance, in part 2, we’ll talk in more depth about totems (buffing, damage, crowd control) and DPS (damage).