Git! The Ultimate Shaman Guide
Xerb Painhunter Redeye Mountain
2009
Shaman Ultimate Guide
Table of Contents
Introduction ..................................................................................................... 2 Shaman Mechanic ........................................................................................... 3 Path Of Mork ................................................................................................ 3 Path Of Gork................................................................................................. 5 Path Of Da Green ......................................................................................... 6 Statistics, Resistances and Bonuses ............................................................ 8 Resistances ..................................................................................................... 9 Bonuses ........................................................................................................... 9 Spell List with Descriptions.......................................................................... 11 Tactic List with Descriptions ........................................................................ 15 Moral List with Descriptions......................................................................... 18 How to play your Shaman … PVE Build Template ..................................... 21 PVE GEAR! ................................................................................................. 22 General Healing Strategy .............................................................................. 26 RVR Strategy ................................................................................................. 27 RVR Gear! ................................................................................................... 28 Addons/Mods................................................................................................. 30 Sample Build.................................................................................................. 32 Acknowledgements: ..................................................................................... 34
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Introduction “Sticks 'n' stones'll break my bones, but Gork and Mork'll smash yer 'ead to bits if'n you don't sod off you big bugger!” - Gahzbag, Goblin Shaman telling off a Giant The Shaman builds up the power of one kind of magic by using the other kind. That is, he makes his healing better by using offensive spells. Because of this, he must learn to weave the two types of magic to get the desired results. A Shaman who focuses only on damage will do less than a Shaman who uses both damage and healing spells. The Shaman deals elemental damage, both in direct blasts and over time, or debuff enemies to make them easier prey for the forces of Destruction. He can buff allies against the elements and heal them in quick bursts or in a steady trickle. I created this document to provide a bit of help to aspiring Shaman. This guide was created from a variety of sources but also includes a lot of my own advice from my experiences playing healers in a variety of MMOs but also from my time playing the Shaman.
Faction: Destruction Race: Goblin Role: Healer/Ranged DPS Armor: Light (robes) Primary Weapons: Staves Primary Stats: Willpower, Intelligence
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Strengths: Versatility to switch from ranged DPS to healing. Very desirable in RvR. Skillful multi-tasking is rewarded by game mechanics.
Weaknesses: Very low defenses and health. Easy target in RvR. Unskilled play results in a serious decline in effectiveness
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Shaman Mechanic Channeling the WAAAGH! power, Shaman can produce all types of spectacular green magic, which he can unleash as a testament to the might of the Greenskin dieties, Gork and Mork. Greenskins are a little unclear on exactly which god it is that they worship at any given moment, however, so the Shaman decide to play it safe and offer up power to both. This constant back-and-forth between Mork and Gork allows a Shaman to greatly improve his magic, making their diminutive figures into unexpectedly powerful forces on the battlefield. How about in English? The Shaman class operates on a give and take, back and forth, mechanic of two types of magic: Gork (Damage) and Mork (Healing). These two types work together in a symbiotic relationship allowing the shaman to cast damage spells to improve his healing and healing to improve his damage. Simple enough, right? Now how about realistically? This give and take has little effect on the amount of healing you can do. In fact, I rarely have time to build Gork WAAAGH! and because I spend all my time healing, my Mork WAAAGH! build up is used to replenish my AP pool. More often than not I find myself with little time to target enemies for damage and if I do, then it‟s debuffs, dots and silence. My concentration is solely on the team‟s health bars and that Sorcerer/Tank team rushing into the fray to kick off Morale 4 abilities. This whole Mork and Gork back and forth really has little to no effect on the overall efficiency of my toon and my healing.
Path Of Mork This path is primarily focused on healing and restoring the Shaman's allies. As he casts spells from this path, the Shaman builds up the power of Mork's WAAAGH!, which he can then use to fling swift and powerful offensive magic. Because of this, many an enemy who dismissed a Morkish specialist as unthreatening has quickly learned a brutal and fatal - lesson.
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Shaman Ultimate Guide If you're planning on doing a lot of healing then this is the tree for you. The core abilities of this tree that gain in strength with each point spent:
Bleed fer' Me (a DoT and Heal) Bigger, Better, an' Greener (A large heal susceptible to setback) Don' Feel Nuthin (Damage absorption shield) Gather Round (Group Heal)
NAME Nuthin' But Da WAAAGH!
POINTS
3
COST
0
RANGE
N/A
CAST TIME
Passive
COOLDOWN
0
Don' Feel Nuthin will also cause your target to deal 15% more damage as long as the barrier is protecting them.
Career Tactic
5
25 AP
100 ft
2s
0
Deals 26 Elemental damage to your target, and heals your defensive target for the amount of damage done. GW reduces cast time
7
0
N/A
Passive
0
Gork'll Fix It will now also restore 40 AP to the target.
0
Your target regains 84 health over 9 seconds. Spends Waaagh to increase Toughness by 1 for each point of Waaagh! built, up to 3 points.
0s
Any time you heal an ally with a Path of Mork ability, there is a 25% chance that another ally within 30 feet of them will also gain 21 health as well.
3min
Resurrects all fallen groupmembers within 30 feet, and does not cause Resurrection Sickness. Anyone resurrected by this effect will regain 50% of their hit points. MW reduces cast time
60s
Heals your group for 160 health over 10 seconds and decreases damage against them by 25% for 10 seconds.
I'll Take That! Ability Lookit What I Did!
DESCRIPTION
Career Tactic Do Sumfin Useful
9
35 AP
150 ft
Instant
Ability
Pass It On 11
0
N/A
Passive
Career Tactic
Shrug It Off 13
35 AP
15
Rank 4 Morale
N/A
2s
Ability
Feelz No Pain Morale
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N/A
Instant
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Path Of Gork A specialist in this path prefers to destroy his enemies first, and tend to his allies later. By blasting his enemies into oblivion, the Shaman builds up the power of Gork's WAAAGH!, which can then be used to hasten and improve his healing magics. I know, I know, but this is a healing guide! However, if damage is your style then Gork'll get it done. The core abilities of this tree that gain in strength with each point spent: Life Leaka (DoT) Bunch o' Waaagh (Concentration "laser" nuke) Stop hittin' Me! (Detaunt with damage reducer and disruption increase) Scuse Me! (Conal damage with elemental debuff)
NAME
POINTS
COST
RANGE
CAST TIME
COOLDOWN
DESCRIPTION
3
0
N/A
Passive
0
Life Leaka will now also reduce the victim's Intelligence and Willpower by 5 for 15 seconds.
