10 things a new Shaman should know about fighting casters
Here are some tips every new shaman player should know. Casters can be some of your easiest kills, whether in PvP or PvE because Shock is your middle name and spell interruption is your game.
Earth Shock, baby! At level 4 you'll get Rank 1 of this spell. Its cooldown is 6 seconds, just like all your shock spells.
Keep Earth Shock (Rank 1) somewhere on your toolbar in addition to higher levels of the spell. It only uses 30 mana and it still stops an enemy in mid-cast just as effectively as higher ranked versions of the spell.
Mages can be taken down easily if you're quick to get close to them and stop them from casting Frost Nova. Pound them quickly, continuing to shock them when casting.
Level 24+ Mages and level 32+ Priests can stop your Lightning Bolts with Counterspell or Silence. Although both of these spells will impact your casting for up to 8 seconds, remember that shock spells are instant cast and can't be interrupted.
In the case of Mages' Counterspells, their silencing effect only stops one school of casting. So if they hit you during Lightning Bolt (a Nature spell), you can still cast your Flame or Frost Shocks, but not your Earth Shock. You can also drop Searing Totem for damage.
After the jump, five more tips for shamans against casters.
A handy way to deal with most casters is to alternate between Lightning Bolt and Earth Shock; while one cools down, the other is ready to go.
Even snazzier, at level 30 shamans get Grounding Totem. Before I attack a caster I always drop a Grounding Totem. I can usually get off three Lightning Bolt casts before they can cast their second spell. Their first spell goes into the Grounding Totem, their second spell gets stopped with Earth Shock. By that time, I've closed on them and it only takes a few bonks to bring them down. Drop Grounding Totem against casters as often as it cools down.
Warlocks can be a bit of a pain because they get Fear at level 8. Shamans don't get Tremor Totem until level 18, at which point the tables will turn. If a warlock has an imp or felhunter up, blast the demon first with a one-two punch of Lightning Bolt then a shock of your choice. If they have any other minion up, ignore it and go right after the caster.
When you fight other shamans, you can follow the tips for Mages.
Lastly, Tauren shamans have one advantage over Draenei shamans when it comes to fighting casters: War Stomp. You can't use it in every fight because its cooldown is two minutes, but it does come in handy.
