Attacking Player or Planewalker

[Maxpayne03]

This haven't come across to me till I played with an old friend;
When I have 2 creatures that I declare them as attackers, my friend asked me who I am attacking before he decides which to block. Him or his planewalker? I always tot that I'm attacking him and if the damage goes thru, i can redirect to his planewalker. Am I wrong?

[Lyriczulu]

With creatures you declare whether you're attacking the player or a planeswalker. With direct damage spells you target a player and redirect damage if desired.

[Lyriczulu]

So if I have 3 planeswalkers on the field, my opponent has to declare which of his critters are attacking which of my planeswalkers or me, and then I get to block with all of the critters I have/want?

Pretty much

[Pirate John]

So if I have 3 planeswalkers on the field, my opponent has to declare which of his critters are attacking which of my planeswalkers or me, and then I get to block with all of the critters I have/want?

Yep.

Planeswalkers can be attacked. When you declare attacking creatures, you choose whether each one is attacking your opponent or a planeswalker that opponent controls. Your opponent can block as normal, regardless of what each creature is attacking. If a creature deals combat damage to a planeswalker, that many loyalty counters are removed from it.

Other sources can deal damage to planeswalkers. If a spell or ability you control would deal damage to an opponent, you may have it deal that damage to a planeswalker that opponent controls instead. So while you can't target a planeswalker with a Shock, you can have a Shock that targets your opponent deal 2 damage to one of his or her planeswalkers instead of to the player. You can't split the damage from one source between a player and a planeswalker. Damage dealt to a planeswalker results in that many loyalty counters being removed from it.

Copied from https://www.wizards.com/magic/tcg/article.aspx?x=magic/rules/planeswalkers

[Maxpayne03]

Thanks Pirate John.
So am I right to think that the 2nd ability of Deathrite shaman to cause the player to lose 2 life can be redirected to his planewalker?

[Agrus Kos, Enforcer of Truth]

Thanks Pirate John.
So am I right to think that the 2nd ability of Deathrite shaman to cause the player to lose 2 life can be redirected to his planewalker?

No, you can not drain a Planeswalker with {Deathrite Shaman}. Here is a quote from a MTG Rules Blog:

"Effects that state a player "loses life," though, aren't damage. They don't cause damage, and they don't get affected by anything that specifically cares about damage. Extort, for example, will bleed your opponent out right through a Security Blockade...but it also can't be redirected to a planeswalker. Because the word "damage" doesn't appear anywhere in the rules text of extort, it can't be redirected, even though all the other requirements (noncombat source affecting a player) are met."

Source: http://blogs.magicjudges.org/rulestips/2013/04/extorts-loss-of-life-cant-hit-a-planeswalker/

Here's another source specifically about {Deathrite Shaman}:
"Losing life is not synonymous with damage, so Deathrite Shaman 's ability doesn't count. If a source you control would deal noncombat damage to an opponent, you may redirect that damage to a planeswalker that player controls instead. Planeswalkers are NOT players, nor are they opponents"

Source: https://tappedout.net/mtg-questions/planeswalkers-as-opponents/