5
45 AP
100 ft
1s
20s
Leaky Brainz Career Tactic Big Waaagh!
Deals 60 Elemental damage.
Ability Mork's Touch
7
0
N/A
Passive
0
All of your offensive spells gain a 25% chance to remove a Blessing from the victim. Any time that this successfully occurs, the enemy will suffer an additional 20 damage as well.
0
Deals 40 Elemental damage to your target. Then deals 30 Elemental damage to 2 targets near the original target, and deals 20 Elemental damage to 2 targets near each of the secondary targets. Targets cannot be hit more than once by the ability. GW reduces cast time.
0
Brain Bursta will now also reduce the victim's Toughness by 6 fro 20 seconds, and they will lose 150 points of Morale as well.
Career Tactic
Da Waaagh! is Coming
9
50 AP
80 ft
3s
Ability
Hurts, Don't It? Career Tactic
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11
0
N/A
Passive
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NAME
POINTS
COST
RANGE
CAST TIME
COOLDOWN
Geddoff! 13
20 AP
N/A
Instant
10s
Ability
DESCRIPTION Deals 39 Elemental damage to your target and all other enemies within 20 feet of them, and knocks them backwards. GW reduces cast time.
Fists of Gork 15 Morale
Rank 4 Morale
100 ft
Instant
60s
Deals 240 damage and knocks back all enemy targets within 30 feet.
Path Of Da Green Not wanting to get caught between Gork and Mork, a master of this path simply declares that green is best, and promptly goes about making his allies even greener and better than they were before. Naturally, anyone who isn't green must be put into their place, and a specialist in this path is equally adept at crippling and hindering his enemies as well. This is where all the other types of abilities that aren't damage or healing based end up. While there are a lot of debuffs, there are several abilities that buff your team in here as well. The jury is still out on whether or not speccing heavily in this line is worth the points. My style of play has me splitting my points between Green and Mork that way I am an effective healer and I also make it easier to kill mortal enemies with my debuffs. I posted my build at the end of this guide. Many spells in 'Path of Da Green' do not contribute to either pool so while they can be useful, they are not used as frequently in a fight. Typically, more than 90% of a Shaman's actions used in battle will be either Gork or Mork to keep your team up and fighting.
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Shaman Ultimate Guide The core abilities of this tree that gain in strength with each point spent:
'Ere we go! (Group buff that adds damage on next attack … excellent when paired with Get Movin!) Mork's Buffer (Increases resistances of group for 1 hour) Get'n Smarter (Steals intelligence from the enemy) Yer a Weaklin' (DoT + Strength debuff) You got Nuthin! (DoT + Silence)
NAME
POINTS
COST
RANGE
CAST TIME
COOLDOWN
3
0
N/A
Passive
0
Waaagh! Frenzy
DESCRIPTION
Yer A Weaklin' will now also affect all enemies within 20 feet of the target.
Career Tactic Gork's Barbs' 5
30 AP
100 ft
2s
10s
Ability
Deals 15 Elemental damage to target. For 10s, debuff deals 20 Elemental damage every time the target uses a melee action. GW reduces cast time.
You Really Got Nuthin 7
0
N/A
Passive
0
Reduces You Got Nuthin's cooldown time by 10 seconds.
Career Tactic You'z Squishy 9
20 AP
100 ft
Instant
0
Your target and all other enemies within 30 feet of them have their Toughness reduced by 3 for 20 seconds.
11
0
N/A
Passive
0
Ere We Go will now deal 25 damage, and it will now affect your allies' next 2 attacks.
30s
For 10 seconds, all enemies within 30 feet of a spot that you select will have their Elemental resistance reduced by 9 and become snared, reducing their run speed by 60%.
60s
Reduces the stats of all enemies within 30 feet of your target by 1 (except Wounds), and increases all your groupmember's stats by 1 (except wounds) for 15 seconds.
Ability Ere We Goes Again
Career Tactic Sticky Feetz 13
20 AP
100 ft
3s
Ability Steal Yer Thunder Morale
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15
Rank 4 Morale
100 ft
Instant
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Statistics, Resistances and Bonuses There are sixteen different stats, resistances and bonuses/attributes in Warhammer Online but luckily a Shaman need only concern himself with a few of them. Which ones are for me? Read on, git! Strength: We're not a melee class so we don't care about melee damage. Ignore it. Willpower: This increases your healing and your chance to disrupt magical attacks. If you plan on healing (and since you're reading this guide, you DO) then this one is a priority and should be given the most attention. Willpower / 5 = Increases Healing Per Second. However, there is some speculation as to whether this is affecting HOTs or not. Also, Willpower / (Level * 7.5 + 50) * .075 * 100 = +% to disrupt spells. (I hate math!) Weapon Skill: Increases chance to parry and armor penetration. Parrying is always nice but we have other things to worry about. Whatever you can get is good enough. Initiative: Increases your chance to evade and reduces chance of being critical hit which is never a bad thing. However, I find that this is just like Weapon Skill and not worth actively worrying about. Wounds: This increases your hit points. That's a GOOD thing you git! This is your second priority. Wounds * 10 = Extra Health over default increase per level. Toughness: Reduces all damage taken. That means you don't die as fast. It‟s not a bad thing to fill this out if you can. Just don‟t give up Willpower or Wounds if you don‟t have to. Toughness / 5 = Reduces damage by “X” amount of DPS. Intelligence: Increases Magic Damage and reduces your chances of being disrupted. Intelligence / 5 = Increases spell based DPS damage. Ballistic Skill: We're not Squig Herders so ignore it.
