Basin Wiki - User contributions [en]

Classic (Tichondrius)

2007-01-29T04:24:59Z

Drake: /* '''Alchemy''' */ Corrected typo.

This is for info on Tichondrius (PvP) tradespeople in the Basin. Are you looking for [[Tradeskills on Stormrage]]?

Information about pricing can be found in the [[Beta Market Prices]] page.

Format: Forum name - Character name [Level]

to =='''Professions'''==
 
==='''Alchemy'''===
Link(s) to available crafted items : [http://www.thottbot.com/?t=Alchemy Thottbot] - [http://wow.allakhazam.com/dyn/skill171.html Allakhazam] 

{| border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2
|colspan="3"| || style="background:aqua" align="center" colspan="5"|'''Faction'''
|-
|style="height:40px" |'''Forum ID'''||'''Toon Name'''||'''Skill Level'''||style="width:75px" align="center" |'''Thorium Brotherhood'''||style="width:75px" align="center" |'''Timbermaw Furbolgs '''||style="width:75px" align="center" |'''Argent Dawn'''||style="width:75px" align="center" |'''Zandalar Tribe''' ||style="width:75px" align="center" |'''Cenarion Circle'''
|-

|-
|Chopat||Chopat||300||0||0||0||0||0
|-
|cjam ||Geisha||300||Honored||Friendly||Revered||Revered||Honored
|-
|Katmarie||Zarana||300||0||0||R||R||R
|-
|Malphigian||Malphul||300||0||0||0||0||0
|-
| ortliebj || Tongar ||300||0||0||0||0||0
|-
|Red||Reddy||300||0||0||0||0||0
|-
|Dezz||Blackavar||300||N||F||F||0||0
|-
|Staarkhand||Staark||300||0||0||0||0||0
|-
|Furync||Furync||300||0||0||0||0||0
|-
|Scyndar||Deathreign||300||0||0||0||0||0
|-
|Jini || Jini ||300||0||0||0||0||0
|-
|Rudishoes||Shearing||225||0||0||0||0||0
|-
|Ramzul||Ramzul||300||0||0||0||0||0
|-
|Woollybugger||Ladybug||300||0||0||0||0||0
|-
|Avatre||Ririin||300||0||0||0||0||0
|-
|Mandrake||Mandrake||300||H||F||R||N||0
|-

|Nvts||[[Nvthouse]]||300||0||0||0||0||0
|-
|SpearStriker||Baroch||176||0||0||0||0||0
|-
|[[User: psyconius|psyconius]]||Aeken||165||0||0||0||0||0
|-
|Crazycarl||Crazycarl||85||0||0||0||0||0
|-
|Terrik||Deadterrik||zero||0||0||0||0||0
|-
|Ghato||Morguen||300||0||0||0||0||0
|-
|Sjur||Leafeater||300||0||0||0||0||0
|-
|Marcotte||Marcotte||300||0||0||0||0||0
|-
|Reegan||Jemak||300||Friendly||Friendly||Friendly||Neutral||0
|-
|BudMasterWoW||Beauvine||300||Honored||Friendly||0||0||0
|-
|ForumName||ToonName||Skill||TB||TF||AD||ZT||CC
|}

'''Notes'''

'''Tongar:''' Greater Fire Protection Potion, Greater Shadow Protection Potion, Transmute Essence of Undeath -> Water, Transmute Arcanite

'''Jini:''' Greater Arcane, Frost, Nature and Shadow Protection potions, Greater Arcane Elixir, Elixir of Brute Force, Transmute Arcanite, Living -> Earth

'''Deathreign:''' Greater Fire Protection Potion, Greater Shadow Protection Potion, Arcanite Xmute, Undeath -> Water

'''Zarana''': Greater Fire Protection Potion, Elixir of Brute Force, Flask of the titans, Flask of supreme power, flask of distilled wisdom, Greater Nature Protection Potion.

'''Jemak''': Arcanite Transmute

==='''Blacksmithing'''===
Link(s) to avaiable crafted items : [http://www.thottbot.com/?t=Blacksmithing Thottbot] - [http://wow.allakhazam.com/dyn/skill164.html Allakhazam] 

{| border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2
|colspan="4"| ||style="background:aqua" align="center" colspan="5"|'''Faction'''
|-
|style="height:40px" |'''Forum ID'''||'''Toon Name'''||'''Skill Level'''||'''Specialization'''|| style="width:75px" align="center" |'''Thorium Brotherhood'''||style="width:75px" align="center" |'''Timbermaw Furbolgs '''||style="width:75px" align="center" |'''Argent Dawn'''||style="width:75px" align="center" |'''Zandalar Tribe''' ||style="width:75px" align="center" |'''Cenarion Circle'''
|-




| Sardaukar||Sardaukar||Skill||Armorsmith||TB||TF||AD||ZT||CC
|-
| Steerhorn||Steerhorn||300||Armorsmith||Neutral||Neutral||Honored||ZT||CC
|-
| Cirkuss||Stamper||300||Armorsmith||Revered||Hated||Honored||Exhaulted||Honoured
|-



| Reptilehouse ||Healfdene||300||Axesmith||Honored||Friendly||Friendly||ZT||CC
|-

| JcL||Jay||282||Weaponsmith||TB||TF||AD||ZT||CC
|-
| LucidityAxel||Grrtr||255||Weaponsmith||TB||TF||AD||ZT||CC
|-
| Tinof Catfood||Tin||300||Hammersmith||Honored||Neutral||Honored||ZT||CC
|-
| Champain||Champain||300||Swordsmith||Revered||-||Revered||Exalted||Revered
|-
| Jadul||Jadul||300||Axesmith||Honored||TF||AD||ZT||CC
|-
|Dan Quixote||Danguinary||300||Swords :(||Neutral||Honored||Revered||Exalted||Exalted
|-



|Dezz||Dezz||214||Undecided||TB||TF||AD||ZT||CC
|-
| SlikkRikk||Greynok||120||Undecided||TB||TF||AD||ZT||CC
|-
| Terrik||Deadterrik||?||Undecided||TB||TF||AD||ZT||CC
|-
| Drake||Gor||150||Undecided||TB||TF||AD||ZT||CC
|-

|}

Note: Elemental Sharpening Stones, Healfdene, Champain.

==='''Enchanting'''===
Link(s) to avaiable crafted items : [http://www.thottbot.com/?t=Enchanting Thottbot] - [http://wow.allakhazam.com/dyn/skill333.html Allakhazam] 

{| border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2
|colspan="3"| || style="background:aqua" align="center" colspan="5"|'''Faction'''
|-
|'''Forum ID'''||'''Toon Name'''||'''Skill Level'''||'''Thorium Brotherhood'''||'''Timbermaw Furbolgs '''||'''Argent Dawn''' ||'''Zandalar Tribe''' ||style="width:75px" align="center" |'''Cenarion Circle'''
|-
|Antamykk||Scyllin||251||0||0||0||0||CC
|-
|Bunny Lebowski ||Harue ||0||0||0||0||0||CC
|-
|Dan Solo||Danperignon||225||0||0||0||0||CC
|-
|Mashunit||Mashamoonit||300||neutral||high neutral||friendly||0 ||CC
|-
|[http://www.theamazonbasin.com/wow/forums/index.php?showuser=22 Nvts]||[[Nvtty]]||300||H (20/12000)||H (235/12000)||H (9785/12000)||N (1044/3000)||N (899/3000)
|-
|Hasta||Mojoka||281||0||0||0||0||CC
|-
|Helmar||Helmar||283||0||Friendly (260/6000)||Honored (4115/12000)||0||CC
|-
|Sjur||Shira||150||0||0||0||0||CC
|-
|Sjur||Dagros||273||0||0||0||0||CC
|-

|LucidityAxel||Gajj||300||Honored (20/12000)||Honored (705/3000)||Honored (420/1200)||0 ||CC
|-
| Avatre || Avatre ||300||TB||Honored||Honored||0||CC
|-
| MrBullDawg|| Zeddybear ||300||TB||0||Honored||0||CC
|-
|Jehrendil||Jehrendil||300||Honored||Honored||Revered||0||CC
|-
|Marcotte||Marcotte||300||0||0||0||0||CC
|-

|}

'''Enchanting Notes''' 
Nvtty +15 agility, +5 all Res capes

Dagros Enchant Weapon - Superior Striking (+5 dmg to 1H)

Jehrendil: spellpower weapon, lifesteal

Gajj: Crusader

==='''Engineering'''===
Link(s) to avaiable crafted items : [http://www.thottbot.com/?t=Engineering Thottbot] - [http://wow.allakhazam.com/dyn/skill202.html Allakhazam] 

{| border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2
|colspan="4"| ||style="background:aqua" align="center" colspan="5"|'''Faction'''
|-
|style="height:40px" |'''Forum ID'''||'''Toon Name'''||'''Skill Level'''||'''Specialization'''|| style="width:75px" align="center" |'''Thorium Brotherhood'''||style="width:75px" align="center" |'''Timbermaw Furbolgs '''||style="width:75px" align="center" |'''Argent Dawn'''||style="width:75px" align="center" |'''Zandalar Tribe''' ||style="width:75px" align="center" |'''Cenarion Circle'''
|-




|Antamykk||Antamykk||300||Gnome||TB||TF||AD||ZT||CC
|-
|E.L.||Alita||300||Gnome||TB||TF||AD||ZT||CC
|-
|Nvts||Nvts||300||Gnome||N 0/3000||UF 2755/3000||H 469/12000||N 1222/3000||N 892/3000
|-
|impaling_inc||Creutzfeldt||300||Gnome||TB||TF||AD||ZT||CC
|-
|TacoSupreme||Kevoom||300||Gnome||TB||TF||AD||ZT||CC
|-
|TacoSupreme||Kevisa||300||Goblin||TB||TF||AD||Revered||CC
|-
|Jehrendil||Jehrendil||300||Goblin||Honored||Honored||Revered||ZT||CC
|-
|Baneon||Baneon||201||Goblin||TB||TF||AD||ZT||CC
|-
|Eien_Ni||Yume||250+||Goblin||TB||TF||AD||ZT||CC
|-
|Drezen||Willheal||?||Undeclared||TB||TF||AD||ZT||CC
|-
|Drust||Drust||?||Undeclared||TB||TF||AD||ZT||CC
|-
|Elegantly||Elegantly||?||Undeclared||TB||TF||AD||ZT||CC
|-
|Elyvin||Diest||50||Undeclared||TB||TF||AD||ZT||CC
|-
|Threndor||Gorlax||80||Undeclared||TB||TF||AD||ZT||CC
|-
|Rick||Jakther||106||Undeclared||TB||TF||AD||ZT||CC
|-
|Furyknc||Furyknc||225||Undeclared||TB||TF||AD||ZT||CC
|-
|Ramzul||Ramzul||270||Goblin||TB||TF||AD||ZT||CC
|-
|Mulla||Mulla||221||Gnome||TB||TF||AD||ZT||CC
|-
|Elegantly||Enibevoli||221||Goblin||TB||TF||AD||ZT||CC
|-
| Tinof Catfood||Tin||300||Gnomish||Honored||Neutral||Honored||ZT||CC
|-
| Breeanne||Thebrent||300||Gnomish||TB||TF||AD||ZT||CC
|-
| Breeanne||Breanne||300||Goblin||TB||TF||AD||ZT||CC
|-
|Sjur||Sjur||300||Goblin||Neutral||Unfriendly||Honored||Friendly||CC
|-
|Datrious||Datrious||300||Gnome||TB||TF||Honored||ZT||CC
|-
|BudMasterWoW||Hordera||300||Undeclared||0||0||0||0||0
|-
|ForumID||Toon||skill||spec||TB||TF||AD||ZT||CC
|-

|}
Note: Kevoom can make all 3 reflectors and Alarm-O-Bots, Kevisa can make Jumper Cables XL.

==='''Leatherworking'''===
Link(s) to avaiable crafted items : [http://www.thottbot.com/?t=Leatherworking Thottbot] - [http://wow.allakhazam.com/dyn/skill165.html Allakhazam] 

{| border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2
|colspan="4"| ||style="background:aqua" align="center" colspan="5"|'''Faction'''
|-
|style="height:40px" |'''Forum ID'''||'''Toon Name'''||'''Skill Level'''||'''Specialization'''|| style="width:75px" align="center" |'''Thorium Brotherhood'''||style="width:75px" align="center" |'''Timbermaw Furbolgs '''||style="width:75px" align="center" |'''Argent Dawn'''||style="width:75px" align="center" |'''Zandalar Tribe''' ||style="width:75px" align="center" |'''Cenarion Circle'''
|-


| Hasta||Hasta||291||Dragonscale||TB||TF||AD||ZT||CC
|-
| Drake||Drak||259||Dragonscale||TB||TF||AD||ZT||CC
|-
| Breeanne||Breanne||300||Dragonscale||TB||TF||AD||ZT||CC
|-
| ReptileHouse||Healfdene||300||Dragonscale||Honored||Friendly||Friendly||ZT||CC
|-
| neuman696||Delcannan||300||Dragonscale||Honored||Neutral||Revered||Revered||CC
|-
| Lelu||Lelu||300||Dragonscale||Neutral||Neutral||Honored||ZT||CC
|-
| Solidwolf||Megrimlock||300||Tribal||TB||TF||AD||ZT||CC
|-
| cjam||Slora||300||Elemental||Honored||Unfriendly||Honored||Neutral||Neutral
|-
| Nightchrome||Vhana||210||Unknown||TB||TF||AD||ZT||CC
|-
| Nekkid||Nekkid||142||Unknown||TB||TF||AD||ZT||CC
|-
| Dan Solo||Gungadan||300||Tribal||TB||TF||AD||ZT||CC
|-
| Trix||Kall||1xx||Unknown||TB||TF||AD||ZT||CC
|-
| Mashunit||Zogmash||63||Unknown||TB||TF||AD||ZT||CC
|-
| Moridin||ishmael||?||Unknown||TB||TF||AD||ZT||CC
|-
| oldjock||Xex||200||Unknown||TB||TF||AD||ZT||CC
|-
|Nvts||Nvtcase||300||Tribal||Honored||Unfriendly||Neutral||Neutral||Neutral (1535/3000)
|-
|Mandrake||Cloudchaser||300||Tribal||Neutral||Hostile||Friendly||Neutral||CC
|-
|Reegan||Reegan||300||Elemental||Honored||Honored||Revered||Honored||Honored
|-
|Kelendrose||Kelandrose||300||Tribal||N||N||Honored||Friendly||CC
|-
|Dochop||Dochop||300||Elemental||Neutral||Neutral||Revered||Honored||Honored
|-
|ForumName||ToonName||Skill||Spec||TB||TF||AD||ZT||CC
|}

Leatherworking Notes: 
Dochop - Core Leather Armor Kit, Full Volcanic Set 
Lelu - Core Leather Armor Kit 
Kelendrose - Dawn Treaders,Core Leather Armor Kit 
Delcannan - Core Leather Armor Kit, Chromatic Cloak 
Cloudchaser - Hide of the Wild 
Reegan - Full Volcanic Set, Full Stormshroud, All Living armor, Lava Belt, Molten Helm 
Inadatto - Onyxia Cloak, Full Black+Blue+Green Dragonscale sets, Chromatic Cloak

==='''Tailoring'''===
Link(s) to avaiable crafted items : [http://www.thottbot.com/?t=Tailoring Thottbot] - [http://wow.allakhazam.com/dyn/skill197.html Allakhazam] 

{| border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2
|colspan="3"| ||style="background:aqua" align="center" colspan="5"|'''Faction'''
|-
|style="height:40px" |'''Forum ID'''||'''Toon Name'''||'''Skill Level'''|| style="width:75px" align="center" |'''Thorium Brotherhood'''||style="width:75px" align="center" |'''Timbermaw Furbolgs '''||style="width:75px" align="center" |'''Argent Dawn'''||style="width:75px" align="center" |'''Zandalar Tribe''' ||style="width:75px" align="center" |'''Cenarion Circle'''
|-
| Jadul || Jadulivila ||300||TB||TF||AD||ZT||CC
|-
| Jini || Grathnyz ||300||TB||TF||AD||ZT||CC
|-
| LucidityAxel || Gajj ||300||TB||TF||AD||ZT ||CC
|-
| Nvts || [[Nvtty]] ||300||H (20/12000)||H (235/12000)||F (9785/12000)||N (1044/3000) ||N (899/3000)
|-
| TacoSupreme || Kevoom ||300||TB||TF||AD||ZT||CC
|-
| Simbul || Simbul ||300||TB||Friendly||AD||ZT ||CC
|-
| Sjur || Shira ||300||TB||TF||AD||ZT||CC
|-
| Mashunit || Mashamoonit ||300||TB||TF||AD||ZT ||CC
|-
| Dan Solo || Danperignon ||225||TB||TF||AD||ZT||CC
|-
| Djhaigh || Stark ||160||TB||TF||AD||ZT||CC
|-
| Elyvin || Diest ||160||TB||TF||AD||ZT ||CC
|-
| Dezz || Tish ||105||TB||TF||AD||ZT ||CC
|-
| Crazycarl || Blastycarl ||85||TB||TF||AD||ZT ||CC
|-
| Bunny Lebowski || Harue ||Skill||TB||TF||AD||ZT||CC
|-
| Cathan || Cathan ||Skill||TB||TF||AD||ZT||CC
|-
|Diamongreyus||Diamongreyus||300||Neutral||Neutral||Honored||ZT||CC
|-
|Helmar||Helmar||300||0||Friendly (260/6000)||Honored (4115/12000)||ZT||CC
|-
| Avatre || Avatre ||300||TB||Honored||Honored||ZT||CC
|-
| Icedragon || Sabal ||300||TB||TF||AD||ZT||CC
|-
| Champain || Chaampain ||300||Revered||TF||Revered||ZT||CC
|-
|ForumID||Toon||Skill||TB||TF||AD||ZT ||CC
|-
|}
'''Tailoring Notes:''' 
Gajj - Mooncloth bags 
[[Nvtty]] Robes of Arcana, Mooncloth - Bags/Robes/Shoulders/Boots/Leggings Core Felcloth bag, Flarecore robes/wraps 
Simbul - Mooncloth Bags/Robes/Leggings/Boots 
[[Grathnyz]] - Mooncloth Bags 
Helmar - Mooncloth Bags/Robes/Shoulders/Vest, 24-slot Enchanting Bag 

== Collection skills==

==='''Herbalism'''===
MrBullDawg - Zeddybear [320] 
Woollybug - LadyBug / Leafeater - Sjur [315] 
'''300''' -- Katmarie - Zarana / Malphigian - Malphul / Staarkhand - Staark / Tongar - ortliebj / Red - Reddy / cjam - Geisha / Olon97 – [http://wow.allakhazam.com/profile.html?37683 Olona] / Furync - / Dezz - Blackavar - / Avatre - Ririin - / Elegantly - Enibevoli / MrBullDawg - Zed / Fraid2Fall - Asumai 
Cosmeg – Kalfu 
Crazycarl – Crazycarl 100 
Terrik – Deadterrik 
Vittori – vittori 
PiercingEagle – Earthon 
SpearStriker – Baroch [190] 
Datrious - Carnon[315] 

