Thread: Searing Totem

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  1. #1
    Deleted

    Searing Totem

    Is Searing totem for elemental shamans a dps increase? Because I always forget to use it and on every guide they say you should always keep it up.

  2. #2
    yes why would the guides lie about something like that?!? I mean you drop it and it does damage while you do more damage, why wouldn't you drop it?

  3. #3
    Deleted
    Yeah, definitely 100% use it.

    I'm guessing though you have recently started playing Shaman? For me at the start of MoP, changing main from Fury Warrior to Enh Shaman was really strange, I was really bad at keeping Searing Totem up. Just gotta get used to it.

  4. #4
    I hate that totem and never used it. It's like 3% of your dps so if it's annoyance outweighs your desire to minmax, cut it from your bars. It's only saving grace is the serpent ward glyph. I never got a chance to get it though before my sub ran out.

  5. #5
    Its not a massive, make-or-break dps increase but yeah it is a dps increase and definitely worth using.
    "If the people who are trying to destroy this world aren't taking a day off, then why should I?"

    -Bob Marley

  6. #6
    the priority for searing totem is just barely above lightning bolt, so if you have anything else to cast, put that searing totem on hold. Probably not worth the global during Chain Lightning spam too

  7. #7
    Light Movement, 25k iterations, 300s length

    My Gear: 44.5k spell power, 35.4% haste, 22.26% crit, 70.59% mastery, Cloak + LMG, 4/5 T16, Immerseus Warforged trinket and Normal mode Cleave trinket (best I have for ST, sadly.)


    PE Build, no FE Glyph
    Without Searing Totem = 288475 dps
    With Searing totem (No restrictions) = 291113 dps
    With Searing Totem (if more than 20 seconds left on FE totem CD) > Lightning Bolt = 291227 dps

    That's an increase of 2752 dps, or less than a 0.95% increase.

    UF Build, no FE Glyph
    Without Searing totem = 295623 dps
    With Searing Totem (no restrictions) = 297853
    With Searing Totem (only if > 20 seconds on FE Totem) = 297934 dps

    Increase of 2311 dps or 0.78%.

    Figures which led to results In the UF build (which favors LB more than PE does)

    Searing Totem does an average of 10959 damage and averaged about 36 ticks per cast (factoring haste buffs). That's an average total damage of 394k damage per searing totem cast.

    Lighting Bolt averages 157 damage + 116k on overload, for approximately 238k damage per cast plus a 6% chance of proccing EoE for a total average of 252k per cast.

    Conclusion 140k damage over sixty seconds is minimal, but it's undoubtedly an increase. If you forget to cast Searing Totem, you're losing dps, but not monumentally so.
    Last edited by jimmyolsen; 2013-11-16 at 06:05 PM.

  8. #8
    Deleted
    It's a DPS increase yes, you sacrifice one GCD for free damage over 60 seconds. Sure it's annoying, but still a small small DPS increase

  9. #9
    Just don't prioritise it over a Lava Burst.

  10. #10
    It's funny I log onto the forums to see this made a topic. I was just discussing this with a friend today. In the scheme of things, Searing totem will always be a DPS up - it's just very minor. If you forget for a few seconds, no biggy. However - please note that your searing totem needs to be active for almost the entire duration to make this a DPS up. It's really easy to lose out on some DPS by dropping it and then being ported to a new zone (for example the Intermissions on Garrosh).

    I do like how WoD might address our searing totem if you take that level 100 talent, but I hope there's another way we can make it look more appealing next expansion - or at least some better scaling on it.

  11. #11
    Searing totem is annoying to have to keep putting down every minute for such a small dps increase. So I don't even bother with it. I just think they should just get rid of it. It's pretty much pointless to use or have. Either that or maybe they could redesign it so it does a little more dps and, I don't know, has a chance of applying another fire dot on the target? I don't know. Anything is better than what it currently is at the moment.

  12. #12
    I totally agreed with the above remarks. Actually searing totem does about 1% of your total damage and, as I already said in another thread, that makes it almost useless. It needs for sure a deep review either on flat damage or on scale ratio.

  13. #13
    Deleted
    Its better to not use it, that i have found. Its just another timer you have to look for, and frankly this one is useless to look to.

  14. #14
    If you're raiding or min-maxing at all, you better be dropping Searing Totem every minute. It's minor, but free, damage.

  15. #15
    It's like a 1 minute dot, no reason not to drop it, ticks pretty strong i think mine hits about 8k and crits 16k

    - - - Updated - - -

    Quote Originally Posted by Mortalomena View Post
    Its better to not use it, that i have found. Its just another timer you have to look for, and frankly this one is useless to look to.
    And you are so wrong, Elemental shamans have VERY few timers to watch. You are gonna loose out on dps because you can't bother to watch 1 timer?

  16. #16
    I like dropping it even on leveling pulls. It's like having a little pet with you.

    For enhancement it seems more useful because of searing flames.

  17. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by sergel02 View Post
    For enhancement it seems more useful because of searing flames.
    Not usefull, absolutely necessary, even to the point that in cata the fire elemental was a dps loss because it didn't stacked searing flames, thanks MoP changed that. But I agree it isn't that interesting, I would have loved if they had changed it in the totem overhaul.
    Everything that is, is alive.

    Agaor - Enhancement Shaman

  18. #18
    Deleted
    Quote Originally Posted by sergel02 View Post
    I like dropping it even on leveling pulls. It's like having a little pet with you.

    For enhancement it seems more useful because of searing flames.
    For enh it is mandatory to use it or else don't play enh.

  19. #19
    Deleted
    Quote Originally Posted by Zacc View Post
    It's like a 1 minute dot, no reason not to drop it, ticks pretty strong i think mine hits about 8k and crits 16k

    - - - Updated - - -



    And you are so wrong, Elemental shamans have VERY few timers to watch. You are gonna loose out on dps because you can't bother to watch 1 timer?
    I atleast have like 10 timers i look. Trinket procs, trinket ICDs, Cooldowns which we have couple. Then there is this measly totem which sometimes refuses to even shoot the wet noodle bolts its supposed to spew, and it does a whopping 300k~ damage over its minute duration, only a bit more than a single Lightning Bolt.

    I mean yes, its a 1% DPS boost if it does actually work for the whole minute its down. So i wouldnt give little to any concern about that do you have or do you have not it down. If it did double the damage it does now then id keep it down with more thought into it.

    And its not "free" damage, its inplace of one lightning bolt which is only marginally worse than searing totem.

  20. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by Sock View Post
    If you're raiding or min-maxing at all, you better be dropping Searing Totem every minute. It's minor, but free, damage.
    This is wrong. You need to judge the uptime your totem will have on the boss. With our scaling - several spells take priority over dropping a searing totem if you don't have close to maximum uptime on the totem. As I pointed out earlier, there are fights were you do not have 100% uptime and it's a DPS up to do so.

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