Enhancement Shaman - Talents + Glyphs (Dungeons/Raids)
Written by Varythil - Enhancement Shaman - Winterhoof Server (Varycuddly alt)
I find myself exceptionally unimpressed with the talents when it comes to enhancement. Blizzard has turned the shaman back to where they started from, totems are the majority of what's going on with Shaman talents, whether it's a new totem or something to do with totems. That being said, there were a few bright spots in the choices and I look forward to level 90 where I've already got a new talent picked out.
OLD:
Rotation: Lava Lash --> Flame Shock --> Unleash Elements --> Stormstrike --> Earth Shock --> Lightning bolt/Healing Surge (maelstrom weapon dependent) --> Repeat
NEW:
Rotation: Lava Lash --> Flame Shock --> Unleash Elements --> Stormstrike --> Earth Shock --> Repeat (Add in Lightning bolt/Healing Surge whenever maelstrom weapon is ready, don't wait for it to fit into a specific part of the rotation. Use your judgement as to whether to use a free heal or free damage)
Enchants:
Main Hand: Windfury Weapon
Off Hand: Flametongue Weapon
Shield: Lightning Shield
15 --> Stone Bulwark Totem (totem absorbs damage)
WHY? All three choices have to do with survival, basically should your tank fail, die, or in PVP. It's a matter of what flavor you want to go with. With the removal of the buffing totems, the earth totem options are slim, consisting of Earthbind, Earth Elemental, and Tremor Totem. All three totems have cooldowns longer than their duration.
30 --> Windwalk Totem (grants immunity to movement-impairing effects to raid memebers w/in 40 yards for 6 seconds. 1 minute CD) Choice at level 45 makes this make more sense.
WHY? Well the other options were interesting as well but here it is. As an enhancement shaman, I don't use frostshock on a regular basis. It's mainly to keep the mob from running away or moving too fast. Frostshock has its place, don't get me wrong but didn't rate as worthy of a spot to me. The other option was Earthgrab Totem, which is frostshock on a totem with a little bit of steroids. It's again, a way to get the mob (or pvp player) to stand still and be pummeled.
45 --> Call of the Elements (Immediately finishes CD on all totems w/base CD of less than 3 minutes.
WHY? Isn't it obvious? It's a beautiful thing to be able to reset your totems, all of them, for every flavor. The other options also fell short as an enhancement shammy. Totemic Restoration reduced CD on totems if they were destroyed before it expired naturally up to a maximum of 50% of the full CD. That is pretty cool and it is passive but being able to reset them quickly is a bigger help in any situation. Totemic Projection... moves your active totems to the specified location. Since only two totems last longer than 30 seconds now... why move it? It'll be gone before it's moved.
60 --> Echo of the Elements (Chance to duplicate spell effect when one causes direct damage or healing)
WHY? Can we say beautiful PASSIVE proc for any shammy? The other options were 30% haste for 20 seconds or next nature spell w/base casting time less than 10 sec becomes instant cast w/ 1 minute CD. Haste, apparently, means very little to an enhancement shammy these days. And Enhancement shammies really aren't casting much of anything that isn't an instant cast anyway (all hail maelstrom weapon)
75 --> Ancestral Guidance (2 minute CD - when dealing direct damage or healing for the next 10 sec. 40% of that amount is copied as healing to up to 3 nearby injured party or raid members)
WHY? Well smack some stuff, it's a beautiful thing. This one wasn't too hard of a choice. The healing tide totem (an ode to the mana tide totem) costs 1600 mana, has a 3 minute CD and lasts for 10 seconds. Pulses every 1.89 sec healing the 5 most injured party or raid members w/in 40 yards for 6.418. It's pretty but we still have healing stream totem and enhancement is not the healing class. The other option depended heavily on healing spells being cast, again, not our job.
90 --> Unleashed Fury (Adds tasty bonuses to your weapon imbues that trigger with unleash weapon.)
WHY? Enhancement shammies hit things with weapons, it's our job to cause evil damage very quickly. The other options are pretty, don't get me wrong, and I haven't had a chance to use a single one of them yet. But Unleashed Fury will get my first choice and try out when I hit 90.
Glyphs
With the removal of prime glyphs and all the other changes, some of the choices will certainly be up to whatever fits into your personal play style.
Major:
This was a bit harder than picking minor glyphs but the truth is, as an enhancement shammy you can ignore any that are for healing or actual spell casting (your spec is not for either of those).
1. Feral Spirit --> Increases healing done by your feral spirits' spirit hunt by 40%.
2. Shamanistic Rage --> Shamanistic Rage also cleanses you of all dispellable harmful magic effects.
3. Spirit Walk or Totemic Recall --> Either is acceptable and could be useful depending on your play style. Since totems no longer give long term buffs, it's a lot less likely you'll have a lot of totems left on the ground after a fight in a dungeon/raid. Spirit Walk reduces the CD of spirit walk by 25%.
Again, glyphs are in your play style and still need to be messed/played with to find a great combo.
Minor:There are 8 available minor glyphs. I chose the following:
1. Lava Lash --> No longer spreads flame shock to nearby targets. Without this you could really mess up crowd control scenarios.
2. Totemic Encirclement --> Drops decoy totems when an actual totem of that type isn't out. Mostly useful for PVP but if mobs are going to attack totems, give them a chance to get the wrong one.
3. Lakestrider or Spectral Wolf --> Your call. One automatically casts water walking when in ghost wolf form when you run onto water. The other is just changing the appearance of your ghost wolf.
As an enhancement shaman, a lot of the minor ones just don't apply or aren't worth it.
