Elemental Shaman DPS Gear and Best in Slot in Battle for Azeroth (BfA) 8.0.1

Table of Contents

• +Introduction
  • 1. Class Overview
  • 2. Patch 8.0.1 Changes for Elemental Shaman
  • 3. Elemental Shaman Strengths
  • 4. Elemental Shaman Weaknesses
  • 5. Elemental Shaman Viability in the Current Patch
  • 6. Contents
  • 7. Changelog
• +Easy Mode
  • 1. Foreword
  • 2. The Basics for Elemental Shaman
  • 3. Talent Choice for Elemental Shaman
  • 4. Stat Priority for Elemental Shaman
  • 5. Single Target Priority List for Elemental Shaman
  • 6. Multi-Target Priority List for Elemental Shaman
  • 7. Azerite Traits
  • 8. Changelog
• +Spell Summary
  • 1. Elemental Shaman Spell Summary
  • 2. Main Resource for Elemental Shaman
  • 3. Basic Abilities for Elemental Shaman
  • 4. Important Procs for Elemental Shaman
  • 5. DPS Cooldowns for Elemental Shaman
  • 6. Defensive Abilities for Elemental Shaman
  • 7. Crowd Control Abilities for Elemental Shaman
  • 8. Additional Utility abilities for Elemental Shaman
• +Builds and Talents
  • 1. Talent Choices for Elemental Shaman
  • 2. Talent Cheat Sheets for Elemental Shaman
    • 2.1. Single Target
    • 2.2. AoE/Cleave
  • 3. Tier 1 (Level 15) Talents for Elemental Shaman
  • 4. Tier 2 (Level 30) Talents for Elemental Shaman
  • 5. Tier 3 (Level 45) Talents for Elemental Shaman
  • 6. Tier 4 (Level 60) Talents for Elemental Shaman
  • 7. Tier 5 (Level 75) Talents for Elemental Shaman
  • 8. Tier 6 (Level 90) Talents for Elemental Shaman
  • 9. Tier 7 (Level 100) Talents for Elemental Shaman
  • 10. PvP Talents (War Mode)
    • 10.1. Elemental Shaman War Mode Talents
      • 10.1.1. General PvP Talents
      • 10.1.2. Elemental Shaman PvP Talents
  • 11. Changelog
• +Azerite Traits and Armor
  • 1. Choosing Azerite Gear as an Elemental Shaman
  • 2. Choosing Azerite Traits as an Elemental Shaman
    • 2.1. Outer Ring
    • 2.2. Middle Ring
    • 2.3. Inner Ring
  • 3. Azerite Traits Rotation Changes and Details for Elemental Shaman
  • 4. Full list of Outer Ring Traits for Elemental Shaman
    • 4.1. Spec-Specific Outer Ring Traits
  • 5. Full List of Middle Ring Traits for Elemental Shaman
  • 6. Full List of Inner Ring Traits for Elemental Shaman
  • 7. Find Azerite Armor By Trait/Power
  • 8. Changelog
• +Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities
  • 1. Single-Target Rotation for Elemental Shaman
  • 2. Multiple Target Rotation for Elemental Shaman
    • 2.1. 2-3 Targets
    • 2.2. 4+ Targets
  • 3. Cooldown Usage for Elemental Shaman
    • 3.1. Ascendance
    • 3.2. Fire Elemental
    • 3.3. Stormkeeper
  • 4. Managing Movement for Elemental Shaman
  • 5. Academic Information for Elemental Shaman
    • 5.1. Maelstrom Management
    • 5.2. Lava Burst and Flame Shock
  • 6. Opening Sequence for Elemental Shaman
    • 6.1. Generic Opener with Primal Elementalist
  • 7. Changelog
• +Mythic+ Tips
  • 1. Elemental Shaman in Mythic+
