WoW Classic Level 29 Twink Shaman Guide

Wow Classic Level 29 Twink Shaman Guide

In and out of Player vs. Player (PvP), Shaman are the most versatile class in World of Warcraft.  While not as good at switching up their role on the fly as a Druid might be, a Shaman can truly fill more roles than just about any other class.  They can hold their own in Melee with the Paladin and can tank almost as well as them to boot.  Shaman are competent Healers and have a number of decent abilities at their disposal at this tier.  They are also powerful Casters, able to deal out just as much damage as Mages, as long as the Mage in question is Fire Spec.  In fact, the only thing a Shaman can’t really do is a stealth, but everything that they can do, they can do very well.

Contents

  • Races:  Which races can play as Shaman and which races are the best at playing Shaman in PvP
  • Professions:  Which professions are best for a Twink Shaman, and which provide the best advantages in PvP?
  • Spells and Abilities:  What spells and abilities are at the Shaman’s disposal at this level and how can they best be employed in PvP?
  • Talents:  What talents are the best for a Twink Shaman and which talent builds work best in PvP?
  • Gear:  What is the Best in Slot (BiS) gear for a Shaman and where can it be acquired?
  • Enchantments:  Which enchantments are the best for a Twink Shaman?
  • Buffs:  Which Scrolls, Potions, Elixirs and other consumables are of use to a Twink Shaman and how can they be found?

Races

When choosing a race for any class, one should never take the decision lightly.  It’s an important choice and one you will have to live with for as long as you are playing the character.  For those who are discerning, the good news is that the choice is made simpler for the Shaman.  Not only are they limited on the number of races that can play as them, but Shaman can also only be played by the Horde.  So your choice is fairly straight forward.

Here is a list of all of the races that can play as Shaman and a short description of their racial traits that are pertinent to playing that class.

Horde

  • Orc: If you are interested in Melee combat, or Tanking, Axe Specialization and Blood Fury are great.   Hardiness, on the other hand, is fantastic for countering the Stun Crowd Control (CC) effect that many Melee classes possess.
  • Tauren:  Enduranceis a solid ability for any class, really, though Tanks might find it particularly appealing.   Another great ability for Tanks is  War Stomp, as it allows them an extra measure of CC at close range.  Finally, Nature Resistance counters the attacks of not only Druids and other Shaman, but also the Stings and Poisons of Hunters and Rogues respectively.
  • Trolls: Beast Slaying has a negligible benefit at best in PvP, as it can only be used against Hunter pets and Druids in animal form.   Which leaves only two other traits worth mentioning for the Troll, Berserking, which is great for Tanks and melee damage dealers, increasing their attack speed quite a bit for a short time, and Regeneration, which is really a boon to any class at all really, but can be used to great effect by Healers in particular.

Professions

There are a lot of professions to choose from, which can make deciding which ones to go with hard.  Fortunately, one of the coolest professions is also an absolute necessity for a Twink of any class:  Engineering.  There are a plethora of gadgets, devices and bombs that are extremely useful within Battlegrounds and you won’t want to miss out on them.

While Engineering is a necessity, you’re other Profession is also important.  Which ones you’ll be interested in will largely depend on your class and sometimes your race.

What follows is a description of each of the Professions that should be of interest to a level 29 Twink Shaman and why.

Engineering

For any Twink, at almost any level, Engineering is an absolute necessity.   You’ve got explosives that offer CC effects, like the Mithril Frag Bomb (the stun effect of which can work against even level 60 characters).  Plus some bonus CC with the Discombobulator Ray and anti-CC from the Minor Recombobulator.  You’ll find a distinct advantage of items like the Parachute Cloak, as well.

Enchanting

Enchanting is probably the best choice for players who are not supporting their Twink with another character.  It has few expensive reagents that must be truly gathered, most being products of disenchanting items you are already likely to pick up.  It also offers lucrative selling opportunities with the many materials you will acquire from breaking down all of the Green and Blue items you do not need.  It can also offset the cost of getting your own enchantments some, as higher level enchanters are sometimes on the lookout for lower level materials.

Alchemy

If you are being supplied herbs and reagents by another character, then Alchemy can be an extremely useful Profession to endeavor upon.  The ability to simply create the many potions and elixirs that offer decided advantages in PvP at this bracket, instead of having to go shop for them, almost pays for itself.  Alchemy can also be a great way to make money, especially if the reagents and materials can be acquired cheaply.

