Hi, my name is Caperfin and welcome to my guide! For a long time there's been some negative stigma surrounding shaman tanking in original World of Warcraft, many players don't consider them tanks and not worth a second look. However, this stigma is typically fueled by misinformation or players refusing to go the extra mile to make it work and much rather give up halfway and play a protection warrior when it comes to tanking.

Introduction
Basics
Race
Profession
Threat
Totems
Talents
Rotations
Buffs
Debuffs
Gear + Enchants
Comparison
AoE Tanking
Raid Composition
Raid Tanking Strats

My intent and statement with this guide is not to upset anyone or downplay different classes but to bring to light a rarely talked about topic of the game. Nothing about what will be detailed in this guide is orthodox, many distinctive elements can be tied to other hybrid classes looking to stray away from the path of normality.

Every possible topic that comes to mind will be analyzed to answer any questions you might have. In the unfortunate situation a topic is not
addressed or poorly, please let me know. I expect the same amount of scrutiny from readers as I've put into writing this guide, so don't hold
back. Before moving on, a crucial subject needs to be brought to everyone's attention. For some players this will be old news, but for many
others players this will be a much needed revelation.

The topic of Viable and Optimal is a highly controversial topic as some people simply don't see the difference or mixed these words up and
often impose their own misguided philosophy onto it. To put it simply, Optimal is the most efficient and foolproof solution to solve a problem
that eliminates as many negative variables as possible and favors a more easy going route. Next, is Viable or often referred to as: possible,
which is often seen as the more challenging path to take but to many feels like a greater personal achievement.

With all of this in mind, where are shaman tanks placed? Shamans are classified under Viable and with each theorycrafter joining our ranks
and contributing their work, perhaps shamans could “feasibly” one day dethrone those braggadocious paladin tanks/bear tanks and reach a
theoretical semi-optimal spot. Many shaman tanks will agree their motivation or drive comes from the glory of accomplishing something the
the rest of the server population dares not even try. If this sounds like you, I encourage you to continue reading on. To restate my point, you
decide to go shaman tank if you want a challenge in an otherwise easy to clear raid. For example, Molten Core can be cleared without any
contention. If it wasn't made obvious before, shield bearing is a sizable undertaking. When experienced players pick up a shaman tank and
put in the effort, it shines tenfold. Nonetheless, your guild must also be experienced and prepared for a tempestuous task ahead.


You will often see experienced raiders from top guilds play as a restoration shaman in raid and build a tanking set while healing. Eventually,
they will transition into shaman tanking due to its extra challenge in an otherwise easy to clear content patch, they usually make the switch
after the initial rush to get world first on a boss or raid is claimed and the subsequent following content drought approaches. As I previously
stated it is not for the faint of heart, if you are brand spanking new to World Of Warcraft consider leveling up a ranged class, for example: a mage to get an adequate grasp of the PVE raids. All the while researching about tanking and talking to peers to get a feel for it and slowly transition to the world of shaman tanking. If you are a veteran of the game by all means start leveling that shaman.

Let me put your fears to rest, shamans are fully capable of tanking 5mans, 10mans, off-tanking and even main-tanking a few raid bosses. Of course, as stated before, each form of tanking is heavily reliant on personal and guild experience. An important fact needs to be stated before moving on. A shaman's overall armor will never approach a warrior's armor mitigation. This results in a lower mitigation of physical damage. However, you compensate in other areas and provide some beneficial assets as well better threat output on single targets.

On this notion, pending any major weird coding or other factors, shaman tanks can do about the same threat as a protection talented warrior. But there is a drawback, many spells are mana intensive, so be prepared to farm some mana regenerative items before a raid. We share the most similarity with feral druid tanks as we don’t have a major block activating ability and rely on a assortment of stats. The next downside is the nature immunity of certain mobs and its burden on threat but don't worry there are solutions which will be explained in the upcoming sections. Outside of guild mates, establishing a reliable friend list of healers & dps is advised for getting buffs, consumables, etc... as they are more accustomed to the lesser known way of the shaman. In other situations, by all means, carrying a healing gear set when unsure of the group's competence is advisable.


Races play a big part as we are grasping for any amount of extra efficiency possible. Unfortunately, shamans do not exist on the Alliance side, therefore, we are being relegated to spend our fighting days with the Horde. As for race, choose wisely as once the decision is made there is no going back. Some players might want to choose a certain race to assure the clearing of a specific boss or raid.
https://classic.wowhead.com/spell=20583 ... resistance: Nature Resistance increased by 10.
https://classic.wowhead.com/spell=20549/war-stomp: After 0.5 sec, stun up to 5 enemies within 8 yds for 2 sec. (very good in dungeons)
https://classic.wowhead.com/spell=20550/endurance: Total Health increased by 5%.
https://classic.wowhead.com/spell=20552/cultivation: Herbalism skill increased by 15.

What does this mean?: Considered the most suited race for surviving long fights and ideally clearing ZG/AQ, which will be the first raids where difficulties will arise. The 5% hp is great and is inherently based on absolute hp, so it will scale with the amount of hp obtained from gear and world buffs. In regards to War Stomp, be cautious you cannot dodge, block, or parry while casting the spell. However, its overall usefulness outweigh this slight inconvenience. The 15 skill increase to Herbalism is also helpful and nothing to scoff at while leveling.
https://classic.wowhead.com/spell=20558 ... ialization / https://classic.wowhead.com/spell=26290 ... ialization: Increases chance to hit with bow and thrown while increasing damage.
https://classic.wowhead.com/spell=20557/beast-slaying: Whether it be physical or magical, all damage against creatures categorised as Beasts is bolstered by 5%.
https://classic.wowhead.com/spell=20555/regeneration: Health regeneration rate increased by 10%. 10% of total Health regeneration may continue during combat.
https://classic.wowhead.com/spell=20554/berserking: Increases your spell casting and attack speed by 10% to 25%. At full health the speed increase is 10% with...

