MoP Classic Elemental Shaman — Guide (Phase 5)
viewsAbout the Class
Elemental Shaman is a ranged mana caster with a second resource: charges of 
Lightning Shield that are dumped into 
Earth Shock.
This is one of the most mobile ranged damage dealers in Pandaria: shocks are instant, and on top of that there's 
Spiritwalker's Grace and 
Ghost Wolf. In a raid, Elemental delivers strong, steady AoE damage through 
Chain Lightning and mastery procs, plus key utility — 
Bloodlust/
Heroism, 
Stormlash Totem and 
Wind Shear. Elemental shares its gear with Restoration, so switching roles is easy.
Strengths
- Excellent AoE damage on clustered targets through Chain Lightning and overload procs.
- Very high mobility for a caster: instant
Flame Shock and Earth Shock, Spiritwalker's Grace, Ghost Wolf. - Strong raid utility: Bloodlust/Heroism, Stormlash Totem, Wind Shear,
Grounding Totem, 
Healing Tide Totem. - Good personal survivability:
Astral Shift, 
Shamanistic Rage and off-healing. - One gear set for two roles — damage and healing.
- Intellect scales excellently with raid buffs.
Weaknesses
- Single-target damage is more modest than other ranged specs.
- A simple rotation that can feel monotonous.
- AoE damage drops off sharply if enemies are spread out.
- Critical strike is a weak stat, because
Lava Burst always crits anyway. - Target swapping takes time: Flame Shock first, and only then does Lava Burst pay off.
Stat Priority
- 1Intellect
- 2Hit, Expertise and Spirit up to the 15% spell hit cap
- 3Mastery
- 4Haste
- 5Critical Strike rating
The 15% spell hit cap is reached with Hit, Expertise or Spirit: 
Elemental Precision converts Spirit into spell hit. There is no separate Expertise cap for a caster — it only counts toward the overall 15%.
Talents
Rotation (Ability Priority)
The opener is a set sequence of abilities you use as you engage an enemy. Memorising it helps initiate your rotation in the most optimal way possible.
- 1
Flametongue Weapon - 2Lightning Shield
- 3
Potion of the Jade Serpent - 4
Fire Elemental Totem - 5Flame Shock
- 6
Elemental Mastery - 7
Ascendance - 8Lava Burst
- 9
Lightning Bolt - 10Lava Burst
- 11Earth Shock
- 12Stormlash Totem
- Fire Elemental Totem — on cooldown, it's the biggest damage cooldown
Searing Totem — keep it up while Fire Elemental Totem is inactive- Flame Shock — don't let the DoT fall off, it enables Lava Burst
- Lava Burst — on cooldown against a target with Flame Shock, always crits
- Earth Shock — spend at 6 or more charges of Lightning Shield
- Lightning Bolt — filler when there's nothing else to press
Important Abilities
Lava Burst becomes instant and has no cooldownFire Elemental Totem is on cooldown
Best in Slot (BiS)
Best in Slot (BiS)Tier 16 Set — Celestial Harmony
Tier 16 Set — Celestial HarmonyIn the Phase 5 build, the non-tier
Grips of Tidal Force go into the hands slot, and the 4-piece bonus is completed with head, shoulders, chest and legs.
Enchants, Gems, Consumables
Enchants
Gems
ConsumablesRaces
Fire Elemental Totem.
Best Professions
Synapse Springs give an on-demand intellect burst, and Nitro Boosts provide mobility.
Lightweave Embroidery on the cloak provides extra spell power procs during the burst window.
Zen Alchemist Stone as a trinket, plus stronger and longer-lasting flasks.
Socket Bracer and 
Socket Gloves — two extra gems.
Author
Fouren
Fouren has been playing World of Warcraft for over 15 years. He is an active player with 12 Cutting Edge achievements under his belt, and has reached the top 1% and 0.1% multiple times on various classes. His main classes are healers, particularly Holy Paladin.
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