Other Professions

Of the remaining choices of Professions, Leatherworking  is likely the best, as long as you are supplied leather by another character free, or at least at cost.  The gathering Professions should be completely avoided, as they add no real benefit beyond gold, even Mining.  Blacksmithing and Tailoring are completely useless to any Shaman, so they should be avoided as well.

Secondary Professions

Cooking:  Cooking has but one benefit to any Twink at any level bracket.  The Well Fed Buff.  The food that offers the highest possible Well Fed bonus at this level is the Soothing Turtle Bisque, which gives a +8 bonus.  You can get the recipe to cook this food from Kelsey Yance in Booty Bay.  Some players may wish to go for the Giant Clam Scorcho, as it is acquired through a faction based cooking quest.  This is still viable, but is more complicated to acquire than the Turtle Bisque.  The choice is, of course, yours.

First Aid:  The only thing to worry about here is to get your First Aid maxed as high as it will go, so that you can use the Heavy Runecloth Bandage, which can heal you almost completely full with just one bandage.  To do this, you will need the three books Expert First Aid – Under Wraps, Manual: Heavy Silk Bandage and Manual: Mageweave Bandage.  The only trouble is that, because you still can’t get your Secondary Skills up to 300 yet, you’ll have to find someone to craft the bandages for you.  Alternatively, you could simply purchase them off of the AH.

Fishing:  This skill is not as important at this level bracket, but it’s still a great way to increase your income, especially while you’re bored and waiting around near some water.  Take any opportunity you can to fish, because each time you fish is a chance to catch a rare fish that can earn you some good money.  It’s also not a bad way to get Cooking and Alchemy reagents to increase those skills.

Spells and Abilities

Shaman abilities break down into three basic groups:  Enhancement, Elemental Combat and Restoration.  They also possess one of the most unique ability types in the game, totems.  Totems are small, summoned, stationary minions of a sort that offer buffs or other benefits as long as you, or a party member is near them.  Some totems can attack, or even heal, but all have only 5 health, so they must be placed often, or guarded to gain their continual benefits.

What follows is a breakdown of all of the abilities available to a Shaman at level 29 and some advice for each of them.

Enhancement

Enhancement abilities in some way support, or buff the Shaman or their allies.  Many of the totems at a Shaman’s disposal fall into the enhancement category, but not all of them.

  • Water Walking:  Such an awesome utility spell, this.  It has limited use in direct combat, but some tactical use in specific situations.  Most other water crossing utility spells can only be used on the Caster.  So not only are you among the only classes that can traverse water with speed, your whole party can as well!  Not only that, but the Priest and the Druid are the only classes that can follow you.
  • Fire Resistance Totem:  This one is really great to clandestinely through down if you are facing Warlocks, or Fire Mages…or both.
  • Frostbrand Weapon:  This ability might not seem like it adds a lot to your repertoire, but it what it lacks in punch, it makes up for in CC with every strike.
  • Flametongue Totem:  This totem is absolutely fantastic in large Melee groups.  It is especially effective in PvP with an Arms Warrior, or Retribution Paladin and when you yourself are using a Two Handed Weapon.
  • Flametongue Weapon:  This spell goes hand in hand with the above totem.  If you have Flametongue Totem out, have Flametongue Weapon active and vice versa – also always be using a two handed weapon!
  • Far Sight:  The most useful Shaman utility spell there is, Farsight adds another role the Shaman’s bag of tricks – scouting.  Use this ability to get recon on enemy movements, or to simply spy on your foes from a distance.
  • Strength of Earth Totem:  A good choice if the party has a lot of Melee fighters, but Flametongue Totem likely does more damage.  Then again, if your foes have fire resistance, then this may be your best group buff choice.  Then again, why not have both!
  • Stoneskin Totem:  This totem is important if you are Tanking or Healing, as it helps to keep the whole party safer, which is the main goal of both of those classes.  It can also be employed by a Melee, or Caster Shaman that just wants some additional protection.
  • Rockbiter Weapon:  Not a bad choice for raw damage with no elemental qualifier and since Threat Generation is meaningless in PvP, you don’t have to worry about when you use it.
  • Lightning Shield:  Always have Lightning Shield on if you can.  Any ability that makes any attacker pay for doing damage to you is one that you want to have on all the time.
  • Water Breathing:  Another great utility spell, while its usefulness might be limited to the situational, it’s still a nice ability to have in one’s back pocket.
  • Ghost Wolf:  This spell is invaluable within Battlegrounds (BG) as they make the Shaman not only an effective scout, but also a serious contender for the best Flag Carrier (FC).

