Elemental Shaman DPS Mythic+ Tips — The War Within (Season 1)

Farseer builds are best for lower keys and keys where high single-target damage is important. Even in AoE, Farseer remains on par with Stormbringer unless the AoE is sustained and on 6+ targets, after which Stormbringer starts winning by a lot, but in most keys, that is simply not good enough.

Depending on the utility required in the dungeon, the class tree is very flexible.

• Thundershock makes Thunderstorm always useful but is not necessarily mandatory, as you may sometimes prefer the regular version or even come up with uses for Traveling Storms.
• Purge, Poison Cleansing Totem, Cleanse Spirit and Tremor Totem, Earthgrab Totem, and Hex are only picked in select dungeons. The dungeon section below will tell you all you need to know.
• Many talents such as Hex, Earthgrab Totem, Thundershock, or the talents improving Astral Shift, Capacitor Totem and Wind Rush Totem largely depend on your group skill, composition, and the key level. We do not recommend Astral Bulwark unless you have very specific reasons to grab it, however.
• Earth Shield, Elemental Orbit, Refreshing Waters, Healing Stream Totem, Elemental Resistance and Totemic Focus are floating points that you get once you have selected all the talents you actually need.

Be sure to make use of the 'Export Talents' button to import the best build directly into your game!

Stormbringer only makes sense on keys with a lot of sustained, heavy AoE, where pulls will be big, last a while, and you will not end up wasting too much time or wiping on bosses because you lost a significant portion of your single-target DPS. It is hard to give definitive recommendations on when to use this hero talent, as it not only depends on the dungeon but also on key level, party composition, gear, and even proficiency/skill level. Right now, the idea is that the bigger you pull and the higher the key where those bigs pull occur, the more interesting Stormbringer gets, but you have to weigh against it that the loss of single-target damage it incurs.

Depending on the utility required in the dungeon, the class tree is very flexible.

• Seasoned Winds, Purge, Poison Cleansing Totem, Cleanse Spirit and Tremor Totem are only picked in select dungeons. The dungeon section below will tell you all you need to know.
• Many talents such as Hex, Earthgrab Totem, Thundershock, or the talents improving Astral Shift, Capacitor Totem and Wind Rush Totem largely depend on your group skill, composition, and key level. We do not recommend Astral Bulwark unless you have very specific reasons to grab it, however.
• Earth Shield, Elemental Orbit, Refreshing Waters, Healing Stream Totem, Elemental Resistance and Totemic Focus are floating points that you get once you have selected all the talents you actually need.

Be sure to make use of the 'Export Talents' button to import the best build directly into your game!

Wind Shear is your "kick" and your most important bit of utility in Mythic+, used to stop enemy casts for the benefit of the group and especially the tank. It is highly recommended to use a Focus Kick macro for this.

• /stopcasting
• /stopcasting
• /cast [@focus,exists,nodead][@mouseover,exists,nodead] [] Wind Shear

This macro will kick your focus target if you have one, mouseover if you have no Focus target, and your target if you have neither of those.

To quickly set a focus target in hectic scenarios, we also recommend a Focus Mouseover macro.

• /focus [@mouseover]

Make sure that your UI shows your Focus Target's casts clearly so that you are always able to kick it on cooldown or in coordination with the rest of your group.

Elemental Shamans have a large variety of "hard" crowd-control abilities available to them, but they all work in different ways.

Earthquake will "naturally" knock enemies down from time to time, giving you free stops, though its unpredictability makes it so you should never count on it to reliably interrupt any cast. Think of it as a bonus.

Capacitor Totem is delayed but reliable, and both of the talents improving it are useful, especially Guardian's Cudgel if your party is short on stuns. Note that Totemic Recall can allow you to cast it back-to-back if that is helpful.

Thunderstorm, whether or not you are using Thundershock, will interrupt enemies and knock them away or up. Be very careful of the direction you will knock enemies to if not using Thundershock.

Hex is meant as a long-duration crowd-control but can serve as a stop in a pinch, though it is rarely practical or efficient.

Note that Earthgrab Totem "roots" a target but is not a "stop"; it only prevents movement. Same thing with Frost Shocks buffed by Surge of Power.

Technically, Earth Elemental with Primal Elementalist also brings a stun, but because we cannot have two Primal Elementals up at the same time and our Storm Elemental will have extremely high uptime; it is difficult to really make use of it.

Elemental has reasonably good mobility for several reasons:

Many Instant spells:

• We have several instant abilities in our rotation: Primordial Wave, Storm Elemental, Earth Shock/ Earthquake, Liquid Magma Totem, Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning buffed by Stormkeeper
• With our current rotation, we do not use Lava Surge unless it is to consume Primordial Wave. This means that Lava Surges can be used as a "movement cooldown", allowing us the occasional movement GCD when we do not want to or cannot cast a rotational instant spell, with only a minimal damage loss.
• Stormbringer users can use Nature's Swiftness as a reactive instant, and gain additional instant Chain Lightning from Arc Discharge.