What does this mean?: The race focusing on dealing threat instead of anything else. Generally, threat is not problematic, if you glaringly foresee having threat issues, than I unquestionably advocate for troll above all other races. Their "Regeneration" racial is insignificant even with a lot of spirit. Troll will especially deal a lot of threat on "Beast" bosses, ex: Magmadar in MC, Whirlaxis and Gahz'ranka in ZG, etc...
https://classic.wowhead.com/spell=20574 ... ialization: Increase chance to hit with one handed and two handed axes and increases damage done with them.
https://classic.wowhead.com/spell=20572/blood-fury: Increases base melee attack power by 25% for 15 sec & reduces healing effects on you by 50% for 25 sec...
https://classic.wowhead.com/spell=20573/hardiness: Chance to resist Stun effects increased by an additional 25%. (Sadly, will rarely if ever see any usage in PvE)
https://classic.wowhead.com/spell=20575/command: Physical & magical damage dealt by Hunter and Warlock pets is improved by 5%. (Shamans don't have pets)

What does this mean?: Orc sadly fall short in survival & threat aspects. Akin to the troll, orc's focal point is threat. However, they're seen as a more riskier race option considering the -50% to healing from Blood Fury, which is detrimental to non-attentive healers. In all honesty, in our strict testing, they surpass other races for dealing threat on short fights but it made the majority of healers very nervous. On the bright side, they proved more effective in the off-tank position. In conclusion, they plunge too deep into the situational category to be justified.

While leveling, select Herbalism & Alchemy. Herbalism provides reagents for Alchemy and a source of gold for our eventual endgame professions. The goal is to gather a large supply of gold and a bank full of potions the raid might need, for ex: https://classic.wowhead.com/item=13510. A valid case can be made for having a lvl 5 character in a major city to disenchant unwanted items through mail and store items at a bank for later use.
 
Afterwards abandon Herbalism and go for the late game profession, Engineering. In order to scoop up a few useful tools, such as: https://classic.wowhead.com/item=10725, https://classic.wowhead.com/item=10646 among many other gadgets.
Note: If you plan to raid tank, I suggest Enchanting to obtain https://classic.wowhead.com/item=11811 and drop it.
Finally, for secondary professions, I urge grabbing all of them as they all provide valuable assets. In terms of fishing, you can farm those elusive Stonescale Eels that are highly contested after for Flask of the Titans. First aid grants bandages for healing that don't require any mana to use. Lastly, cooking has Dragonbreath Chili a sheer delight as it not only scales with spell damage but also alongside the trinket: https://classic.wowhead.com/item=16022/ ... dragonling and its fire increasing debuff: https://classic.wowhead.com/spell=16536. This debuff scales with Goblin Sapper charge as well. All these items nicely combine into a decent boost in threat. Contrary to popular belief, https://classic.wowhead.com/item=12217/ ... eath-chili does stack with another food buff.

Because a plethora of questions surrounding aggro/threat are bound to come out of confusion. I'd like to first reference Kenco's words about how gaining aggro on a mob and overall threat functions in World of Warcraft. I highly suggest reading it.

Now, let's examine the threat of a shaman. They're on another tier when it comes to outputting threat, but demand a lot of dedication comparably to the more laxed protection warrior. With proper optimization, their threat is nearly equal to a pure protection warrior and in some situations just shy of a druid tank. Of course, the shorter a fight, the better, since a shaman can freely throw mana around without going out of mana as fast. Resulting in more dependable damage being dished out and correlates into predictable threat. So without further ado, let me demonstrate how to get creatures more mad at you than unusual.
is first as it deal a high amount of threat because of its 2x damage threat modifier. The downside is nature damage is burdened on three fronts: no warlock curses bolster it, a spell coefficient of 40.71% of the caster's spell damage and some raid content is somewhat resistant to nature. Lastly, downranking our spells is crucial in tanking to be cost-effective.

• Rank1 Earth Shock is mainly incorporated in combat to interrupt spells all the while preserving mana.

• Rank5 is a normal threat increase and very mana efficient. Shamans might often use it, if a group has many warriors or warlocks.

• Rank7 is deals the most threat. It's a luxury and used in raiding once adequately geared.

