restoration-shaman-column
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Totem Talk: Mists of Pandaria talent calculator for restoration shamans
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Totem Talk for elemental, enhancement and restoration shaman. Want to be a sultan of swing healing? A champion of Chain Heal? Totem Talk: Restoration, brought to you by Joe Perez (otherwise known as Lodur from World of Matticus and co-host of the For the Lore and Raid Warning podcasts), shows you how. BlizzCon 2011 was an exciting time with a lot of announcements for every class and for the state of the game in general. If you're a regular reader of the column (and I hope you are), you'll remember that we talked a little bit about the proposed talent system changes before and what it meant for restoration shaman. Well, since then, the official talent calculator for Mists of Pandaria have been released on the official World of Warcraft site. With it, there are a few surprises. It has caused quite a stir throughout the community, and many of the bloggers out there have been sharing their thoughts on the new calculator and what it means for the future of their classes and specs. So today that's exactly what I'm going to do. We've talked about this before, but it bears repeating. Cataclysm brought about a pretty revolutionary (and at the time controversial) change to the talent system by breaking it down from what we knew for years to the 31-point talent system we have today. It allowed for specialization locking a player into a certain talent tree, eliminating hybrid talent builds, but in exchange giving players some key abilities as perks. It was the first step in streamlining the talent system.
Totem Talk: Restoration and the 5-man dungeons of patch 4.3
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Totem Talk for elemental, enhancement and restoration shaman. Want to be a sultan of swing healing? A champion of Chain Heal? Totem Talk: Restoration, brought to you by Joe Perez (otherwise known as Lodur from World of Matticus and co-host of the For the Lore and Raid Warning podcasts), shows you how. On the PTR, the latest version of patch 4.3 has gone up, and it has an interesting tag with it. Now it has the word "release" to accompany the latest build. So this means that there is a release candidate up and running, or at least what would be proposed as one. This usually indicates that we are rapidly approaching a live release and that the patch could be on servers very soon for everyone to enjoy. So in my ongoing effort to shift the focus back into the upcoming content and what lies ahead for restoration shaman, today we're going to be focusing on what will likely be the first new content you explore in the latest patch, the new 5-man dungeons. Action, excitement ... a restoration shaman craves these things.
Totem Talk: Resto shaman advice for healing groups, DK tanks, and heroic instances
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Totem Talk for elemental, enhancement and restoration shaman. Want to be a sultan of swing healing? A champion of Chain Heal? Totem Talk: Restoration, brought to you by Joe Perez (otherwise known as Lodur from World of Matticus and co-host of the For the Lore and Raid Warning podcasts), shows you how. Man, the last few weeks sure have been fun and full of interesting information regarding our future. Speculation has already begun as to how we're going to be doing when the next expansion is poised for release, and we leave this world of Cataclysm behind us. Let's take the time to bring the focus back to current-day concerns and the most important thing of all, questions from you the readers. Restoration shaman have been a class in flux throughout Cataclysm, and as a result, there are numerous questions from those who are pushing raid content all the way to those who are returning to the game after a hiatus. So this week, let's get started with Ask a Restoration Shaman! Welldead asked: What is the best healing spell for Death knights?? I've been struggling just to keep a blood dk and its just getting on my nerves even though they are great tanks i just don't know if its me or is it the spell I'm casting wrong? I usually keep my riptide and earth shield up as long as doing chain heals and throwing healing rain when ever it gets messy.
Totem Talk: Preparing restoration for patch 4.3 raiding
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Totem Talk for elemental, enhancement and restoration shaman. Want to be a sultan of swing healing? A champion of Chain Heal? Totem Talk: Restoration, brought to you by Joe Perez (otherwise known as Lodur from World of Matticus and co-host of the For the Lore and Raid Warning podcasts), shows you how. Well, after all the excitement about BlizzCon, it's very easy to forget that we have more immediate things to look toward. For us, this mainly is the next raid tier, the Dragon Soul. The next raid tier will be coming fairly soon, and we'll be gearing up to take down Deathwing. Recently we've had some concerns about the numbers that are being put out by restoration shaman in a raiding environment. The next tier has promised to be much more exciting for us in many ways, from the fact that we are getting new raid content to new and exciting new bosses with new mechanics to learn and work with. Today, we're going to focus on getting ready for this new content.
