To shaman..or not to shaman

[Ligion]

The predicament of the ages really.

5 Druids.. or 5 Shamans. I know shamans are better for instancing at 70 because of the OP CL :P , however, how hard is it to get to control all of those totems and spells, healing. That just sounds like a lot of work. Where as Druids sound like they might be a little easier to manipulate and have more boomkin fun. If I am wrong though shaman it is for sure. Just a tough question. Then there is always the mages, but I don't think they would fair that well in instances.

[elo]

It's all about the grounding totem.

But seriously 5xDruid you could conceivably do all heroics (haven't thought this all the way through but seems logical because you can have the holy trinity). 5xShaman you can only do some. Most of us swap in a tank for the 5th shaman so we can do more.

[Boylston]

We probably should codify requests like this a bit like we have for "Equipment Recommendations", so I'll ask some clarifying questions:

What are your priorities? Or another way, what percentage of the time would you like to...
a.) PvP in battlegrounds
b.) PvP in arena
c.) PvE overland
d.) PvE by running 5-man instances in "Normal" mode
e.) PvE in 5-man instances in Heroic mode

What level of tweaking macro/addon/talent specialties are you willing/able to spend time doing or supporting?
a.) Would prefer ease-of-use that comes with having 4-5 very identical setups
b.) Are willing to set up 1-2 characters differently in order to create more traditional 5-man roles (e.g. configure a "tank" or "dedicated healer"
c.) Don't mind running a variety of setups for different occasions, including multiple macro sets/files, action bars, keyboard mapping arrangements, etc


In short, in order for us to give you really good advice, you need to define the problem better. It would be easy for me to give you a flip answer to the question, but it might be the wrong answer. Also keep in mind that multi-boxing in WoW is really in its infancy, in terms of our collective knowledge or experience. Also, what works for an individual may not work for someone else with a different mental approach to the game.

Finally, have you narrowed it down to a choice between just 5xDruids or 5xShaman, or are you open to other classes? I think I know the answer to this based off your post, but it might be that a 4xHunter, 1xPriest meets your desired playstyle/outcome much better (hypothetical group makeup, just for illustration purposes).

A lot of the answers are relative, but your question as stated is kinda like me asking a car expert, "What's a better car, this Honda Accord or a Ford F150?" (To all of you ready to hi-jack the thread and turn it into a car discussion-- again, this is just illustrative)

[Boylston]

I will provide for you, as a sample, MY start point for the answer of this question:

Hi, I'm Boylston. I already have a L70 Shaman and a L70 Paladin (among other characters), and want to start multiboxing. I'm going to start quad-boxing, and possibly 5-boxing later on with one of my L70s by splitting a character off to another account. My goals are:

* I'd like to be competitive in the 5v5 arena if I partner with a friend. This will be how I want to acquire most of their long-term gear.
* I'd like a competitive setup for BGs, because I want to be able to farm honor for those gear rewards and I find some BGs fun. WSG is not my top priority.
* It would be a bonus if I could spend some time in select heroics (possibly with a healer or tank friend) to get badges, but this is not a primary focus.
* I'd like to be able to 4-box some normal instances to grind cash and enchanting mats. It's OK if it's just some instances and not 100% of all 5-man instances. (Not a problem if I'm limited to a place like Steamvaults, or have no chance at Shattered Halls, as an example)

Say, 50% arena, 25% normal instances and cash farming, and 25% BG, in terms of playtime.

I'd prefer keeping all the classes the same, for ease of setup and maintenance, but I am not opposed to running two different classes. I have a pretty high level of understanding about configuring WoW macros and have a desire to learn more if needed.

Would I be better off with 4xShaman or 4xShadow Priests for these goals?

Also, if I did take the option of adding my L70 Paladin to the mix, how effective would 1xPaladin-4xShaman be vs. 1xPaladin-4xPriest be for the PvE part of my goals. Would either or both allow me to do Heroics if I added that 5th character to the mix?

Finally, I am somewhat open to other classes, but I think I've narrowed it down to the Shaman vs. Priest question. Also of note is that I would only need to roll 3xShaman instead of 4xPriest, since I already have a L70 Shaman. Also, I can powerlevel or instance run my guys to make the trip to L70 more bearable.

* * * * *

Now, that's probably a little overkill, but you get my point I hope. For me, the answer was "I tried the Priests for a bit, but ultimately was convinced 4xShaman was a better fit for my goals".

