[top]Relics
While it is possible to swap relics during combat to try and take advantage of multiple relic buffs, this is not recommended. Swapping a relic incurs a global cooldown and resets your swing timer.
The two best choices are [Totem of the Astral Winds] and [Stonebreaker's Totem]
A: Astral Winds EP = Percent_of_WF_Swings * Astral_Winds * Elemental_Weapons
B: Stonebreaker EP = Uptime * (B1 + B2 + B3)
B1: Stonebreaker EP to WF = Percent_of_WF_Swings * Stonebreaker * Elemental_Weapons
B2: Stonebreaker EP to SS = Percent_of_SS_Swings * Stonebreaker
B3: Stonebreaker EP to white damage = Percent_of_white_Swings * Stonebreaker * (1 - MissRate)
Physical Damage breakdown:
Assuming two 2.6 speed weapons, flurried to 2.0 speed, means you get around 10 white swings per SS cooldown. 40% of those swings will be WF, meaning 10 white swings, 2 SS swings, 4.8 WF swings. 10+2+4.8 = 16.8
Percent_of_WF_Swings = 4.8/16.8 = 0.286
Percent_of_SS_Swings = 2/16.8 = 0.119
Percent_of_white_Swings = 10/16.8 = 0.595
(This breakdown is conservatively in favor of the Astral Winds Totem. Many WWS parses from raids show the balance slightly shifted away from WF towards white swings)
A: 32
B1: 44
B2: 13
B3: 65 * (1 - Missrate)
A = Stonebreaker_Uptime * (B1 + B2 + B3).
32 = Uptime * (44 + 13 + [ 65 * (1 - Missrate) ]
Let Missrate = 19%
Then Uptime = 29%
As miss rate decreases, so does the required uptime to break even. An enhancement shaman with +9% hit from talents and no hit rating on gear would see a 19% miss rate against boss mobs, resulting in a required uptime of 29%.
Changing some values for more hit gear, we find that even if your miss rate is better than 2% the required uptime is 26.4%. This gives us a fairly good window of possible required uptimes for the Stonebreaker buff over a wide variety of gear, with a good conservative estimate being 30%.
Now what does it take to achieve a 30% uptime? Here’s a simplified formula for determining this.
(Seconds per Shock) = (Stonebreaker proc chance) * (1-Spell miss rate) * (Stonebreaker duration) * (1/Stonebreaker Uptime)
(Seconds per Shock) = (0.50)*(1-0.14)*(1/0.30) = 14.3
This means that on average, a shock every 14.3 seconds is the minimum needed to maintain 30% uptime on the totem buff and thus make it come out ahead of the Astral Winds totem.
Conclusion: The Stonebreaker totem should be superior to the Totem of Astral Winds on average if the shaman can shock at least once every 14 seconds. Note that Stonebreaker has a 10 second hidden cooldown.
[top]Gems and Meta Gems
In general, [Bold Living Ruby] should fill every socket unless there is a socket bonus that does not require using a Blue gem color, and where the socket bonus is worth more EP than what the loss of the dps stats on the blue gem would be.
If you are matching gems for socket bonuses, use the following:
Red socket: [Bold Living Ruby].
Yellow socket:[Inscribed Noble Topaz].
Blue socket: [Sovereign Nightseye].
The [Rigid Dawnstone] is always the wrong answer for enhance shaman.
The [Bold Living Ruby] will always be better then [Bright Living Ruby] in a raid environment due to Blessing of Kings.
Naturally the epic BT/Hyjal versions of these gems follow the same logic and you should be able to extrapolate which gems to use.
[Relentless Earthstorm Diamond], Best choice for a meta gem. This gem will scale with your crit rating. The 3% crit damage can be roughly approximated to raise your DPS by 0.03 * Crit Rate. At 30% crit rate this amounts to nearly a 1% gain in damage dealt.
[Thundering Skyfire Diamond] gives 240 haste rating for 6 seconds. This is your second choice for meta gems as it appears to have a 1 minute cooldown. Shaman with lower crit rates (20% or lower, geared in heroic/blue gear, just starting 25mans and KZ) will benefit slightly more from this gem over the RED.
[Swift Skyfire Diamond] will yield a very minor DPS increase - same for [Potent Unstable Diamond]
[top]Trinkets
Trinket gains are converted using the EP formulas above in the itemization stat weights from above, and listed as greatest EP at the top.
High End Trinkets for Sunwell, calculated using Sunwell EP values. Endgame trinkets for a shaman complete with sunwell are the BNS and the SoC.
Trinket EP Value Calculation Notes
[Blackened Naaru Sliver] 249.32 (54 * Haste EP) + (avg ap on proc * proc uptime) Assuming ~38% uptime and 6.6 seconds for full stack
[Shard of Contempt] 244.46 (44 *Expertise EP) + (230 * proc uptime) assuming 38% uptime, 45sec CD, 212 EP if expertise capped
[Dragonspine Trophy] 200.87 ( 40 + ( 325 * Haste EP * 10 * 1.5 / 60 )) Assuming a 1.5 PPM
Trinkets for T4 through T6.