Anything resembling an elemental (noticeable in MC) will have a high resistance to nature damage. All the Dragons of Nightmare are also immune to nature damage or tend to have the same high resistance to nature as to fire. The same applies for some creatures in: AQ, ZG and Naxx. Basically, if an environment has a disease or poison theme, expect nature damage to be hampered. Here's a chart to better explain the notion. Don't fret, items exist to counter this damage dampening downside, ex: & the debuff from Thunderfury helps with Earth Shock's damage by reducing the target's nature resistance.
is used against nature immune targets. Frost Shock or referred as "FS" doesn't consume a debuff slot on a boss impervious to movement impairing effects (most bosses). There are additional ways to circumvent the lack of threat done against nature immune targets, which will be peppered throughout the upcoming topics.
https://classic.wowhead.com/spell=16316 at rank7, is 72 threat per second on hit. With 2.6 speed weapon, each hit is: 2.6 * 72 = ~172 threat. Weapon speed won't matter, but haste does. Haste effects are wanted to counter nature defiant mobs & low percent chance to hit. Once at an auto attack DPS of ~140, Rockbiter isn't optimal, instead use https://classic.wowhead.com/spell=16362. Players use fast daggers because of its higher chance to trigger the effect.
https://classic.wowhead.com/spell=10432 or known as "LS" imposes conditions to be cost effective. Firstly, LS is on the GCD and shouldn't be casted over other spells, such as: Earth Shock so weigh your mana and threat. Secondly, downranking LS is vital to conserve our resources and maintain productivity. Each charge of LS scales with 33% of total spell damage but can't crit.

• Rank2 Lightning Shield can be indiscriminately casted in single and multiple target fights as part of a normal rotation.

• Rank4 Lightning Shield with adequate gear and conventional raid buffs is cost efficient enough to periodically activate in a fight.

• Rank7 Lightning Shield is a luxury and used in the pre-pulling phase or at discretion during short comprehensible fights.

https://classic.wowhead.com/item=8956 might not seem like much but floats around fourth on the list. It will interrupt your swing timer but not trigger a GCD. It is undeniably good to use before a boss pull or against multiple mobs. Luckily, they can be bought on the Auction House or simply created through Alchemy with a profession skill of 220.
https://classic.wowhead.com/spell=15208 or https://classic.wowhead.com/spell=10605 (depending on number of mobs) will be the first spells dealing threat on the target. Downranking isn't as harsh or compulsory since these spells are only casted upon engaging a boss.
https://classic.wowhead.com/item=10646/ ... per-charge and similar bombs are great to generate additional threat and a definite must have against multiple mobs. The majority of explosives are created through engineering with the exception of the last two in the following list.

• https://classic.wowhead.com/item=10646/ ... per-charge the highest threat generating explosive and instant cast. (shares a 1min cooldown with other bombs)

• https://classic.wowhead.com/item=16005 requires standing still and a 1 sec cast.

• https://classic.wowhead.com/item=11566 can be cast while moving. Both this bomb and the above bomb are usable before Sapper is off its 5min CD.

         Note: Not a bomb but https://classic.wowhead.com/item=13509/ ... f-foresigh (shares CD with bombs) is an arcane spell which is great versus fire resistant mobs.
https://classic.wowhead.com/item=18253 & similar potions are global and .5x of the amount given. Health or mana effects cause no threat if at maximum capacity. Players on coherent fights will use a heal pot after Goblin Sapper Charge to deal a lot of threat. If you cast Mana Spring Totem it gives threat on each pulse. Below are Food/Consumables, in order of threat:

• https://classic.wowhead.com/item=18253 is the highest threat generator when it comes to regenerative items but it can be expensive.

• https://classic.wowhead.com/item=19013 is given to us by a warlock.

• https://classic.wowhead.com/item=13444 drops throughout the world quite often. (Shares a cooldown with the above items)

• https://classic.wowhead.com/item=12662 / https://classic.wowhead.com/item=20520 (Shares a cooldown with the below items)

• https://classic.wowhead.com/item=11952 Easy to acquire a large amount, so place them in the bank.

https://classic.wowhead.com/spell=9910 and similar reflective effects deal damage to attackers when hit. Typically, these type of buffs are great against multiple mobs but still have relevancy in single target scenarios. You can only have one reflective buff on you at a time. The second highest dealing damage reflective effect is: https://classic.wowhead.com/spell=11771.

Threat Diminishers

Aggro and threat from teammates is a daunting obstacle to tackle. Conveniently, there are ways for heavy hitting classes to reduce their threat. To begin with, ranged classes are highly adored because if they were to mistakenly get aggro, they are likely at that sweet 30-40yrd range, so it's easier to supervise. Also characters standing out of the 30-40yrd range will not draw aggro until they exceed the threat level of the mob's current target by 30% as opposed to 10% for melee classes. Here are a few examples of threat diminishers or dumps in no particular order:

       Rogue are the best damage class at dealing with their threat because of their basic spell https://classic.wowhead.com/spell=25302 and wipe threat with https://classic.wowhead.com/spell=1857.
       Mage within the frost talent tree can reduce threat they deal passively with https://classic.wowhead.com/spell=12519 or the fire talent https://classic.wowhead.com/spell=12351.
       Druid who are mostly spend their time in cat form dealing damage can use the spell https://classic.wowhead.com/spell=16697. Healing druids may get https://classic.wowhead.com/spell=17122.
       Priest have two of the easiest threat reducers to acquire, within the discipline talent https://classic.wowhead.com/spell=14787 and the basic spell: https://classic.wowhead.com/spell=10942.
       Shaman within the restoration talent tree can obtain the passive talent: https://classic.wowhead.com/spell=29191 & the basic spell: https://classic.wowhead.com/spell=25908.

Items:

• http://classic.wowhead.com/item=20735: Simple enchant for raid members who regularly produce too much threat.

• https://classic.wowhead.com/item=3387 prevents aggro gain during its effect (suggested for fury warriors & warlocks)

• https://classic.wowhead.com/item=4397/g ... ing-device wipes threat to zero.

• https://classic.wowhead.com/item=13506/ ... rification removes aggro & the buff can be clicked off. (STILL being tested) The guide will continue without considering it as a key component to tanking.

