Enhancement vs Elemental leveling

[Garkanh]

Hello. I have played shaman since the start of WotLK. or that would say. i created the shaman as a draenei in the end of TBC, and got it to around lvl 22 as enhancement.

i stopped, and startet again to level it to 71 as enhancement. then stopped again

i then couldnt figure out how to play it anymore, and leveled to 80 with duelspec elemental resto.

i then specced Pve resto /PvP Enhancement in 80, and got good with both specs. I was lucky that i got a few off-spec enhancement items in my 10 man guild when i raided as resto, so had the 251 weapons, and fast got full relentless gear, back when it was hard to get (or, well, not just a farm like now).

i now got wrathfull weapons, had a 2v2 rank of 1900 something before the patch 4.0.1, and everything was gemmed +40% ap (ap was the best gem if you was full pvp gear, with haste if you had a mix with pve gear. i did not have that).

and my resto gear was ofcourse pve, with all gemmed haste.


but the question is now. i know elemental have always bin a bit more faceroll than enhancement. i did level as that spec for 71-80 afetr all, and did a few bgs where i often came out top on damage and kills. but i didn't rly like it that much, or rather, the idea of hitting things in melee is more my thing.


but i want to level fast to 85 in cataclysm. but i do not have any elemental gear, and i do not got the time to farm it, either.

so what would be fastest? Elemental with full pve resto (the icc 25 castershield from marrowgar, and the dagger), or PvP geared Enhancement.

i know the gear will be replaced around lvl 82, regardless of what spec i choose, but i still think it is worth asking the question.



ohh. don't even know how i make polls? :P

but what do you guys think? Enhancement or Elemental?

[NaaBcAke]

Elemental, because you can easier switch to resto from it, if you get bored with dps/or guild asks for.

[Cubalibre]

I'm kinda in the same situation, i prefer enhancement even though is not that great atm i would prefer it for leveling. Except when i think about it i know with elemental gear that i obtain while questing, i can also play resto. However if i go enhancement i would need a complete separate set for my off-spec.

[Eliot123]

I love enhancement but I prefer to level as elemental. I might change enhancement for elemental until 85, then back to enhancement. Instances only as restoration though, hate being dps. :P

[cheesyrice]

enhancement has always been the better leveling option. IT is just whatever has the least downtime, aka... elemental usually has worse mana problems (due to enhance having imp SS and shamanistic rage) but if you are better at elemental, then play ele. Thats what I do.

[rdaccord]

i was going to focus on enhanment for questing, no having to sit and drink. and resto for quick dungeon ques.

Question: do we have the ability to purchase more than two talent trees in cata? I want to say i remember vaugly that there was a blue post on this but have not been able to find it. Not sure if its something to look forward too or just wishfull thinking.

[Deleted]

I lvl'd in beta and had zero mana problems. Also I had no problems with questing and could take on several mobs at the time (Don't have experience as enhancement in beta so don't know whats best) So if some people say enhancement is the way to go and others say elemental is then you should lvl as whatever suits you best. In my experience its better to play what you like then play something you don't enjoy to be a tad faster. In the end you will level faster because it's more fun.

Personally I will level as elemental when beta comes.

[Eliot123]

I don't know where you people get the idea that elemental has some huge downtime because of mana, I leveled 68-80 as elemental and I had no mana issues whatsoever (unless they changed something in Cata with mana regen that I don't know about ofc...).

[Cyriaa]

I found during the last patch before 4.0.1 (3.5?) that there were certain quests in old world Azeroth that I couldn't do as Ele but I was able to do as Enh, and vice versa. I'd imagine it would be the same from 80-85. I'm looking forward to unleashed elements a lot though <3 it's gonna be effing awesome =D Especially as Enh.

[Cleir]

I'm 4% off LVL 78 at elemental/resto and I barely drop below 95% mana questing and leveling. Lightning bolt actually generates mana lol.

I pretty much stick to a) lightning bolt until dead. b) lightning bolt, then while it's flying flame shock, then lava burst. 1 more LB if not dead. or c) lava burst, 9 stack earth shock, dead.

Ele/resto I can easily use the same gear for dungeon runs with no mana issues at all. Earth shield / healing totem do 75% of the job anyway. Riptide to save silly DPS or undergeared tanks.

[Krolikn]

Ele/Resto duel spec is always handy but if you don't intend on healing that combo won't matter.

[Tore]

Enhancement tends to be more fun sice you'll be hitting more buttons rather than killing everything with one Lava Burst. Also better for mass pulls since enh can self-heal with MW and Feral Spirit without having to stop dealing damage. Enhancement also has absolutely 0 downtime thanks to insane melee mana regeneration and quick self heals.

