elemental-shaman
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Totem Talk: 3.1 shocks and awes Shamans
Don't believe me? Behold! And if for some reason you can't behold the official forums, I'll give you the pertinent details right here, right now. There is no other place you want to be. SHAMAN Chain Lightning – now jumps to 4 targets but does less damage. We wanted to make the distinction between Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning more clear. Storm, Earth and Fire – this talent now increases all damage done by Flame Shock, not just periodic damage. Spirit Weapons – now reduces all threat, not just melee threat. Unleashed Rage – reduced to 2 ranks, now also increases your critical strike chance with melee attacks by 1/2%. Totem streamlining: The Mana Spring and Healing Stream Totems have been combined. The Disease Cleansing and Poison Cleansing Totems have been combined. We are also working on giving Enhancement and Elemental more PvP utility. Oh my, you might be saying. Perhaps even oh my. And let me just be the first to congratulate you for the ability to speak in italics. Just at first glance the changes to Unleashed Rage and Spirit Weapons are major and, considering the way Enhancement plays now, long overdue.
Elemental Shamans to see DPS increase in 3.0.8
According to Ghostcrawler, between patch 3.0.3 and 3.0.8 elemental shamans should see 'a total of about 20%' more DPS, depending on gear. Since they announced their 3.0.4 talent changes for the spec, they've made more changes which are currently live on the PTR for 3.0.8, and they estimate that each round of changes should increase DPS by about 10-12%, combining for the 20% estimate.Since these changes haven't gone live yet, your guess is as good as mine as to whether or not they'll all combine to meet or even exceed GC's predictions. My shaman's elemental gear is solidly in that category of gear he states 'won't see quite such a lift' so as soon as I manage to get on the PTR and test it, I still won't be in the gear needed to really verify this. Now all we need is to either fix mail itemization for elemental or let our friendly caster shaman get leather items drama free, and elemental will be in a good place.
Totem Talk: Emblem of Heroism gear for Shamans
First off, happy birthday to me. (It was actually this weekend.) As a present to myself, I've switched toons, sort of.Strangely enough, I've taken a break from my horde shaman to start leveling my alliance shaman, in one of those weird caprices of mood I get into from time to time. I don't know why, but the past five levels on the alliance side went faster than one level horde side, which is odd because I leveled exclusively as horde in the beta and enjoyed it immensely. Maybe it's just that I really enjoy Dragonblight from the alliance quest perspective, or maybe it's just being tired of the horde quests since I ran them so many times before. Maybe I'm just freaking insane. At any rate, I'm currently loving my space goat.With Christmas around the corner raiding seems to have dried up pretty heavily (maybe I just don't know enough obsessed people) meaning that I'm having a better time leveling than I would in trying to get a raid together. Right now, my main focus is on what gear I want out of heroics and what I want to spend my Emblems of Heroism on. Since I've been covering heroics in the various instance posts (and we still have three or four instances to cover) I figured today would be a good chance to take a look at Emblem loot, in an attempt to keep going in the same vein as last week's Rep post.
Wrath of the Lich King: Shaman roundup
It's time to go drop magical sticks in the ground in whole new dirt. Northrend awaits, with the spirit world in torment, the Scourge everywhere, and one of the greatest shamans who ever lived behind all the chaos. It's up to us to go up there and straighten up this mess: who better? But what awaits you in Northrend?General Want a round up of dungeon and quest loot in the two starting zones? We have you covered. What talents and skills will you be taking to Northrend? Zach spells it out for us. How has the class changed? We covered that in two parts. Talents and Skills Natalie Mootz covered Elemental Shaman talent builds. Enhancement has turned out to be a really fun spec. What's going on with Elemental Combat? Healing as a shaman in Northrend will be a lot more involved thanks to spells like Riptide. Thunder, thunder, thunder, Thunderstorm ho! Other neat stuff Watch a shaman kill an entire raid group! In case you missed it, you don't need to carry four totems to Northrend with you. Yay for extra bag space. Hopefully you'll have as much fun in Northrend as I did my first and second times through the beta.
Totem Talk: Pack your bags
Well, here we are. It's a week until Wrath launches. What are you doing with your time? Had time to play with the most recent bout of changes yet? In a turn of events I find almost astonishing, I've mostly played restoration on both my draenei and orc shamans. I've been running five mans for achievements I don't personally want (ah, achievement mania, you fuel bursts of last minute heroics) and raiding, mostly in 10 mans and PuG 25's. The thrill of being killed by Fatal Attraction! I picked up my Dark Blessing this week in a PuG so I'm doing reasonably well for healing gear now (I can comfortably heal in a 10 or 25 man raid without feeling too much strain on the mana pool, anyway) and am basically trying to decide what I'm going to do with myself once the expansion hits. Will I be leveling enhancement? Or maybe, if dual specs arrive, I'll go with elemental for leveling and restoration for instancing. Since we have about a week, I figured it might be a good idea to talk about the starting zones for Wrath of the Lich King, especially for people who are intending to go to them with a shaman who is level 68 or so or who will otherwise be looking at the gear as upgrades. We'll look at the two starting dungeons (The Nexus and Utgarde Keep) and some of the quests in the starting zones with an eye towards loot that will help undergeared shamans catch up to ones that have been 70 for a while. We will of course try and stay as spoiler light as possible while doing this. We'll also wonder why we keep saying 'we' when it's one guy writing this.
Skill Mastery: Improved Fire Nova Totem
I'm having a lot of fun playing an Elemental Shaman in the Wrath beta. As Mike described in Skill Mastery: Thunderstorm, we have some fun new talents to play with and I hope we get to keep most of them. The new talent I'm highlighting today is Improved Fire Nova Totem.To the right you can see the stats for the Fire Nova Totem at level 71 without taking the Improvement talent. However, 20 points into the Elemental talent tree, you can spec Improved Fire Nova Totem. If you take both talent points, you'll slash the time it takes for the totem to activate and you'll add some handy bonuses to the spell.First, the timing. The unimproved Fire Nova Totem takes 3 seconds to fire, but for each talent point you put into Improved Fire Nova Totem, it procs one second faster. So, if you spec both points, it will only take one second for the Fire Nova to explode after you drop it. With only a 15 second cooldown on the spell, that means you can use this bad-boy several times during a PvE fight.
Skill Mastery: Thunderstorm
Upon dipping into the Wrath beta for the first time about a month ago, I quickly realized being a Resto Shammy wasn't going to cut it for leveling from 70-80 (don't worry too much, though, dedicated Restos, as that says more about my lack of patience for the spec than the actual strength of the spec itself). I switched Elemental the first time I got in there, and haven't looked back since. And while I'm finding all kinds of fun little strengths in the Elemental tree (my spell crit is much higher than it ever was, obviously, and Lighting Overload, even though it's not new in Wrath, is a lot of fun), the real standout is the 51-point talent, Thunderstorm.Here's a spell that does its darndest to focus on two issues caster Shamans have had in the past: running out of mana and getting caught in melee. The name could probably use a tweak (it's more of a Lightningstrike than a Thunderstorm), but the spell effect is great, and while it's gone through a few tuning iterations in the beta so far, odds seem good that it'll come out being one of the best-used tools in the Elemental Shammy's arsenal.
Totem Talk: Elemental Combat in the Wrath Beta
In testing elemental this week (and trying to get through the bugs, crashes, etcetera) I've come to several conclusion about the spec. One is that it still needs work, but probably not as much work as my experiences with it would make you think. For starters, I'm poorly geared in Karazhan/Heroics level gear (some of which was originally restoration gear) and a few quest trinkets. Secondly, I'm not a talented caster DPS player. It's not my prefered playstyle. Thirdly, I spend way too much time running around, gathering piles of mobs and Thunderstorming them off of cliffs in Borean Tundra. I'm not sure if I love this spell or hate it: the long cooldown means it's basically a gimmick, and I have yet to use it in an instance run, but it makes farming quests (kill X of Y) hilarious fun. How many Loot Crazed Poachers can I send hurtling to their watery graves today?In general, if you're playing an elemental shaman on live, you won't change your playstyle very much until level 75, when you finally get Lava Burst. Just one video I found showing the damage potential of Lava Burst is this one, which highlights the effective synergy of the spell. There's some debate as to whether or not having to put the flame shock up to get the guaranteed critical Lava Burst throws off the rotation and lowers your DPS, which is not something I can answer effectively as I have a hard enough time with rotations as it is. For soloing, however, the Flame Shock - Lightning Bolt - Chain Lightning - Lightning Bolt - Lighting Bolt - Lightning Bolt - Lava Burst rotation I tried out doesn't let FS tick for the full amount but same level mobs don't often even last this long. (I often have to go Flame Shock - Chain Lightning - Lava Burst because if I wait longer things will be dead before the Lava Burst.) Even in instances, mobs sometimes don't last long enough for a full rotation, although if you weren't as quick to mash spells off as I was you could probably get it to full duration on a boss fight.
Shock and awe in the Arena
In all of my many Arena matches, I've never had the pleasure of running into a multiboxer. I've never even seen them around the battlegrounds. Sure I've seen them around the environment, and they're always impressive. Aelli of Smolderthorn may well be the first to multibox four Elemental Shamans to Gladiator status in arena season three. The four Elemental Shamans, Aelli, Aellei, Aellii, and Aellie, are joined in Team Bubbanaught by Resto Shaman Bubbajingles, controlled by another player. The Shamans are flying high on their freshly-acquired Nether Drakes. The original poster has less than humbly declared that he plans on an even better showing in season four. Along with many words of congratulations, this thread has its fair share of negativity toward multiboxing. Multiboxers in PvP are often a source of contention. Now, I know that not everyone loves this style of play. But you've got to give credit where credit is due, and this is pretty cool. Congrats Aelli, and good luck! Check after the break for some video footage of the team.
Brutal Gladiator's Thunderfist
The Brutal Gladiator's Thunderfist is the armor set for Elemental Shamans. It is a mail armor set usable only by Shamans and is usually matched with Guardian's Mail armor pieces. The armor set can be purchased from Big Zokk Torquewrench in Netherstorm and Ontokk Shatterhorn in Shattrath City. The matching Guardian items may be purchased from Doris Volanthius in the Hall of Legends and Lieutenant Tristia in the Champion's Hall. Brutal Gladiator's Mail GauntletsThe Brutal Gladiator armor piece for the hands are the cheapest and easiest Season 4 Arena gear to obtain. With no personal rating requirements, most players will be able to purchase this piece and is the Arena gear likely to be most widespread as soon as the season begins. Its bonus is the same as all other Shaman armor, an increase to the range of Shock spells. The gauntlets have the following stats (number in parentheses are the improvements over its Season 3 equivalent): 694 Armor (+55)+52 Stamina (+6)+28 Intellect (+5)+32 Spell Critical (+4) +22 Resilience (+0)+43 Spell Damage / Healing (+5)Improves the range of all Shock spells by 5 yards.Classes: Shaman WoW Insider says: As with all Season 4 gloves, the lack of a rating requirement essentially makes it a freebie. The improvement over its Season 3 equivalent is worth the upgrade, and an increase in Shock range is always good for the Shaman who would prefer to keep her opponents at bay.Brutal Gladiator's Mail LeggingsThe leg armor possesses a personal rating requirement of 1550, which isn't too difficult to obtain, specially for the burst-heavy Elemental Shaman. While not as accessible as the gloves, the leg armor is highly visible on a character and is also likely to be a popular purchase, even at 1875 Arena points. The leggings have the following stats (number in parentheses are the improvements over its Season 3 equivalent):971 Armor (+77)+71 Stamina (+7)+38 Intellect (+5)+34 Spell Critical (+5)+33 Resilience (+0)+59 Spell Damage / Healing (+6)11 Mana / 5 Secs (+2 / 5)Classes: ShamanWoW Insider says: The lack of sockets on this armor piece mean that the only customization that can be done will be through Tailoring or Leatherworking enchants. That said, the overall stat gain from the previous season's leggings are substantial enough to warrant an eventual upgrade. Brutal Gladiator's Mail ArmorWith three sockets, the chestpiece is the most customizable Arena armor piece. It is also arguably the best Brutal Gladiator armor piece for Elemental Shamans. In PvE, the chest armor is traditionally a drop from the final boss in a series (Magtheridon drops Tier 4 chest token, Kael'thas drops Tier 5 chest token, Illidan drops Tier 6 chest token, etc.). Arenas are different in this regard, but the item level of the chest is identical to PvE chest pieces. Sunwell Plateau breaks from tradition in that the final boss, Kil'jaeden, does not drop chest tokens or armor. However, the Brutal Gladiator chest armor is equivalent to the drops from Entropius and is the best combination of cost and restriction among all the armor pieces. The armor has the following stats (number in parentheses are the improvements over its Season 3 equivalent):1110 Armor (+88)+61 Stamina (+7)+33 Intellect (+5)+34 Spell Critical (+5)+28 Resilience (+0)+49 Spell Damage / Healing (+7)11 Mana / 5 Secs (+2 / 5)Socket Bonus: +4 Spell CriticalClasses: ShamanWoW Insider says: A 1600 personal rating should be relatively easy to achieve for Elemental Shamans, and the two Yellow Sockets contribute to more burst potential or faster casts. The chest piece is a one of the best purchases among the Brutal Gladiator armor gear outside of the gloves. Because of its PvE equivalent, obtaining the Brutal Gladiator chest armor is almost like killing Entropius in Sunwell Plateau. Well, ok not really, but if you don't raid, that's about as close to a raid drop as you're going to get.Brutal Gladiator's Mail HelmThe helm is very likely the last Brutal Gladiator armor piece that many players will obtain. With the shoulders at an extremely prohibitive 2200, most players will only manage 4/5 of Season 4. Many Elemental Shamans will obtain 1700 rather easily. With a personal rating attached to it, the Brutal Gladiator helm might be one helm graphic that players would like to leave on. It is also identical in model to the pieces that drop off Kil'jaeden in Sunwell Plateau. The helm has the following stats (number in parentheses are the improvements over its Season 3 equivalent):902 Armor (+72)+74 Stamina (+7)+29 Intellect (+6)+32 Spell Critical (+6)+32 Resilience (+0)+55 Spell Damage / Healing (+6)Socket Bonus: +4 Resilience RatingClasses: ShamanWoW Insider says: There's nothing particularly compelling about the Season 4 mail helm, although most Elemental Shamans would like to eke out every little drop of Spell Damage and Crit from their gear. Considering 1700 is a realistic target, specially for Elemental Shamans, it's a good upgrade.Brutal Gladiator's Mail SpauldersThe 2200 personal ratings requirement for the shoulders are almost Gladiator-level for most Battlegroups, and will likely be a very rare sight in most realms. Some Elemental Shamans will be wearing these through the season. Although it is the cheapest item after the gloves, it is also the most difficult to get. Blizzard's reasoning for this is that the shoulders are the most "visually impacting" armor piece, confirming Blizzard's opinion that PvP achievements should be on display. The spaulders have the following stats (number in parentheses are the improvements over its Season 3 equivalent):832 Armor (+66)+47 Stamina (+4)+26 Intellect (+4)+26 Spell Critical (+4)+21 Resilience (+0)+34 Spell Damage / Healing (+5)8 Mana / 5 Secs (+2 / 5)Socket Bonus: +3 Resilience RatingClasses: ShamanWoW Insider says: Brutal Gladiator shoulders are purely for show. The minimal improvement over the previous season's spaulders make it less compelling coupled with the fact that Season 3 shoulders look so much more badass. Guardian's Mail GirdleBecause it is a visual match for the Brutal Gladiator's Thunderfist, and because it comes with no personal ratings requirement, the belt is most likely to be the most widely distributed Season 4 gear. It is purchasable with Honor points, so even players who do not participate in Arena PvP can obtain it. The girdle has the following stats (number in parentheses are the improvements over its Season 3 equivalent):624 Armor (+49)+49 Stamina (+6)+34 Intellect (+4)+34 Spell Critical (+5)+27 Resilience (+0)+40 Spell Damage / Healing (+5)Classes: Hunter, ShamanWoW Insider says: Like most belt pieces in Season 4, the Guardian's Mail Girdle is one of the best purchases players can make. The low Honor cost and no personal ratings requirement make the piece a no-brainer.Guardian's Mail BracersThe only other Guardian piece with a socket is the amulet, which doesn't have a personal rating requirement. Bracers are also not visually impacting, hidden away underneath gloves or robes, making them non-essential to a set. They also have a modest 1575 personal rating requirement, necessitating some success in Arenas. The bracers have the following stats (number in parentheses are the improvements over its Season 3 equivalent):471 (+39)+33 Stamina (+4)+20 Intellect (+3)+24 Spell Critical (+3)+15 Resilience (+0)+30 Spell Damage / Healing (+3)Socket Bonus: +2 Resilience RatingClasses: Hunter, ShamanWoW Insider says: Because the Guardian items do not confer a set bonus, there's no real need to obtain the bracers. On the other hand, 1575 is extremely feasible for an Elemental Shaman, and the yellow socket contributes to more +Spell Crit or even +Haste.Guardian's Mail SabatonsThe most visually important match of all Guardian items, the boots are a big jump from a 1575 personal ratings requirement and is as demanding to get as the head piece at 1700 personal ratings. It is also as expensive to purchase as the belt, which has no ratings requirement. The sabatons have the following stats (number in parentheses are the improvements over its Season 3 equivalent):763 Armor (+61)+49 Stamina (+6)+34 Intellect (+4)+34 Spell Critical (+5)+27 Resilience (+0)+40 Spell Damage / Healing (+5)Classes: Hunter, ShamanWoW Insider says: Even with a 1700 personal ratings requirement, the boots are a good purchase as its a good improvement overall from the last season. It is also, like the helm, the most attainable Season 4 item outside of the weapons and shoulders. %Gallery-25440% Looking for more Season 4 info? We've rounded up everything you need to know about the Brutal Gladiator season right here.
Insider Trader: Leatherworking in alpha, and profession changes for patch 2.4.3
Although there is information being leaked about the upcoming expansion Wrath of the Lich King, because of the alpha testing that is currently underway, it is too soon to tell what will make it into the final copy, and what will not. Furthermore, most things will be changed, and there are details that may never be leaked until, of course, release.Still, it is a valuable experience to peer into Blizzard's process of designing, reforming, and progressing the game's professions. This week, Insider Trader will focus on analyzing the tentative progression of the leatherworking trade. In addition, we'll take a brief look at professions-related changes in the upcoming patch 2.4.3. While mounts at level 30 and Haris Pilton might be first in your mind, Blizzard isn't overlooking the trade sector this round.
Phat Loot Phriday: Dragonheart Flameshield
Boy, is it hot in here, or is it just my SHIELD THAT BREATHES FIRE!?Name: Dragonheart Flameshield (Wowhead, Thottbot, Wowarsenal)Type: Epic ShieldArmor: 4872 (122 Block)Abilities: +19 Stamina, +21 Intellect, which pushes this shield a little bit more than usual towards PvP. Increases damage and healing by up to 23. Which ain't bad. There are lots of better shields out there, but for where this drops (it's late Karazhan gear), that's a respectable amount of SD. +7 mana per 5 seconds, which is where this shield really shines. It's a very nice shield for elemental Shamans, and Paladins and Resto Shamans can use it also, as long as they've got beefed up stats in other areas. Again, this is husky loot -- if you're working up to Black Temple, it will get replaced. But any elemental Shammy using the Crystal Pulse Shield should be happy to see this one drop. Did we mention it breathes fire?! Also, we probably can't mention this shield without mentioning the Mazthoril Honor Shield -- they share a skin (with fire) and basic stats besides the mp5. Either one is a great shield, and we could just as well have done the MHS here this week. And healers around this level should check out the Light-Bearer's Faith Shield as well -- both it and MHS are badge gear. If you're a caster farming Kara and the Heroics, you've got lots and lots of shields to choose from. How to Get It: But the Dragonheart Flameshield requires a little instance running -- it drops from Nightbane in Karazhan. At one point, he was considered the hardest boss in there, but nowadays, there are tons of guilds farming Karazhan like it's corn in Nebraska, so the odds are that you'll have no problem seeing him sooner or later.The droprate is 14% on this one, which isn't bad, and the fact that this is strictly a damage-dealing caster shield means you probably shouldn't have too much trouble claiming it. Pallies and Shamans might do a little fighting over it, but if you go a few runs and don't pick it up, at least you'll have enough badges to grab one of the other shields available.Getting Rid of It: Sells for 7g, 30s, 15c, and disenchants into a Void Crystal. Careful while disenchanting it, though -- you don't want to get BURNED!