• http://classic.wowhead.com/item=21647 & https://classic.wowhead.com/item=23001: only available in the later portions of the game (AQ/Naxx)

We’ll be asking our shamanistic brothers from the restoration side to land a hand in optimizing totem utility, so be considerate and compliment each others strengths within the group. Each individual totem listed below is in order of importance per category. Keep in mind, there can only be one type of totem per shaman so having another totem slave in the group is welcomed.

      Earth
      http://classic.wowhead.com/spell=25361: A boost in attack power and thus threat. Optimally, put by another shaman with https://classic.wowhead.com/spell=16295.
      http://classic.wowhead.com/spell=10408: Gives melee damage mitigation and is put by us or another shaman who has: https://classic.wowhead.com/spell=16293 in the group.
      http://classic.wowhead.com/spell=10428: Diverts loose mobs off your tail and great for AoE tanking a mob within a pack you don't have aggro on yet.
      http://classic.wowhead.com/spell=2484: A tool for kiting/running possible unbound trash in an instance.
      http://classic.wowhead.com/spell=8143: Mainly a situational totem to use when a boss encounter has fear, charm and sleep mechanics.

      Fire
      http://classic.wowhead.com/spell=10479: Beneficial for fights involving high doses of frost damage.
      http://classic.wowhead.com/spell=11315: Ideal for bursting down low hp adds on encounters.
      http://classic.wowhead.com/spell=10438: Damage totems are costly during a fight since they don't grant threat. Fire totems crit & scale with spell damage.
      http://classic.wowhead.com/spell=10587: Good for AoE. Can aggro and survive a melee hit from a loose mob within a pack you don't have aggro on yet.
      http://classic.wowhead.com/spell=16387: Sadly, it places a weak temporary weapon enchant and rarely if ever sees any relevance.

      Air
      http://classic.wowhead.com/spell=25359: Gives 4% dodge and agility is welcomed by others. Optimally put, by a shaman with https://classic.wowhead.com/spell=16295.
      http://classic.wowhead.com/spell=10601: Advantageous for fights involving high doses of nature damage, such as in: Ahn’Qiraj and Zul'Gurub.
      http://classic.wowhead.com/spell=25908: Every raid group has a fellow totem putting down this totem, avoid dropping in the tank group within a raid.
      http://classic.wowhead.com/spell=8177: Useful for redirecting ranged spells from susceptible mobs and bosses.
      http://classic.wowhead.com/spell=15112: Unfortunately, it does not benefit us but it's appreciated by others.
      http://classic.wowhead.com/spell=10614: No benefit for us, since we already have a temporary weapon enchant in the form of Rockbiter. But helps others.

      Water
      http://classic.wowhead.com/spell=10497: Optimally, put by a shaman with: https://classic.wowhead.com/spell=16208. Causes threat only if you cast it.
      http://classic.wowhead.com/spell=10463: Typically, used if Mana Spring Totem is put by another shaman. Healing Spring Totem can't generate threat.
      http://classic.wowhead.com/spell=8166: Indispensable on fights with high poison output, ex: AQ bosses.
      https://classic.wowhead.com/spell=10538 ... ance-totem: Pragmatic for fights involving high amounts of fire damage, ex MC.
      http://classic.wowhead.com/spell=8170: Unfortunately, rarely sees the light of day.


Naturally, if you are only doing dungeons the road ahead is much easier and there's more freedom to move talent points around. However, raid tanking is rigid and follows strict guidelines in order to be effective. The last two talent setups assume you're in a serious guild who are confidently clearing raids.

First, on the list is a simple dungeon tank rotation and we’ll be presuming the boss fight is simple.

• Pre-pull: Cast Lightning Shield Rank7. Next, make sure all possible buffs are on you and on their maximum duration. Next, place the appropriate totems. Lastly, if it hasn't been done yet, install the addon: KTM Threat, which displays the list of members and their threat. I can't stress how much a scenario goes from peaceful to chaotic in the blink of an eye, so watch KTM at all times. At any moment, you need to be confident of the fitting Earth Shock rank to use, healers will be grateful.

• Pulling: Cast Rank10 Lightning Shield or Rank4 Chain Lightning, followed by a Rank7 Earth Shock. Bearing all goes smoothly, proceed with a Rank5 Earth Shock and turn the boss away from the group. If the boss suddenly targets a raid member or drops aggro due to a unique mechanic, lob a Rank7 Earth Shock to effectively redirect the boss to you. For foreseeable threat problems refer to Threat Management.

Secondly is a complex rotation mainly for raid tanking, it yields unbelievable results but requires good gear, buff, etc... Naturally, if you can't perform every single action below don't get discouraged, its mostly to showcase the maximum potential possible.

• Pre-pull: Equip a spell damage gear set (ex: Link to Gear Set + https://classic.wowhead.com/item=20749), cast Rank7 Lightning Shield.
  Equip normal tanking gear, except the weapon & drink mana.
  Place https://classic.wowhead.com/spell=5730 in front of you & back up 25-30yrds. (It will later halt the boss for 0.5 seconds or the boss attack's it)
  Equip 3 pieces of https://classic.wowhead.com/item-set=501
  Place Mana Spring Totem. Activate Oil of immolation.
  Cast Rank1 Lightning Bolt on https://classic.wowhead.com/item=5052/u ... us-dig-rat to proc the previous nature effect or try to get Flurry & Elemental Devastation instead, your choice. (a mage can polymorph the rat, until it triggers.)

