Ease my mind regarding shamans

[Funklock-earthshaker]

Hello all, throughout Classic I have played alliance. But out of boredom started leveling a shaman which I really like, and I will like even more in TBC due to dual wide, being important for raids, fun spells etc. But, I dont like totems, at all. I think they are clumsy, boring and a bit annoying to use. But even with the totems, I like the shamans playstyle and thinking about using it as my main in TBC. So my questions are, as an enhancement shaman, how important will my totems be? I know about the totem twisting windfury/grace of air which is fine. But how about other totems during raids/dungeons/solo content etc. Are they a big thing of an enhancement shamans playstyle? Thank you for all your inputs😊

[Kedros-hydraxian-waterlords]

Not a shaman player (my alt is only 34) - but I used to share your distaste of totems. The content creator Melderon, who is a shaman player, advised people like myself who felt intimidated/ annoyed by totems to simply view them as any other utility spell, to be used as needed. I’m mentioning this because this change of perspective worked for me! I grew to like them quite a lot.

The great thing is that in TBC Shamans get a recall spell for their totems that “unsummons” all their active totems and refunds 25% (I think) of their mana cost, which makes them less clunky to use.

Sorry my post was not super useful - but I did want to get my limited perspective out there for you and hope it helps even a little bit

[Schmürzeli-dragons-call]

I mean you don’t have to use every tool your character has to play the game. Obviously these tools can help a lot if you are able to use them correctly.

[Tartanangel-ashbringer]

Your best bet would be to macro your totems into the abilities like stormstrike,WF,GoA macro just drop earth or fire totem in-between the shocks you could macro them together or with abilities but this will drain your mana more than needed

[Pettaz-the-maelstrom]

@Funklock-earthshaker

Hello all, throughout Classic I have played alliance. But out of boredom started leveling a shaman which I really like, and I will like even more in TBC due to dual wide, being important for raids, fun spells etc. But, I dont like totems, at all. I think they are clumsy, boring and a bit annoying to use. But even with the totems, I like the shamans playstyle and thinking about using it as my main in TBC. So my questions are, as an enhancement shaman, how important will my totems be? I know about the totem twisting windfury/grace of air which is fine. But how about other totems during raids/dungeons/solo content etc. Are they a big thing of an enhancement shamans playstyle? Thank you for all your inputs😊

@Tartanangel-ashbringer

Your best bet would be to macro your totems into the abilities like stormstrike,WF,GoA macro just drop earth or fire totem in-between the shocks you could macro them together or with abilities but this will drain your mana more than needed

What in the name of tarnation am i reading

[Zmug-doomhammer]

your totems are going to be the most important aspect of your character.
besides you can make macros for easy use of them.
example: /castsequence reset=5 Windfury totem, Grace of Air totem, Strength of Earth totem, Mana Spring totem, Searing totem

with this macro you can plop down all your totems and use the same macro to twist WF/Agi every 10 seconds. also, totem GCD is being cut in half so you can put them down far faster than you can in Vanilla classic.

im testing enhancement on the beta right now and its nice to see that mana issues are largely fixed and that you can do much more dps with dual wield… oh and earth shock no longer generates extra threat, they moved that trait to frost shock.

but yeah, totems are always going to be the most important part of a shaman.

[Asswhoopin-mograine]

totems are the core of the class, no matter what spec you play.
Totems offer great utility and support, not using them is like driving your car straight on the rims with no tires lmao. If you really wanna play shaman, you’ve gotta get used to it. It’ll end up feeling like straight routine anyway, if not, pick another class imho. Good luck.

[Sorzza-heartstriker]

@Funklock-earthshaker

But, I dont like totems, at all. I think they are clumsy, boring and a bit annoying to use.

Why?
Most of them are essentially just an Aura that you place at a fixed point in space. During most fights you place them down once and forget about them (AoE Effects don’t destroy totems), after the fight you cast “Totemic Recall” and remove them with one button.

@Funklock-earthshaker

as an enhancement shaman, how important will my totems be?

They are the reason why groups will bring you. Without totems, an Enh Shaman is just a weak melee dps, in an already melee-unfriendly expansion, who brings nothing special to the table.

@Funklock-earthshaker

Are they a big thing of an enhancement shamans playstyle?

Not as big as windfury, but here is the thing: Other shamans will use them. So when the time comes to decide if you get benched, or the other guy, who uses all of his totems, guess who will get to raid that evening.

[Jizhi-zandalar-tribe]

If you don’t use totems don’t expect a raidspot. It is that easy. Shamans are a support class, Decent in their roles but you really bring them for their unique buffs. You’ll be expected to keep up 4 totems at the time at any time in a raid, and in most cases you can’t simply /castsqeuence them due to different group setups and boss mechanics.

[Zmug-doomhammer]

well that’s why you make many different /castsequence macros, the one i posted was just an example of the most basic overall-use macro.

[Dollpartsftp-dragonfang]

Yes, totems are an integral part of all shaman specs kit in TBC. You’ll be expected to drop them for every pull.
As you said, twisting meaning dropping 2 globals for Air Totem every 9 seconds. But you’re expected to keep up Water, Earth and Fire Totem 100% of the time.