WotLK PvP - Shaman or Priest?

[-Notorious-]

See we cant actually talk serious while you dont play any of that classes.So you actually telling me that spriests can better kite,can do better dmg while no one is on them,can better peel?Did you forgot about ghost wolf form that elementals have,earthbind,thunderstorm which are by far better kiting solutions then any spriest has!IWhen you are talking about something atleast be objective and research before you making any statement.Saying that elementals cant compare to spriest in LK is one of the worst statements i heard from someone.Now lemme explain once more.Leaving elemental shaman free casting means blowing defensive cd-s in no time,elemental prolly has best kiting tools in game,also utilities that elem. has its increasing your whole team damage/healing,windshear/grounds vs casters.For the end i was thinking on 3s arenas which is actually most important and competive part of arenas...Saying that elemental is joke in arenas is clueless.Cheers!

First let me preface the following saying I only talk about 2v2, as I assumed that's what OP asked about.

Actually, as someone that plays neither class, I can give you an unbiased opinion. Besides, using your logic, as you haven't played spriest, you would not be able to talk about them either.

Ignoring this logical fallacy, let's move onto a proper debate as to which is superior. Elementals can kite better, you are right. However, once an elemental is stunned, he is a sitting duck. Other than stoneclaw and thunderstorm, you are heavily reliant on slows. This is not ideal, as a) it leaves you extremely vulnerable to ranged classes (such as hunters), and b) leaves you vulnerable to classes with strong gap closers (warriors/rogues/dk's etc.). Everyone with decent playing experience knows that you cannot let an elemental free cast, so you can certainly expect to be trained in every match.

What does this mean? It means that the elemental is usually playing defensively from the start, using slows, totems, thunderstorm just to survive. You may get a flame shock off if you're quick enough before getting trained hard.

Now let's compare this to a priest. A priest will certainly pull a DP off to get their procs rolling. He also has SW:P on instant to get 2 dots on the go. If the priest gets rushed, he has a fear to drop the melee. If that fails he also has a disarm/horror ready. Assuming EVERYTHING has failed mystically, he still has a dispersion on the fly. Along with this, spriests have an instant bubble.

I never said elemental's are a joke in arenas, I said they are a joke to me as a hunter, and I totally stand by that, as elemental teams have been responsible for large rating gains for me :)

Now with all of that done, if you still think elementals are stronger than spriests in 2v2, you're welcome to your opinion. I personally detest spriests, and hate fighting against them. Statistics also speak on my side, as it is pretty well known how dominant spriests are in 2v2.

@OP: What you should really consider is which class you will find more fun. Due to spriests mechanics, they certainly are an easier class to master. However, this just means that elementals may provide you with a challenge that you will enjoy more. Elementals have possibly the greatest burst in game, and it can be very fun dropping enemies left and right in a BG. You can try both specs in a BG on the Blackrock realm to get a feel before making one a main.

[toniplavna]

Well you are hunter=sitting duck for s priest :D

[-Notorious-]

Well you are hunter=sitting duck for s priest :D

Ehh, I still think its a more even matchup than most people let on. I think the reality is that Spriests are just overall an excellent class in 3.3.5, and can face off even against classes than have silences and target drops, even though caster specs are supposed to struggle against such classes.

However, I can't really think of any 1v1 situation where an elemental would outshine an spriest. Possibly against mages, but even that is a long shot. In a 2v2 environment, I spriest/rogue is one of the strongest compositions in the game, let alone being better than any composition with an elemental in it...

In BGs and 3s, I think elemental's can certainly go head to head. Heroism in 3s is REALLY strong, and that deserves special recognition :P

[NigelFarage]

And his GCD hack, yeah.
But now DP doesn't crit.

You mean IDP, and it's been fixed supposedly.

[Soundgarden]

Both are good.Spriest is more presented in 2s enviroment while ele. is much more presented in 3s ladder which is more important in the end.

[toniplavna]

Both are good.Spriest is more presented in 2s enviroment while ele. is much more presented in 3s ladder which is more important in the end.

Not on the private server.

[NigelFarage]

Both are good.Spriest is more presented in 2s enviroment while ele. is much more presented in 3s ladder which is more important in the end.

Nobody plays 3s

[Moneyfornothing]

First let me preface the following saying I only talk about 2v2, as I assumed that's what OP asked about.

Actually, as someone that plays neither class, I can give you an unbiased opinion. Besides, using your logic, as you haven't played spriest, you would not be able to talk about them either.

Ignoring this logical fallacy, let's move onto a proper debate as to which is superior. Elementals can kite better, you are right. However, once an elemental is stunned, he is a sitting duck. Other than stoneclaw and thunderstorm, you are heavily reliant on slows. This is not ideal, as a) it leaves you extremely vulnerable to ranged classes (such as hunters), and b) leaves you vulnerable to classes with strong gap closers (warriors/rogues/dk's etc.). Everyone with decent playing experience knows that you cannot let an elemental free cast, so you can certainly expect to be trained in every match.

What does this mean? It means that the elemental is usually playing defensively from the start, using slows, totems, thunderstorm just to survive. You may get a flame shock off if you're quick enough before getting trained hard.

Now let's compare this to a priest. A priest will certainly pull a DP off to get their procs rolling. He also has SW:P on instant to get 2 dots on the go. If the priest gets rushed, he has a fear to drop the melee. If that fails he also has a disarm/horror ready. Assuming EVERYTHING has failed mystically, he still has a dispersion on the fly. Along with this, spriests have an instant bubble.

I never said elemental's are a joke in arenas, I said they are a joke to me as a hunter, and I totally stand by that, as elemental teams have been responsible for large rating gains for me :)

Now with all of that done, if you still think elementals are stronger than spriests in 2v2, you're welcome to your opinion. I personally detest spriests, and hate fighting against them. Statistics also speak on my side, as it is pretty well known how dominant spriests are in 2v2.

@OP: What you should really consider is which class you will find more fun. Due to spriests mechanics, they certainly are an easier class to master. However, this just means that elementals may provide you with a challenge that you will enjoy more. Elementals have possibly the greatest burst in game, and it can be very fun dropping enemies left and right in a BG. You can try both specs in a BG on the Blackrock realm to get a feel before making one a main.

Lemme say few words for the end.First of all i wasnt talking about 2s ladder.Second in 3s enviroment which is more competitive and balanced ladder ele. is by far more represented then shadow priest is and is viable in more"high end" comps.Feel free to tell me otherwise!Cheers!

[Soundgarden]

Not on the private server.

Hmm ,then blackrock ladder was showing something else or? :)

[toniplavna]

3s should be only which are balanced (as I heard ...) but nobody play 3s. Its probably cuz low population of private servers. And yes S priests are better. Over the years I saw lot of rogue+oriest combos in the top. But not ele.

[whoohoo]

Ele is good, but has serious issues. Ele has besides thunderstormknockback, root, kick, one low absorb and hardcastheal no defensives. Once an ele is in a stunlock he cant do much. Additionaly he has to hardcast damage too. A sp can spam dp for constant burstdmg without real punishment exept mana. The instant fear and horrify/disarm are more effective than a castable cc with longer cooldown. Dispersion is a good defensive cd, which the ele is lacking. The eles strengh is his high burst combo and utility in form of bloodlust, totem and healspam. An ele is good in many 3v3 combos since he has the backup there, but is good for only some 2v2 combs, while sp can be combined with nearly every class. The dispel of the sp makes him more solid for many combs.
Its up to you. Ele is good for bgs and seen more often in 3v3, but sp has more utility and better defensives and is much harder to counter. Both are quite easy to play casters, so its up to you what you prefer.