Leveling a Shaman...

[Triplenick]

Hello, today I decided to level a Shaman, and I also played one on the PTR and I really like their playstyle. My only complaint is that right now, at level 7, it seems painful to level. Does it get better as time goes on? If so when? Also this is the spec I plan to level with:

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent#hZhxg...usRuVoV:fwhmMz

Thanks for your help!

P.S. I have a level 80 Rogue and Paladin and I do not remember it being this painful to level.

[Drunkenfinn]

First of all... Dont bother with Totemic Focus, just start filling up the Elemental tree once you've got Enh tree sorted.

2nd of all... Yeah the leveling is quite a pain atleast till 30-40 when you get WF at 30 and Stormstrike/DW at 40/41. I'd strongly recommend lvling as Elemental from 1 to 30/40, since atleast I found autoattacking+shocking every 6 seconds for 40 lvls quite boring

But I can tell you, once you get Dual-Wield/Stormstrike it will become A LOT better. Mobs die really fast and theres barely no downtime thanks to Water Shield being available at lvl20.

As for your spec... I wouldnt go for Youghness or Improved SoE and WF totem for leveling. And Static Shock aint that useful either.

I'd aim for something like this for lvl60: http://www.wowhead.com/?talent#hZ0xgfoxzIhuoRuVo
From there just start fillin out the Elemental tree for some spell-based damage.

You can also level from 60 to 80 as Elemental, since once you hit Outlands the spellpower Mail itemization becomes alot better. Boths specs are about as goof for lvling, Enhancement being slightly superior when soloing group quests, alltho most are doable as Elemental too but require slightly more effort!

[Fornaw]

I agree mostly with what the previous poster said, but I want to add a few things.

First off, if you can level a pally to crusader strike you should be able to take the monotony of leveling a shaman to WF/DW. However, it is guaranteed to be harder than a rogue or a pally, far fewer escape and survival mechanisms. Keep in mind also that they made the class a pain to level since you had ghost wolf for 20 levels while all the other classes are waiting for their mounts (soon to be 4 levels).

That said if you are going to wait until after 3.2 you may consider leaving the points in the totem talents, as the new 1gcd to drop all your totems spells are coming out. I do agree with dropping toughness, its not enough stam to make a real difference and not that many mobs will attempt to slow you. However I disagree on improved shields, its just not enough of a buff to the skill, drop those 3 pts for something more fun like frozen power, or the previously mentioned totem talents.

Other words to the wise, DO NOT make the mistake of putting points in resto, there is nothing in that tree worth anything to you (I've seen this mistake far too often), 3/3 elemental devastation and 5/5 elemental fury is your goal. Also get the minor glyph of ghost wolf as soon as you train the spell, cuts downtime significantly, majors are kinda crap for leveling unfortunately.

[Indraani]

It's been a very long time since I leveled my shaman. I would say enhancement is your no.1 choice for the early levels because you don't need to drink so often.
Use a 2hander untill you get dual wield.
Totems are not gonna help you that much, sometimes it takes more time to actually cast them than it takes to kill a mob (or mobs).
Remember you can heal yourself if you're in trouble. Keep lightning shield up or water shield if you are running low on mana.

[Drunkenfinn]

It's been a very long time since I leveled my shaman. I would say enhancement is your no.1 choice for the early levels because you don't need to drink so often.
Use a 2hander untill you get dual wield.
Totems are not gonna help you that much, sometimes it takes more time to actually cast them than it takes to kill a mob (or mobs).
Remember you can heal yourself if you're in trouble. Keep lightning shield up or water shield if you are running low on mana.

Mana is hardly a problem at lower lvls anymore, atleast not after lvl20 since thats when you get Water Shield nowadays.

A friend is leveling a Shaman atm, hes been goin pretty fast from 1 to 35 as Elemental.

[Blabclaw]

Hm, i have been leveling from 1 to 42 in the last 3 weeks, and I have really taken a liking to Elemental, ive been told that enc is best, but I have never really played a caster so i thought it would be fun to try. Anyway, as ele i have been pretty much invincible since level 20 (i'd say takin 3 lvl 24s in level 20 is almost invincible), okay I have 2 heirloom items (but who the heck doesnt these days), but that doesnt change the fact that i find it easy leveling up. my lightning bolt crits damage 50% of the mobs hp and i can solo pretty much everything. so yes, id say elemental is very viable for leveling, that is, when you get watershield (the levels before that sucked big)

[Amstelkid]

Just a random question about the near same subject, what is the best spec to go as elemental? lvl 60/70 plz :

[Drunkenfinn]

Just a random question about the near same subject, what is the best spec to go as elemental? lvl 60/70 plz :

60: http://www.wowhead.com/?talent#hEo0qcdftGfzVo

70: http://www.wowhead.com/?talent#hEo0qcdftGfzVo0xG

After hitting 70, you'll want to start taking talents that will buff Lava Burst damage (which you get at 75). Take Call of Flame from 1/3 to 3/3 and Lava Flows from 0/3 to 3/3 and start Lava Bursting for huge numbers.

