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Totem Talk: Trolling for elemental shaman gear in patch 4.1 and beyond

Sarah Nichol
Ms
Updated ·5 min read

Every week, WoW Insider brings you Totem Talk for elemental, enhancement and restoration shaman. Get some Fulmination with your Lightning Bolts! Sort the shocks from the flames with Totem Talk: Elemental, brought to you by Sarah Nichol, otherwise known as Pewter from The 'mental Shaman and the Obscurecast podcast and founding member of TotemSpot.

The proliferation of troll-themed gear is giving me bear run flashbacks. Are they giving you flashbacks, too? I must admit that eying up the new Voodoo Hexblade is filling me with the ghosts of gear-longing pasts, for once upon a time I was obsessed with Wub's Cursed Hexblade. I never got the damn thing, but the memory of The Burning Crusade makes me smile. That can only be a good thing, when studying the next generation of epics for my totem-toting class.

Thanks to crafting, rep gear, and the new troll dungeons, it is possible to get yourself fully kitted out in purples without setting foot in a raid. Of course, this gearing requires a little bit of luck, a lot of pugging, and a consistent time investment upon hitting level 85. However, we have covered getting an elemental shaman raid-ready a few months back, so while we look forward to patch 4.2, it is time to pick out some troll fashions and start saving for some new accessories.



Trolling for gear

Remember, even though haste and mastery are king, if you're wearing blues, then the sheer amount of intellect on these items will be an upgrade even you are trading some haste for crit. Und nau eet eez time to make de majicks!

There is a complete absence of trinkets and relics on this list, but otherwise, the gear in the troll heroics is fairly comprehensive. I would steer clear of the kilt, as the T11 legs are far superior, unless you're a long way off from 2,200 valor points (or justice points, as they'll soon be). The gloves from the timed event are perfect, especially if you've gone with shoulders to complete your T11 set bonus and have been using valor points for things other than the resto gloves. Don't be afraid to pick up the Legacy of Arlokk if you don't have any luck with Incineratus or the Amani mace. It has great stats, so it won't hurt to use it while you keep pugging and raiding away for the perfect partner for the Elementium Stormshield.

Another item I've had trouble with is a belt upgrade. Sadly for me, Jan'alai, who denied me the Wub's Cursed Hexblade back in the day, still denies me. C'est la vie!

Spending justice points in patch 4.2

If, like me, you have been a little lax doing dailies and collecting valor points, in patch 4.2, all those lovely ilevel 359 items are coming to the justice point vendor.This patch will allow you to catch up super-fast while you save valor points for the new vendor epics. If you've got the basics (three pieces of tier gear), then I suggest you turn your attention to the following:

The main theme of these choices is between an item with haste or an item with hit. The spirit items generally have mastery, making them generally the more flexible option choice (depending on how much spirit you already have). The ilevel 359 items also come with more intellect, which as always is the key point.

A very productive way to get the most out of the i359 items is to buy the spirit/mastery item, and then reforge the mastery to haste in order to get a little of both stats. It all depends on how desperate you are for haste and whether you have a lot of hit and can afford to sacrifice some item budget on crit in order to get the haste. There is no hard and fast rule here, and as ever, it is worth playing around with Rawr, SimulationCraft, Bink's ERC spreadsheet, and Ask Mr. Robot in order to get the best out of your gear compilation.

Changes ahead for our spec

Before patch 4.2 went live on the PTR, I was very clear that I felt the new glyph signaled a change in the wind for the spec. Whether my gut feeling was right -- well, I plan to do a more comprehensive post on patch 4.2 closer to patch day.

In any case, if you want to be prepared for Firelands, you should be prepared to grab the new Glyph of Unleashed Lightning and start on those new Mount Hyjal dailies. The rep rewards from the new faction are extremely tasty -- and they are also the topic of another post.

As ever, if you want to chatter with me, you can find me on Twitter @mentalshaman, or you can send me an email. Until next time, keep throwing them totems!

Show your totemic mastery by reading Totem Talk. Ready to take your elemental shaman up to the new level cap? We'll help you get to level 85, dig into pre-raid gear and DPS trinkets, and find the addons that'll help your performance shine.