Totem Talk: Enhancement trinkets

Currently Stoneybaby is trying to come up with witty article titles and failing miserably due to a splitting headache, so "Enhancement X" will have to suffice for this week. And yes Rich Maloy lives and loves enhancement. His main spec is enhance. His off-spec is enhance. He blogs about the life and times of enhance at Big Hit Box, pens the enhance side of Totem Talk, and leads the guild Big Crits (Week 4 now out!) as the enhancement shaman Stoneybaby.
Since last week's weapons column went off with slightly less trolling than normal, I'm going to push my luck with another article about gearing. Today's topic: trinkets.
Trinkets are not nearly as hard to acquire as weapons. Unless of course the RNG gods hate you and Death's Choice/Verdict drops only once in your guild in all of the god-forsaken months you spend in ToC and the first time it dropped you passed to a hunter who really needed the upgrade and you thought to yourself I'll be a good leader and let someone else win because it will drop again and I'll get it next time only it doesn't drop again ever and you're convinced the RNG gods do in fact hate you so you wrap yourself in your towel and rock yourself gently to sleep.
Thinking back on that, maybe trinkets are a bit hard to acquire. Thankfully for us, one of enhancement's best-in-slot trinkets is very easy to come by.
Emblems
Herkuml War Token
Source: 60 Emblems of Frost
A small price to pay for our #2 BiS trinket. Go forth and buy this. Now. Have it and equipped? Good. This trinket has our previously established killer stat, haste, plus an on-attack AP increasing effect. 153 haste plus the extra AP makes this one of our best trinkets.
Shard of the Crystal Heart
Source: 50 Emblems of Triumph
128 hit is a lot of hit. Extra hit is always helpful but 128 hit rating? If you're really in need of hit and well below the cap with plenty of extra emblems and crappy trinkets, then go for it. I'd take the Shard over the Mark (below) for the haste, but that's just my haste-loving opinion. What you should do depends on your own gear.
Mark of Supremacy
Source: 50 Emblems of Triumph
Hit. Lots of it. As previously noted above. If you're into AP stacking then this is the i245 trinket for you.
Mirror of Truth
Source: 40 Emblems of Heroism
This was a decent trinket at-level because as we were breaking into Naxx we were still reaching for an unbuffed crit minimum of 30%. The Mirror could help put a character over the top, and hitting the crit cap was not likely to happen unless you were stacking crit, which you shouldn't have been doing in the first place. So Mirror's not a bad choice for emblem use.
Icecrown Citadel
Tiny Abomination in a Jar (heroic)
Source: Professor Putricide 25s
The heroic version is our #1 BiS trinket. If you have this or are working on heroic Professor Putricide then you are already drooling thinking about it. But even the regular version is well worth the upgrade. I love those motes of anger. I'm running around Dalaran with a couple motes up on my buff bar, I feel like it should serve as a warning to others: don't come near Stoney right now, he's got 5 motes!
Whispering Fanged Skull (heroic)
Source: Lady Deathwhisper 10s
This is not a bad choice for a trinket the only danger is that with so much crit and agility on our gear we could come close to hitting the crit cap; it is a lot of crit for a trinket. If you're not going over the crit cap by too much-or if you don't know and don't care-the 1250 AP is a nice passive buff.
Deathbringer's Will (heroic)
Source: Deathbringer Saurfang 25s
Those who lust after this trinket affectionately refer to it as DBW. We, however, are not among those ranks. Well, you're free to call it DBW or whatever you want, just don't lust after it. I know I'm repeating myself (and quite possibly preaching to the well-informed choir) but armor penetration is not a great stat for us. With so many other stats out there that do us right leave this trinket to the myriad of classes that can put it to good use.
Trial of the Crusader
Death's Choice/Verdict (heroic)
Source: Fjola Lightbane 25s
As previously noted, this one-time BiS trinket does not exist so we shall not speak of it. If for some reason this should drop, not that it ever would, but in the off chance that it does drop and you don't have Tiny Abom or Herkuml's I highly recommend taking it and equipping it, just to see if it's real.