[Ligion]

Very good points indeed.

Well there will be some pvp going into any toons that I select. I mean who wouldn't want to do that. Plus its easy gear for the dps ones.

However, the majority of the role is going to be PvE farming. Normal and then herioc Instance farming, droppable item rep farming (scryer, aldor type stuff)

The ease of use will be 5 of the exact same set up up until lvl 70ish just to make it easier to do it starting off. After that I am not opposed at all of going 3 different sets for instances whichis why i brought up druids, and as the poster above me stated "the holy trinity."

[Boylston]

Ok, so here are some thoughts.

5 Shaman = No tank. Heroics are *possible* but not a very easy path, without a real tank.
5 Druids = Possibility of Tank + Either 4 DPS or the Tank/Healer/DPS route. One thing to keep in mind is that you won't have much CC with an all-druid group, but druids are also OK at holding aggro on multiples, so it might not be a problem.

Now, the folks here (collectively) have a lot more experience with Shaman teams and Shaman+Tank type teams, so you may find or hear a lot more advice steering you towards shaman. I think 5xDruids offers a lot of potential, particularly since you can quickly HoT up a tanking druids with a lot of healing and then nuke away. While I don't have firsthand experience, I would think a Feral Druid + 4xBalance druids could be very potent. Moonkin doesn't stack, and eliminates the easy healing option, so I'd be inclined to stay out of moonkin form and simply work in some HoTs with my nuking rotation on the four druids every 10-15 seconds. That would certainly serve you well for normal mode instances, and may be OK for some heroics. Not having a dedicated healer means healing aggro would be spread around more, which may help your swiping Bear tank hold aggro a bit easier. Just some theorycrafting...

The 5xDruid has a lot of potential and probably wouldn't get stale-- you could eschew doing heroics for a while, spec them all Boomkin, and tear up BGs. 5 Stealthing Kitties would be fun in certain situations where you can effectively attack an AV graveyard with a LOT of force all by yourself. Make sure to buy a PvP trinket, since fear will be a bigger problem for the druids...

For your goals, I'd recommend either the 5xDruid combo, or a 4xShaman+Tank (and Pally makes the most sense here, in my opinion) type setup.

[Vyndree]

[quote='Boylston',index.php?page=Thread&postID=3583 0#post35830] Not having a dedicated healer means healing aggro would be spread around more, which may help your swiping Bear tank hold aggro a bit easier[/quote]

[url='http://www.dual-boxing.com/forums/index.php?page=Thread&threadID=3505']Of offspec healers and threat (Shadow Labs)[/url]

I don't think so. Having a non-specced healer will make it harder for your tank to hold aggro, as I discussed in my above post.

I would end up with 1 or 2 shaman left with almost no health, and a oom paladin who is blowing every mana pot cooldown trying to rebuild her threat. And, of course, since she's taking damage, the heals from the elemental shaman on the tank or themselves would pull aggro. Total wipefest.

...

And if you're having threat problems with a 1 pally 4x shaman group, try a specced healer. Ele shammy heals are not mana efficient and add to the already high elemental threat. Earth shield alone will make a huge difference in pally threat since they get both healing and mana on earth shield procs. It's like thorns. Every little bit helps.

I suppose tho that some moonkins take the -threat talent in the resto tree, so it may work out for Moonkins... But you're also not getting Salv without a pally. *shrug*

[mackenziemi]

Granted IM A BNOOB to this, but I have a mix of classes. Personally I find one of the things I enjoy is thinking out how their abilities and the time of such should be lined up. Its a blast. I can dot them up to start then blast away with some healing on my tanks as needed. Since I have a soul stone its not too big of a deal if my tank does go down. I can either bring him back up in the fight or wait and get everyone else back up and going. I can see where I am going to have some problems in BG's but that will just be another puzzle to figure out. Anyway

/my2cents

[Vyndree]

just count to five

Hmm, maybe that's my problem.

I don't really need Wis with the new water shield.

[Vyndree]

just count to five

Hmm, maybe that's my problem.

I don't really need Wis with the new water shield.

You're not pulling fast enough. :P

Its just my DPS that runs out of mana. I've also noticed that since putting the Mystical Skyfire meta gems in, its gotten a little worse. WTB: More dps!

Lrn2stack crit.

Went into Kara on just one of my shammies and only had to use a minor pot once per boss fight. I know other dps that RIDES on the mana pot cooldown chugging super mana pots like candy.