Shaman should focus on raising their Willpower, Wounds, Toughness and Intelligence most of all. Our two MAIN healer spec stats however are Willpower and Wounds. Which should you focus on more? Willpower you git! You‟re a healer! Think about which mastery you're focusing on. If you want to be more offensive then Intelligence is a natural fit. However, I strongly believe that all Shaman should focus on willpower as their main stat. Right now we have a hard enough time keeping a group healed up and if you skimp on the Willpower it's just going to be that much tougher. The Wounds will help keep you up a bit longer so a tank can peel or you can escape your pursuer.
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Resistances There are also three magical resistances to protect against special attacks. You should do your best to get all three as high as you can. There is a lot of gear out there that will give you stats as well as resistances so you shouldn‟t have much of a problem getting these up a bit. Corporeal: is a resistance against damage that can result from special attacks involving corporeal magic. This is different from regular physical damage, and tends to represent acid, concussive force, extreme heat, etc. Zealot spells and Engineer special attacks deal exclusively Corporeal damage, as do many Bright Wizard and Sorceress spells. Black Orcs, Shadow Warriors, and Squig Herders with specific career masteries can get Corporeal effects. Spiritual: damage represents magical damage that affects or comes from the nonmaterial world, attacking your soul as much as your body. Archmages are the only class that deals exclusively Spirit damage, but many Sorceress spells and a small number of Magus spells are Spirit-based. Chosen, Disciples of Khaine, Sword masters, Warrior Priests, White Lions, Witch Elves, and Witch Hunters all augment physical damage with Spirit effects to varying degrees. Elemental: damage refers to magical damage caused by fire, lightning bolts, and your Shaman! Rune Priests and Shamans deal exclusively Elemental damage, and Bright Wizards and Magi deal a mix of Elemental and other forms of damage. Both Shadow Warriors and Squig Herders have a fire arrow attack that deals Elemental damage. To figure out the math … Resistance Value / (level * 16.8) * .4 * 100 = % of total Resistance
Bonuses + Healing Power: Go with the Willpower instead. +Healing power is just Willpower without Disrupt. +AP Regeneration: Can be extremely helpful in a pinch, but remember Shaman can cast “You‟re Not So Bad” to regen our AP so this bonus can be replaced with something else if you feel you need it. Armor: This bonus will effectively lower the total amount of damage you receive in battle. Do the math! Armor / (Level * 44) * 40 = +% Damage Reduction Dodge: This bonus will determine if you avoid getting hit either by spell or melee damage. I wouldn‟t worry about this too much, especially if you have a good tank who can protect you.
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Parry: Shaman need not worry about this bonus. Parry is the rating at which you will completely block any incoming damage with your equipped weapon. Both sides of parrying are affected by the Weapon Skill stat, meaning that your character's Weapon Skill will both increase his or her chance to parry and reduce an enemy's chance to parry. Disrupt: Intelligence REDUCEs your opponents chance to disrupt your attacks, while willpower INCREASEs your chance to disrupt opponents attacks. Similar for ballistic/initiative(dodge), strength/weapon skill (block, parry). Since Willpower is your primary attribute, your disrupt skill will follow. Block: Shaman don’t carry shields! Block is an ability that some melee NPC mobs have and Tank archetypes that can use shields have. Every time someone swings at you with a melee weapon, shoots at you with something physical, or casts an offensive spell you will have a chance to block the respective type of attack. If you block successfully, you receive no damage. Block rating of shield / (level * 7.5 + 50)) * 20 = Block %
Willpower effect on healing at level 40: Formulas: 15sec ('Ey, Quit Bleedin'): 1500 + Wis*0.9 1sec (Gork'll Fix It): [247+Wis*0.15] + [663+Wis*0.15] 3sec (Do Sumfin Useful): 1260+Wis*0.8 2.5sec (Bigger, Better, An' Greener): 1125+Wis*0.6 Group (Gather Round): 540+Wis*0.6 And if you like it, here the HPS: I calculated with 800 Willpower and full healing spec. 15sec HoT: 148/sec 1sec Heal/HoT: 127/sec FE : 633/sec 2.5sec Heal: 624/sec Group heal: 340/sec
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Spell List with Descriptions
NAME
RANK
COST
RANGE
CAST TIME
COOLDOWN
DESCRIPTION
Brain Bursta *Gork's Waaagh! reduces cast time.* 1
30 AP
100 ft
2s
None Deals 39 Elemental damage to your target.
Path of Gork Gork'll Fix It
*Mork's Waaagh! reduces cast time.* 1
55 AP
150 ft
1s
None
1
All AP
N/A
Instant
30s
Path of Mork
Your target regains 33 health immediately then continues to gain another 87 health over 9 seconds.
Flee You run away in a mad panic increasing your run speed by 30 for 10 seconds.
Core Life Leaka *Gork's Waaagh! increases effectiveness* 2
30 AP
100 ft
Instant
None
Path of Gork
You deal 65 Elemental damage to your target over 15 seconds.
'Ey, Quit Bleedin' *Mork's Waaagh! increases effectiveness* 3
30 AP
150 ft
Instant
None Heals your target for 200 health over 15 seconds.
Core
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'Ere We Go!
4
25 AP
N/A
Instant
10s
Everyone in your group's next attack deals an additional 20 Elemental damage.
Path of Da Green *Gork's Waaagh! increases effectiveness*
Bunch o' Waaagh
5
13 AP/Sec
100 ft
Instant
11s
Path of Gork
You concentrate on your target for up to 6 seconds, repeatedly dealing 46 Elemental damage to them as long as you maintain your concentration. *Gork's Waaagh! increases effectiveness*
Bleed Fer' Me
6
35 AP
100 ft
Instant
10s
Path of Mork
You deal 88 Elemental damage to your target over 24 seconds and your defensive target is healed for the damage done.
7
20 AP
100 ft
Instant
15s
You Detaunt your target, making them hate you less and causing them to deal 50% less damage to you for 15 seconds. If you attack anyone that you have Detaunted, the effect will immediately end.
7
55 AP
N/A
Instant
None
Increases all resistances of everyone in your group by 6 for 1 hour.
Look Over There!
Core Mork's Buffer
Path of Da Green *Mork's Waaagh! increases effectiveness*
Bigger, Better, An' Greener Healing 8
Path of Mork
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45 AP
150 ft
2.5s
None
Heals your target for 150 health. This is a fragile spell, and will always be set back by a large amount if you are damaged while casting it.