Trinket Entry EP Mid-Raid EP T6 Raid EP Calculation Notes
[Shard of Contempt] TBD TBD TBD (44 *Expertise EP) + (230 * proc uptime) 45sec CD, 196 EP if expertise capped
[Dragonspine Trophy] 144.00 160.25 187.88 ( 40 + ( 325 * HasteRating * 10 * 1.5 / 60 )) Assuming a 1.5 PPM
[Berserker's Call] 150 150 150 90 + ( 360 * 20 / 120)
[Madness of the Betrayer] 137.20 145.60 159.80 T( 84 + ( 20 * HitRating ) + ( 2.4 * 10 / 60 * 300 * ArmorPenetration )) Using 2.4 PPM
[Tsunami Talisman] 139.26 141.00 134.02 (( 10 * HitRating ) + ( 38 * CritRating ) + ( 340 * 10 * 0.9 / 60 )) 0.9 PPM
[Ashtongue Talisman of Vision] 137.50 137.50 137.50 ( 275 * 10 * 0.5 / 10 ) 50% chance to proc
[Figurine - Shadowsong Panther] 133.33 133.33 133.33 80 + (320 * 15)/90 Crafted BoP
[Darkmoon Card: Crusade] 120.00 120.00 120.00 Stack time lowers the value
[Bloodlust Brooch] 118.33 118.33 118.33 72 + (278 * 20 / 120)
[Hourglass of the Unraveller] 108.04 109.00 100.68 (( 32 * CritRating ) + ( 300 * 10 * 0.9 / 60 )) 0.9 PPM
[Abacus of Violent Odds] 91.73 96.07 103.43 ( 64 + ( 260 * HasteRating * 10 / 120 ))
[Drake Fang Talisman] 82.80 84.00 89.80 ( 56 + ( 20 * HitRating ))
[Kiss of the Spider] 72.98 79.00 86.76 (( 14 * CritRating ) + ( 10 * HitRating ) + ( 200 * HasteRating * 15 / 120 ))
[Romulo's Poison Vial] 46.90 49.00 59.15 ( 35 * HitRating Unknown value for the proc.
[top]Enchanting your Gear
[top]Weapon Enchants
[Enchant Weapon - Mongoose] 4.8% crit per proc (double procs stack) and 2% haste.
[Formula: Enchant Weapon - Crusader] provides 60 Strength (120 AP) at lvl 70 per proc.
[Enchant Weapon - Potency] is a constant +20 Strength (40 AP).
Clearly Mongoose is the preferred enchant, although Crusader can be a cheaper, but still effective alternative. Potency should be completely avoided.
[Formula: Enchant Weapon - Executioner] is roughly equivalent at high T5/T6 levels of gearing to a single enchant of Mongoose. The break point depends on the amount of Armor Penetration on your gear. Use of the simulator is recommended to determine whether Mongoose or Executioner will benefit your character more. It is estimated that around 500-600 passive Armor Penetration is required before Executioner will begin to out perform double Mongoose.
Executioner currently does not stack from multiple hands, each proc when DWing will simply refresh the buff. It is unknown if this is intended, since this deviates from how other weapon enchants function. Obviously the value of Executioner will increase as you gain more -Armor gear. At entry raid level a shaman will gain more from dual Mongoose enchants. At high T5 content and beyond, Executioner will become more valuable.
Evidence suggests that Mongoose and Executioner have nearly the same uptime and PPM, around 40-45%
[top]Agility vs Run Speed for Boots
For PvE, either [Enchant Boots - Boar's Speed] or [Enchant Boots - Cat's Swiftness] are going to be big payoffs. Increased run speed is hands down the best enchant you can get for PvE. Derivation:
Let D be your dps without a boot enchant. For the run speed to provide more benefit, we need:
(D+12A)(T-t) < (D+6A)(T-t/1.08)
which simplifies to
T < [(1-k)D + (2-k)6A]t/(6A)
where k = 1/1.08. For example, gives A = .16286, and so we have
T < (.07581D + 1.074) t
Using some actual data, a shaman that does betwen 900 and 1000 dps will have T < 76.88t
For 5 minutes, we would need t > 3.90 seconds and for 6 minutes we would need t > 4.68 seconds.
So for a 5 minute fight if you spend roughly 4 seconds moving between adds, running to the boss, etc, Run Speed provides a superior DPS benefit.
[top]Enchants for the rest of your gear
Asked often enough that it ends up needing its own section. These are the enchants contributing the most to DPS.
