[loramin]

I think a huge part of the disconnect here is that Shaman solo differently at different levels. At level 1 every class tanks, and at level 60 (with Torpor) Shaman again do lots of tanking. But in-between?

For large, pivotal chunks of our leveling we can tank, but it's generally a bad idea (though it does vary by mob and your exact level). In general stuff just hits for too much damage if you tank, even with slow, and it takes too much mana to heal that damage. We root/rot instead to avoid that damage.

So Shaman aren't just one thing, and I think that explains the different responses here. From start to finish we're capable of tanking, but at the same time face-tanking is an inefficient way to level for many levels. That makes Shaman perfect for this dungeon crawl idea in a way, but also a poor choice if you really want to face tank the whole time.