==='''Mining'''===
'''300''' -- Antamykk - Antamykk / Dan Solo - Danguinary / E.L. – Alita / Fraid2Fall - Asumai / LucidityAxel - Grrtr / MrBullDawg - Zed / Nvts – [[Nvts]] / Olon97 – [http://wow.allakhazam.com/profile.html?37683 Olona] 
Elegantly - Elegantly [?] 
Perith – perith [70] 
PiercingEagle – Earthon [?] 
Sardaukar - Sardaukar [?] 
Sheena – Sheena [279] 
Sjur – Sjur [300] 
SlikkRikk – Greynok [126] 
Terrik – Deadterrik [?] 
Threndor - Gorlax [75] 
Mulla - Mulla [187] 
Nekkid – Vandyll [?] 
Baneon – Baneon [151] 
Champain – Champain [?] 
Dezz – Dezz [240] 
Drezen – Willheal [?] 
Drust – Drust [?] 
JcL – Jay [?] 
Datrious - Datrious [305] 
Yehoodi - MokoMash [125] 

==='''Skinning'''===

neuman696 - Delcannan [315] 
Solidwolf – Megrimlock [310] 
'''300''' -- Antamykk - Scyllin / Drake – Drak / cjam - Slora / Dan Solo - Gungadan / Simbul / MrBullDawg - Zedulitious 
Ice Dragon - Sabal / Diamongreyus 
Caolle – Grok 
Cathan – Cathan 
Hasta – Hasta 
Moridin – Ishmael 
Nekkid – Nekkid 165 
Perith – perith [122] 
Tharn - Divayth 
SnowDog – Snjarvarg 
Trix - Kall [1xx] 
Nightchrome - Vhana [258] 
Datrious - Carnon [325] 
Kelendrose - Kelandrose [305] 
Dochop - Dochop [315] 
Yehoodi - MokoMash [125] 

=='''Secondary Skills:'''==

==='''Cooking'''===
'''300''' -- cjam - Slora / Dan Solo - Danguinary / Kelendrose - Kelandrose / Dan Solo - Gungadan / Katmarie - Zarana / Nvts – [[Nvts]] / Dezz - Blackavar / Staarkhand - Staark / Jehrendil 
Crazycarl – Crazycarl [125] 
SpearStriker – Baroch [150] 
Mashunit - Mashamoonit [115] 
Nightchrome - Vhana [225] 
Yehoodi - MokoMash [125] 

Notes:
Danguinary and Zarana and Kelandrose: runn tunn tuber suprise, desert dumplings 
Zarana: Dirge's kickin' chimerooks

==='''First Aid'''===
'''300''' -- Antamykk /Biggs / Dochop / cjam - Slora / Dezz - Blackavar / E.L.- Alita / Nvts – [[Nvts]] / Sheena – Sheena / Staarkhand - Staark / Simbul / Helmar / Jehrendil 
Crazycarl – Crazycarl [90] 
Eldril - Eldinator [220] 
SpearStriker – Baroch [105] 
Mashunit - Mashamoonit [~ 70, will have to look it up] 
Slikkrikk - Greynok [210] 
Nightchrome - Vhana [210] 
Sjur - Sjur [270] 
Yehoodi - MokoMash [125] 

==='''Fishing'''===
Jehrendil [300] 
cjam [92] 
Crazycarl – Blastycarl [150] 
E.L.- Alita [185] 
Nvts – [[Nvts]] - [275] 
Olon97 – Olona [193] 
Sjur – Sjur [225], waiting for coop on getting the required fish for artisan quest 
SpearStriker – Baroch [225] 
Mashunit - Mashamoonit [120] 
Brakken - Subaxion [212] 
Dezz - Blackavar [232] 
Staarkhand - Staark [235] 
Nightchrome - Vhana [202] 
Eldril - Eldinator [225] 
Simbul - Monika [209] 
BudMasterWoW - Beauvine [300]
Yehoodi - MokoMash [125] 

=='''Miscellaneous'''==

==='''Lock Picking'''===
Antamykk - Scyllin [240] 
Bloodfly - Darwin 
Rick - Jakther 
Staarkhand - Staark [300] 
cjam - Geisha [300] 
Scyndar - Deathreign [300] 
Reegan - Jemak [300] 
Dochop - Dochop [300] 
BudMasterWoW - Roxeanne [280]

Shaman

2005-11-07T16:08:26Z

Drake: /* History */

== Overview ==

Shamans are the spiritual leaders of their tribes and clans. They communicate with spirits, have visions of the future, and guide their people through the darkest of times. Many mistake their wisdom and serenity for a pacifist nature. When challenged, though, shaman have a range of powers available for dealing with threats to the natural order.

== Quests ==
[[Call of Water]]

== History ==

Since the birth of the Orcish culture, Shamans have always been attune to the spirit world, and listened to the wise counsel of the ancestors. Orc hunters asked the elders to soothe the weather during their hunt, or to bring a gentle fog around their camps at night. Never did the Shamans abuse their powers however, and this era of peace between the elements and the orcs seemed as though it was never going to end. 

It was only a few decades before the Dark Portal would carry the bloodthirsty Horde that the link to the spiritual world was severed with the orcs. Kil'Jaeden the Deceiver, having stumbled upon the primitive orc homeworld of Draenor, decided he could employ the orc’s strength to soften Azeroth's defense. The vile demon corrupted the orc's elder Shaman, Ner'Zhul, offering him limitless powers in exchange for the orcs cooperation. He accepted reluctantly to the dark pact and started to teach young orcs the arts of dark magik. It was only after a few years that he would have but eliminated shamanism from their culture. 

With the constant drain of fell energy from the Twisting Nether, Draenor started to wither and die slowly. It was soon after, that the portal would be opened and that the Horde would ravage Azeroth. Only one reckless clan opposed the Warlock's mad scheme, the Frostwolf Clan, led by Durotan, one of the Horde's most honored Chieftains. Gul'Dan, the greatest orc Warlock, now secretly in charge of the Horde, knew that he could not risk killing such a popular hero. His only option was to exile him and his clan through the Dark Portal and into the unknown depths of the new world. 

During those years when war raged across Azeroth, the Frostwolves settled in the summits of Alterac Mountains, a cold region on the northern continent of Lordaeron. The Clan still maintained the hunter traditions and the orcs shamanism, but their numbers were thinning. Durotan and his mate, Draka, kept a close eye on their only son, Thrall, and wanted for him a great future among his peers. To ensure this future, Durotan and his family visited their friend Orgrim Doomhammer in the south. He warned him of the Warlocks and the Shadow Council, who controlled the Horde from behind. He also told him of Gul'Dan's treachery. Unfortunately, Durotan was never going to see his clan ever, for he was killed on his way home by Gul'Dan's assassins. Only his son, Thrall, survived. 

He was found by Aedelas Blackmoore, future chief warden of the interment camps, and raised as a slave. Upon reaching adulthood, the idealistic young orc escaped his captor and set out the find those of his kinds: the orcs. On his journey he witnessed the strange lethargy his people suffered and was saddened to discover they had all but lost their legendary warrior spirit, but more importantly: their very will to live. 

Unable to accept it, he searched for the last free orc chieftain: Grom Hellscream of the Warsong Clan. After many long days he finally stumbled upon the Warsongs, and he was able to talk to their leader. Inspired by Hellscream's idealism, he traveled north to find the legendary Frostwolf Clan. He discovered he was the son of Durotan, chieftain of the Frostwolves. He met with the venerable Drek'Thar, the last orc Shaman, who taught the inexperienced orc the ways of the four elements and how to commune with the spirits. Thrall studied the orc's shamanistic heritage and succeeded to gain the respect of the ancient spirits. At the end of his training, Thrall was empowered by the elements and ready to free his people of their affliction. 

With Thrall's visionary leadership and the teachings of shamanism, the Horde was freed from both humans and demons. But freedom is never to be taken for granted in Azeroth, and the horde and must still fight for their continued survival. 

== Role ==

The Shaman is a secondary Healing class (to the Priest) with a fun assortment of spells and options. The Shaman is especially liked by party members for its Healing and beneficial totems. The Shaman has up to four types of totems: Air, Earth, Fire, and Water. An important part of playing the Shaman is figuring out which totem is best to use in each situation. 

[[HEALING 101]] 
The secondary healing role is fulfilled using either Healing Wave (HW) or Lesser Healing Wave (LHW). HW is a larger but slow casting heal while LHW is a smaller 1.5 sec cast heal very similar to priest's Flash Heal both in efficiency and in casting time and mana cost. 

Healing Wave has a specific talent (Restoration - Improved Healing Wave) to reduce its casting time from 3 sec to 2.5 sec. 

Lesser Healing Wave has a specific talent (Restoration - Improved LHW) to reduce the chance of interruption from damage while casting LHW, for up to 70% reduction. 

Chain Heal isn't much to talk about. It's about 2 Healing Waves spread over 3 targets which you don't control. It's not very mana efficient for a group healing spell and attracts lots of agro. Not very used unless the whole group is taking massive damage and you need to up your HP/sec. 

Finally, in the restoration talent tree, Shamans have acces to Nature's Swiftness (21 points required) that allows to cast the next spell healing or offensive instantly. 

The efficiency of HW in HP/mana is a bit better than that of LHW but at the cost of less versatility, risk of over-healing on a crit, risk of getting agro more easily and no reduction in interruption chance. With Improved Healing Wave, the healing rate is the same between both spells. Without talent, LHW actually heals faster than HW.The efficiency different is small and becomes the same as soon as a shaman uses an item with flat 25 mana reduction in costs of spells. 

For these reasons, Lesser Healing Wave is often the healing spell of choice for shamans. For burst healing, Nature's swiftness followed by Healing Wave is often the only time a shaman will use Healing Wave. For this reason, ignoring the Improved Healing Wave talent may be a viable solution if your shaman is only going to use Lesser Healing Wave. 

[[TOTEM USE]] 
This is where a shaman can provide essential utility to their group. You can only have 1 totem of each type out at any given time. If you cast another totem of the same type (earth, water, fire or air), it'll overwrite the previous one. That may dictate some sequences for totems on timer like Fire Nova. 

Earth Totem: 

- Earthbind: this snares all enemies within 10 yards. It's invaluable to protect casters and allow them to kite mobs around if they have to. This prevents runner from going very far as well. 

- Strength of the arms: a regular +STR buff. Useful when in a melee-oriented group. It doesn't benefits Rogues and Hunters as much however since their DPS is half/half STR/AGI. 

- Earth claw: this is a taunt tool. Useful in case of adds to buy you time. Also useful right after a pull of a swarm to channel the mobs to a point for easy AoE DD kills. 

- Stoneskin: more useful at lower levels. Its attractiveness in damage mitigation however increases when dealing with swarms of mobs in high-end instance. Otherwise for a regular crowd-controlled pull or up to 4 mobs, it's generally less effective than Earthbind or Strength but maybe viable in AoE nuking groups. 

- Tremor: it pulses every few seconds and removes sleep CC spells. Not many mobs use those so not very useful but when you hit some of them like dragonkins in Sunken Temple or in SM Cathedral, it can save your group from wipe. 

Water Totem: 

- Healing: limited use. Good for downtime reducing possibly but in practice, its effects are usually too weak to do much. Consider saving the mana. 

- Poison/disease cleansing: very useful situationally. Those are cheap in mana cost (less than twice the single target poison/disease removal). They tick every 10 sec or so, so in case of very violent poisons, you may want to recast them since they'll pulse once right as you drop. This is particularly useful to get rid quick of AE poisons. 

- Mana Spring: like healing totem, its trickling returns are usually not worth the hassle. Exception would be extended raid fights in which you don't need to remove poison or disease and are in caster-heavy group. 

- Mana Tide: 12 sec of high rate mana regeneration. Better than mana spring but often deemed too costly a talent in the restoration tree to be worth having. 

- Fire Resistance: Adds 30-60% Fire Resistance. Very useful especially in high-end instances with lots of fire-based mobs. 

Fire Totems: 

- Searing: one of the most used and certainly the most misused totem of all. It sounds like a good deal of extra DPS for not much mana and in truth it is. It sends fire bolts to 1 nearby target, "usually" the one you're fighting. However, it may as well pull a nearby mob that would have left you alone otherwise. It breaks CC in non-controllable fashion. Worth using now and then in wide open space but in all cases with caution and awareness of what's around you. Once you're done with it, consider finishing the fight replacing it with a frost resistance totem to avoid getting adds well after your fight is over. 

- Fire Nova: explodes 5 sec (or down to 3 with talents) after dropping. It agros mobs a lot and many will hit it before it explodes if not solidly agroed to something else. Reuse timer is 15 seconds making it a 1 shot AE DD in most fights. Efficient only with 2+ mobs but a nice addition to AoE DD groups.If used, better used first prior to dropping a magma totem during reuse timer of Fire Nova. Breaks CC so use with care. 

- Magma: does small damage every 5 sec. Very costly and less efficient than Fire Nova unless it's allowed to tick on most mobs for most of its duration. Does not draw agro however like Fire Nova but I'd reserve it for cases where you need DPS at the expense of anything else. Breaks CC. 

- Flametongue: adds fire damage to weapons in the party. It does not stack with shaman self weapon buffs. Better than windfury totem against high armor mobs that are not resistant to fire.

- Frost Resistance Totem: Adds 30-60% Frost Resistance. Vital against mobs using this type of attacks. In PvP, very useful against Mage ice attacks like blizzard. 

Air Totems: 

- Grounding Totem: sounds better than it is. In effect, it channels the effect of a spell otherwise directed at a party member to itself. It however has only 5 HP so if the spell is a damage one, it'll absorb the damage and be dispelled. If the spell is CC or debuff, it's generally immune and will stay in place and remove such effects once per 10 sec.Blocks sheep, some fear spells, cleansing, etc without being dispelled. On a recast timer however. 

- Windfury: 20% chance of granting 1 extra attack. Note this is much weaker than self-cast version which grants 3 extra attacks per proc. However, it generally generates a 20% extra DPS on melee characters and is very useful. Less useful on mobs with high armor possibly than Flametongue. 

- Grace of Air: adds +AGI for 1.5 min. that adds to dodge, crit rate and greatly improves rogues/hunter DPS. In many cases, decision to use it is balanced by option to use Windfury. If grace of air is used, it allows using the Flametongue group weapon buff in conjunction. 

- Nature Resistance: Adds +30-60% resistance to nature-based spells. Many poisons and diseases are nature-based (like in Maraudon) so this one in conjunction with cleansing totems may be very useful. Also great against druid spells. 

- WindWall: Stoneskin equivalent for range bow/gun attacks. Considering the amount of mobs using this, the damage mitigation which is fairly low and the fact that usually range mobs are not left at range very long, this makes for a totem most shamans will hardly ever use. Especialy considering the other better Air totems. 

Final note about totems is that they're most fragile and may be a significant mana investment that an enemy can dispel by a flick of a wand or one swing of melee weapon. They also agro on radius even if mob has lower agro radius than the range of the totem. A neutral mob crossing the path of your earthbind or earthclaw totem will agro you even if it would have ignored you otherwise. The radius may cause unwanted adds so sometimes you have to be careful with placement, go into a corner and drop it there where it won't agro roaming mobs. 

[[NUKING 101]] 

By no means a very extensive guide but things to remember as far as efficiency and higher DPS goes. 

Shocks aren't efficient. Some less than others. The most efficient is the Fire Shock doing about half its damage upfront and then rest over 15 sec. It has efficiency just under that of lightning bolt so is a decent in-combat spell. the other shocks are useful for other purposes but for grinding and downtime purposes, the Fire Shock should be the bread and butter. It's also useful for optimizing burst DPS. While it ticks, you can use other shocks effectively having higher damage than just spamming Frost Shock or Earth Shock. 

A small incursion in talents since the elemental tree is mostly about nuking split between lightning bolt/chain lightning and shock improvements. Reverberation is probably the single best talent for boosting uninterruptible damage. If you're going to go for more caster-oriented shaman, this is more viable possibly than the lightning improvement because it's not succeptible to interruptions and counterspelling. Also due to earth shock dynamics, reducing the reuse timer by 1 sec of all your shocks, not only boosts your spell DPS but reduces your opponents' by significantly. That being said, nuking is not efficient and not much more with elemental talents. It may increase burst DPs and have nice side effect on enemies snaring/prevent casting) but should be used with mana costs in mind. 

Frost Shock, either with 5-6 sec reuse timer, its duration of 8 sec may ensure perma snaring of mobs. The downside is efficiency. The snaring factor also doesn't stack with earthbind totem snare. 

Earth Shock: great damage, causes 2 sec of interruption, this is a very good spell both in PvE and in PvP. For caster mobs, this is your pull spell. If mana is an issue, use the lowest version of it. It does little damage but interrupts just the same and on a caster mob, it'll cause it to rush to melee you. However, if distance is long enough, caster mobs maybe stop on their way to you to start casting again. Even with 5 sec reuse timer, they may have up to a 3 sec casting window so b ready to meet them halfway. On caster mobs engaged in melee, this can be used to perma-lock them out of casting sequence if using a fast weapon. The interruptions of the fast weapons will extend the duration needed for caster spells. If reuse timer is 5 sec with reverberation, only 1-2 interruption during the casting time is required to lock up a caster mob. Even if you cannot completely prevent casting, it seriously reduces it. Even mroe if used in addition of a grounding totem to catch the ones you couldn't completely interrupt. 

Lightning Bolt: slow casting but efficient. Don't bother using in melee. You have shocks. The loss of DPS from interruptions is not worth the hassle in most situations.Exceptions might be if you need to kill a mob fast while an add is on your earth claw totem. In that case, it may be useful, especially with casters mobs that you otherwise earth shock. 

Chain lightning: Pulling with this spell may result in severe injury or death. I've seen it done and it may be useful in rare occasions but in general you dn't want to pull 3 mobs onto you unless the game plan is really special and you don't have a tank to do this for you. Otherwise, in PvP it also breaks CC since you don't control who it'll bounce on. Vs single targets in PvP and without mobs around, it may be useful since it has higher damage than lightning bolt. Still a very tricky spell that should be used with care. In groups, you won't qualify as AoE damage source with it and you'll most likely be more useful healing. 

[[MELEING]] 

Shamans can use most 1h weapon except swords. Don't ask me why there hehe. shamans can also use 2h staff, and 2h maces and axes with enhancement talent relatively early in the tree. The debate of whether it's worth 1 talent point to have access to 2h maces and axes is in my opinion a matter of personal choice. For an enhancement melee-oriented shaman, I think it makes sense to give yourself access to most weapons so that you use the best drop overall. For others without much enhancement inclination, it probably isn't worth it considering the stats of existing staves and the equivalent DPS of all 2h weapons prior to special abilities. 

Still when it comes to weapon choice, it doesn't hurt training in all possible weapon with the exception maybe of hand to hand due to lack of available weapons. In all cases, I'd recommend training in a fast 1h weapon and in staff. Vs caster mobs that don't hit hard in melee, shield isn't a big deal not to have. But the higher DPS of staff (or 2h mace/axe) vs squish mobs is worth it. Alternatively, if you want to play the interruption game with earth shock, a fast weapon is better since it'll cause more delays. 

