Revised Talents at 70
With the changes to the Shaman tree since my last posts I need to redo my talent specs that I'll be using at 70, while leveling, and then at 80. Patch 3.0.2 is up on the PTR so here are Stoney's latest enhancement specs.
8/53/0 - Pure Raiding
No totem boosts, no defensive attributes (Anticipation or Toughness), not even room for Improved Ghostwolf, just pure damage. Active damage with additional spell damage and Lava Burst and intellect, and all sorts of goodies. This will be Stoney's spec when what's up on the PTR drops to live. I don't think I'll be PvPing much and I should be doing enough damage to kill trash when I need to do dailies. I think PvE specs will be simple: all offense all the way.
10/51/0 - Raiding--No Static Shock
[Added 9/28] Here's a build that takes Static Shock out of the picture completely. Extra points are put into Enhancing Totems and Call of Flame. I got to thinking about the tradeoff between passive dps increase and GCD usage. The devs have clearly stated their desire to make Enhancement a true hybrid spec--making us both melee and caster at the same time. So if we are casting and swinging the question becomes, will we have enough time to refresh Lightning Shield for the passive damage? If it turns out we have neither the mana nor the GCD to keep that up then I'll go with this spec (provided as well that Unleashed Rage proves viable).
8/53/0 - PvP/Ele Devastation
Here's a thought about a PvP spec that dips into Elemental Devastation. No Maelstrom Weapon, no Static Shock, not even Improved Stormstike. Have to sacrifice those things to get Toughness, Earth's Grasp, Imp Ghost Wolf and Earthen Power.
0/61/0 - PvP
Pure Enhancement tree spec for PvP purposes. Again no Maelstrom Weapon, but adding on Anticipation, Imp Stormstrike, and Guardian Totems.
I wonder if Maelstrom Weapon would be useful in PvP? The idea of tossing out an instant Healing Wave spell while getting beat on is a tempting idea, and I'll probably go for it once I get to 80. But for now at level 70 I don't think there will be room for it. I'll play around with it and post updates once the patch drops.
If anyone has other spec suggestions at level 70 I'd love to see them.
8/53/0 - Pure Raiding
No totem boosts, no defensive attributes (Anticipation or Toughness), not even room for Improved Ghostwolf, just pure damage. Active damage with additional spell damage and Lava Burst and intellect, and all sorts of goodies. This will be Stoney's spec when what's up on the PTR drops to live. I don't think I'll be PvPing much and I should be doing enough damage to kill trash when I need to do dailies. I think PvE specs will be simple: all offense all the way.
10/51/0 - Raiding--No Static Shock
[Added 9/28] Here's a build that takes Static Shock out of the picture completely. Extra points are put into Enhancing Totems and Call of Flame. I got to thinking about the tradeoff between passive dps increase and GCD usage. The devs have clearly stated their desire to make Enhancement a true hybrid spec--making us both melee and caster at the same time. So if we are casting and swinging the question becomes, will we have enough time to refresh Lightning Shield for the passive damage? If it turns out we have neither the mana nor the GCD to keep that up then I'll go with this spec (provided as well that Unleashed Rage proves viable).
8/53/0 - PvP/Ele Devastation
Here's a thought about a PvP spec that dips into Elemental Devastation. No Maelstrom Weapon, no Static Shock, not even Improved Stormstike. Have to sacrifice those things to get Toughness, Earth's Grasp, Imp Ghost Wolf and Earthen Power.
0/61/0 - PvP
Pure Enhancement tree spec for PvP purposes. Again no Maelstrom Weapon, but adding on Anticipation, Imp Stormstrike, and Guardian Totems.
I wonder if Maelstrom Weapon would be useful in PvP? The idea of tossing out an instant Healing Wave spell while getting beat on is a tempting idea, and I'll probably go for it once I get to 80. But for now at level 70 I don't think there will be room for it. I'll play around with it and post updates once the patch drops.
If anyone has other spec suggestions at level 70 I'd love to see them.
Labels: specs, talent points
posted by Rich @ 4:25 PM
3 Comments:
At October 6, 2008 9:25 PM ,
weregamer said...
You are focussing on raiding here, but my gameplay is 99% five-man, in a dedicated party (that is, the 5 of us started characters together and play them together one night a week). Though I love tossing nukes, it turned out that having the ability to switch to healing in mid-fight when things went wrong, and to full healing gear for some bosses, was a huge benefit to my group. Also, with a pally tank and the high variability of Enh shammy damage because of its crit focus, having me do even more damage is not really as important as it might be in a raid.
So now that it's no longer inadvisable to go Enh/Ele, it looks like we want me to stay Enh/Res. Could you comment on potential builds for this situation? I note that the new spellpower mechanics should make the combination of Mental Dexterity and Mental Quickness just as juicy for healing as nuking. Perhaps something like http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/classes/shaman/talents2.html?tal=000000000000000000000000305050031050213053113120100050005300300000000000000000?
At October 7, 2008 5:34 PM ,
Rich said...
weregamer if you like the combo of melee dps and off-healing you're going to love 3.0!
i have some suggestions but will have to get home to put specs into one of the talent calculators. look for another reply here in another couple of hours.
At October 7, 2008 11:34 PM ,
Rich said...
OK, after the raid tonight I had a chance to look at your spec.
First, you'll be sacrificing a lot more after the patch. You are probably already expecting this, but it's worth mentioning because the changes to the Shaman class are so significant. Be ready to see a big loss of damage output because you're not dipping into the Ele tree.
But despite losing damage potential you will be making up for it with increased heals. You're right that Mental Dexterity + Mental Quickness = juicy. That will give your heals more zest.
As for specs dipping down into resto? I wouldn't take Healing Grace. If you are pulling aggro as Enhance, it's from DPS not from heals. And your spells are not getting dispelled in PvE so the points are wasted there.
Now I wonder if Healing Focus be helpful? I'm assuming it would not as you would be in groups with a tank, so I'll skip it just as you did.
If it were me, I would go with Tidal Force, then invest the last 5 points back in the Enhance tree. Something like this:
http://wotlk.wowhead.com/?talent=hZbxxIoxdhIkubobx0ez
Improved Shields + Improved Water Shield + Tidal Force = very nice for mana regen. And the 2 points in Maelstrom Weapon will help in a tight spot.
Let me know what you end up going with and how it works for you.
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