Ragnaros and No Shamans

Paragon downed Heroic Ragnaros without any shamans and whether or not it really matters, it got people talking. As all of the hubaloo seemed to be about why they didn't take a *resto* shaman, I don't really feel I have anything constructive to add. I think Jadiera of Totem Forest covered it very well.

Nevertheless...it got me thinking. My guild is working on regular Ragnaros right now. At first I kind of thought, "well no wonder there aren't any shamans, we can't add much to this fight." We don't have any fall mitigation to take magma traps with. We only have slows, not stuns, which don't work on the transition adds. Our AOE is dismal and won't work well on the phase 2 adds. All we do is normal damage.

Then I realized two things. 1) I needed to stop whining. 2) We have plenty of abilities to help.

Sure I can't stun the adds during the transitions, but  I can drop magma totem near his hammer. It's saved my butt a couple times damaging the adds just enough to slow them while I was over dpsing another. During phase 2, ghost wolf is amazing. I can switch sides faster than almost anyone and drop my totems, signaling to others where to stack.

This isn't supposed to be a guide on "how-to" Ragnaros (I'll save that for when I actually down him), but it reminds me to keep things in perspective. Just because one group decided shamans won't work for them doesn't mean you should dismiss what your class can do. Sure it may not be the most optimal - where optimal means most streamlined - but it can work, and work well. Especially if the player behind the shaman thinks outside the box and finds those slightly wonky but just as useful solutions.

On an almost entirely unrelated note, one of my friends mentioned this the other night and now I cannot forget it. Ragnaros, I will never look at you the same again.

The longer you stare...the more it makes sense...