[Moar Pew Pew]

As someone who is currently leveling his 5th Shaman, I can safely say I know a thing or two on the subject.

Anyway, one thing that hasn't been mentioned is the problem with Enhancement Itemization with Heirloom weapons. For the first 40 levels the Bloodied Arcanite Reaper is the only weapon the Shaman can actually use, and afterwards the Daggers for Dual Wielding have a far too quick attack speed.

Sadly, I actually found I did more dps with my poorly itemized BAR then the Daggers.

Also, if you want survivability make sure to grab Glyph of Stoneclaw Totem. On my current Shaman I couldn't count how useful it's been to me. It will allow you to solo group quests, making life much easier for you.

Oh, and don't underestimate your damaging Fire Totems. Magma Totem is a fairly large dps boost if you have the mana.

[Lolsteroids]

Leveling as Elemental gave me no trouble at all, granted you have the Heirloom items, and the Water Shield Glyphs.

Level 1-20 proved no problem. With basic game knowledge you will race through it. I have no problem with sitting down to drink a few times, since it probably costs more time to figure out specs and traveling to respec then it costs time to sit down and drink.

Then you arrive at the point when you get Water Shield. Water Shield + 2 Glyphs for it, and mana is a no issue. I could have removed it from my unit frames, so to speak.

Picking up all the cloth caster gear on my way, i made my way through the levels quite quickly. At most points it was LB -> LB -> Shock and the mob is dead at your feet. When you hit Outland it's game over for anything you face. I don't think i died at any point in Outlands. I must say i had a lot of fun leveling as Elemental.

Keep in mind though; I have never leveled an Enhanchement Shaman, so i can't compare things. I'm just pointing out that leveling as Elemental worked fine for me.

[Eyetotem]

This may not be what you are looking for but anytime someone asks about leveling I make the following post, I am lazy and do not want to do it all again so it may be more or less what you are looking for.

Enhancement is the way to go when you start out.  I have leveled 2 different toons, 1 horde, 1 alliance.  The alliance toon was 1st and I leveled him Ele, you have the ability to kill things very quickly but at low levels have very few "Oh Sh*t" things to do if you are OOM.  As enhancement you can melee and get him down and save your mana for heals.  The horde toon I leveled Enh and it went a lot faster.  I do not know if it was due to the fact that I had been playing a Shaman for a long time at that point and just knew the class better or if it was because I could chain pull mobs without down time.  Also at level 50 you get Shamanistic Rage which will make grinding a joke.  With the Horde toon I stayed Enh untill after a couple months after we started raiding again (I am always the sucker that raises his hand when they say "Who will go resto so we can raid?") 

as far as the Hierloom gear.
When going Enhancement you can not go wrong with
Champion Herod's Shoulder

Balanced Heartseeker
is not bad but is a little too fast to be viable as enhancement at later levels, Devout Aurastone Hammer would more than likely be your best bet as it is slow and also gives you some SP.  It may look like a caster weapon but all the theory crafting I have read backs up the fact that it would be best, it will really shine when you get Maelstrom Weapon.


A MUST is 2xSwift Hand of Justice.

The Elemental route you would want
2xDiscerning Eye of the Beast
Mystical Pauldrons of Elements&
Devout Aurastone Hammer

I know that seems like a lot but it is well worth it.  If you are low on badges go for the shoulders 1st as the 10% EXP adds up for fast.  This is the one thing in WoW that uses simple math lol. "So Little Johnny for every 10 monsters you kill it is like you killed 11" ( have to be a smartass every once in a while)

Oh, addons,  I always use totemtimers IMO that is the be all end all of shaman addons.  Totemus is nice and so are a few others, but with totem timers it has a bar that allows you to click on and scroll through and find the totems you want and also automatically gives you a macro that you can adjust so that you can can cast any 4 totems you want by spamming one button.

If you stick with the shaman here is the link to a shaman blog that I recently found that has some usefull stuff  Shields up!, however the guy is no longer updating it, but there are some good things on there.

Good luck and FOR THE HORDE!

[Amstelkid]

60: http://www.wowhead.com/?talent#hEo0qcdftGfzVo

70: http://www.wowhead.com/?talent#hEo0qcdftGfzVo0xG

After hitting 70, you'll want to start taking talents that will buff Lava Burst damage (which you get at 75). Take Call of Flame from 1/3 to 3/3 and Lava Flows from 0/3 to 3/3 and start Lava Bursting for huge numbers.

Thank you very much.