    • 1.1. Elemental Shaman Mythic+ Rotation
    • 1.2. Elemental Shaman Utility
  • 2. Mythic+ Talents for Elemental Shaman
  • 3. Mythic+ Affixes
    • 3.1. Tier One Affixes
    • 3.2. Tier Two Affixes
    • 3.3. Tier Three Affixes
    • 3.4. Seasonal Affix
  • 4. Mythic+ Azerite Traits
  • 5. Changelog
• +Common and Worst Mistakes
  • 1. Having High Downtime
  • 2. Not Using All Your Abilities
  • 3. Overcapping Maelstrom
  • 4. Not Knowing How To Sim Yourself
  • 5. Analyzing Your Mistakes as an Elemental Shaman
• +Frequently Asked Questions
  • 1. Battle for Azeroth Frequently Asked Questions
    • 1.1. What Piece is Better, X or Y?
    • 1.2. How Much of X Stat Should I Have?
    • 1.3. What Talents Do I Use in Dungeons?
    • 1.4. What Talents Do I Use in Raids?
    • 1.5. What Trinkets Am I Looking to Get for Raiding?
    • 1.6. Is Elemental Viable?
    • 1.7. What is this I hear about 8.1?
    • 1.8. What Flasks/Pots/Food/Enchants/Gems should I use?
    • 1.9. How many targets should I cast Flame Shock on?
    • 1.10. Do Multiple Earthquakes stack?
    • 1.11. How many targets make Earthquake worth using over Earth Shock?
  • 2. Changelog
• +Boss by Boss Strategies
  • 1. Talent Cheatsheet for Elemental Shaman in Uldir
  • 2. Taloc
  • 3. M.O.T.H.E.R.
  • 4. Fetid Devourer
  • 5. Zek'voz, Herald of N'Zoth
  • 6. Vectis
  • 7. Zul, Reborn
  • 8. Mythrax the Unraveler
  • 9. G'huun
  • 10. Changelog
• +Stat Priority
  • 1. The Basics of Stats for Elemental Shaman
    • 1.1. Generic Stat Priority
  • 2. Statistics Explanations for Elemental Shaman
  • 3. Changelog
• +Gems, Enchants, and Consumables
  • 1. Gems for Elemental Shaman
  • 2. Enchants for Elemental Shaman
  • 3. Consumables for Elemental Shaman
  • 4. Changelog
• +Macros and Addons
  • 1. Addons for Elemental Shaman
    • 1.1. ElvUI
    • 1.2. Weak Auras
    • 1.3. Boss Mods
      • 1.3.1. BigWigs Bossmods
      • 1.3.2. Deadly Boss Mods
    • 1.4. Name Plates
      • 1.4.1. KUI Nameplates
      • 1.4.2. TidyPlates
    • 1.5. Damage Meters
      • 1.5.1. Skada
      • 1.5.2. Details
    • 1.6. Extra AddOns
      • 1.6.1. Mik's Scrolling Battle Text
      • 1.6.2. Death Note
      • 1.6.3. Doom CooldownPulse
      • 1.6.4. Angry Assignments
  • 2. Macros for Elemental Shaman
    • 2.1. Wind Shear
    • 2.2. Purge
    • 2.3. Wind Rush Totem
    • 2.4. Mouseouver Earthquake
    • 2.5. Harden Skin on the same key as Earth Elemental
    • 2.6. Primal Elementals AoE macro
    • 2.7. Elemental Prepull Macro
  • 3. Changelog
• ×Gear and Best in Slot
  • 1. The Importance of "Simming Yourself"
  • 2. Evaluating Upgrades
  • 3. Azerite Gear for Elemental Shaman
    • 3.1. Helms
    • 3.2. Shoulders
    • 3.3. Body Armors
  • 4. Trinkets for Elemental Shaman
  • 5. Pre-Raid Best in Slot Items for Elemental Shaman
  • 6. Changelog
• +Simulations
  • 1. Disclaimer
  • 2. A note on Racial Bonuses
  • 3. Changelog