 

• Pulling: Cast https://classic.wowhead.com/spell=15208, while it travels, equip a healing weapon (ex: https://classic.wowhead.com/item=19890) & healing offhand.
  As the bolt hits, Cast R6 https://classic.wowhead.com/spell=10468 ... aling-wave on a warlock who recently https://classic.wowhead.com/spell=11689/life-tap
  Equip a spell damage weapon (preferably staff). Cast R4 Chain Lightning.
  Equip all normal tanking gear. Immediately after cast R7 Earth Shock
  Activate https://classic.wowhead.com/item=12450 and https://classic.wowhead.com/item=12459, if the situation is ideal.
  Repeat the appropriate rank Earth Shock until boss is dead.
  If mana permits it, cast a suitable rank of https://classic.wowhead.com/spell=10432

Note: Versus nature immune bosses, to pull: use https://classic.wowhead.com/item=1399 (equip spell damage weapon). After, follow the healing-threat tactic above & cast Lesser Healing Wave as much as possible until the boss is at melee range than Frost Shock. If more threat is needed: https://classic.wowhead.com/spell=29228 instead. MUST need Flame Buffet (don't bother otherwise) & similar debuffs.


Prioritize collecting Defensive buffs before acquiring Threat related buffs. Agility for example has the added byproduct of helping with defensive and threat measures. Because of duties of an off-tank or known as "OT", less damage is taken, therefore, it's not fully needed to aim for Defensive buffs. Also, some buffs are unobtainable due to certain patch restrictions or unable to stack with others. Let's highlight a few important facts about buffs. There is a max of 32 buffs: Talents, Set bonuses & Equip effects don't count. But Gear enchants count with exceptions: (Crusader enchant and enchants from the profession enchanting don't count.) Resistance enchants however need to be reconfirmed as they make it seem now like those should count. Let's move on and explore relevant buffs to our tanking duties. The following buffs are classified into sub-groups to better highlight their usefulness and showcase different options.

Mind Control Buffs

I wouldn't be thorough if I didn't mention the wonderful world of Mind Control buffing. It is possible for an alliance priest to use their basic shadow spell: http://classic.wowhead.com/spell=10912 or someone with the engineering to create and use the head slot item http://classic.wowhead.com/item=10726 against players of the opposing faction. For that duration the mind controlled Horde character is now considered an Alliance player. This allows the character to receive buffs from paladins. In the many guild raids I’ve taken part, we'd have 2-3 players log onto to their lvl 60 pallies and level 60 priests and stationed themselves near the raid entrance or zone for mind control buffing. It is also possible for a priest of any faction to Mind Control certain mobs which can be controlled to dish out beneficial buffs to all raid members. In order, to fully utilize the duration of these buffs, its advised to have warlock be ready for immediate summoning.

Special Event Buffs

On an ending note for buffs, we can also get buffs from special events/holidays. An example, is The Midsummer Fire Festival a seasonal event that celebrates the hottest season of the year. It starts on the (earthly) northern summer solstice, and lasts about two weeks (mid-late June to early July, usually). The next ones are Love is in the Air, Lunar Festival, Wickerman Festival and Scourge Invasion that all feature some useful buffs for tanking. It is possible for the Love is in the Air Capital Gift Collection buffs to be stacked with each other, ask around to find out its exact limits. The following buffs are separated by their event.

In conclusion, try and obtain buffs which suits your current situation. Here is a screenshot of general Realistic Buffs you should look to have while Raid Tanking.


There can be a total of 16 debuffs applicable on a boss. Having as many debuffs on the boss as possible is of paramount importance to tanking. All debuffs on the list below benefit us in either Threat or Defensive aspects and assumed to be at their maximum rank or talent improvement. The following debuffs are classified into sub-groups to better highlight their usefulness and showcase different options.


If unsure of guild/group performance, carry different focused gear sets: Stamina set, Dodge set & Armor set to accommodate any possible encounters. Gear from PvP through Honor Ranking in Phase2 is beneficial for us and will remain the best for a long time, but demand a tremendous amount of Honor grinding.

Down below is a Gear Spreadsheet, which displays gear progression & multiple gearing options for your needs:
Down below are Best in Slot gear sets by Phase focused on defensive aspects, see the above Spreadsheet for threat improving gear.
Down below is a Gear Breakdown Example, which illustrates the differences in gear sets: Enchants

Similar to gear, enchants must be tailored against the specific boss you will be facing. To avoid constantly having to re-enchant a piece of gear to tailor to a specific boss fights, have different versions of ced gear in the bank or backpack to save on time and money. Allies can also help us, by enchanting their own cloak with http://classic.wowhead.com/item=20735.

Down below is an Enchant Spreadsheet suited for our tanking duties:


A full BIS and buffed shaman will be the closest in stats to approach a feral bear tank, let take an in-depth look at the stats to see the differences. As a guideline, the Example Druid Tank below is BIS/buffed and able to clear most bosses without a problem. A shaman like other tanks tailors his gear in accordance with the boss he will be facing. Obviously, the Example Druid Tank can reach higher numbers and has a plethora of defensive spells, but the goal is to showcase the class with the closest similarity to a shaman in stats across the board that gets the job done in high-end raids.



Druids have the luxury of having multiple categories covered and a broader safety net on top of having access to join Alliance for the added advantage of paladins spells, while shaman tanks are required to significantly maximize a specific category for a certain boss.

