Legion: Elemental Specific

[Hawksolo]

I just want my MoP Elemental shaman back without searing totem.. that is all.. that was fun.
I could be wrong but I don't see myself liking maelstrom power on my elemental shaman.. a single build up mechanic for a caster seems silly.. lightning shield seemed a better fit as a secondary resource.
I feel like i will be stuck playing enhancement again.. or switching mains.
Can't wait to see the feedback from the alpha and beta on it though... should at the least be interesting reads.

[Menubrea]

The new earth elemental isn't that much the same. It affects raid members too, which is a pretty big deal.

There is absolutely no way it affects raid members too. With the Artifact talent it offers 50 % damage mitigation. Providing 50 % damage reduction to an entire raid for 15 seconds is absurd. You'd just stack 4 Elemental Shamans and have the mitigation permanently.

[jimmyolsen]

I just want my MoP Elemental shaman back without searing totem.. that is all.. that was fun.
I could be wrong but I don't see myself liking maelstrom power on my elemental shaman.. a single build up mechanic for a caster seems silly.. lightning shield seemed a better fit as a secondary resource.
I feel like i will be stuck playing enhancement again.. or switching mains.
Can't wait to see the feedback from the alpha and beta on it though... should at the least be interesting reads.

But you are getting your MoP Elemental shaman back. Maelstrom is just Lightning Shield stacks. The only thing they changed was that flame shock/earthquake now eats some of your stacks.

Chain Lightning generated far too many Lightning Shield charges in MoP once mastery went through the roof. The result was a full stack after 3-4 CLs that forced you to use a single target spell to clear it. That was true even though lightning shield stacks were not guaranteed on each target. Now it's guaranteed generation, plus there is an artifact talent that makes CL hit 7 targets (for 4 maelstrom each if values hold). The maelstrom generation from CL overloads will be insane, and you would be forced to use Earth Shock every 2-3 casts.

Earthquake using Maelstrom solves the problem of having to use a single target spell in the middle of an AoE fest while still maintaining the CL/EQ interaction created in WoD. It also maintains your priority target cleave by allowing you to spend that maelstrom on Earth Shock if you so choose.

My biggest issues with Ele from what I can see are:
1.) Ele pets being pushed to a core aspect of the spec...no thanks!

Nothing has changed to warrant that. Fire Elemental has been a very strong DoT that you used once or twice a fight since Burning Crusade. The same is true with these talents, they just make the CD stronger. Reduced CD just means higher uptime; Sons of Flame and PE are more damage, but none of these talents change your rotation. Storm Elemental, just like in WoD is merely a second charge of the spell. It's not affecting your game play the way pets create rotational changes for Beast mastery. You aren't reacting to the Elemental, it's just a DoT that you use on CD or when you have a burn phase.

The core of the spec is still built around lava surge and earth shock. Even the Elementalist talent in the artifact suggests that. Additionally, if you really hate the elemental summons that much, then use the other talents. Nothing is forcing you to take PE instead of Ascendance or Totemic Fury, especially since we don't have the math available to say one is strictly better than the other. For all we know, the fire elemental hits like a wet noodle.

[Northy]

The new earth elemental isn't that much the same. It affects raid members too, which is a pretty big deal.

Still, being double the cooldown makes it less attractive to a PvPer like me. very disappoint.

- - - Updated - - -

I will say I'm loving our Fist of Ra-Den talent choices.

It is HERE.

[Deleted]

The new earth elemental isn't that much the same. It affects raid members too, which is a pretty big deal.

No it doesnt. Stop spreading misinformation. EE dmg reduction is only for you. Its not a copy of Paladins Aura Mastery.

Pay attention to the wording of the tooltip.

[Menubrea]

No it doesnt. Stop spreading misinformation. EE dmg reduction is only for you. Its not a copy of Paladins Aura Mastery.

Pay attention to the wording of the tooltip.

Don't even need to read the tooltip. Having it be raid wide would be ridiculous.

[Deleted]

Don't even need to read the tooltip. Having it be raid wide would be ridiculous.

It would be a reason to bring an Elemental Shaman to raids, thats for sure. Not saying its actually that ridiculous, but it'd be like christmas and eastern on the same day if Blizzard added something like this to Elemental.

[nazrakin]

Still, being double the cooldown makes it less attractive to a PvPer like me. very disappoint.

You have the option to pick up the talent that reduces that to 60 seconds. Plus you get an extra 20% reduction from artifact traits, which could be further increased by relic.

[Menubrea]

It would be a reason to bring an Elemental Shaman to raids, thats for sure. Not saying its actually that ridiculous, but it'd be like christmas and eastern on the same day if Blizzard added something like this to Elemental.

