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For lore of the class, see shaman. For lore of this class/race combination, see shaman races#Orc shaman.
Shaman
Race Orc
Faction Orcish Horde
Statistics
Hit points 350
Hit point regeneration Always
Hit point regeneration rate 0.25 HP/sec.
Mana 200 (Initial 75)
Mana Regeneration rate 0.72 Mana/sec.
Unit Classified As Ground
Level 2
Gold 130 Gold
Lumber 20 Lumber
Food 2 Food
Produced at Spirit Lodge
Build time 30 sec.
Attacking priority 8
Hotkey S
Collision Size 1.6
Combat
Weapon(s) Storm Claw
Normal attack 10-11 (10.5 avg)
Can attack Ground, Structure, Debris, Air, Item, Ward
Range 60
Attack type Magic
Cooldown 2.10 sec.
Weapon type Missile
Armor Type Unarmored
Armor 0
Day Sight 140
Night Sight 80
Movement Speed Average (270)
Turn Rate 0.60
Sound
Sound Set Shaman
WC3RoC-logo
This article contains lore taken from Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, the manuals, and/or official bonus maps.

Under the leadership of Thrall, the Orcs have rediscovered their ancient Shamanistic traditions. In an attempt to rid the Horde of its demonic corruption, Thrall banned the use of Warlock magic and necromancy. Now, all Orc magic users practice Shaman magic which draws its power from the natural world and the elements.

Information[]

The Orc Shaman is one of the most powerful spellcasters besides the High elf Sorceress. The Shaman is powerful because of his Bloodlust ability mainly. Shamans can Bloodlust any friendly organic unit, including allied units, Orc units, and themselves. They cannot Bloodlust mechanical or magic-immune units like Demolishers and Dryads. You can further enhance this damage with Heroes and a Kodo Beast. Shamans can also slow escaping enemy units with Purge and wreak havoc with Lightning Shield on shadowmelded or tightly packed groups of enemy units. There are several methods of using Shamans. Many players build Grunts then work up to Shamans and use the two together. Shamans are also good when used with Wind Riders, or with Tauren, or with both. As the Orcs get the Shaman magics, the use of Warlock necromancy goes to the Undead Necromancer.

Remember to research Adept and Master Training. Besides just giving extra spells, these upgrades also increase mana capacity and mana regeneration, which is exactly what you want on spell casting units.

Spells and abilities[]

Purge[]

BTNPurge
Removes all buffs from a target unit. Enemy units are also immobilized for 3 seconds and their movement speed is reduced by a factor of 5; they will slowly regain their movement speed over 15 seconds. Deals 400 damage to summoned units.
Duration (Hero) Cooldown Mana Cost Range Allowed Targets Effect
Slow: 15 (5) sec.
Immobilization: 3 (1) sec.
1 sec. 65 70 Air, Ground, Ward, Vulnerable, Invulnerable, Tree Spells removed, Movement Speed slowed, 400 damage to summoned units

Purge is useful for removing enemy spell effects. An example would be enemy Sorceresses Polymorphing your units. However in team battles, Night Elf players with Dryads should fill this role instead.

However, Purge is also effective at grabbing fleeing units, as it temporarily paralyzes them.

Lightning Shield[]

BTNLightningShield
Forms a shield of electricity around a target unit, dealing 20 damage per second to units around it. Lasts 20 seconds.
Duration Cooldown Mana Cost Range Area of Effect Allowed Targets Effect Requirements
20 sec. 3 sec. 100 60 16 Ground, Friend, Enemy, Neutral 20 damage/sec. Shaman Adept Training

Notes: The unit with Lighting Shield deals damage to surrounding units, but the caster of Lighting Shield is considered the killer for kills caused by the Lighting Shield.

Lightning Shield is useful for casting on groups of tightly packed enemy units. Cast Lightning Shield on ranged units, as using it on melee units will result in your own units being damaged too. If the player isn't careful, then their units will die to the shield's effects.

You can also cast this on your own units but be warned that good enemy players typically run away until it wears off.

Lightning Shield Counters

Select the unit with Lightning Shield on it and run it away from other units to prevent the Lightning Shield from hurting them. Use the Lightning Shield against the enemy, move a unit with Lightning Shield next to enemy units.

It deals no damage if the targeted unit turns invisible.