Blizzard stated that higher 2h DPS is well balanced vs damage mitigation of shield+1h. On one hand, 2h weapons provide more damage but less defense which means shorter fights in which you'll take more total damage and thus have a bit more HP downtime. On the other hand, lower DPS of 1h+shield goes with less damage sustained, less variance and less downtime but longer fights. It's designed to be a wash. 

But then how to decide what is best between two setups. Typically, a 2h weapon will do about +20% damage so compare DPs of weapons with that in mind. In comparison, to that 20% higher DPS, 1h+shield should provide about +15% damage absorbed. Compare the numbers, check the total stats and decide which is best on a case by case and on a personal satisfaction level. If you like to see big number and thrills of more varied fights, go with 2h more often than with 1h. If you prefer fast predictable damage that reduce fluctuations in performance between fights, go with 1h+shield. One consideration is that spell damage doesn't care for armor so if taking lots of spell damage, consider using 2h weapon. 

Which weapon buff to use. Let's get the obvious out first. Frostbrand is near useless. Consider saving yourself money and not getting it until you're rolling in cash. The snare is of little use with earthbind and frost shock and the proc is too low rate to add decent DPS. 

Then, there are the 3 others which I'll break up in 2 groups. Flametongue and in the other group windfury and rockbiter. Obviously before lvl 30, your choice is only flametongue or rockbiter. Both are fine but have better uses situationally. Flametongue does spell damage which isn't reduced by armor but is reduced by fire resists. So on high armor opponents without large resistance to fire, it'll be the best option. For most other purposes, rockbiter or windfury are in my experience better by a small margin. 

Rockbiter is allegedly better for faster weapons while windfury is supposed to be slightly better for slower weapons. I'm still not entirely convinced by this since it's hard to evaluate precisely the mean DPS over time of those. Windfury has tremendous burst DPS capabilities. With a slow 2h weapon, the extra attacks cause an enormous amount of damage at a very high attack power. In this case, it's possible to take 50% of a mob's HP on one proc. The downside is slower weapons proc less often than faster weapons. It evens out in the long term but if you want burst DPS, windfury is for you. The other advantage is that it doesn't draw more agro than by the damage you do. Rockbiter however adds a great deal of agro to your attacks. You may be doing 30% less damage than the warrior next to you and still get agro. For that reason, I'd reserve rockbiter for solo or group situation where you want to get agro. Otherwise in groups, I'd use windfury. 

Finally, a shaman's meleeing performance isn't complete without her Lightning Shield. For grinding purposes it is relatively mana efficient compared to shocks and delivers damage in 3 procs which means less variance due to outright resists. One caveat is that orbs won't proc every time you're hit but more or less only every 5 sec or so. The orbs are also a nasty giveaway when travelling in ghost wolf form. Still this is a major weapon for shamans and it even damages range opponents.

Orc history

2005-11-07T14:55:52Z

Drake: /* Racial Traits */

The savage, green-skinned Orcs are one of the most prolific races of Azeroth. They are commonly believed to be brutal and mindless, possessing no humanity or empathy for other races. Born on the hellish world of Draenor, the Orcs were brought into the kingdom of Stormwind through the dimensional gateway known as the Dark Portal and forced to wage war on the Humans. Although few are aware of their history, the Orcs once cultivated a noble, Shamanistic society on the world of Draenor. Tragically, the proud Orc clans were corrupted by the Burning Legion and used as pawns in the Legion's invasion of Azeroth. The Orcs managed to rebel, however, and they were ultimately able to help turn the tide against their demon masters. Led by the young Warchief, Thrall, the Orcs have reclaimed their strength and honor. Now, the Orcs stand ready to fight not for the sake of conquest, but for their right to survive in their adopted world.

== Available Classes ==
[[Hunter]], [[Warlock]], [[Warrior]], [[Shaman]], [[Rogue]]

== Racial Traits ==
* Blood Fury (Active) - Activate to increase Attack Power by 25% for 15 seconds - after it ends your Attack power is reduced by 25% for 45 seconds - 2 min cooldown
* Hardiness (Passive) - 25% resistance to stun and knockout effects
* Command (Passive) - Pet melee damage increased by 5%
* Axe Specialization (Passive) - Orcs get +5 to Axe skill

== Orc History ==

'''Kil'jaeden and the Shadow Pact'''

Around the time of Medivh's birth on Azeroth, Kil'jaeden the Deceiver sat and brooded amongst his followers within the Twisting Nether. The cunning demonlord, under orders of his master, Sargeras, was plotting the Burning Legion's second invasion of Azeroth. This time he would not allow any mistakes. Kil'jaeden surmised that he needed a new force to weaken Azeroth's defenses before the Legion even set foot upon the world. If the mortal races, such as the night elves and dragons, were forced to contend with a new threat, they would be too weak to pose any real resistance when the Legion's true invasion arrived.

It was at this time that Kil'jaeden discovered the lush world of Draenor floating peacefully within the Great Dark Beyond. Home to the shamanistic, clan-based orcs and the peaceful draenei, Draenor was as idyllic as it was vast. The noble orc clans roamed the open prairies and hunted for sport, while the inquisitive draenei built crude cities within the world's towering cliffs and peaks. Kil'jaeden knew that Draenor's denizens had great potential to serve the Burning Legion if they could be cultivated properly.

Of the two races, Kil'jaeden saw that the warrior orcs were more susceptible to the Legion's corruption. He enthralled the elder orc shaman, Ner'zhul, in much the same way that Sargeras brought Queen Azshara under his control in ages past. Using the cunning shaman as his conduit, the demon spread battle lust and savagery throughout the orc clans. Before long, the spiritual race was transformed into a bloodthirsty people. Kil'jaeden then urged Ner'zhul and his people to take the last step: to give themselves over entirely to the pursuit of death and war. Yet the old shaman, sensing that his people would be enslaved to hatred forever, somehow resisted the demon's command.

Frustrated by Ner'zhul's resistance, Kil'jaeden searched for another orc who would deliver his people into the Legion's hands. The clever demonlord finally found the willing disciple he sought - Ner'zhul's ambitious apprentice, Gul'dan. Kil'jaeden promised Gul'dan untold power in exchange for his utter obedience. The young orc became an avid student of demonic magic and developed into the most powerful mortal warlock in history. He taught other young orcs the arcane arts and strove to eradicate the orcs' shamanistic traditions. Gul'dan showed a new brand of magic to his brethren, a terrible new power that reeked of doom.

Kil'jaeden, seeking to tighten his hold over the orcs, helped Gul'dan found the Shadow Council, a secretive sect that manipulated the clans and spread the use of warlock magics throughout Draenor. As more and more orcs began to wield warlock magics, the gentle fields and streams of Draenor began to blacken and fade. Over time, the vast prairies the orcs had called home for generations withered away, leaving only red barren soil. The demon energies were slowly killing the world.

'''Rise of the Horde'''

The orcs became increasingly aggressive under the secret control of Gul'dan and his Shadow Council. They constructed massive arenas where the orcs honed their warrior skills in trials of combat and death. During this period, a few clan chieftains spoke out against the growing depravity in their race. One such chieftain, Durotan of the Frostwolf clan, warned against the orcs' losing themselves to hate and fury. His words fell on deaf ears, however, as stronger chieftains such as Grom Hellscream of the Warsong clan stepped forward to champion the new age of warfare and dominance.

Kil'jaeden knew that the orc clans were almost ready, but he needed to be certain of their ultimate loyalty. In secret, he had the Shadow Council summon Mannoroth the Destructor, the living vessel of destruction and rage. Gul'dan called the clan chieftains together and convinced them that drinking Mannoroth's raging blood would make them utterly invincible. Led by Grom Hellscream, all the clan chiefs except Durotan drank and thereby sealed their fates as slaves to the Burning Legion. Empowered by Mannoroth's rage, the chieftains unwittingly extended this subjugation to their unsuspecting brethren.

Consumed with the curse of this new bloodlust, the orcs sought to unleash their fury on any who stood before them. Sensing that the time had come, Gul'dan united the warring clans into a single unstoppable Horde. However, knowing that the various chieftains like Hellscream and Orgrim Doomhammer would vie for overall supremacy, Gul'dan set up a puppet warchief to rule over this new Horde. Blackhand the Destroyer, a particularly depraved and vicious orc warlord, was chosen to be Gul'dan's puppet. Under Blackhand's command, the Horde set out to test itself against the simple draenei.

Over the course of a few months, the Horde eradicated nearly every draenei living on Draenor. Only a scattered handful of survivors managed to evade the orcs' awesome wrath. Flushed with victory, Gul'dan reveled in the Horde's power and might. Still, he knew that without any enemies to fight, the Horde would consume itself with endless infighting in its unstoppable appetite for glorious slaughter.

Kil'jaeden knew that the Horde was finally prepared. The orcs had become the Burning Legion's greatest weapon. The cunning demon shared his knowledge with his waiting master, and Sargeras agreed that the time of his revenge had finally come.

'''The Dark Portal and the Fall of Stormwind'''

''Warcraft: Orcs and Humans''

As Kil'jaeden prepared the Horde for its invasion of Azeroth, Medivh continued to fight for his soul against Sargeras. King Llane, the noble monarch of Stormwind, grew wary of the darkness which seemed to taint the spirit of his former friend. King Llane shared his concerns with Anduin Lothar, the last descendent of the Arathi bloodline, whom he named his lieutenant-at-arms. Even so, neither man could have imagined that Medivh's slow descent into madness would bring about the horrors that were to come.

As a final incentive, Sargeras promised to bestow great power upon Gul'dan if he agreed to lead the Horde to Azeroth. Through Medivh, Sargeras told the warlock that he could become a living god if he found the undersea tomb where the Guardian Aegwynn had placed Sargeras' crippled body nearly a thousand years before. Gul'dan agreed and decided that once the denizens of Azeroth were beaten, he would find the legendary tomb and claim his reward. Assured that the Horde would serve his purposes, Sargeras ordered the invasion to begin.

Through a joint effort, Medivh and the warlocks of the Shadow Council opened the dimensional gateway known as the Dark Portal. This portal bridged the distance between Azeroth and Draenor, and it was large enough that armies might pass through it. Gul'dan dispatched orc scouts through the portal to survey the lands which they would conquer. The returning scouts assured the Shadow Council that the world of Azeroth was ripe for the taking.

Still convinced that Gul'dan's corruption would destroy his people, Durotan spoke out against the warlocks once more. The brave warrior claimed that warlocks were destroying the purity of the orcish spirit and that this reckless invasion would be their doom. Gul'dan, unable to risk killing such a popular hero, was forced to exile Durotan and his Frostwolf Clan into the far reaches of this new world.

After the exiled Frostwolves charged through the portal, only a few orc clans followed. These orcs quickly set up a base of operations within the Black Morass, a dark and swampy area far to the east of the kingdom of Stormwind. As the orcs began to branch out and explore the new lands, they came into immediate conflict with the human defenders of Stormwind. Though these skirmishes usually ended quickly, they did much to illustrate the weaknesses and strengths of both rival species. Llane and Lothar were never able to gather accurate data of the orcs' numbers and could only guess at how great a force they would have to contend with. After a few years the majority of the orcish Horde had crossed into Azeroth, and Gul'dan deemed that the time for the primary strike against humanity had come. The Horde launched its full might against the unsuspecting kingdom of Stormwind.

As the forces of Azeroth and the Horde clashed across the kingdom, internal conflicts began to take their toll on both armies. King Llane, who believed the bestial orcs to be incapable of conquering Azeroth, contemptuously held his position at his capital of Stormwind. However, Sir Lothar became convinced that the battle should be taken directly to the enemy, and he was forced to choose between his convictions and his loyalty to the king. Choosing to follow his instincts, Lothar stormed Medivh's tower-fortress of Karazhan with the help of the wizard's young apprentice, Khadgar. Khadgar and Lothar succeeded in vanquishing the possessed Guardian, whom they confirmed to be the source of the conflict. By killing Medivh's body, Lothar and the young apprentice inadvertently banished the spirit of Sargeras to the abyss. As a consequence, the pure, virtuous spirit of Medivh was also allowed to live on... and wander the astral plane for many years to come.

Although Medivh had been defeated, the Horde continued to dominate the defenders of Stormwind. As the Horde's victory drew nearer, Orgrim Doomhammer, one of the greatest orc chieftains, began to see the depraved corruption that had spread throughout the clans since their time in Draenor. His old comrade, Durotan, returned from exile and warned him yet again of Gul'dan's treachery. In speedy retribution, Gul'dan's assassins murdered Durotan and his family, leaving only his infant son alive. Unknown to Doomhammer was the fact that Durotan's infant son was found by the human officer, Aedelas Blackmoore, and taken as a slave.

That infant orc would one day rise to become the greatest leader his people would ever know.

Incensed by Durotan's death, Orgrim set out to free the Horde from demonic corruption and ultimately assumed the role of warchief of the Horde by killing Gul'dan's corrupt puppet, Blackhand. Under his decisive leadership the relentless Horde finally laid siege to Stormwind Keep. King Llane had severely underestimated the might of the Horde, and he watched helplessly as his kingdom fell to the green-skinned invaders. Ultimately King Llane was assassinated by one of the Shadow Council's finest killers: the half-orc, Garona.

Lothar and his warriors, returning home from Karazhan, hoped to stem the loss of life and save their once-glorious homeland. Instead, they returned too late and found their beloved kingdom in smoking ruins. The orcish Horde continued to ravage the countryside and claimed the surrounding lands for its own. Forced into hiding, Lothar and his companions swore a grim oath to reclaim their homeland at any cost.

'''The Alliance of Lordaeron'''

''Warcraft 2: Tides of Darkness''

Lord Lothar rallied the remnants of Azeroth's armies after their defeat at Stormwind Keep, and then launched a massive exodus across the sea to the northern kingdom of Lordaeron. Convinced that the Horde would overcome all of humanity if left unchecked, the leaders of the seven human nations met and agreed to unite in what would become known as the Alliance of Lordaeron. For the first time in nearly three thousand years, the disparate nations of Arathor were once again united under a common banner. Appointed as Supreme Commander of the Alliance forces, Lord Lothar prepared his armies for the coming of the Horde.

Aided by his lieutenants, Uther the Lightbringer, Admiral Daelin Proudmoore, and Turalyon, Lothar was able to convince Lordaeron's demi-human races of the impending threat as well. The Alliance succeeded in gaining the support of the stoic dwarves of Ironforge and a small number of high elves of Quel'Thalas. The elves, led at that time by Anasterian Sunstrider, were largely uninterested in the coming conflict. However, they were duty-bound to aid Lothar because he was the last descendent of the Arathi bloodline, which had aided the elves in ages past.

The Horde, now led by Warchief Doomhammer, brought in ogres from its homeworld of Draenor and conscripted the disenfranchised Amani forest trolls into its fold. Setting out on a massive campaign to overrun the dwarf kingdom of Khaz Modan and the southern reaches of Lordaeron, the Horde effortlessly decimated all opposition.

The epic battles of the Second War ranged from large-scale naval skirmishes to massive aerial dogfights. Somehow the Horde had unearthed a powerful artifact known as the Demon Soul and used it to enslave the ancient Dragonqueen, Alexstrasza. Threatening to destroy her precious eggs, the Horde forced Alexstrasza to send her grown children to war. The noble red dragons were forced to fight for the Horde, and fight they did.

The war raged across the continents of Khaz Modan, Lordaeron, and Azeroth itself. As part of its northern campaign, the Horde succeeded in burning down the borderlands of Quel'Thalas, thereby ensuring the elves' final commitment to the Alliance's cause. The greater cities and townships of Lordaeron were razed and devastated by the conflict. Despite the absence of reinforcements and overwhelming odds, Lothar and his allies succeeded in holding their enemies at bay.

However, during the final days of the Second War, as the Horde's victory over the Alliance seemed almost assured, a terrible feud erupted between the two most powerful orcs on Azeroth. As Doomhammer prepared his final assault against the Capital City of Lordaeron - an assault that would have crushed the last remnants of the Alliance - Gul'dan and his followers abandoned their posts and set out to sea. The bewildered Doomhammer, having lost nearly half of his standing forces to Gul'dan's treachery, was forced to pull back and forsake his greatest chance at victory over the Alliance.

The power-hungry Gul'dan, obsessed with obtaining godhood itself, set out on a desperate search for the undersea Tomb of Sargeras that he believed held the secrets of ultimate power. Having already doomed his fellow orcs to become the slaves of the Burning Legion, Gul'dan thought nothing of his supposed duty to Doomhammer. Backed by the Stormreaver and Twilight's Hammer clans, Gul'dan succeeded in raising the Tomb of Sargeras from the sea floor. However, when he opened the ancient, flooded vault, he found only crazed demons awaiting him.

Seeking to punish the wayward orcs for their costly betrayal, Doomhammer sent his forces to kill Gul'dan and bring the renegades back into the fold. For his recklessness, Gul'dan was torn apart by the maddened demons he had set loose. With their leader dead, the renegade clans quickly fell before Doomhammer's enraged legions. Though the rebellion had been quelled, the Horde was unable to recoup the terrible losses it had suffered. Gul'dan's betrayal had afforded the Alliance not only hope, but also time to regroup and retaliate.

Lord Lothar, seeing that the Horde was fracturing from within, gathered the last of his forces and pushed Doomhammer south, back into the shattered heartland of Stormwind. There, the Alliance forces trapped the retreating Horde within the volcanic fortress of Blackrock Spire. Though Lord Lothar fell in battle at the Spire's base, his lieutenant, Turalyon, rallied the Alliance forces at the eleventh hour and drove the Horde back into the abysmal Swamp of Sorrows. Turalyon's forces succeeded in destroying the Dark Portal, the mystical gateway that connected the orcs to their homeworld of Draenor. Cut off from its reinforcements and fractured by infighting, the Horde finally buckled in upon itself and fell before the might of the Alliance.

The scattered orc clans were quickly rounded up and placed within guarded internment camps. Though it seemed that the Horde had been defeated for good, some remained highly skeptical that peace would last. Khadgar, now an Archmage of some renown, convinced the Alliance high command to build the fortress of Nethergarde that would watch over the ruins of the Dark Portal and ensure that there would be no further invasions from Draenor.

'''The Invasion of Draenor'''

''Warcraft 2X: Beyond the Dark Portal''

As the fires of the Second War died down, the Alliance took aggressive steps to contain the orcish threat. A number of large internment camps, meant to house the captive orcs, were constructed in southern Lordaeron. Guarded by both the paladins and the veteran soldiers of the Alliance, the camps proved to be a great success. Though the captive orcs were tense and anxious to do battle once more, the various camp wardens, based at the old prison-fortress of Durnholde, kept the peace and maintained a strong semblance of order.

However, on the hellish world of Draenor, a new orcish army prepared to strike at the unsuspecting Alliance. Ner'zhul, the former mentor of Gul'dan, rallied the remaining orc clans under his dark banner. Aided by the Shadowmoon clan, the old shaman planned to open a number of portals on Draenor that would lead the Horde to new, unspoiled worlds. To power his new portals, he needed a number of enchanted artifacts from Azeroth. To procure them, Ner'zhul reopened the Dark Portal and sent his ravenous servants charging through it.

