After years and years of only being DPS and healers in World of Warcraft Classic, Shamans can finally take on the role of a tank in Season of Discovery.
Tanking, in simple terms, means running ahead of your group and taking all aggro from enemy mobs while the DPS classes burn their health and your healer watches over your HP. The role is as old as WoW itself. In the past, Shamans have never had the opportunity to assume the role of a tank, but thanks to Runes and talent combinations they finally can.
So, here’s the answer to your question—are tank Shamans any good in WoW Classic Season of Discovery?
Is tank Shaman good in WoW SoD?
Yes, tank Shaman is viable in WoW Classic Season of Discovery, and I’d even go a step further and call them one of the best tanks in the game.
First and foremost, they have three Runes that enable their tanking—Shield Mastery, Way of Earth, and Molten Blast. Shield Mastery refunds your mana while you take the beating of your life, and it enables you to spam Molten Blast, an AoE ability that generates a lot of threats on multiple mobs. Finally, Way of Earth is your bread and butter as a tank Shaman since it turns your Earth Shock into a full-blown taunt and reduces the damage you take.
Generally speaking, tank Shamans don’t struggle at all with mana, especially because of the Shield Mastery Rune, and can easily spam Molten Blast off cooldown. Precisely because of that, they can hold AoE aggro without any problems. On top of that, tanking a single target is a breeze—open with Earth Shock and continue with the Molten Blast.
Tank Shamans take reduced damage thanks to the Way of the Earth Rune, and if you pair that with Enhancement talents like Shield Specialization, Guardian Totems, Anticipation, and Toughness, you become an indestructible tanking machine.
I’ve tried tanking as a Shaman myself and saw other players test it out, and it has been smooth sailing from start to finish. I’ve also been in healing shoes with a Shaman tank and really didn’t have any issues keeping them alive. I struggled more with a Druid tank who couldn’t keep his threat up.
How to build Shaman tank in WoW SoD
As I already mentioned, you need all three tanking Runes—Shield Mastery, Way of Earth, and Molten Blast. Then, I recommend you invest all your talent points into the Enhancement talent tree:
- Shield Specialization- 5/5
- Guardian Totems- 2/2
- Improved Lightning Shield- 3/3
- Anticipation- 5/5
- Toughness- 1/5
You can also play around with these talents, but this has worked for me in the past. You don’t have plenty of options at level 25, but this adds even more survivability to your kit.
How to tank as Shaman tank in WoW SoD
As a tank Shaman, you need to walk into mobs or you can pull with Lighting Bolt. Then, you need to spam Molten Blast off cooldown, and if you have any runaway mobs, just use Earth Shock on them. I don’t recommend spamming Earth Shock since it can OOM you quickly, and instead, you should try to Flame Shock on as many targets as you can. Flame Shock can reset the cooldown of your Molten Blast, your bread-and-butter ability.
