Fire totems on pull.

[DechCJC]

So while raiding on my elemental shaman i've always had this problem where i have to re-drop my searing totem after the pull because the damn thing doesn't attack the target until I start hitting it /sigh. Is there any way around this?

[Deleted]

So while raiding on my elemental shaman i've always had this problem where i have to re-drop my searing totem after the pull because the damn thing doesn't attack the target until I start hitting it /sigh. Is there any way around this?

Nope, or at least, I've yet to find a way around it. Its just one of the mechanics of the totem unfortunately.

[Karei]

Searing Totem has been known to do this. It has a persistent sticky target for some reason, still, the mana cost of one searing totem is diminishable so putting another one down is not a big problem. Also, once you have to rely on Searing after your Fire Ele expired you'll have to be redropping the totem from time to time anyways so again, not such a big deal if you have ST keybound

[DechCJC]

Yeah. It's just annoying on fights like heroic ultrax where every bit of dps really matters.

[Firminator]

yea make sure you predrop your whole totem set because you can just redrop searing totem and trigger a shorter GCD instead of the full one with a new totem set.

[Endus]

This is by design. If you drop it outside of combat, it will not target anything, since there are boss effects like auras that can trigger a guardian to attack even if the aura-providing monster isn't aggroed. It isn't "lost" DPS any more than you lose DPS from having to cast Flame Shock again.

[Deleted]

This is by design. If you drop it outside of combat, it will not target anything, since there are boss effects like auras that can trigger a guardian to attack even if the aura-providing monster isn't aggroed. It isn't "lost" DPS any more than you lose DPS from having to cast Flame Shock again.

Pretty much this. I view the Searing Totem for Elemental as a glorified DoT, and you can't put DoTs up on the boss pre-pull either.

[Drunkenfinn]

Yep, its quite annoying.

What I usually do (depends on the boss a bit, though) if I'm not popping FE at the start is pre-cast LB pre-pull -> Flame Shock -> redrop totems.

[Chronnos]

I view the Searing Totem for Elemental as a glorified DoT, and you can't put DoTs up on the boss pre-pull either.

Not entirely true. Hunters can pre-cast their traps and these start working the second the boss is engaged. It should be the same for shamans.

It isn't "lost" DPS any more than you lose DPS from having to cast Flame Shock again

It is for enhancers.

[Deleted]

Not entirely true. Hunters can pre-cast their traps and these start working the second the boss is engaged. It should be the same for shamans.


It is for enhancers.

It is not lost dps. You never had the extra dps from being able to drop it before combat to begin with and your sure as hell not losing any dps by having to drop it as soon as the fight starts. If anything it affects Enhancement even less because you can drop it while your running into melee range of the boss. No dps is lost.

[Deleted]

Not entirely true. Hunters can pre-cast their traps and these start working the second the boss is engaged. It should be the same for shamans.


It is for enhancers.

Again, its just like Flame Shock being put up on pull. And Traps work completely differently because you have to run over an area to activate them. You could go back to like 3.0 (was it changed in 3.1 or 3.2? Think 3.1...) Fire Nova Totem if you want, but other than that, our totems work completely different, and are essentially DoTs that can change the target they are on without you having to do anything. Think of it like Chain Heal, its a smart heal, Totems are a 'smart DoT'. Chain Heal may not jump too the person you want it too, and Searing may not attack the person they want it too, but its still way better off than normal DoTs are.

[Chronnos]

It is not lost dps.

It is lost dps. If the searing flames debuff would start stacking the second i entered combat, i would have a full stack of 5 by the time i use my second LL. As it is now, i rarely get more than 2-3 by that time. Hence less LL damage => some dps lost. And it may not count a lot on a fight like Ultraxion but it does make a difference on Spine's tendons.

[DechCJC]

Not like elemental dps is anything special at the moment anyway, it would be nice if it did work like this.

[Chronnos]

Totems are a 'smart DoT'

I see you're using "smart" loosely.

[Deleted]

It is lost dps. If the searing flames debuff would start stacking the second i entered combat, i would have a full stack of 5 by the time i use my second LL. As it is now, i rarely get more than 2-3 by that time. Hence less LL damage => some dps lost. And it may not count a lot on a fight like Ultraxion but it does make a difference on Spine's tendons.

It is not lost dps. You never had the ability to drop it pre fight and have it stacking the moment you entered combat. Your not losing any dps by having to drop it after you start combat. Your simply not gaining a tiny little extra dps by being able to drop it pre combat. It really is as fetter said. It's more of a glorified dot than anything else and you should really think of it as such.

[Endus]

It is lost dps. If the searing flames debuff would start stacking the second i entered combat, i would have a full stack of 5 by the time i use my second LL. As it is now, i rarely get more than 2-3 by that time. Hence less LL damage => some dps lost. And it may not count a lot on a fight like Ultraxion but it does make a difference on Spine's tendons.

It's only "lost DPS" in a world where all DPS is passive and generated entirely by your mere presence. It's effectively a DoT, and you can't cast a DoT on a target before it appears. It has the advantage of changing targets for its full duration without needing a recast. This does not mean it's broken.

[hexecute]

id rather it wait that way i don't aggro a grp by mistake if i place it on the ground before a thank pulls

[asharia]

It is not lost dps. You never had the extra dps from being able to drop it before combat to begin with and your sure as hell not losing any dps by having to drop it as soon as the fight starts. If anything it affects Enhancement even less because you can drop it while your running into melee range of the boss. No dps is lost.

its lost dps, if you are comparing to a scenario where the totem will start attacking without having to be redropped.

[Deleted]

Well i normally drop my totems before pull to maximize ToW uptime. Then on the pull timer/countdown i use Pot + EM + Lifebloom(yes i'm Herbs) then Flame Shock + instant LvB then 1 LB then Searing or FET(depending on boss/tactic, also becuase i think FET in the begining with almost 100% that all procs are up is better then to "time" FET @ the end for BL). Then most of the time i get a Lavasurge right after so i can LvB again and start on spamming LB.

[Endus]

its lost dps, if you are comparing to a scenario where the totem will start attacking without having to be redropped.

Which is like saying having to cast spells is lost DPS because if they were all just automatically cast with no cast time, you'd do more DPS.

It's not reality, and it's pointless and irrelevant to talk about it. There's nothing wrong with dropping fire totems after the pull.