5 shamans in WoTLK heroics?

[arbi312]

I've remembered that 5 shamans can do heroics before but are they equally effective now in WoTLK heroics?

[arbi312]

Did some more research and found that sticking in a Paladin (with 4 shamans) would be much better. On another note, someone said that having more than 2 shamans is bad because the totems don't stack beyond 2? Is this true?

[emesis]

On another note, someone said that having more than 2 shamans is bad because the totems don't stack beyond 2? Is this true?

Incorrect in a crazy way.

One totem that used to stack pre WOTLK no longer does (Totem of Wrath). So, you just need one of those.

Other totems that used to stack like Healing Stream still do.

Some totems that previously did NOT stack now do - Mana Spring totem stacks which is hugely awesome. I drop 5 MS totems and thats 34 mana x 5 every 2 secs, for a total of 425 extra MP5 continuously while in combat.

Also, fire totems just got majorly buffed (and stack) - they don't generate ANY threat and magma totem got it's spell coefficient nearly doubled.

Heroism/Bloodlust is now raid-wide instead of party wide; and using it gives you a 5-minute exhaustion debuff which has to wear off before you can pop it again. This is too bad especially for arena but otherwise not a big deal.

So, shamans still have great synergy. I am bringing up a tank (78 DK) though, for heroics.

[Siaea]

So, shamans still have great synergy. I am bringing up a tank (78 DK) though, for heroics.

Are you copying me?

But seriously, you're gonna need a tank. 80 Heroics hit unbelievably hard on softies, as I found out last night in Nexus with a screwed up pull. Shamans were pretty much 2 shotted when my DK died. I'm going to hold off a little longer on heroics, even though my DK is finally uncrittable (although she really needs more hit points). On another note, God I wish they would fix the /assist on ghoul form when your DK dies

[Maxion]

Your ghoul form issue should work now, at least they made us able to /follow through focus while on vehicles.

[TheBigBB]

More than 2 shamans don't stack in any meaningful way. Add a warlock or moonkin and you just got a flat 12% spell damage increase across the board. Add a third shaman and you get maybe some more mana regen. You only have a couple fire totems that add spell damage, and only 1 heroism every 5 minutes.

[weeep]

I did DTK heroic with 5 shamans. It was hard before patch and really easy now. I also cleared all heroic bosses except the last one in Gun'drak. Didnt try the other heroics, maybe will have time for it this weekend.

[emesis]

More than 2 shamans don't stack in any meaningful way. Add a warlock or moonkin and you just got a flat 12% spell damage increase across the board. Add a third shaman and you get maybe some more mana regen. You only have a couple fire totems that add spell damage, and only 1 heroism every 5 minutes.

So why do two shamans stack then? This makes no sense.

"Maybe some more mana regen" ... How about

1. Multiple healing stream totems making splash damage largely ignorable in many encounters
2. Multiple chain heals making the occasional AoE heal very simple to do without a dedicated AoE healer
3. Staggered multiple thunderstorms is very nice on a PvP server. Can also be used in instances
4. Multiple wipe recoveries with reincarnation
5. Linearly scaling, strong AoE damage without threat in 3.0.8 with the magma totem buffs

To be sure, there are any number of viable 5-man boxing combinations, but IMO multiple shamans are still a great combination. They are very easy to manage as well.

An unholy DK also brings a 12% damage bonus to the table (Ebon Plaguebringer) - in fact a much nicer once (works on multiple mobs, as opposed to Earth and Moon or Curse of Elements, which are single target). I do agree that bringing one of these buffs to the table is the way to go. In my case, I'm bringing up an unholy DK to tank for my shamans. I have a druid in the group as well as a mage and a pally, however, I'm probably going to go with DK/4 shammies as my main group. With the change to elemental oath (now includes 10% bonus damage for the proccing shammie when clearcasting), I need to keep 2/2 elemental oath on all the shammies, so Moonkin Aura no longer would be an additional benefit.

[TheBigBB]

So why do two shamans stack then? This makes no sense.

With two shaman you could stack totems up to great benefit. Like if you need a resistance or poison cleansing totem for a particular fight, you won't be sacrificing your spell haste or spell damage totem for it anymore. Plus you'd have a heroism up every 5 minutes, so you'd be able to burn it every time it's up.

With more than that, only the replenishment totems stack in a meaningful way. Everything else is just something another class can do better.

With three or more, your main benefit would be getting some extra mana or health regen, a function which can be served by other classes while adding more buffs. For example, you can have a frost mage with a water elemental to regenerate more mana and add a spell crit chance that only a mage can add through winter's chill (or scorch). And a mage's AOE is more than enough to counter a magma totem. Add a mage and a moonkin and you now have 12% spell damage taken on top of that, not to mention the buffs like mark and int and fort that you could gain with more classes in the mix.

Shaman teams work, but they don't stack like they used to. No classes do. For anything major you claim that stacks with more and more shaman, I can name you a class that does that function better while adding more of something else. This isn't a knock against anyone who's using them, as there's no such thing as a multiboxer who's getting full benefit of everything. I'm just trying to help the OP and I don't think telling him that a big shaman team is as good or better than any other team is going to answer his question properly.

[Kicksome]

Multiple healing stream totems alone is worth it. I've considered dropping my druid for that alone. With 4x, it's 800 health every 2 seconds to everyone in range. Almost like a free wild regrowth.