Totem Talk: Post-BlizzCon restoration shaman thoughts
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Totem Talk for elemental, enhancement and restoration shaman. Want to be a sultan of swing healing? A champion of Chain Heal? Totem Talk: Restoration, brought to you by Joe Perez (otherwise known as Lodur from World of Matticus and co-host of the For the Lore and Raid Warning podcasts), shows you how. It has been a very exciting weekend for every World of Warcraft fan. BlizzCon is that one yearly event where news unlike anything else we've heard all year comes out. We were treated not only to the announcement of the next expansion, Mists of Pandaria, but a plethora of changes for every class and spec. The big news outside of the expansion was the announcement of the new talent system. In patch 5.0, a new talent system will come along and replace the one we have grown to know right now. It came as a bit of a shock, especially after we were bumped down to the 31-talent point system we have now. The system has a lot of exciting things that will have an impact on our healing; probably most important is that talents will no longer be a key factor in determining a character's power.
Totem Talk: Restoration's pre-patch 4.3 activity guide
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Totem Talk for elemental, enhancement and restoration shaman. Want to be a sultan of swing healing? A champion of Chain Heal? Totem Talk: Restoration, brought to you by Joe Perez (otherwise known as Lodur from World of Matticus and co-host of the For the Lore and Raid Warning podcasts), shows you how. With patch 4.3 on the PTR and the next tier of raid content under way, many of us are wondering what to do to fill the time in between now, in the time after the great nerf, and the next content patch. Some folks have recently expressed concern at being bored until there is something new to do. Truth is, there is still quite a number of things that you can do while you are waiting for the next big patch, from the very little things like just socializing with guildies and friends, to tying up those loose ends in the current tier of content. This week, I thought we could take a look at a number of various options you have at having fun and keeping busy in the pre-patch world.
Totem Talk: Restoration's first week with PTR patch 4.3
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Totem Talk for elemental, enhancement and restoration shaman. Want to be a sultan of swing healing? A champion of Chain Heal? Totem Talk: Restoration, brought to you by Joe Perez (otherwise known as Lodur from World of Matticus and co-host of the For the Lore and Raid Warning podcasts), shows you how. It's been a very exciting few weeks for restoration shaman as a group. First, we got to see the new look of the tier 13 shaman gear. It's a good-looking set, that's for sure. We then got a chance to see our tier 13 set bonuses. Both the two- and four-piece set bonuses are actually quite nice, and I'm looking forward to getting to check them out in a live environment soon. Last week, though, we got news of the PTR going live, and with it came a number of restoration shaman changes. To be honest, there were just a lot of general shaman changes in the works on that patch right from the get-go. For the past week, I've been playing around with the PTR and the changes, through both new dungeon content and current raids. Today, I'd like to share my experiences of the last week with you.
Totem Talk: Restoration tier 13 set bonuses and Firelands nerf
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Totem Talk for elemental, enhancement and restoration shaman. Want to be a sultan of swing healing? A champion of Chain Heal? Totem Talk: Restoration, brought to you by Joe Perez (otherwise known as Lodur from World of Matticus and co-host of the For the Lore and Raid Warning podcasts), shows you how. So last week, we talked about the aesthetics of the shaman tier 13 set. It is a pretty good-looking set overall, and it was very nice to hear what the community had to say about it as a whole. You guys certainly offered quite a bit of insight into how you view the set. We also took some time to make some speculative guesses as to what we might see in the next patch in regards to shaman healing and even discussed how the developers looked at healing as a whole. Another week has come and gone, and it certainly has been full of excitement. We got our first glimpses of the restoration shaman two- and four-piece set bonuses for tier 13, and I thought we could take a moment today to talk about that as well as what the current tweaks to the Firelands raids mean for you as a restoration shaman. Oh, and in case you didn't see in Sunday's The Queue, that handsome dwarf shaman on the playing card is yours truly. I'll freely admit that I squeed a bit when I saw that arrive in my inbox.
