Hi All–
Sorry so long, just have a few questions.
When I started my very casual play about 6 weeks ago, I learned that the main stat to emphasize for ele shaman is intellect. Being a good little noob, I read / watched every guide I could find–Icy Veins, Wowhead, Dvalin, etc. So whenever I had a choice of armor, I took the ones with the best INT stats. Then crit, then haste or versatility. However, one guide now says that with 8.2, INT is no longer the most important for ele shaman and that I should try to improve crit instead! I wonder what the right answer is for this?
A few days ago I finally dinged level 98. My toon does fine while questing, although I don’t get huge crits. While questing, my best is hitting an earth shock for about 4K-plus. I should add that my ilevel is only 128–I have yet to run my first dungeon, mostly because I don’t want others to have to carry me. Here’s a link to my Armory: https://worldofwarcraft.com/en-us/character/us/aegwynn/dertpants
When I check my dps in-game (I use the “Tiny DPS” meter), I get up to around 51K in about 1 minute. However, I just now ran a quick sim on Raidbots, and it says my dps is only 2,503! I have no idea why the difference is so great. Perhaps I am mis-interpreting either the dps meter or the sim page? Also, I am running a talent build recommended by Dvalin and others: Earthen rage, totem mastery, spirit wolf (useful for running away when I get more than 3 adds, lol), storm elemental, nature’s guardian, primal elementalist. I had planned on using Stormkeeper when I ding 100, but now think I will wait and see what’s recommended when I get there. Any thoughts? Is my dps enough to run an LFG dungeon without embarrassing myself? Am I doing ok given my level, gear, build, etc? What changes should I make? PS: I’m not in a guild–I can only play about an hour or at most two a day. So I have to keep it casual for now. Thanks so much for any good advice! Sorry this is so long, but I thought I’d ask and see what I can learn.
Thanks, Jeff
You have the right idea but at the wrong time. Just focus on learning shaman and enjoy leveling.
Gear wise take BoAs (bind on account) if possible. If not get mail with intel that is a relative ilvl upgrade.
Haste is always an issue when leveling so i focused on haste and crit when deciding what is an upgrade.
Learn to aoe pull with your tool set. At your level you should be able to aoe grind pretty well.
Once you get to 120 then focus on getting your ilvl up above 415 if not close to 420.
Once you get to a point where you arent getting huge gear upgrades go to:
www.herodamage.com
The site is easy to use and shows you trinkets/azerite traits to focus on for aspects of pve.
www.raidbots.com
This site will allow you to run simulation on gear to help you decide which is an upgrade. If you download the addon you can plug in your characters info instead of logging out. It also has a droptimizer which allows you to run simulations on gear from the azerite vendors/M+/raid gear to optimize all your needs.
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Hey Madalynn–
Thank goodness for people like you! Your answer helps so much–it gives me direction on what I should be doing, but even more important, when I should be doing it. I will try getting more haste into my stats going forward–I’d basically been ignoring it up until now because the guides I was looking at didn’t emphasize it at all.
Also, I will check out the links you provided!
Thanks again! You are really kind to help out a new player like myself! Good karma!
Jeff
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Haste will certainly help smooth out game play but that will change a bit once you hit 120. Like for me, just today, Raidbots has intellect dead last w/ crit >vers>haste>mastery. I like how the spec feels with high hast but it’s not what I need anymore.
And Madalynn is right, herodamage is a great resource. I use it almost every day. Bloodmallet is also great but herodamage looks cleaner to me so I like it better.
And don’t be afraid to run dungeons as its a great way to get better. Tell them you are new to the game at the start if you want to. Just don’t stand in bad stuff and Always Be Casting! Just don’t stand there doing nothing like I have seen many new players do.
I’m not a super experienced mythic raider god so I’m just speaking from what I know. I have been playing since BC but never on the highest of levels. Elemental to me is the most fun and rewarding spec in the game. If you can become even remotely decent, you should have a blast. Nice damage, utility, visuals, and sounds make it really fun. Good luck!!
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Just to emphasize the points: do run dungeons, they will help a lot with understanding the class and the general gameplay of WoW- always be casting, dont be afraid to toss out a crappy heal if someone needs it, dont stand in fire (or anything that does damage to you), etc.
You have to start somewhere, and honestly, learning the basic mechanics are way easier at levels under 120.
Good luck, and enjoy your Shaman!
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A general rule of thumb, and I feel it makes it great for elemental shaman gear wise, is that our secondaries are generally equally important.
While INT is our primary stat, you don’t need to focus on going after it. It will automatically be on your gear.
GENERALLY speaking, Crit/Haste/Verse will play equal importance at 120. Mastery is the one that falls behind. So you will just want a healthy and equal amount of each.
Keep in mind, most guides you read will be from a level 120 point of view.
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This. Don’t even worry about secondary stats until you hit 120, and even then not until your ilvl is 400+.
For now, just stick with the highest INT pieces you get, and definitely start running dungeons ASAP. Not only do they give great XP and gear, but since you’re taking the time to check out the guides and ask the forums, you’ll probably do much better than you think…it’s much better to learn how dungeons work at 98 than at 120, and you’ll probably find leveling players much more forgiving than end-game players.
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My thanks to all! I’ve run some dungeons and had a great time! I actually asked after one and people said my damage was fine, not the best they had seen but not the worst either. I just did as suggested here, moved out of dangerous looking goop, fire, etc., and chucked spells as fast as I could. I was asked to hex an add or two and did so with no trouble.
I do a practice session at the targets every couple of days and look up challenging quests and dungeons on Wowhead, youtube, etc. Recently I got to Legion, made it past the Codex of Ra and other trials and got my Fist of Ra-Den and the accompanying shield. I’m having a blast thanks to all you guys!
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