The new Horde, led by veteran chieftains such as Grom Hellscream and Kilrogg Deadeye (of the Bleeding Hollow clan), surprised the Alliance defense forces and rampaged through the countryside. Under Ner'zhul's surgical command, the orcs quickly rounded up the artifacts that they needed and fled back to the safety of Draenor.

King Terenas of Lordaeron, convinced that the orcs were preparing a new invasion of Azeroth, assembled his most trusted lieutenants. He ordered General Turalyon and the archmage, Khadgar, to lead an expedition through the Dark Portal to put an end to the orcish threat once and for all. Turalyon and Khadgar's forces marched into Draenor and repeatedly clashed with Ner'zhul's clans upon the ravaged Hellfire Peninsula. Even with the aid of the high elf Alleria Windrunner, the dwarf Kurdran Wildhammer, and the veteran soldier Danath Trollbane, Khadgar was unable to prevent Ner'zhul from opening his portals to other worlds.

Ner'zhul finally opened his portals to other worlds, but he did not foresee the terrible price he would pay. The portals' tremendous energies began to tear the very fabric of Draenor apart. As Turalyon's forces fought desperately to return home to Azeroth, the world of Draenor began to buckle in upon itself. Grom Hellscream and Kilrogg Deadeye, realizing that Ner'zhul's mad plans would doom their entire race, rallied the remaining orcs and escaped back to the relative safety of Azeroth.

On Draenor, Turalyon and Khadgar agreed to make the ultimate sacrifice by destroying the Dark Portal from their side. Though it would cost their lives, and the lives of their companions, they knew that it was the only way to ensure Azeroth's survival. Even as Hellscream and Deadeye hacked their way through the human ranks in a desperate bid for freedom, the Dark Portal exploded behind them. For them, and the remaining orcs on Azeroth, there would be no going back.

Ner'zhul and his loyal Shadowmoon clan passed through the largest of the newly created portals, as massive volcanic eruptions began to break Draenor's continents apart. The burning seas rose up and roiled the shattered landscape as the tortured world was finally consumed in a massive, apocalyptic explosion.

'''The Birth of the Lich King'''

Ner'zhul and his followers entered the Twisting Nether, the ethereal plane that connects all of the worlds scattered throughout the Great Dark Beyond. Unfortunately Kil'jaeden and his demonic minions were waiting for them. Kil'jaeden, who had sworn to take vengeance on Ner'zhul for his prideful defiance, slowly tore the old shaman's body apart, piece by piece. Kil'jaeden kept the shaman's spirit alive and intact, thus leaving Ner'zhul painfully aware of his body's gross dismemberment. Though Ner'zhul pleaded with the demon to release his spirit and grant him death, the demon grimly replied that the Blood Pact they had made long ago was still binding, and that Ner'zhul still had a purpose to serve.

The orcs' failure to conquer the world for the Burning Legion forced Kil'jaeden to create a new army to sew chaos throughout the kingdoms of the Azeroth. This new army could not be allowed to fall prey to the same petty rivalries and infighting that had plagued the Horde. It would have to be merciless and single-minded in its mission. This time, Kil'jaeden could not afford to fail.

Holding Ner'zhul's spirit helpless in stasis, Kil'jaeden gave him one last chance to serve the Legion or suffer eternal torment. Once again, Ner'zhul recklessly agreed to the demon's pact. Ner'zhul's spirit was placed within a specially crafted block of diamond-hard ice gathered from the far reaches of the Twisting Nether. Encased within the frozen cask, Ner'zhul felt his consciousness expand ten thousand-fold. Warped by the demon's chaotic powers, Ner'zhul became a spectral being of unfathomable power. At that moment, the orc known as Ner'zhul was shattered forever, and the Lich King was born.

Ner'zhul's loyal death knights and Shadowmoon followers were also transformed by the demon's chaotic energies. The wicked spellcasters were ripped apart and remade as skeletal liches. The demons had ensured that even in death, Ner'zhul's followers would serve him unquestioningly.

When the time was right, Kil'jaeden explained the mission for which he had created the Lich King. Ner'zhul was to spread a plague of death and terror across Azeroth that would snuff out human civilization forever. All those who died from the dreaded plague would arise as the undead, and their spirits would be bound to Ner'zhul's iron will forever. Kil'jaeden promised that if Ner'zhul accomplished his dark mission of scouring humanity from the world, he would be freed from his curse and granted a new, healthy body to inhabit.

Though Ner'zhul was agreeable and seemingly anxious to play his part, Kil'jaeden remained skeptical of his pawn's loyalties. Keeping the Lich King bodiless and trapped within the crystal cask assured his good conduct for the short term, but the demon knew that he would need to keep a watchful eye on him. To this end, Kil'jaeden called upon his elite demon guard, the vampiric dreadlords, to police Ner'zhul and ensure that he accomplished his dread task. Tichondrius, the most powerful and cunning of the dreadlords, warmed to the challenge; he was fascinated by the plague's severity and the Lich King's unbridled potential for genocide.

'''The Battle of Grim Batol'''

Meanwhile, in the war-torn lands of the south, the scattered remnants of the Horde fought for their very survival. Though Grom Hellscream and his Warsong clan managed to evade capture, Deadeye and his Bleeding Hollow clan were rounded up and placed in the internment camps in Lordaeron. Notwithstanding these costly uprisings, the camps' wardens soon re-established control over their brutish charges.

However, unknown to the Alliance, a large force of orcs still roamed free in the northern wastes of Khaz Modan. The Dragonmaw clan, led by the infamous warlock Nekros, was using an ancient artifact known as the Demon Soul to control the Dragonqueen, Alexstrasza, and her dragonflight. With the Dragonqueen as his hostage, Nekros built up a secret army within the abandoned - some say cursed - Wildhammer stronghold of Grim Batol. Planning to unleash his forces and the mighty red dragons on the Alliance, Nekros hoped to reunite the Horde and continue its conquest of Azeroth. His vision did not come to pass: a small group of resistance fighters, led by the human mage Rhonin managed to destroy the Demon Soul and free the Dragonqueen from Nekros' command.

In their fury, Alexstrasza's dragons tore Grim Batol apart and incinerated the greater bulk of the Dragonmaw clan. Nekros' grand schemes of reunification came crashing down as the Alliance troops rounded up the remaining orc survivors and threw them into the waiting internment camps. The Dragonmaw clan's defeat signaled the end of the Horde, and the end of the orcs' furious bloodlust.

'''Lethargy of the Orcs'''

Months passed, and more orc prisoners were rounded up and placed within the internment camps. As the camps began to overflow, the Alliance was forced to construct new camps in the plains south of the Alterac Mountains. To properly maintain and supply the growing number of camps, King Terenas levied a new tax on the Alliance nations. This tax, along with increased political tensions over border disputes, created widespread unrest. It seemed that the fragile pact that had forged the human nations together in their darkest hour would break at any given moment.

Amidst the political turmoil, many of the camp wardens began to notice an unsettling change come over their orc captives. The orcs' efforts to escape from the camps or even fight amongst themselves had greatly decreased in frequency over time. The orcs were becoming increasingly aloof and lethargic. Though it was difficult to believe, the orcs - once held as the most aggressive race ever seen on Azeroth - had completely lost their will to fight. The strange lethargy confounded the Alliance leaders and continued to take its toll on the rapidly weakening orcs.

Some speculated that some strange disease, contractible only by orcs, brought about the baffling lethargy. But Archmage Antonidas of Dalaran posed a different hypothesis. Researching what little he could find of orcish history, Antonidas learned that the orcs had been under the crippling influence of demonic power for generations. He speculated that the orcs had been corrupted by these powers even before their first invasion of Azeroth. Clearly, demons had spiked the orcs' blood, and in turn the brutes had been granted unnaturally heightened strength, endurance, and aggression.

Antonidas theorized that the orcs' communal lethargy was not actually a disease, but a consequence of racial withdrawal from the volatile warlock magics that had made them fearsome, bloodlusted warriors. Though the symptoms were clear, Antonidas was unable to find a cure for the orcs' present condition. Then too, many of his fellow mages, as well as a few notable Alliance leaders, argued that finding a cure for the orcs would be an imprudent venture. Left to ponder the orcs' mysterious condition, Antonidas' conclusion was that the orcs' cure would have to be a spiritual one.

'''The New Horde'''

The chief warden of the internment camps, Aedelas Blackmoore, watched over the captive orcs from his prison-stronghold, Durnholde. One orc in particular had always held his interest: the orphaned infant he had found nearly eighteen years before. Blackmoore had raised the young male as a favored slave and named him Thrall. Blackmoore taught the orc about tactics, philosophy, and combat. Thrall was even trained as a gladiator. All the while, the corrupt warden sought to mold the orc into a weapon.

Despite his harsh upbringing, young Thrall grew into a strong, quick-witted orc, and he knew in his heart that a slave's life was not for him. As he grew to maturity, he learned about his people, the orcs, whom he had never met: after their defeat, most of them had been placed in internment camps. Rumor had it that Doomhammer, the orc leader, had escaped from Lordaeron and gone into hiding. Only one rogue clan still operated in secret, trying to evade the watchful eyes of the Alliance.

The resourceful yet inexperienced Thrall decided to escape from Blackmoore's fortress and set off to find others of his kind. During his journeys Thrall visited the internment camps and found his once-mighty race to be strangely cowed and lethargic. Having not found the proud warriors he hoped to discover, Thrall set out to find the last undefeated orc chieftain, Grom Hellscream.

Constantly hunted by the humans, Hellscream nevertheless held onto the Horde's unquenchable will to fight. Aided only by his own devoted Warsong clan, Hellscream continued to wage an underground war against the oppression of his beleaguered people. Unfortunately, Hellscream could never find a way to rouse the captured orcs from their stupor. The impressionable Thrall, inspired by Hellscream's idealism, developed a strong empathy for the Horde and its warrior traditions.

Seeking the truth of his own origins, Thrall traveled north to find the legendary Frostwolf clan. Thrall learned that Gul'dan had exiled the Frostwolves during the early days of the First War. He also discovered that he was the son and heir of the orc hero Durotan, the true chieftain of the Frostwolves who had been murdered in the wilds nearly twenty years before.

Under the tutelage of the venerable shaman Drek'Thar, Thrall studied his people's ancient shamanistic culture, which had been forgotten under Gul'dan's evil rule. Over time, Thrall became a powerful shaman and took his rightful place as chieftain of the exiled Frostwolves. Empowered by the elements themselves and driven to find his destiny, Thrall set off to free the captive clans and heal his race of demonic corruption.

During his travels, Thrall found the aged warchief, Orgrim Doomhammer, who had been living as a hermit for many years. Doomhammer, who had been a close friend of Thrall's father, decided to follow the young, visionary orc and help him free the captive clans. Supported by many of the veteran chieftains, Thrall ultimately succeeded in revitalizing the Horde and giving his people a new spiritual identity.

To symbolize his people's rebirth, Thrall returned to Blackmoore's fortress of Durnholde and put a decisive end to his former master's plans by laying siege to the internment camps. This victory was not without its price: during the liberation of one camp, Doomhammer fell in battle.

Thrall took up Doomhammer's legendary warhammer and donned his black plate-armor to become the new warchief of the Horde. During the following months, Thrall's small but volatile Horde laid waste to the internment camps and stymied the Alliance's best efforts to counter his clever strategies. Encouraged by his best friend and mentor, Grom Hellscream, Thrall worked to ensure that his people would never be slaves again.

'''Archimonde's Return and the Flight to Kalimdor'''

After the orcs defeat and the rise of the undead scourge, Archimonde, leader of the demonic armies of the Burning Legion, launched his invasion upon the world of Azeroth.

In the midst of this chaos, a lone, mysterious prophet appeared to lend the mortal races guidance. This prophet proved to be none other than Medivh, the last Guardian, miraculously returned from the Beyond to redeem himself for past sins. Medivh told the Horde and the Alliance of the dangers they faced and urged them to band together. Jaded by generations of hate, the orcs and humans would have none of it. Medivh was forced to deal with each race separately, using prophecy and trickery to guide them across the sea to the legendary land of Kalimdor. The orcs and humans soon encountered the long-hidden civilization of the Kaldorei.

The orcs, led by Thrall, suffered a series of setbacks on their journey across Kalimdor's Barrens. Though they befriended Cairne Bloodhoof and his mighty tauren warriors, many orcs began to succumb to the demonic bloodlust that had plagued them for years. Thrall's greatest lieutenant, Grom Hellscream, even betrayed the Horde by giving himself over to his baser instincts. As Hellscream and his loyal Warsong warriors stalked through the forests of Ashenvale, they clashed with the ancient night elf Sentinels. Certain that the orcs had returned to their warlike ways, the demigod Cenarius came forth to drive Hellscream and his orcs back. Yet Hellscream and his orcs, overcome with supernatural hate and rage, managed to kill Cenarius and corrupt the ancient forestlands. Ultimately, Hellscream redeemed his honor by helping Thrall defeat Mannoroth, the demon lord who first cursed the orcs with his bloodline of hate and rage. With Mannoroth's death, the orcs' blood-curse was finally brought to an end.

'''The Battle of Mount Hyjal'''

Under Medivh's guidance, Thrall and Jaina Proudmoore - the leader of the human forces in Kalimdor - realized that they had to put aside their differences. Similarly, the night elves, led by Malfurion and Tyrande, agreed that they must unite if they hoped to defend the World Tree. Unified in purpose, the races of Azeroth worked together to fortify the World Tree's energies to their utmost. Empowered by the very strength of the world, Malfurion succeeded in unleashing Nordrassil's primal fury, utterly destroying Archimonde and severing the Legion's anchor to the Well of Eternity. The final battle shook the continent of Kalimdor to its roots. Unable to draw power from the Well itself, the Burning Legion crumbled under the combined might of the mortal armies.

'''Old Hatreds - The Colonization of Kalimdor'''

Though victory was theirs, the mortal races found themselves in a world shattered by war. The Scourge and the Burning Legion had all but destroyed the civilizations of Lordaeron, and had almost finished the job in Kalimdor. There were forests to heal, grudges to bury, and homelands to settle. The war had wounded each race deeply, but they had selflessly banded together to attempt a new beginning, starting with the uneasy truce between the Alliance and Horde.

Thrall led the orcs to the continent of Kalimdor, where they founded a new homeland with the help of their tauren brethren. Naming their new land Durotar after Thrall's murdered father, the orcs settled down to rebuild their once-glorious society. Now that the demon curse was ended, the Horde changed from a warlike juggernaut into more of a loose coalition, dedicated to survival and prosperity rather than conquest. Aided by the noble tauren and the cunning trolls of the Darkspear tribe, Thrall and his orcs looked forward to a new era of peace in their own land.

The remaining Alliance forces under Jaina Proudmoore settled in southern Kalimdor. Off the eastern coast of Dustwallow Marsh, they built the rugged port city of Theramore. There, the humans and their dwarven allies worked to survive in a land that would always be hostile to them. Though the defenders of Durotar and Theramore kept the tentative truce with one another, the fragile colonial serenity was not meant to last.

The peace between the orcs and humans was shattered by the arrival of a massive Alliance fleet in Kalimdor. The mighty fleet, under the command of Grand Admiral Daelin Proudmoore (Jaina's father), had left Lordaeron before Arthas had destroyed the kingdom. Having sailed for many grueling months, Admiral Proudmoore was searching for any Alliance survivors he could find.

Proudmoore's armada posed a serious threat to the stability of the region. As a renowned hero of the Second War, Jaina's father was a staunch enemy of the Horde, and he was determined to destroy Durotar before the orcs could gain a foothold in the land.

The Grand Admiral forced Jaina to make a terrible decision: support him in battle against the orcs and betray her newfound allies, or fight her own father to maintain the fragile peace that the Alliance and the Horde had finally attained. After much soul-searching, Jaina chose the latter and helped Thrall defeat her crazed father. Unfortunately Admiral Proudmoore died in battle before Jaina could reconcile with him or prove that orcs were no longer bloodthirsty monsters. For her loyalty, the orcs allowed Jaina's forces to return home safely to Theramore.

Shaman

2005-11-07T14:53:00Z

Drake:

== Overview ==

Shamans are the spiritual leaders of their tribes and clans. They communicate with spirits, have visions of the future, and guide their people through the darkest of times. Many mistake their wisdom and serenity for a pacifist nature. When challenged, though, shaman have a range of powers available for dealing with threats to the natural order.

== Quests ==
[[Call of Water]]

== History ==

Since the birth of the Orcish culture, Shamans have always been attune to the spirit world, and listened to the wise counsel of the ancestors. Orc hunters asked the elders to soothe the weather during their hunt, or to bring a gentle fog around their camps at night. Never did the Shamans abuse their powers however, and this era of peace between the elements and the orcs seemed as though it was never going to end. 

It was only a few decades before the Dark Portal would carry the bloodthirsty Horde that the link to the spiritual world was severed with the orcs. Kil'Jaeden the Deceiver, having stumbled upon the primitive orc homeworld of Draenor, decided he could use the strength displayed by them to soften Azeroth's defense. The vile demon corrupted the orc's elder Shaman, Ner'Zhul, offering him limitless powers in exchange for the orcs cooperation. He accepted reluctantly to the dark pact and started to teach young orcs the arts of dark magik. It was only after a few years that he would have but eliminated shamanism from their culture. 

With the constant drain of negative energy from the Twisting Nether, Draenor started to wither and die slowly. It was soon after, that the portal would be opened and that the Horde would ravage Azeroth. Only one reckless clan opposed the Warlock's mad scheme, the Frostwolf Clan, led by Durotan, one of the Horde's most honored Chieftains. Gul'Dan, the greatest orc Warlock, now secretly in charge of the Horde, knew that he could not risk killing such a popular hero. His only option was to exile him and his clan through the Dark Portal and into the unknown depths of the new world. 

During those years when war raged across Azeroth, the Frostwolves settled in the summits of Alterac Mountains, a cold region on the northern continent of Lordaeron. The Clan still maintained the hunter traditions and the orcs shamanism, but their numbers were thinning. Durotan and his mate, Draka, kept a close eye on their only son, Thrall, and wanted for him a great future among his peers. To ensure this future, Durotan and his family visited their friend Orgrim Doomhammer in the south. He warned him of the Warlocks and the Shadow Council, who controlled the Horde from behind. He also told him of Gul'Dan's treachery. Unfortunately, Durotan was never going to see his clan ever, for he was killed on his way home by Gul'Dan's assassins. Only his son, Thrall, survived. 

He was found by Aedelas Blackmoore, future chief warden of the interment camps, and raised as a slave. Upon reaching adulthood, the idealistic young orc escaped his captor and set out the find those of his kinds: the orcs. On his journey he witnessed the strange lethargy his people suffered and was saddened to discover they had all but lost their legendary warrior spirit, but more importantly: their very will to live. 

