restoration-shaman
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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.
Totem Talk: Watching restoration's cooldowns in 4.2
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 talked about some of the gear options for your restoration set you can obtain without ever having to progress deep in a raid group. This included new reputation gear, new crafted gear, and new gear that is purchasable with valor points that you can easily obtain through use of the Dungeon Finder tool. What's really cool about this gear is that many of the pieces can be updated to heroic gear levels! This week, though, with patch 4.2 imminent, I thought we could talk a little bit about preparing for a possible shift in how you do things. A few changes as well as a new set bonus are emphasizing tracking of your abilities and cooldowns just a little bit more. Oh, and this week's image is a sketch by yours truly about how I want to fight Ragnaros, dressed as a hammer brother from Super Mario!
Totem Talk: Restoration's new patch 4.2 pre-raid gear
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. Over the last few weeks we have covered raiding in the tier 11 normal modes. It spanned not one, not two, nor three or four weeks, but a whopping five! This was delayed mostly due to all the various changes and questions we had over the course of the last patch. This week I thought we would get a bit of a head start and start talking about patch 4.2 and the Firelands. More specifically, I thought we could start talking about the gear and items we can expect to see with the new content.
Reader UI of the Week: Go hotkey crazy with Vardelm
Each week, WoW Insider brings you a fresh look at reader-submitted UIs as well as Addon Spotlight, which spotlights the latest user interface addons. Have a screenshot of your own UI that you'd like to submit? Send your screenshots along with info on what mods you're using to readerui@wowinsider.com. There are some people who hotkey a few abilities into their interface, relying on the number row and some macros to take care of the brunt of the work when it comes to mashing abilities. Vardelm's UI, however, has taken the notion of "hotkey crazy" to a whole new level. Completely eschewing action bars for an invisible approach to hotkeys, Vardelm makes efficient use of his keyboard while keeping the UI comprehensive and cohesive. Suffice to say, I'm impressed with the hotkeys. There is still something frightening to me about not having action bars readily available and in plain sight. Maybe they're my safety net while I perform the delicate trapeze of raid tanking, comforting me with their visual presence. Take away the net and I could panic so hard that I'd fall harder than Dick Grayson's parents. The upside would be becoming a rich dude's ward, so I guess that isn't so bad. %Gallery-19902%
Totem Talk: Cataclysm raiding as a restoration shaman, part 5
Special thanks to @gotowell for this weeks lovely shaman image! 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. Over the last few weeks we've been going over the various tier 11 bosses and how to combat them with our various tools. In week one we covered the entry level bosses to get your feet wet into raiding and in week two we kicked it up a notched and played with some dragons. Week three found us flying on gusts of wind and dealing with very disappointing minions. Last week we dealt with blind dragons, combining elementals and a really angry multi-headed abomination. This week we take on the final three bosses of the tier. The big nasties that are waiting for us at the end of the Throne of the Four Winds, The Bastion of Twilight and Blackwing Descent. Elementals lords, two headed ogres and undead dragons await!
Totem Talk: Cataclysm raiding as a restoration shaman, part 4
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 took a brief break from boss battles last week to answer some reader questions, but this week, we're right back into the thick of things. Part 1 covered the easy bosses, part 2 let us play with fire and golems, and part 3 was full of hot air and maniac dragon things. This week, we'll dive into the last pieces of Blackwing Descent and The Bastion of Twilight to finish up some loose ends before we take on the final bosses of the tier. So -- a blind dragon, a two-headed hydra thing, and their four friends walk into a mountain ...
Totem Talk: Ask a 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 Raid Warning podcast), shows you how. For the last few weeks, we've been covering some of the basics for normal raid healing. Part 1, part 2 and part 3 are already up and running, so feel free to check them out. Next week, we'll start back in with part 4 with some harder and slightly more fun bosses. This week, though, I thought I would take the opportunity to answer some reader emails and questions from Twitter. Not too long ago, we answered some questions about the state of shaman post-patch 4.1, but still more changes are waiting for us in patch 4.2. Whenever there are changes and nerfs looming, there are always questions to be answered!
Reader UI of the Week: Naina's UI and comfortable clutter
Each week, WoW Insider brings you a fresh look at reader-submitted UIs as well as Addon Spotlight, which spotlights the latest user interface addons. Have a screenshot of your own UI that you'd like to submit? Send your screenshots along with info on what mods you're using to readerui@wowinsider.com. Hello, friends. I hope you all had a nice three-day weekend (the Americans, at least) and ate all the ridiculous BBQ you could. I did, and it was glorious. I have a very special relationship with grills and grilling food, and we will leave it at that. This week's Reader UI of the Week is dedicated to healers and clutter and finding the right amount of compromise to make a UI work. Clutter isn't all bad, you know. Sometimes we pride ourselves on getting the bare minimum of "stuff" on the screen. Others pride themselves on fitting the most they can. Today, we're going to take pride in making sense of simple yet substantial. As usual, don't forget to send me your Reader UIs! I want to see everything from the most minimal concoctions to the biggest messes in need of some love. Send your submissions to readerui@wowinsider.com. %Gallery-19902%
Totem Talk: Cataclysm raiding as a restoration shaman, part 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 Raid Warning podcast), shows you how. Last week, we covered a bit of the upcoming changes for restoration in Patch 4.2. There are quite a few changes being brought with the Firelands, some good, some bad, but all of them are working toward giving us a balanced place in the world of Azeroth. But now we are back, and it's time to talk more about raiding! So, with part 1 of Cataclysm raiding, we covered the entry level raiding bosses including Argaloth, to Magmaw and the lost temple reject. In part 2 of cataclysm raiding we covered Halfus Wyrmbreaker and the ambiguously "dragonic" duo. Today, we're going to to turn our sight to the skies -- way, way up to another plane of existence altogether. Our journey will begin with a stop in Skywall.
Totem Talk: Restoration PTR patch 4.2 changes
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 talked more about raiding as a restoration shaman through the next set of bosses, and this week, we had been planning to continue the series by talking about some bosses that are full of hot wind. However, recent changes on the latest PTR build are worthy of some review and analysis. Today, we're going to talk about some changes to shaman healers in the upcoming patch (or at least where they stand right now). We're also going to discuss a little bit about the recently posted tier 12 set bonuses for restoration, as they too have changed a bit. Since this is still on the PTR, we have to operate with the understanding that this could change at any given moment as things are balanced out. Lets take a look!
