Gearing Your Fresh 70 Resto Shaman: My Recommendations

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Due to the overwhelming popularity of my pre-raid Priest gear checklist, I’ve decided to compile one for my resto Shaman. Bear in mind, this list only contains the best possible healing gear you can obtain before Kara that is mail. If you wanted just the best possible healing set, refer to my Priest check list. It’s bad enough my Priest is a squishy. I wanted my Shaman to hold his own (for a few seconds longer anyway). Your ideal professions here would be skinning and leatherworking. Similar to my Priest, I place a huge emphasis on MP5 even more here alongside Healing. Remember, these pieces may not be the best overall, but they’re the quickest to acquire the moment you hit 70.

If you have any pieces you can think of that aren’t on this list, please add a comment or email me and I’ll make the addition. When I was building my Shaman’s Resto gear, I built him with PvP in mind therefore my gear consisted mostly of Arena or BG pieces.

Head

Living Dragonscale Helm (+81 Heaing, 14 Mana Per 5): It’s a craftable item made by Leatherworkers with a 365 skill which is bind on equip. It’s quite costly but you’ll be using this head piece for a while. The required materials to create it are:

The pattern is also a random world drop.

Headdress of the Tides (73 Heaing, 9 Mana Per 5): If you’re unwilling to acquire all the materials to create the above Helm, you can try your hand at running Heroic Underbog repeatedly until you get this. You’re looking at Ghaz’ran, the hydra boss in the middle so set aside a good portion of your time for it.

Neck (Recycled from Priest Page)

Necklace of Eternal Hope (+48 Healing, 8 Mana Per 5): This one will set you back about 25 heroic badges. If you don’t think you’re geared properly enough for heroics yet, then try the next one which is a little longer to get.

Natasha’s Guardian Cord (+55 Healing, 6 Mana Per 5): You can get this neckpiece from Blade’s Edge Mountains. It’s at the end of a ridiculously long chain quest which starts when you find a Mask on the Ground that you hear voices from. The 9th step in the quest will reward you with this decent neck.

Shoulder

Pauldrons of Surging Mana (No Healing, 13 Mana Per 5): Check the Auction House as you are levelling up. You might be able to snag these discount shoulders for a good price before you work your way up to something better. I picked up my Shoulders for about 17 Gold. They’re not very popular, so expect a slightly lower price. But that will depend on your server population.

Various PvP Shoulders: Just bite the bullet and either do some Arena’s or general BG PvP. The next decent upgrade you can acquire will be in Karazhan. Otherwise, your option is…

Mantle of the Sea Wolf (+51 Healing, 8 Mana Per 5): Ugh. Heroic Mana Tombs. Kill Tavarok.

Back

White Remedy Cape (59 Healing, 7 Mana Per 5): Easiest cape you can possibly get. It’s a tailoring BoE blue. The pattern itself is a world drop. If you put a tell in trade chat, hopefully you’ll be able to find someone who can create it on your server. It’s Level 69 so you can start shopping for it a little earlier. If you’re on Ner’Zhul, look up Mallet and I can craft it for you. Here’s the mats requirement:

Chest

Void Slayer’s Tunic (+88 Healing, 8 Mana Per 5): This one requires a group quest to complete. You need to complete a fairly long quest chain which involves killing Dimensius the All-Devouring way out in Netherstorm.

Earthpeace Breastplate (+92 Healing, 16 Mana Per 5): A slight edge in healing and twice the mana per 5 as the Void Slayer’s Tunic gives the one the slight edge. Unfortunately, this chest piece has no stats on it. I highly recommend using this one in environments where you know you won’t take a lot of damage, or if you do minimal at best.

Bracer

Primal Surge Bracers (+37 Healing, 6 Mana Per 5): You can get these from the last boss in Black Morass, Aeonus himself. Expect multiple runs. But it might be better off…

Veteran Ringmail Bracers (+42 Healing, No Mana Per 5): …For you to spend a day or two grinding out Alterac Valley or some other Battleground and pick up these instead.