Unable to accept it, he searched for the last free orc chieftain: Grom Hellscream of the Warsong Clan. After many long days he finally stumbled upon the Warsong, and he was able to talk to their leader. Inspired by Hellscream's idealism, he traveled north to find the legendary Frostwolf Clan. He discovered he was the son of Durotan, chieftain of the Frostwolves. He met with the venerable Drek'Thar, the last orc Shaman, who taught the inexperienced orc the ways of the four elements and how to commune with the spirits. Thrall studied the orc's shamanistic heritage and succeeded to gain the respect of the ancient spirits. At the end of his training, Thrall was empowered by the elements and ready to free his people of their affliction. 

With Thrall's visionary leadership and the teachings of shamanism, the Horde was freed from both the humans and the demons. 

== Role ==

The Shaman is a secondary Healing class (to the Priest) with a fun assortment of spells and options. The Shaman is especially liked by party members for its Healing and beneficial totems. The Shaman has up to four types of totems: Air, Earth, Fire, and Water. An important part of playing the Shaman is figuring out which totem is best to use in each situation. 

[[HEALING 101]] 
The secondary healing role is fulfilled using either Healing Wave (HW) or Lesser Healing Wave (LHW). HW is a larger but slow casting heal while LHW is a smaller 1.5 sec cast heal very similar to priest's Flash Heal both in efficiency and in casting time and mana cost. 

Healing Wave has a specific talent (Restoration - Improved Healing Wave) to reduce its casting time from 3 sec to 2.5 sec. 

Lesser Healing Wave has a specific talent (Restoration - Improved LHW) to reduce the chance of interruption from damage while casting LHW, for up to 70% reduction. 

Chain Heal isn't much to talk about. It's about 2 Healing Waves spread over 3 targets which you don't control. It's not very mana efficient for a group healing spell and attracts lots of agro. Not very used unless the whole group is taking massive damage and you need to up your HP/sec. 

Finally, in the restoration talent tree, Shamans have acces to Nature's Swiftness (21 points required) that allows to cast the next spell healing or offensive instantly. 

The efficiency of HW in HP/mana is a bit better than that of LHW but at the cost of less versatility, risk of over-healing on a crit, risk of getting agro more easily and no reduction in interruption chance. With Improved Healing Wave, the healing rate is the same between both spells. Without talent, LHW actually heals faster than HW.The efficiency different is small and becomes the same as soon as a shaman uses an item with flat 25 mana reduction in costs of spells. 

For these reasons, Lesser Healing Wave is often the healing spell of choice for shamans. For burst healing, Nature's swiftness followed by Healing Wave is often the only time a shaman will use Healing Wave. For this reason, ignoring the Improved Healing Wave talent may be a viable solution if your shaman is only going to use Lesser Healing Wave. 

[[TOTEM USE]] 
This is where a shaman can provide essential utility to their group. You can only have 1 totem of each type out at any given time. If you cast another totem of the same type (earth, water, fire or air), it'll overwrite the previous one. That may dictate some sequences for totems on timer like Fire Nova. 

Earth Totem: 

- Earthbind: this snares all enemies within 10 yards. It's invaluable to protect casters and allow them to kite mobs around if they have to. This prevents runner from going very far as well. 

- Strength of the arms: a regular +STR buff. Useful when in a melee-oriented group. It doesn't benefits Rogues and Hunters as much however since their DPS is half/half STR/AGI. 

- Earth claw: this is a taunt tool. Useful in case of adds to buy you time. Also useful right after a pull of a swarm to channel the mobs to a point for easy AoE DD kills. 

- Stoneskin: more useful at lower levels. Its attractiveness in damage mitigation however increases when dealing with swarms of mobs in high-end instance. Otherwise for a regular crowd-controlled pull or up to 4 mobs, it's generally less effective than Earthbind or Strength but maybe viable in AoE nuking groups. 

- Tremor: it pulses every few seconds and removes sleep CC spells. Not many mobs use those so not very useful but when you hit some of them like dragonkins in Sunken Temple or in SM Cathedral, it can save your group from wipe. 

Water Totem: 

- Healing: limited use. Good for downtime reducing possibly but in practice, its effects are usually too weak to do much. Consider saving the mana. 

- Poison/disease cleansing: very useful situationally. Those are cheap in mana cost (less than twice the single target poison/disease removal). They tick every 10 sec or so, so in case of very violent poisons, you may want to recast them since they'll pulse once right as you drop. This is particularly useful to get rid quick of AE poisons. 

- Mana Spring: like healing totem, its trickling returns are usually not worth the hassle. Exception would be extended raid fights in which you don't need to remove poison or disease and are in caster-heavy group. 

- Mana Tide: 12 sec of high rate mana regeneration. Better than mana spring but often deemed too costly a talent in the restoration tree to be worth having. 

- Fire Resistance: Adds 30-60% Fire Resistance. Very useful especially in high-end instances with lots of fire-based mobs. 

Fire Totems: 

- Searing: one of the most used and certainly the most misused totem of all. It sounds like a good deal of extra DPS for not much mana and in truth it is. It sends fire bolts to 1 nearby target, "usually" the one you're fighting. However, it may as well pull a nearby mob that would have left you alone otherwise. It breaks CC in non-controllable fashion. Worth using now and then in wide open space but in all cases with caution and awareness of what's around you. Once you're done with it, consider finishing the fight replacing it with a frost resistance totem to avoid getting adds well after your fight is over. 

- Fire Nova: explodes 5 sec (or down to 3 with talents) after dropping. It agros mobs a lot and many will hit it before it explodes if not solidly agroed to something else. Reuse timer is 15 seconds making it a 1 shot AE DD in most fights. Efficient only with 2+ mobs but a nice addition to AoE DD groups.If used, better used first prior to dropping a magma totem during reuse timer of Fire Nova. Breaks CC so use with care. 

- Magma: does small damage every 5 sec. Very costly and less efficient than Fire Nova unless it's allowed to tick on most mobs for most of its duration. Does not draw agro however like Fire Nova but I'd reserve it for cases where you need DPS at the expense of anything else. Breaks CC. 

- Flametongue: adds fire damage to weapons in the party. It does not stack with shaman self weapon buffs. Better than windfury totem against high armor mobs that are not resistant to fire.

- Frost Resistance Totem: Adds 30-60% Frost Resistance. Vital against mobs using this type of attacks. In PvP, very useful against Mage ice attacks like blizzard. 

Air Totems: 

- Grounding Totem: sounds better than it is. In effect, it channels the effect of a spell otherwise directed at a party member to itself. It however has only 5 HP so if the spell is a damage one, it'll absorb the damage and be dispelled. If the spell is CC or debuff, it's generally immune and will stay in place and remove such effects once per 10 sec.Blocks sheep, some fear spells, cleansing, etc without being dispelled. On a recast timer however. 

- Windfury: 20% chance of granting 1 extra attack. Note this is much weaker than self-cast version which grants 3 extra attacks per proc. However, it generally generates a 20% extra DPS on melee characters and is very useful. Less useful on mobs with high armor possibly than Flametongue. 

- Grace of Air: adds +AGI for 1.5 min. that adds to dodge, crit rate and greatly improves rogues/hunter DPS. In many cases, decision to use it is balanced by option to use Windfury. If grace of air is used, it allows using the Flametongue group weapon buff in conjunction. 

- Nature Resistance: Adds +30-60% resistance to nature-based spells. Many poisons and diseases are nature-based (like in Maraudon) so this one in conjunction with cleansing totems may be very useful. Also great against druid spells. 

- WindWall: Stoneskin equivalent for range bow/gun attacks. Considering the amount of mobs using this, the damage mitigation which is fairly low and the fact that usually range mobs are not left at range very long, this makes for a totem most shamans will hardly ever use. Especialy considering the other better Air totems. 

Final note about totems is that they're most fragile and may be a significant mana investment that an enemy can dispel by a flick of a wand or one swing of melee weapon. They also agro on radius even if mob has lower agro radius than the range of the totem. A neutral mob crossing the path of your earthbind or earthclaw totem will agro you even if it would have ignored you otherwise. The radius may cause unwanted adds so sometimes you have to be careful with placement, go into a corner and drop it there where it won't agro roaming mobs. 

[[NUKING 101]] 

By no means a very extensive guide but things to remember as far as efficiency and higher DPS goes. 

Shocks aren't efficient. Some less than others. The most efficient is the Fire Shock doing about half its damage upfront and then rest over 15 sec. It has efficiency just under that of lightning bolt so is a decent in-combat spell. the other shocks are useful for other purposes but for grinding and downtime purposes, the Fire Shock should be the bread and butter. It's also useful for optimizing burst DPS. While it ticks, you can use other shocks effectively having higher damage than just spamming Frost Shock or Earth Shock. 

A small incursion in talents since the elemental tree is mostly about nuking split between lightning bolt/chain lightning and shock improvements. Reverberation is probably the single best talent for boosting uninterruptible damage. If you're going to go for more caster-oriented shaman, this is more viable possibly than the lightning improvement because it's not succeptible to interruptions and counterspelling. Also due to earth shock dynamics, reducing the reuse timer by 1 sec of all your shocks, not only boosts your spell DPS but reduces your opponents' by significantly. That being said, nuking is not efficient and not much more with elemental talents. It may increase burst DPs and have nice side effect on enemies snaring/prevent casting) but should be used with mana costs in mind. 

Frost Shock, either with 5-6 sec reuse timer, its duration of 8 sec may ensure perma snaring of mobs. The downside is efficiency. The snaring factor also doesn't stack with earthbind totem snare. 

Earth Shock: great damage, causes 2 sec of interruption, this is a very good spell both in PvE and in PvP. For caster mobs, this is your pull spell. If mana is an issue, use the lowest version of it. It does little damage but interrupts just the same and on a caster mob, it'll cause it to rush to melee you. However, if distance is long enough, caster mobs maybe stop on their way to you to start casting again. Even with 5 sec reuse timer, they may have up to a 3 sec casting window so b ready to meet them halfway. On caster mobs engaged in melee, this can be used to perma-lock them out of casting sequence if using a fast weapon. The interruptions of the fast weapons will extend the duration needed for caster spells. If reuse timer is 5 sec with reverberation, only 1-2 interruption during the casting time is required to lock up a caster mob. Even if you cannot completely prevent casting, it seriously reduces it. Even mroe if used in addition of a grounding totem to catch the ones you couldn't completely interrupt. 

Lightning Bolt: slow casting but efficient. Don't bother using in melee. You have shocks. The loss of DPS from interruptions is not worth the hassle in most situations.Exceptions might be if you need to kill a mob fast while an add is on your earth claw totem. In that case, it may be useful, especially with casters mobs that you otherwise earth shock. 

Chain lightning: Pulling with this spell may result in severe injury or death. I've seen it done and it may be useful in rare occasions but in general you dn't want to pull 3 mobs onto you unless the game plan is really special and you don't have a tank to do this for you. Otherwise, in PvP it also breaks CC since you don't control who it'll bounce on. Vs single targets in PvP and without mobs around, it may be useful since it has higher damage than lightning bolt. Still a very tricky spell that should be used with care. In groups, you won't qualify as AoE damage source with it and you'll most likely be more useful healing. 

[[MELEING]] 

Shamans can use most 1h weapon except swords. Don't ask me why there hehe. shamans can also use 2h staff, and 2h maces and axes with enhancement talent relatively early in the tree. The debate of whether it's worth 1 talent point to have access to 2h maces and axes is in my opinion a matter of personal choice. For an enhancement melee-oriented shaman, I think it makes sense to give yourself access to most weapons so that you use the best drop overall. For others without much enhancement inclination, it probably isn't worth it considering the stats of existing staves and the equivalent DPS of all 2h weapons prior to special abilities. 

Still when it comes to weapon choice, it doesn't hurt training in all possible weapon with the exception maybe of hand to hand due to lack of available weapons. In all cases, I'd recommend training in a fast 1h weapon and in staff. Vs caster mobs that don't hit hard in melee, shield isn't a big deal not to have. But the higher DPS of staff (or 2h mace/axe) vs squish mobs is worth it. Alternatively, if you want to play the interruption game with earth shock, a fast weapon is better since it'll cause more delays. 

Blizzard stated that higher 2h DPS is well balanced vs damage mitigation of shield+1h. On one hand, 2h weapons provide more damage but less defense which means shorter fights in which you'll take more total damage and thus have a bit more HP downtime. On the other hand, lower DPS of 1h+shield goes with less damage sustained, less variance and less downtime but longer fights. It's designed to be a wash. 

But then how to decide what is best between two setups. Typically, a 2h weapon will do about +20% damage so compare DPs of weapons with that in mind. In comparison, to that 20% higher DPS, 1h+shield should provide about +15% damage absorbed. Compare the numbers, check the total stats and decide which is best on a case by case and on a personal satisfaction level. If you like to see big number and thrills of more varied fights, go with 2h more often than with 1h. If you prefer fast predictable damage that reduce fluctuations in performance between fights, go with 1h+shield. One consideration is that spell damage doesn't care for armor so if taking lots of spell damage, consider using 2h weapon. 

Which weapon buff to use. Let's get the obvious out first. Frostbrand is near useless. Consider saving yourself money and not getting it until you're rolling in cash. The snare is of little use with earthbind and frost shock and the proc is too low rate to add decent DPS. 

Then, there are the 3 others which I'll break up in 2 groups. Flametongue and in the other group windfury and rockbiter. Obviously before lvl 30, your choice is only flametongue or rockbiter. Both are fine but have better uses situationally. Flametongue does spell damage which isn't reduced by armor but is reduced by fire resists. So on high armor opponents without large resistance to fire, it'll be the best option. For most other purposes, rockbiter or windfury are in my experience better by a small margin. 

Rockbiter is allegedly better for faster weapons while windfury is supposed to be slightly better for slower weapons. I'm still not entirely convinced by this since it's hard to evaluate precisely the mean DPS over time of those. Windfury has tremendous burst DPS capabilities. With a slow 2h weapon, the extra attacks cause an enormous amount of damage at a very high attack power. In this case, it's possible to take 50% of a mob's HP on one proc. The downside is slower weapons proc less often than faster weapons. It evens out in the long term but if you want burst DPS, windfury is for you. The other advantage is that it doesn't draw more agro than by the damage you do. Rockbiter however adds a great deal of agro to your attacks. You may be doing 30% less damage than the warrior next to you and still get agro. For that reason, I'd reserve rockbiter for solo or group situation where you want to get agro. Otherwise in groups, I'd use windfury. 

Finally, a shaman's meleeing performance isn't complete without her Lightning Shield. For grinding purposes it is relatively mana efficient compared to shocks and delivers damage in 3 procs which means less variance due to outright resists. One caveat is that orbs won't proc every time you're hit but more or less only every 5 sec or so. The orbs are also a nasty giveaway when travelling in ghost wolf form. Still this is a major weapon for shamans and it even damages range opponents.

Shaman

2005-11-07T14:51:48Z

Drake:

== Overview ==

Shamans are the spiritual leaders of their tribes and clans. They communicate with spirits, have visions of the future, and guide their people through the darkest of times. Many mistake their wisdom and serenity for a pacifist nature. When challenged, though, shaman have a range of powers available for dealing with threats to the natural order.

== Quests ==
[[Call of Water]]

== History ==

Since the birth of the Orcish culture, Shamans have always been attune to the spirit world, and listened to the wise counsel of the ancestors. Orc hunters asked the elders to soothe the weather during their hunt, or to bring a gentle fog around their camps at night. Never did the Shamans abuse their powers however, and this era of peace between the elements and the orcs seemed as though it was never going to end.
It was only a few decades before the Dark Portal would carry the bloodthirsty Horde that the link to the spiritual world was severed with the orcs. Kil'Jaeden the Deceiver, having stumbled upon the primitive orc homeworld of Draenor, decided he could use the strength displayed by them to soften Azeroth's defense. The vile demon corrupted the orc's elder Shaman, Ner'Zhul, offering him limitless powers in exchange for the orcs cooperation. He accepted reluctantly to the dark pact and started to teach young orcs the arts of dark magik. It was only after a few years that he would have but eliminated shamanism from their culture.
With the constant drain of negative energy from the Twisting Nether, Draenor started to wither and die slowly. It was soon after, that the portal would be opened and that the Horde would ravage Azeroth. Only one reckless clan opposed the Warlock's mad scheme, the Frostwolf Clan, led by Durotan, one of the Horde's most honored Chieftains. Gul'Dan, the greatest orc Warlock, now secretly in charge of the Horde, knew that he could not risk killing such a popular hero. His only option was to exile him and his clan through the Dark Portal and into the unknown depths of the new world.
During those years when war raged across Azeroth, the Frostwolves settled in the summits of Alterac Mountains, a cold region on the northern continent of Lordaeron. The Clan still maintained the hunter traditions and the orcs shamanism, but their numbers were thinning. Durotan and his mate, Draka, kept a close eye on their only son, Thrall, and wanted for him a great future among his peers. To ensure this future, Durotan and his family visited their friend Orgrim Doomhammer in the south. He warned him of the Warlocks and the Shadow Council, who controlled the Horde from behind. He also told him of Gul'Dan's treachery. Unfortunately, Durotan was never going to see his clan ever, for he was killed on his way home by Gul'Dan's assassins. Only his son, Thrall, survived.
He was found by Aedelas Blackmoore, future chief warden of the interment camps, and raised as a slave. Upon reaching adulthood, the idealistic young orc escaped his captor and set out the find those of his kinds: the orcs. On his journey he witnessed the strange lethargy his people suffered and was saddened to discover they had all but lost their legendary warrior spirit, but more importantly: their very will to live.
Unable to accept it, he searched for the last free orc chieftain: Grom Hellscream of the Warsong Clan. After many long days he finally stumbled upon the Warsong, and he was able to talk to their leader. Inspired by Hellscream's idealism, he traveled north to find the legendary Frostwolf Clan. He discovered he was the son of Durotan, chieftain of the Frostwolves. He met with the venerable Drek'Thar, the last orc Shaman, who taught the inexperienced orc the ways of the four elements and how to commune with the spirits. Thrall studied the orc's shamanistic heritage and succeeded to gain the respect of the ancient spirits. At the end of his training, Thrall was empowered by the elements and ready to free his people of their affliction.
With Thrall's visionary leadership and the teachings of shamanism, the Horde was freed from both the humans and the demons.

== Role ==

The Shaman is a secondary Healing class (to the Priest) with a fun assortment of spells and options. The Shaman is especially liked by party members for its Healing and beneficial totems. The Shaman has up to four types of totems: Air, Earth, Fire, and Water. An important part of playing the Shaman is figuring out which totem is best to use in each situation. 

[[HEALING 101]] 
The secondary healing role is fulfilled using either Healing Wave (HW) or Lesser Healing Wave (LHW). HW is a larger but slow casting heal while LHW is a smaller 1.5 sec cast heal very similar to priest's Flash Heal both in efficiency and in casting time and mana cost. 

Healing Wave has a specific talent (Restoration - Improved Healing Wave) to reduce its casting time from 3 sec to 2.5 sec. 

Lesser Healing Wave has a specific talent (Restoration - Improved LHW) to reduce the chance of interruption from damage while casting LHW, for up to 70% reduction. 

Chain Heal isn't much to talk about. It's about 2 Healing Waves spread over 3 targets which you don't control. It's not very mana efficient for a group healing spell and attracts lots of agro. Not very used unless the whole group is taking massive damage and you need to up your HP/sec. 

