I have just started playing my Elementalist and have tried reading some guides and watching videos, but not sure I understand completely.
Could someone please tell me if I am understanding this correctly? I am using the Icy Hot build
For my rotation/Spell priority
First dot with Flameshock and keep that on all targets as possible.
Then I want to use Icefury and use Frost shock to keep the damage buff up it gives as much as possible.
I use Primordial wave on CD.
I saw I use Stormkeeper when I have at least 25 Malstrom. I am guessing this is so I can have it with elemental blast?
The spell I am having the most issue with is Lava burst. When I played long ago I recall only using that when it was free cast, but when I watch videos it is being hard cast. I guess this is for the Master of the elements buff? I am not sure how I use this buff. Do I want to cast frost shock right after that when I have it buffed or do I want to use lightning? Why is Lava burst being hard cast and how exactly does this work?
I have not really looked at AOE but I guess it would be the same but instead I would use chain lightning. Would I still use earthquake or would I want to save Malstrom for Elemental blast?
I guess I am really just not understanding the spell priorities and how they work together in a rotation.
I hope that all makes sense! Thanks so much for taking the time to read.
Do you have an export of your talents, and what type of content you’re trying to do with ele to better help? Ele has a few different talent loadouts that I can think of which use Icefury + hard cast lava burst. Also, the capstone talents you have also play into your rotation.
The talents are the ones that are active on my character right now. I am not sure how to make an export. Sorry! It if from a video I found called Icyhot Wildfire build. Maybe I am getting confused on rotations because each build is so different in how the spells interact? I have watched a few and read a few guides. I am just not understanding the why for the spell priorities.
You may want to use an addon rotation helper like Hekili to get practice with the rotation on a target dummy. But for more of a breakdown, read this nice wall of text.
Looking at your talents there are some pretty big things that you want to make sure of. I’ll try to list the biggest things possible. Keep in mind that this is for PvE and I’m not going to mention PvP as I don’t PvP at all.
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always try to keep as much uptime on your Fire elemental as possible (if you’re lazy you can even macro fire Ele to a potion and a trinket). You get Cooldown Reduction (CDR) with 2 talents, Surge of Power, and Skybreaker’s Fiery Demise, so your ele won’t exactly be cast every 2.5 minutes like the cooldown says.
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Use your Liquid Magma Totem, and Totemic Recall on cooldown. LMT does decent enough damage and it’s an easy way to get Flame Shock applied to 3 targets. There’s a trick to LMT that if you target another enemy in AoE which does not have Flame Shock, it will smart cast Flame shock on 3 additional targets, instead of 2 and reapplying Flame Shock to your primary.
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Try to sync your cooldowns, specifically, Stormkeeper and Icefury. Ideally, in single target, you should be able to cast Stormkeeper directly into an Icefury + frost shock combo so that you take advantage of the debuff from electrified shocks. Depending on haste and movement, you may get about 2-5 casts within 1 Electrified shocks window before you need to hit Frost shock again. Do not make the mistake of forgetting to hit Frost Shock before Lightning Bolt or Chain lightning (with electrified shocks), as they won’t receive the 15% damage increase. For your Elemental Blast, you’ll want to already have the Electrified Shock debuff on your target, hard cast lava burst for Master of the Elements buff, cast Elemental blast, then follow with Lightning Bolt for your Surge of Power. Don’t focus on the exact amount of Maelstrom you have, it’s too min/max. You do not use Earthquake in Single Target. Your opener may be something like this: Precast Nature’s Swiftness > Fire Ele > Liquid Magma Totem > Totemic Recall > Liquid Magma Totem > Primordial Wave > Stormkeeper > Icefury > Frost Shock > Lava Burst until you have enough maelstrom for Elemental Blast > Elemental Blast > Lightning Bolt > lava burst or refresh Frost Shock when the buff drops.
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In larger AoE situations, don’t worry yourself with using Icefury + Frost shock. Larger Pulls you’ll want to Fire Ele > Liquid Magma Totem > Totemic Recall > Liquid Magma Totem > Primordial Wave > Lava Burst (hopefully by this time you’ve already got an instant proc > Earthquake > Chain lightning. At this point you want to create a loop in your rotation. Always try to Lava Burst before casting earthquake to get Master of the Elements buff for 20% increased Earthquake Damage, and follow every earthquake with a chain lightning for the surge of power proc. You can have Flame Shock ticking on up to 6 targets and they each go towards your Magma Chamber talent.
To put things in a nutshell, Ele is no different than any other class for DPS. You hit all your cooldowns, and try to maximize the amount of buffs that you get from your talents.
You asked about spell priorities, but really, it’s about buff & spell priorities together. Fire Ele should always be on CD, same for Stormkeeper, Liquid Magma Totem, and Totemic Recall. Nature’s swiftness should only ever be used to instant cast an Elemental blast. Icefury is meant for small AoE + single target situations with the frost shock debuffs. Use all your lava burst charges and especially for larger abilities such as Icefury, Ele Blast, or a Lightning Bolt with the Stormkeeper buff.
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This is incredibly helpful. Thank you so much