Vengeance of the Forsaken/Victor's Call (heroic)
Source: Champions' Cache 10s
This is a great trinket for expertise-starved shamans such as myself. Having recently faction changed and chosen troll because I think they're cooler than orcs, I have only myself to blame. But I digress, this trinket has 83 expertise on both the regular and heroic versions. That's the equivalent of 4 Precise Cardinal Rubies, or for a JC 3 Precise Dragon's Eyes and maybe an Accurate Ametrine. And the trinket is still better. Plus the AP effect is awesome. I used this up until I got the Tiny Abom.
Fetish/Talisman of Volatile Power (heroic)
Source: Champions' Cache 10s
For those who play elemental as well as enhancement this is not a bad choice for a cross-over trinket. If you already have it as part of your ele set you could conceivable use it in your enhancement set until a better one came along. For the main spec enhancers out there I wouldn't recommend taking this unless you're upgrading from the Thorny Rose Brooch -- and even then I'd question your choice. The downside is that the stack effect may not stack quickly enough as enhancement to reap the full rewards of this trinkey.
Dungeons
Needle-Encrusted Scorpion
Source: Heroic Forge of Souls, Devourer of Souls
This is an excellent trinket for building up an enhancement off-spec or gearing out a new level 80 enhancer. Besides, running this instance also gives the chance to get a decent weapon off trash or maybe even a Battered Hilt.
Incisor Fragment
Source: Heroic Drak'Tharon Keep, King Dread
The AP is good, the ArP is not so good. If you need a trinket it's a decent choice but is replaceable with others along the path to gearing.
Meteorite Whetstone
Source: Heroic Utgarde Pinnacle, King Ymiron
Without having put any theorycrafting behind this statement, I'd venture to say this is BiS among rare quality i200 trinkets.
Sphere of Red Dragon's Blood
Source: Heroic Nexus, Keristrasza
Along with the whetstone, this is probably BiS among i200 gear. The hit makes it an excellent choice for undergeared enhancers.
Personally, I prefer my Super Simian Sphere but apparently the bubble doesn't function quite as well as a Paladin's bubblehearth.
May all your hits be crits!
Show your totemic mastery by reading Totem Talk, whether reading Mike Sacco's elemental edition, Joe Perez's coverage of restoration or Rich Maloy's enhancement edition, we have you covered.Filed under: Shaman, (Shaman) Totem Talk






Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
theRaptor May 29th 2010 8:42PM
I am one of two people in my guild that got death choice... on my enhance shaman I don't play any more because I don't enjoy the spec after the 3.3 changes (well, that and they made shadow more enjoyable).
One of our DPS warriors is still PUG ToC for it.
Liv May 29th 2010 8:55PM
I'm just gearing up my offspec as enhance so these articles are very timely and useful, thanks!
Aloix May 29th 2010 8:54PM
Sooo, Enh shammys like TAJ huh..that is good info for my ret pally (main). Knowing the (proper) competition is always good.
alpha5099 May 29th 2010 9:47PM
No Banner of Victory (http://www.wowhead.com/item=47214)? Yeah, it's got that sub-par ArPen like so many of our heroic trinket options, but the proc is pretty awesome, plus it happens to be in a normal dungeon so it's the easiest to farm for. Plus, being in a five man, you have less chance of pissing off someone who could use it better; with any luck, you'll see it drop with the other two DPS being casters.
I'm not saying it's the greatest trinket in the world, but it's respectable, and my shammy was rocking it and the Mirror of Truth (or the Brewfest equivalent, I had both) until I started raiding in 3.3.
feniks9174 May 29th 2010 11:06PM
I'd personally take the Banner over the Mirror of Truth. I just could never bring myself to downgrade Triumph to Heroism for an ilvl 200 trinket.
Another option would be the Fury of the Fve Flights from 25 OS. I got it in a weekly and it's been sitting next to my War Token for some time since 1) Death's Choice is a myth and 2) I don't get to bring my shamalama to 25 ICC guild runs.
