Every week, WoW Insider brings you Totem Talk for elemental, enhancement and restoration shaman. Want to be a sultan of swing healing? A champion of Chain Heal? Totem Talk: Restoration, brought to you by Joe Perez (otherwise known as Lodur from World of Matticus and co-host of the For the Lore and Raid Warning podcasts), shows you how.

Hard to believe that another year has come and gone, isn't it? It seems like only yesterday we were waiting in line for the Cataclysm to drop. Now we're at the end of the expansion, complete with the last raid tier and a battle for the survival of Azeroth against the aspect of death himself. But the new year has come, and it's a perfect time to look back on a rather full year of activity while we eagerly await the release of Mists of Pandaria.

Tier 11: A slice of heaven

The release of Cataclysm was something that was eagerly anticipated by a rather large number of players -- new talent trees, new spells and abilities, and a ton of new content. After making our way through the various dungeons and heroics, we set foot into the first tier of raid content for the expansion only to find out that we were pretty awesome. Using our new tools and tricks, we were able to destroy and outclass a lot of fights. Heroic Chimaeron was a perfect example of a fight in which restoration shaman just destroyed the competition and were heroes of a higher healing caliber.

Tier 11 gave us a lot of opportunity to make use of our brand new mastery, Deep Healing, and not just use it but let it shine. Many of the boss fights had mechanics that would bring a large number of the raid members' health down to very low totals, allowing our Healing Rain and Earthliving Weapon proc to explode onto the scene. Magmaw, Chimaeron, and Halfus all had a ton of damage to heal through and really let us pour on the healing juice.

Blizzard's run of short stories continues not with another highlighted leader but with an event: the release of patch 4.3. Charge of the Aspects picks up on the slopes of Hyjal, where the Cenarion Circle and Earthen Ring seek to heal the earth after Ragnaros' defeat. Though Ragnaros has fallen, something must be done to put an end to Deathwing's reign of terror and to prevent the horrors of the Hour of Twilight that threatens us all. The story highlights the Aspect's decision to use the Dragon Soul against Deathwing and where Thrall fits into the plan.

The story was written by Matt Burns, the author who gave us the excellent leader short story The Council of the Three Hammers: Fire and Iron earlier this year. Council was a well-written and gripping tale, and Charge of the Aspects follows in its footsteps. In particular, the plight of Nozdormu as he struggles with his duty and the grim nature of his fate is fascinating. The story also gives us a brief glimpse into the mind of a maddened Deathwing and just what he thinks of the Titans' charge.

Check out the story on the official site. If you have any questions about the new heroics or how they came to pass, this sets them up quite nicely.

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Brace yourselves for what could be some of most exciting updates to the game recently with patch 4.3. Review the official patch notes, and then dig into what's ahead: new item storage options, cross-realm raiding, cosmetic armor skinning and your chance to battle the mighty Deathwing -- from astride his back!

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