Elemental Combat

These are all of your direct damage spells and are most effective at range.

  • Flame Shock:  It lights a person on fire!  Yeah!  This one is likely going to be one of your work horses if you are an Elemental Shaman.
  • Magma Totem:  It lights everybody on fire!  Hoowee!  This totem is actually as good for just about any kind of Shaman, really.  Who doesn’t like for their enemies to be on fire where they can enjoy hearing them scream?
  • Lightning Bolt:  Thor would approve.  Lightning Bolt deal as much, or more damage as most of your other spells and doesn’t cost nearly as much as them either.  Use this spell when you don’t need a qualifier on your damage.  The irony that this is the only spell in the Shaman’s repertoire that actually shocks opponents, but is one of the only ranged spells that doesn’t have the word Shock in its name should also be mentioned.
  • Earth Shock:  This spell does solid damage, but also has the benefit of being a casting interrupt, making the Shaman the bane of all other Casters at range.
  • Fire Nova Totem:  Kind of a neat little fire time bomb.  It doesn’t do as much damage as the Magma totem, but does all of its damage fast.  Throw down when you absolutely need to nuke the person next to you.
  • Searing Totem:  A mini fire flinging bodyguard!  Again, the Magma totem does a touch more damage, arguably, but doesn’t stick around as long.  Also…this little guy is just such a trooper the way he tries to guard you from bad guys.
  • Frost Shock:  Another Shock spell that doesn’t actually shock people!  This spell is none the less very useful in PvP for its slowing ability.  Use to hinder the approach of enemies, or to stop a straggler from escaping.
  • Purge:  This spell has some serious tactical uses – especially if there’s a Paladin throwing around Blessings, or a Druid giving everyone Mark of the Wild.  Kind of a Mana hog, but it’s worth it when you need it.
  • Earthbind Totem:  One of your earliest totems, the Earthbind Totem is still quite useful at just about any level.  Couple it with Frost Shock to keep enemies at a distance, which you whittle them down.

Restoration

These are abilities that heal, revive, or otherwise support yourself, or other allied players.

  • Lesser Healing Wave:  Not your best Healing spell, but still very potent.  The Shaman, while generally good at what they do, doesn’t have a vast selection of Healing spells, so any ounce of variety is good.
  • Mana Spring Totem:  Free Mana!  80 points of it, anyway.  Everyone else in your group gets 120 free Mana, but somebody’s got to cast it, right?
  • Ancestral Spirit:  Not the best resurrect spell out there, but hey – you can resurrect and turn into a super fast wolf.  So that’s pretty cool.
  • Healing Wave:  Your most powerful Healing spell!  Well, at this level anyway.  Healing Wave is also your most Mana efficient Healing spell.
  • Cure Disease:  Pretty self explanatory.  While there are few situations that call for this ability in PvP, when you find yourself in one, you’ll be happy you can cast it.  So will your allies.
  • Poison Cleansing Totem:  This can be an absolute lifesaver if you’re facing Rogues, Hunters, or both.  It’s also very effective to have this out in Melee, as it takes care of you and everyone around you without having to target your allies first.
  • Healing Stream Totem:  This is a great Area of Effect (AoE) Heal over Time (HoT) spell that you can set, and forget!  …Unless…unless someone destroys it, then you’ll have to set another one.
  • Tremor Totem:  Mitigating CC effects is priceless in PvP and this spell neutralizes 3 types of it.
  • Cure Poison:  Sort of replaced by the totem of the same name, still – this spell just cures the poison, instead of attempting to do so.

Talents

When it comes to talents, Shaman have perhaps the most flexibility of any class, depending on the role you’re most interested in focusing on.  There are a lot of Shaman talent builds and each is designed for a different type of Shaman.  What follows is a list of specs for level 29 based on each of the roles that a Shaman can fill.

Melee DPS

Enhancement

Ancestral Knowledge                         5/5

Thundering Strikes                            5/5

Two-Handed Axes and Maces         1/1

Anticipation                                        4/5

Flurry                                                    5/5

Tanking

Enhancement

Shield Specialization                        5/5

Improved Lightning Shield            3/3

Guardian Totems                              2/2

Anticipation                                       5/5

Toughness                                          5/5

DPS Caster

Elemental                                                                           Enhancement

Convection                                         5/5                         Ancestral Knowledge     5/5

Concussion                                         5/5

Elemental Focus                               1/1

Reverberation                                   4/5

Healing

Improved Healing Wave                 5/5

Tidal Focus                                        5/5

Totemic Focus                                  5/5

Totemic Mastery                              1/1

Restorative Totems                         4/5

These are just the most popular and straight forward builds, and rest assured, there is a lot of room for tweaking with Shaman talents and a slight variation in talents can prove to create an effective and fun play style.  If you’d like to try your hand at it yourself, go ahead and check out the Shaman Talent Calculator and see what you can come up with yourself.

