Elemental Shaman DPS Gear and Best in Slot — Dragonflight 10.1

Welcome to our Gearing Page for Elemental Shaman. This section will cover everything you need to know about equipping your character correctly.

If you have a new piece of gear for which you need gems and enchant advice, you can find everything on our dedicated page below.

At this stage in the game, there are so many variables and layers of optimization that you can apply to your character that there is no way for a guide or anything else to tell you exactly what gear you should wear. This is why we always recommend simulating your own character using Raidbots. The website can help you choose set bonuses, trinkets, and combinations in a way tailored completely to your specific character. Learning to use this tool is essential to maximizing your potential, as there is simply no other way to consider all the variables.

The easiest way, and also the method we suggest, to compare multiple items is to use Raidbots' Top Gear. Here you can input an export from the Simcraft AddOn, select the items to compare, and it will find out which of the items are best.

Many people overthink the distribution of their secondary stats. An important thing to remember is that a higher quantity of stats is nearly always better than a better quality of stats. Because of this, wearing higher item-level gear with worse stats tends to be better than lower item-level gear with great stats. Keep this in mind when considering gear. For more stats information, please refer to our dedicated page.

Static Best in Slot lists are always misleading, and it is best to use the tools at your disposal, notably Raidbots Top Gear and its Droptimizer options.

Once you finish the Dragonflight campaign and reach max level, you will want to upgrade your gear. There are many ways to do this. We recommend that after some World Quests and Heroic Dungeons, you try getting into Mythic Dungeons, preferably with friends, and do every single dungeon during the weekly lockout.

This weekly loot system remains much the same. You can select ONE item out of a maximum pool of 9, depending on how many raid bosses you defeated, your Mythic+ dungeon clears and how much Honor you farmed the previous week.

You can learn more about this system on our dedicated Great Vault page.

The Valor Upgrade system is gone in Season 2 and is replaced by a new system that allows for item upgrades to be obtained from a wider variety of content.

Dragonflight Season 2 introduces two new currencies: Flightstones and Shadowflame Crests, both obtainable from practically all forms of content in the game. They can be used to upgrade gear up to Item Level 441, which is entry-level Mythic Raid Item Level. They can also upgrade Crafted Gear up to iLvl 447, which is late-Mythic Item Level.

For more information on the new Gear Upgrades system, check out our dedicated page for it below.

As with Valor, the cost to upgrade scales differs per slot but now also increases quickly as item levels go up.

You can learn more about this system on our dedicated Valor page.

Unsurprisingly, you should sim your character to determine which upgrades give the most bang for your buck at any point in time. Beyond that, you generally want to maximize your weapon, then your trinkets, especially if you can grab Igneous Flowstone. After that, it is generally best to upgrade the slots that give the most stats, especially the tier set pieces: Chest, Helm or Pants, with a lower priority on whatever has the best secondaries, but maximizing intelligence remains the best way to gain DPS. Note that Very Rare gear from Heroic and Mythic difficulty in Aberrus cannot be upgraded this way; in fact, no Mythic difficulty gear cannot be upgraded at all with this system. However, if you can get Voice of the Silent Star from the last boss in Aberrus, Scalecommander Sarkareth, it is much stronger than a regular cloak.

You will want to have your full T30 4-set, no matter what content you are looking to do, as soon as possible. In the meantime, you want to keep the T29 bonuses until you can get Shaman Elemental 10.1 Class Set 2pc.

What tier piece you skip is not very important in this tier and will probably depend on what you obtain and whether you are using the Horizon Strider's Garment set (in which case you want to skip the gloves). Overall the Helm piece is probably the one you will most likely want to skip once you have the 4 other pieces, as it has the worst stats for the relevant builds.

This set somewhat forces us into using a Lightning-Focused build, and more specifically if we want to play optimally, makes us use a "set" rotation, whose goal is to set up Electrified Shocks and Surge of Power for every Stormkeeper Lightning Bolt, in order to maximize its damage. This will not be to everyone's taste and will take some time to learn.