Gloves

Fathomheart Gauntlets (+55 Healing, 7 Mana Per 5): The last boss in normal Steamvaults, Kalithresh drops these gloves. Again, these ones may take a while to pick up just because he’s a pain to get to.

Belt

Stillwater Girdle (+53 Healing, 8 Mana Per 5): Ugh, Resto Shamans really don’t have it easy when it comes to gear do they? This one comes from of Heroic Mana Tombs of all places. Furthermore, you have to clear all the way to the end and kill Nexus-Prince Shaffar to pick it up.

Pants

Oceansong Kilt (+84 Healing, No Mana Per 5): The Reinforced Chest you get after dropping Vazruden and Nazan will have a chance to reveal these pair of pants.

Feet

Wavefury Boots (+55 Healing, 8 Mana Per 5): The last thing you need from a heroic instance will be the easiest to get out of all the ones listed. Chances are, it will be super easy for you to find groups to go into Heroic Slave Pens and kill Rockmar.
Rings

Keeper’s Ring of Piety (+42 Healing, 7 Mana Per 5): This one’s easy to get. If you’ve been following your Karazhan attunements, then you will have this one by now. The Quest is given by Sa’at in the Caverns of time after you’ve completed Hero of the Brood.

Ring of Convalescence (+57 Heaing, 4 Mana Per 5): Requires you to be Revered with Honor Hold (Or Thrallmar). Will cut into your gold pouch with a price of about 18G. Pick it up from the Quartermaster.

Trinkets

Lower City Prayerbook (+70 Healing): Yeah the on use effect sucks. But just look at the passive ability! Besides, -22 mana isn’t that bad. Any mana saved is mana that can be used later. Think of endurance fights. Think of how often you you will use it and think of what that mana can be used for later. Requires a Revered Reputation with Lower City (Shadow Labs loves you). Remember that this item isn’t unique so you can pick up two of them.

Scarab of the Infinite Cycle (+70 Healing): Spell haste rating is cool. It makes your spells go faster. Too bad it requires running Black Morass a couple of times.

Weapons (1 Hand))

The Essence Focuser (+227 Heaing, 11 Mana Per 5): Scout your local auction house as it is a world drop. Unfortunautely, no stats.

Gavel of Pure Light (+299 Healing, 8 Mana Per 5): Do lots of Mechanar runs to increase your rep. You need Exalted to be able to buy this from the Quartermaster. This will really make your wallet hurt with a near 192G cost. If you’re lucky, you might be able to get Hammer of the Penitent to drop off of the Mechano-Lord in Mech. Either way, you’ll get a good mace to use.

Shield (Off hand)

Crystal Pulse Shield (+35 Healing, 6 Mana Per 5): Check your Auction House for this other great BoE drop. It’s a great early shield and will last you before you upgrade to the one from Chess.

Totems

Totem of the Plains (+79 Healing): Note that the increase in healing is only applied when you cast Lesser Healing Wave. Once you kill Tusker and turn in the quest, it should be a no brainer to pick up this reward.

Totem of Spontaneous Regrowth (+88 Healing): The increase in healing is applied after you cast Healing Wave. To get it, you’ll be wanting to visit Mennu the Betrayer in Heroic Slave Pens.

Enchants & Other Augments

Glyph of Renewal (+35 Heaing, 7 Mana Per 5): This goes on your head. Requires Honor Hold/Thrallmar repuatation of revered. Costs 100G.

Greater Inscription of Faith or Greater Inscription of the Oracle: Depends on which faction you chose (Aldor or Scryer). Aldor for the win!

Enchant Cloak – Subtlety: Wait for Patch 2.2 and Enchanters will be able to get this beauty. It’s updated for BC materials. It reduces the threat you cause by 2%. That means 2% more healing! Whee!

Enchant Chest – Restore Mana Prime (6 Mana Per 5): Easy to get. You’ll want this.