Now, let's explores the threat generated by other classes to showcase where shaman tanks stand. Remember, threat will depend on gear, boss mechanics, etc... But in general, the current standing of tanks that can do the most threat are:
      1. Feral Druid/Warrior.
      2. Paladin/Enh Shaman.
      3. Dem warlock.
      4. Priest tanks.
The threat we can produce comes extremely close to Paladin Tanks using Holy Mightstone, if they don't use it we surpass them. We can reach an even higher threat ranking against bosses who have little to no nature resistance or the raiding group is capable of maintaining a consistent uptime of the Flame Buffet debuff.


AoE Tanking

Now that we've approach the majority of topics surrounding shaman tanking and learned a few things along the way let's talk about AoE tanking. Although we slightly brought up the topic in "Talents". Let me go into more detail here.

Against 3 targets and/or dungeons, AoE tanking revolves around Chain Lightning proccing with http://classic.wowhead.com/spell=29065 as the main conduit for dealing damage and preserving threat on 3 targets. Because it is not possible to dodge, block, parry while casting it is ideal to employ this method versus mobs that deal little to moderate damage. This method is quite common in dungeons. Against heavy hitting targets it is advisable to grab the weapon http://classic.wowhead.com/item=2243 and use EOTS procs occasionally during phases with less damage. Feel free to use R1 Frost Shock to not only save mana but to increase the proc chance of https://classic.wowhead.com/spell=29180 and http://classic.wowhead.com/spell=16164, if you don't foresee at that instant a random mob leaving you to attack a teammate. This is all done while auto attacking a different target after 4-5 melee hit.

With a more coordinated group, it's possible to heal certain designated players as they "stand in fire". Another way for players to intentionally receive damage is for designated warlocks to use their basic spell: https://classic.wowhead.com/spell=11689 in conjunction with self damage dealing items, such as https://classic.wowhead.com/item=12662 or Goblin Sapper Charge. Equipping a weapon with healing such as: https://classic.wowhead.com/item=23056 before healing a raid members wield yield more threat.



Raid composition differs with each boss but its considered an acquired technique that develops over time and reflects the playstyle of a guild or raid. The following image is an example raid comp with a few minor exceptions that differ from the norm. This image is by no means the perfect raid comp since raid comps drastically fluctuate along side: content patch, gear, experience, etc... With the raid leader's permission offer your advice on an ideal comp that caters to your needs without overstepping. A decent raid will always make sure that every group has a Tranquil Air Totem enforced by restoration shamans.

• In (Group 1): On the topic of suvivability, a fellow tank in your party can equip http://classic.wowhead.com/item=14557, granted they don't need the trinket slot for anything else. A bear can replace a prot warrior in the tank party, if the raid is comfortable enough with the idea and could probarbly use an emergency http://classic.wowhead.com/spell=29166 or http://classic.wowhead.com/spell=20748 Also, only bring the bare minimum of tanks. This will open a spot for either: a lock with http://classic.wowhead.com/spell=11767, or a hunter with http://classic.wowhead.com/spell=20906.

• Rogues are favored over fury warrior, they http://classic.wowhead.com/spell=25302, http://classic.wowhead.com/spell=11305, http://classic.wowhead.com/spell=5277 and http://classic.wowhead.com/spell=1857 to manage their threat/aggro.

• Feral cat druids can offer similar utilities as a bear and can http://classic.wowhead.com/spell=16697 and https://classic.wowhead.com/spell=23110/dash to manage their threat/aggro.

• Discipline priest with experience and ease of mind may occasionally throw a http://classic.wowhead.com/spell=10060 on a shaman tank during the pull phase to help the tank gain a larger amount of threat.

• In (Group 6): The shaman is elemental since healing is not an issue and we are relying mostly on http://classic.wowhead.com/spell=25908. In the situation, you are taking too much damage this spot can be replaced by a restoration shaman.

• In (Group 7): A mage could be replaced by a shadow weaving healing priest.

• In (Group 8): Traditionally, mages tend to switch to Fire Specialization after AQ, however, keeping a single mage as Frost with the talent http://classic.wowhead.com/spell=28595 is advisable.

• A rogue can be replaced by a melee hunter on https://classic.wowhead.com/item=19169 duty.

Raid Tanking Strats

By no means is this an easy task. It won't come as a surprise that as new content is released the previous content is more approachable. This section will explore Raid Tanking strategies and assumes you are going the extra mile and have carefully read everything detailed in this guide.

MC will be the first Raid available at your fingertips. Because of the high nature resistance of bosses, going Troll is a threat advantage and the 21/30/0 talent setup is used. Furthermore, Frost Shock will be the most common shock, unless Stormstrike is applied on the boss, then Earth Shock is the default. There are eight total encounters within BWL, but three of them (Firemaw, Ebonroc, and Flamegor) are fairly trivial compared to the other five. Similar to the previous raid, it's recommended to carry a fire resist gear set.

 




I hope you enjoyed exploring one of my favorite classes in World of Warcraft. If you are left with some lingering questions after having read the guide, feel free to swing over to the Discord: https://discordapp.com/invite/GYF3uNf and I would be more than happy to answer them. I will be continuously updating this guide as we learn more about Classic WoW.