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Yer Not So Bad *Gork's Waaagh! increases effectiveness* 9
40 AP
100 ft
2s
20s
Core Gedup!
Steals 180 Action Points from your target over 9 seconds. *Mork's Waaagh! increases effectiveness*
10
20 AP
100 ft
6.0s
3s Resurrects your target with 20% health.
Core Get'n Smarter 12
30 AP
100 ft
Instant
10s
Steals 3 Intelligence from your target for 15 seconds.
20s
*Mork's Waaagh! increases effectiveness* *Only usable on group members* Surrounds an ally with a magical barrier that absorbs up to 125 damage for up to 9 seconds.
Path of Da Green Don' Feel Nuthin
14
35 AP
150 ft
Instant
Path of Mork Greener 'n Cleaner
*Target must be Cursed or Ailing* 16
25 AP
150 ft
Instant
5s
You cleanse an ally, removing one Curse or Ailment.
Core Yer A Weaklin'
18
30 AP
100 ft
2s
None
*Gork's Waaagh! reduces cast time.* Your target takes 33 Elemental damage. Your target's Strength is also reduces by 3 for 20 seconds.
Path of Da Green Gather Round
*Mork's Waaagh! reduces cast time.* 20
Path of Mork
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65 AP
N/A
3.0s
None Heals your entire group for 72 health.
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NAME
RANK COST RANGE
CAST COOLDOWN TIME
DESCRIPTION
Eeeek!
25
55 AP
N/A
Instant
60s
You, and all enemies near you, are blasted with Waaagh!, knocking away players and knocking monsters down.
30s
Your chance to disrupt attacks is increased by 5%, and you Detaunt all enemies within 30 feet for 10 seconds, making them hate you less and causing them to deal 50% less damage to you. If you attack anyone that you have Detaunted, the effect will immediately end.
Core Stop Hittin' Me! 30
40 AP
N/A
Instant
Path of Gork You Got Nuthin!
*Gork's Waaagh! reduces cast time.* 35
25 AP
100 ft
1s
30s
Path of Da Green
*Gork's Waaagh! reduces cast time.*
Scuse Me!
40
Path of Gork
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Deals 25 Elemental damage and silences your target, making them unable to use magic for 5 seconds.
45 AP
N/A
2s
10s
A cone of energy strikes enemies in front of you, up to 65 feet away, dealing 33 Elemental damage and reducing their Elemental resistance by 4 for 20 seconds.
2009
Shaman Ultimate Guide Tactic List with Descriptions
Tactics in WAR are abilities that you can buy with the points that you gain for leveling. They provide small gains (typically +5%) in various skills or aspects of your character. You can change them when you're not in combat. Choosing the current set of active Tactics allows you to specialize your character for an expected situation at hand, for example: Ironbreakers can use Ancestral Hatred which increases damage against Greenskins, while Black Orcs have access to I Hates Stunties which increases damage to Dwarfs. Before entering into a battle, tactics are chosen and slotted into the Strategy bar according to what you feel will be most useful in the upcoming fight. This gives a little more ability to make your character how you want it to be, and also adds more strategy. It also allows you to have, say, one tactics-load out that is tweaked for performance in solo play, and another that you switch to when you group up to perform a certain task. Switching tactics load out is done through a simple drop down menu in the UI.
NAME
RANK COST RANGE
CAST TIME
COOLDOWN
DESCRIPTION
Whazat behind you?!
11
None
N/A
Passive
None
Any time you are hit, there is a 25% chance that you will Detaunt the enemy, making them hate you less and causing them to deal 25% less damage to you for 5 seconds. If you hit anyone that you have Detaunted, the effect will end.
13
None
N/A
Passive
None
You deal 25% more damage, but all of your healing becomes 20% less effective.
None
Any time you critically hit with a spell that grants Waagh!, an additional Waaagh! will be granted as well. Tactic cannot trigger more than once every 3 seconds.
Tactic Divine Fury
Tactic Burst O' Waaagh!
15
Tactic
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None
N/A
Passive
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Too Smart For Dat
17
None
N/A
Passive
None
Increases Spirit resistance by 6.
19
None
N/A
Passive
None
Increases your Willpower by 4.
Tactic Discipline
Tactic
NAME
RANK COST RANGE
CAST TIME
COOLDOWN
DESCRIPTION
None
If Greener 'n Cleaner successfully removes an effect from an ally, then they will also regain 36 health over 9 seconds.
None
Any time you are hit, there is a 25% chance that your movement speed will be increased by 30% for 5 seconds.
Green Cleanin' 21
None
N/A
Passive
Tactic RUN AWAY!
23
None
N/A
Passive
Tactic Subtlety
25
None
N/A
Passive
None
All of your heals will cause enemy monsters to hate you 25% less than normal.
27
None
N/A
Passive
None
Increases your chance to critically heal by 10%.
Tactic Extra Special Mushrooms
Tactic
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Restorative Burst
29
None
N/A
Passive
None
Any time one of your direct healing effects critically heals an ally, you will regain 160 Action Points over 3 seconds.
Tactic Dat Makes Me Dizzy
31
None
N/A
Passive
None
You can now resurrect allies instantly, but you are stunned for 3 seconds after casting.
33
None
N/A
Passive
None
Increases your chance to critically hit enemies by 10%.
35
None
N/A
Passive
None
Spells that spend Waaagh! have a 10% chance to not expend when used.
Tactic Mork Is Watchin'
Tactic Ain't Done Yet!
Tactic Get Movin'!
37
None
N/A
Passive
None
Any time one of your groupmatess damages an enemy with "Ere We Go, they will gain 150 points of Morale.
39
None
N/A
Passive
None
Reduces Eeeek!'s cooldown time by 40 seconds.
Tactic Git Outta Here!