Finally, in the restoration talent tree, Shamans have acces to Nature's Swiftness (21 points required) that allows to cast the next spell healing or offensive instantly. 

The efficiency of HW in HP/mana is a bit better than that of LHW but at the cost of less versatility, risk of over-healing on a crit, risk of getting agro more easily and no reduction in interruption chance. With Improved Healing Wave, the healing rate is the same between both spells. Without talent, LHW actually heals faster than HW.The efficiency different is small and becomes the same as soon as a shaman uses an item with flat 25 mana reduction in costs of spells. 

For these reasons, Lesser Healing Wave is often the healing spell of choice for shamans. For burst healing, Nature's swiftness followed by Healing Wave is often the only time a shaman will use Healing Wave. For this reason, ignoring the Improved Healing Wave talent may be a viable solution if your shaman is only going to use Lesser Healing Wave. 

[[TOTEM USE]] 
This is where a shaman can provide essential utility to their group. You can only have 1 totem of each type out at any given time. If you cast another totem of the same type (earth, water, fire or air), it'll overwrite the previous one. That may dictate some sequences for totems on timer like Fire Nova. 

Earth Totem: 

- Earthbind: this snares all enemies within 10 yards. It's invaluable to protect casters and allow them to kite mobs around if they have to. This prevents runner from going very far as well. 

- Strength of the arms: a regular +STR buff. Useful when in a melee-oriented group. It doesn't benefits Rogues and Hunters as much however since their DPS is half/half STR/AGI. 

- Earth claw: this is a taunt tool. Useful in case of adds to buy you time. Also useful right after a pull of a swarm to channel the mobs to a point for easy AoE DD kills. 

- Stoneskin: more useful at lower levels. Its attractiveness in damage mitigation however increases when dealing with swarms of mobs in high-end instance. Otherwise for a regular crowd-controlled pull or up to 4 mobs, it's generally less effective than Earthbind or Strength but maybe viable in AoE nuking groups. 

- Tremor: it pulses every few seconds and removes sleep CC spells. Not many mobs use those so not very useful but when you hit some of them like dragonkins in Sunken Temple or in SM Cathedral, it can save your group from wipe. 

Water Totem: 

- Healing: limited use. Good for downtime reducing possibly but in practice, its effects are usually too weak to do much. Consider saving the mana. 

- Poison/disease cleansing: very useful situationally. Those are cheap in mana cost (less than twice the single target poison/disease removal). They tick every 10 sec or so, so in case of very violent poisons, you may want to recast them since they'll pulse once right as you drop. This is particularly useful to get rid quick of AE poisons. 

- Mana Spring: like healing totem, its trickling returns are usually not worth the hassle. Exception would be extended raid fights in which you don't need to remove poison or disease and are in caster-heavy group. 

- Mana Tide: 12 sec of high rate mana regeneration. Better than mana spring but often deemed too costly a talent in the restoration tree to be worth having. 

- Fire Resistance: Adds 30-60% Fire Resistance. Very useful especially in high-end instances with lots of fire-based mobs. 

Fire Totems: 

- Searing: one of the most used and certainly the most misused totem of all. It sounds like a good deal of extra DPS for not much mana and in truth it is. It sends fire bolts to 1 nearby target, "usually" the one you're fighting. However, it may as well pull a nearby mob that would have left you alone otherwise. It breaks CC in non-controllable fashion. Worth using now and then in wide open space but in all cases with caution and awareness of what's around you. Once you're done with it, consider finishing the fight replacing it with a frost resistance totem to avoid getting adds well after your fight is over. 

- Fire Nova: explodes 5 sec (or down to 3 with talents) after dropping. It agros mobs a lot and many will hit it before it explodes if not solidly agroed to something else. Reuse timer is 15 seconds making it a 1 shot AE DD in most fights. Efficient only with 2+ mobs but a nice addition to AoE DD groups.If used, better used first prior to dropping a magma totem during reuse timer of Fire Nova. Breaks CC so use with care. 

- Magma: does small damage every 5 sec. Very costly and less efficient than Fire Nova unless it's allowed to tick on most mobs for most of its duration. Does not draw agro however like Fire Nova but I'd reserve it for cases where you need DPS at the expense of anything else. Breaks CC. 

- Flametongue: adds fire damage to weapons in the party. It does not stack with shaman self weapon buffs. Better than windfury totem against high armor mobs that are not resistant to fire.

- Frost Resistance Totem: Adds 30-60% Frost Resistance. Vital against mobs using this type of attacks. In PvP, very useful against Mage ice attacks like blizzard. 

Air Totems: 

- Grounding Totem: sounds better than it is. In effect, it channels the effect of a spell otherwise directed at a party member to itself. It however has only 5 HP so if the spell is a damage one, it'll absorb the damage and be dispelled. If the spell is CC or debuff, it's generally immune and will stay in place and remove such effects once per 10 sec.Blocks sheep, some fear spells, cleansing, etc without being dispelled. On a recast timer however. 

- Windfury: 20% chance of granting 1 extra attack. Note this is much weaker than self-cast version which grants 3 extra attacks per proc. However, it generally generates a 20% extra DPS on melee characters and is very useful. Less useful on mobs with high armor possibly than Flametongue. 

- Grace of Air: adds +AGI for 1.5 min. that adds to dodge, crit rate and greatly improves rogues/hunter DPS. In many cases, decision to use it is balanced by option to use Windfury. If grace of air is used, it allows using the Flametongue group weapon buff in conjunction. 

- Nature Resistance: Adds +30-60% resistance to nature-based spells. Many poisons and diseases are nature-based (like in Maraudon) so this one in conjunction with cleansing totems may be very useful. Also great against druid spells. 

- WindWall: Stoneskin equivalent for range bow/gun attacks. Considering the amount of mobs using this, the damage mitigation which is fairly low and the fact that usually range mobs are not left at range very long, this makes for a totem most shamans will hardly ever use. Especialy considering the other better Air totems. 

Final note about totems is that they're most fragile and may be a significant mana investment that an enemy can dispel by a flick of a wand or one swing of melee weapon. They also agro on radius even if mob has lower agro radius than the range of the totem. A neutral mob crossing the path of your earthbind or earthclaw totem will agro you even if it would have ignored you otherwise. The radius may cause unwanted adds so sometimes you have to be careful with placement, go into a corner and drop it there where it won't agro roaming mobs. 

[[NUKING 101]] 

By no means a very extensive guide but things to remember as far as efficiency and higher DPS goes. 

Shocks aren't efficient. Some less than others. The most efficient is the Fire Shock doing about half its damage upfront and then rest over 15 sec. It has efficiency just under that of lightning bolt so is a decent in-combat spell. the other shocks are useful for other purposes but for grinding and downtime purposes, the Fire Shock should be the bread and butter. It's also useful for optimizing burst DPS. While it ticks, you can use other shocks effectively having higher damage than just spamming Frost Shock or Earth Shock. 

A small incursion in talents since the elemental tree is mostly about nuking split between lightning bolt/chain lightning and shock improvements. Reverberation is probably the single best talent for boosting uninterruptible damage. If you're going to go for more caster-oriented shaman, this is more viable possibly than the lightning improvement because it's not succeptible to interruptions and counterspelling. Also due to earth shock dynamics, reducing the reuse timer by 1 sec of all your shocks, not only boosts your spell DPS but reduces your opponents' by significantly. That being said, nuking is not efficient and not much more with elemental talents. It may increase burst DPs and have nice side effect on enemies snaring/prevent casting) but should be used with mana costs in mind. 

Frost Shock, either with 5-6 sec reuse timer, its duration of 8 sec may ensure perma snaring of mobs. The downside is efficiency. The snaring factor also doesn't stack with earthbind totem snare. 

Earth Shock: great damage, causes 2 sec of interruption, this is a very good spell both in PvE and in PvP. For caster mobs, this is your pull spell. If mana is an issue, use the lowest version of it. It does little damage but interrupts just the same and on a caster mob, it'll cause it to rush to melee you. However, if distance is long enough, caster mobs maybe stop on their way to you to start casting again. Even with 5 sec reuse timer, they may have up to a 3 sec casting window so b ready to meet them halfway. On caster mobs engaged in melee, this can be used to perma-lock them out of casting sequence if using a fast weapon. The interruptions of the fast weapons will extend the duration needed for caster spells. If reuse timer is 5 sec with reverberation, only 1-2 interruption during the casting time is required to lock up a caster mob. Even if you cannot completely prevent casting, it seriously reduces it. Even mroe if used in addition of a grounding totem to catch the ones you couldn't completely interrupt. 

Lightning Bolt: slow casting but efficient. Don't bother using in melee. You have shocks. The loss of DPS from interruptions is not worth the hassle in most situations.Exceptions might be if you need to kill a mob fast while an add is on your earth claw totem. In that case, it may be useful, especially with casters mobs that you otherwise earth shock. 

Chain lightning: Pulling with this spell may result in severe injury or death. I've seen it done and it may be useful in rare occasions but in general you dn't want to pull 3 mobs onto you unless the game plan is really special and you don't have a tank to do this for you. Otherwise, in PvP it also breaks CC since you don't control who it'll bounce on. Vs single targets in PvP and without mobs around, it may be useful since it has higher damage than lightning bolt. Still a very tricky spell that should be used with care. In groups, you won't qualify as AoE damage source with it and you'll most likely be more useful healing. 

[[MELEING]] 

Shamans can use most 1h weapon except swords. Don't ask me why there hehe. shamans can also use 2h staff, and 2h maces and axes with enhancement talent relatively early in the tree. The debate of whether it's worth 1 talent point to have access to 2h maces and axes is in my opinion a matter of personal choice. For an enhancement melee-oriented shaman, I think it makes sense to give yourself access to most weapons so that you use the best drop overall. For others without much enhancement inclination, it probably isn't worth it considering the stats of existing staves and the equivalent DPS of all 2h weapons prior to special abilities. 

Still when it comes to weapon choice, it doesn't hurt training in all possible weapon with the exception maybe of hand to hand due to lack of available weapons. In all cases, I'd recommend training in a fast 1h weapon and in staff. Vs caster mobs that don't hit hard in melee, shield isn't a big deal not to have. But the higher DPS of staff (or 2h mace/axe) vs squish mobs is worth it. Alternatively, if you want to play the interruption game with earth shock, a fast weapon is better since it'll cause more delays. 

Blizzard stated that higher 2h DPS is well balanced vs damage mitigation of shield+1h. On one hand, 2h weapons provide more damage but less defense which means shorter fights in which you'll take more total damage and thus have a bit more HP downtime. On the other hand, lower DPS of 1h+shield goes with less damage sustained, less variance and less downtime but longer fights. It's designed to be a wash. 

But then how to decide what is best between two setups. Typically, a 2h weapon will do about +20% damage so compare DPs of weapons with that in mind. In comparison, to that 20% higher DPS, 1h+shield should provide about +15% damage absorbed. Compare the numbers, check the total stats and decide which is best on a case by case and on a personal satisfaction level. If you like to see big number and thrills of more varied fights, go with 2h more often than with 1h. If you prefer fast predictable damage that reduce fluctuations in performance between fights, go with 1h+shield. One consideration is that spell damage doesn't care for armor so if taking lots of spell damage, consider using 2h weapon. 

Which weapon buff to use. Let's get the obvious out first. Frostbrand is near useless. Consider saving yourself money and not getting it until you're rolling in cash. The snare is of little use with earthbind and frost shock and the proc is too low rate to add decent DPS. 

Then, there are the 3 others which I'll break up in 2 groups. Flametongue and in the other group windfury and rockbiter. Obviously before lvl 30, your choice is only flametongue or rockbiter. Both are fine but have better uses situationally. Flametongue does spell damage which isn't reduced by armor but is reduced by fire resists. So on high armor opponents without large resistance to fire, it'll be the best option. For most other purposes, rockbiter or windfury are in my experience better by a small margin. 

Rockbiter is allegedly better for faster weapons while windfury is supposed to be slightly better for slower weapons. I'm still not entirely convinced by this since it's hard to evaluate precisely the mean DPS over time of those. Windfury has tremendous burst DPS capabilities. With a slow 2h weapon, the extra attacks cause an enormous amount of damage at a very high attack power. In this case, it's possible to take 50% of a mob's HP on one proc. The downside is slower weapons proc less often than faster weapons. It evens out in the long term but if you want burst DPS, windfury is for you. The other advantage is that it doesn't draw more agro than by the damage you do. Rockbiter however adds a great deal of agro to your attacks. You may be doing 30% less damage than the warrior next to you and still get agro. For that reason, I'd reserve rockbiter for solo or group situation where you want to get agro. Otherwise in groups, I'd use windfury. 

Finally, a shaman's meleeing performance isn't complete without her Lightning Shield. For grinding purposes it is relatively mana efficient compared to shocks and delivers damage in 3 procs which means less variance due to outright resists. One caveat is that orbs won't proc every time you're hit but more or less only every 5 sec or so. The orbs are also a nasty giveaway when travelling in ghost wolf form. Still this is a major weapon for shamans and it even damages range opponents.

User talk:Drake

2005-02-22T18:53:17Z

Drake:

My page is TEH BASTONGUE, and for that very reason can be called MB (as in Most Bestest!). Yes, I know what you're thinking, it's also Sacrément Balèze!

C'est fou ce qu'on se marre!

No seriously.

Warrior Talent Ratings

2005-02-22T18:06:28Z

Drake: /* Improved Charge / Tactical Mastery / Improved Thunder Clap */

Rather than contributing a talent "build", I thought I would have us break down and evaluate the Warrior talents individually.

Each Talent has a Utility ranking (how good it is, on a 1-10 scale, ignoring pre-requisites), a Cost ranking (1 being too many poor utility pre-requisites, 10 meaning it's worth the point investment to get it nomatter what), and an Overall ranking (subjective combination of the two factors).

On some of these talents I am not speaking from direct experience, so please feel free to adjust any ratings/descriptions you feel are off. If enough people tweak the ranks, I will go through the history and edit the rank to reflect an average of current patch rankings (feel free to adjust the average yourself if you want to crunch the numbers).

----

== ARMS ==

=== Improved Heroic Strike / Deflection / Improved Rend === [http://www.aphasic.com/wow/basinwiki/index.php/Warrior_Arms_Talents#Improved_Heroic_Strike_.2F_Deflection_.2F_Improved_Rend Details]

'''Improved Heroic Strike''' - 3 points 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 2/10 (1 person rating) 
''Steaming Pile of... Well if you use it early and get rid of it on a respec it's OK'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 5/10 (1 person rating) 
''3 points that could be better spent elsewhere, but luckily only 3'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 3/10 (1 person rating) 
''People may giggle if you admit you have it, but they won't throw you out of the group...'' 

'''Deflection''' - 5 points 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 9/10 (1 person rating) 
''Belongs in any defensive minded "protection spec" even though it's in Arms'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 9/10 (1 person rating) 
''Absolutely worth the points unless your plan has no room for it.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 9/10 (1 person rating) 
''Just get it already...''

'''Improved Rend''' - 3 points 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 7/10 (1 person rating) 
''A nice talent, but depends on a skill use. Also a pre-requisite for an excellent passive talent.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 6/10 (1 person rating) 
''When you're tight on points, you may be able to live without it. You can still use the plain skill.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 7/10 (1 person rating) 
''Belongs in most Arms builds, but other builds can skip it.''

 

=== Improved Charge / Tactical Mastery / Improved Thunder Clap === [http://www.aphasic.com/wow/basinwiki/index.php/Warrior_Arms_Talents#Improved_Charge_.2F_Tactical_Mastery_.2F_Improved_Thunder_Clap Details]

'''Improved Charge''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 1/10 (1 person rating) 
''Would be much higher if Charge worked in combat, but it doesn't.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 3/10 (1 person rating) 
''Only worth the points if you can't think of ANYWHERE else to put them, but it's only 2.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 2/10 (1 person rating) 
''Almost anything besides this is a better way to get the 10 Arms talents for the next tier.''

'''Tactical Mastery''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 5/10 (1 person rating) 
''If you see a tactical use for it that you MUST do, then you need it, otherwise you don't.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 7/10 (1 person rating) 
''A better way to get to 10 Arms points than Charge/Thunderclap talents.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 6/10 (1 person rating) 
''A good talent, but far from mandatory.''

'''Improved Thunder Clap''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 2/10 (1 person rating) 
''Extra damage on a weak, barely used skill... whee! Still better than the Charge talent, IMO.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 3/10 (1 person rating) 
''Every talent point is precious. Friends don't let friends get the Thunder Clap talent.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 3/10 (1 person rating) 
''Out of witty comments...''

 

=== Improved Overpower / Anger Management / Deep Wounds ===
[http://www.aphasic.com/wow/basinwiki/index.php/Warrior_Arms_Talents#Improved_Overpower_.2F_Anger_Management_.2F_Deep_Wounds Details]

'''Improved Overpower''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 8/10 (1 person rating) 
''An opportunity to nearly double the damage on what was already a highly efficient damage dealing skill.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 7/10 (1 person rating) 
''To get to this tier, you sometimes need to make some sacrifices, but as Arms is so popular, not penalized too much.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 7/10 (1 person rating) 
''Get it if you plan to be in Battle Stance a lot.''

'''Anger Management''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 5/10 (1 person rating) 
''It's all about pacing...'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 5/10 (1 person rating) 
''You have to have 5 points in Tactical Mastery to get here, but there are worse things you could do with your talent points'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 5/10 (1 person rating) 
''You won't know if you need this until you have a better feel for your personal play style.''

'''Deep Wounds''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 9/10 (1 person rating) 
''Less if you have a wimpy weapon...'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 7/10 (1 person rating) 
''Docked a little for being a 10 req tier talent, but the Rend pre-requisite isn't a big detraction.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 8/10 (1 person rating) 
''Passive talents are great!''

 

=== Two-Handed Weapon Specialization / Impale ===
[http://www.aphasic.com/wow/basinwiki/index.php/Warrior_Arms_Talents#Two-Handed_Weapon_Specialization_.2F_Impale Details]

'''Two-Handed Weapon Specialization''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 6/10 (1 person rating) 
''Pretty middle of the road, but OK.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 6/10 (1 person rating) 
''If you're doing an Arms build, I can't think of a better way to get to the next tier, otherwise there are tempting options in other talent categories.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 6/10 (1 person rating) 
''Hey, at least it's passive.''

'''Impale''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 4/10 (1 person rating) 
''Doesn't trigger as often as one would like, but when it does it's handy.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 7/10 (1 person rating) 
''Pre-reqs aren't too painful, and it's only a couple talent points either way.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 5/10 (1 person rating) 
''A matter of personal style I guess...''

 

=== Axe Specialization / Sweeping Strikes / Mace Specialization / Sword Specialization ===
[http://www.aphasic.com/wow/basinwiki/index.php/Warrior_Arms_Talents#Axe_Specialization_.2F_Sweeping_Strikes_.2F_Mace_Specialization_.2F_Sword_Specialization Details]

'''Sweeping Strikes''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 9/10 (1 person rating) 
''If you get this far in the Arms tree, and don't pick up this Talent, you should be shot.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 8/10 (1 person rating) 
''Getting here means giving up some other nice talents on other trees, but it's still a bargain.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 9/10 (1 person rating) 
''Get it, use it, love it.''