Totem Talk: Tier 13 and Patch 4.3 for restoration
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Totem Talk for elemental, enhancement and restoration shaman. Want to be a sultan of swing healing? A champion of Chain Heal? Totem Talk: Restoration, brought to you by Joe Perez (otherwise known as Lodur from World of Matticus and co-host of the For the Lore and Raid Warning podcasts), shows you how. Last week, we had a chat about transmogrification and your choices as a restoration shaman. We also covered the shamanistic style through the years, covering the various tiers of gear and how they were defined through their art style -- strong tones of the elements and classic Warcraft shaman iconography. This past week, we finally got our first look at the shaman tier 13 set. Opinions have been varied, ranging from love and adoration of the set to outright hatred of it. So I thought this week we could talk a little bit about the shaman tier 13 armor set, as well as speculate as to what we might see this week in the upcoming patch 4.3 information and what it could mean for restoration shaman.
Totem Talk: Restoration shaman transmogrification guide
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Totem Talk for elemental, enhancement and restoration shaman. Want to be a sultan of swing healing? A champion of Chain Heal? Totem Talk: Restoration, brought to you by Joe Perez (otherwise known as Lodur from World of Matticus and co-host of the For the Lore and Raid Warning podcasts), shows you how. In patch 4.3, not only will we get the chance to punch Deathwing in the face, we can do so with a whole new style. Not only will we be getting a new tier of raiding to go through, as well as new 5-man content to explore, but there will also be some extra features added that we as players have been asking for quite some time. Transmogrification will allow us to take our current armor and weapons and transform them to look like other pieces of gear. Vanity items may sound like a silly request by the players, but when you've had as rich a history of iconic gear sets as shaman have, it can be pretty awesome. Over the years, shaman in particular have had some pretty amazing and visually stunning sets of gear. Let's take a look! Also, if you listen to the lyrics of the classic song above, you'll notice that not once do they specifically mention pants. (I'm ignoring the mention of suit.) Long live the kilt!
Totem Talk: Head of shaman healing for a day
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Totem Talk for elemental, enhancement and restoration shaman. Want to be a sultan of swing healing? A champion of Chain Heal? Totem Talk: Restoration, brought to you by Joe Perez (otherwise known as Lodur from World of Matticus and co-host of the For the Lore and Raid Warning podcasts), shows you how. We've spent the last couple of weeks going over the history of the restoration shaman, dating back from the days of vanilla WoW all the way up through Cataclysm. I feel that no matter what your current stance is on shaman healing, we can all agree that it has been one roller coaster ride from then until now. I'm an amateur game designer currently working on my own little indie game. Whether or not it will see the light of day is a topic for another day, but needless to say, things like class balance and character design are always of interest to me. With that in mind, I did pose a question for the last two weeks. It seemed like a simple question, but the answers I received were incredibly well thought-out. It made it hard to choose just a few for this week's article, and it may wind up making into a second part later on. Let's see what you, the readers, would propose for class changes to restoration shaman if you were head honcho for a day.
Totem Talk: The later history of restoration shaman
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Totem Talk for elemental, enhancement and restoration shaman. Want to be a sultan of swing healing? A champion of Chain Heal? Totem Talk: Restoration, brought to you by Joe Perez (otherwise known as Lodur from World of Matticus and co-host of the For the Lore and Raid Warning podcasts), shows you how. Last week, we started our trip back to the beginning of the days of our restoration shaman pioneers, those brave souls who endured 40-man raids, laggy servers, limited toolkits and short-duration totems! They survived the harrowing times of downranking and the collapse of the 40-man raid into 25-man raids and helped restore the Sunwell. Truly, this was a time of legends. This week, our trip through WoW's history will lead us toward more recent events. While we can reminisce about the good old days of the release and first expansion of WoW, we can't deny the impact the current expansion, as well as the one before it, had on the evolution of the shaman healer. I mean, it's not like they heralded the end of the world as we know it, right?
