Is Ele tied down to 1H + Shield?

[Deleted]

The only reason shields are the best is because they give you armor. Back in the early days (Wotlk) they had better stats on shields for a shaman but now they have changed all that so the only reason a shield would be better is for the armor which for pve elemental you can do without

[Ogretron]

IMO the only time a Shaman shouldn't take a staff is if a non shield wielding class wants it. There are other upgrades that you can get that they cannot, so if it is an upgrade and no one else wants it I don't see a problem with it. That's more of a courtesy though and there are exceptions.

[Deleted]

It's simple. If the sole purpose of your gameplay is pve one hand/shield or staves is the same. For pvp its different for obvious reasons, the armor from the shield will help alot against physical damage.
Since you stated you are doing firelands and not pvp, go for what gives you more stats. Keep in mind that in the same item lvl an one hand/shield is better due to the offhand enchant of 40 intellect.

[Deleted]

our realm first legendary staff was an Ele shaman

[Trollragemore]

according to the BiS discussion on EJ... currently BiS for ele is infact a 1h and shield.... but with my shaman I wouldn't take the shield from a resto shaman or a holy paladin in our raid ... and I am trying to farm that staff... and yes even the legendary...

One hander-

http://www.wowhead.com/item=71615
shield-http://www.wowhead.com/item=71408

[Cyaris]

I had shaman complain to me in a 5 man one time about using my current staff over a shield/1H. So I put on my old shield with rockbiter and started trying to tank. That's all armor is good for. Until they add a talent that increases our SP by the amount of armor we have you go with whatever has the best stats.

As someone else mentioned there is a 1H/Shield that's pretty good to have right now, but I'm also passing those to the paladins in my raid before taking them for myself.

[Deleted]

There is allready a shaman with the legendary staff, and hes putting out 42k+ dps if i recall right, so its totally viable.

Don't forget the part where he recieved 21 Tricks of the Trade and 2 Power Infusions lol.

[MalooTakant]

Unless it's the legendary it's a downgrade based on the fact that a 1h+OH has an extra 40 int from the enchant. However, If a staff is an upgrade from your current combo even without the 40 int it's perfectly fine to use one.

---------- Post added 2011-08-29 at 05:11 PM ----------

Don't forget the part where he recieved 21 Tricks of the Trade and 2 Power Infusions lol.

And the legendary mage parse with the same amount of tricks and PIs pulled only 2k more dps than the ele...

[Deleted]

Unless it's the legendary it's a downgrade based on the fact that a 1h+OH has an extra 40 int from the enchant. However, If a staff is an upgrade from your current combo even without the 40 int it's perfectly fine to use one.

---------- Post added 2011-08-29 at 05:11 PM ----------



And the legendary mage parse with the same amount of tricks and PIs pulled only 2k more dps than the ele...

You mean the Mages doing 2k more DPS without the legendary? Don't try to get smart with me.

[Deleted]

There is allready a shaman with the legendary staff, and hes putting out 42k+ dps if i recall right, so its totally viable.

With 21 tricks, power infusion and stuff like that yes.

If the staff is an upgrade I dont see why you shouldnt be able to wear it?

[kudrel]

Your math seems off. MH+shield+chant=385 int. Less than staff.

your forgetting socket, you would put +40 int in the socket

[MalooTakant]

You mean the Mages doing 2k more DPS without the legendary? Don't try to get smart with me.

Heroic 25 Baleroc 1st Guac Arc Mage 44.3k dps(e)
Heroic 25 Baleroc 4th Knobey Ele Shaman 42.4k dps(e)

Both with the legendary staff, both with 21 tricks of the trade and 2 PIs

[medievalman1]

IMO the only time a Shaman shouldn't take a staff is if a non shield wielding class wants it. There are other upgrades that you can get that they cannot, so if it is an upgrade and no one else wants it I don't see a problem with it. That's more of a courtesy though and there are exceptions.

I have a problem with this. Paladins can't use a staff, they are tied to 1-hander and shield. So, if there's a holy paladin and say, a mage, are we screwed, or is this one of the exceptions that you mentioned?

[Slappyjoe]

There are always exceptions and they vary from guild to guild. People just like to stick to their rigid views of what classes "deserve" to use which equipment without ever having put any real thought behind it. It's the reason threads like "Do Elemental Shaman Deserve Dragonwrath?" get so heated.

[Volitar]

Your raid leader is stupid.

[Gistwiki]

Heroic 25 Baleroc 1st Guac Arc Mage 44.3k dps(e)
Heroic 25 Baleroc 4th Knobey Ele Shaman 42.4k dps(e)

Both with the legendary staff, both with 21 tricks of the trade and 2 PIs

The mage had Dark Intent, and the Elemental Shaman did not. <3

Edit so that this is on topic: Take what item gives better stats. In your case it'd be the MH/OH. If a Smouldering Censer of Purity were to drop however, it would most likely be an upgrade.

[omni]

The RL is probably also thinking in respect to loot distribution though, right ? Consider that you and a holy pally are the only ones who can use the shield. Where as pretty much any caster DPS can us MH, OH or the staff. There is a reason Blizz made a shield for you :P

But as said, it also ties back to the old(er) school mind set where Shamans were 1H + Shield because no one else (Horde side) could use the caster shields.

[xpolockx]

I like the way 1h+shield looks more than a staff, but using a staff is perfectly viable in pve if it's a bigger dps increase. It's the same with an OH instead of a shield. On the other hand, if your raid is filled with mages, locks, shadow priests and moonkin who all want staves, I can see why your RL would want you to not compete with them and have shield drops go to waste.

Then again, if you're talking Boe's, well, then that's a moot point. Haha. Use whatever you can snag to increase your dps at the least cost

[Blazefury5]

Dragonwrath, or rag MH + red widow shield gogo.
idk Heroic Beth staff is ok but crit is bleh

[Endus]

The RL is probably also thinking in respect to loot distribution though, right ? Consider that you and a holy pally are the only ones who can use the shield. Where as pretty much any caster DPS can us MH, OH or the staff. There is a reason Blizz made a shield for you :P

The difference is once you start making those kinds of exclusions, there's suddenly way, way more staves and such than there needs to be in the loot list.

If we say Elemental Shamans can't use staves because they have a shield, we're down to 3 options for MH and one OH, and only one of those MH options isn't widely desired by other specs. You've eliminated over half our possible upgrades because we have other options. While a Mage still has 7 weapon choices available, since I'm assuming you're not eliminating THEM from competing for a staff.

Denying a class a weapon it can use isn't really legitimate. The weapon distribution is done assuming ALL classes that can use it can get it. That's why there are more intellect staves than any other weapon type; more classes can use them than anything else.