Should I play Elemental in Legion?

[baradax 0]

Before you blame me for such topic - I've ransacked the whole google and youtube to find the answer, but still didn't succeed.

I was raiding in a semi-hardcore guild as an Elemental Shaman during WotLK and Cata and I can remember Ele always being an underdog spec compared to other ranged dps classes. I was able to stay at top 5-8 DPSers on each boss but it always felt like a very hard job compared to.. lets say affliction/arcane et.c., and sometimes it was really hard to find a slot in a roaster due to lack of overall dps/mobility/surv.

So now I want to come back to WoW at Legion and I can't find the answer - is my favorite class still an underdog? Is it worth playing Ele shaman if I want to find a spot in a decent semi-hardcore guild? (By semi-hardcore I assume 4-5hrs/5days RT). At what spot are we right now? All guides and videos say that it's too early to think about dps comparison but cmon 5days before the release I think I can finally ask this question :)

PS. don't hate me for calling Ele an underdog, I know you're a cool guy and managed to say at top dps in wotlk/cata, but we still were underdogs:)

peace!

 

 

[Pandacho 286]

Hello,

I'm sorry in advance to sound like a jerk but how exactly you googled the answer? There are a lot of threads, every one between 10 and 150 pages, about all shaman specs.

Just as an example for ele:

link

link

link

link

And there are videos for all specs too, for example Fatboss's.

For the last years the approach to raiding changed somehow. Now 4-5 hours 5 days a week - it's a hardcore and pretty serious hardcore.

Semi-hardcore Mythic raiding would be 3-4 hours 3-4 days a week, casual Mythic raiding - 3 hours 2-3 days. All the rest (Normal&Heroic) is casual.

If you are aiming for 5 hours 5 days a week Mythic raiding, there's a fat chance you'll be told what class and spec to play, though I'm not sure 5/5 Mythic guilds would recruit a raider that never raided Mythic. But it's just a warning not a fact. 

If you do want a straight answer how's ele spec right now - not very good. It is possible to master ele and do decent dps but it requires a hard work.

I was managing it as an offspec for the last 2 expansions but moving to enh as my offspec in Legion - the difference is noticeable, and with a complete removal of an offspec gearing problem now there's no reason for me anymore to keep ele.

[baradax 0]

Quote

If you do want a straight answer how's ele spec right now - not very good.

That's exactly what I wanted to know :)

Quote

Semi-hardcore Mythic raiding would be 3-4 hours 3-4 days a week, casual Mythic raiding - 3 hours 2-3 days. All the rest (Normal&Heroic) is casual.

And if THIS is true... it's a bit sad :) thanks for adding this point.

As for other parts of your answer, of course i'm not going to try to join hardcore guild right after a big pause, no illusions here :)

Again, thanks a lot for a comprehensive answer

[kurannan 0]

I have been playing an elemental shaman for years and depending on the changes Blizzard makes in specs from time to time, for the most part it's been the hardest class/spec to get a regular serious raiding position locked down.  

At this point in Legion, the numbers simply aren't there yet and even leveling and questing in Suramar, it simply just takes too darn long for mobs to die unless you get so many lava burst procs (RNG).

As a result, I have now gone Enhancement for the first time in my life if, for no other reason, than it more than halves my time killing quest mobs and I can get things done efficiently.

 

[Pandacho 286]

I switched to enh as my offspec in Legion after 4 years in Ele - the difference feels huge. Maybe it wouldn't be that bad in raids but for soloing Suramar and world quests, Enh is so much more fast, efficient and fun.

[demonardvark 556]

24 minutes ago, Pandacho said:

I switched to enh as my offspec in Legion after 4 years in Ele - the difference feels huge. Maybe it wouldn't be that bad in raids but for soloing Suramar and world quests, Enh is so much more fast, efficient and fun.

It does seem for almost every class there is the preferred niche for the max lvl world content. As DK I do stupid dps with unholy however I am doing everything with blood. I can pull half of the city of suramar and be fine. So thankfully with the artifacts and wod gear changes its more or less easy to switch around to a different spec for a different task. 

However, in this case, elemental even specced to be as bursty as possible does make suramar a bit challenging. The casts times and ramp up is just rather huge. Pair that with enhancement just being a machine of destruction, I do find myself in enhance 95% of the time.