Enchant Bracer – Superior Healing (+30 Healing): Same thing. 4 Primal Life’s and 4 Greater Planar Essences and your bracer got a whole lot better.

Enchant Gloves – Major Healing (+35 Healing): Ouch. In addition to 6 Greater Planars and 6 Primal Lifes, now you need 6 Large Prismatic Shards. Put it on the best possible gloves you have knowing that you won’t be replacing it for a while.

Enchant Weapon – Spellsurge: This unique enchant has a 3% chance on cast to restore 100 mana (not 100% mana) to all party members over 10 seconds. This is most useful in a raid environment, but there is a lot of debate between this and +81 Healing. Hopefully one of my other fellow Priest bloggers will dwelve on this topic (Ego? Kurt? Anyone? Eh, guess not. I’ll get around to it eventually).

Enchant Weapon – Major Healing (+81 Healing): Stick to this for now. It’s cheaper.

Enchant Boots – Vitality (4 Mana Per 5): Restores Health and Mana every 5 seconds. The enchant is a world drop.

Enchant Ring – Healing Power (+20 Healing): Remember when I told you to take up Tailoring and Enchanting? Here’s the other half of the reason why. Enchanters are able to enchant their own rings (Must be Soulbound).
Golden Spellthread (+66 Healing): Here’s a big hint: Put this on your Whitemend Pants. You’ll need 10 Primal Life’s and an Aldor Exalted Tailor with a Primal Nether. If you’re on Ner’Zuhl as Alliance, send Mallet a tell and I’ll do it for you.

Gems

Royal Nightseye (+9 Heaing, 2 Mana Per 5): This is your best friend. Most of the time, you’ll want to get a yellow gem for the socket bonus. Personally I say it’s hogwash. Most of your red and blue’s should be Nightseyes. There’s not a lot of gear where the socket bonus is good enough to warrant not using a Nightseye.

Teardrop Living Ruby (+18 Healing): I don’t use this at all personally. I heavily favor Mana Per 5 over miniscule amounts of +healing. It’s only 9 more than the Nightseye. I do not foresee it making a huge impact.

Luminous Noble Topaz (+9 Healing): For the rare pieces that do have a kickass bonus when you slot in a yellow gem, use one of these babies.

Conclusions and the Math

I’ve factored in my top choices in gear and included the best enchants, augments, and recommended gems. Here’s the final numbers:

Head: 116 Healing, 14 Mana Per 5 (Living Dragonscale Helm, Glyph of Renewal)

Neck: 48 Healing, 4 Mana Per 5 (Necklace of Eternal Hope)

Shoulders: 24 Healing, 19 Mana Per 5 (Pauldrons of Surging Mana, Greater Inscription of Faith)

Back: 59 Healing, 7 Mana Per 5 (White Remedy Cape)

Chest: 92 Healing, 22 Mana Per 5 (Earthpeace Breastplate, Enchant Chest – Restore Mana Prime)

Bracer: 72 Healing (Veteran Ringmail Bracers, Enchant Bracer – Superior Healing)

Gloves: 90 Healing, 7 Mana Per 5 (Fathomheart Gauntlets, Enchant Gloves – Major Healing)

Waist: 53 Healing, 8 Mana Per 5 (Stillwater Girdle)

Legs: 144 Healing, (Oceansong Kilt, Golden Spellthread)

Feet: 55 Healing, 12 Mana Per 5 (Jeweled Boots of Sanctification, Enchant Boots – Vitality)

Ring: 57 Healing, 4 Mana Per 5 (Ring of Convalescence)

Ring: 42 Healing, 7 Mana Per 5 (Keeper’s Ring of Piety)

Trinket: 70 Healing (Lower City Prayberook)

Trinket: 70 Healing (Scarab of the Infinite Cycle)

Weapon 1H: 380 Healing (Gavel of Pure Light, Enchant Weapon – Major Healing)

Shield OH: 35 Healing, 6 Mana Per 5 (Crystal Pulse Shield)

GRAND TOTAL:

1407 Healing

110 Mana Per 5

Naturally, those numbers don’t look good as the Priest who is fully geared with non-raid epics. But as this is a Shaman, exceptions must be made. Again, if there’s a piece of loot which is easier to obtain and is better then what I have listed, please drop me a line.

