Elemental Shaman DPS Gear and Best in Slot — 12.1

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

Upgrading gear in Midnight continues to use the Crest system which lets you increase the item level of gear along tracks that relate to where you obtained the item, which harder content dropping gear that can be upgraded to higher Item Levels. For more information, read up on our dedicated page on how the gearing system works and what has changed in the Midnight expansion.

Be Careful With Early Crafts!

Many Embellishments and cantrips on items from the Venomous Abyss were changed less than 24 hours before the beginning of Season 2, and as such many recommendations are now in flux and have to be re-evaluated. Due to these changes, we highly recommend to hold off on crafting an item on Day 1. Unless you don't mind the recrafting cost or potentially crafting a slightly suboptimal item early on, it might be worth waiting for a few days until things have settled.

Make sure to check back to see if this warning has been removed.

OverallMythic+Raid

This list contains the highest DPS setup across all sources for Elemental Shaman. Remember that while this is the best possible setup, you could end up doing similar damage with very different items in practice.

FAQWhich Tier Set Pieces Do I Want?

For Midnight Season 2, the "natural" tier piece you would want to skip are the pants, but because you want use catalyst charges on a piece with good secondaries and keep those secondaries, it will depend on what you obtain. Keep in mind you will want to use Awoken Dreadfang Cuirass, because catalysts also keep cantrip effect! You do not want to use a "natural" Tier chest. This cuts both ways, you do not want to catalyze any regular armor item that has Versatility, as it would carry over to the tier piece! You ideally want to catalyse those pieces into tier, but keep in mind your secondary values will shift depending on what you already have:

• Helm: Voidscarred Crown
• Shoulders: use the regular set item or Soulslither Spaulders
• Chest: Awoken Dreadfang Cuirass This one is very important!
• Hands: use the regular set item or Sepulchral Construct's Gloves
• Legs: Cuisses of the Uncoiled Union

FAQWhat to Get From The Great Vault?

This season you can now get a Nebulous Voidcore as an alternative Vault reward starting with the 2nd Vault of the season, which lets you bonus roll on any dungeon or boss, and receive a 1/6 Myth track version of the item. This is optimal for Elemental, and we HIGHLY recommend everyone does that for the first 3 weeks on Heroic Ula'tek, setting your Loot Specialization to Restoration in order to remove the mediocre trinket from the pool, and guaranteeing 3 very powerful Best-in-Slot items. The only downside is that dropped items from Mythic will be at 9/6 Mythic , whereas bonus-rolled items cap out at 6/6, but this is not really relevant for drops from the last boss.

Elemental Shaman

1.1.

Overall Best in Slot

Serpent Crown of the Ophidian Oracle Helm

Catalyst on the item from Voidscar Arena Empowered Blessing of Speed

Hexing Grips of the Ophidian Oracle Hands

Catalyst or Entombed Sentinels

Aqirbane Reliquary Neck

Ula'tek

Serpentine Mixing Belt Waist

Vashnik

Hissing Mantle of the Ophidian Oracle Shoulders

Catalyst on the item from Coiled Altar Amirdrassil's Grace

Leggings of the Ophidian Oracle Legs

Catalyst on the item from Coiled Altar Sunfire Silk Spellthread

Silken Voodoo Drape Cloak

Coiled Altar

Ferocious Scaleboots Feet

Sszorak Shaladrassil's Roots

Fanged Raiment of the Ophidian Oracle Chest

Catalyst on the item from Ula'tek Mark of the Worldsoul

Apex Brute's Claw Ring Ring

Sszorak Eyes of the Eagle

Shirt

Band of the Amani Warlord Ring

Altar of Fangs Eyes of the Eagle

Tabard

Gebbo's Bottomless Bag Trinket

Lost Explorers

Farstrider's Plated Bracers Bracers

Crafted by Leatherworking

Vile Vial of Volatile Venom Trinket

Altar of Fangs

Jan'thrazet, the Soul Fang Main Hand

Ula'tek Rite of the Hash'ey

Aln'hara Lantern Off Hand

Crafted by Inscription

This list only contains items available in Mythic+ dungeons as well as the Tier set and embellished crafted items.

