Furiosa

Um. Assuming you're bringing a balanced group of healers (Shaman, Paladin, Disc Priest, Holy Priest and two Druids), you do not want your shaman raid healing. Gearing for crit / int and spellpower, glyphing for riptide / earth shield and lesser healing wave, shaman are now far better tank healers than they are raid healers.

A shaman tank healing can easily put out 4-4.5k effective healing per second over a full 10 minute fight, whereas that is simply not possible simply raid healing. Druids and priests top the raid far too quickly, and most of your heals will end up being overheals.

That's not to say Chain heal isn't a good spell, simply that it's situational now. If you want a shaman to perform at his best, have him tank heal with occasional riptides thrown at the raid.

They're not even going to get gladiator in 2v2 -_-; Might as well interview people in the 1800's. The #2 team on my BG is RShaman / RPally, and yet the players you interview are not even good enough to get gladiator.

Your boned on nagrand / ruins if your trying to get away from the pet, as a priest, granted your options are limited, but generally dot it up and deal with it, when the pet gets~half health and the opposing healer is busy with other things, just nuke it yourself, or get your dps to switch to it for a quick burn. Druids / Shaman have an easier time with this than most, but a priest / paladin can be just as effective. And a lock / hunter without their pet is pretty much boned.

I'd also add knowing when to turn offensive. Speaking as a shaman, a few well timed lightning bolts + shocks can win or lose a game, do it at the wrong time though, and you just lost a chunk of mana for no gain.

Sucks to be rockstar then.

this game looks so freaking awesome

I'm not a fan of the horror genre, but the backstory to this just makes me want to play it so damn much.

Miyamoto had no hand in the developement.

looks smexy, ill give it a go.

I play primarily an Elemental Shaman (plural is Shaman, not Shamans!) and for me the biggest setback is a complete lack of Anti-CC and no secondary nuke. Firing lightning bolts is great, but getting counter-spelled is not so great, and nature immune mobs (see earth/air elementals / hydross) are an absolute bitch to fight. Sure you can slam them with your 41 dps mace, but that gets you nowhere.

Also, just after getting 2ND in damage on Magtheridon, I'm now almost forced to spec Resto so I can raid with the guild in SSC. Hydross, the first boss, is nature immune, meaning any night I go in there I either have to blow 100g, or slam him wiht my mace. Fun fun.