And there you have it! Matticus’ recommended pre-raiding checklist for the Restoration Shaman.

Fun in Gruul

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Our main tank just died tanking High King. Why? Because one of our Paladin’s had Alterac Valley on auto join who was assigned to our MT. Turn off your auto joiners when you raid, folks.

Rant: Raid Selection

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BC raids mostly consist of 25 players. Gone our the days when one or two guys could sit in MC afk and accumulate DKP by wanding and not doing anything (Alterac Valley is a shadow of what it was like then). Most Guilds either have under 25 players and struggle to fill raid spots, or have over 30 players and are placed in an unfortunate situation where they need to choose.

Hockey teams are no different. The NHL season is starting up soon and training camps are underway. The point of the camps is to determine who gets to suit up for the big leagues and who gets to sit in the press box watching or play in the minor leagues. Players who are too lazy on the backcheck get released from camp.

As a Guild, you want to bring the very best possible players to your raid. How do you determine that? You could base it on gear, skill, talent, personality, and so on. But consider another point: consistency.

Players should be fighting over raid spots. I’ve seen lack of dedication and consistency mean the difference between a guild invite and a guild boot. What, I ask, is the point of being in a raiding guild if you don’t raid? Bloggers blog, runners run, beer drinkers drink, analysts analyze. You obviously applied for a raiding Guild with one purpose in mind: to raid. Would you want these kinds of players in your 25 man raid?

The Druid tank who decides to show up 30 minutes late and hold up the whole raid to finish up a non-heroic Merchanar.

The Priest who decides not to raid one day for some stupid reason and comes back the next day whining why he’s not allowed to raid.

The Paladin who refuses to raid with a “weak” Kara team because they can’t clear it in 3 hours.

The Rogue who is frequently AFK for a ready check because he’s too busy occupied watching Naruto reruns.

Seriously, who the hell are you people and why are you here? A better question is what do they all have in common? What one trait do they all share? They want better loot without having to work for it.

Thankfully, life does not operate that way otherwise Communism would have succeeded a long time ago. You need to earn the right to play. You have to compete to win. I’m very glad Blizzard trimmed the raid instances from 40 to 25 because it truly separated the men from the boys.

There are 25 raid spots that are open. Most guilds have 30 active players. Do the math. Some players will get the call up, some players will get benched. It astounds me how people expect a free ride. There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch as my dad always told me. WoW is no different. I find it hilarious when players don’t want to do something when a Guild leader asks them to do it, and then begin to whine about not getting a raid spot. Well no kidding, moron. The boss doesn’t have a reason to. You were asked to be more responsible and you turned it down. You are aware of when the raid time is yet you make a choice not to show up. Do not be surprised if the next time you show up, you don’t get the invite. If you can’t handle something so minor why in Zeus’ name should you be given more responsibility that you clearly are unable to handle?

Performance and attendance is the key here, people. If you want to raid, the first step is to show up. You can’t clear Kara with 3 players (yet). I don’t care how geared you are. I don’t care how good you think you are. I don’t care how much you pay me. If you don’t show up once, you don’t get another chance. No I’m not referring to excuses with medical emergencies or academic reasons or what have you. Those are understandable. Sometimes life deals you a pair of Aces and you get beat with a Flush. These things happen. The important part is that you’re not afraid to buy in and ante up. It’s one of my biggest pet peeves.