BiS Gear

Sometimes getting the BiS gear for any Twink can be a bit of a slog, but keep your chin up, cause it’s worth it.  You won’t be able to find all of these items on your own – especially if you aren’t supported by another character.  So make friends and pinch those pennies, because a lot of these will need to be purchased off of the Auction House.

Enchantments

The enchantments for your gear are almost as important as the gear itself.  Make sure to get all of the best enchantments for each gear slot item that can be enchanted.  If your Main is not an enchanter, then acquiring these enchantments will be expensive, so keep that in mind.  Here are all of the best enchantments for a level 29 Twink Shaman.

Buffs

There are a plethora of buffs to be had at this level and some of them are incredibly useful.  If you’ve taken Alchemy, you’ll be able to acquire most of these, fairly easily.  Otherwise, you can get them through other players who are Alchemists, or simply from the AH. Some of them are often sold by vendors in a limited quantity as well.

Battle Elixirs

Guardian Elixirs

  • Elixir of Wisdom:  It is doubtful that you will want to take the time to go and acquire this.  Still, if you don’t have a mage in your group and you do have one of these, use it.  6 Intellect is 6 intellect.
  • Elixir of Fortitude:  Everyone likes more health.  You should too.
  • Mighty Troll’s Blood Potion:  This one is good in a group to help mitigate your self healing and allow you to use the excess Mana to aid your friends.
  • Elixir of Greater Defense:  This one might be better suited for some of your damage taking allies, but chances are, they’ve brought their own.  If so, use this for yourself. No adventurer of Azeroth was ever the worse for having more armor.

Potions

  • Greater Healing Potion:  Healing potions are the bread and butter of any adventurer worth their salt.  You know what this is and you know when to use it.
  • Mana Potion:  You can use this for yourself, or hold on to it in case an ally needs Mana later.  Your choice.
  • Minor Rejuvenation Potion:  A hold over from the last level bracket.  This is the one you should definitely save for yourself, as few other classes will find it useful.
  • Minor Magic Resistance Potion:  Another lower level item that can still prove useful.  Magical resistance across the board, no matter how little, is nothing to turn your nose up at.
  • Jungle Remedy These may be less useful to you, but your allies will find them helpful when you are not around.  You’ll have to farm them in STV, or purchase them off of the AH if you want them though.
  • Fire Protection Potion:  Good if you are facing Mages, or Warlocks
  • Frost Protection Potion:  Best saved for when a Frost Mage is about.
  • Holy Protection Potion:  Helps defend against the attacks of other Paladins and Priests.
  • Nature Protection Potion:  Absorbs the attacks of Shaman, Druids, and the poisons and stings of Rogues and Hunters.

Scrolls

  • Scroll of Protection II:  Don’t use with the Elixir of Defense, but if you don’t have one of those, it’s pretty great.
  • Scroll of Stamina:  More health and durability is always a good thing.  This might be your best choice of scrolls, in fact.
  • Scroll of Strength:  This is a great one if you plan on being in Bear Form doing melee damage for a long period of time.
  • Scroll of Intellect:  Great if you don’t have a Mage in the party, or if they’re busy and you want a bit more punch for your spells.
  • Scroll of Spirit II:  Again, not as good as Divine Spirit, but if you don’t have a Paladin in your party and are doing a lot of healing, this is fantastic.

Team Buffs

Class buffs are also important.  Be sure you get the one that fits what you are doing.  Arcane Intellect if you’re doing a lot of caster damage, or healing and Power Word: Fortitude for everything else.   Mark of the Wild is a fantastic buff as well.

Other Consumables

And that’s everything.  All that you need to know about how to build the best Twink Shaman.  Go now, and dominate the arenas of Azeroth with Blood and Thunder!  Decorate its arenas with the entrails of your friends and foes alike!  Have fun!

 

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OrinDac

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Best Shaman
Best Shaman
#800
3 years ago

This guide is horribly inaccurate, despite it being made in October

Last edited by Best Shaman
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Duh
Duh
#11623
Reply to  Best Shaman
5 months ago

Still is. 3yrs later.

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