PTR Build 7.1.5 build 23109

[RuneDK]

Don't get the nerf to HS, mostly because some legendaries force us into it anyways...The ring and LL bracers are prime examples of HS being forced....yes it's rng on the legendaries but still they should redesign the legendaries that force it and then adjust things accordingly imo.

[Rawklobster]

Just when Elemental Fusion was looking decent its gets reverted.... What the hell was the point of having PVP talents if they still tweek PVE talents because of how they will influence PVP?

[WskyDK]

Question, is lightning shield affected by mastery since it's nature damage? It looks like HS will still be the go to since all melee attacks are affected vs. some of them for LS.
Also, does wind damage count as an element for the legendary ring? (EDIT: nevemrind, it specifically mentioned fire, frost, and nature damage)

Not quite sure what to make of the changes in latest PTR.

[Jigga93]

just waiting for the Belt nerf its too high.

[Spoonman]

I dont get the ELE Mastery change, any clarifaction?
and also EQ change, does it make it +-0?

Fusion needs to be 10% again hope they change that back

[Socialhealer]

I dont get the ELE Mastery change, any clarifaction?
and also EQ change, does it make it +-0?

Fusion needs to be 10% again hope they change that back

fusion nerf is proof not a single dev can play elemental in mythic raids.

just look at odyn & helya mythic, and see how elemental might as well be a spec for diablo 3, a completely different game because all that non stop hectic movement sure doesn't work for a class that needs to stand still all the fucking time to do bottom tier single target damage. why does no dev see elemental needs MORE options to deal damage on the move, and stormkeeper/icefury do not count as options you can't dumpster your own dps by saving them for when you need to move, you'll do less dps than a shaman just using them the second they're off cooldown, thats not smart play thats stupid.

also nerfing our haste with ancestral swiftness only further makes our mobility damage worse, the slower your casts the more you cancel at the last second to avoid a mechanic.

at this rate to balance elemental in mythic raids, lava burst is going to need a 500% damage buff and we just run around casting nothing but lava surges and earth shocks.

[Deleted]

This is datamining right? I mean some changes don't make any sense such as nerfing lightning shield...the worst talent for enhance by far.

[Deleted]

Enhancement:

Lightning Shield was recently buffed (two PTR deployments ago) and then it was nerfed a little bit. It's still a wee bit stronger than on live. Lightning Shield still seems to have a 1.5 second internal cooldown though.

The "good news" is that Hailstorm has been nerfed as well (called it!), reducing the damage per hit from 35% to 25%. The cost has been changed back to 20 MS.

This means that the talents on this row are "fairly" close to each other. Hailstorm is still the stronger choice, as it should be, since it's an active ability. If you can't manage your rotation with Hailstorm, then you can pick either AS or LS for some passive damage. I think most people would just go for Ascestral Swiftness, but I suppose Lightning Shield could be an alternative in an Earthen Spike build, just for the added nature damage. But it's not a lot.

Not surprisingly, FOA was tuned down a bit, from 90% to 52% (what a strange number). I don't think anyone didn't see this coming, because they trippled the damage on Fury of Air AND they reduced the Maelstrom cost. It was way overpowered in it's current state. It's still a good alternative to Crashing Storm though:

Crashing Storm: 184% damage over 6 seconds. 20 MS.
Fury of Air: 52% damage, or 312% damage over 6 seconds. 21 MS, then 18 as the buff continues.

So Fury of Air is still quite a bit stronger than Crash Lightning, and will probably be our go-to talent if we can keep the Maelstrom up. Freshly dinged Enhancement Shamans will probably stick to Crashing Storms, but when you are swimming in Maelstrom it would be a good time to pick FoA.

Lightning Bolt got a small damage buff. Initially, this would benefit choosing Overcharge, but they increased the cooldown on Lightning Bolt with Overcharge by 3 seconds, so I'm a bit on the fence with this. It definitely ensures that you throw on hell of a punch when you Lightning Bolt with Overcharge, but I don't see this competing with Tempest* at all. Maybe for PvP? Maybe not.