Alain Vignault is the coach of the Vancouver Canucks. Last year he turned a struggling Canucks team at Christmas break into a Playoff contender. Why? Because he would start players that would perform and bring their A game. His philosophy is this: It doesn’t matter what name is on the back of your sweater, if you are there, you will see significant ice time. During games, he gave more ice time to players who he thought was performing. You see, he doesn’t play favourites. He plays whoever shows up.

Jeff Cowan, a 4th line grinder, got to play on the top line because he was contributed energy and his presence was felt.

Coach Vignault also won the Jack Adams award. That means he was widely considered as the Coach of the Year.

The next time you start your raid invite, pause for a sec and think to yourself if the names you want on your list are really the ones you want. If you’re a person whose sitting there scratching your head wondering why your Guild pulled someone outside into the raid of inviting you, it’s because you’ve proven to him that would not be useful in anyway.

Player Consumbles

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What a nice break that was. If you haven’t figure out by now, I’ve set my blogging schedule to 6 out of the 7 days in a week. That day off is for me to brainstorm topics that are blogworthy. Yesterday was a nice break and I feel a little more refreshed. I didn’t have a lot of time either due to several hours of class immediately followed by a raid. I felt quite drained after that, and I do have some tips for you if you feel the same way. If you’ve noticed, I’ve developed a rhythm for my blogging. Nearly all of my posts will relate to World of Warcraft in one way or another. I’ll usually put out a large editorial during the beginning of the week that’s analytical in some aspect then follow it up wit a few shorter pieces. I don’t want to do a whole lot of number crunching as my numerous other colleagues are far more adept at it then I (Arts student, remember?). I’m also working on two side projects both related to worldofmatticus.com in some way.

There’s been numerous posts made by my fellow bloggers regarding the use of consumables in raids. I’ll summarize them really quickly (the Priest ones anyway).

* Blackened Sporefish (8 MP5, food) – Golden Fishsticks are nice, but the cost at acquiring them makes them not worth the effort as I place a huge emphasis on MP5.
* Brilliant Mana Oil (12 MP5, Weapon)
* Flask of Mighty Restoration (25 MP5)
* Super Mana Potion (Restores X mana)

But you know, our characters aren’t the only ones that need pick me ups from time to time. When I come home from a 7 hour day at University enduring monotonic lectures, I have an incredible urge to nap… until I realize it’s 30 minutes until raid invites. As a healer, there’s not a whole lot of healing that needs to be applied during trash pulls. There’s no sense in us wasting mana over healing when that mana could be put to better use in the case of an emergency (IE, extra trash accidentally pulled). I let the assigned MT healers heal, while I throw around Shields, Renews, and PoM’s. I flash heal if I sense extra support is needed.

Anyways, the point of today’s post is not trash healing techniques. I have my own personal consumables during raid time to help keep that much needed energy going during our raids. As a law student, I also need to cover my bases, therefore:

DISCLAIMER: Matt, his friends, family, affiliates (anyone who I link to or linked me), sponsors, organizers, and owners (henceforth known as Matticus) take no responsibility for any damage that may occur to you from utilizing the beverages listed. By consuming them, you do so at your own risk and Matticus cannot be held liable. If you are unsure about health hazards in regards to trying the following, consult your physician.
Coffee: This is the staple of any person in the workforce today. It is also the fastest growing choice of drink for today’s student. The potency can be customized to meet your needs, it’s quick to make, and the sweetness is entirely up to you. Personally, I’ve developed a taste for Starbucks coffee (Tall, Dark, no cream, no sugar, $1.75 in Canada). The main reason though is the convenience. There’s a Starbucks on almost everywhere. I’ve got one about 3 blocks away from home and I know if I have a long day ahead of me, I’ll make a quick detour.