Tactic
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Moral List with Descriptions Morale is a combat resource gained while attacking that can be spent to activate various morale abilities. Morale is represented by a blue bar in the center of the UI over the top of your character's facial animation that slowly fills up. Once combat has been entered a character's morale meter rises when they start killing opponents or if their group is fighting well. A portion of the morale gained by a group member will be fed to everyone else in the group, and in return all the members of the group will be feeding him a portion of the morale that they gain. As the morale meter builds up, it takes more and more effort to build it further up, so the longer you try to save morale, the harder it is to gain. The morale meter starts to decrease once a character is no longer fighting, and it can also decrease if a fight is going badly. Morale abilities have four ranks, with each rank providing an ability of increasing power. At the lowest rank, abilities use 25% of the morale meter, then 50%, then 75%, and finally 100%. As the morale meter fills up, players can choose to use their lower level morale abilities, or wait for the meter to increase further so that they can unlock their more powerful abilities. It is expected that the highest rank morale abilities will only be used rarely, when players gather in large groups and they can take advantage of group morale mechanics. The most powerful abilities shouldn't provide one-shot kills, but they will look impressive, they will have a significant effect on a combat, and they could determine the outcome of a fight if used at the right time.
Acquiring morale abilities Morale abilities can be learned as characters advance. Players will have to choose from the morale abilities that they have learned to fit into each slot on their morale meter before entering combat. There are three different types of morale abilities:
Career morale abilities. These are available only to your specific career. Archetype morale abilities. These are available to everyone of your archetype. For example, the tank morale abilities are available to Swordmasters, Ironbreakers, Black Orcs and Chosen. Racial morale abilities, that are specific to your race, regardless of career. Meaning, for example, the same of these are available to all Dwarfs, be they Runepriests, Engineers or something else.
With the points available, you will be able to mix and match between these three types as you see fit.
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NAME
RANK
COST
RANGE
CAST TIME
COOLDOWN
DESCRIPTION
8
Rank 1 Morale
150 ft
Instant
60s
A strong heal that will restore 240 health to your target.
60s
Deals 80 damage to all enemies within 30 feet, and heals your entire group for the full amount of the damage dealt.
60s
Your target suffers 120 damage over 9 seconds, and you are healed for a half of the damage dealt.
60s
For the next 10 seconds, you will remove and ignore any silencing, disarming, rooting, and snaring effect and your abilities will build 50% faster and may not be set back.
Divine Favor
Morale Rampagin‟ Siphon 12
Rank 2 Morale
16
Rank 1 Morale
N/A
Instant
Morale Steal Life
100 ft
Instant
Morale Focused Mind
20
Morale
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Rank 2 Morale
N/A
Instant
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NAME
RANK
COST
RANGE
CAST TIME
COOLDOWN
DESCRIPTION
60s
Everyone in your group is surrounded by a protective shield which will absorb a large amount of damage from melee abilities.
60s
Your target suffers 80 damage over 2s. If the target moves, the duration is restarted.
60s
Heals your target for 66 health every 3 seconds over 9 seconds. Each pulse also heals those around the target within 30 feet.
60s
Removes 100 AP from each enemy within 30 feet, and gives 50% of the stolen AP to you.
60s
Resurrects all groupmates within 30 feet. Anyone who is brought back from the dead will also be healed for 160 health over 9 seconds, and they will deal 20% more damage for 10 seconds.
Divine Protection 24
Rank 3 Morale
28
Rank 1 Morale
N/A
Instant
Morale Gork Sez Stop
100 ft
Instant
Morale Breath of Mork
32
Rank 2 Morale
36
Rank 3 Morale
150 ft
Instant
Morale You Weren't Using Dat N/A
Instant
Morale Alter Fate
40
Morale
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Rank 4 Morale
N/A
Instant
Shaman Ultimate Guide
2009
How to play your Shaman … PVE Build Template Shamans are welcome to any group because of their versatility. They can provide the extra heal that keeps the tank alive when the main healer's skills are stretched to their limits. They can add the extra bit of damage that drops a foe when another healer would not be as effective. There are a few things you should know about PVE to be competitive and reliable as a Shaman healer. Aggro "Aggro" (Aggression), or Threat, which is referred to by Warhammer Online and the player abilities in the game as "Hate" or "Hatred", is a game mechanic which determines who an enemy Non-Player Character will attack at any given time. The player who has built up the greatest amount of "Hatred" with the NPC is the one on whom the NPC will focus its attacks. Many abilities in the game allow a player to control the amount of "Hatred" he generates, to ensure that the enemies focus on the Tank and not on the healers and damagers. Tanks are given abilities to increase the amount they generate, or reduce the amount their companions generate, while DPSers are given abilities to reduce the amount they generate, or the amount that the NPC currently has towards them. There are also Tank specific abilities which cause the enemy to temporarily ignore "Hatred" levels and focus on the tank no matter what. "Aggro" is also sometimes used as a verb, synonymous to Pull, in which case it refers to the initial act of being spotted by an enemy NPC (intentionally or otherwise), causing them to begin attacking you. When someone attempting to Tank loses the creature they are tanking, that is sometimes referred to as a Peel. As in Dark Age of Camelot, by the same publisher (Mythic), the number of creatures you pull when attacking a group is said to be determined by the number of members in your party, but the specifics of this system have yet to be clarified. There is one main tactic every Shaman should be using when in PVE and that‟s “Subtlety.” With each heal you cast you lose 25% of the hate generated. This is a must use Tactic.
Healing priorities – who should you let die! Muahahaha Your priorities are different in PVE than in RVR. In PVE your priorities are as follows: Tanks DPS Casters All others Just remember that when the tank falls, all others will follow.
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Primary PVE spells Solo When soloing I find that killing mobs can be a long drawn out process. To do this as efficiently as possible so that you can make back to back pulls with little to no down time, I have found that this spell combination is the best for me. Life Leaka - 100 AP - 100 ft - Builds Waaagh! - Causes moderate damage to your target over 10 seconds. I’ll Take That – 25 AP – 100ft – Causes damage to offensive your target and heals your defensive target. Don’ Feel Nuthin – 35 AP – 150ft – Surrounds and ally with a magical barrier for 9 seconds. You‟z Squishy – Everyone within 30ft of your target has their toughness reduced for 20 seconds Bunch o’Waaagh – 13 AP/sec – 100ft – Concentrate on your target dealing elemental damage for up to 6 seconds. Yer Not So Bad – Steals AP from your target over 9 seconds. Redot – By the time your done casting all of the above it will be time to reapply your dots. Bunch o’Waaagh – if your fighting a regular mob this spell should finish them off. Dead HoT – Easiest way to heal yourself after the fight. However, if you have Waaagh! built up, it is more efficient to use the Waaagh! to instant cast your big heal on yourself instead of wasting in on your HoT. This is most beneficial in very long fights against tougher mobs. Rinse and repeat.-- If you are fighting a high level mob or a champ, then you will likely want to mix a strength, toughness and elemental debuff in amongst the other spells I listed. This will help out immensely and keep the fight from lasting too terribly long.
