A view on the Shaman.

[jayoba]

So, after several encounters with shaman who said that they just "woke up one morning with the power to melt faces" I decided that, the lore-buff that I am, I'd make a post on the different spec shaman, how all shaman get thier abilities, and thier differeing views on the world.

How did I get my Power? I'm glad you asked Tim. Is it okay if I call you Tim? Shut up. Now, your question. Well, contrary to seemingly popular belief, people do not just wake up one morning and suddenly have the power to use the elemental powers of the land to blow stuff up. Oh, no, Tim, you must train to be a Shaman. Indeed it is so.

So: How did I become a Shaman? I'm glad you asked, Tim, I'm glad you asked. Depending on your character, you found it one of three main ways. This is all based on the cultures in the Warcraft World, who are loosely based on cultures of the real world.

The most common way is that you were encountered by a spirit through an herb-induced vision. Most often, this is the Tauren or less frequently, the Orcs.

The second most common way is that when reaching adulthood, you are sent on a special "journey" on this journey, you are expected to survive alone in the wilderness for a certain amount of time. During this time you must search your soul for what it longs to be the most. Most often, this way is seen in Tauren.

Or, you meet a lone, elderly person who kicks your butt, and teaches you the ways of the forc-- erm.. the Spirits. This is seen in all three races, Trolls, Tauren, and Orcs alike.

Well then, I know how it is that I am a Shaman, and why I am one, but what are my views on the world around me? Ahh! Now this is a VERY important question Tim! What? Your name isn't..-- that's not the point Tim, shush whilst I teach you something. Now, a Shaman's views of the world around him are often mistaken by good-meaning, yet somewhat foolish, gamers as those of Druids. Seeking balance and the natural ways in everything. No, no, no, no, no. This isn't right. Not at all. No.

While indeed, you commune with the Elemental Spirits on matters of great import, you do not try to change thier plans for the world. You are a small player in a greater spinning cosmos that you can -never- understand. Stop trying to, you'll only give yourself a headache. You are a servant of the Spirits, and are here to do thier will. And no, we are not robots, there are minor differences in how we view the world and it's workings. But it is molded around that. Right there.

Now how do the different talent tree's fit in to all this? Ahh! another important question Susan. You're a very bright young... child... yes... Anyway! The different talent tree's see the world the same way, they simply go through serving the spirits in different mannors.

[jayoba]

The Elemental Shaman: Ahh, how badass he feels. This man here can summon down the primeval spirits of all the elements to destroy anything he deems unneeded. Indeed, he is the harbinger of thier wrath, and seemingly, the only purpose that he serves is to destroy what endangers the Spirit's plans for us.

As an Elemental Shaman, you blow stuff up. And what better job could there be? Seriously. However, you are heavily reliant on your personal energies. Each time you use the powers the Spirits have entrusted within you, your personal power, or mana is drained. And as soon as you have none left. Lets face it, you are now useless. You are now nothing but a walking sack of potatoes waiting to be mashed. So, while you can indeed start a fight with such great amounts of damage that you can single-handedly turn the tibe of a great battle, after that battle, your side, which is depending on another such show of force, is quickly crumbled as you fail to support thier over-zelous attacks.

The Enhancement Shaman: Now, this fellow seems to want to be a warrior, or a rogue in mail. He wants to be in melee and use his own personal powers to destroy his foes. He is neither healer, nor destroyer. He is the Shaman who follows a path and uses his own power, rather than that of the Spirits, to reach glory.

Either you are a fool trying to reach the Spirits eyes and are unable to wreak such havoc as the Elemental Shaman, nor heal the way the Restoration Shaman can. Or you are something more. You are well treated by the Spirits. They give you power, and yet, you do not use it, save in times of great need. Other Shaman pale in comparison to your devotion to something greater than yourself. While at the heart of every Elemental Shaman is a raving lunatic, and at the heart of every Restoration Shaman is a kind, peaceable being. You seem to have no path set for you. You follow your own heart, whether it leads you down the path of wanton slaughter, or down the path of the wise. You rest secure in the knowledge that the Spirits are not disspleased.

The Restoration Shaman: The gentle touch of a comforting mother. The kind words and wise thoughts of the elderly. The prowess to keep twenty people alive throughout combat. This woman is the Restoration Shaman. She heals the sick, the diseased, and brings back to life that which was once dead. So clear is she in her devotion to life that the spirits give her the ability to come back from the brink of death more often than any other Shaman.

As a Restoration Shaman, you are a priest in mail. You heal, and heal, and heal. And when grouped with those who know what they are doing, you are never touched by those who try to kill your comrades. Your singular devotion to those around you serves as a shining example of grace and beauty. You are the very avatar of the Water Spirits. You can end the pain of most anything you see, and yet you do so only when needed. For a world where you and others like you solve every problem, is a world where races loose thier pride. Why fight when the Shaman can cure the lands, and the whole of Azeroth? Indeed, in your attention to the Spirit of Water's call, you hold more power than any other Shaman, and are closer to the Spirits than any can know. But you practice a self-controll that Elemental Shamans would fall sharply at, and Enhancement Shamans bow thier heads to you in reverance.

[jayoba]

Allright, I understand now how the different Shaman types go around in the world. But you keep mentioning the plans of the Spirits, what are they? We cannot know what the Spirits plan for us, Jeromy. They are beyond us. Beyond all confines that hold the other dieties of the world. They go about thier buisness without constraint, working together in perfect harmony to make our world keep running. As a Shaman, you wish to make sure it keeps running smoothly, and you bring the wrath, the healing, or the greater conciousness of the Spirits to those around you.

Well, do the Spirits have any natural enemies? Of course they do Samantha! Who doesn't? They are opposed to whatever threatens thier plans to keep Azeroth running. And who does that, you ask? Well none other than the demons, devils, and other such unpleasant beings of the Burning Legion. So, kick some demon ass. It's what they want you to do.

Why did you never use the name I told you was mine? I'm sorry, Billy, were you talking?

((Work in progress, if you see something you would wish for me to change, feel free to contact me here or in-game. Eventually, I would like for us to have every class up here, but that could be simply wishfull thinking.))

[deviance]

awesome post on how to play a in charater shamen ill work on one with a mage!

[bylin]

very nice stuff.

[jawaa]

I'll have to try one too... with hunter, of course.

[ryborun]

And as Ryborun is on a journey of self-understanding in the Emerald Dream, I will attempt to put his thoughts down on what it means to follow the different paths of the druid.