Cataclysm Timewalking is back as of May 23rd, 2023, and introduces new Trinkets and other items from dungeons like the Stonecore, Lost City of the Tol'vir, Throne of the Tides, End Time, Blackrock Caverns, and the Firelands Raid. The Firelands Trinkets can be upgraded to Item Level 437. They will only be available this week until Cataclysm Timewalking hopefully comes around again later.

First, it is very important to note that Sorrowsong does NOT SIM PROPERLY. It is overvalued by sims and is not as good as it shows. It is a pretty good trinket for Mythic+ but is much less relevant in raids.

Necromantic Focus is a very good option for raiding, especially for the people who insist on playing Fire!

Witching Hourglass is a solid all-around option for people who have not gotten a strong heroic item-level trinket yet.

Gale of Shadows is okay in single-target, pretty mediocre in AoE, Tendrils of Burrowing Dark is okay in AoE and bad for single-target. They remain an okay option for newer characters, characters who have been unlucky with trinkets, or people who just returned to the game.

Tl;dr: Unless you have excellent trinkets already, it is probably worth trying to get Necromantic Focus for raiding and single-target heavy M+ as well as Sorrowsong and Witching Hourglass for Mythic+.

1. Necromantic Focus
2. Sorrowsong (mostly for M+)
3. Witching Hourglass
4. Gale of Shadows
5. Tendrils of Burrowing Dark

IMPORTANT: Massive trinket changes have occurred, Igneous Flowstone went from being the best trinket by a lot to being mediocre, and Neltharion's Call to Dominance was also nerfed significantly. Neither is currently desirable.

Important note: Ominous Chromatic Essence is somewhat similar to Whispering Incarnate Icon in that it gains a lot of value as more people use its different versions. However, it is not as immediately powerful by itself, and because for everybody to gain the maximum possible bonus you need a minimum of five, each using a different secondary stat, its full potential is unlikely to be available to every group immediately.

Our overall recommendations are:

For Raids:

1. Ominous Chromatic Essence (all buffs, best color depends on your stats)
2. Rotcrusted Voodoo Doll
3. Naraxas' Spiked Tongue
4. Idol of Pure Decay
5. Vessel of Searing Shadow
6. Darkmoon Deck Box: Dance (Emberscale)
7. Spoils of Neltharus
8. Necromantic Focus
9. Igneous Flowstone
10. Screaming Black Dragonscale

For Mythic+ or AoE heavy raid encounters:

1. Ominous Chromatic Essence (all buffs, best color depends on your stats)
2. Spoils of Neltharus
3. Erupting Spear Fragment
4. Irideus Fragment
5. Obsidian Gladiator's Badge of Ferocity
6. Igneous Flowstone
7. Screaming Black Dragonscale
8. Ominous Chromatic Essence (solo, best color depends on your stats)
9. Sorrowsong (maybe a little higher, but the effect can be tricky to use optimally)

Aberrus does not have any very rare Jewelry, though it has Voice of the Silent Star, which everyone will want

You may want to keep your Seal of Filial Duty from Broodkeeper Diurna, especially if you have a nice Mythic one. To a lesser extent, if you have a Mythic Seal of Diurna's Chosen, it will compete with lower-end Season 2 rings; make sure to use simulations to determine if it is worth keeping; the Shield effect has some value. Finally, if you have an Onyx Annulet with the optimal stones, it will likely be replaced by any decent Normal ilvl ring from Season 2, especially outside of pure single-target scenarios.

Because jewelry pieces do not have Intelligence on them, you must pay more attention to the secondaries they have. For example, a ring with your 2 worst stats will be worse than a ring 10 item levels lower with your 2 best stats.

