Elemental Shaman DPS Guide (Legion 7.3.5)

Table of Contents

• ×Introduction
  • 1. Class Overview
  • 2. Patch 7.3 Changes for Elemental Shaman
  • 3. Patch 7.2.5 Changes for Elemental Shaman
  • 4. Elemental Shaman Strengths
  • 5. Elemental Shaman Weaknesses
  • 6. Elemental Shaman Viability in the Current Patch
  • 7. Contents
  • 8. ChangeLog
• +Easy Mode
  • 1. The Basics for Elemental Shaman
  • 2. Talent Choice for Elemental Shaman
    • 2.1. Single Target
    • 2.2. Multitarget
  • 3. Stat Priority for Elemental Shaman
  • 4. Basic Priority List for Elemental Shaman
  • 5. 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. Artifact Ability for Elemental Shaman
  • 7. ChangeLog
• +Builds and Talents
  • 1. Talent Choices
  • 2. Talent Cheat Sheets for Elemental Shaman
    • 2.1. The "Gambler"
    • 2.2. Icefury Build
    • 2.3. Lightning Rod Build
    • 2.4. Ascendance Build
    • 2.5. Mythic+
  • 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. ChangeLog
• +Artifact Traits and Relics
  • 1. Artifact Progression for Elemental Shaman — First 35 Points
    • 1.1. Early Point Investment
    • 1.2. Second Golden Trait
    • 1.3. Final Point Investment
    • 1.4. Patch 7.2: 35+ Trait Path for Elemental Shaman
  • 2. Relic Priority for Elemental Shaman
    • 2.1. Single Target
    • 2.2. Intermittent Cleave and AoE
  • 3. ChangeLog
• +Netherlight Crucible Relic Paths
  • 1. General Optimization Advice for Elemental Shaman
  • 2. Single Target Priority for Elemental Shaman
  • 3. Intermittent Cleave and AoE Priority for Elemental Shaman
  • 4. ChangeLog
• +Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities
  • 1. Rotation for Elemental Shaman
    • 1.1. Single Target Rotation — Ascendance Build
    • 1.2. Single Target Rotation — Lightning Rod Build
    • 1.3. Single Target Rotation — Icefury Build
      • 1.3.1. Icefury Optimization
    • 1.4. Multiple Target Rotation
      • 1.4.1. 2 Targets
      • 1.4.2. 3 Targets
      • 1.4.3. 4 Targets
  • 2. Cooldown Usage for Elemental Shaman
    • 2.1. Ascendance
    • 2.2. Fire Elemental
    • 2.3. Stormkeeper
  • 3. Playing with Smoldering Heart as Elemental Shaman
  • 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. Ascendance Opener
    • 6.2. Icefury Opener
  • 7. ChangeLog
• +Boss by Boss Strategies
  • 1. Elemental Shaman Boss Advice: Antorus, the Burning Throne
    • 1.1. Garothi Worldbreaker
    • 1.2. Felhounds of Sargeras
    • 1.3. Antoran High Command
    • 1.4. Eonar the Life-Binder
    • 1.5. Portal Keeper Hasabel
    • 1.6. Imonar the Soulhunter
    • 1.7. Kin'garoth
    • 1.8. Varimathras
    • 1.9. The Coven of Shivarra
    • 1.10. Aggramar
    • 1.11. Argus the Unmaker
  • 2. Elemental Shaman Boss Advice: Trial of Valor
    • 2.1. Odyn
    • 2.2. Guarm
    • 2.3. Helya
  • 3. Elemental Shaman Boss Advice: Emerald Nightmare
    • 3.1. Nythendra
    • 3.2. Ursoc
    • 3.3. Elerethe Renferal
    • 3.4. Dragons of Nightmare
    • 3.5. Il'gynoth, Heart of Corruption
    • 3.6. Cenarius
    • 3.7. Xavius
  • 4. ChangeLog
• +Stat Priority
  • 1. Stat Priority for Elemental Shaman
    • 1.1. Ascendance Build
    • 1.2. Lightning Rod
    • 1.3. Icefury Build
    • 1.4. Gambler Build
  • 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
      • 2.2.1. Mouseouver Earthquake
      • 2.2.2. Stopcast Gust of Wind
  • 3. ChangeLog
• +Gear, Legendaries, and Best in Slot
  • 1. Tier 21 Set Bonus for Elemental Shaman
  • 2. Tier 20 Set Bonus for Elemental Shaman
  • 3. Trinket Notes for Elemental Shaman
  • 4. Legendary Items for Elemental Shaman
  • 5. Loot Competition for Elemental Shaman
  • 6. ChangeLog

General Information

Welcome to our Elemental Shaman DPS guide for World of Warcraft Legion 7.3.5. Here, you will learn everything you need to know about playing an Elemental Shaman in a raid environment and in Mythic+ dungeons.