[Windbreaker1976]

It's really just a matter of personal playstyle. Do you prefer to stand back and nuke the mob before it gets to you or do you like to rush in and just crush the mob with your weapons. With decent dps gear in elemental I don't think there will be many mana issues. Either spec is going to be efficient.

You should also take into consideration whether or not you plan to do some leveling in dungeons. Because only being able to queue as dps will most likely suck pretty bad. The wait times will be decent at first, but as people level through the content, the wait times will increase. However, if you can queue as restoration (elemental gear converting to resto nicely) then you will be able to get into dungeons that much quicker.

[Deleted]

I leveled as Elemental as far as 40 back in WOTLK, then specced enhancement for about 10 levels, found it very difficult to level then, so I respecced elemental. Best fun I ever had leveling a character!

[Ashkir]

I leveled as Enhancement. I didn't enjoy it very much past level twenty. But, I stuck with it until sixties. I then bought some greens off the auction house that had mainly intellect on it as that is a primary stat. I experience my kills were done much, much faster. My damage in dungeons increased by a lot.

I am of course not the best player, I suck, I know I do. But, I enjoyed elemental the most over enhancement. I'm now level seventy and am in Northrend. I'm afraid of going back to enhancement.

Plus with elemental, I can easily have a restoration off-spec!

[MrPhooey]

It's really just a matter of personal playstyle. Do you prefer to stand back and nuke the mob before it gets to you or do you like to rush in and just crush the mob with your weapons. With decent dps gear in elemental I don't think there will be many mana issues. Either spec is going to be efficient.

You should also take into consideration whether or not you plan to do some leveling in dungeons. Because only being able to queue as dps will most likely suck pretty bad. The wait times will be decent at first, but as people level through the content, the wait times will increase. However, if you can queue as restoration (elemental gear converting to resto nicely) then you will be able to get into dungeons that much quicker.

I have to agree with what wickedone said. It really is a matter of how you play. This is my first time leveling a shaman and actually going through with it, and as enhance I really enjoy it, but I'm biased when it comes to melee classes because I just love kicking butt with some awesome looking weaps

As for gear; I personally like to build one set and then build another for my off-spec. I know that people like to have the availability that ele gear gives to just quickly change over to resto, and I'm not calling you guys lazy by any means, but imo I find a personal gratification in having 2 complete sets of high level gear. Sure it takes a long time, but what else is there to do but either build on the current gear you have in end-game content or do constant quests or achievements?

Not gonna lie though, definitaly making my shaman my main.

[orionnt]

I have been leveling as Elemental and have had no problems. Mana has been a non-issue ( I think I have had to drink twice.. maybe..) and You 2-3 shot pretty much everything once you get Lavaburst. I have bee leveling with a Feral Druid, and I kill most mobs before she can even run over to attack them.

[lungo]

...
... the idea of hitting things in melee is more my thing.
...

You answered your own question by yourself. And unless you are in full ICC 25 HC gear, you will have new gear in all slots by the end of the first zone. The very first greens you are going to get of quest are equal or better that ICC25. There even was a blue post a couple of months ago where he said (was on the beta forum) that if you haven't switched out all you heroic Lich King gear out by the time you hit level 84, you are doing something terrible wrong.
And after what I understand that your gear are some good part under that, you will switch out most if not all, really really fast.

So just take what ever you like the most. The plus from Elemental/Restoration are that you are/can use the same gear in both spec, means it much easier to gather gear. Where Enhancement are stronger in solo, in my opinion. But not saying that Elemental are a bad solo spec, by any means.

[Nymos]

You answered your own question by yourself. And unless you are in full ICC 25 HC gear, you will have new gear in all slots by the end of the first zone. The very first greens you are going to get of quest are equal or better that ICC25. There even was a blue post a couple of months ago where he said (was on the beta forum) that if you haven't switched out all you heroic Lich King gear out by the time you hit level 84, you are doing something terrible wrong.
And after what I understand that your gear are some good part under that, you will switch out most if not all, really really fast.

So just take what ever you like the most. The plus from Elemental/Restoration are that you are/can use the same gear in both spec, means it much easier to gather gear. Where Enhancement are stronger in solo, in my opinion. But not saying that Elemental are a bad solo spec, by any means.

I read that is about 82~ 83 (when hit it) with NORMAL icc 25 gear and HICC25 in the end of 83 going to 84

[Auro]

In wrath, they made leveling ele ez as dell. I never had any down time and could blow things up faster than most other classes i leveled as.

I leveled 1-70 as enhancement, but that was back in vanilla and TBC, the spec has changed so much since then and has so many situational buttons, it really isnt as fast or efficient as it used to be since so much of the "good dps' of the spec requires priority x then y then z to set up and frankly, most quest mobs just dont live long enough.

Elemental literally just blows mobs up.