Bloodlust (Autocast)[]

BTNBloodLustOff
Increases a friendly unit's attack rate by 40% and movement speed by 25%.
Duration Cooldown Mana Cost Range Allowed Targets Effect Requirements
60 sec. 1 sec. 35 60 Air, Ground, Friend, Organic, Self Attack Rate +40%, Movement Speed +25% Shaman Master Training

Like in Warcraft II, Bloodlust is one of the uber spells in the game, especially in team battles. Orc players, regardless of however they build, should always bring in multiple Shamans so they can Bloodlust as many allied units as they can before running out of mana. Bloodlust is a weaker version of the Necromancer's Unholy Frenzy when it comes to attack speed (40% to 75%), but does not drain health and also increases the movement speed of units under it. Visually in-game, units affected by Bloodlust pulse with red energy and are larger.

Bloodlust stacks with Unholy Frenzy, essentially giving the unit a 115% attack speed increase during their duration.

It's best to turn off the autocasting of Bloodlust when you don't need it. That way Shamans can cast whatever is needed during a heavy battle.

Bloodlust Counters

Dispel, or use Spell Breakers to steal Bloodlust.

Upgrades[]

BTNShamanAdept
Shaman Adept Training
Increases mana capacity by 100, mana regeneration rate by 30%, hit points by 40, and gives Shamans the ability to cast Lightning Shield.
Research Cost Researched At Upgrade Time Effect
100 Gold 50 Lumber Spirit Lodge 60 sec. Hit Points: 390
Mana: 300 (Initial 112.5)
Mana Regen Rate: 1.04 Mana/sec.
Spell Learned: Lighting Shield
BTNShamanMaster
Shaman Master Training
Further increases mana capacity by 100, mana regeneration rate by 30%, hit points by 40, and gives Shamans the ability to cast Bloodlust.
Research Cost Researched At Requirements Upgrade Time Effect
100 Gold 150 Lumber Spirit Lodge Shaman Adept Training, Fortress 75 sec. Hit Points: 430
Mana: 400 (Initial 150)
Mana Regen Rate: 1.36 Mana/sec.
Spell Learned: Bloodlust
BTNPackBeast
Backpack
Gives the ability to carry up to two items. Items carried by the unit will be dropped upon death.
Units can not use or gain benefits of items that they carry.
Research Cost Researched At Requires Upgrade Time
50 Gold 25 Lumber Townhall-type Structure Player-built Shop 20 sec.

Manual description[]

The description start as the one of Battle.net, but differs at the end:

Now, all orc magic users practice shaman magic that draws its power from the natural world and the elements of the earth. Powerful shamans can call lightning from the sky and rouse the earth itself to devour legions of their enemies.

World Editor description[]

Primary spellcaster. Can initially cast Purge, which dispels magical buffs and can immobilize enemies. Can also learn Lightning Shield and Bloodlust.

Quotes[]

Gallery[]

Patch changes[]

  • WC3tFT-logo Patch 1.15 (2004-05-10): Bloodlust cooldown increased to 1 from 0.
  • WC3tFT-logo Patch 1.10 (2003-07-03):
    • Reign of Chaos
      • Lightning Shield range increased to 600 from 500.
    • The Frozen Throne
      • Purge has been improved. It no longer slows friendly units when used on them, and it causes enemies to stop for a brief moment when first cast (in addition to slowing them later).
  • WC3RoC-logo Patch 1.06 (2003-06-03):
    • Most spellcasters (Sorceress, Priest, Shaman, Witch Doctor, Necromancer, Banshee, Druid of the Talon) have been re-balanced. In general, units with piercing damage rip up spellcasters, while basic melee units, such as Ghouls or Footmen, are weak against spellcasters. The specific changes to the units in question are:
      • They have a new armor type, unarmored, which takes bonus damage from siege and piercing attacks.
      • They also have a new damage type, magic, which does reduced damage to fortified and hero armor, but does bonus damage against medium armor.
      • They had their damage adjusted, typically downwards.
      • They no longer gain damage as they go up in level, and gain less hitpoints as they go up in level (but start with more hitpoints when initially built)
      • Many autocast buffs and debuff costs reduced.
      • Casters, including Dryads, have had their mana regeneration rates boosted by 30%.
    • Bloodlust cost reduced from 50 mana to 40 mana.
  • WC3RoC-logo Patch 1.03 (2002-10-09): Shaman's attack is far less powerful. They attack somewhat more slowly (2.10 sec., up from 1.90 sec.), and also do 11-12 damage, down from 14-16 damage.
  • WC3RoC-logo Patch 1.01 (2002-07-05):
    • Attack damage decreased to 14-16, from 15-17.
    • Lightning Shield cooldown increased to 3 from 0.
    • Purge cooldown increased to 1 from 0.
    • Bloodlust attack rate bonus decreased from 50% to 40%.

External links[]

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