Should I Shaman?

Hello!
I have been wondering should I roll a shaman or a Pally for a while. So far I've only played a priest till 70, and I liked the healing, but not the DPS spec.
I am thinking about rolling a shaman or Pally so I can dps/heal, and with pally I can even try tanking maybe... I love the lore of both classes, being a knight of the holy light or a Master of the Elements (Green Jesus I <3 you) and I can't really make myself pick. I am, although, intimidated by the huge amount of paladins currently on the server, and that makes me scared to roll one, especially because I might not be as good.
What do you people think? Is there enough demand for shamans/paladins, what would be more fun in terms of healing? Or should I go Pally for the option to tank?

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Originally Posted by NightBoss99

Hello!
I have been wondering should I roll a shaman or a Pally for a while. So far I've only played a priest till 70, and I liked the healing, but not the DPS spec.
I am thinking about rolling a shaman or Pally so I can dps/heal, and with pally I can even try tanking maybe... I love the lore of both classes, being a knight of the holy light or a Master of the Elements (Green Jesus I <3 you) and I can't really make myself pick. I am, although, intimidated by the huge amount of paladins currently on the server, and that makes me scared to roll one, especially because I might not be as good.
What do you people think? Is there enough demand for shamans/paladins, what would be more fun in terms of healing? Or should I go Pally for the option to tank?

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It's true that there are a lot of paladins but that shouldn't deter you from playing one if you wanted to. Both paladins and shamans are capable of high burst healing. As far as I know in the PvE scene, Protection Paladins are extremely useful tanks; possibly the best class to tank with as they have ardent defender and tonnes of defensives. Both classes are essential to raids, paladins having their nice buffs and shamans with their totems and heroism/bloodlust. You should probably have a look at Blackrock and make a level 80 there and skim through the talents and abilities that each class has and see what suits you.

Paladins tend to have more cooldowns than shamans which prove to be very useful in certain situations.
Regarding DPS, you don't see shamans very often in the top 5 dps; they're usually there as a support class with their totems, thunderstorm, heroism/bloodlust however just because you won't be top as shaman doesn't mean you shouldnt play it.

Both are alot of fun but if i were to pick one over the other I would pick a paladin because of their utility and flexibility to dps/heal or tank. That's probably one of the reasons why there are so many in the first place; they're just that good.

Thank you! I'm a bit interested in tanking, since I've never done it before. I might go for pally and make a shaman later, not sure yet. If I go pally I'll have to level as Retri, but would I still be able to tank in dungeons? As for shammy, What do I level one on? Will I be a healer in dungeons or do I have to wait for dual spec?

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Originally Posted by NightBoss99

Thank you! I'm a bit interested in tanking, since I've never done it before. I might go for pally and make a shaman later, not sure yet. If I go pally I'll have to level as Retri, but would I still be able to tank in dungeons? As for shammy, What do I level one on? Will I be a healer in dungeons or do I have to wait for dual spec?

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Gearing up a paladin is usually better to start with ret or holy and roll on gear as you go because you will not be able to tank very well with insufficient gear. As you gradually obtain gear you'll probably be free to do what you like however its best to pick one or two specs as mainspec/offspec as no raids are going to let you roll on gear for all 3 specs.

You level a shaman with enhancement. Since your DPS isn't super high some raids can afford to have you as elemental because you provide totems and heroism/bloodlust