Enhancement Shamans' Who Am I? Part Deux

In our previous installment of "Enhancement Shamans' Who Am I?" we talked about our hybrid nature and how we compare to other classes.  We can't start to talk about tuning our talents and gear without understanding what we're all about.

In this issue, we'll look at what we have to offer to the raid.

We are a buffing class.  It doesn't matter what your spec is.  All of the shaman specs bring some very hefty buffs and all classes and specs will benefit from the different shaman specs.  In a raid environment, it is very very win to have one shaman of each spec so that the full spectrum of their buffs can be utilized.  Furthermore, we have one of the sexiest buffs  of all time, which no other class can reproduce in this era of buffing homogenization: HEROISM!

Every class brings buffs.  So what do I mean by being a buffing class?  I mean one very very important thing.  The buffs we bring greatly outweigh any personal dps gains we want to make to sacrifice those buffs.  This is very very important.  The talent points we spend, the gear choices we make (specifically in terms of crit), and what we do when we're fighting is all affected by this.  Raid first, you second.  It's the life of the enhancement shaman and it's one that makes us respected and appreciated.  You can theorycraft all you want and use spreadsheets and use simulators trying to maximize your dps but it's very difficult to factor in how much dps you are adding to your raid through your buffs.  In fact, this could be a general rule for all classes and specs, but for us especially since we have a number of buffs we need to be aware of. 

Now, specifically the enhancement shaman provides some very meaningful buffs to the physical dps classes in the group.  Even more specifically these buffs are the Strength of Earth Totem, Windfury Totem, and Unleashed Rage.  These buffs could be argued as the three strongest physical dps buffs in the game and we got all three of them.  Win.

When I say that our buffs are specifically meant for physical dps classes it's because I mean exactly that.  It used to be that our greatest contribution was to the melee classes through totem twisting.  That's no more with the new Strength of Earth totem, and furthermore we cannot forget that all of our buffs provide a hefty buff to hunters and their pets as well (except for our Windfury Totem).   

I didn't mention the flametongue totem because it's a special case.  The flametongue totem boosts spell power and thus isn't a great buff for physical dps classes.  It is, however, a nice little boost for spell casters and they'll appreciate that.  One thing to mention: if you've got an Elemental Shaman in range, then they win because theirs is better.  If not, then drop it like it's hot.  

One more thing, unlike other buffs, we don't simply cast them on a player for them to have.  Many of them come through our totems which means that if we don't put the totem down in the right place, then we aren't doing our jobs. 

Alright.  We understand that we are a great buffing class and as enhancement shaman we provide major physical dps buffs that we are responsible for.

In our last installment of Enhancement Shamans' Who Am I? we'll cover the actual playing style of the enhancement shaman.