Kick in the Waaagh!: This Fetid Squigmeat is JUST Right!

For those who are reading this post for the first time, welcome to “Kick in the Waaagh!”, a weekly article dealing with Warhammer Online from the eyes of the Goblin Shaman career.

I intend to cover all sorts of topics as they apply to the Shaman: RvR, path builds, patch changes, PvE, and even crafting.  We’ll examine ways to tweak your play and your setup each week to make sure that you are getting the most bang for your Waaagh!, but most importantly we will remember that this is a game, and we are here to have fun.

This column is not written from the experiences of a 40/80 Rank Shaman, but someday that may change.  For now, I am playing my Shaman, and as I break down how best to make use of my little Greenskin Ball o’ Waaagh!, I will share that information.  If you ever have a question you would like to see answered or a suggestion for a topic you would like see covered, then by all means drop me a line.

When I was approached with the opportunity to join the Hammer of War Online team, I would say that it is safe to say I jumped at said chance.  After discussing with Joey what column would be of added value to the site, the idea of a career-based article was discussed, and that decision was finalized.  So the only thing left to me was…which career?

The Road to Waaagh!

I knew that I definitely didn’t want to play Shaman; the Waaagh system seemed like it was designed for only the most perfect players: need to DPS to heal excellently, need to heal to DPS excellently.  Seemed simple on the outside, but what about in a group? Would I spend too much time DPSing to keep Mork’s Waaagh! up and see a group member die?  Would I not DPS enough and see a group member die because I hadn’t built up enough of Mork’s Waaagh!?  Shaman was right out the door, no way I was playing that career.

After discussing what I liked about my previous character and what I was looking for in a character, a friend who had been playing since Closed Beta told me, “You want to play a Shaman. It has everything you want, nothing you don’t.” I dismissed his words and rolled up a Magus. I found the career okay in PvE but pretty underwhelming in RvR.  That was okay; I didn’t have to get it right the first time. I’ll roll a Squig Herder!  Squig Herder it was, and while running around and plinking was fun, I felt like something was missing.  No worries; third time’s the charm, right?

And so you can imagine my weekend, trying out every Destruction career (save Shaman) only to log off that character and create the next in line moments later.  Finally, my friend offered me $10 to play a Shaman. It was a simple offer: if I didn’t absolutely love the Shaman, I would be $10 richer.

He did not have to hand me $10. In fact, the enjoyment I found playing Shaman should have caused me to pay him.  It was the same feeling I had found with my other “Main Characters” in other MMOs. From Defender to Druid, I always knew when the class and I just *clicked*, and this was my WAR click.  So with that, how about we end the rambling and get to some tips to help the very young Shaman or those who are thinking about rolling one.

5 Things You Should Know About the Goblin Shaman

1. Healing spells build up Gork’s Waaagh, which is used by damage spells to either increase effectiveness or reduce cast time.  Damage spells build up Mork’s Waaagh, which is used by Healing spells to either increase effectiveness or reduce cast time.  When using a spell which consumes your Waaagh (a damage spell after a healing spell or vice-versa), the spell which consumes Waaagh will not build Waaagh of its own on that cast.
2. Waaagh is as awesome as it sounds.  Where my misconception was that it was necessary to be effective, that is completely incorrect.  Waaagh does not make the Shaman effective; it makes the Shaman incredible.  Your healing and damage spells are definitely acceptable without the influence of Waaagh, so don’t sweat the Waaagh; relish in it.
3. Ey, Quit Bleedin’ is a Waaagh battery.  I tend to cast it when I am running around, wait for my AP to regen, cast it again, rinse, recycle, repeat.  This allows me to open my next fight (either against a monster or player) with a fully Waaagh’ed out damage effect.
4. Bleed for Me consumes Mork’s Waaagh but does both damage and healing.  That makes it a great skill to use when you have built up Mork’s Waaagh to 5 but need to keep healing. It allows you to take advantage of that Waaagh while benefiting your defensive target with health.
5. Goblins are small.  If you are playing RvR, hiding in a bush, wagon, behind barrels, etc. may be the difference between being targeted first followed by focus fire and living through the fight.  Never underestimate your size when there are so many wonderful things to hide behind!

Looking Forward

From here on out you will see at least one new Kick in the Waaagh! Article per week, and as the following weeks come, you can expect more nitty-gritty Shaman information now that the introduction of the author and explanation of how I came to play Shaman is out of the way.