'''Axe Specialization''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 5/10 (1 person rating) 
''Personal Taste.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 5/10 (1 person rating) 
''Missed opportunity to get more valuable talents.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 5/10 (1 person rating) 
''All depends on your style and luck with aquiring the appropriate weapon.'' 

'''Mace Specialization''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 4/10 (1 person rating) 
''Personal Taste.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 5/10 (1 person rating) 
''Missed opportunity to get more valuable talents.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 4/10 (1 person rating) 
''See if it works for you, but the diminishing returns put it below the others in this category, IMO.'' 

'''Sword Specialization''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 5/10 (1 person rating) 
''Personal Taste.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 5/10 (1 person rating) 
''Missed opportunity to get more valuable talents.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 5/10 (1 person rating) 
''All depends on your style and luck with aquiring the appropriate weapon.'' 

 

=== Polearm Specialization / Improved Hamstring ===
[http://www.aphasic.com/wow/basinwiki/index.php/Warrior_Arms_Talents#Polearm_Specialization_.2F_Improved_Hamstring Details]

'''Polearm Specialization''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 6/10 (1 person rating) 
''Very specified, but those going for the optimal Mortal Strike will end up going this route.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 6/10 (1 person rating) 
''Missed opportunities, but not the worst way to get to 30 arms.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 6/10 (1 person rating) 
''Just make sure you get your hands on a good polearm, or you'll feel silly taking this talent.'' 

'''Improved Hamstring''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 6/10 (1 person rating) 
''A shadow of the talent (and skill) it once was.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 4/10 (1 person rating) 
''Probably should be a higher rating, but I'm bitter about the 10%->5% nerf.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 5/10 (1 person rating) 
''It's a bad value for your talent points, but if you're a die hard PvP player you should still get it.'' 

 

=== Mortal Strike ===
[http://www.aphasic.com/wow/basinwiki/index.php/Warrior_Arms_Talents#Mortal_Strike Details]

'''Mortal Strike''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 9/10 (1 person rating) 
''Hey, I don't particularly like it, but I recognize it's very good...'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 8/10 (1 person rating) 
''A lot of good talents in other trees are just barely out of reach. Them's the breaks.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 9/10 (1 person rating) 
''Unless you have a very clear plan for your talents, this is the default end-goal talent.'' 

[edit 1/28/05 - Docked utility by 1 due to the "nerf" in the previous patch (long overdue)]
----

 

== FURY ==

=== Booming Voice / Cruelty ===
[http://www.aphasic.com/wow/basinwiki/index.php/Warrior_Fury_Talents#Booming_Voice_.2F_Cruelty Details]

'''Booming Voice''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 4/10 (1 person rating) 
''More useful if your playstyle leaves you without either of these shouts still active at the end of battle'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 6/10 (1 person rating) 
''Can be picked up cheaply by nearly any build. Don't rush to 5 if 1 point here works for you.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 5/10 (1 person rating) 
''Fine to get it, just know what you're trading off.'' 

'''Cruelty''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 10/10 (1 person rating) 
''More damage with any weapon you use. Avoid if you dislike dealing damage.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 9/10 (1 person rating) 
''If you have unused points, put them here before nearly anything else.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 9/10 (1 person rating) 
''Great talent with no significant tradeoffs, what's not to like?'' 

=== Improved Demoralizing Shout / Unbridled Wrath ===
[http://www.aphasic.com/wow/basinwiki/index.php/Warrior_Fury_Talents#Improved_Demoralizing_Shout_.2F_Unbridled_Wrath Details]

'''Improved Demoralizing Shout''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 7/10 (1 person rating) 
''Used often. Someone should do some methodical measuring of the net effect on damage taken, but until then it doesn't seem to hurt.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 5/10 (1 person rating) 
''Most people won't put this many points on a talent like this unless they're working on something (piercing howl).'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 6/10 (1 person rating) 
''A no brainer if you want P.Howl. Much more thought required otherwise.'' 

'''Unbridled Wrath''' - 5 points
*'''Utility Rank:''' 5/10 (1 person rating) 
''Hard to say. 10/10 for some folks, 0/10 for others. Will refine the ranking after more testing.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 5/10 (1 person rating) 
''Often comes into play at a stage of talent distribution where points are tight. If fewer than 5 points does the trick for you, don't waste extra talent points here.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 5/10 (1 person rating) 
''Don't jump on this one early unless you're really frustrated by poor rage generation. Grab it once you understand your rage needs.'' 

=== Improved Cleave / Piercing Howl / Blood Craze / Improved Battle Shout ===
[http://www.aphasic.com/wow/basinwiki/index.php/Warrior_Fury_Talents#Improved_Cleave_.2F_Piercing_Howl_.2F_Blood_Craze_.2F_Improved_Battle_Shout Details]

'''Improved Cleave''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 3/10 (1 person rating) 
''More damage is always a nice attribute, but are you a cleave user?'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 5/10 (1 person rating) 
''Doesn't feel like a good value. Those who saw the beta version still miss their extra hits.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 4/10 (1 person rating) 
''A viable option in a fury build, but nothing overwhelming..'' 

'''Piercing Howl''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 9/10 (1 person rating) 
''Perhaps not a bread and butter source of damage, but there is something to be said for a skill that can save your butt or the life of a friend.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 7/10 (1 person rating) 
''A better use of points for a defensive player than most options in the upper Defensive talent tree. Pre-reqs not too painful.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 8/10 (1 person rating) 
''See if you can fit it in your talent plan. Not the end of the world if you can't, but it's very nice to have.'' 

'''Blood Craze''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 5/10 (1 person rating) 
''Probably ranked higher than it's worth due to my love of passives. A mediocre talent that is constantly helping you without your having to think about it is better than a fantastic talent that you never remember to use.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 4/10 (1 person rating) 
''Not a good value for this far up the Fury tree.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 5/10 (1 person rating) 
''Something to throw in as an afterthought on a Fury plan.'' 

''Keep in mind that Warriors have little Spirit to begin with, and 15% of their regen rate isn't going to be anything to write home about. Assuming a regen rate of 200 HP/tick, that's 30 HP/tick. Now, a tick happens around once every three seconds, meaning you'll only be regenning for 18 of those 20 seconds, or six ticks. 30 HP x 6 ticks = 180 HP regenned. A normal mob will likely crit you for around 100-120, while an elite mob will likely crit you for more than 200 HP. In short, Improved Thunder Clap is more useful than Blood Craze. - Artega''

'''Improved Battle Shout''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 3/10 (1 person rating) 
''Add a couple rank points if you religiously keep battle shout up.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 3/10 (1 person rating) 
''Would be an OK first tier talent. A tough sell in its current position.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 3/10 (1 person rating) 
''Bottom line, it's probably not worth the points this high up in the tree.'' 

=== Improved Execute / Enrage ===
[http://www.aphasic.com/wow/basinwiki/index.php/Warrior_Fury_Talents#Improved_Execute_.2F_Enrage Details]

'''Improved Execute''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 6/10 (1 person rating) 
''Players who spend most of their time in battle/beserk stance (talent tree != stance choice btw) should consider this strongly.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 7/10 (1 person rating) 
''A noticable improvement per talent point. Surplus rage turns into more damage anyway.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 6/10 (1 person rating) 
''Good talent, but if you're conserving points on this tier Enrage is a tad better.'' 

'''Enrage''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 7/10 (1 person rating) 
''If you often find yourself surrounded by 3 or more melee enemies, this is a nice choice. Stay away if you don't enjoy dealing damage.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 7/10 (1 person rating) 
''Passives are always a good value.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 7/10 (1 person rating) 
''The best talent of this tier by a hair. Solo / PvP focused players should skip.'' 

=== Improved Slam / Death Wish / Improved Intercept ===
[http://www.aphasic.com/wow/basinwiki/index.php/Warrior_Fury_Talents#Improved_Slam_.2F_Death_Wish_.2F_Improved_Intercept Details]

'''Improved Slam''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 4/10 (1 person rating) 
''After reading the above, if you still plan on using slam, consider the talent. The original 1.5 speed isn't too bad to begin with, however.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 3/10 (1 person rating) 
''Not a good benefit per talent point. Save yourself some grief and buy a passive talent elsewhere.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 3/10 (1 person rating) 
''Slam is interruptable.'' 

'''Death Wish''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 6/10 (1 person rating) 
''A very situational talent, but when that situation arises, you will be very glad you have it.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 4/10 (1 person rating) 
''Only one point, but you're looking at a lot of fury points to get there.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 5/10 (1 person rating) 
''Are you afraid of fear? You don't have to be.'' 

'''Improved Intercept''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 5/10 (1 person rating) 
''Like the skill, but many people can live with the non-talent cooldown.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 4/10 (1 person rating) 
''Not bad as far as benefit per talent point, but it's up there in the fury tree.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 5/10 (1 person rating) 
''Either indispensible or worthless. How much do you enjoy killing players?'' 

=== Improved Berserker Rage / Flurry ===
[http://www.aphasic.com/wow/basinwiki/index.php/Warrior_Fury_Talents#Improved_Berserker_Rage_.2F_Flurry Details]

'''Improved Berserker Rage''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 4/10 (1 person rating) 
''A very situational talent, and when the situation arrives, it may still not help that much.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 2/10 (1 person rating) 
''By this point in the talent tree, points are scarce, and you should really consider flurry instead if there's any question of a tradeoff.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 3/10 (1 person rating) 
''If I ever play a warlock, I'll remember to re-fear warriors 17 seconds later...'' 

'''Flurry'''
*'''Utility Rank:''' 8/10 (1 person rating) 
''A passive that results in better damage over time.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 6/10 (1 person rating) 
''All those wonderful arms talents that boost critical hit % are just out of reach... sush a shame. If you get this talent and haven't gotten cruelty, you probably should go back to the Hello Kitty MMORPG. (note: I like Kitty as much as the next guy, I just don't think many of her fans understand the word "synergy".)'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 7/10 (1 person rating) 
''If you chose not to get Mortal Strike, this isn't a bad cornerstone of an alternate talent build.'' 

=== Bloodthirst ===
[http://www.aphasic.com/wow/basinwiki/index.php/Warrior_Fury_Talents#Bloodthirst Details]

'''Bloodthirst''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 3/10 (1 person rating) 
''If you get the killing blow (doubtful in a group), you'd better hustle to get that next attack in because the bloodthirst state wears off quickly.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 1/10 (1 person rating) 
''Yes, it's 1 more point, but by taking it you are losing all possibility of either concussion blow or sweeping strikes. WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?!?'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 2/10 (1 person rating) 
''Just because it's at the top of the talent tree doesn't mean it's good (as we'll see in protection too).'' 

''Bloodthirst lasts for 15 seconds. Assuming you're fighting green-con mobs (every Warrior does this for grinding, because we all know yellow-con mobs cause too much downtime), you can probably kill six or seven before needing to rest, and you'll definitely get some nice mileage out of this ability. In PvP, ANY player - regardless of level difference - triggers Bloodthirst, and a double-damage hit is incredibly powerful in PvP. True, by taking Bloodthirst, you miss out on either Sweeping Strikes or Concussion Blow, but neither of the two abilities are particularly stellar. Sweeping Strikes confines you to Battle Stance, is buggy, and only lasts for five hits, and costs an absurd 30 Rage. Concussion Blow can be blocked, dodged, parried, or just plain miss, and many high level mobs are either resistant or immune to stuns. On top of that, it's pretty well-accepted that placing ANY points into Protection (21 of which will be required if you want Conc) effectively neuters your damage output. I'd take Bloodthirst over Concussion Blow or Sweeping Strikes any day. - Artega''

== PROTECTION ==
--UNDER CONSTRUCTION--

=== Shield Specialization / Anticipation ===

=== Improved Bloodrage / Toughness / Iron Will ===

=== Last Stand / Improved Shield Block / Improved Revenge / Defiance ===

=== Improved Sunder Armor / Improved Disarm / Improved Taunt ===

=== Improved Shield Wall / Improved Shield Bash / Concussion Blow ===

=== One-Handed Weapon Specialization ===

=== Shield Discipline ===

--UNDER CONSTRUCTION--

Back to [[Warrior]] Index.

Warrior Talent Ratings

2005-02-22T18:05:16Z

Drake: /* Improved Heroic Strike / Deflection / Improved Rend */

Rather than contributing a talent "build", I thought I would have us break down and evaluate the Warrior talents individually.

Each Talent has a Utility ranking (how good it is, on a 1-10 scale, ignoring pre-requisites), a Cost ranking (1 being too many poor utility pre-requisites, 10 meaning it's worth the point investment to get it nomatter what), and an Overall ranking (subjective combination of the two factors).

On some of these talents I am not speaking from direct experience, so please feel free to adjust any ratings/descriptions you feel are off. If enough people tweak the ranks, I will go through the history and edit the rank to reflect an average of current patch rankings (feel free to adjust the average yourself if you want to crunch the numbers).

----

== ARMS ==

=== Improved Heroic Strike / Deflection / Improved Rend === [http://www.aphasic.com/wow/basinwiki/index.php/Warrior_Arms_Talents#Improved_Heroic_Strike_.2F_Deflection_.2F_Improved_Rend Details]

'''Improved Heroic Strike''' - 3 points 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 2/10 (1 person rating) 
''Steaming Pile of... Well if you use it early and get rid of it on a respec it's OK'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 5/10 (1 person rating) 
''3 points that could be better spent elsewhere, but luckily only 3'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 3/10 (1 person rating) 
''People may giggle if you admit you have it, but they won't throw you out of the group...'' 

'''Deflection''' - 5 points 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 9/10 (1 person rating) 
''Belongs in any defensive minded "protection spec" even though it's in Arms'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 9/10 (1 person rating) 
''Absolutely worth the points unless your plan has no room for it.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 9/10 (1 person rating) 
''Just get it already...''

'''Improved Rend''' - 3 points 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 7/10 (1 person rating) 
''A nice talent, but depends on a skill use. Also a pre-requisite for an excellent passive talent.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 6/10 (1 person rating) 
''When you're tight on points, you may be able to live without it. You can still use the plain skill.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 7/10 (1 person rating) 
''Belongs in most Arms builds, but other builds can skip it.''

 

=== Improved Charge / Tactical Mastery / Improved Thunder Clap === [http://www.aphasic.com/wow/basinwiki/index.php/Warrior_Arms_Talents#Improved_Charge_.2F_Tactical_Mastery_.2F_Improved_Thunder_Clap Details]

'''Improved Charge''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 1/10 (1 person rating) 
''Would be much higher if Charge worked in combat, but it doesn't.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 3/10 (1 person rating) 
''Only worth the points if you can't think of ANYWHERE else to put them, but it's only 3.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 2/10 (1 person rating) 
''Almost anything besides this is a better way to get the 10 Arms talents for the next tier.''

'''Tactical Mastery''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 5/10 (1 person rating) 
''If you see a tactical use for it that you MUST do, then you need it, otherwise you don't.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 7/10 (1 person rating) 
''A better way to get to 10 Arms points than Charge/Thunderclap talents.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 6/10 (1 person rating) 
''A good talent, but far from mandatory.''

'''Improved Thunder Clap''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 2/10 (1 person rating) 
''Extra damage on a weak, barely used skill... whee! Still better than the Charge talent, IMO.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 3/10 (1 person rating) 
''Every talent point is precious. Friends don't let friends get the Thunder Clap talent.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 3/10 (1 person rating) 
''Out of witty comments...''

 

=== Improved Overpower / Anger Management / Deep Wounds ===
[http://www.aphasic.com/wow/basinwiki/index.php/Warrior_Arms_Talents#Improved_Overpower_.2F_Anger_Management_.2F_Deep_Wounds Details]

'''Improved Overpower''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 8/10 (1 person rating) 
''An opportunity to nearly double the damage on what was already a highly efficient damage dealing skill.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 7/10 (1 person rating) 
''To get to this tier, you sometimes need to make some sacrifices, but as Arms is so popular, not penalized too much.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 7/10 (1 person rating) 
''Get it if you plan to be in Battle Stance a lot.''

'''Anger Management''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 5/10 (1 person rating) 
''It's all about pacing...'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 5/10 (1 person rating) 
''You have to have 5 points in Tactical Mastery to get here, but there are worse things you could do with your talent points'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 5/10 (1 person rating) 
''You won't know if you need this until you have a better feel for your personal play style.''

'''Deep Wounds''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 9/10 (1 person rating) 
''Less if you have a wimpy weapon...'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 7/10 (1 person rating) 
''Docked a little for being a 10 req tier talent, but the Rend pre-requisite isn't a big detraction.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 8/10 (1 person rating) 
''Passive talents are great!''

 

=== Two-Handed Weapon Specialization / Impale ===
[http://www.aphasic.com/wow/basinwiki/index.php/Warrior_Arms_Talents#Two-Handed_Weapon_Specialization_.2F_Impale Details]

'''Two-Handed Weapon Specialization''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 6/10 (1 person rating) 
''Pretty middle of the road, but OK.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 6/10 (1 person rating) 
''If you're doing an Arms build, I can't think of a better way to get to the next tier, otherwise there are tempting options in other talent categories.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 6/10 (1 person rating) 
''Hey, at least it's passive.''

'''Impale''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 4/10 (1 person rating) 
''Doesn't trigger as often as one would like, but when it does it's handy.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 7/10 (1 person rating) 
''Pre-reqs aren't too painful, and it's only a couple talent points either way.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 5/10 (1 person rating) 
''A matter of personal style I guess...''

 

=== Axe Specialization / Sweeping Strikes / Mace Specialization / Sword Specialization ===
[http://www.aphasic.com/wow/basinwiki/index.php/Warrior_Arms_Talents#Axe_Specialization_.2F_Sweeping_Strikes_.2F_Mace_Specialization_.2F_Sword_Specialization Details]

'''Sweeping Strikes''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 9/10 (1 person rating) 
''If you get this far in the Arms tree, and don't pick up this Talent, you should be shot.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 8/10 (1 person rating) 
''Getting here means giving up some other nice talents on other trees, but it's still a bargain.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 9/10 (1 person rating) 
''Get it, use it, love it.''

'''Axe Specialization''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 5/10 (1 person rating) 
''Personal Taste.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 5/10 (1 person rating) 
''Missed opportunity to get more valuable talents.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 5/10 (1 person rating) 
''All depends on your style and luck with aquiring the appropriate weapon.'' 

'''Mace Specialization''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 4/10 (1 person rating) 
''Personal Taste.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 5/10 (1 person rating) 
''Missed opportunity to get more valuable talents.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 4/10 (1 person rating) 
''See if it works for you, but the diminishing returns put it below the others in this category, IMO.'' 

'''Sword Specialization''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 5/10 (1 person rating) 
''Personal Taste.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 5/10 (1 person rating) 
''Missed opportunity to get more valuable talents.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 5/10 (1 person rating) 
''All depends on your style and luck with aquiring the appropriate weapon.'' 

