I’m watching this video, https://youtu.be/nIrOXx4bxWk it’s from last October and this group is doing a mythic Ataldazar and I noticed this Elemental Shaman isn’t using his totems.
So my question is, do shaman totems matter in mythic dgs/raids?
I don’t use totems on my Enh Shaman, but I’m not running high keys. So I’m not sure.
I’ve been thinking about playing my ele shaman, she’s fun but if totems aren’t really necessary then I’d let most go and just use a few.
They take up space. Also, if some really aren’t effective then I’d rather choose other talents to be more effective.
I’ve just never seen an ele shaman not use totems before. He’s pretty effective, too.
Ah… Else I have no clue about at all. I haven’t played my Ele Shaman at all this expansion.
Maybe a Discord out there that can help?
The main totems you’ll probably use will be Capacitor (stun) Tremor (removes fear) and Earthbind (slows). Totem Mastery, one of the level 30 talents, is the best one by default but it’s up to you.
As for the PVP totems, I just use Skyfury (crit damage).
Ah, tyvm.
I’m also glad I came across this video otherwise I would have just continued to play her badly.
Depends on the content.
Capacitor totem (or lightning surge or whatever it is called now) is a pretty potent AoE stun that is good in keys. Only downside it is hard to interrupt spell casts with it as opposed to DH/Monk stuns.
Tremor Totem has niche uses in dungeons (ironically it is good in AD since people don’t have to LoS Rezan) and sometimes Raids as seen for fights like Rastakhan.
I am PRETTY sure Totem Mastery is the best talent in the row (or at least competitve). Could be wrong. I mainly play Resto. It’s fire and forget like how totems have been for most of WoW.
Shaman buff totems are a nuisance. While they have mediocre buffs, the downfall is the aura distance from the totems and the buff time.
It is easy to move out of their area or have to re-up at a critical time. Yes, a pro player can get higher DPS using them. Most will not see those benefits and will have an easier / better time not specing into them.
In other words, class fantasy asides, they aren’t worth it. Most Shaman I know could care less about them and would prefer anything else.
If you mean the traditional 4 totems surrounding the Shaman at all times thing like how the class used to work… it’s not built-in anymore. It’s a talent, and it’s only personal buffs, not group buffs. That said, I think it’s the go-to talent for most situations right now, and probably was during that video too, so make of that what you will.
If you mean the more situational totems that you have baseline, that’s just it – they’re situational. You don’t always need a slow, or a delayed AoE stun, or a proactive fear ward.
There is no more Searing Totem. Elementals are no longer tied to Totems.
Why I had a weakaura tell me if I lost the buffs in combat. Even then most of the time it was due to them timing out and not from distance. The only fight I actually outranged the totems semi-regularly was Mythic Goroth in ToS, but that arena was incredibly large.
If I was running around or something to go soak or move over to the eggs on Harjatan I would just drop totems while running just so I didn’t have to worry about them timing out. Technically not a dps loss since you had less instants you could throw out willy nilly (Icefury wasn’t super good and reapplying flameshock early is a bad idea when it cost maelstrom).
The totem talent is best for single target. However, other talents on that row gain a lot of value in a M+ setting.
Ele shaman is one of those specs that has huge playstyle changes depending on the content.
Ohhh no… I see totems being removed in the next couple expansions.