Powerful mobility tools:

• Wind Rush Totem, especially boosted by Jet Stream or Ascending Air, and potentially by Totemic Focus, is a powerful ability that is useful for any content, having a powerful effect on a low effective cooldown thanks to Flash of Lightning and the possibility of getting 2 in a row with Totemic Recall. Moreover, you can extend its benefits by using Totemic Projection to reposition it!
• Spiritwalker's Grace not only gives you full mobility while casting for 15 seconds (up to 19 for Farseer!), it also gives you 20% movement speed and has a very short cooldown thanks to Graceful Spirit and Flash of Lightning.
• Gust of Wind is fantastically versatile burst mobility, while our other choice Spirit Walk has a much higher cooldown but gets rid of root and snare effects.
• Ghost Wolf form needs to be used sparingly in combat but is very useful, especially due to Thunderous Paws or potentially Spirit Wolf in higher keys.

Shamans have an excellent toolkit that greatly benefits from being tailored to each dungeon:

Off-healing:

• Ancestral Guidance is a powerful cooldown that will significantly help your healer. Make sure you can do full damage during it, potentially pair it with Spiritwalker's Grace and damage cooldowns.
• Earth Shield, especially when also cast on your tank, can add up to very significant healing almost for free, especially when paired with
• Healing Surge is a generic fast heal that only really shines when you are healing yourself and have Earth Shield and Refreshing Waters talented, but is still solid.
• Healing Stream Totem is one of those abilities you drop when you have nothing else you can do; it helps a little bit, and Elemental Resistance can potentially help surviving one-shots.

Many kinds of "opt-in" dispells:

• Purge can remove scary magic buffs on enemies, as well as help deal with the Ascendant Affix.
• Cleanse Spirit removes curses and can help deal with the Devour Affix.
• Poison Cleansing Totem removes all poison effects on your entire party every 1.5 seconds for up to 9 seconds. When it is useful, you most likely want to have Totemic Focus as it increases its duration by 50%.
• Tremor Totem removes Charm, Fear, and Sleep effects. It is rarely useful, but is the best tool in the game to deal with these debuffs when they happen.

Note that the Seasoned Winds talent has use in every dungeon, although it is much more important in some (Dawnbreaker, Necrotic Wake, Stonevault) than in others (Siege of Boralus).

• Ara-Kara:
  • Poison Cleansing Totem
  • Earthgrab Totem roots adds on the 1st boss
  • Spirit Walk or Thundershock can remove the root effect from Black Blood in the last part of the dungeon
• City of Threads
  • Poison Cleansing Totem
  • Thunderous Paws stops Silk Binding from Sureki Silkbinder
  • Jet Stream to remove Ice Sickles on the 2nd boss. Totemic Recall to remove a second set.
  • Spirit Walk removes root effects on the last boss/miniboss
• Dawnbreaker: Cleanse Spirit, Purge
• Grim Batol:
  • Cleanse Spirit
  • Earthgrab Totem roots adds on the 3rd boss
  • Jet Stream (optional)
• Mists of tirna Scithe:
  • Poison Cleansing Totem
  • Purge
  • Tremor Totem
  • Earthgrab Totem can dispel Illusionary Vulpin on the 2nd boss and root adds on the last boss
• Necrotic Wake:
  • Purge
  • Tremor Totem
  • Earthgrab Totem roots adds on the 1st boss
  • Thunderous Paws and/or Spirit Walk can remove the dangerous root effect on the last boss, highly recommended.
• Siege of Boralus:
  • Purge
  • Poison Cleansing Totem
  • Cleanse Spirit (optional)
• Stonevault: Cleanse Spirit, Tremor Totem

In this dungeon, we recommend getting the following talents in order to help deal with specific mechanics:

• Poison Cleansing Totem
• Earthgrab Totem
• Spirit Walk or Thundershock

• Use Earthgrab Totem to root Starved Crawlers when fighting Avanoxx (first boss).
• Use Poison Cleansing Totem against Venom Volley and Cultivated Poisons when fighting Ki'katal, the Harvester (last boss). Be wary of the waves when dispelling Cultivated Poisons!
• Use Spirit Walk, Thunderstorm with Thundershock or Capacitor Totem to get rid of the Black Bloods that root you when fighting Ki'katal, the Harvester (last boss).

• Use Poison Cleansing Totem against Atik to remove Poison Bolt.
• Use Poison Cleansing Totem against Engorged Crawler to remove Venomous Spit.
• Spirit Walk, Thunderstorm with Thundershock or Capacitor Totem can be used to get rid of the Black Blood that root you in the last area.
• Use Poison Cleansing Totem against Bloodstained Webmage to remove Revolting Volley.

In this dungeon, we recommend getting the following talents in order to help deal with specific mechanics:

• Poison Cleansing Totem
• Jet Stream
• Thunderous Paws
• Spirit Walk (optional)

• Use Wind Rush Totem with Jet Stream to remove Ice Sickles when fighting Fangs of the Queen (2nd boss). If needed, use Totemic Recall to remove another set.
• Use Spirit Walk to remove Umbral Weave when fighting Izo, the Grand Splicer (last boss).