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Grouped If you are fighting while in a PVE group during a dungeon instance, your spell choices are going to be a lot different. In this case you are going to be casting your heals a lot more and you likely won‟t be casting many direct damage spells at all. Life Leaka - 100 AP - 100 ft - Builds Waaagh! - Causes moderate damage to your target over 10 seconds. I’ll Take That – 25 AP – 100ft – Causes damage to offensive your target and heals your defensive target. Don’ Feel Nuthin – 35 AP – 150ft – Surrounds and ally with a magical barrier for 9 seconds. Yer Not So Bad – Steals AP from your target over 9 seconds. Yer A Weaklin‟ – 30 AP – 100ft – Target takes elemental damage and reduces their strength for 20 seconds. You‟z Squishy – Everyone within 30ft of your target has their toughness reduced for 20 seconds. 'Ere We Go! - 100 AP - N/A - Each of your group members' next melee attacks will cause additional damage. When paired with the two tactics for this spell, you will deal an additional 300 points of damage and regain as much AP. This is a great combo for PVE and dungeon runs. Bigger, Better, An‟ Greener Healing – 45 AP – 150ft – This is your biggest, most fragile heal. This heal takes 2.5 seconds to cast and if you take damage while casting it, the spell is set back making it take longer to cast. Ey, Quit Bleedin‟ – 30 AP – 150ft – 15 second heal over time. Do Sumfin Useful – 35 AP – 150ft – 9 second heal over time and increases your targets toughness. Gather Round – 65 AP – Heals your entire group. This is good when your tanks over pull and everyone is taking damage. The main thing to look at here are the heals. However, you can help the group out a lot with the debuffs, shields and „Ere We Go! All of these extra spells help keep your healing under control so you aren‟t spamming them to keep your party up and also helps tear through those mobs.
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PVE GEAR! There are 19 sets of armor available for each Warhammer career. These armor sets can be found throughout the Warhammer world, and at higher levels can be incredibly helpful (if not imperative) for certain encounters. For example, the highest end sets feature special resistances called Wards. On these high end sets, there are five pieces of armor which grant a 10% reduction in damage per piece when worn in specific endgame encounters, for a possible cumulative of around 50% reduction. With these set pieces, players can emerge victorious from what would otherwise be much more difficult battles. The five pieces of armor in these high end sets which feature the Wards are: chest, boots, gloves, helmet and shoulders. Though mythic said we wouldn‟t need to PVE for gear to be competitive for RVR (yes they lied), we do need to spend some time in a few dungeons so that we can earn those Wards that you‟ll need for those Fortress and King raids once you start locking down zones for City Sieges. I have included a list of gear that are must haves as you make progress towards end game. Redeye Armor Set Redeye Armor is a 4-piece set found in Mount Gunbad. The pieces are dropped by the Wing Bosses and overall Dungeon Boss of Mount Gunbad. These do not have Wards, but they are still valuable gear for Tier 2 RVR and PVE.
Gloves are dropped by Masta Mixa, the Alchemy Wing Boss. Boots are dropped by Glomp da Squig Masta, the Squig Nursery Wing Boss. Shoulders are dropped by Wight Lord Solithex, the Barracks Wing Boss. Body is dropped by 'Ard ta Feed, the overall Dungeon Boss. Helm is a random drop from any of the Wing Bosses or the over all Dungeon Boss of Mount Gunbad.
Blood Lord Armor Set Lesser Ward
Bloodlord Armor Set Found in: Bastion Stair Requirements: Ranks: Ranks 37-39 This set offers the Lesser Ward, which is required for City High Level Dungeons and Fortress encounters. There are five pieces of armor in this set.
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Bloodlord armor is a 5 piece set of armor, consisting of Helm, Shoulders, Chestpiece, Boots, and Gloves, and dropping in the Bastion Stair. Specific drop locations;
Gloves; Thar'Ignan, Lord Slaurith, Kaarn the Vanquisher, Skull Lord Var'Ithrok Boots; Thar'Ignan Helm; Kaarn the Vanquisher Chest; Skull Lord Var'Ithrok Shoulders; Lord Slaurith
Wearing even a single piece grants the user a buff called "lesser ward". This reduces the damage taken in grade 6 instances in capital cities by 10% each ward. A maximum of 5 pieces can be worn to grant the wearer 50% reduced damage taken in these dungeons. Sentinel Armor Set Greater Ward
Sentinel Armor Set Found in: City High Level Dungeons Requirements: Rank 40 This set offers the Greater Ward, which is required for both the Lost Vale and the City Invasion PQs. The Sentinel set also provides the effects of the Lesser Ward. There are six pieces of armor in this set. Bilerot Burrow Shoulder - Ssyrdian Morbidae (Left Wing) Gloves - Bartholomeus the sickly (Right Wing) Chestplate - Bilerot Lord (Last boss) Bloodwrought Enclave Helmet - Barakus the Godslayer Boots - Korthuk the Raging (Left Wing) Belt - Since patch 1.1a any boss from "Bilerot Burrow" or "Bloodwrought Enclave" can drop it and its now BoE. Darkpromise Armor Set Superior Ward
Darkpromise Armor Set Found in: Lost Vale Requirements: Rank 40 This set offers the Superior Ward, which is required for SubBoss PQs. The Darkpromise set also provides the effects of the
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Lesser Ward and Greater Ward. There are six pieces of armor in this set.
