So you wanna be a Shaman?: Introductory information, History, and Lore of the Shaman

SO YOU WANNA BE A SHAMAN?

THE SHAMAN
The Shaman is a very versatile and adaptable class in the game, and is a rather valued one in most parties at that. A Shaman, depending on it's specializations, can focus on becoming a Healer, a ranged Caster DPS, or a Melee DPS. Their speciality comes from a very powerful form of support buffing: Totems. These, when placed on the ground, will provide various benefits to the Shaman and their party members, or assist in harming your enemies.

A Shaman's ability to improve his party's abilities, while also bringing DPS or healing on par with other, more specialized classes, makes him a very valuable and useful party member in most groups. Shamans also have a self-ressurection that can be used every 15-30 minutes (depending on talents), making them valuable for wipe recovery as well.

Shamans are spiritual visionaries of tribes and clans. These gifted healers can see into the world of spirits and communicate with creatures invisible to eyes of normal beings. They are beset by visions of the future and use their sight to guide their people through troubled times. Although the shaman may seem wise and serene at first glance, he is a formidable foe; when angered, his wrath is as fierce as those who have a connection to Eternals or nature.

LORE
HistoryShamanism has existed since the sapient races first discovered the power of the elements of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. On Draenor, now shattered Outland, the orcs were shamanistic; on Azeroth, trolls and tauren were shamanistic. Though shamanism on Azeroth flourished and still continues to, shamanism on Draenor was all but extinct by the time of the great crossing of the Horde into Azeroth via the Dark Portal. The greatest and yet some of the most vilified orcs were once shaman; Zuluhed the Whacked, Ner'zhul, and even Gul'dan were all previously shaman. However, Kil'jaeden, current lord over the Burning Legion, distorted the shaman's connection with their spirits in the sacred mountain of Oshu'gun, himself taking on the form of the shaman's ancestors to convince the shaman (who held much political sway in the orcish culture) that the Draenei were the enemy. The ensuing massacres upon several Draenei hunting parties offended the spirits, who eventually denied the shaman their powers.

All was set for the transition.

Cut off from their elemental powers, the former shamans turned to the more efficient and masterful powers of the Burning Legion, becoming Warlocks. Though many tried to hang onto their roots, it was impossible. Even Drek'Thar was sucked into the dark magics, though he later repented and to this day has never forgiven himself for the acceptance of the demonic corruption that plagues himself and the orc race to this day. Ner'zhul was the warlock who created the portals from Draenor to many other worlds. The many portals ripped Draenor apart creating the ravaged land of Outland. He repented but was dragged back into the fold by Kil'jaeden who promised him an endless existence of suffering and pain if he did not serve the Legion. Ner'zhul accepted this second chance at serving the Legion and was changed into the mighty being the Lich King and currently inhabits the body of Arthas Menethil his first and most powerful of the second generation of Death knights.

Shamanism in the orcs was all but extinct until Thrall, the son of the deceased Durotan and future chieftain of the Frostwolf clan, grabbed hold of the reins of Warchief of the New Horde ushering in a new generation of shamanism, breaking the crippling lethargy of the captive orcs and outlawing the dark magic of the Burning Legion. At the time of the internment camps, a shaman was a derogatory term for someone who told fantastical and unbelievable stories.[2] Shamanism is now at its peak though, as the New Horde itself is led by a shaman of great power in the new orcish kingdom of Durotar.

HISTORY OF THE CLASS
Originally, the Shaman class was a horde-only class, available to the Trolls, Orcs, and Tauren. This class was designed as a counterpart to the once Alliance-only Paladin class. However, this caused much pain when balancing and developing the classes, as it forced the two to be balanced against each other. With the release of the 'Burning Crusade' expansion, this restriction on faction has since been lifted, and the Shaman class (as well as the Paladin class) is now able to develop independantly of its counterpart.

Early on in World of Warcraft's history, The Shaman was intended to be able to tank through the Enhancement talent tree, but this soon became outdated and was removed in favor of making Enhancement a melee DPS-focused tree. Shamans are capable of tanking low-end dungeons, with the correct spec and armor, but this has little value beyond humor, and Shamans are incapable of handling the more demanding needs of higher-end battles when it comes to tanking.

Before the 'Cataclysm' expansion, The only Alliance-side Race that could play as a Shaman were the Draenei. Cataclysm revealed Dwarves as another race that can be Shamans.

RACES THAT CAN BE SHAMANS
=Draenei (Burning Crusade)
=Dwarves (Cataclysm)
=Goblins (Cataclysm)
=Orcs
=Tauren
=Trolls

TALENTS
Elemental — improvements in offensive spells and offensive totems (Ranged Caster DPS: Mage-like)
Enhancement — improvements in melee related skills and enhancement totems (Melee DPS: Rogue-like)
Restoration — improvements in healing and restoration totems (Healing: Priest-like)

EQUIPMENT AND WEAPONS
ARMOR
Cloth
Leather
Mail (learned at level 40)

WEAPONS
Starting
Maces (1-handed)
Staves (2-handed)
Shields (off-hand)

Trainable
Daggers (1-handed)
Fist Weapons (1-handed)
Axes (1-handed)
Maces (2-handed)
Axes (2-handed)

NOTABLE SHAMANS
Click the Names to be provided links to the Shaman's page for more information on him or her.
.Drek'thar
.Ner'zhul
.Farseer Nobundo
.Thrall
.Vol'jin

SOURCES AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Wowwiki Shaman page: http://www.wowwiki.com/Shaman
List of Shamans: http://www.wowwiki.com/List_of_shamans
Shamanism and Nature worship: http://www.wowwiki.com/Shamanism_and_nature_worship
Useful macros for Shamans: http://www.wowwiki.com/Useful_macros_for_shamans