There are no special weapons for Elemental Shamans. However, I recommend weapons with the best stat combos for the best builds available. It is probably a good idea to start the season by crafting a weapon with Critical Strike and Haste

The best weapons for all content in no particular order:

From dungeons:

• Infinite Dragonspire
• Leaxa's Thought-Piercer
• Biting Wind

From Aberrus:

• Erethos, the Empty Promise
• Bloodfire Extraction Conduit
• Lavaflow Control Rod

While professions do not generally give player power, there are possible exceptions in some circumstances. Suppose you want to min/max your player power in all possible situations. In that case, you should be an Alchemist and an Engineer. Note that the actual uses of their unique bonuses are highly conditional and, for the most part, should not dictate your profession choice.

There are multiple viable options there. In practice, this is not very easy, and what you want to get depends on various factors. Note that endgame crafted items are a "hard commitment," meaning there are no refunds, no take-backs of your Spark of Ingenuity. You can recraft the items with different Embellishments, or at a higher item level, must be the same item.

Do not forget that Alchemical Flavor Pocket does not count for your embellishment limit, and you always want it on!

Tl;dr recommendation: Get Shadowflame-Tempered Armor Patch and pick one out of:

• Another Shadowflame-Tempered Armor Patch because they stack. Best overall single-target option
• Elemental Lariat: Better AoE, the more sockets you have, the better it gets
• Acidic Hailstone Treads: Best damage on paper but beware the downside

Alternatively, you can use the Horizon Strider's Garment (Haste) set, using the waist and another piece. Acidic Hailstone Treads with Toxified Armor Patch may be tempting, but it is almost certainly going to backfire horribly.

The new is Shadowflame-Tempered Armor Patch is quite strong and almost certainly Best in Slot.

Blue Silken Lining and Adaptive Dracothyst Armguards are solid, but unimpressive increases.

Elemental Lariat has become a staple for many specs. If you intend on using it with Lightning builds, make sure to socket different gems on it to benefit from multiple stat procs, prioritizing Haste and Critical Strike (meaning you want those as the LOWEST stat on at least two gems because that is how the proc works).) It is an okay default pick but is only strong if you have many sockets.

Horizon Strider's Garment set with Wind Spirit's Lasso and either Scale Rein Grips or Ancestor's Dew Drippers give you some nice haste, and are especially good on AoE/Cleave for Lightning-focused builds because multi-hits with Chain Lightning and Electrified Shocks- Frost Shocks can give multiple procs, unlike most other abilities. It is not super strong for single-target, but still quite good.

Acidic Hailstone Treads have okay stats for Lightning-focused builds, and the effect is very powerful in single-target, especially when doubled with a Toxified Armor Patch. That being said, the downside is absolutely killer, especially when using said patch: 20% reduced movement speed. On top of that, you will most likely be using the class trinket from Aberrus when you obtain one, which further reduces your movement speed. However, Elemental Shaman can work around these downsides with Ghost Wolf especially combined with Thunderous Paws, Spiritwalker's Grace with Graceful Spirit, or Gust of Wind/ Spirit Walk. Having to potentially use these options when you could have normally just walked out comes at a cost; however, in heavy movement fights, this could straight up makes you useless. The best damage on paper, but the cost is very hefty, especially in progress. Beware.

Venom-Steeped Stompers were a solid single-target boost for fire-focused builds which relied on stacking a single-stat (Mastery) and with some very low value stat (Critical Strike). However, with the rise of lightning builds, which do not have such a wide range of stat priority, those boots become quite awful, especially since the stats are very bad for Lightning-focused builds.

Onyx Annulets are a new kind of ring you can obtain from the Zskera Vaults in Patch 10.0.7.

For more details about what Stones you want to use in your new ring, please refer to our dedicated page:

For more information regarding the Onyx Annulet, the Primordial Gemstones, and how to obtain them, check out our dedicated guide for it below.

Essentially, they are only outstanding for fresh characters. If you just leveled a Shaman, it can definitely be a good idea to farm one.

Even with the best stone combination, Onyx Annulets do not beat Mythic Season 1 rings in raid situations and are way worse for Mythic+. In short, unless you already have them or time is not an issue, we recommend not bothering with them as Season 2 rings above LFR ilvl will be at least equivalent in most cases, and generally better.