In the beginning, Blizzard said, "Let there be Chain Heal!"

When I first started writing for the site, there was a bumper crop of beginner posts aimed at people just starting out in their new chosen specialty; this came to be known as the aptly named 101 series. The first Restoration 101 dealt with the very basics of being a restoration shaman, talking about stats, gear, spec and even a little bit about why restoration shaman are made out of pure win. The series continued with a conversation about talents and glyphs, as well as a full breakdown of all the spells in our healing tool-kit. It was a good place to start and really helped lay the groundwork for the articles that came after.

From there, we started talking about gearing up and choosing your healing role. We even had a very lengthy discussion about the virtues of haste. In the beginning, that was one of my favorite pieces. It was great to see all the reader reactions to it and to hear your opinions on the topic. The relationship with restoration shaman and haste goes way back and is something that will likely be debated for a long time to come.

Those starting articles were a learning experience for me, as I got to know the readers and attempted to find my writing voice. I enjoyed every comment I got on those early posts and enjoyed every moment writing them.

Into the Icecrown Citadel!

Can you believe that it has been a year since we first stepped foot into Icecrown Citadel? People kept raiding it right until Cataclysm's release, so I guess it just feels a lot more recent than it actually is. It was a place I wound up spending most of my in-game time in for the better part of that year, and I know at least some of you did, too.

Our quest to topple Arthas officially started with storming the lower levels of the ice fortress. We ran in and bashed our way through all the way to Saurfang. We plagued the Plagueworks and stomped all over Putricide's lab coat, crushed the Crimson Halls and took the Blood Queen down from her high perch, and melted The Frostwing Halls, tearing the cold heart out of Sindragosa. The entire time, restoration shaman made a strong showing through each of the encounters. Chain Heal, Riptide, Earth Shield and both Lesser Healing Wave and Healing Wave were made the healing all-stars in many of the fights. I heard many stories about restoration shaman saving the day and staving off a wipe.

Unlike Ulduar, where restoration shaman encountered a number of problems, Icecrown saw preferred use of us in just about every fight. Healing the zone was fun, and it was definitely an uplifiting experience for shaman healers in most cases. Top it off with some very good-looking tier 10 gear that was likely the best-looking gear in the expansion, and it was time well spent.

Preparing for Cataclysm

The vast majority of the year, though, was spent preparing for the inevitable release of Cataclysm. It all started with the announcement of the changing talent trees before the release of the expansion. When we talked about it, the general mood was positive about almost all of the changes, and we seemed to fare much better than the other classes then. As time went on, we started looking more at the talent specializations and what they meant for us at the time. Throughout the beta as information became available, people started getting excited again about restoration shaman healing. Even with the additions of some seemingly oddball talents like Telluric Currents and Focused Insight, speculation and expectations were high as people started to plan their new talent specs.

Shortly after talents were pretty much set, I was able to get some quality time in with Spiritwalker's Grace and Healing Rain. At the time, these two were a bit of a mystery to a lot of folks, but after spending some time with them, I think they have become something almost every restoration shaman is happy to have. At the time, these wild and crazy new spells were much talked about -- everything from their actual usefulness to whether or not we need them came into question.

Sadly, though, the inclusion of a finished talent set and our new spells marked the death of the long-anticipated Spirit Link. The spell made its debut back in the beta for Wrath of the Lich King but was removed for balancing issues. In the end, it was decided that we would have to fill the emptiness left behind with our new abilities in Cataclysm. I know I was not alone in the sadness of this realization, but I think by now, we've all accepted it and moved on.

Topics of conversation surrounding Cataclysm were kept strong with everything from how easy it was to level as restoration, how mastery would affect us in the long run, how our stats and spellpower coefficients looked at level 85, and the state of our alchemical consumables in the upcoming expansion. This all led up to the new Restoration Shaman 101 for Cataclysm.

Looking to the future

Now that Cataclysm is here, we've already discussed the various gear you can get from the new reputations, as well as healing the Throne of Tides and Blackrock Caverns. I'm looking forward to completing the tip sheets for the other dungeons and heroics and getting started on The Bastion of Twilight, Blackwing Descent, and the Throne of the Four Winds. In no time, we'll be taking down Nefarian, Al'Akir, and Cho'gall.

All of this is, of course, on the way to engage Deathwing himself for the survival of all Azeroth. I predict it's going to be another great and fun-filled year of restoration shaman goodness, and I can't wait.

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Totem Talk: Restoration will show you the basics of endgame resto shaman play as well as how to find the expansion's best reputation gear for resto shaman and tips for easier leveling. Happy healing, and may your mana be plentiful!

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Filed under: Shaman, (Shaman) Totem Talk