I am starting World of Warcraft again, after a long break. I have a few days, or maybe weeks to wait (blasted postal backlog) so in the mean time I thought I would decide what class and race I wanted to play. The race doesn’t mean that much to me, I decide my class then pick the best race that can be that class, in my opinion. Anyway I’ve decided on an Orc Shaman, they seem interesting, fun and versatile, being able to tank (to a certain extent), heal and spell cast. However I have three questions 1) Are they good pvp? 2) Are they good in dungeons? 3) Are they good at soloing? Thanks 
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by omgstfuplzz, on March 12 2009 @ 1:38 am
It’s my experience that shaman get burned down quite fast in PvP after wotlk. Could be the same way before, i dunno. But a lot of shamans i play with are doing very well in dungeons, pushing up towards 2500dps as elemental spec. All classes are good at soloing now, given that you bring the right spec. Elemental seems totally awesome once you gear for it.
by Harbo kaparki, on March 13 2009 @ 5:05 pm
Shamans are fun to play however prepair to smash your head on your keyboard while you watch arcane mages, rogues, ret palading, and death knights destroy you in battle grounds. Comparatively the shaman class is gimped compared to other classes in PVP. Resto however is pretty viable and will become better later in the season. Shamans are fine in PVE weather you want to heal or DPS. And as far as soloing they are ok but do not match the soloing abilities of hunters or warlocks or druids.
by ttty2t1j3, on March 14 2009 @ 4:25 am
Ah yes the Shaman. Shamans are a good class to have for an all around character. Each talent tree is very good and probably has one of the most specialized roles depending on its build. Melee DPS, Casting DPS, or Healing. But unless properly geared they almost have to specialize. There is an option of making a minor hybrid but the gear will be standardized most likely also. But if you are going to get Wrath of the Lich King I don’t know how much I can help you…I stopped playing about 3 months ago. I’ll probably get back into it in a few months also.
1) Shamans are very good in pvp, used right they can but a very OP class (says the person that losing). They certainly frusterate melee classes being able to out DPS them, while also have instant damage spells and totems to allow kiting, healing themselves, and still doing damage on the run.
2) Shamans can make a very good support role in dungeons. No matter which tree they fulfill their purposes in dungeons very very well. Be ready to take some aggro though. And their Chain Heal is always welcome in a group.
3) The best hybrid DPS class (imo) makes soloing easy. With the ability of healing themselves and dishing out a lot of DPS shamans can go a long ways and level at lower levels where some classes wouldn’t dare to go to early.
Anyhow welcome back to the game.
by Physics4Rich, on March 17 2009 @ 7:15 am
Ok listen to me. My main is an 80 shaman.
Solo? Can do - better then most classes. Why? Going Enchancement (Dual Wield = DW) means never needing to stop. Ever. How many other classes can get a mob to 50% off the first hit most of the time(Thank you Windfury)? Before gearing up in blues/purples?
Level as Enchancement, and keep your water shield up at all times. You DPS as a fury warrior and instant heal yourself via talents, and never run out of mana thanks to water shield.
80 DPS PVE wise is good. Elemental is now awsome, and DW can be near the top - but everything is gear dependant.
Resto is great now. Shamans get a HOT, and with glyphs, our healing spells are on par with all the other healing classes.
PVP? Well, all classes are gimped until res starts to pile on. Melee is owning (rogues) in arenas. Anything not in plate or that can stun lock you is dying in 5 seconds. After things settle down all specs for the shaman will do well in arenas - with the right combos. Check out for updates on how shamans are surviving in PVP.
As for myself, I plan on specing to Elemental soon with the idea to switch between it and resto when the dual talent specs come out in Feb 09. Meanwhile, I’m running heroics and raids as DW collecting every gear except plate.
Oh, and I wouldn’t say a Shaman can tank
by Laura D, on March 17 2009 @ 5:55 pm
Right now, Shamans (especially Resto) are NOT any good in PvP. There were a few major nerfs in 3.0+, and so Shamans are pretty gimped.
In Dungeons, they’re alright. They can generate pretty decent DPS, and Resto shamans (From my experience) make great healers (3.0.8 is bringing along a few nerfs, however).
As far as soloing goes, I honestly don’t think there’s a better class out there. We have, shields, buffs (totems) and some decent heals, so it’s pretty hard to die.
Enjoy