 

=== Polearm Specialization / Improved Hamstring ===
[http://www.aphasic.com/wow/basinwiki/index.php/Warrior_Arms_Talents#Polearm_Specialization_.2F_Improved_Hamstring Details]

'''Polearm Specialization''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 6/10 (1 person rating) 
''Very specified, but those going for the optimal Mortal Strike will end up going this route.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 6/10 (1 person rating) 
''Missed opportunities, but not the worst way to get to 30 arms.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 6/10 (1 person rating) 
''Just make sure you get your hands on a good polearm, or you'll feel silly taking this talent.'' 

'''Improved Hamstring''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 6/10 (1 person rating) 
''A shadow of the talent (and skill) it once was.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 4/10 (1 person rating) 
''Probably should be a higher rating, but I'm bitter about the 10%->5% nerf.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 5/10 (1 person rating) 
''It's a bad value for your talent points, but if you're a die hard PvP player you should still get it.'' 

 

=== Mortal Strike ===
[http://www.aphasic.com/wow/basinwiki/index.php/Warrior_Arms_Talents#Mortal_Strike Details]

'''Mortal Strike''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 9/10 (1 person rating) 
''Hey, I don't particularly like it, but I recognize it's very good...'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 8/10 (1 person rating) 
''A lot of good talents in other trees are just barely out of reach. Them's the breaks.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 9/10 (1 person rating) 
''Unless you have a very clear plan for your talents, this is the default end-goal talent.'' 

[edit 1/28/05 - Docked utility by 1 due to the "nerf" in the previous patch (long overdue)]
----

 

== FURY ==

=== Booming Voice / Cruelty ===
[http://www.aphasic.com/wow/basinwiki/index.php/Warrior_Fury_Talents#Booming_Voice_.2F_Cruelty Details]

'''Booming Voice''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 4/10 (1 person rating) 
''More useful if your playstyle leaves you without either of these shouts still active at the end of battle'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 6/10 (1 person rating) 
''Can be picked up cheaply by nearly any build. Don't rush to 5 if 1 point here works for you.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 5/10 (1 person rating) 
''Fine to get it, just know what you're trading off.'' 

'''Cruelty''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 10/10 (1 person rating) 
''More damage with any weapon you use. Avoid if you dislike dealing damage.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 9/10 (1 person rating) 
''If you have unused points, put them here before nearly anything else.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 9/10 (1 person rating) 
''Great talent with no significant tradeoffs, what's not to like?'' 

=== Improved Demoralizing Shout / Unbridled Wrath ===
[http://www.aphasic.com/wow/basinwiki/index.php/Warrior_Fury_Talents#Improved_Demoralizing_Shout_.2F_Unbridled_Wrath Details]

'''Improved Demoralizing Shout''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 7/10 (1 person rating) 
''Used often. Someone should do some methodical measuring of the net effect on damage taken, but until then it doesn't seem to hurt.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 5/10 (1 person rating) 
''Most people won't put this many points on a talent like this unless they're working on something (piercing howl).'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 6/10 (1 person rating) 
''A no brainer if you want P.Howl. Much more thought required otherwise.'' 

'''Unbridled Wrath''' - 5 points
*'''Utility Rank:''' 5/10 (1 person rating) 
''Hard to say. 10/10 for some folks, 0/10 for others. Will refine the ranking after more testing.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 5/10 (1 person rating) 
''Often comes into play at a stage of talent distribution where points are tight. If fewer than 5 points does the trick for you, don't waste extra talent points here.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 5/10 (1 person rating) 
''Don't jump on this one early unless you're really frustrated by poor rage generation. Grab it once you understand your rage needs.'' 

=== Improved Cleave / Piercing Howl / Blood Craze / Improved Battle Shout ===
[http://www.aphasic.com/wow/basinwiki/index.php/Warrior_Fury_Talents#Improved_Cleave_.2F_Piercing_Howl_.2F_Blood_Craze_.2F_Improved_Battle_Shout Details]

'''Improved Cleave''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 3/10 (1 person rating) 
''More damage is always a nice attribute, but are you a cleave user?'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 5/10 (1 person rating) 
''Doesn't feel like a good value. Those who saw the beta version still miss their extra hits.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 4/10 (1 person rating) 
''A viable option in a fury build, but nothing overwhelming..'' 

'''Piercing Howl''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 9/10 (1 person rating) 
''Perhaps not a bread and butter source of damage, but there is something to be said for a skill that can save your butt or the life of a friend.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 7/10 (1 person rating) 
''A better use of points for a defensive player than most options in the upper Defensive talent tree. Pre-reqs not too painful.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 8/10 (1 person rating) 
''See if you can fit it in your talent plan. Not the end of the world if you can't, but it's very nice to have.'' 

'''Blood Craze''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 5/10 (1 person rating) 
''Probably ranked higher than it's worth due to my love of passives. A mediocre talent that is constantly helping you without your having to think about it is better than a fantastic talent that you never remember to use.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 4/10 (1 person rating) 
''Not a good value for this far up the Fury tree.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 5/10 (1 person rating) 
''Something to throw in as an afterthought on a Fury plan.'' 

''Keep in mind that Warriors have little Spirit to begin with, and 15% of their regen rate isn't going to be anything to write home about. Assuming a regen rate of 200 HP/tick, that's 30 HP/tick. Now, a tick happens around once every three seconds, meaning you'll only be regenning for 18 of those 20 seconds, or six ticks. 30 HP x 6 ticks = 180 HP regenned. A normal mob will likely crit you for around 100-120, while an elite mob will likely crit you for more than 200 HP. In short, Improved Thunder Clap is more useful than Blood Craze. - Artega''

'''Improved Battle Shout''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 3/10 (1 person rating) 
''Add a couple rank points if you religiously keep battle shout up.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 3/10 (1 person rating) 
''Would be an OK first tier talent. A tough sell in its current position.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 3/10 (1 person rating) 
''Bottom line, it's probably not worth the points this high up in the tree.'' 

=== Improved Execute / Enrage ===
[http://www.aphasic.com/wow/basinwiki/index.php/Warrior_Fury_Talents#Improved_Execute_.2F_Enrage Details]

'''Improved Execute''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 6/10 (1 person rating) 
''Players who spend most of their time in battle/beserk stance (talent tree != stance choice btw) should consider this strongly.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 7/10 (1 person rating) 
''A noticable improvement per talent point. Surplus rage turns into more damage anyway.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 6/10 (1 person rating) 
''Good talent, but if you're conserving points on this tier Enrage is a tad better.'' 

'''Enrage''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 7/10 (1 person rating) 
''If you often find yourself surrounded by 3 or more melee enemies, this is a nice choice. Stay away if you don't enjoy dealing damage.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 7/10 (1 person rating) 
''Passives are always a good value.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 7/10 (1 person rating) 
''The best talent of this tier by a hair. Solo / PvP focused players should skip.'' 

=== Improved Slam / Death Wish / Improved Intercept ===
[http://www.aphasic.com/wow/basinwiki/index.php/Warrior_Fury_Talents#Improved_Slam_.2F_Death_Wish_.2F_Improved_Intercept Details]

'''Improved Slam''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 4/10 (1 person rating) 
''After reading the above, if you still plan on using slam, consider the talent. The original 1.5 speed isn't too bad to begin with, however.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 3/10 (1 person rating) 
''Not a good benefit per talent point. Save yourself some grief and buy a passive talent elsewhere.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 3/10 (1 person rating) 
''Slam is interruptable.'' 

'''Death Wish''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 6/10 (1 person rating) 
''A very situational talent, but when that situation arises, you will be very glad you have it.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 4/10 (1 person rating) 
''Only one point, but you're looking at a lot of fury points to get there.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 5/10 (1 person rating) 
''Are you afraid of fear? You don't have to be.'' 

'''Improved Intercept''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 5/10 (1 person rating) 
''Like the skill, but many people can live with the non-talent cooldown.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 4/10 (1 person rating) 
''Not bad as far as benefit per talent point, but it's up there in the fury tree.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 5/10 (1 person rating) 
''Either indispensible or worthless. How much do you enjoy killing players?'' 

=== Improved Berserker Rage / Flurry ===
[http://www.aphasic.com/wow/basinwiki/index.php/Warrior_Fury_Talents#Improved_Berserker_Rage_.2F_Flurry Details]

'''Improved Berserker Rage''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 4/10 (1 person rating) 
''A very situational talent, and when the situation arrives, it may still not help that much.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 2/10 (1 person rating) 
''By this point in the talent tree, points are scarce, and you should really consider flurry instead if there's any question of a tradeoff.'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 3/10 (1 person rating) 
''If I ever play a warlock, I'll remember to re-fear warriors 17 seconds later...'' 

'''Flurry'''
*'''Utility Rank:''' 8/10 (1 person rating) 
''A passive that results in better damage over time.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 6/10 (1 person rating) 
''All those wonderful arms talents that boost critical hit % are just out of reach... sush a shame. If you get this talent and haven't gotten cruelty, you probably should go back to the Hello Kitty MMORPG. (note: I like Kitty as much as the next guy, I just don't think many of her fans understand the word "synergy".)'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 7/10 (1 person rating) 
''If you chose not to get Mortal Strike, this isn't a bad cornerstone of an alternate talent build.'' 

=== Bloodthirst ===
[http://www.aphasic.com/wow/basinwiki/index.php/Warrior_Fury_Talents#Bloodthirst Details]

'''Bloodthirst''' 
*'''Utility Rank:''' 3/10 (1 person rating) 
''If you get the killing blow (doubtful in a group), you'd better hustle to get that next attack in because the bloodthirst state wears off quickly.'' 
*'''Cost Rank:''' 1/10 (1 person rating) 
''Yes, it's 1 more point, but by taking it you are losing all possibility of either concussion blow or sweeping strikes. WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?!?'' 
*'''Overall Rank:''' 2/10 (1 person rating) 
''Just because it's at the top of the talent tree doesn't mean it's good (as we'll see in protection too).'' 

''Bloodthirst lasts for 15 seconds. Assuming you're fighting green-con mobs (every Warrior does this for grinding, because we all know yellow-con mobs cause too much downtime), you can probably kill six or seven before needing to rest, and you'll definitely get some nice mileage out of this ability. In PvP, ANY player - regardless of level difference - triggers Bloodthirst, and a double-damage hit is incredibly powerful in PvP. True, by taking Bloodthirst, you miss out on either Sweeping Strikes or Concussion Blow, but neither of the two abilities are particularly stellar. Sweeping Strikes confines you to Battle Stance, is buggy, and only lasts for five hits, and costs an absurd 30 Rage. Concussion Blow can be blocked, dodged, parried, or just plain miss, and many high level mobs are either resistant or immune to stuns. On top of that, it's pretty well-accepted that placing ANY points into Protection (21 of which will be required if you want Conc) effectively neuters your damage output. I'd take Bloodthirst over Concussion Blow or Sweeping Strikes any day. - Artega''

== PROTECTION ==
--UNDER CONSTRUCTION--

=== Shield Specialization / Anticipation ===

=== Improved Bloodrage / Toughness / Iron Will ===

=== Last Stand / Improved Shield Block / Improved Revenge / Defiance ===

=== Improved Sunder Armor / Improved Disarm / Improved Taunt ===

=== Improved Shield Wall / Improved Shield Bash / Concussion Blow ===

=== One-Handed Weapon Specialization ===

=== Shield Discipline ===

--UNDER CONSTRUCTION--

Back to [[Warrior]] Index.

Talk:Main Page

2004-11-25T13:07:09Z

Drake: When editing CSS...

Apparently the main page doesn't exist yet. Might as well make it then, eh?

-hiry

This is the place we talk about what to put on the Main Page.

== Whoa, nice. ==

Howdy! Nice stuff. :)

-Drake

== I guess I should learn to skin wiki, huh? ==

I haven't spent any time with the CSS or layout of this thing. What you see is the 'out of the box' design.

== When editing CSS... ==

Don't forget to make sure the two link types are of a different color; in the default skin, red links lead to empty pages that haven't been created yet while blue ones lead to pages that have user created content. It's very handy, because when you make guides you will often put Wiki links that lead to pages not yet written, having them another color is helpful for readers. :)

-Drake

Talk:Main Page

2004-11-24T23:30:46Z

Drake: Whoa, nice.

Apparently the main page doesn't exist yet. Might as well make it then, eh?

-hiry

This is the place we talk about what to put on the Main Page.

== Whoa, nice. ==

Howdy! Nice stuff. :)

-Drake

Hotkey Efficiency & The Tank

2004-10-23T07:30:38Z

Drake:

While the MMORPG is generally devoid of the infamous "twitch," there is an unfortunate misconception that skills are not required for play. This is simply not the case; good group play is definitely something one has to work towards. Much like RTS games, hotkey customization, speed, and efficiency are a good place to start trying to hone your skills.

As a Protection minded Warrior you are often placed in a primary leading role for your party, and while no class is necessarily expendable, lets assume as fact out of my personal bias that the warrior is definitely not.:) Below is a rundown of a reasonably efficient hotkey setup I've come to use... obviously as the game continues to change here in beta things may need to be re-prioritized. That is pretty much the key to any hotkey setup... priorities, which you'll see below.

(Before I get going, lets assume its a given that you have Cosmos installed, or whatever similar UI:Mod may be around at the time. I'm running on the assumption that at the very least you have a second action bar above your first, which is hotkey compatible)

http://www.planetageofmythology.com/images/forums/members/jcl/jayhotkeys.GIF

1 - Taunt 
2 - Sunder Armor 
3 - Revenge 
4 - Shield Bash 
5 - Demoralizing Shout 
6 - Battle Shout 
7 - Challenging Shout 
8 - Inner Rage

Alt 1 - Bloodrage 
Alt 2 - Disarm 
Alt 3 - Shield Block 
Alt 4 - Shield Wall 
Alt 5 - Potions 
Alt 6 - Intimidating Shout

Now for some pretty simple reasoning. Its much easier for your left hand to hit Alt and 1 then to slide down and try to find 0, -, or = for those obscure final hotkeys to the right of your bar. I've prioritized the most important skills to be on the left for easiest and swiftest access, so that a rather lopsided action bar has developed.

These hotkeys are clearly not setup for solo play, but focused on groups.

Every battle will have you casting Taunt, without any doubt as the warrior currently stands. Sunder Armor is usually worthless, unless you have a Rogue or an Offensive Warrior, etc in your group. Bloodrage should be cast every battle, probably twice in later fights as they become more extended. Disarm is very effective, and as shield Block and Revenge make a great combination I've placed them in line vertically. Potions are of course reasonably close as well for emergencies, as opposed to bandages and food. Intimidating Shout is slightly off, because a misclick of that could easily lead to Wipe.

I'm considering swapping Sunder Armor/Disarm with Shield Block/Revenge. Assuming I have the Rage, Shield Block helps preserve my own life and therefore tanking ability, and Revenge, with a 40% stun rate with talents, helps to shut mobs down further. My job is not to do damage, so any spare rage I can get should go to minimizing my own damage taken (ie, stunning and blocking). Shield Bash as well should be very accessible, because out of all the above skills its perhaps most "twitch" friendly, when mobs have relatively short casting times that need to be interrupted before its too late.

Concussion Blow will likely be placed between Shield Wall & Shield Block, and give me an extra buffer between a Spammed Skill (Shield Block) and a Shield Wall which is a life saver with such a long timer, to help guard against accidently misclicks.

For pulling I generally use a Gun, with the Shoot action being placed on a Sidebar, as patience goes a long way with Pulling I figure I can get away with a manual click for it usually.

/testwiki

Hotkey Efficiency & The Tank

2004-10-23T07:29:05Z

Drake:

While the MMORPG is generally devoid of the infamous "twitch," there is an unfortunate misconception that skills are not required for play. This is simply not the case; good group play is definitely something one has to work towards. Much like RTS games, hotkey customization, speed, and efficiency are a good place to start trying to hone your skills.

As a Protection minded Warrior you are often placed in a primary leading role for your party, and while no class is necessarily expendable, lets assume as fact out of my personal bias that the warrior is definitely not.:) Below is a rundown of a reasonably efficient hotkey setup I've come to use... obviously as the game continues to change here in beta things may need to be re-prioritized. That is pretty much the key to any hotkey setup... priorities, which you'll see below.

(Before I get going, lets assume its a given that you have Cosmos installed, or whatever similar UI:Mod may be around at the time. I'm running on the assumption that at the very least you have a second action bar above your first, which is hotkey compatible)

http://www.planetageofmythology.com/images/forums/members/jcl/jayhotkeys.GIF

1 - Taunt
2 - Sunder Armor
3 - Revenge
4 - Shield Bash
5 - Demoralizing Shout
6 - Battle Shout
7 - Challenging Shout
8 - Inner Rage

Alt 1 - Bloodrage
Alt 2 - Disarm
Alt 3 - Shield Block
Alt 4 - Shield Wall
Alt 5 - Potions
Alt 6 - Intimidating Shout

Now for some pretty simple reasoning. Its much easier for your left hand to hit Alt and 1 then to slide down and try to find 0, -, or = for those obscure final hotkeys to the right of your bar. I've prioritized the most important skills to be on the left for easiest and swiftest access, so that a rather lopsided action bar has developed.

These hotkeys are clearly not setup for solo play, but focused on groups.

Every battle will have you casting Taunt, without any doubt as the warrior currently stands. Sunder Armor is usually worthless, unless you have a Rogue or an Offensive Warrior, etc in your group. Bloodrage should be cast every battle, probably twice in later fights as they become more extended. Disarm is very effective, and as shield Block and Revenge make a great combination I've placed them in line vertically. Potions are of course reasonably close as well for emergencies, as opposed to bandages and food. Intimidating Shout is slightly off, because a misclick of that could easily lead to Wipe.

I'm considering swapping Sunder Armor/Disarm with Shield Block/Revenge. Assuming I have the Rage, Shield Block helps preserve my own life and therefore tanking ability, and Revenge, with a 40% stun rate with talents, helps to shut mobs down further. My job is not to do damage, so any spare rage I can get should go to minimizing my own damage taken (ie, stunning and blocking). Shield Bash as well should be very accessible, because out of all the above skills its perhaps most "twitch" friendly, when mobs have relatively short casting times that need to be interrupted before its too late.

Concussion Blow will likely be placed between Shield Wall & Shield Block, and give me an extra buffer between a Spammed Skill (Shield Block) and a Shield Wall which is a life saver with such a long timer, to help guard against accidently misclicks.

For pulling I generally use a Gun, with the Shoot action being placed on a Sidebar, as patience goes a long way with Pulling I figure I can get away with a manual click for it usually.

/testwiki

Hotkey Efficiency & The Tank

2004-10-23T07:12:06Z

Drake:

Hotkey Efficiency & The Tank

2004-10-23T07:11:26Z

Drake:

Hotkey Efficiency & The Tank

2004-10-23T07:11:15Z

Drake:

Hotkey Efficiency & The Tank

2004-10-23T07:11:08Z

Drake:

Hotkey Efficiency & The Tank

2004-10-23T07:10:56Z

Drake:

Hotkey Efficiency & The Tank

2004-10-23T07:08:34Z

Drake:

Hotkey Efficiency & The Tank

2004-10-23T07:01:01Z

Drake: