We were in Tol Barad last night and this Elemental Shammy was just wrecking us...what is the deal here? What is the setup for elemental and is it viable for raiding also?
Ele shammies have always slapped hard and punched even harder, they do seem to be even stronger than ever now...we also have no resilence gear, which may factor into it. I've always lumped Ele shammies, Arcane Mages and Destruction Warlocks into they same boat, they just hit like trains.
As for raid viability I can't comment, I have no shamen and I honestly don't think we have many in the guild. The only one that really comes to mind is Malky. Groz is Resto/Enhance, Waka is Enhance/Resto?, Jurch is....Enhance/Enhance?...slacker...I know Tranq has one, but no idea of his specs, Jalieka also has a Shammy, again not sure of her specs and those are all the shammies that come to mind. I'd say talk to Malky about raiding as Ele, he did pull him out for a few of the Alt Run LK fights shortly before Cata and seemed to be doing nice numbers.
I'll give Malky a shout then, see what his thoughts on the matter are. I was checking around different forums and as of yet nothing that says much concerning Ele or Enh either way as far as one out shining the other. I may just test it out to see what sort of numbers I come up with. What was the name of that Ele shammy last night that was hitting us like a train on crack? I'd like to check out her build and gear.
Tranq has an Elemental/Resto shaman. And yes, they hit like a truck full of nitro, on fire, driven by someone made entirely out of nukes. Who is also on fire. Sorta like the main villain from Vectorman, for the Sega Genesis.
The thing about Elemental is that their Mastery ability doesn't suck. A lot of DPS Mastery does, unfortunately, but Elemental's is amazingly powerful. There's a chance (~20%+Mastery Rating) of every lightning bolt, chain lightning, or lava burst they fire to fire again for 75% damage, instantly, at no mana cost. What this means is that occasionally they'll get the instant crit Lava Burst, and then Elemental Overload will proc and you'll take 75% of that critical hit's damage in addition to the original spell. No resilience means they will smash you into tiny, itty bitty little pieces with it.
So I wonder how long it's going to be until people start crying (even more than they do now) on the fourms and the Ele mastery get's nerf'd.
Limp, I'm not entirely sure, when pvping I pay attention to what class they are and like the first 3 letters in their name just to make it easy for other people to focus. Ummm...I do remember someone called Namiaa or something like that...but she/he loves to play LoS games around pillars and I think is Resto. I can't remember the one that was giving us such a hard time the other night, I wouldn't doubt we'll see that shammy again though, some people, both ally/horde show up pretty consistantly in Tol Barad.
The exact counter to an elemental shaman is to ensure your healer takes flame shock off, if that happens their lava bursts hit like a wet noodle. When I role elemental if I can hide somewhere and just unleash uninterupted I can take out a full team ..... if I get focused and thunderstorm is down I have to rely on spirit walkers grace to either try to get damage out or to get away, and that talent seriously sucks (I keyboard turn though and I can see the limitations in it with this spell in particular)
Elemental shamans should be focused by your team immediately and gotten rid of or cc. 2 Pally's can effectively lock down an elemental shaman for 3 minutes. Mobility is NOT one of our strong suites so let them burn mana ghost wolfing to try to get around that pillar after you.
Her name is Chachii and she has some nice gear. After looking at her setup I see some things I'd like to do on Storm, she is my muse and my torment all rolled into one. I think if I can gear out Storm I can be very deadly as elemental for both pvp and for raid.
After reviewing the talents and builds from various well reputed sites, hashing out a decent rotation, and learning the ways to alter said rotation as a response to pure dps interference, I have to say that I again feel comfortable dpsing in a raid environment as elemental. You have to pay close attention to two major dynamics that the raid encounters can effect, however, or the glass cannon we as elementals have become falls apart. One, you cannot hit the wrong ability in the rotation when deciding between your abilities, our rotation is really fragile, but can be sustained in most situations.Keep your cooldowns up, Elemental Masterywill be open 3-4, even 5 times a raid boss fight, dont save it. After that things get wierd..... Flame Shock always takes priority. It triggers Lava Burst coming off cooldown almost 60% of the time early, and the dot is typically your third highest source of DPS.
Next you have to make a decision, if you have to move at all, and FS dot is still up, throw that Lava Burst. If it crits, you'll more than likely be hucking a second one at them right away. Then the spamm. Lightning Bolts till your finger bleeds, unless Lava Surge proccs, which it will extremely frequently, then throw the Lava Burst and go back to Lightning Bolting. If you reach 8 or 9 stacks of Lightning Shield, and all these cds are down, Earth Shock immediately. If movement interrupts this rotation, use the time to hit the appropriate shock, and Unleash Elements before you find a good spot to cut loose again. Spiritwalkers Grace always in extended, or frequent periods of movement.
The best way to avoid loss of dps is to plan ahead for these eventualities, and if for whatever reason you cant keep to the rotation, just go down the checklist again and make sure any other cooldowns you have that activate the GCD are used in moving transitions. In short, dont waste time you could be channeling Lava Bursts and Lightning Bolts with extraneous GCD devouring garbage, and watch the timing on your shocks carefully. Chain Lightning only on mobs of greater than three, and only as your about to start the Lightning Bolt spamm. Enjoy yourself, your now the Raid Shotgun, Pump action. But your pump jams if you get swung around too much. :D
Hmm
Ele shammies have always slapped hard and punched even harder, they do seem to be even stronger than ever now...we also have no resilence gear, which may factor into it. I've always lumped Ele shammies, Arcane Mages and Destruction Warlocks into they same boat, they just hit like trains.
As for raid viability I can't comment, I have no shamen and I honestly don't think we have many in the guild. The only one that really comes to mind is Malky. Groz is Resto/Enhance, Waka is Enhance/Resto?, Jurch is....Enhance/Enhance?...slacker...I know Tranq has one, but no idea of his specs, Jalieka also has a Shammy, again not sure of her specs and those are all the shammies that come to mind. I'd say talk to Malky about raiding as Ele, he did pull him out for a few of the Alt Run LK fights shortly before Cata and seemed to be doing nice numbers.
Right on!
I'll give Malky a shout then, see what his thoughts on the matter are. I was checking around different forums and as of yet nothing that says much concerning Ele or Enh either way as far as one out shining the other. I may just test it out to see what sort of numbers I come up with. What was the name of that Ele shammy last night that was hitting us like a train on crack? I'd like to check out her build and gear.
They hit like a nuke
partly because of this now:
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=73680/unleash-elements
Which causes this to happen with Lava Burst (or flame shock I suppose but I would prefer Lava Burst being used):
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=73683
I'm leveling a Elemental Shaman and having a blast (haha), even at lvl 62 I've been putting out some stupid dps.
!
Tranq has an Elemental/Resto shaman. And yes, they hit like a truck full of nitro, on fire, driven by someone made entirely out of nukes. Who is also on fire. Sorta like the main villain from Vectorman, for the Sega Genesis.
The thing about Elemental is that their Mastery ability doesn't suck. A lot of DPS Mastery does, unfortunately, but Elemental's is amazingly powerful. There's a chance (~20%+Mastery Rating) of every lightning bolt, chain lightning, or lava burst they fire to fire again for 75% damage, instantly, at no mana cost. What this means is that occasionally they'll get the instant crit Lava Burst, and then Elemental Overload will proc and you'll take 75% of that critical hit's damage in addition to the original spell. No resilience means they will smash you into tiny, itty bitty little pieces with it.
Wow...op...
So I wonder how long it's going to be until people start crying (even more than they do now) on the fourms and the Ele mastery get's nerf'd.
Limp, I'm not entirely sure, when pvping I pay attention to what class they are and like the first 3 letters in their name just to make it easy for other people to focus. Ummm...I do remember someone called Namiaa or something like that...but she/he loves to play LoS games around pillars and I think is Resto. I can't remember the one that was giving us such a hard time the other night, I wouldn't doubt we'll see that shammy again though, some people, both ally/horde show up pretty consistantly in Tol Barad.
The exact counter to an
The exact counter to an elemental shaman is to ensure your healer takes flame shock off, if that happens their lava bursts hit like a wet noodle. When I role elemental if I can hide somewhere and just unleash uninterupted I can take out a full team ..... if I get focused and thunderstorm is down I have to rely on spirit walkers grace to either try to get damage out or to get away, and that talent seriously sucks (I keyboard turn though and I can see the limitations in it with this spell in particular)
Elemental shamans should be focused by your team immediately and gotten rid of or cc. 2 Pally's can effectively lock down an elemental shaman for 3 minutes. Mobility is NOT one of our strong suites so let them burn mana ghost wolfing to try to get around that pillar after you.
Chachii....love and hate her.
Her name is Chachii and she has some nice gear. After looking at her setup I see some things I'd like to do on Storm, she is my muse and my torment all rolled into one. I think if I can gear out Storm I can be very deadly as elemental for both pvp and for raid.
My thoughts on becoming a Flamethrower.
After reviewing the talents and builds from various well reputed sites, hashing out a decent rotation, and learning the ways to alter said rotation as a response to pure dps interference, I have to say that I again feel comfortable dpsing in a raid environment as elemental. You have to pay close attention to two major dynamics that the raid encounters can effect, however, or the glass cannon we as elementals have become falls apart. One, you cannot hit the wrong ability in the rotation when deciding between your abilities, our rotation is really fragile, but can be sustained in most situations.Keep your cooldowns up, Elemental Masterywill be open 3-4, even 5 times a raid boss fight, dont save it. After that things get wierd..... Flame Shock always takes priority. It triggers Lava Burst coming off cooldown almost 60% of the time early, and the dot is typically your third highest source of DPS.
Next you have to make a decision, if you have to move at all, and FS dot is still up, throw that Lava Burst. If it crits, you'll more than likely be hucking a second one at them right away. Then the spamm. Lightning Bolts till your finger bleeds, unless Lava Surge proccs, which it will extremely frequently, then throw the Lava Burst and go back to Lightning Bolting. If you reach 8 or 9 stacks of Lightning Shield, and all these cds are down, Earth Shock immediately. If movement interrupts this rotation, use the time to hit the appropriate shock, and Unleash Elements before you find a good spot to cut loose again. Spiritwalkers Grace always in extended, or frequent periods of movement.
The best way to avoid loss of dps is to plan ahead for these eventualities, and if for whatever reason you cant keep to the rotation, just go down the checklist again and make sure any other cooldowns you have that activate the GCD are used in moving transitions. In short, dont waste time you could be channeling Lava Bursts and Lightning Bolts with extraneous GCD devouring garbage, and watch the timing on your shocks carefully. Chain Lightning only on mobs of greater than three, and only as your about to start the Lightning Bolt spamm. Enjoy yourself, your now the Raid Shotgun, Pump action. But your pump jams if you get swung around too much. :D