Hello,
i've searched, but i haven't found a thread about resto shamans in arena...

Just let me say that i'm more pve oriented than PVP, in fact i've juste began arena a month ago or so, first in 2v2, now also in 3v3 and 5v5, and i'm in the 1500-1650 range depending on the team size.

Seeing my level, i'm not expecting to be full arena set of the last season, i'm more or less leaning to 2-3 items per season. My question goes in these condition to the choice between the healing set and the elem set.

Being a PVE healer, i have acces to a good set for healing (complete kara and gruul, progressing in SSC and VR), something aroung 1700 + heal.

I also have a "elem" gear for farming essentially, with good blue items and some epic from héroic and kara when noone wanted them.

I was thinking at taking some elem items for the following reasons:
- I find the elem gloves to be really powerfull. +5m on shocks is really usefull for CS and slowing with FS.
- Having taken the elem gloves and seeing my points inflow, i'd like a second one to have the bonus set, and that will be it for the season ^^

More generally speaking, do you think it's worth it to sacrifice some +heal to have half +damage/heal for shocks, elem items often coming more with +scrit instead of + MP5, which can be more usefull in arena?

What i do is use my PVE healing set, replacing the gloves by the elem arena ones, and using some elem epic stuff (legs from heroic, shield from nightbane...) using +stamina on them (wheras my PVE shield has + int for instance).

So here it is for the stuff question, do you go full healing stuff or mix it with some +dam pieces?

Some other question:
- Do you prefer to use max rank ES/FS, or to use rank 1 just for the effect and saving mana?
- what do you use as "default" for totems? i'm using tremor/grounding/poison cleansing/frost resist-searing, and siwtching to earth bind if no fear in the opposing team, and WF if the warrior is there in our 5v5 team. (me +hunt as 2V2, same + warlock as 3v3, and same + Priest/Elem shaman/Feral druid/MS warrior as 5v5 depending on who is online...).
- Any tip than can be usefull?

Thanks in advance

I play in a 2 warrior 3 healer (healers are random out of a group of 2 shaman, 2 paladins, and a druid) so my totem choices might differ from yours.

Most times when I shock I use max rank, since it is either a healer and I'm interrupting his heals, or frost shock to slow down someone who is being chased by our warriors. If I'm using max rank earth shock, it gives them an extra 1kish damage to heal through, and if I'm using frost shock, it helps kill the unit that the warriors are focusing down. If I'm oom and the other healers are not, I either try to drink or just purge/rank1 shock for utility.

Totems depend on who we are playing. Look at the classes and drop the "counter" totems for that class, like tremor/grounding for warlocks. If I'm dropping grounding and it is being eaten up or destroyed right away I'll try to toss down a rank 1 windfury while the grounding cooldown is up, to give the warriors that extra burst. If they are quick on destroying totems and theres not a chance for a fear, sometimes I'll try to drop a stoneclaw and hope that they are stupid and get stunned.

Also the spell I cast more then anything else is purge. I tab+purge like crazy trying to dispel everything, if the warriors are after someone I try to follow them around and spam purge on that unit to dispel freedom and shields.

As an arena shaman, your biggest problems are always going to be mana, specifically, running out of it. No other healer can spam their mana pool dry quite as fast as we can in an arena, so plan around that.

I use full healing gear, no elemental stuff. If I have time to help damage between spamming purge, totems, poison cleanses, and heals, then it's an easy win for us anyhow. The most damage I will ever do an in arena is fire nova totem + max rank frost shock to help finish someone off, if it's gonna be close. When you have someone at 5% hp and they catch a BoP/a healer is midcast on them, you always wanna purge the bop/shock the heal rather than going for a frost shock to try and whittle their last bit of HP off yourself.

There are a few things you need: A focus frame with a nice fat casting bar, and a macro to rank one earth shock your focus. This will greatly ease your ability to control opposing healers. Also, always keep spamming purge (Unless it's on a lifebloom druid). You can eat all sorts of good buffs, notably the paladin buff that grants them 2 second holy lights. I also make a macro to purge my focus so I can have two purge targets under my fingers fast, for when a BoP or BoF gets thrown out that I need to eliminate fast

Lastly, using grounding totems, of course throw it out before you engage to get the timer going, but during a fight wait for a good time to use it rather than just spamming each cooldown. Spamming it is just going to make it Icelance bait, waiting to drop it during a cast means you either gain time as the enemy caster breaks his cast to destroy the totem first, or you end up having the totem eat a real cast time frostbolt/shadowbolt/fireball for some serious mitigation.

Does anyone know of any good Resto Shaman spreadsheets? I can't find any. Thank you all for the discussion on this topic. I have mana issues along with getting the focus down. I agree with everything discussed so far.

Yes, until the end of Season 2...

Try to to time grounding to eat a CS.

I like to drop grounding right before I start a heal.

Here's my checklist basically:

At the start of the match, just chain purge the assigned main target. You don't want to be purging trash buffs when the time comes to get that BoP or BoF (and get yelled at by your warrior). Try to resnare the target after a BoF purge.

Play it like a priest. Hide/abuse los, etc. Don't play too offensively (running in and purging next to your warrior) and set yourself to be a target.

Coordinate your interrupts w/ your teammates. You don't want to both interrupt the same heal.

Try to twist wf/grounding.

Try to purge the freedom on the warrior.

If your FF'd teammate has freedom on, try dropping an earthbind for him. Quickly redrop tremor if needed.

Im currently Restro Shaman focusing on 2v2 Arena.

The main problem I'm having is surviving Rogues. I can never seem to get away from them or kite them. They are stacking poisons on me faster than I can cure and interupt over 50% of my heals. I have 9.3k life unbuffed and 275 resil.

Any advice would be much appreciated

You should not have too many issues surviving rogues, so long as they are not mace specced. If it's maces, you may as well throw up your hands, because unless the rogue plain sucks or is playing with 600+ latency, you are not getting to cast anything after one NS heal. You have earth shield and poison cleansing which will all do their work while you wait out the initial stunlock, after that just keep trying to heal early and trust that you have enough hp to last between kick/kidney shot cooldowns. Keep earthbind down and spam cure poison on yourself in addition to your poison totem to keep crippling/mind numbing off- As soon as crippling is off frost shock for good measure and get some space. You can usually get enough space for an easy lesser healing wave. If it's a dagger rogue, keep spinning to face them and make it hard to backstab/mutilate you.

To get away from rogues I do the following which usually gets me away from them:

1)drop earthbind

2)use trinket on the kidney shot if the duration is longer than 3 seconds. Save your trinket if it's longer than 3 because they want you to bust out of an early one, a 4/5 second kidney shot will follow.

3) Start spamming poison cleaning totem and running away. You will eventually get away from them as long as they are snared via earthbind.

4) The rogue will have to blow sprint to catch up to you.

5) Stop, reapply earthbind, and just heal yourself until sprint wears off. Continue to drop poison totem until you're free from them.

Cure poision is better to use then the poision totem. By using the single target dispell you wil get the 5 second pulse as well as the cure. Make sure Poision totem is down, but dont spam it.

I am starting to get a dedicated set of gear for PVP now and have been looking at the helm and shoulder enchants. I have been wondering if maybe its better to get defence rating rather then they mana regen on shoulders and the little amount of healing on the helm.
I seem to more often then not be the first person targeted, and i am wondering if a little extra defence(i think its 30 between those 2 enchants) will make any difference or if i should stick to healing and mana regen.