Gloves and Belt – Any other Boss in the zone has a chance to drop. Helmet – – Sechar the Darkpromise Chieftain, North Wing (2nd to last boss) Boots – Dralel, West Wing Lord Chest – N'Kari, Keeper of Secrets, North wing Lord (last boss of vale) Shoulders – Sarthain the Worldbearer, East Wing Lord
General Healing Strategy Keeping your realm mates alive is one of your most important roles as a Shaman. I want to reiterate how important it is to remember that we ARE healers even though we can deal damage. Here are a few basic tips that you may find useful when you find yourself responsible for another life:
Dealing damage makes you heal better, so why not deal damage when you aren't healing? Dots and debuffs for the win. Don't let the health of the person you are healing get too low before you begin healing. You will find it hard to play catch-up as a Shaman. Heal early with your HoTs. It will make the difference between life and death most times. If you find your team mate taking a lot of damage then use the BIG heal as long as you aren't being hit yourself. In the low to mid levels this is the only way to keep someone alive if they're taking a lot of damage. Your 2 HoTs won't be enough by themselves, but when mixed with your big heal things get a bit more manageable. After healing, toss your instant cast HoTs on to take advantage of its healing while you queue up the next spell. It's never a bad thing to always have HoT's up on targets who take damage (Unless they are pulling - in which case you will want to hold off until they establish aggro). Use your damage absorption shield to help you keep up with heals - it's not much, but it helps in a pinch. It‟s also very useful to save your DPS casters life since they can go down pretty fast.
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RVR Strategy Hopefully you understand your role as a Shaman by now. Well, I have some bad news for you. Your enemies probably know your role as well and that means you are now a primary target during RvR encounters. Shaman are VERY squishy little guys and unless we're careful we can find ourselves running back to the fight more than actually participating. Here are a few basic tips that might come in handy:
Do not draw unnecessary attention to yourself! If you stand off to the side you're going to get noticed. Blend in with the pack by hiding behind the bigger guys. Don't stand in the front. This is the absolute best way to get focus fired to death. Have your damage absorption shield up if you're going to be taking damage. This spell SAVES LIVES! Know your enemy. Tanks are going to have a lot more HP than casters. Pick your battles and do not expose yourself to an enemy that will survive long enough to be aided by friends. Bug your tanks to protect you. Guard or Save Da Runts can be of great help to you.
In my opinion, the role of the Shaman in RvR play is to cause as much chaos as possible. The Shaman can debuff toughness on Order tanks to make them die faster. He can steal Intelligence from Order casters to reduce their damage while increasing his own. He can add extra heals to supplement other Destruction healers and frustrate the enemy. He can even help kill foes with his elemental magic. Don‟t get stuck into that heal niche some people like to get themselves into. You‟re Shaman has a butt load of tools available to them, it just makes sense to use what you have to the best of your abilities. Shaman should be some of the busiest characters in the battle, mixing debuffs and damage with heals and buffs. The most important thing is to stay behind the front line and be a total pest. Presuming as an organized group that you are using assist trains etc, and coordinating focus, Ere We Go Again means that your Ere We Go skill is giving your dps an extra 350ish damage every 10 seconds!! and in addition, couple this with the core tactic Get Movin' .. means that they will each gain 300 morale points for doing so... every 10 seconds!! You'z squishy, your AOE toughness debuff, gives a really nice boost in DPS against affected targets and costs ONLY 20 AP. It‟s instant cast so the spell can obviously be kept up indefinitely on the entire zerg with carefully placed casts! Gorks barbs is pretty much self explanatory and can do serious amounts of damage to careless Which Hunter‟s and will pretty much kill a White Lion‟s pet unless they retreat it.
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Now give yourself Discipline and Extra Special Mushrooms to balance up your heals and possibly Git Outa Here which can turn you into a pretty offensive knockback machine or help you get out of sticky spots (coupled with Sticky Feetz, Gork Sez Stop, Gorks Barbs why would any melee jump you?!?) Course, you must be proficient with these spells and know when to use them to make them beneficial to you and a pain to your enemy. Priority Healing List What should your healing priorities be? If multiple members of your team are getting a beat down at the same time, how should you split your healing time up to ensure you can still be competitive if one or two of your team should fall? Remember, you have battle rez! DPS – Healers – Tanks – Everyone else. Get these people up as fast as you can so that you can stay in the battle and remember battle rez roots you for 3 seconds after you cast it so ensure you have the opportunity to get them up and out of there before the enemy over runs you. You, as a healer, do no one any good if you are face down in the dirt.
RVR Gear! Annihilator Armor Set Found in: Tier 4 RvR Requirements: Ranks: Ranks 35-39 and Renown Ranks 31-35 This set offers the Lesser Ward, which is required for City High Level Dungeons and Fortress encounters. There are five pieces of armor in this set.
Helmet – Any Keep Lord //Gold Bag Chest – Any Keep Lord //Gold Bag Shoulders – Any Keep Lord //Gold Bag Boots – RVR Drop Gloves – Renown Merchant
Conqueror Armor Set Found in: Fortresses Requirements: Rank 40 and Renown Ranks 45-50 This set offers the Greater Ward, which is required for both the Lost Vale and the City Invasion PQs. The Conqueror set also provides the effects of the Lesser Ward. There are six pieces of armor in this set.
Helmet – Any Fortress Lord //Gold Bag Chest – Any Fortress Lord //Gold Bag Shoulders – Any Fortress Lord //Gold Bag Boots – RVR Drop Gloves – Renown Merchant
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Invader Armor Set Found in: Invasion PQs Requirements: Rank 40 and Renown Ranks 55-60 This set offers the Superior Ward, which is required for Sub-Boss PQs. The Invader sets also provide the effects of the Lesser Ward and Greater Ward. There are six pieces of armor in each set.
