600 Blog Posts & A lvl 60 Shaman

I just noticed I've been here long enough to have sit down and inked out 600 Post over the course of this blog in my little corner of this community. A little milestone in just writing my thoughts, daily happenings and all things considered while playing the game for fun and putting ink to my journey in WoW. Remembering back way back when never thought I could think of enough of anything to even manage to write my very first post.

Of recent times really don't blog as often daily like I used to due to time availability, time to think and just trying to do it daily can feels like the commitment of having a job vs doing so for when I can feel inspired. As well my progression at the endgame of WoW is not such that I have to keep up inking the historical details of all my adventures, heartaches.

So much thanks to all the readers, lurkers and passers by that have contributed in some way large and small to this blog and that have made it fun to want to keep writing and posting. Much Thanks to You!

My New lvl 60 Shaman My Journey

Its being fun to get my Enhancement Shaman Voodooweaver from Durator through the vast areas and regions of Azeroth all the way to finally taking the Dark Portal to Outland. Through various toons on my Paladin, Hunter and in a less minor way my Death Knight they have all been through it all before. In some other ways you get tired making the journey through familiar lands. Yet this one seemed faster trying my hand at another class attempting to Learn & Play and Shaman. Probably because the mobs are not as intimidating anymore as well.

Choosing to play another class was more a way to diversify my play time from my Paladin to whom I've devoted quite allot of focus playtime and dedication. I'm still dedicated but this is one way of me doing something else to avoid the feelings of game and character burnout doing things and deciding to learn something new. What's most important to me is that I'm having fun with the time I choose to play the game. And its fun at the moment doing something else even if i'm not chasing leet Epics! I'm just getting other goals done.

We are all different in what we like to play in characters and how we choose to play then and why. I've come to some conclusion in the time that I've played WoW that I really enjoy playing the Hybrid Classes more than any the pure classes. One the things I like is my options in utility vs just how much damage I can do. I can dps or heal if I want to in a pinch as well playing solo for self preservation. I guess another reason why I've never quite cared to play a full damage dealing class. Its never quite been about me in a group setting but more so about helping the team in whatever fashion I can to meet the objective.

As well being self supporting in my solo play style with my own utility because I'm very much a solo player at heart. So the fact that the Shaman is a Hybrid Class with utility was quite attractive. But then from afar and all the time I've ever tanked in groups I've always enjoyed a good Shaman along for the fun, so I've always admired the class.

RL Fact: I once had a RL uncle who is still living who when he was a bit younger messed around with the ladies. He eventually had kids with this one woman he met messing around. He kept messing around as well. The woman that he had kids with eventually got fed up with him and went to someone she knew that did RL Voodoo. A hex of some form was put on my Uncle. He never walked the same way again like normal people. He always walked with a very peculiar limp and everyone knew. I was a young kid and knew him to walk normally before. At some point I knew he kept limping when he walked. It was very noticeable and asked other family members what happened. That's how I knew he had some RL Voodoo put on him for real. As the troll usually says: Don't mess with the Voodoo....

Anyway it has being really fun learning and playing a Shaman and leveling up one as well. having to do the quests all over again leveling wasn't all so fun. But at sometime they were as well just having fun because in playing a new class I was taking my Shaman through the paces learning how to play him from not much of a skill level compared to a experienced Shaman player. So from that point playing and leveling was somewhat fun.

I would say the first 20 levels wasn't all that interesting really though ok best I can remember with shocks and lightning spells and often drinking for mana at times. For a level or two i maybe used a Shield & 1H if I had one, but for the most part I just got used to using a 2H and stuff seemed to die faster even as much as I can seem to miss as well. As a Orc i tried sticking to Axes for the racial bonus. The 20-30's seemed a bit more fun with new spells and still drank for mana but maybe not as much as the first 20 initial levels with more experience using my spells.

Somewhere around the mid 20's to 30's as I picked up Windfury Weapon things started to get even more fun or when a mob would die real quickly in a burst when Windfury proc'd as well with Flurry. I was leveling with a 2H Weapon. So that became fun! From lvl 30-40 as I slowly picked up more talents and spells my Shaman was really starting to bloom in being really fun. Cast Lightning Bolt from far and Earth Shock and then Melee up close. If Windfury proc'd it was awesome. Somehow it kind felt similar to my Paladin in some ways, pull with spells and melee up close.