About Our Author and Reviewers

This guide has been written by Furty, who has an illustrious history in the World of Warcraft raiding scene and race for World First. He has been a member of guilds such as Serenity, Midwinter, and many more, and is currently raiding in Future. He plays most classes at the highest level. You can follow him on Twitter and watch him play on Twitch.

This guide has been written in collaboration with the team at Storm Earth and Lava, a group of Elemental theorycrafters that includes top players and prominent theorycrafters such as Stormy, Sadozai from Wizards IRL, and Gistwiki from Indestructible.

1. Class Overview

Elemental Shaman is a damage dealing spellcaster with a straightforward but flexible toolkit. Elemental Shamans can approach a multitude of environments without feeling compromised, though we feel particularly at home when several low priority targets are grouped around the main target. Sustained cleave or AoE allows us to generate significantly more resources, which allows us to pour more damage into the main target, or put it all back into even greater multitarget damage.

Through certain talents, Elemental can also provide infrequent but very powerful burst damage, allowing them to surge ahead during short damage checks or dungeon bosses. Overall, this specialization has a tool or talent for every scenario, and feels like a true jack of all trades.

2. Patch 7.3 Changes for Elemental Shaman

• Earthquake damage increased by 19%.
• Static Overload redesigned; after using Stormkeeper, your next Chain Lightning causes Elemental Overload to trigger on every target.
• All damage abilities increased by 6% (excluding Chain Lightning).
• Earth Shock damage increased by 7%.
• Frost Shock damage increased by 13%.
• Elemental Blast damage increased by 7%.
• Elemental Blast now provides 2000 stats at level 110 (down from 2400).
• Totem Mastery: Storm Totem bonus is now 5% (down from 10%).

3. Patch 7.2.5 Changes for Elemental Shaman

• New legendary items have been added.
• Range of summoning Elemental spells increased from 30 yards to 40 yards.
• Earth Elemental now has 600% armor (was 400%) and 150% life (was 100%). Earth Elemental also has a 6% lower probability to get hit by a Critical Strike.
• Tier 19 4-piece nerfed: Elemental Focus increases damage and healing by an additional 7% (down from 10%).
• Storm Elemental damage buffed by 25%.
• Earthquake no longer gains additional ticks from Haste, but damage increased by 55%.
• Earth Shock damage increased by 25%.
• Frost Shock damage increased by 25%.

4. Elemental Shaman Strengths

• Potential for good burst damage
• Fantastic on cleave encounters
• Extremely flexible specialization
• Easy to gear due to lack of mail users

5. Elemental Shaman Weaknesses

• Deals with movement poorly
• Outclassed by other specializations in terms of pure damage

6. Elemental Shaman Viability in the Current Patch

Elemental is currently sitting just below the middle of the pack in Antorus, the Burning Throne. Despite being below par overall, there are several encounters where they not only excel, but have the potential to dominate other specializations. A great example of this is Portal Keeper Hasabel, where we can use the adds from Transport Portals to fuel our damage output, boosting it to new heights that other classes simply can't compete with. On single target or spread cleave encounters, however, Elemental is simply outclassed.

7. Contents

To make it easy to navigate the guide, we have split it into 11 pages:

• Easy Mode: TL;DR to own without reading much;
• Spell Summary: see a summary of all your useful spells;
• Builds and Talents: learn how to choose your talents;
• Artifact Traits and Relics: discover how to level up your Artifact;
• Netherlight Crucible Relic Paths: choose the right paths on your Netherlight Crucible;
• Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities: master your rotation and your cooldowns;
• Boss by Boss Strategies: find out how to defeat current content bosses;
• Stat Priority: read up on the respective values of your statistics;
• Gems, Enchants, and Consumables: choose the best gems, enchantments, etc.;
• Macros and Addons: step up your game with useful macros and addons;
• Gear, Legendaries, and Best in Slot: find the best gear you can wear.