• Use Poison Cleansing Totem against Sureki Venomblade to remove Venom Strike.
• Use Poison Cleansing Totem against Royal Venomshell to remove Venomous Spray.
• Use Thunderous Paws to remove Silk Binding from Sureki Silkbinder.
• Use Spirit Walk to remove Umbral Weave when fighting Elder Shadeweaver (miniboss before the last boss).

In this dungeon, we recommend getting the following talents in order to help deal with specific mechanics:

• Cleanse Spirit
• Purge

• No fancy tips yet. Please check back throughout the Season, as I am sure to find fancy tips to put here!

• Use Cleanse Spirit against Nightfall Shadowmages to remove Ensnaring Shadows.
• Use Purge against Nightfall Darkcaster to remove Umbral barrier.
• Use Purge against Nightfall Commander to remove Abyssal Howl.
• Use Purge against Sureki Militant to remove Silken Shell.

In this dungeon, we recommend getting the following talents in order to help deal with specific mechanics:

• Cleanse Spirit
• Earthgrab Totem
• Jet Stream (optional)

• Use Cleanse Spirit to remove Curse of Entropy against Drahga Shadowburner (3rd boss).
• Use Earthgrab Totem to root adds against Drahga Shadowburner (3rd boss)

• Use Cleanse Spirit against Twilight Warlocks to remove Enveloping Shadowflame.
• Use Wind Rush Totem with Jet Stream against Twilight Earthcallers to remove Mass Tremor if not interrupted.

In this dungeon, we recommend getting the following talents in order to help deal with specific mechanics:

• Poison Cleansing Totem
• Purge
• Tremor Totem
• Earthgrab Totem or Hex

• Use Tremor Totem remove Repulsive Visage on Ingra Maloch (1st boss). Remember the 1.5 sec delay and try to time it right!
• Use Earthgrab Totem or Hex to get rid of Illusionary Vulpin on Mistcaller (2nd boss).

• Use Purge against Mistveil Tender to remove Nourish the Forest.
• Use Purge against Mistveil Shaper to remove Bramblethron Coat.
• Use Purge against Spinemaw Staghorn to remove Stimulate Resistance.
• Use Poison Cleansing Totem against Mistveil Gorgegullet to remove Poisonous Secretions.
• Use Poison Cleansing Totem against Mistveil Nightblossom to remove Triple Bite.
• Use Poison Cleansing Totem against Spinemaw Reaver to remove Debilitating Poison.

In this dungeon, we recommend getting the following talents in order to help deal with specific mechanics:

• Purge
• Tremor Totem
• Earthgrab Totem
• Thunderous Paws and/or Spirit Walk

• Use Earthgrab Totem to root Carrion Worms when fighting Blightbone (1st boss)
• Use Spirit Walk or Ghost Wolf when Thunderous Paws is talented to remove Frozen Binds on the last boss: Nalthor the Rimebinder

• Use Purge against Nar'zudah (optional miniboss) to remove Dark Shroud.
• Use Tremor Totem against Skeletal Marauder to remove Rasping Scream.

In this dungeon, we recommend getting the following talents in order to help deal with specific mechanics:

• Purge
• Poison Cleansing Totem
• Cleanse Spirit (optional)

• No fancy tips yet. Please check back throughout the Season, as I am sure to find fancy tips to put here!

• Use Cleanse Spirit against Irontide Curseblade to remove Cursed Slash.
• Use Purge against Irontide Waveshaper to remove Watertight Shell.
• Use Purge against Ashvane Commander to remove Bolstering Shout.
• Use Poison Cleansing Totem against Ashvane Invaders to remove Stinging Venom stacks.

In this dungeon, we recommend getting the following talents in order to help deal with specific mechanics:

• Cleanse Spirit
• Tremor Totem
• Jet Stream (optional)

• No fancy tips yet. Please check back throughout the Season, as I am sure to find fancy tips to put here!

• Use Tremor Totem against Ghastly Voidsoul to remove Howling Fear.
• You can use Wind Rush Totem to get rid of the Ground Pound effect from Earth Infused Golems
• Use Cleanse Spirit against Cursedheart Invader to remove Void Infection.

Elemental has quite a few ways to deal with this affix:

• Wind Shear
• Purge
• Thunderstorm
• Capacitor Totem potentially twice in a row with Totemic Recall, and available more often if specced into Static Charge
• Earthquake (unreliable, only for orbs stacked on enemies)

All your mobility tools come in handy to help soak the Shattered Essence:

• Wind Rush Totem to help your entire party soak them
• Spiritwalker's Grace so you can keep casting and gain movement from Graceful Spirit
• Gust of Wind or Spirit Walk
• Ghost Wolf especially with Thunderous Paws. Technically Winds of Al'Akir can further help, if you really have the spare points.

Poison Cleansing Totem immediately dispels everything. Pretty strong! You can get a second one if needed with Totemic Recall.

You can also spec into Cleanse Spirit, but unless it is good in that particular dungeon, it should not be necessary.