* One small stipulation. I've been sort of annoyed with the number of Stormbringer procs we are missing out on, because we proc Stormbringer so often these days. If we waste 1/3 of our Stormbringer charges anyways, then that reduces the value of the talent quite significantly. Then again, Tempest is strong for the Maelstrom "generation" as well, because it reduces the cost of Stormstrike.

Sundering got another buff, which is nice, and Earthen Spike's no-MS cost was added (it was datamined last week).

So overall, it looks like some talents on some tiers are getting closer to each other. I still think LS/AS is a really boring choice, and most will probably still go for Hailstorm.

Tempest still doesn't have a real contender. I don't see myself taking Overcharge or Emp. Stormlash instead of Tempest anytime soon.

The level 90 row seems quite interesting now. Take Crashing Storm if you are struggling with Maelstrom, pick FOA if you are not, and pick Sundering if you need a big burst ability that interrupts as well. Remember that you could pair Earthen Spike with Sundering for a massive whoop.

Level 100 also seems "fairly" balanced by now. Earthen Spike is looking very interesting, and Ascendance has been buffed a little bit, so it might be worth taking if you want a 3 minute cooldown. I still think the cooldown could be reduced a bit.

I'm still not feeling much love towards Hot Hands, and I would love to see some change to it that makes it viable. I still don't feel like it procs enough.

Overall, we seem to be heading in the right direction, but some of the talents are still fairly boring.

[Keltas]

I dont get the ELE Mastery change, any clarifaction?
and also EQ change, does it make it +-0?

Fusion needs to be 10% again hope they change that back

I'm only like 90% sure so someone could correct me, but the mastery change is only a tooltip clarification, and it still works the exact same.

EQ still does the same amount of damage, just in a shorter window. It's a buff to burst AoE (low M+ or just heroic/mythic dungeons).

[Deleted]

on PTR i currently have less Mastery & Haste compared to the live servers O_o is this intended? on live i have 72/21 (unbuffed!) on PTR i have 68/18 buffed!!

[Sigmatic]

on PTR i currently have less Mastery & Haste compared to the live servers O_o is this intended? on live i have 72/21 (unbuffed!) on PTR i have 68/18 buffed!!

Secondary stats now scale differently. The rating required for a 1% increase in secondary stat is as follows:

Versatility: 400 -> 475 rating per %
Crit: 350 -> 400 rating per %
Mastery: 155 -> 177 rating per %
Haste: 325 -> 375 rating per %
This means you require more rating to reach the same percentages of each secondary stat.

[Emophia]

They should just remove Sundering and Earthen Spike's MS costs.

[Deleted]

They removed spike cost, and sundering is only 20ms

[Shammyrock]

Nerf to the Ascendence build in this patch then, Fusion down to 5% and Echo back to 2 charges. Too many Surge procs?

[Ele man]

Overpower is belt. not EF. why blizzard did this stupid patch? I don't understand it.

[Northy]

Nerf to the Ascendence build in this patch then, Fusion down to 5% and Echo back to 2 charges. Too many Surge procs?

2 charges sucks. It must be bugged.

[Shammyrock]

2nd swing round on Mechanics I guess. We've had a LS heavy build, now we're getting a starved version. Imagine the live build will be somewhere inbetween.

Basically give Blizz feedback and still too early to draw conclusions

[Yhcti]

So how is Elemental looking? still playable I assume.

[Darleth]

Don't get the nerf to HS, mostly because some legendaries force us into it anyways...The ring and LL bracers are prime examples of HS being forced....yes it's rng on the legendaries but still they should redesign the legendaries that force it and then adjust things accordingly imo.

Well, the main reason for that is simple. It's our second highest damaging ability and the strongest talent in the tier.
It was clear that they are going to nerf Hailstorm.

[ehxy]

You're actually on point, that is exactly what they're doing. They said previously that the PTR this expansion will be a lot more iterative than previous builds. We're going to see a lot of out of nowhere changes that go nowhere before the final product is done.

More like throwing pickles on the window and seeing witch pickle makes it.