8. ChangeLog

• 02 Mar. 2018 (rotation page): Fixed a typo in Ascendance APL.
• 19 Feb. 2018 (stats page): Updated stat ratios and priorities.
• 19 Feb. 2018 (enchants page): Updated recommended gems, neck enchant, and food choice.
• 19 Feb. 2018 (spells page): Added Stormkeeper. Removed spell description from Rotation page.
• 19 Feb. 2018 (rotation page): Complete renovation of page layout and content.
• 18 Feb. 2018 (easy mode page): Updated Talents, Stats, and Priority List.
• 18 Feb. 2018 (Netherlight Crucible page): Redesigned entire page; Tier 2 and Tier 3 sections removed. Added two overall priorities for Single Target and Multitarget.
• 18 Feb. 2018 (addons page): Updated Earthquake macro text.
• 18 Feb. 2018 (artifact page): Re-ordered Relic Priorities into two separate lists; single target and multitarget.
• 18 Feb. 2018 (this page): Updated introductory paragraphs, strengths/weaknesses, and viability.
• 03 Jan. 2018 (talents page): Updated cheat sheets and talent selections.
• 03 Jan. 2018 (gear page): Updated Smoldering Heart discussion.
• 20 Dec. 2017 (gear page): Fixed a typo referencing a pair of shoulders instead of the correct trinket.
• 05 Dec. 2017 (stats page): Updated stat ratios.
• 30 Nov. 2017 (gear page): Updated trinket list, added Tier 21, and legendaries. Removed BiS for now.
• 30 Nov. 2017 (Netherlight Crucible page): Updated Tier 2 & 3 hierarchy.
• 13 Oct. 2017 (Netherlight Crucible page): Added a note about Dark Sorrows.
• 12 Sep. 2017 (Netherlight Crucible page): Added Netherlight Crucible page for Elemental Shaman.
• 12 Sep. 2017 (gear page): Updated trinket list.
• 29 Aug. 2017 (stats page): Re-added new stat ratios, added "The Gambler" build priority, re-ordered stats priorities.
• 29 Aug. 2017 (enchants page): Revised recommended gems, redesigned "Consumables" section, and added a note about Healthstones in Patch 7.3.
• 29 Aug. 2017 (rotation page): Small change for Patch 7.3: Added Earthquake to 2-target rotation.
• 29 Aug. 2017 (talents page): Added a new single target build ("The Gambler") and adjusted some talent explanations for Patch 7.3.
• 28 Aug. 2017 (enchants page): Added Lightforged Augment Rune and new 7.3 epic gems. Made Haste enchants and gems default.
• 28 Aug. 2017 (stats page): Removed ratios, changed stat priority, removed "Why is Mastery So Good..." section.
• 28 Aug. 2017 (this page): Added Patch 7.3 changes.
• 24 Jun. 2017 (stats page): Added some mentions of optimal stat ratios.
• 24 Jun. 2017 (easy mode page): Updated stat priority.
• 24 Jun. 2017 (rotation page): Updated Maelstrom Management section slightly.
• 22 Jun. 2017 (artifact page): Added Lightning Rod relics, updated Ascendance/Icefury relics.
• 22 Jun. 2017 (talents page): Adjusted a few talent descriptions, added some new talent recommendations for specific Legendary builds.
• 22 Jun. 2017 (this page): Updated strengths/weaknesses and viability section.
• 21 Jun. 2017 (rotation page): Updated openers, action priority lists, and cooldown usage.
• 21 Jun. 2017 (stats page): Updated stat priorities.
• 20 Jun. 2017 (gear page): Added Tomb of Sargeras best in slot and Tier 20 section, updated trinket list.
• 14 Jun. 2017 (rotation page): Removed mention of Earthquake on single-target as it no longer gains ticks based on Haste.
• 14 Jun. 2017 (gear page): Added Smoldering Heart and Soul of the Farseer to Legendary items section.
• 14 Jun. 2017 (this page): Added Patch 7.2.5 changes.
• 19 Apr. 2017 (rotation page): Added Earthquake on single-target section based on new theorycraft. Modified rotations based on the new builds we present in the talents page.
• 19 Apr. 2017 (talents page): Tweaked talent recommendations for Tiers 1 and 7. Updated default talent builds as a result.
• 29 Mar. 2017 (enchants page): Added Lavish Suramar Feast.
• 27 Mar. 2017 (artifact page): Added new path for Patch 7.2 traits.
• 27 Mar. 2017 (stats page): No changes needed for Patch 7.2.