VSUReaper May 29th 2010 11:07PM
Arpen is, for the most part, crap for enhance. Banner is still lusted over by new warriors/druids/rogues/prolly missing someone b.c of the passive arpen on it.
Dont.
Ever.
Take.
This.
From.
A.
Warrior. (or those other classes mentioned.)
I'm actually surprised that the Darkmoon card wasnt mentioned. Ya, its a lil bit on the pricy side, but its worth mentioning b/c you might get lucky and snag it off the Ah for less than its worth.
feniks9174 May 29th 2010 11:24PM
Unfortunately, ToC5 is a grab bag for people trying to get insanely ovepowered (for their ilvl, at least) trinkets. I wouldn't worry about taking it from the warrior. He's probably planning on taking Black Heart from the tank anyway.
Yeah, the ArP is crap, but it you're trying to fill a slot with an Ilvl 200 trinket, you probably need to save your triumphs for T9 and badge gear. In either case, it's a stepstone til you can afford the War Token.
Briz9 May 30th 2010 12:41AM
What about the caster trinket that drops from Gunship? The one with haste and a chance to increase spellpower? I currently have Herkuml and the normal Death's Verdict. Wondering if that caster trinket would be an upgrade for DV.
Andy May 30th 2010 2:28AM
Pyrite Infuser from Flame Leviathan 10 isn't too shabby either, especially if you are starting out and somewhat low on hit.
nekorion May 30th 2010 2:56AM
drops from one of the weekly ulduar bosses, so pretty good suggestion. I used it in tandem with the mark of supremacy for AGES
talk about needing hit :P
Lrdx May 30th 2010 5:34AM
Why would an elemental shaman take Talisman of Volatile Power? There are trinkets better even from questing.
Garneth May 30th 2010 6:53AM
Wonderful article!
@wow.com ret pally gearing poster pl0x!!
Naku May 30th 2010 9:29AM
Ty Rich Maloy
/respect
It is good to have an enhancement coumnist.
Turtlehead May 30th 2010 12:24PM
The on use of Fetish is terrible for enhance and casters alike. Either haste is too low to stack it or enough to chain eight one second GCD casts to gain twelve seconds of useless extra haste.
I loved that thing when ToC was current; people kept burning their DKP on it. Every time, an hour later in raid chat or vent, "This thing blows. Can I get a refund?"
Iirdan May 30th 2010 4:22PM
Probably not the best place to ask this, but I can't think of anywhere better to be sure.
Which addon is it that shows up on screen (during your Big Crits videos) asking "Is this a wipe?" with the options Yes, No, and Maybe?
Daar May 31st 2010 12:00PM
i'm gearing my secondary spec and was wondering what is hit cap for enhanced shaman and is there a shaman website that i can check out?
Turtlehead May 31st 2010 1:14PM
17% to cap spells on a raid boss. Should be a core goal because so much enhance damage comes from magic.
After that more hit only increases white damage (any weapon damage from whacking stuff without using a button to do a special attack) but at higher gear levels it pushes back the crit cap. I suspect there'll be a post about hit/crit interaction soon.
BoomingEchoes May 31st 2010 2:39PM
Honestly I don't see where the confusion would be on TAJ.. This thing has a chance to proc a mote of anger off of every hit, probably with a small internal cooldown like the caster trinket off of 25man Anub'arak. Since Enhancement Shaman are usually hitting at increased speeds even without their current haste stacking these motes will be at 8 and firing off faster then I'd imagine then a Ret Pally could build them up and release them. Given Enhancement also uses slow, heavy hitting, 1h weapons that 50% damage will be huge compared to a dagger user who would be building them at a similar speed.. If any thing this trinket was almost made with them in mind.
BoomingEchoes May 31st 2010 2:40PM
This was @Aloix above.. Comment system bugged out on me.
Dragonight May 31st 2010 11:36PM
I think the Pendulum of Telluric Currents (/script DEFAULT_CHAT_FRAME:AddMessage("\124cff0070dd\124Hitem:37264:0:0:0:0:0:0:0:0\124h[Pendulum of Telluric Currents]\124h\124r");) is pretty nice, I'm using it as a placeholder right now.