Shaman Totem Basics

[Rulli]

A few weeks ago, I got my shaman to 80 and I jumped right into farming a PVP gear set. Come PVP time, I'm noobishly lost since I made the mistake of leveling to 80 without BGing to learn the class.

Mainly I'm confused on what totems to drop.

I start with: "bubbleclaw", Totem of Wrath, Cleansing, And Wrath Of Air.

If it's a warlock I drop tremor right after stoneclaw.

Should I bother to throwdown magma or searing totem instead of totem of wrath?

Is cleansing totem the one for the job or should I drop healing or mana spring instead?

Any help is appreciated of course!

[rillak]

I'm going to bump this thread, got a shaman at level 67 which I'm about to get to 80, so I need some basic help too. :P

[Kralljin]

ToW,Tremor,Cleansing,WoA is my basic Set for PvP.

Searing is good for a 1on1 situation (In any other cases set always ToW)
In Bg's the Earth totem is mainly filled with Stoneclaw or Earthbind, if not set Tremor totem because there is often a Warrior / Wl / Priest around.
Cleansing is okay
WoA is also fine but the air totem is mostly used to drop Grounding totem, but dropping WoA at the Start is alsways okay, drop only Grounding if you are about the get a nasty Spell in your face.
(Chaosbolt / Conflag, Lvb, HoJ, DG, etc.)
DO NOT drop it at the start or grounding totem is getting capped by crap spell like Ice lance

[Bobzor]

totems are stupid and unnecessary.

[rillak]

totems are stupid and unnecessary.

meeeeeeeeeeh

[Neurus]

ToW,Tremor,Cleansing,WoA is my basic Set for PvP.

Agreed.

Searing is good for a 1on1 situation (In any other cases set always ToW)

Agreed. Only drop Searing if you see a rogue/druid approaching and stealthing or even a warrior, where most of the time you’ll have to kite a little bit and lose casting time by running. The totem will help there.

Keybind your grounding, cleansing, stoneclaw and earthbind at least, so you can chose when to individually drop them.

Being chased? Earthbind -> turn around, frost shock, ghost wolf, get distance…
Is it a DK? Drop Grounding first (eat that grip), then frost, then run… then earth (after he eats the grip).
already in melee? drop stoneclaw (shield, you have the glyph, don’t you?)…

Remember that kiting is ok, but you also need to do some DPS, heal and run when you have them under control (slowed, rooted, etc) and if healing is not need, dps, but always try to keep distance, remember you’re a glass cannon. After a thunderstorm, have frost shock ready to slow ‘em down. Don’t hesitate thunderstorming if they are “low” that thing does 3k dmg.

GOod luck.

[Pushealer]

Totems are not why you suck or dont suck. Totems are a bonus, not what shaman pvp is about. You get a lucky fear break or grounding, but its not your pvp strat.

If you are ele youll do good at pvp.
Enhan just reroll now.
Resto is ok, but not has good as a druid or pallie.

[Neurus]

Totems are not why you suck or dont suck. Totems are a bonus, not what shaman pvp is about. You get a lucky fear break or grounding, but its not your pvp strat.

I completely disagree. Totems make the difference between life and dead. Plain simple. A grounding, earthbind, cleansing, heck… tremor totem. All those utilities, although paired with a “lame” game mechanic (ticks), it’s a *must* for a shaman who wants to reach 1800+ rating.

If you are ele youll do good at pvp.
Enhan just reroll now.
Resto is ok, but not has good as a druid or pallie.

Either spec is viable for PvP with the right knowledge and partners. Neither healer is “better” for everything, some comps benefit more with a shaman. (Bloodlust could be the main reason). Other comps prefer the druid’s ability to cyclone and run and some comps feel safer knowing that they have a healer with two lives (bubble) and that if two melee are on them, they can be BOPed for a second chance.

It all depends. If you think enchance is not viable, I might point you to quite a lot of 2200+ enhance shamans who might differ.

[Bobzor]

it’s a *must* for a shaman who wants to reach 1800+ rating.

I bet you could reach 1800 using only flame shock, wind shear and lava burst. Even worth trying.

[Shamzeus]

Honestly totems are very situational. Cleansing vs a rogue and a death knight, Tremor vs priests and warlocks, earth bind for practically any melee class, stoneclaw for survivability and getting pets off you,Magma for the pesky army of the dead dk ability, Fire/earth elemental for extra dps and sometimes gets pets off you( stone claw more efficient though)Mana totem is self explanatory, ToW for extra spell power (more if glyphed) with crit debuff on target, Grounding to protect you from a spell or a death knight's deathgrip. To master shaman class you need to understand that totems are pretty much what the class is about(try dueling without totems, pretty much hard as hell).Once you get used to the totems PvP will be less challenging for you.

[Gonken]

You can reach 2.4k+ ratings only using flame shock, lava burst and chain lightning.

[Deleted]

I normally use;

ToW
Tremor
Cleansing
Wrath of Air


Drop Grounding when you need it, same with Stoneclaw and Earthbind. Just play BG's for a day or two and u get the hang of it.

---------- Post added 2010-08-03 at 05:56 AM ----------

I normally use;

ToW
Tremor
Cleansing
Wrath of Air


Drop Grounding when you need it, same with Stoneclaw and Earthbind. Just play BG's for a day or two and u get the hang of it.

[Stormhusk]

You can reach 2.4k+ ratings only using flame shock, lava burst and chain lightning.

So true lol but that doesn't mean ele is easy. After ur lavaburst chain combo u support ur parteners in arena by filtering threw totems, offheals, purge, cleanse and hex.

Shamans are a tough class to play well along with Mage and warrior, 3 most pro pvp classes.

[Rifee]

Totems are not why you suck or dont suck. Totems are a bonus, not what shaman pvp is about. You get a lucky fear break or grounding, but its not your pvp strat.

If you are ele youll do good at pvp.
Enhan just reroll now.
Resto is ok, but not has good as a druid or pallie.

totems are the core of the shaman class. The only time where they don't matter that much, is if you play wizard cleave as elemental, or beastcleave as enhancement, and you'r not on the highest ratings.

Believe me, i play resto, and it's ALL about the toem management.