Battle Shaman

[Velerin]

Just thought I'd share my findings on my shammy melee style, particularly for that awkward lvl 29-34 range. I know eventually melee isn't worth it but I wonder if some people give it up too fast.
A lot of guides say root rot all the way and melee isn't worth it but I've found meleeing is still the way to go, especially if you pick your battles well. The biggest issue is targeting low blues compared to high blues. (I've got pretty good gear but far from super twink GFG, fbss, iksar bp, banded/totemic mix, focus on AC and hp, very little wisdom.)
I pull with walking sleep 25% slow (lvl 29 spell is double mana for just a little more slow?) and just melee them down and if its a low db they usually don't even outdamage my regen (sometimes I canni during fight) There is a huge difference though if I target a high db (say centaur courser/charger rather than centaur archer) and then I have to root-rot to be efficient.
I also found a great use for the lvl 29 charm. The level range is quite low so it's not very good for traditional charming like with druids but I'll charm a green and it'll last usually full duration (an elephant in SK or a kodiak in Rathe). They won't tank well but if I'm meleeing they add some nice damage over time. 70 mana for possibly 10 minutes of fighting (Kodiaks hit for 32) compared to casting a poison dot for 100 mana per mob that does 27/tick.