5 shaman team or DK + 4 shaman from 70-80 and beyond?

Ok so now comes the time where I make the final decision on the single makeup of my team. I'm the kind of person who likes to have just one team, and I like to have the same people on that team EVERY time. I don't like switching out a character (for instance my main shaman for a paladin tank for instances.

So, the question is about Death Knights. I've already decided I don't like 1 pally 4 shaman for multiboxing. It really doesn't have much PvP utility especially not for bgs/world pvp that I typically do. 5 Shaman is quite awesome for PvP but I've been having a lot of trouble in instances such as utgarde keep and a lot of the 70 BC instances without overgearing them. I don't really want to have to severely overgear instances to be able to run them (halfway defeats the point for me).

So right now I'm leveling a DK with 4 of my shamans, 65 so far and going super fast - couple hours per level. Anyway, I'll hit 70 soon and thats the point where I have to decide, level 1 DK and 4 shamans or just keep leveling 5 shamans and keep the DK as a solo only character (which will probably never get played).

Now that some of you have Lava Burst, and have done some pvp and pve with different makeups, what do you guys think the verdict is for both PvE and PvP on tank (specifically DK) + 4 shaman vs 5 shaman. Initially I thought I was just going to stick with 5 shaman but after getting my ass handed to me repeatedly in Utgarde Keep even with 4-5 epics per shaman, I decided maybe its not going to be nearly as effective as I thought for PvE. Plus the DK seems to have far more PvP utility with death grip, anti magic zone, some ranged attacks, stuns, self healing, etc. It just seems a bit more complicated in PvP though to maneuver my DK with the shamans in tow (have to basically stop them from following when I go to attack someone with the DK which makes them nearly completely immobile).

Just looking for input - once I make the decision and start powering my team to 80 thats pretty much the team I will end up with and keep for good.

Having something that wears plate is always a plus for instances..

I'd say DK + shamans would be good mostly for pve because DK can tank but would suck in pvp because you'd have to get the close to attack which would put shamans at risk. So i'd have to say 5 shaman would be the best. Just going to have to spec one shaman resto so he can heal for instances instead of dps.

Hm..thanks for advice.

Keep in mind though that I wouldn't have to bring the shamans close to attack something, just stop them from following and run up tot he person I'm attacking while my shamans sit back and shoot lightning bolts or lava bursts or whatever. Also the DK can pull someone to the team or away from the shamans.

I dont think speccing 1 shaman resto helps with a 5 shaman team for instances, in fact from what I've read it makes it worse :(

I'm still torn. The other upside to the DK (not sure that it matters though) is if I made the DK my "main" i'd actually play him solo sometimes with friends...no way I'm playing an ele shaman solo, most boring class/spec ever :)

Does the deathknight bring something better to the party than 10% to all stats that a pally would.

I would think that if you went with 5 shaman and then wanted to bring a death knight in it wouldn't be that terrible. Starting at level 55 can't be that bad.

Death Knight brings +13% magic damage for the entire party, an anti magic zone, +86 str/agi for the party, ability for the entire party to walk on water at any time, an immobilize effect, 2 silences, 2 taunts, 3 AoE abilities, etc etc etc

This is all PvE type stuff though.

I already have the DK at 65 anyway, the 5 shamans are at 70. But I really don't want to switch back and forth between 5 shamans and 4 shaman 1 DK, I want to make a decision, make it final, and keep that 5 man team for good. Just a tough decision.

One thing that might affect it... if I were to say stop multiboxing right now and play solo for good, I would never use my elemental shaman. Just a boring class solo IMO. If I spent months or a year+ making my 5 shamans awesome (including my main shaman) and then cut back on wow and stopped multiboxing, would I keep playing a single shaman? No. Would I keep playing a DK if the DK was my main? Probably.

Thats a pretty big thing there I guess...

"He who wins at PvE wins at PvP" - SDW '08

You need the DK (or Pal) for PvE, period. You need PvE to gear up your guys both in levels and gear to win at PvP. ... not all that complicated.

having the 4th as a tank is always nice. 4x ele shaman will instagib just about anything anyway. If you don't have a tank, instaces are going to [s]be a pain[/s] take a lot of creativity

In high end pvp, such as arenas, a second person playing a dedicated healer is pretty clutch. And even if you're doing world pvp or battlegrounds, how much more would that dedicated healer help you dominate. My biggest regret for my first team is not having a tank. I really wanted to do instances and anything else that needed armor better than cloth, and I just couldn't

Hmm, all good points. Guess I'll experiment with PvP more with the DK as the lead. If nothing else I can just let him sit there (and look 10x more cool than a pally doing it). I dont really care about arenas so having less arena viability means next to nothing to me. If nothing else I would just use 4 shamans with a healer friend to arena and then use the DK for instances, world pvp, bgs, etc.

Btw does the DK only purchaseable mount actually look like one of those cooked chickens? If so thats a HUGE disappointment because they look retarded and I was hoping for a kickass looking dragon.

I believe they changed the model after much outcry, havent seen it lately though.