It’s a Wednesday afternoon and a bunch of humanoid pigs need killin’. Again. In WoW-speak, this means we’re going to Razorfen Downs (RFD), which isn’t exactly the most common instance to run, but the loot’s not bad, and the making of our group seems solid: a holy Priest, a Hunter, a Paladin, a Shaman, and a Warrior. I say “seems” because though we were ultimately successful and only wiped twice, the troupe had danger written all over it, because apparently, some players still don’t know their character’s roles.
The issue of tanking never came up – we must have assumed that the Warrior would do the deed, since he started pulling. Problem One: the Hunter doesn’t know his role as chief puller, or was simply too shy to say that he could handle it. And, when tanks held melee-range mobs in place, the Hunter wouldn’t go after caster mobs that are a tank’s biggest threat. For a Hunter and Rogue, casters are your easiest prey, so learn to target them first. Problem Two: the Warrior used a two-hander throughout the instance, even when heals were getting tight. Though I, as the fair Paladin Ayeleya, voiced that I was Protection specced, and visibly had my shield and one-hander out for the entirety, the Warrior would fight for aggro even when he could have left it up to someone more suited for it at the time. Problem Three: the Priest, while otherwise good, kept shielding the Warrior as the Warrior pulled, adversely affecting the Warrior’s rage generation.
None of this comes close, however, to the problem we faced with the Shaman. Apparently, after years of shit-talk about the class, some people still don’t understand how the class is supposed to function. So we come to Problem Four: the Shaman would attack with Earth Shock consistently, pulling aggro off whoever had it. This might be fine, but as a leather-wearer before 40, and using a two-hander instead of a shield, the Shammy was not able to tank. So I said to the Shammy, “If you’re taking too much damage, consider using Frost Shock instead of Earth Shock. This way, you won’t pull aggro off the tanks.” I didn’t tell him what to do, I offered advice. Nonetheless, this retard-Shaman, Oritakus, replied with, “Frost Shock does 13 less damage than Earth Shock.”
And there we had it. This player, like so many idiots who play WoW, care for little else but the damage meters. Oritakus didn’t care if he stressed the group’s healers, or if he wiped the group because mobs were being pulled from the tanks. He wanted pure damage and little else, and expected the healers to cover for his poor play style. He continued with, “I don’t need your help. I know how to play my class.” Newsflash, retard: you don’t. That’s why you didn’t drop one useful fucking totem all instance to aid the group. When the shit hit the fan, you refused to heal even once. You dropped Earthbind twice to slow runners in lieu of Frost Shocking and using a buffing totem, and though you kept Windfury up on your own weapon (instead of chilling enemies from getting far away), you refused to drop offensive (or even defensive) totems, because God forbid it pad someone else’s damage and keep you off the number one spot. Apparently, you don’t heal or support casters, so why drop any regeneration totems, either? When we wiped, you didn’t even have a fucking ankh ready. And you started pulling like a shit-head with Chain Lightning, which did nothing but force the tanks to fight for aggro you shouldn’t have had in the first place. For God’s sake, if you’re going to play like an Elemental Shammy, then at least stop trying to melee with a two-hander so you can soak some hits with a shield. This is not WoW 1.0. And even if it were, you still couldn’t tank, because that’s not what the Shaman class is designed to do. Claiming to know how to play your class is the biggest WoW joke I’ve heard in months, and you are singlehandedly the worst Shaman I have played with in quite some time. I hope your guild is proud of you, and you wipe many instance runs with them in the future. Or, are they so tired of you that that you have to resort to PUGs in the first place?
Well, congratulations, because as it turned out, the fury-specced Warrior still out-damaged you. You were out-healed. You were out-tanked. The only reason you even came close to soaking the most damage is because you also received the most heals. In the end, you did absolutely nothing well, and though you may argue that as a hybrid, you oughtn’t, what you ought do is properly support your group, which the Shaman class is designed to do. Then, maybe we wouldn’t have wiped at all, since your precious shock-fuel mana could have gone into healing and totem buffs, while you could have held off on aggro generation until you needed to pull mobs off the Priest.
You are not a DPS class. You are not a tanking class. And apparently, despite your arrogant claims, you have no fucking idea how to play your class. Welcome to instancing. Now stop making unfounded claims and instead find a guide on how to properly play a Shammy, because in a few more levels, if you don’t adjust to the reality of things, you’ll find plenty a player angry at you for wiping their groups.