Nice read. I love the thought off non-cookie cutter builds. Lot's of undefined items/spells for me, will read it through once more when the undefined is fixed. ̶B̶y̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶w̶a̶y̶,̶ ̶w̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶W̶e̶a̶v̶e̶r̶ ̶P̶r̶i̶e̶s̶t̶?̶ Edit: Shadow weaving, I get it now.

This is a great guide, very interesting!

By the https://classic.wowhead.com/spell=5926/holy-power of https://classic.wowhead.com/object=2020 ... ghtbringer, I say ! This https://classic.wowhead.com/npc=10556/lazy-peon outperformed himself with this madness, as if he was the reincarnation of https://classic.wowhead.com/npc=82/crazy-leonetti !!

Interesting guide but has this ever been attempted in a raid or is it just for dungeons at best?

It is definitely something I will work towards on the side, possibly to help dungeon groups if there are no other tanks around, because I think it could prove a lot of fun. Great guide!

This looks amazing! Currently at work, so I don't have the time currently to read it entirely, but I'm really curious. Will definitely read later!

Good job!

Before even reading: thank you. I dreamed about a guide like this. I tried so many time to do a leveling shaman to tank some dungeons here and there (no raiding in my goals) and usually hitted a wall with people not wanting me as a tank. This guide will only reinforce my dream :-) Shaman ALT incoming for sure!

What's interesting is the last time I played and leveled in Vanlla, me and my 5 man group experimented with double tank comps in certain dungeons that had really tough pulls, and it was too much damage for one tank to take. Maybe this only works if you have a druid healer with strong HoTs, but it was me (a bear druid) and the other guy was a prot warrior. And it worked really really well, clearing packs that we wiped on previously.

So I'd be curious if this kind of shaman build would be viable for 5 mans. It would do more damage than a prot warrior and give buffs to the rest of the party. But maybe double tank in 5 mans is just dumb, and even if it isn't, a druid healer is the only thing that makes it viable.

So yeah, that's a long-winded way of saying this seems super cool, and it's clear that Blizzard at least thought about enhancement being a tank spec to mirror protection, but the only place I can see this working, especially at low gear levels, is in 5 man content. I feel like without this god-tier gear shown in the guide, this entire gimmick just falls apart.

fendor wrote: ↑

5 years ago

Before even reading: thank you. I dreamed about a guide like this. I tried so many time to do a leveling shaman to tank some dungeons here and there (no raiding in my goals) and usually hitted a wall with people not wanting me as a tank. This guide will only reinforce my dream :-) Shaman ALT incoming for sure!

See my post after yours. I think it can be viable as a second tank/buffer/dps in 5 man groups. Not sure about raids.

I have been waiting for this for ages, finally a good & detailed guide for Shaman Tanking.
Something interesting to read when I am bored at work :)
Thanks @Devner

Devner wrote: ↑

5 years ago

A valid case can be made for also having a lvl 1 alt stationed permanently in a major city to disenchant unwanted items through mail and store items at a bank for later use.

Pardon me if I'm wrong, but isn't there a level 5 requirement to get professions such as enchanting?

Aside from that, I'm quite impressed! A lovely guide!

Gensei wrote: ↑

5 years ago

fendor wrote: ↑

5 years ago

Before even reading: thank you. I dreamed about a guide like this. I tried so many time to do a leveling shaman to tank some dungeons here and there (no raiding in my goals) and usually hitted a wall with people not wanting me as a tank. This guide will only reinforce my dream :-) Shaman ALT incoming for sure!

See my post after yours. I think it can be viable as a second tank/buffer/dps in 5 man groups. Not sure about raids.

@Gensei Shamans tanking has grown tremendously since Vanilla. They can tank the majority of raid bosses out there. I was capable of reaching AQ, just before the server I was playing on was closed. Keep in mind, I was not using special event buffs. With these buffs, I would confidently see myself tanking NAXX.

Have a nice day

Nymis wrote: ↑

5 years ago

Interesting guide but has this ever been attempted in a raid or is it just for dungeons at best?

@Nymis Shamans tanking has grown tremendously since Vanilla. They can tank the majority of raid bosses out there. I was capable of reaching AQ, just before the server I was playing on was closed. Keep in mind, I was not using special event buffs. With these buffs, I would confidently see myself tanking NAXX.

Have a nice day

Devner wrote: ↑

5 years ago

Nymis wrote: ↑

5 years ago

Interesting guide but has this ever been attempted in a raid or is it just for dungeons at best?

@Nymis Shamans tanking has grown tremendously since Vanilla. They can tank the majority of raid bosses out there. I was capable of reaching AQ, just before the server I was playing on was closed. Keep in mind, I was not using special event buffs. With these buffs, I would confidently see myself tanking NAXX.

Have a nice day

Yeah, that's fair, it's just that I can't seem to find a single video of that or any proof of it happening, private server or otherwise - in anything other than a dungeon setting. Maybe it's just me not looking long enough but I find it hard to believe this actually happened without some proof.

Devner wrote: ↑

5 years ago

      Place a Mana Spring Totem (it gives threat to you)

Mana Spring Totem isn't supposed to cause threat.

https://web.archive.org/web/20070105001 ... kenco2.php
"for example mana from Blessing of Wisdom or a Mana Spring totem doesnt cause threat"

Devner wrote: ↑

5 years ago

Gensei wrote: ↑

5 years ago

fendor wrote: ↑

5 years ago

Before even reading: thank you. I dreamed about a guide like this. I tried so many time to do a leveling shaman to tank some dungeons here and there (no raiding in my goals) and usually hitted a wall with people not wanting me as a tank. This guide will only reinforce my dream :-) Shaman ALT incoming for sure!