Outland reputation set- Shaman (Elemental): Seer's Mail Battlegear
This is the PvP set for Elemental specced Shaman. The Battlegear sets are of a superior quality and are equal to the Level 70 High Warlord gear that can be purchased with honor points. The pieces can be purchased by becoming honored with Cenarion Expedition, Honor Hold/Thrallmar, Keepers of Time, Lower City, and the Sha'tar. Complete sets require honored with all five factions as listed below: Seer's Mail Battlegear Slot Rep Seer's Mail Gauntlets Hands Thrallmar/Honor Hold Seer's Mail Helm Head Keepers of Time Seer's Mail Leggings Legs Cenarion Expedition Seer's Mail Armor Chest Lower City Seer's Mail Spaulders Shoulders The Sha'tar Seer's Mail Battlegear Armor Sta Int Spell Crit Seer's Mail Gauntlets 407 33 13 14 Seer's Mail Helm 530 36 16 16 Seer's Mail Leggings 570 42 18 22 Seer's Mail Armor 652 42 14 18 Seer's Mail Spaulders 489 33 13 14 Total 2648 186 74 84 Set Bonus 2: 35 Resilience Set Bonus 4:Improves your chance to get a critical strike with all Shock spells by 2%. Seer's Mail Battlegear Resil Dur Mp5 Spell Gems Seer's Mail Gauntlets 13 40 25 Seer's Mail Helm 13 70 23 M, R Seer's Mail Leggings 22 90 4 33 Seer's Mail Armor 18 120 5 16 R, Y, Y Seer's Mail Spaulders 14 70 4 15 R, Y Total 83 390 13 112 Set Bonus 2: 35 Resilience Set Bonus 4:Improves your chance to get a critical strike with all Shock spells by 2%. Return to the complete Outland Battlegear list
NS and EM cooldown reverted on the PTR
In the interests of full coverage, we'll mention this one, but don't keep your hopes up: the latest build on the PTR has reverted the Nature's Swiftness and Elemental Mastery sharing a cooldown change, so Elemental Shamans will once again be able to crank out an instant Chain Lightning or Lightning Bolt crit. Unfortunately, they shouldn't count on it, as lots of changes have gone back and forth on the PTR. It could be that the next time the PTR comes up with a new patch, this change will be right back in.But it does serve as a reminder that no matter how bad some PTR nerfs may seem, nothing is finalized until it hits the live realms. The Test Realm is for testing, so we shouldn't be surprised when Blizzard does exactly that with it.Thanks, Giusepe!
Arcane Brilliance: Why we Mage
Hi there! Yes, after a long hiatus, Arcane Brilliance is back. Snack tables all around! Anybody ninjas the biscuits, they get a Fireball in the face. Nah, just kidding. Even ninjas are welcome here. As long as they're mage-ninjas. I've been a Mage since day one with WoW, and until a few weeks ago I had never really questioned my class choice. I liked the idea of being a caster, a back row fireballer with robes and a pointy hat. When I came over from FFXI I asked my WoW-playing buddy (the aforementioned shammie) which class I should be. He asked what I was into, and I said something like "I want to be a huge caster-tastic wizard in a dress who sets things on fire with his mind. Is there a mage-type class?" He said. "Yes. It's called...Mage." And that was it. I rolled my undead Mage and began conjuring flaming death and croissants. I happily leveled my Mage to 70. And then...the bubbling, Healthstone-critting warlock happened. After the jump: Shameful self doubt, soul searching, and finally...sweet redemption! And more Mage-talk.
Totem Talk: Masters of the Elements
Totem Talk is the column about Shamans. It was originally just going to be about shaman totems, but we thought the shamans themselves might get upset. Matthew Rossi is playing two shamans, that handsome fellow you see above you and also a awful, icky Draenei that we wouldn't dream of using for the picture until next week at the earliest. Well, a lot can happen in a patch day, huh? We know now that 2.3 has some pretty big changes in store for those shamans who choose to focus on the power of the elements. Some folks are not happy, even though they admit some of these changes are for the good. All these incoming changes to the spec do make my goal of talking about the elemental shamans among us a little trickier, because now we're looking at a spec that's going to be remarkably different in not very long at all.Still, that's why I'm here, right? So let us move forward and look at elemental shamans, the caster DPS spec of this particular hybrid class we love so well.