• 27 Mar. 2017 (rotation page): No changes needed for Patch 7.2.
• 27 Mar. 2017 (gear page): No changes needed for Patch 7.2.
• 27 Mar. 2017 (this page): Added Patch 7.2 changes.
• 27 Mar. 2017 (talents page): No changes needed for Patch 7.2.
• 06 Feb. 2017 (bosses page): Added Antorus, the Burning Throne boss recommendations.
• 20 Jan. 2017 (gear page): Full update to BiS and legendaries.
• 09 Jan. 2017 (gear page): Updated trinket and legendary rankings. Will update BiS list later.
• 09 Jan. 2017 (stats page): Added new stat priorities and separated them based on talent build. Also added explanation for why Mastery has increased in value in Patch 7.1.5.
• 09 Jan. 2017 (bosses page): Updated for Patch 7.1.5, and ToV talent recommendations added.
• 09 Jan. 2017 (rotation page): Fully updated rotation page for Patch 7.1.5.
• 09 Jan. 2017 (artifact page): Updated Relic priority and leading talent builds.
• 09 Jan. 2017 (talents page): Fully updated talents page for 7.1.5. Also added separate builds to accommodate Legendary items.
• 09 Jan. 2017 (this page): Updated description, strengths/weaknesses, viability, and added 7.1.5 changes section for clarity.
• 09 Jan. 2017 (enchants page): Added note on Mastery enchants.
• 09 Dec. 2016 (easy mode page): Added easy mode for Elemental Shaman.
• 01 Dec. 2016 (talents page): Updated Lightning Rod/Ascendance description for additional clarity. Also removed a few talents that were close contenders but did not see much practical use (e.g. Echo).
• 01 Dec. 2016 (enchants page): Updated notes on consumables (food/potion).
• 01 Dec. 2016 (addons page): Added Earthquake mouseover.
• 01 Dec. 2016 (stats page): Added some more detailed notes on stat synergy.
• 01 Dec. 2016 (artifact page): Split Relic choice section into two separate sections to account for leading talent builds.
• 01 Dec. 2016 (rotation page): Split guide into single & multi target sections for clarity. Added two separate opening sequences for different Tier 7 talents.
• 01 Dec. 2016 (bosses page): Removed Echo from viable talents on Cenarius/Xavius.
• 01 Dec. 2016 (gear page): Fully updated Legendary rankings.
• 25 Oct. 2016 (rotation page): Updated Stormkeeper section to note that it now has a 1.5-second cast and affected spells are now instant in Patch 7.1.
• 21 Oct. 2016 (this page): Updated strengths/weaknesses.
• 21 Oct. 2016 (bosses page): Added boss by boss guide for Elemental Shaman.
• 21 Oct. 2016 (talents page): Updated talent balance based on practical results in Emerald Nightmare.
• 21 Oct. 2016 (enchants page): Updated neck enchant.
• 21 Oct. 2016 (gear page): Added trinket rankings to help with Mythic+ trinket determinations.
• 08 Oct. 2016 (gear page): Updated BiS.
• 29 Aug. 2016 (artifact page): Added
• 29 Aug. 2016 (talents page): Updated for Legion's launch.
• 29 Aug. 2016 (this page): Updated for Legion's launch.
• 29 Aug. 2016 (enchants page): Updated for Legion's launch.
• 29 Aug. 2016 (spells page): Updated for Legion's launch.
• 29 Aug. 2016 (gear page): Updated for Legion's launch.
• 29 Aug. 2016 (stats page): Updated for Legion's launch.
• 29 Aug. 2016 (rotation page): Updated for Legion's launch.
• 20 Jul. 2016 (gear page): Removed trinket sims and added trinket recommendations.
• 18 Jul. 2016 (stats page): Updated for the Legion pre-patch.
• 18 Jul. 2016 (talents page): Updated for the Legion pre-patch.
• 18 Jul. 2016 (enchants page): Updated for the Legion pre-patch.
• 18 Jul. 2016 (spells page): Updated for the Legion pre-patch.
• 18 Jul. 2016 (addons page): Updated for the Legion pre-patch.
• 18 Jul. 2016 (this page): Updated for the Legion pre-patch.
• 18 Jul. 2016 (gear page): Updated for the Legion pre-patch.
• 18 Jul. 2016 (rotation page): Updated for the Legion pre-patch.
• 09 Jan. 2016 (easy mode page): Updated easy mode talent build.

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