Tea: If you don’t like the taste of coffee, there’s always this alternative. Japanese restaurants I frequent serve Green Tea. Aside from it’s various health benefits, it’s often helped me stay alert. You can also take a page from Captain Picard and try Earl Gray (add a bit of milk). Other avid users have included Bruce Wayne, Frasier Crane, James Bond, and Sir Leigh Teabing (DaVinci Code)

Red Bull: More commonly found in Jagrbombs, Red Bull has founded a counterpart within World of Warcraft: Crimson Steer. Too bad only Rogues benefit from it. I’ve never personally tried it because I always thought that it wasn’t strong enough for me. But now you can be like a rogue and spring that extra kick just when you think you couldn’t muster the energy (in our case, that extra heal).

Bawls: If you’re into the gaming scene, then chances are you’ve heard of this. It has a similar effect as all energy drinks (supposed to keep you awake for a long time). First time I tried this was when I was 16. I wanted to finish out that one game of DoTA at 1 AM so I popped it. Big mistake. Didn’t sleep until about 10 AM. Tastes fantastic though! If you need some energy, consider grabbing yourself a six pack of blue Bawls from your local 7-11 (Couldn’t resist).

Rock Star: This is what I consider the holy grail of all energy drinks. A few semesters ago, I committed a freshman mistake: leaving a paper until the last minute. I had to write a 1500 word paper regarding Canadian National Security and and it into my Political Science teacher. I didn’t start until 10 PM. This paper represented 50% of my grade and it was time to break open the glass because it was an emergency. So I reached in, blew the 24 hour cool down and took my first sip. Boy did it work or what? My mental state reached a peak of clarity that I never thought I’d feel again when I got my first shutout playing hockey. I pulled an all nighter going from 10 PM all the way next day to about 10:30 AM when it was due. After that, I went home and crashed. To my surprise and delight, I managed to get an A on it.

But don’t ever, ever, ever, do that. Ever. I mean it. Don’t do it.

Seriously.

Bags!

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It’s a common phrase that Zeddicus Zu’l Zorander, the First Wizard in Terry Goodkind’s Sword of Truth series, uses when he curses. It is also something that helps us Priests acquire some form of income (at least, us Tailors anyway). As first seen on Curse, there is a strong hint that our bag space will increase in size yet again. That means we don’t have to wait for all the Imbued Netherweave Bags to sell. It means we don’t need to spent countless of hours marketing our Primal Mooncloth bags only to have it replaced in a patch before WotLK. Check out the following statements made by Drysc on WoW’s US Forums.

Drsyc says:

We’re mindful of space concerns, and increasing the base backpack size is certainly a possibility for the future. We have other space and storage increases currently in the works for release before Wrath though, and we’ll be talking about those soonâ„¢.

Can you give us those Super Backpacks from the PTR the 36 slotters i still has space issues even using those XD.

Probably not. But don’t worry, there’s better stuff in the works.

Now, if you’ve been able to read between the lines, then you’ll be able to deduce the two messages that were subtly said. First, there are things better then 36 slot bags being worked on. There’s a good chance now that means we will be producing a lot of bags en masse. That also means we will have to pair up with a sharpshooter to help us farm the necessary materials required for them. That also means more tailoring skills that need to be leveled. Am I the only one that ever sits here once in a while and asks “Geeze, does this game ever END?”

Second, notice how Drysc, a representative of Blizzard, has trademarked the word “soon”. Even Blizzard will now acknowledge that they no longer set final concrete release dates on their projects. But that’s okay, because I’ve always loved Blizzard ever since I started playing Warcrat 2 when I was 9 years old. That was the first game where I first discovered a cheat code (show me the money)! I’ll end off this post with a WoWWiki definition of Soon.

Soon
Copyright 2004-2007 Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. All rights reserved. “Soon” does not imply any particular date, time, decade, century, or millennia in the past, present, and certainly not the future. “Soon” shall make no contract or warranty between Blizzard Entertainment and the end user. “Soon” will arrive some day, Blizzard does guarantee that “soon” will be here before the end of time. Maybe. Do not make plans based on “soon” as Blizzard will not be liable for any misuse, use, or even casual glancing at “soon.”

Guess I’ll cross my fingers and wait for Duke Nukem’ Forever.