The main focus of this list is targetting the best pieces that have Mastery and either Critical Strike or Haste. It is not meant as an "equip all these items together" list. Remember when using Elemental Blast there is a soft cap at 86% Mastery.

FAQWhich Tier Set Pieces Do I Want?

For Midnight Season 2, the "natural" tier piece you would want to skip are the pants, but because you want use catalyst charges on a piece with good secondaries and keep those secondaries, it will depend on what you obtain. Keep in mind you will want to use Awoken Dreadfang Cuirass, because catalysts also keepo cantrip effect! You do not want to use a "natural" Tier chest. This cuts both ways, you do not want to catalyze any regular armor item that has Versatility, as it would carry over to the tier piece! You ideally want to catalyse those pieces into tier:

• Helm: Voidscarred Crown or Sethraliss' Fanged Helm
• Shoulders: Spaulders of Prime Emperor
• Chest: Chestguard of Corroded Scales
• Hands: Sepulchral Construct's Gloves
• Legs: Legguards of the Awakening Brood

TipsWhich Dungeons Should I Farm?

We recommend you farm the following dungeon:

• Altar of Fangs: has two good weapons and your best trinket options
• Murder Row: has one of the best trinkets and good jewelry
• Voidscar Arena and Temple of Sethraliss: have some good items

Elemental Shaman

1.2.

Best Gear from Mythic+

Serpent Crown of the Ophidian Oracle Helm

Catalyst on the item from Voidscar Arena Empowered Blessing of Speed

Hexing Grips of the Ophidian Oracle Hands

Catalyst on the item from King's Rest

Pendant of Malefic Fury Neck

Murder Row

Behemoth Waistband Waist

Voidscar Arena

Hissing Mantle of the Ophidian Oracle Shoulders

Catalyst on the item from King's Rest Amirdrassil's Grace

Leggings of the Ophidian Oracle Legs

Catalyst on the item from Temple of Sethraliss Sunfire Silk Spellthread

Bloodthorn Burnous Cloak

The Blinding Vale

Sabatons of Coruscating Energy Feet

Temple of Sethraliss Shaladrassil's Roots

Fanged Raiment of the Ophidian Oracle Chest

Catalyst on the item from Altar of Fangs Mark of the Worldsoul

Sickening Signet of Atroxus Ring

Voidscar Arena Eyes of the Eagle

Shirt

Charged Sandstone Band Ring

Temple of Sethraliss Eyes of the Eagle

Tabard

Knot of Writhing Serpents Trinket

Altar of Fangs

Farstrider's Plated Bracers Bracers

Crafted by Leatherworking

Vile Vial of Volatile Venom Trinket

Altar of Fangs

Polished Lightwood Channeler Main Hand

Altar of Fangs Rite of the Hash'ey

Aln'hara Lantern Off Hand

Crafted by Inscription

This list only contains items from the Midnight Season 2 raids and embellished crafted items.

FAQWhich Tier Set Pieces Do I Want?

For Midnight Season 2, the "natural" tier piece you would want to skip are the pants, but because you want use catalyst charges on a piece with good secondaries and keep those secondaries, it will depend on what you obtain. Keep in mind you will want to use Awoken Dreadfang Cuirass, because catalysts also keep their cantrip effect! You do not want to use a "natural" Tier chest. This cuts both ways, you do not want to catalyze any regular armor item that has Versatility, as it would carry over to the tier piece! You ideally want to catalyse those pieces into tier:

• Helm: Crown of the Eternal Fang
• Shoulders: use the regular set item or Soulslither Spaulders
• Chest: Awoken Dreadfang Cuirass
• Hands: use the regular set item
• Legs: Cuisses of the Uncoiled Union

TipsWhich Raid Items Do I Want Most?

If you need to submit a list of highly-important items to your raid leader, or simply want to focus on the most important bosses and items, we got you covered!

• Aqirbane Reliquary.
• Awoken Dreadfang Cuirass
• Gebbo's Bottomless Bag

Elemental Shaman

1.3.