Helm - Glyph of Ferocity (34 AP, 16 Hit)
Shoulders - Greater Inscription of the Blade (15 Crit, 20 AP) or Greater Inscription of Vengeance (30 AP, 10 Crit)
Cloak - Greater Agility (+12 Agi) or Subtlety (-2% Threat) if you feel threat constrained
Chest - Exceptional Stats (+6 Str/Agi)
Bracers - Brawn (+12 Strength)
Gloves - Major Strength (+15 Strength)
Rings - (Enchanter Only) Stats (+4 Str/Agi)
Legs - Nethercobra Leg Armor (50 AP, 12 Crit)
[top]Consumables
Translating the benefit of consumables using the Pawn values above we can assess DPS consumables in order of greatest benefit:
[Flask of Relentless Assault] 120 EP
[Elixir of Major Agility] 110 EP
[Fel Strength Elixir] 90 EP
[Haste Potion] [(1.48 * 400) * 15]/120 = 74 EP
[Elixir of Major Strength] 70 EP
[Insane Strength Potion] (120*2*15)/120 = 30 EP
[top]Enhancement Shaman in a group
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[top]How to choose totems
In a 5-man party your DPS is generally limited by the threat that your tank can produce. The most efficient way to increase small party DPS is to provide the tank with more threat. Totems should be chosen that compliment the tank, rather than the rest of the party, even it if means only 1 player is receiving benefit from the totem. Priority of totems always goes to the tank in small groups.
Warrior tanks should always receive Windfury (Paladin tanks need Wrath of Air), unless they are severely under-geared and need the extra armor/dodge just to survive. Rationale for using GoA for a Warrior or Paladin tank should never be to provide crit. Feral druids that are tanking should always be given GoA.
In a raid setting this becomes slightly more complicated as bastardized groups are thrown together. Recommendation is to follow this set of rules:
Rule 1 - If you are ever in doubt about which Air totem should be used, your raid leader has probably failed to put together a complimentary group. Reference the Group Compositions That Work section for details on putting groups together. Encourage proper group compositions for maximum benefit to the raid.
Rule 2 - If a DPS warrior is in your group, he needs Windfury for his rage feedback mechanism. Windfury provides a larger DPS gain to a DPS warrior than any other totem to any other class.
Rule 3 - If you are in group with a Warrior Main Tank, he should receive Windfury, if a Paladin MT he should receive Wrath of Air unless the fight is a non-threat-limited encounter where survivability is questionable.
Rule 4 - If there is no Warrior, but 2 or more Combat Sword Rogues are in the group, they will benefit slightly more from Windfury than from Grace of Air.
Rule 5 - If your group has no warrior, and 2 or more Feral Druids or Hunters, Grace of Air is the totem of choice.
[top]Totem Twisting
Sometimes the best way to solve a conflict of interest in a group is to give everyone what they want. Blizzard is removing totem twisting in the next expansion by changing Windfury Totem to a raid-wide haste buff and combining Grace of Air into Strength of Earth Totem.
Windfury Totem places a 9 second buff on party member's weapons to imbue them with the extra attack mechanic. This can be manipulated to allow a second Air totem to be placed "simultaneously" with Windfury Totem. Proper twisting technique will result in a noticeable loss of shock DPS for the shaman but will still yield a net gain of DPS for the shaman and his group, Testing done by Disquette showed that a group of 3 rogues and a warrior gained 211 DPS while he lost 83 DPS while twisting, a net gain of 128 DPS for the group. For a well geared T6 guild totem twisting would amount to a 0.5% - 1% gain in raid DPS, assuming 27,000 raid dps while not twisting.
You'll most likely want a macro to do this if you so choose, and a mod to track the time remaining on the windfury buff. A common one looks like this:
/castsequence reset=10 Stormstrike, Windfury Totem, Grace of Air Totem
Follow the placement of Grace of Air with a shock. The mana costs of twisting are between 14,500 and 10,500 depending on talent choices. Using water shield and mana spring and careful use of Shamanistic Rage can easily provide the necessary mana. The only concern is that bad streaks of Shamanistic Rage may leave the shaman in a mana deprived state - should this happen the shaman should be prepared to use a mana potion (if not on cooldown) or to drop shocks from his rotation and continue to twist for as long as possible.
Totem Twisting has both its advocates and its detractors, it is not an agreed upon mechanic or strategy.
Pros:
Party gains 88 Agility or extra threat reduction
Overall DPS of the party is increased by nearly 3%
Cons:
The shaman increases time spent in global cooldown, impairing his ability to decurse or purge mobs.
The mana cost of refreshing 2 totems every 9 seconds while Stormstriking is roughly 14,000 mana every 2 minutes. This may limit the ability to use shocks, and requires very careful timing of Shamanistic Rage, may require JoW from a paladin, and definitely requires 5 points in Totemic Focus (reduces mana cost to 10,500 per 2 min).
Until you are very practiced with the technique you will find your attention devoted to watching the timers which means you will be less attentive to changes in the game environment
Latency or simply being late to refresh the Windfury totem will cause the Windfury buff to run off your party's weapons, which means they are losing opportunities for a Windfury proc.