Helmet – City Siege PQ Gold Bag Chest – City Siege PQ Gold Bag Shoulders – City Siege PQ Gold Bag Boots – RVR within a City Siege Gloves – Renown Merchant
Excelsior Ward Warlord Armor Set Found in: Sub-Boss PQs (in cities while contested) Requirements: Rank 40 and Renown Ranks 64-70 The Sub-Boss PQs are the only means of acquiring the Excelsior Ward which is required for the King Fights. The Excelsior Ward includes the effects of all previous armor sets. There are seven pieces of armor in this set. Okay, this set seems to have jumped back a step. We get this set, which is higher tier than the one before it by competing in an earlier stage of the city siege? Hey, not that I‟m complaining. This is actually RvR-related as opposed to the previous step! Still… this set is REQUIRED for king fights? How much freaking grinding do they expect us to do? Or do they mean it will be “helpful” instead?
Helmet – Sub-Boss PQs (in cities while contested) Chest – Sub-Boss PQs (in cities while contested) Shoulders – Sub-Boss PQs (in cities while contested) Boots – Sub-Boss PQs (in cities while contested) Gloves – Sub-Boss PQs (in cities while contested)
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Supreme Ward Sovereign Armor Set Found in: King Fight (in cities while contested) Requirements: Rank 40 and Renown Ranks 73-80 The Sovereign armor set is the highest level armor set, and includes the wards from all previous sets. There are eight pieces of armor in this set.
Helmet – King Fight (in cities while contested) Chest – King Fight (in cities while contested) Shoulders – King Fight (in cities while contested) Boots – King Fight (in cities while contested) Gloves – King Fight (in cities while contested)
So here we have the culmination of your item set grind - er, journey. According to Mythic‟s wording, you will be required to gain all the previous sets before you can ever dream of achieving this one. And let‟s face it, how many times do we get to kill the king per siege and how many sieges does Mythic want to see per month? Last I heard, they anticipate it will take 1-2 months per city siege starting from a complete campaign reset. This is one giant grind, sheesh… Enjoy!
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Addons/Mods There are some very helpful Mods or Addons out there that can help you be a better healer. I will list a few that I have here but get out there and look around. The game is still very young and people are coming up with new programs all the time. Squared – Squared is a highly-customizable unit frame addon similar to the widelyknown WoW addon "Grid". It provides a very compact view of health for you, your group, your warband, or your scenario. Clicking on a square will target the associated player. Auction Assistant – AuctionAssist provides a number of shortcuts for auctioning while using the Auction house window. Tomb Titan – This add-on is designed to display data in game in an easily readable format. It includes sections for Bestiary, Lore/History, Noteworthy Persons, Cultivation information, Lair Locations and Exploration/Pursuits information –and more! In short: Tome Titan is to help keep you from having to alt tab. WarEffort – War Effort provides a quick and easy way to monitor the Tier 4 campaign. War Effort displays the current zone status, the status of every unlocked keep in Tier 4, and the percentage of victory points each side has for each unlocked Tier 4 zone. Currently War Effort will update the keep and zone status once every 5 seconds to ensure that this Addon will not cause any extra lag or performance issues. SpamMeNot – Spam Me Not intelligently detects, blocks and reports commercial and annoying spam messages before you even see them, without relying on an extensive list of blacklisted domain names. LibSlash – A basic library for registering slash commands in the WAR interface. With LibSlash installed, you'll also be able to use /addon or /uimod to open the Addons window in-game. Black Book – Who should we hunt down and kill today?? Better check the little black book. The Little Black Book is a record of players that have killed you and your Win/Loss record against them.
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Sample Build
This is how I chose to spec my Shaman. I decided to go with Da Green a bit to get the ability called Ere We Go Again. You‟re healing numbers won‟t be as high as someone specced full healing, but you will be able to do so much more to help your group with debuffs, buffs, DoTs, HoTs and heals. Be prepared, because by using this spec you are going to be very busy.
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One last comment! This one provided by Dont over at Blame the Healer (http://blamethehealer.awardspace.com/category/guides/). This is a pretty good guide to help you set up your actions bars and why. It‟s pretty rudimentary to me, but you might find it helpful.
Action Bar Compression Written by Dont
When you start a new career, it‟s all good - you have only a several abilities, easily accessible by pressing 1, 2, etc. But as you progress through the ranks, there‟s less and less space for the new abilities. In this article I‟m going to share some tips about how to compress your action bars in order to achieve higher efficiency.
Number of action bars Find the golden mean. One action bar is barely enough, but four might be too much. I‟m currently using two, and it is ideal for bar compression. Whether you stack or diplay them side-by-side is your choice, I prefer stacking them. (This way I can check all my abilities with a glance.)
Plan its layout This is the most important step. First, it‟s good to separate offensive / defensive abilities. For example, if you are playing a Rune Priest, you should fill the primary action bar with healing spells, and the secondary with the damaging / support ones. But if you‟re playing a DPS specced Warrior Priest, offensive abilities should go first. Now experiment with the hotkeys while playing. Observe which ones are comfortable for you to reach / press. For me, from number 2 to 6 are the best, so I put my most used abilities there. It‟s good to arrange them based on their cooldown and / or frequency of use. You will probably just click the right side of the action bars, so place those abilities there that you use out of combat (like crafting, flee, mount, etc.) there. You will also need easily-reached hotkeys for bar #2. Shift / Alt + numbers combinations are just pain, in my opinion, so I rebinded the second action bar to start with F1. 33 | P a g e
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Weeding out Starting with T2, you are starting to specialize in a path. The more points you allocate in one of them, the more useless the others get. There will be probably at least one path that you won‟t have points in, so when it comes to bar compression, those should be the first to fall out. Also, at higher ranks consider leaving out your basic attack ability. You will have plenty of others to choose from by that time, and it also helps your AP management if you don‟t waste it by spending it on a basic attack.
Emergency hotkey(s) Sometimes, you have to use an ability very quickly. Your life depends on how fast can you hit that button, so you should create at least one “emergency hotkey”. It‟s a Detaunt for me, but it can be anything that can save your life, like a stun, disarm, knockback or even a morale ability. Find a place at the right side of your bar, and place the emergency ability there. Then bind that slot to a key you can easily press (it‟s V for me). Proper safety is half the victory!
Acknowledgements: Thanks to Warhammer Vault, Warhammer Alliance and Ten Ton Hammer posters, WARWiki, Syp, Blame the Healer, and the many more postings from Warhammer Online gamers everywhere for helping build this compilation of information for aspiring Shaman. We need more of them for sure.
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