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{ 3 comments }
Why if it isnt another one of my kind. I assume you have 12 level 70′s and know how PRECISELY everyone should play? not that I’m angry for stumbling over this on google when I typed in my toon’s name. However, I shall rant at this point. First off, it astounds me that you can play on the Maelstrom server. I mean, every other person is a nooblet with no clue. although i was not much better at the point of this article’s conception, I have advanced in the knowledge of being a good shaman. It would help me greatly though, if every group I entered was not composed solely of retards. But alas, such is my fate. I admit, my actions were stupid. But you could say, “Hey shaman, lay a flame tongue totem, please.” and I would have had no problem obliging. As it is, I dislike totems and I don’t use them when soloing. Maybe I’m just crazy, but isn’t Maelstrom RP? Ergo, there is no requirement for perfection. I don’t use totems. I know of a hunter that never trained a pet. It’s not about being a perfect little fucking robot. It’s about having fun. And thanks for posting this lovely article about me. now hundreds of people stumbling the internet know my name and errors. But if you think I’m bad, try grouping with Helloch, Augnon, Firerocket or Dfax. They give new meaning to “dumbass”.
You are an idiot. I don’t use totems. That is simply my preference. why should I support a group of bile spewing cretins like you? you sit there, watching me make an idiot of myself. “Hey shaman, drop some totems” may have helped. or, “Hey, save mana to heal if we need it” you know, give me a clue. As you didn’t tell me to do anything specific, I decided to just dps. unless you assign me the role of “off-healer” I’m not going to conserve mana. Oh, and I (never having played a warrior) didn’t realize how useless a fury warrior is at holding aggro from earth shock. Now I know to never let a fury warrior tank, lest I be stricken dead violently at every boss fight. None the less, thanks for posting this garbage on your little sight. gives me something to rant about when I typed my characters name into google just for fun. well, as it is I’ve learned to stop being a noob shaman through trial and error. feel free to e-mail me if you want to argue or anything. but, meh. G’night. And yes, this IS the real Oritakus.
At least you signed your first post appropriately, so I know how to address this reply.
Dear Ass-Weasel,
There is a common misconception in the WoW community, mainly on the official WoW fora, in which people believe that knowledge of a class comes only through leveling a character of this class to level 70, when the truth is that even retards can level a toon to 70 and not learn a thing about how to properly play said class. Do I even need examples here? Level 70 Hunters who don’t know how to kite or chain trap? Retribution Paladins thinking their spec is raid-worthy right now? There are numerous general examples that don’t even consider individual play styles.
In short, I don’t know how “precisely everyone should play,” but I have a pretty damn good idea, which is why my old class guide, linked to from the opening post (OP), was once featured on WoW Insider, and why I can hold my own when it comes to a bit of class theorycrafting. It also helps that I’ve leveled a number of classes fairly high, even if my knowledge of Burning Crusade (BC) raiding isn’t up to snuff compared to pre-BC raid instances.
When it comes to the Maelstrom server, it should not surprise you that I play there. Maelstrom was one of the three original PVP-RP servers that went live, and was the “official” North American PVP-RP server by the old pvp-rp.com community. It also happens to be a server that many Blizzard employees and GMs play(ed) on. And though “RP” is part of its classification, that doesn’t mean you can play how you want if it’s a detriment to the group you’re in. No one cares how you spec, gear, or play when you solo, but the second you join a group to run an instance, you’re committing to their success, and effectively saying, “Even if I don’t play perfect, I’ll do what I can to make this instance run succeed.”
Sure, having fun is important, but if you’re the only person in a group of five who thinks wiping is fun, then you shouldn’t be grouping with those four other people. Similarly, your pet-less Hunter friend shouldn’t be joining PUGs, because his DPS is gimped by at least 30%, instantly removing him from the DPS-role in a group.
In any case, if you’ve learned over time how to become a better Shaman, then I commend you, because you’ve done more than most players: learn. If trial-and-error has taught you how to better control your aggro and assist your group, then fantastic. But let’s not suddenly tout about how open-minded you were when we ran an instance together, because it’s not as if you were willing to oblige me with my suggestions, as indicated in the OP. Else, you would have gladly stopped using Earth Shock for something less aggro intensive, since it was directly brought up to you.
As for your second post, bravo on not reading the message about how your first comment won’t be posted until approved by an administrator and immediately posting again with an angrier tone. Never-mind your third comment, consisting only of “Fuck you,” which is exactly what I thought when I deleted it. Either way, you’re not gaining brownie points from any readers with your inability to converse maturely. No doubt, my post infuriated you, which is akin to my annoyance when you wiped or group time and time again because you wouldn’t take a reasonable suggestion or two. Arrogance is a bitch.
So onto totems. You don’t use them? Roll a new toon then, or simply don’t join a PUG without first telling them that you won’t use all the abilities at your disposal, those designed to aid the group. A Shaman, in a group, is a support class. Apparently, you haven’t learned that yet.
The reason you should support bile-spewing cretins? Because causing the group to wipe is doing nothing but wasting time and money. I quite specifically suggested what you could do to improve your (and the group’s) performance, but you chose not to comply, and instead reply rudely.
You’re Enhancement specced, which means you shouldn’t be blowing through your mana in the first place, especially if you’re pulling aggro. You are an off-healer by virtue of being a non-Restoration Shaman in a five-man group. This is not a role that needs to be assigned to you: it’s one you accept upon joining the group.
If you do want to talk further about this, I’m right here, baby.
Yours,
WyldKard