General Information

This page is a gear reference for Elemental Shamans. It lists your best items, with an emphasis on trinkets, and gives you gearing advice.

The other pages of our Elemental Shaman guide can be accessed from the table of contents on the right.

About Our Author

This guide has been written by Stormy, Elemental main since Wrath of the Lich King and member of the Storm, Earth and Lava elemental theorycrafting team.

1. The Importance of "Simming Yourself"

At this stage in the game, there are so many variables and so many 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, Azerite traits, trinkets and combinations thereof in a way that is 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 take all the variables into account.

2. Evaluating Upgrades

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.

3. Azerite Gear for Elemental Shaman

Because the Azerite Traits scale in strength with the item level of the item equipped, and with the possibility of Titanforging items, an exact list of best items is impossible to make. Azerite gear can drop from loads of content, like World Quests, Dungeons, Warfronts, PvP, reputations, etc, so you should try to do all possible content. Below we have listed some good items to look for based on how to obtain them and the Azerite Traits they have on them. The listed items are all pre-raid, as in, before the first raid opens. After that, most of your gear will come from the first raid (Uldir) and Mythic+.

3.1. Helms

• Soulscarred Headgear — Gorak Tul in Waycrest Manor
• Visage of Bloody Horrors — Unbound Abomination in The Underrot
• Hood of the Dark Reaper — Overseer Korgus in Tol Dagor
• Sethraliss' Fanged Helm — Avatar of Sethraliss in Temple of Sethraliss
• Dread Gladiator's Chain Helm or Dread Gladiator's Chain Helm — PvP

3.2. Shoulders

• Hook-Barbed Spaulders — Viq'Goth in Siege of Boralus
• Cannoneer's Mantle — Overseer Korgus in Tol Dagor
• Azerothian Champion's Spaulders — Exalted with the Champions of Azeroth faction
• Spaulders of the Enveloping Maw — World Boss Warbringer Yenajz in Stormsong Valley
• Dread Gladiator's Chain Shoulderguards or Dread Gladiator's Chain Shoulderguards — PvP
• Crashguard Spaulders — Mogul Razdunk in The MOTHERLODE!!

3.3. Body Armors

• Loa-Blessed Chestguard — King Dazar in Kings' Rest
• Corrupted Hexxer's Vestments — Plague Doctor in Temple of Sethraliss
• Shrapnel-Dampening Chestguard — Mogul Razdunk in The MOTHERLODE!!
• Sharpshooter's Chainmail Hauberk for Alliance, Scalemail Battle Harness for Horde — Arathi Highlands' faction World Bosses

4. Trinkets for Elemental Shaman

Due to the prevalence of high item level trinkets and Titanforged rewards from Mythic+ dungeon grinding, there are a variety of suitable options when it comes to trinkets.

Visit Bloodmallet's site for in-depth trinket simulations.

Many trinkets are currently very close and their actual value will greatly depend onthe situation. On-use trinkets giving a 10- to 15-second stat boost are very good with Ascendance, for example.

5. Pre-Raid Best in Slot Items for Elemental Shaman

This is a list of some of the best available items for Elemental Shamans at the current stage of the game, outside of Uldir. This can vary with different talent setups, Azerite traits and so on. If you could have the gear you wanted on a whim, this is what you should choose. Note that Azerite Gear and Trinkets are absent, they have their own sections above.

Slot	Item	Source
Cloak	Cloak of Questionable Intent	Rixxa Fluxflame (The MOTHERLODE!!)
Wrists	Raoul's Barrelhook Bracers	Captain Eudora (Freehold)
Gloves	Water Shapers	Aqu'sirr (Shrine of the Storm)
Belt	Waistguard of Sanguine Fervor	Elder Leaxa (The Underrot)
Legs	Mistscale Leggings	Leatherworking Craft
Boots	Mistscale Boots	Leatherworking Craft
Ring #1	Seal of Questionable Loyalties	Captain Eudora (Freehold)
Ring #2	Ritual Binder's Ring	Mchimba the Embalmer (King's Rest)
Staff	Seabreeze	Galecaller Faye (Shrine of the Storm)
Main Hand	Galvanized Stormcrusher	Galvazzt (Temple of Sethraliss)
Off Hand	G0-4W4Y Crowd Repeller	Coin-Operated Crowd Pummeler (The MOTHERLODE!!)

6. Changelog

• 10 Sep. 2018: Updated trinket section, removed pre-raid "BiS" list.
• 31 Aug. 2018: Updated trinket section (hotfix reverted).
• 29 Aug. 2018: Updated trinket section.
• 20 Aug. 2018: Updated trinket section.
• 13 Aug. 2018: Updated for Battle for Azeroth launch.
• 19 Jul. 2018: Trinket section now links to Bloodmallet's site instead of having a partial list.

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