Dropping totems was fun as well, what wasn't always fun was always having to change positions or more then drop them again. So often i thought ahead and figure out where best to drop totems so wouldn't have to move them as often. But I learned to like using Totemic Call as well when I picked it up to recall totems for mana if know had to move out of range quickly. Before a mob would come chasing me down from a totem I left on the ground when it spawned in the area close by. Yet didn't know Shamans had oh soo many totems as well of all kinds.

At 40 I picked up Dual Wield and with Windfury on both 1H that became really fun. What wasn't fun was all the misses you can get on trying to hit a mob. But eventually Dual Wield Specialization talent points helped a bit in a few levels with that. But what I really started to like after picking up Dual Wield talent was picking up Stormstrike for instant attack with both weapons and having the debuff add additional nature damage over the duration of debuff for more nature damage for the Shaman. That was really fun trying to kill mobs with Stormstrike, hell I liked that spell allot as well. Picking up Lava lash was fun as well talent and then being able to use Flametongue Weapon on my Off Hand Weapon with it with Windfury on my MH.

Needless to say leveling got much more fun beyond that and easier after eventually picking up Improved Stormstrike. I would say beyond that the rate at which I needed to stop and drink for mana went down most significantly as well as usage of Water Shield as well for mana when I had needed it. Unless I know I was going to be killing allot of mobs in a short period of time in a Keep or something I barely had to drink much for mana after that. with experience I though of better and easier way to do things or fight a mob. From range I realize "if" I needed to I could cast Chain Lightning, Lightning Bolt and Earth Shock all before the mob (melee) gets to me with much lower health, damn Fun! But that wasn't always nice for mana either as Chain Lightning mana cost is much higher as well. But fun to see what you can figure out on your own just playing.

At 50 when I eventually got to pickup Shamanastic Rage that became awesome as well. Mana was barely ever a problem beyond that as well as the cooldown time wasn't too long for when you really needed to use it to recharge mana if you needed to in between Stormstrike hits. So going from mob to mob I didn't find it difficult while questing. That even made it more fun enjoying learning and playing my Shaman leveling up. But as I picked up talents and spells I just taking my Shaman through the paces I started finding interesting ways to do stuff or kill mobs or chain pull and that made it even more fun just playing my Shaman. I was still learning stuff but it was fun because it was different that how I played my Paladin in style.

Eventually I started picking up Maelstrom Weapon for 5/5 talent points. Took me awhile to understand what happened when it proc and how to use. But slowly going through the paces I started figuring it out how to use the proc when had a full stack or how to use its charge built up on another mob close by or to pull as well for fun. But it comes from just learning going through the process. For example while watching how Mealstrom proc during my solo play and thinking back to my group play in like 5 man.

I figure for pure utility needs you can melee dps and on a full stack of Mealstrom proc having the full talent use it for Instant dps or AoE on Chain Lightning Or you can either pull of a instant self heal if you had low health or cast a Instant AoE Chain Heal on the targettarget or tank if he needed it as a option healing who ever else it jumped to. But it was nice to learn different ways to use spells and talents for dps or utility needs playing my Shaman. I don't have it all figured out yet, far from it. But I'm just learning though the process in playing another class with interest.

Now I've hit 60 and no doubt that leveling will go at a faster pace in Outland because I can remember more of it than old Azeroth. But I also enjoy Outland more as well though just a pass through on way to Northrend eventually. Though 20 more levels to go till Outland. I can say I'm enjoying taking my time to get there as well and just having fun learning to play my Shaman. I enjoy being in a Hybrid role or class. I guess its why I've always enjoyed my Paladin and not because the class now a days seem so popular to play one vs when it wasn't popular to be one. I know I enjoy being a melee caster both so playing a Druid is not that far fetched for me as well. But then I do have a lvl 22 Druid as well on my old server. I have plans to take him out of hibernation as well.

So after 60 levels I can clearly say Shamans are Fun! As often as you hear others say. Dropping totems are fun even though moving them aren't always are though it will get easier in 3.2 and more fun I'm sure. As much as I hate leveling alts I can say I'm having fun with my Shaman. The distinction of fun is that though leveling wasn't always fun the act of learning to play the Shaman was and because of that I had fun. And despite having a Hunter and a Death Knight at 60+ I actually enjoy playing my Shaman more. And with that I just though of a cool name for a blog if someone needs one: Totem Fury. I have no idea if that actually exists either as i just though of it.