I've been mostly focused on PvE (although I've enjoyed playing battlegrounds for the most part), but a couple guildmates are trying to talk me into taking arenas a little more seriously. I've played just enough arena games to know that my PvE kit just isn't going to cut it, even though I've supplemented it with a few PvP honor items (necklace, ring and 2 pieces of the "druid" veteran's gear for ~90 resil.).

My question is what's the best way for me to assemble an arena-worthy set (I'm not looking for 1900+ ratings, just enough to keep our head above 1500 since we're all still PvE-focused and spec'ed). (Of note, my server is low-progression, with Vashj only downed in the past month, and my guild is just gearing up for 25-man content, so my PvE options are pretty limited)

Other than the exorcist ring and the +resil PvP trinket, should I just break down and start spending my first arena points on season 2 gear, despite the lack of mp5 and overload of crit? Grab a couple of high-stamina, high-resistance items and go in as a less-effective, but more survivable, healer?

Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.

The gloves are so totally awesome, that I (Enhancement) have been considering getting them. Sometimes my team runs with three healers (casual team). When we do this, our Resto Shaman buffs Earth Shield, then gets into Elemental Gear. He then does heals, and keeps his eye out for situations where he can use NS+Chain Lightning->Shock to help burst someone down. Not sure how this would work out for you, but you might want to try it if your team composition supports it.

Can't believe I missed that, thanks!

On a related note, what's the feeling on Veteran's pieces? I have 2 pieces of "druid" Kodohide since they're upgrades for my PvE set (my guild's still in Kara), but that obviously comes at the expense of armor. Is it worthwhile to replace those with Ringmail items down the line, or should I stick with the mana/5? I'm running with a 3-healer team right now, so outlasting the other team is often our method of victory. And which piece would you recommend for the bracers (neither is an upgrade for PvE, so will pick purely for PvP)? Kodohide for the mana/5 or Ringmail for the armor (+ "useless" crit)?

Thanks again for the advice!

If your putting together a separate pvp kit then stick to mail. Arena gear is all about survivability, especially as a healer. So you will want to stack stamina, resilience and armor in addition to your healing stats.

Also, don't discount +crit. PVP healing is much different than Raid healing. Most arena teams will focus fire one target, and a decent crit rating (in healing gear) will go along way to help you keep your team alive. So don't pass on any of the pvp rewards just because they have crit instead of MP5. Unlike in raid scenarios, MP5 is not great stat to stack for Arena healing. Most arena battles are short (only 2-5 min). So you should have a large enough mana pool to sustain healing in most fights without heavy regen. If you do run out of mana you can pop mana tide or get out of combat and drink (you have arena water right?).

Finally, when choosing your rewards, be sure to mix sets. Choose two pieces of the elemental set for the resilience bonus (gloves should be one piece for the shock range increase). Then two pieces of the healy set. That alone will shoot you to around 100 resilience (not counting the pieces you already have), and a decent bonus to heal.

I'm not a shaman, but I also run a three healer team (with Warrior/Hunter).

And I have to say, our shaman is NEVER focused. They will almost always be on your warrior or priest (to stop the mana burns). A large majority of our games our shaman even goes PvE gear midway through.

IMO, its never a good idea to base your strategy on relying on the opposing team to NOT do something. Everyone should be prepared to be focused in 5v5, even paladins. That way, the opposing team has a lot less outs so to speak. If you're wearing pure PVE gear, a good team will notice is and either focus on you immediately or do a quick focus switch + burst which your team won't be prepared for and you'll be a lot more vulnerable to.

I would do what everyone has said, 2p+2p, but I also want to point out that the next patch will bring healing sheilds, which will be a nice addition especially since they're relatively cheap.

We play with a warrior, rogue, druid, paladin and me. The rogue/druid are stealthed, so of the visible 3 targets, I'm seen as the most "crunchy" and have been focus fired first in most of our games so far. Good teams will usually switch to our rogue, but many will just stick on me.

The healing shield is definitely an interesting idea, but I have a fairly high +stam PvE shield, so I think the base armor is probably a better investment for me right now. I'm thinking of going for two pieces of S2 armor, then start saving for 2 pieces of S3. I'll hopefully have enough honor points by then that even if I'm not able to buy both right away, I can at least pick up a piece or two of S1 to cover until then.

Which pieces of Season 1 should a resto shaman have, for the least amount of stat-loss for resilience gain? I already have the Season 2 elemental gloves (just recently respec'd to resto), and I'm wondering what I should be spending my arena points on next.

I've been told by some that S1 shoulders/gloves has the least stat-loss, but obviously I'm going to keep the S2 gloves for the shock range bonus.

So, which resto pieces of Season 1 and which pieces of Season 2?

As I'm rolling up a Resto Shamadin ready for some arena, I took a look at this as it's been on my mind too.

Shaman Gladiator Gear Comparison Spreadsheet at FileFront

I've knocked up a quick Excel spreadsheet for comparative purposes, which you should find a FileFront link to above, as I'm not permitted to attach it. In all, it compares the following:

• Stat differences between the Season 2 (S2) Resto set, and both the S1 Resto and S2 Elemental sets;
  
• Expanded breakdown of the differences between S2 Resto, and both S1 Resto and S2 Elemental on an item-by-item basis;
  
• With the above, a rudimentary comparison of item values (based on the system displayed at WoWWiki. I may have butchered the maths behind it completely, so feel free to correct me);
  
• Comparison of viable combinations of the Gladiator sets.

The spreadsheet is based on the following assumptions:

• Any combination of the sets will include the S2 Elemental gloves, due to the Shock range bonus of awesomeness;
  
• The higher the total item value of a particular combination of sets, the better it is. My conclusion is based upon this assumption;
  
• All stat values are weighted evenly, i.e. spell damage is just as valuable as healing. Note that at the top of the two comparison sheets, I have assigned a 'Weighting' value for each stat value. You can modify those at your leisure;
  
• For the purposes of comparing stat values, I have listed spell damage as +dmg alone, without listing the healing bonus you get with it. Please note that if you are comparing the amount of healing bonus a set combination gives you, to include the spell power in this figure too.

Conclusions drawn from the spreadsheet

With all stat values equal:

If you are mixing Season 1and 2 Resto sets, the best combination is Season 1 Chest and Shoulders, and Season 2 Head and Legs.

If you can afford the arena points, the best combination is actually S2 Resto Head and Legs, then either S2 Resto Shoulders and S2 Elemental Chest, or vice versa, i.e. 3-piece S2 Resto, 2-piece S2 Elemental.

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Ignoring the offensive value of spell power, and only counting its healing bonus (changed spell damage's item value (0.855) to equal that of spell healing's (0.455):

The same result for mixing S1 and S2 Resto sets applies - S1 Chest and Shoulders, S2 Head and Legs.

S2 Resto Head Legs and Chest, and S2 Elemental Shoulders and Hands wins out overall, although obviously the combination costs more arena points.

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If you completely devalue spell crit, mp5 or both, the mix of S2 Resto and Elemental Gear still wins out.

Addendum
I've checked over my own work and it appears to be sound, however it is early monday morning and so forth. If anyone finds any discrepancies or problems with my work, or wants me to explain my reasoning or calculations, please do speak up, as at the very least I will be using these conclusions to select my own gear.

what the hell is a Shamadin