See my post after yours. I think it can be viable as a second tank/buffer/dps in 5 man groups. Not sure about raids.

@Gensei Shamans tanking has grown tremendously since Vanilla. They can tank the majority of raid bosses out there. I was capable of reaching AQ, just before the server I was playing on was closed. Keep in mind, I was not using special event buffs. With these buffs, I would confidently see myself tanking NAXX.

Have a nice day

Do you have a gear list of what you were using in MC?

I have no time to read right now, but well definitely look into this as I'm probably going to main a Shaman in Classic! Thanks 1000x!!!

For anyone wondering, none of this is even remotely necessary to tank 5-mans or even early raids. For much of the game, Shaman threat exceeds that of Warriors rather effortlessly, and their survivability isn't as much of an issue as you might expect. Don't feel as though this is something you have to wait until AQ40/Naxx BIS before hoping to attempt, as you can (and honestly should) start collecting tank gear as early on as possible and be prepared to fill the role when needed throughout your leveling journey.

Nymis wrote: ↑

5 years ago

Devner wrote: ↑

5 years ago

Nymis wrote: ↑

5 years ago

Interesting guide but has this ever been attempted in a raid or is it just for dungeons at best?

@Nymis Shamans tanking has grown tremendously since Vanilla. They can tank the majority of raid bosses out there. I was capable of reaching AQ, just before the server I was playing on was closed. Keep in mind, I was not using special event buffs. With these buffs, I would confidently see myself tanking NAXX.

Have a nice day

Yeah, that's fair, it's just that I can't seem to find a single video of that or any proof of it happening, private server or otherwise - in anything other than a dungeon setting. Maybe it's just me not looking long enough but I find it hard to believe this actually happened without some proof.

Here's a video of my guild's third Vael kill. There's no footage of the first one, so you'll have to take my word for it when I say I was the first tank on that as well. ZG was open prior to BWL on the server, but I used no gear from it on this fight.

I've tanked every leveling 5-man at the appropriate level as well as each 60 dungeon, UBRS included, significantly undergeared (I repeated this on The Rebirth as well as Kronos 2, with comparable success). I've also offtanked MC, BWL and ZG progression, sometimes main tanking fights where the extra threat generation could be taken advantage of. I'm also a huge slacker and cut lots of corners. I can personally answer any questions about the viability of progression tanking at those stages, beyond which I don't know enough to really comment on.

I'm also new to this forum; saw a Shaman tanking thread and couldn't help myself.
Cool stuff btw OP.

I can't believe what I just read, I'm into this kind of shit.

Sanniey wrote: ↑

5 years ago

I have no time to read right now, but well definitely look into this as I'm probably going to main a Shaman in Classic! Thanks 1000x!!!

Yep, the text lenght is literally only one downside to the guide here, myself gave a read of less complex ones so far, but taking the time to read Caperfin's guide may as well be worth it!

Hello Caperfin!

Amazing guide; I've read this over a few times and come back often in my theorycrafting for my own build, where I want to find a balance between tanking, PvP and DPS (Totem Twisting, Nightfall bot, probably).

I am wondering about the importance of the talent Toughness, specifically versus Weapon Mastery.

I imagine that Weapon Mastery is quite good for PvP, and will help with threat generation during tanking, but I would be forgoing Toughness for this, which means lowering my EHP.

Is Toughness' mitigation percentage substancial overall?

I am playing around with a few builds right now, so I don't have just one to link for context, but the essence of my dilemma is written above.

Thank you for the marvelous guide!

abyss wrote: ↑

4 years ago

Hello Caperfin!

Amazing guide; I've read this over a few times and come back often in my theorycrafting for my own build, where I want to find a balance between tanking, PvP and DPS (Totem Twisting, Nightfall bot, probably).

I am wondering about the importance of the talent Toughness, specifically versus Weapon Mastery.

I imagine that Weapon Mastery is quite good for PvP, and will help with threat generation during tanking, but I would be forgoing Toughness for this, which means lowering my EHP.

Is Toughness' mitigation percentage substancial overall?

I am playing around with a few builds right now, so I don't have just one to link for context, but the essence of my dilemma is written above.

Thank you for the marvelous guide!

When you need to compromise but have your sights set on tanking and PvP, Toughness > Weapon Mastery.

Weapon Mastery is mainly important for DPSing since it's a 10% damage increase to your white hits, which is all you'd really be using in a raid setting. For holding aggro, white hits could make up anywhere from 20-50% of your threat generation depending on how much earth shocking you're doing (the far end of that spectrum being literally none), which means a 2-5% increase overall for 5 talent points. You'd get more bang for your buck with a really strong weapon from BWL and later when the weapon damage starts to outweigh the invisible additive from Rockbiter, but it's still not enough to warrant losing all that extra armor. The extra mitigation from Toughness is a huge deal considering survivability is your main weakness relative to other tanking classes.

PvP Enhance is kind of a meme, and when you're getting those triple Windfury crits, your target is dead anyway so that extra 10% would be overkill. Yeah you're not always getting Windfury procs, but your basic melee swing feels like it might as well be doing zero damage so you won't ever notice that teensy increase.

I am slowly updating the guide to reflect Classic. If there is anything I forgot or something doesn't stack, scale, etc... please let me know.

Woohoo, Thanks Caperfin, tell us when complete!

Which parts have to be changed?