MMO Journal - Top Five Signs WoW is for Shammies

Like a bad addiction I just can't kick, I gave the game another go. And now I'm suffering the diminishing returns.

My favorite race has always been Orc, from the very first Warcraft to Warcraft III. Friends know I exclusively pick Orc in WCIII, and without fail choosing the Blademaster as the first hero to go creeping/peasant griefing. Favorite spell? Bloodlust. Especially the overpowered variant in WCII that squashed the unit equivalent of Ogre-Mages, Paladins.

Yet playing in World of Warcraft, I can't help but feel wretched playing the Shaman class. It doesn't have Bloodlust, and the class is a combination of Troll Witchdoctor (totems), Orc Shaman (Lightning Shield), and Grunt. Reminds me of those Japanese RPGs like Final Fantasy, where your character eventually learns skills from every single job. Taking a brief break from WoW and coming back, it's amusing to see how Blizzard loves the class (that, and mages--do they really need invisibility in the future?). Talking to other WoW-aholics, I can't find a single person who doesn't think the class is overpowered--Horde or Alliance. Try cajoling that out of a Shaman in forums though, and be prepared for defensive snaps.

Here are the top five signs Shamans are Blizzard's pet class:

5) Cleanse is not the equivalent of Purge: Even if it were, it's certainly arguable that offense is better than defense in PvP, but fortunately we don't even need to tread down that path. Some interesting differences include: a) Battle Shout is purgable, yet Demoralizing Shout cannot be cleansed. b) Warlock buffs can be purged, but Warlock curses cannot. c) Paladin blessings and seals can be purged, Shaman buffs such as Rockbiter cannot. Fortunately, Blizzard has shown pity toward Alliance, and now free action potions are dispellable as well. Oh wait, that's a thinly veiled Shaman buff...

4) Travel form: There's nothing wrong with Shamans having travel form per say, but it starts getting fishy when Druids, the shapeshifting class, has to wait 10 levels more for their form. And druids don't even get a dance emote, whereas Shaman's wolf does. Wow. Try being a little more subtle about Shammy luvin'.

3) Weaknesses: From Blizzard's own mouth, Shamans have no weakness past 40. The one weakness listed in the class description page reads, "Can only wear leather armor initially making them less able to absorb damage than the Paladin and Warrior." So what's their weakness when they get mail? At least throw in "not good at any particular skill"--even if it's untrue.

2) Most powerful Melee and Nukes of Hybrids: Self-explanatory, though some inexplicably try arguing against this. Shamans are, however, quite beatable by Paladins, though Paladins often stubbornly hold on to their simplistic Seal of Command + 2Her ways. (Hint: go sword and board and make the Shammy waste all of their mana before switching to 2H).

1) Nerf Immunity Shield: The most telltale sign of the company's clandestine love affair, Shammies have time and again survived Blizzard's whimsical "fixes." The farthest the company went was to put Frost Shock on diminishing returns, which tragically meant they couldn't kite melee classes to death.

So why the disparity? Well, if Horde players are smart about one thing, it's that they don't demand nerfs against their own faction's class. Solution? It's as Eyonix's Bollywood counterpart said: "Shamans need more buffs!" Just give me my Bloodlust and I'll be a happy man. Afterall, Bloodlusted Orcs beating down Alliance (esp. the cheesy shielding Paladin class) is only part of Warcraft lore.

Oh, and bring back town raids, dangit.

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