Let that inner shaman shine!

Been playing lots of Warcraft lately. Started a new project in game - leveling a shaman. New guild, new people to talk with, new class to learn.

So now I've got Faeyer, a level 40 tauren shaman. It's been so much fun I've practically stopped playing my other toons, only bringing them out of storage when I've needed to do something specific (like Brewfest) or when I've wanted an escape from leveling. I will admit though, the escapes haven't lasted long. "1 more level. 1 more quest. That's all I need for now."

One thing i love about the shaman class is the flexibility. Cast spells, melee attacks, healing... the whole gamut of actions are available whenever you want. I've gone down the enhancement tree, giving me great melee capabilities, though I will eventually get dual specialization so I can take healing as well.

Speaking of healing, I've never played a healer before, always sticking with a class that I wasn't heavily relied upon. Sure, my paladin is Protection spec, so I am considered a "tank", but whenever I took the lead in a dungeon I made sure I had a great healer backing me up so there were never too many issues. But as a healer people are relying on me to keep them alive - scary in my opinion.

Now I do know it's a game, that if anyone dies it isn't the end of the world, but if I didn't try my hardest to stick to my role within the group why would I bother playing? Why play Need For Speed if you weren't there to win? Why play Call of Duty if you didn't want to shoot at people?? World of Warcraft has been slammed by many people, for whatever reason, but they all fail to realise that we play the game for a purpose. For some it is an escape from reality. Others like the sense of accomplishment that comes with end-game raiding or PvP. I personally like belonging to a group, helping other people in that group achieve their goals while achieving my own. I think that's why I am loving the shaman - or as I said in the title - letting my inner shaman shine. The shaman is mostly self-sufficient in a solo capacity. They can fill a number of roles within a group (even multiple roles within that same group). Their healing prowess puts them on the same level as a priest or a paladin in that respect, even better in some cases, but healing shamans seem to be a rarity in the current game.

That's where I want to be eventually, healing through Naxx, the Argent Tournament, perhaps even Icecrown Citadel in the future. Who knows?