Unless they added some debuff preventing you from benefiting from it's effect again you'd just have guilds stack several Elemental Shamans for 100 % uptime, or close to it depending on need. 50 % mitigation (with 3/3 artifact, or 60 % with 5/3) raidwide would be too much.

Also, speaking of raid utility, I was under the impression all specs were supposed to get something unique to them to bring to raids. What is supposed to be Elemental's thing?

[Deleted]

Unless they added some debuff preventing you from benefiting from it's effect again you'd just have guilds stack several Elemental Shamans for 100 % uptime, or close to it depending on need. 50 % mitigation (with 3/3 artifact, or 60 % with 5/3) raidwide would be too much.

Also, speaking of raid utility, I was under the impression all specs were supposed to get something unique to them to bring to raids. What is supposed to be Elemental's thing?

Wouldnt think so much about time values yet.

Elementals raid utility is Rain of Frogs. And its the only ranged DPS class where the execute range begins at 100% health.

[bloodmoth13]

I just want my MoP Elemental shaman back without searing totem.. that is all.. that was fun.
I could be wrong but I don't see myself liking maelstrom power on my elemental shaman.. a single build up mechanic for a caster seems silly.. lightning shield seemed a better fit as a secondary resource.
I feel like i will be stuck playing enhancement again.. or switching mains.
Can't wait to see the feedback from the alpha and beta on it though... should at the least be interesting reads.

Its literally the same, just more versatile, and why would you want shocks to share CDs still?
Also now with earthquake now costing maelstrom, we have a spender for our fulmation stacks that we got from chain lightning for aoe situations

This is looking like a major improvement to me

[Menubrea]

Wouldnt think so much about time values yet.

Elementals raid utility is Rain of Frogs. And its the only ranged DPS class where the execute range begins at 100% health.

Nice! Can't wait for that second part, considering we don't even have an execute Exactly something Blizzard would design for Shamans.

[Northy]

You have the option to pick up the talent that reduces that to 60 seconds. Plus you get an extra 20% reduction from artifact traits, which could be further increased by relic.

There's another talent in that row that's too good.

[nazrakin]

There's another talent in that row that's too good.

Itll probably be nerfed then.

[Menubrea]

There's another talent in that row that's too good.

If Earth Elemental gave 50 % mitigation to the entire raid, there would be hard to find anything else 'too good' to pass up such a thing on a 1 minute CD.

[freddy090909]

Also now with earthquake now costing maelstrom, we have a spender for our fulmation stacks that we got from chain lightning for aoe situations

I've had a few people tell me this, and I just don't see it. (currently) EQ still has a 10 second cooldown and echo doesn't even include it anymore. CL will generate a massive amount of maelstrom, especially in heavy AoE (7 targets at 3/3). I expect that we will easily be capping our maelstrom during AoE, or turning it into an odd situation where we put down the EQ and then spread flame shocks (supported by talents and the artifact). That said, if chain lightning does enough damage with things like the legendary bonus, maybe we'll just happily sit at capped maelstrom and ignore our shocks (ensuring we will always have full stacks every 10 seconds).

[Kralljin]

I've had a few people tell me this, and I just don't see it. (currently) EQ still has a 10 second cooldown and echo doesn't even include it anymore.

I'd take some of those tooltips with a grain of salt.

For example, Spiritual Insight is still there, that passive is absolutely pointless for Elemental.

EotE still features Enhance stuff despite Enhance losing said talent.

Earthquake totem tooltip itself still reads (re)charge instead of CD.

[Krazzorx]

We are going to have wind rush totem, with stampeding roar nerfed to a 10 yard range, shamans would be the preferred class for anything requiring that ability. (It staying on the ground means making sure everyone is huddled up at once isn't a worry)

[Deleted]

We are going to have wind rush totem, with stampeding roar nerfed to a 10 yard range, shamans would be the preferred class for anything requiring that ability. (It staying on the ground means making sure everyone is huddled up at once isn't a worry)

Guardians have a talent to increase the radius by 200% and decrease the cooldown by 60sec...

A major downside of Wind Rush Totem is that it locks us out of other mobility talents we actually desperately need with SWG gone.

[jimmyolsen]

Guardians have a talent to increase the radius by 200% and decrease the cooldown by 60sec...

A major downside of Wind Rush Totem is that it locks us out of other mobility talents we actually desperately need with SWG gone.

Don't forget we also lose the 30% speed buff from Unleash. Thus, ghost wolf and gust of wind are our only run speed increases. Elemental has needed Spirit Walk (not having SWG is fine in my opinion) for a long time.