Finer points of 1 Pal + 4 Sham vs. 5 Sham

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Originally Posted by 'iceyone',index.php?page=Thread&postID=104153#post 104153

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Originally Posted by 'Fuzzyboy',index.php?page=Thread&postID=104152#pos t104152

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Originally Posted by '-silencer-',index.php?page=Thread&postID=104026#post104026

Don't do it with regards to leveling. It'll be about the same, although the 60-70 experience is probably a little easier with a paladin to tank instances, but kiting works too.
Think about end-game goals.. if you love PvP, definitely roll 5 shammies. My pally is practically useless in BGs beyond buffs, occasional heal, a stun every now and then, a consecrate for distraction, and as a steady meatshield.

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You don't need to kite until you hit heroic/70 instances anyway - with a few exceptions, elementals will be plenty for your tanking purposes and most of the time you don't need them :)

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Just so I'm clear, you think that the benefits of 5 shammies in PVP outweighs the benefits of having a Pally in PVE?

I've been away from the game for a few months, before I left I spent most of my time just farming and doing AV. But if I'm going to 5-box, I see myself spending a lot of time clearing instances - it's one of the big draws to multi-boxing for me.

Thanks for the responses guys :D

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Actually no, that's not my point. I was simply pointing out that you shouldn't go with a paladin if you don't feel like it, just to be able to pve. Shamans can pve just fine and I think about every heroic has been done with 5 shammies.

However! There are other things to consider. As Vyndree pointed out, going from 1 pala + 4 shaman to 5 shaman is easy, it's another matter the other way around. Also, you can pvp just fine with four shaman or 4 shaman + paladin (if you're doing arena you'll need a healer anyway).

I would go with paladin + 4 shammies if I was starting from scratch, especially if I was unsure of what to choose. If you're RAF'ing you could actually go with paladin + 4 shammies and a 5th shammie on gift levels. Ultimately it's a matter of what you feel like playing - both combos are viable, but if you're unsure I'd advise you to go the paladin route.

Paladin tanking sucks at early levels. Outland is where the gearing really lets paladins tank better. Because of this, and with RAF, I'd suggest starting out with 5 shaman. You learn the class, and everything's a bit easier when you have all the same class. At any time, should you feel the need for a true tank, gift some levels to your paladin, and have at it. You can alternate gifting levels to the paladin and the shaman, and if you refer 2 accounts from your main account, they can both keep up and be the same level as your other 4 shammies. Depending on how you want to refer your accounts, you could also make a druid with gifted levels, and try druid tanking, tree healing, and moonkin dps :) That gives you lots of options.

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Originally Posted by 'daviddoran',index.php?page=Thread&postID=104714#p ost104714

Paladin tanking sucks at early levels. Outland is where the gearing really lets paladins tank better. Because of this, and with RAF, I'd suggest starting out with 5 shaman.

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I would argue pally tanking sucks until Holy Shield.

I never pulled aggro off of my tank once I got Holy Shield. +damage is not necessary at low levels since pretty much NOBODY has +damage gear at low levels. ;) You need to give you pally a couple seconds of lead time (if you watch my videos you'll notice I start off as a "clicker" at the beginning before using buttons to make sure it's just my pally building aggro), but nothing excessive. Once you get Avenger's Shield, that's when you can just all-out fling your shield and start the Chain lightning right away.