With the recent nerf to EF, I'm starting to think out of the box now and how it may be possible that a shaman may be an oddball class that is not only a hybrid class but be able to hyrbid spec (druids feral would be the only other consideration i can think of that does sorta does that...except they get one tree to do it) Most hybrids must pigeon-hole themselves into a spec and that is their role. But what about a class that has dual roles..I think its an interesting concept. Plus it'd be fun as hell and keep the game interesting.
So ive been basically respecing weekly between ele and resto. I have decent gear for both (ele- 562dmg, 18.5crit...resto 1150heal, 131mp5, 9400mana) The things I wanna focus (I really shouldn't use the word focus since this idea isnt based on focus'ing on one thing) on are still being able to throw on my healing gear to be a viable healer BUT be able to sustain DPS in a raid setting while buffing my group as well as off-healing. PvP currently im an all-out nuker, but reducing mana costs and having mana tide would be extremely nice to have. Also farming/questing is a pain in the ass as a resto build...id like to alleviate that (3 second LB's are just not fun) Also I still want the ability to switch to ele in certain PvE fights if needed. (which is one of the reasons ive had to respec so often) I know some of the responses would be "just bring a mage" or "just bring a pally" but I think there is some nice utility to shamans that could really help raids (10-man or 25-man) in a truly hyrbid role.
Here is my spec im thinking:
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=GE0uq00aVZZE0ezVxoz
Why I chose what I did-
Healing:
This healing build is built around mana regen and mana conservation. While there aren't many talents that ive chosen to increase my healing % persay, I beleive my mana conservation well be fairly close to being on par if i had spec'd more to +healing benefits. Unrelenting storm will give me about an extra 30-50mp5 (depends on buffs) which in a 5min fight will give me an additional 2-3k mana. I didnt care much for Healing Focus and Nature's Guardian (these are primarily pvp skills with some PvE viability)
Elemental:
This build is truly hyrbid for an ele shammy. My main focus was to get to Lightning Mastery and Elemental fury first and foremost as these are essential for burst damage as well as constant LB spamming in an ele PvE build. You may wonder why i got call of flame...well i see reverb as simply a PvP skill that i can live whithout and Call of flame will help PvE ele as well as farming. My largest concern is the gimp I get without having Elemental Precision. A quarter of this is made up by getting Nature's Guidance, but the threat is still going to be an issue. (i guess get Subtley to cape...even then..its still gimp) However here is my logic...In a pve ele situation I would be in the group of mana damage dealers. Obviously WoA is a boost as well as Mana Spring, but Mana Tide would also prove wonderfully for mages, etc who have noted that they still have to mana pot chug in raids. (trust me mages/locks/hunters love me when im in their group when i mana tide) Now, granted this would be no different than me being pure healing...i could play an active hyrbid role (i say this because i end up having to off-heal in kara quite a bit as well as hearing people saying it may be necessary for fights like some fights like gruul) My point being is that I could dish out some serious damage while still having some very nice healing efficiency. Also, theres talk now on the PTR that Mana Tide might really help ele shamans sustaining DPS in a raid setting...meaning more overall damage in the long run.
Pros:
-Mana Tide - good for both healing and ele...especially with EF nerf in 2.1
-Versatility
-A good mix of DPS and Healing...would be like making me the 3.5th healer and the 4.5th DPS'r (i.e. in a 10man)
Cons:
-Threat in PvE is a major issue...but a mix of healing and DPS'n can alleviate that
-Plus+hit is a concern...but can be somewhat alleviated a bit by gear
-Lack of +Heal skills
I'm going to test it out next week and let u know how I like it.
Any thoughts/comments/concerns???