Totem Talk: Elemental gearing for the new 80, part 2
by Michael Sacco 
Jan 26th 2010 at 9:00PM
Armor sorted by source, not by slot. I'm offering suitable cloth and leather options as well as mail, since, well, you read the rest of the post. You know what I'm talking about.
There might be some Ulduar hard-more items in these filters, along with some class-specific items from Onyxia -- sorry!
From normal mode dungeons:
Trinkets:
- Abyssal Rune is a fantastic ele trinket, and farmable to boot. Drops in Trial of the Champion.
From heroic mode dungeons:
Trinkets:
- Nevermelting Ice Crystal is less desirable because it's not a proc, but still good if you've nothing else comparable. Drops in heroic Pit of Saron from Scourgelord Tyrannus.
- Pendulum of Telluric Currents offers a direct haste boost, which is valuable at this gear level. Drops in the Oculus.
- Mark of the War Prisoner is great for those in need of hit. Drops in the Nexus.
- Forge Ember is the quintessential crit + procced spellpower boost trinket. Just a really bad one. Drops in Halls of Lightning.
- Sundial of the Exalted, on the other hand, is pretty good, and purchasable with badges.
- Shard of the Crystal Heart is also a decent grab if you're lacking hit. Purchasable with badges.
Trinkets:
- Talisman of Volatile Power has a whole bunch of crit on it. As with the Nevermelting Ice Crystal, it's less desirable because it's not a proc-based trinket. Drops from Faction Champions in Trial of the Crusader.
- Muradin's Spyglass drops relatively early in Icecrown Citadel, and from the easiest encounter (Gunship Battle) to boot. It's a fantastic trinket. You want it.
From tier 9 or higher 25-man raids (including Vault of Archavon):
Trinkets:
- Reign of the Unliving drops from Anub'arak in Trial of the Crusader, and it's another highly coveted trinket among elementals.
- Dislodged Foreign Object is the current best elemental trinket in the game, and it drops from Rotface in Icecrown Citadel.
- Maghia's Misguided Quill is available with Frost badges, but it's an objectively terrible trinket unless you're in some strange situation where you're both not hit-capped AND swimming in Frost badges. Spend your badges on something good, like tier 10 gear.
Show your totemic mastery by reading Totem Talk, whether reading Mike Sacco's Elemental edition or Matt Rossi's coverage of Resto and Enhancement.Filed under: Shaman, (Shaman) Totem Talk
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Cythen Jan 26th 2010 9:21PM
Mark of the War Prisoner is actually a Violet Hold drop off of the last boss.
Great article though gave me a few ideas for where to get some peices for my offspec Ele set I'm trying to piece together.
Gearing a shaman can be amazingly frustrating. We can't even roll Need in random pugs for cloth spell items. /sigh
Cythen Jan 26th 2010 9:39PM
Oh, I also forgot to add...
We can use caster offhands instead of shields. This is perfectly fine and often offers higher stats than most shields you will find.
Afterall... you're a glorified mage in mail armor.... you don't really *need* a shield, right?
Verit Jan 27th 2010 1:02PM
One big advantage of using a shield is you can enchant shields - you cannot enchant offhands - for some reason - most shields tend to have the same stats too - with a huge chunk of armor.
Richard Jan 26th 2010 9:22PM
Vigilant Ward (Anub 10) is a resto-oriented shield with MP5, but given the dearth of spellpower shields most shammies with no access to 25-man raids will be using it for both resto and elem specs.
Redielin Jan 26th 2010 9:23PM
This writeup certainly does not encourage one to pick up Elemental as their primary spec. Is it really that difficult to gear up? Maybe I'll just level a Druid instead...
I guess there's a tradeoff for having 0 competition on your gear.
BigBadGooz Jan 26th 2010 9:56PM
not entierly true all trinkets rings necks knives and maces also holy paladins make a beeline for our gear as well. it seems blizz did a great job makeing gear for resto shammies but gave the finger to ele almost whole expansion.
nullstate Jan 26th 2010 10:29PM
I agree here -- it's not going to make me reroll or anything, but it's a lot of doom and gloom, albeit warranted. Overall I'm loving these articles (especially their depth!) but what about some more positivity too? Ele is a fun spec to play, and a potentially rewarding spec if you put forth the effort.
kabshiel Jan 26th 2010 11:53PM
PVE Elemental is fun, but it really has been treated very poorly by Blizzard over the course of this expansion.
Richard Jan 26th 2010 9:33PM
Whoops also should mention the Abyssal Rune from HToCh. Easy to farm, no on-use, haste buff and spellpower proc. Better than the Sundial/Pocketwatch for an elem shammy.
Cythen Jan 26th 2010 9:43PM
It's mentioned under the trinkets available in normal dungeons.
Croe Jan 26th 2010 9:54PM
Once again, thanks Mike and a very useful article.
I've managed to get at least 1k more dps out of my elemental shammy by following your suggestions from last week.
I've always looked upon the Shaman as a support class, but it seems that apart from Heroism / Bloodlust, our reasons for being there are getting fewer and fewer.
Maybe Cataclysm will be the xp of the elemental shaman. (One can dream.)
Sean Jan 26th 2010 11:36PM
Basically Elemental is screwed if you don't raid AND get lucky. Otherwise farm your T9 set and then pray you get the Battered Hilt. The good thing about it is that you'll finish gearing so quickly, because there's no little to get, that you can spend your time gearing another spec or another character altogether. That's why my Resto Druid is already working on a second set of gear.
Evandrial Jan 27th 2010 12:14AM
Great timing, you started this column just as my Elemental Shaman is nearing 80. Thanks, Sacco
Tomatketchup Jan 27th 2010 3:14AM
I just dinged 80 yesterday. Coincidence? Don't think so.
Arainna Jan 27th 2010 1:25AM
I really appreciate these articles, since I'm currently leveling a shammy through RaF, and plan on going ele/resto at end game. I've never played the class before doing RaF, so I'm excited to really get my hands on my shammy at 60 and start outlands (bypassing those ugly levels of 25-55.....those are my most hated levels of any toon).
I'm not going to lie, though, you're articles do not paint Ele in the best of lights, but then again, it is a spec that has not seen very much love this expansion, and if I were in that position I'm sure I'd be kinda bitter myself. I am hoping that, come Cata, everyone sees some welcome changes to their class/specs that refreshes their love for the class/spec they had chosen.
Destiny's hand Jan 27th 2010 1:38AM
Bastion of Purity drops from 25 man faction champs, I should know I have it... Although the raid leader/ ML didn't want to give it to me even though I won the roll
pablo Jan 27th 2010 1:48AM
Awesome article...please keep em coming. So refreshing to hear from a fellow elemental who knows of what they speak.
Mage_Pro Jan 27th 2010 2:29AM
As for daggers there is another one
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=50227
from Forgemaster Garfrost (H)
tgrhwke Jan 27th 2010 5:36AM
Although the Surgeon's Needle will work for an Elemental Shaman, it is itemized better for Restoration since it has MP5 on it, which may be why it wasn't listed.
Mage_Pro Jan 27th 2010 5:44AM
There are a lot of mp5 items listed (maces, shields) so it's ok to be mentioned ))