Totem Talk: The early days of restoration shaman
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Totem Talk for elemental, enhancement and restoration shaman. Want to be a sultan of swing healing? A champion of Chain Heal? Totem Talk: Restoration, brought to you by Joe Perez (otherwise known as Lodur from World of Matticus and co-host of the For the Lore and Raid Warning podcasts), shows you how. This has been a pretty exciting week for every player and every class, it seems. As I'm sure you heard, patch 4.3 is already in the works and building up to the epic confrontation with the mad dragon aspect Deathwing himself. Along with what will likely be the defining fight of this expansion, we also got some interesting news about vanity gear and some additional storage for those of us who are massive pack rats. While we look forward to patch 4.3, this week I thought it would be the perfect time to start looking back on restoration shaman through the years of WoW's history a little bit. After all, we've come so far, and it's ever so fun to Back It Up once in a while. This week's header just seemed appropriate for the topic -- hope you enjoy the sounds of the wonderful Caro Emerald!
Totem Talk: Restoration crit and haste and mastery, oh my!
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Totem Talk for elemental, enhancement and restoration shaman. Want to be a sultan of swing healing? A champion of Chain Heal? Totem Talk: Restoration, brought to you by Joe Perez (otherwise known as Lodur from World of Matticus and co-host of the For the Lore and Raid Warning podcasts), shows you how. Last week, we took some time to revisit the optional talents for restoration shaman. There were some good comments on the talents and many good questions in the comments. I hope you enjoyed the piece. Continuing the reader-requested posts, this week we'll be talking about a restoration shaman's secondary stats. Reader Shazzyy asked for a discussion on this topic, which means that we will be talking about crit, haste and mastery and not only how they affect restoration shaman, but also possible builds concerning them. As always, if you want me to cover a particular topic or have any questions, feel free to email me or send me a message on Twitter.
Totem Talk: Revisiting restoration's optional talents
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Totem Talk for elemental, enhancement and restoration shaman. Want to be a sultan of swing healing? A champion of Chain Heal? Totem Talk: Restoration, brought to you by Joe Perez (otherwise known as Lodur from World of Matticus and co-host of the For the Lore and Raid Warning podcasts), shows you how. The ask a restoration shaman article last week is something I'd like to start doing a little more regularly. You guys provided some awesome questions and offered amazing feedback. Seeing readers answering questions as much as asking them makes me proud to be a member of the shaman community! Today's post comes as a request through last week's call for questions. When our talent trees were revamped to the current model, one of the goals was to make some optional but fun talents. Some of the talents have proven to be insanely useful and almost mandatory, while others seem completely out of place. Today we're going to talk about some of restoration's "optional" talents. Oh, and if you have anything you want covered in a Totem Talk post, feel free to email me!
Totem Talk: Ask a restoration shaman (again)
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Totem Talk for elemental, enhancement and restoration shaman. Want to be a sultan of swing healing? A champion of Chain Heal? Totem Talk: Restoration, brought to you by Joe Perez (otherwise known as Lodur from World of Matticus and co-host of the For the Lore and Raid Warning podcasts), shows you how. Last week we talked about shaman with axes and a little bit about the restoration shaman two-piece bonus from tier 12 gear. The last week has certainly been a busy one for most folks. With the video now out for DREAM Paragon's 25-man heroic Ragnaros kill and an idea of their group's raid composition, it has been a week of speculation and debate. There's one thing that always will remain constant -- there are always more questions to be answered! This week, we'll be taking reader questions that have come in through comments, Twitter or email in another installment of Ask a Restoration Shaman!