Best Gear from Raid

Serpent Crown of the Ophidian Oracle Helm

Catalyst on the item from Twin Fangs Empowered Blessing of Speed

Hexing Grips of the Ophidian Oracle Hands

Catalyst or Entombed Sentinels

Aqirbane Reliquary Neck

Ula'tek

Serpentine Mixing Belt Waist

Vashnik

Hissing Mantle of the Ophidian Oracle Shoulders

Catalyst on the item from Coiled Altar Amirdrassil's Grace

Leggings of the Ophidian Oracle Legs

Catalyst on the item from Coiled Altar Sunfire Silk Spellthread

Silken Voodoo Drape Cloak

Coiled Altar

Ferocious Scaleboots Feet

Sszorak Shaladrassil's Roots

Fanged Raiment of the Ophidian Oracle Chest

Catalyst on the item from Ula'tek Mark of the Worldsoul

Apex Brute's Claw Ring Ring

Sszorak Eyes of the Eagle

Shirt

Vile Alchemist's Band Ring

Vashnik Eyes of the Eagle

Tabard

Gebbo's Bottomless Bag Trinket

Lost Explorers

Farstrider's Plated Bracers Bracers

Crafted by Leatherworking

Wavecaller's Seastone Trinket

Tidebound Grotto

Jan'thrazet, the Soul Fang Main Hand

Ula'tek Rite of the Hash'ey

Aln'hara Lantern Off Hand

Crafted by Inscription

Itemization

Enchants and Stat Priority

Looking to optimize your character? Check out our Enchant and Stat Priority guides for more information!

EnchantsStats

Click for Elemental Shaman Trinket Rankings

Ranking	Elemental Shaman
S Tier	Any combination of the S-tier trinkets except double on-use is of similar value. Gebbo's Bottomless Bag : Our best passive trinket this tier but somewhat RNG dependent, one of the procs even reduces our stats. Freightrunner's Flask : Very solid but unexciting on-use. Wavecaller's Seastone : Very solid trinket, could be used instead of an on-use due to our lack of great options. Vile Vial of Volatile Venom : On-par with Freightrunner's Flask but the RNG aspect is unfortunate.
A Tier	Fang of Umbral Malignance shines only when killing stacked adds on top of a boss, potentially S tier in some circumstances. Vexhul's Everflowing Gland is a good Mythic+ option but otherwise unimpressive. Lightspire Core is strong if you can stand in the light beam reliably, but that is such a big downside we cannot recommend using it on any difficult content. Stormbound Emblem of Dazar gives a lot of Haste but is inferior to the A-tier options in all circumstances, unless you have very little Haste.
B Tier	Hex Lord's Dooming Idol is not worth the bother in most circumstances, though it does offer the largest burst potential when using its mostly or fully stacked effect and could be used when you need fewer, larger damage bursts. Glorious Crusader's Keepsake is your best option from Delves. Drum of Renewed Bonds if obtained at a competitive item level, make sure you adapt it to the secondary you need most. Knot of Writhing Serpents is okay, nothing special. Thalassian Competitor's Insignia of Alacrity is a very reasonable though unexciting option.
C Tier	Ruby Whelp Shell : use it on yourself when not surrounded by allies to make it give a Critical Strike buff, or have at least 3 allies next to you to gain a Haste buff instead. The proc is strong but happens very infrequently, making it very unreliable. Font of Venomous Rage gives a good bit of burst particularly if you can cleave things, but it is hard to justify its massive cooldown. Sapling of the Dawnroot is just okay in single-target and bad in other circumstances. Mindpiercer's Sigil has an annoying downside but is a reasonable option.
D Tier	Every trinket not yet listed belongs into D Tier or below.

Nebulous Voidcore are used to obtain items from specific bosses or dungeons, by letting you gain a guaranteed piece of loot from a specific drop-location. You still roll within the pool available there, but the next time you use a Voidcore in this location/boss on that difficulty, you will gain one of the items you did not get the previous time(s).

