Earth Shield

Earth Shield
Earth Shield (5 ranks) Shaman ability 40 yd range 15% of base mana global cooldown cooldown Instant Protects the target with an earthen shield, reducing casting or channeling time lost when damaged by 30% and causing attacks to heal the shielded target for X. This effect can only occur once every few seconds. 6 charges. Lasts 10 minutes. Earth Shield can only be placed on one target at a time and only one Elemental Shield can be active on a target at a time.
Properties
Class	Shaman
School	Nature
Cooldown	Global Cooldown
Talents
Talent tree	Restoration, Tier 9
Improvements	[Improved Earth Shield], [Improved Shields], [Purification], [Tidal Focus], [Tidal Mastery], [Thundering Strikes], [Blessing of the Eternals], [Healing Grace]
Related buff
Magic Earth Shield Reduces casting or channeling time lost when damaged by 30% and attacks heal the shielded target for X. Duration: 10 minutes

[[Category:shaman abilities]][[Category:shaman abilities]]

Earth Shield is a nature-based buff similar to [Prayer of Mending]. When getting attacked, it heals the buffed target. It can only proc every few seconds, and has six charges. It is available as a tier 9 talent in the Restoration tree.

Rank Table

Rank	Level	Healing per charge	Cost
1	50	150	Talent
2	60	205	15 30
3	70	270	22 50
4	75	300	90
5	80	337	90

Notes

Being an elemental shield, Earth Shield cannot be used at the same time as [Lightning Shield] or [Water Shield]. It is however possible to use Water Shield or Lightning Shield on yourself while Earth Shield is up on another target. The ten minute duration combined with the charges only triggering on damage means that Earth Shield can be cast on a target before pulling with no loss of effect. The cooldown between charges triggering is roughly three seconds.

Earth Shield has a fairly low base amount of healing done, but benefits greatly from your spell power (roughly 15% per charge) and gains up to +35% healing done from talents. The spell uses your spell power at the time you cast it for the full duration, including any temporary bonuses from trinkets and totems. The 30% reduction of spell pushback stacks with other similar bonuses such as Healing Focus, and together these two add up to a 100% reduction, completely eliminating spell pushback.

Talent improvement

• [Improved Earth Shield] increases the number of charges from six to eight, and increases the healing done by the spell by 10%. [Purification] increases the healing done by another 10%. [Improved Shields] increases the healing done by a further 15%.

• [Tidal Focus] reduces the mana cost by 5%.

• [Tidal Mastery] increases the critical effect chance of the spell by 5%. [Thundering Strikes] increases that by another 5%. [Blessing of the Eternals] adds a further 4%.

• [Healing Grace] reduces the threat caused by the spell by 15%, and gives a 30% chance for the buff to resist dispel mechanics.

Tips and Tactics

• In PvE, Earth Shield's primary use is as a highly mana efficient long-duration heal over time on the tank. It is by far your most mana efficient single target healing spell, and its reactive nature minimizes overhealing.

• You generally want to keep Earth Shield on the tank in group situations, although other occasions may call for it to be placed on a caster who is being interrupted, for example in Nightbane's airborne phases when healers get targeted, or if a Warlock or Mage or Moonkin is AOEing a pack of non-elites.

• Earth Shield is also great in PvP situations as it greatly increases the shaman's survivability.

• Keeping Earth Shield on yourself when you do not need the healing is inadvisable, as it cannot be used together with [Water Shield], thus causing you to lose out mana regeneration. Even when you are taking damage it is sometimes preferable to keep Earth Shield on someone else so that you can benefit from the extra mana from Water Shield, both the passive regeneration bonus and the mana granted by the orbs when you take damage.

Patch changes

• Patch 3.2.0 (2009-08-04): Dispel effects will now remove charges of Earth Shield rather than the entire aura.
  
• Patch 3.0.2 (2008-10-14): Earth Shield threat is now added to the healer. Previously the threat was added to the target being healed.
  
• Patch 2.4.0 (2008-03-25): Number of charges reduced from 10 to 6. Mana cost reduced by 50%.
  
• Patch 2.0.1 (2006-12-05): Added.
  

External links

• Wowhead
• WoWDB