was using a 2handed weapon ever viable for shamans? will it ever be?

[titanpaw]

dont get me wrong, killing stuff with 2 fist weapons or 2 axes is badass.. but the game directs everyone to these cookie cutter builds instead of giving the player the option to do just as good with equaly usable equipment. so the question is will it or has it ever been viable?

[jr06]

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back in the day it was viable; I remember the first Hand of Rag I ever saw was on an enhancement shaman. They didn't give them dual wield for a long time.

[spaas420]

here ya go.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1fo5bytc94

Yes it WAS very viable.

[Herecius]

Shamans were a LOT more bursty way back when, mostly because of a combination of using 2handers and the old mechanics of windfury.

[Cjeska]

dont get me wrong, killing stuff with 2 fist weapons or 2 axes is badass.. but the game directs everyone to these cookie cutter builds instead of giving the player the option to do just as good with equaly usable equipment. so the question is will it or has it ever been viable?

There was no dual wielding in vanilla, so it was in fact the only viable melee pvp-spec. (ele was laughed at anyways and resto, idk)

My guess is, it will never come back again. People just use 2-handers for the lulz to make some badass pvp-movies in bg's. But in arena and pve? Forget it.

[thatguy181]

Like others have said, they were pretty viable when they were the only option. Now though you're just punishing yourself by not taking advantage of dual wielding.

[jr06]

There was no dual wielding in vanilla, so it was in fact the only viable melee pvp-spec. (ele was laughed at anyways and resto, idk)

Just as a side note, good ele's weren't laughed at... With proper gear and skill they were basically just bombs, they either blew someone up or they failed to and died. I grinded HWL way back in the day and basically just played WSG for it... Our offense consisted of 2 mages, an MS war, an ele sham, and a priest healer. I can't remember how many times the ele sham blew up flag carriers after they thought they had gotten away from everyone else...

[Oneleg]

dont get me wrong, killing stuff with 2 fist weapons or 2 axes is badass.. but the game directs everyone to these cookie cutter builds instead of giving the player the option to do just as good with equaly usable equipment. so the question is will it or has it ever been viable?

Way back when I first started playing Windfury could proc off itself, there was no 3 sec cd on it. So when some lvl 60 shammy popped up and started smacking my poor little rogue one day, I was like WTF I can take you out, BAM BAM BAM BAM 5k damage in 1 hit was WTF WAS THAT!!!!!

Those days are gone, well I now do 5k in one hit but it would be like me doing 50k in 1 hit now, why it was changed way back then.

[beforememory]

back in to good old days

[Fcpremix]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDcoh4kZJUU

[Cjeska]

Just as a side note, good ele's weren't laughed at... With proper gear and skill they were basically just bombs, they either blew someone up or they failed to and died. I grinded HWL way back in the day and basically just played WSG for it... Our offense consisted of 2 mages, an MS war, an ele sham, and a priest healer. I can't remember how many times the ele sham blew up flag carriers after they thought they had gotten away from everyone else...

That was after aq40 gear/sets. Eles dmg was pretty fail at the start and they were buffing it constantly. Competing with ele in pvp, you needed kickass pve gear, where as melee you could just farm unstoppable force and some blue hunter gear and you were pretty much set.

I remember i was denied a caster cloak because "ele-shamans aren't even damage dealers". Kickin' Mages in the nuts (dps-wise) in pugs kinda makes up for it now, but i mostly play resto anyway.

[CookieEater]

Didn't we need to learn the 2H weapon skills from a Talent in Vanilla? Or is my brain just that moldy?

[Fornaw]

Didn't we need to learn the 2H weapon skills from a Talent in Vanilla? Or is my brain just that moldy?

Indeed we did, but this was long long ago.

[LOBSTERS]

I remember back in the day. Oh, man. When was it? Around the time of WW2? When shamans used 2hers. Yeah, it was around then.

I remember it clearly because my platoon had to cut a raid short and save an entire village from the gun-fire. Man, I remember. That was around the time when Patches Mckillspeople, our Warrior MT at the time lost his left hand from a mortar explosion and we had to recruit a new one.

[Elektrik]

Shamans used 2h in vanilla, but that doesn't mean it was viable. Someone with a HoR could decimate people in BGs, but unless you had a HoR, you were at the bottom of the PvE damage totem pole.

Remember, this was when hybrids were really just there to heal.

[jangkun]

Indeed we did, but this was long long ago.

like there was tank talent i remember tanking low lvl instances

[Cjeska]

Remember, this was when hybrids were really just there to heal.

Or only to buff.

Paladin starts buffing Player 1
Paladin just buffed Player 40
Paladin starts buffing at Player 1 again, rinse and repeat ;D

[Elektrik]

Or only to buff.

Paladin starts buffing Player 1
Paladin just buffed Player 40
Paladin starts buffing at Player 1 again, rinse and repeat ;D

Yeah, and Shaman weren't there to heal really I guess. They were there for mana tide.

[Cjeska]

Yeah, and Shaman weren't there to heal really I guess. They were there for mana tide.

Mostly because they didn't want the shaman loot going to waste, lol. But yeah, no manatide, no raidspot.