They are obtained from the Great Vault as an alternative reward choice (NOT bought with tokens), and are in practice a must pick in this patch once they are available starting with the second Vault of the season.

You should use your bonus rolls on Heroic Ula'tek for the first 3 weeks, guaranteeing you get all 3 Best-in-Slot items from the boss. In order for those to be guaranteed, set your loot spec to Restoration to remove a mediocre trinket from the pool.. Similarly, you should then set your loot spec to Enhancement for the best chance to coin the trinket from Lost Explorers.

Voidcore (Bonus Roll) Priority

1. Jan'thrazet, the Soul Fang
2. Venomcursed items: Aqirbane Reliquary and Awoken Dreadfang Cuirass
3. Gebbo's Bottomless Bag
4. Remaining BiS List items, starting Helm and Legs.

What you want to craft not only depends on loot/vault RNG, but also on your progression level and whether you want immediate power to blast now, or want to maximize the medium/long term effectiveness of your character. In all likelihood, you will not fail to clear a raid encounter just because you're missing a little potential DPS on your character, you will do so because of mechanical errors.

This tier, you have many options depending on your progression level and willingness to sacrifice early power for long-term value. It mostly comes down to whether you craft a 2-handed weapon or not:

• Option 1: Short Term Power: Aln'hara Cane with Hunter's Ritual Stone. Despite the nerf to the new Embellishment it remains very strong, and this gives you a lot of immediate power, at the cost of having to replace it within weeks, and you will be sad if your first coin gives you Jan'thrazet, the Soul Fang, particularly when mythic shields are particularly accessible this season from Tidebound Grotto and Lost Explorers.
• Option 2: The Longer View: if you will not absolutely need the immediate power boost, and instead aim for long-term efficiency, you should instead craft armor pieces with Arcanoweave Lining. The best long-term option is to craft Farstrider's Plated Bracers along with either Belt or Boots, though you could compromise and instead craft a higher value slot like Legs or Helm, though that comes with its own downsides.

Note that any combination of Critical Strike / Haste / Mastery is viable depending on your current gear. Use simulations and recraft as needed. If you have already crafted something else, do not worry, the actual power difference between options is small and will only get smaller every week.

Eventually you may want to use Aln'hara Cane with Hunter's Ritual Stone to edge out the maximum possible dps, but it is only about 300 dps above using a second Arcanoweave Lining slot with a regular mythic shield, and the shield comes with its own advantages particularly outside of raids or if you want to play Restoration.

Elemental Crafted Gear Priority

• Immediate Power Burst Aln'hara Cane (Not the Pikestaff!) with Hunter's Ritual Stone
• Farstrider's Plated Bracers and whatever armor slot you lack with Arcanoweave Lining

For more information about crafting gear you can visit our Professions 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 (and offhand), then your jewelry, and after that it is generally best to upgrade the armor slots that give the most stats: First Chest (particularly if you have Awoken Dreadfang Cuirass, Helm or Pants, then Gloves, Shoulders, Boots and Belt.

Elemental Shaman Crest Upgrade Priority

Weapon (Mainhand) ➜ Offhand➜ Trinkets ➜ Helmet/Chest/Legs ➜ Shoulders/Gloves/Belt/Boots

You can add sockets to Helmets, Belts, and Bracers with the Miasmic Jewelbinder consumable that you can get if you do not select any of the choices in your Great Vault. Not picking a choice will grant you tokens, six of which can be traded in for the Miasmic Jewelbinder item that allows you to add a socket to the above piece of gear, if you acquired them in Season 2.

Throughout this page and elsewhere in our guide, we regularly refer to the importance of simming yourself on Raidbots. This is because every character is unique, and each gear piece you have access to can change what is best right now for you.

While we do offer recommendations for gear and trinkets, these are not complete replacements for simming yourself. The only way to truly optimize your character to that degree is by making use of the tools available!

Optimization

Simulations and Tools

For further reading on how to truly maximize your character's potential, check out our guide on Raidbots!

Go to Guide

Stormy

Guide Author

Follow Stormy

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.

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