Totem Talk: Restoration shaman, axes and mana concerns
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Totem Talk for elemental, enhancement and restoration shaman. Want to be a sultan of swing healing? A champion of Chain Heal? Totem Talk: Restoration, brought to you by Joe Perez (otherwise known as Lodur from World of Matticus and co-host of the For the Lore and Raid Warning podcasts), shows you how. For the last few weeks, we have been covering the various bosses of the Firelands raid. Beth'tilac and Rhyolith were taken down, Shannox and Baleroc have been toppled, Alysrazor and Majordomo Staghelm were retired early. This week, though, will not be about Ragnaros -- at least, not quite yet. This week, I thought we could talk about a wonderful little zone drop and how it shapes up for restoration shaman. I also thought we could talk about the tier 12 two-piece set bonus for restoration shaman and how useful it is in heroic dungeon and raiding environments.
Totem Talk: Restoration shaman healing for Alysrazor and Majordomo Staghelm
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Totem Talk for elemental, enhancement and restoration shaman. Want to be a sultan of swing healing? A champion of Chain Heal? Totem Talk: Restoration, brought to you by Joe Perez (otherwise known as Lodur from World of Matticus and co-host of the Raid Warning podcast), shows you how. You've bested Beth'tilac and ruined Ryolith. You've shot down Shannox and become the bane of Baleroc. You've been making your way through the Firelands, killing bosses, collecting epic gear and carving a path to the final encounter. Two more bosses stand in your way: one, an oversized legendary firebird who used to fight for the dreaming dragonflight, the other, a traitor to all of Azeroth, driven mad by the shattering of the nightmare and the realization that he could not bring his lost son back to life. It is now up to you to douse the flames of the bird and keep the cat occupied with a ball of yarn.
Totem Talk: Restoration shaman tips on healing Shannox and Baleroc
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Totem Talk for elemental, enhancement and restoration shaman. Want to be a sultan of swing healing? A champion of Chain Heal? Totem Talk: Restoration, brought to you by Joe Perez (otherwise known as Lodur from World of Matticus and co-host of the Raid Warning podcast), shows you how. We've gone from tracking your cooldowns to talking about downing bosses in The Firelands. Last week, we discussed taking down a giant, fiery arachnid and stepping on the toes of a rather crotchety old elemental that needs a little assistance turning left and right. Now that our first foray into the Firelands is complete, and with a couple of kills under our belts, it is time to venture further into the land of fire and really ugly elementals! This week, we will be talking about two more bosses in the land of Ragnaros' rule. One is supposedly the greatest hunter of all time, though I have yet to see him kite General Drakkisath while his party deals with the adds, so I can't verify this claim. The other seems to think that he's in a Peter Jackson movie and that we are apparently a raid full of Sir Ian McKellens.This week's image is supplied by the wonderful and talented MagicalMelonBall. I stepped into a Crystal Prison Trap once, and the carbonite jokes just keep coming.
Totem Talk: Restoration shaman tips on healing Lord Rhyolith and Beth'tilac
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Totem Talk for elemental, enhancement and restoration shaman. Want to be a sultan of swing healing? A champion of Chain Heal? Totem Talk: Restoration, brought to you by Joe Perez (otherwise known as Lodur from World of Matticus and co-host of the Raid Warning podcast), shows you how. Last week, we had a lovely little chat about tracking your cooldowns and how they have become much more important than in the previous tiers of content. Some great addon suggestions were made in the comments, and as a result, I'm even giving TellMeWhen a try this week in raiding. This week, I thought we would talk about something involving a considerable amount of fire. If you're a raiding restoration shaman, chances are good that this past week you got to set foot in the land of fire and giants that are set on fire. I'm talking, of course, about the Firelands raid. Healing in the new instance has been both fun and hectic all at the same time, and I've personally been having quite a bit of fun learning the encounters. Besides, what better way to fight fire than with the element of water! This week's image is supplied by the wonderful MagicalMelonBall, inspired by my love of Indiana Jones and hatred of spiders.
