Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Rotations!
I'll start off this time discussing some of the differences between an Enhancement single target rotation and an aoe rotation.
Single Target
Single target rotations vary depending on the situation, but for the most part it is safe to follow this priority when choosing your next ability to us. From highest priority to lowest:
Maelstrom 5 - Lightning Bolt
Flame Shock DoT
Stormstrike if the debuff is not present on your target
Lightning Shield if zero charges left
Magma Totem if not down
Feral Spirits
Shamanistic Rage
Earth Shock
Stormstrike
Lava Lash
Fire Nova
Refresh Magma Totem
Refresh Lightning Shield
Now, that is basically the EJ list based on a simulator. I do not rely on the EnhSim for anything regarding Enhancement dps. This is not to say that the Sim is wrong or otherwise poorly made. The opposite is true. It is a very well made simulator that will do what it is supposed to do, but it is not the ultimate answer of everything Enhancement.
That being said I will begin talking about the single target rotation in detail. Like I said, that's the highest simulated dps priority over a large amount of time. Most boss fights in ICC will last anywhere from 2-5 minutes typically with the LK and Sindragosa being exceptions. That is not what I would consider an large amount of time. What this means is there will be some practical changes in the rotation based on what's happening.
For example, the EJ list suggests a medium priority for Feral Spirits and Shamanistic Rage. No. These are highest priority if Bloodlust/Heroism will be used soon or if you will get multiple uses of them by using them at the start of the fight. Flame Shock is not used on mobs/things that will not live at least 10 seconds. Try your best not to refresh Lightning Shield or Magma Totem until they expire. Refreshing either of these before they expire and if another ability will be off cooldown within the next 1-1.5 seconds is a dps loss. It is fine to refresh them if nothing is coming off cooldown within the next global though.
AoE Rotation
The aoe rotation can go one of two ways.
1) Trash. Spam Magma Totem and Chain Lightning on cooldown. If both are on cooldown, continue with single target rotation on a mob.
2) Boss with adds. Maintain your single target rotation on the boss while substituting Chain Lightning for Lightning Bolt as often as possible. Do not prioritize Magma Totem unless there are 3 or more adds. If there are 3+ mobs, put Magma Totem ahead of only Lava Lash. Sorry, we're not the ones cleaving.
Next time I'll talk about ICC 10/25 Normal/Heroic gearing and touch on the worthwhile Emblem of Frost purchases.
Thanks for your continuing interest.
Single Target
Single target rotations vary depending on the situation, but for the most part it is safe to follow this priority when choosing your next ability to us. From highest priority to lowest:
Maelstrom 5 - Lightning Bolt
Flame Shock DoT
Stormstrike if the debuff is not present on your target
Lightning Shield if zero charges left
Magma Totem if not down
Feral Spirits
Shamanistic Rage
Earth Shock
Stormstrike
Lava Lash
Fire Nova
Refresh Magma Totem
Refresh Lightning Shield
Now, that is basically the EJ list based on a simulator. I do not rely on the EnhSim for anything regarding Enhancement dps. This is not to say that the Sim is wrong or otherwise poorly made. The opposite is true. It is a very well made simulator that will do what it is supposed to do, but it is not the ultimate answer of everything Enhancement.
That being said I will begin talking about the single target rotation in detail. Like I said, that's the highest simulated dps priority over a large amount of time. Most boss fights in ICC will last anywhere from 2-5 minutes typically with the LK and Sindragosa being exceptions. That is not what I would consider an large amount of time. What this means is there will be some practical changes in the rotation based on what's happening.
For example, the EJ list suggests a medium priority for Feral Spirits and Shamanistic Rage. No. These are highest priority if Bloodlust/Heroism will be used soon or if you will get multiple uses of them by using them at the start of the fight. Flame Shock is not used on mobs/things that will not live at least 10 seconds. Try your best not to refresh Lightning Shield or Magma Totem until they expire. Refreshing either of these before they expire and if another ability will be off cooldown within the next 1-1.5 seconds is a dps loss. It is fine to refresh them if nothing is coming off cooldown within the next global though.
AoE Rotation
The aoe rotation can go one of two ways.
1) Trash. Spam Magma Totem and Chain Lightning on cooldown. If both are on cooldown, continue with single target rotation on a mob.
2) Boss with adds. Maintain your single target rotation on the boss while substituting Chain Lightning for Lightning Bolt as often as possible. Do not prioritize Magma Totem unless there are 3 or more adds. If there are 3+ mobs, put Magma Totem ahead of only Lava Lash. Sorry, we're not the ones cleaving.
Next time I'll talk about ICC 10/25 Normal/Heroic gearing and touch on the worthwhile Emblem of Frost purchases.
Thanks for your continuing interest.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Arenas as Beastcleave
First off, I have a short pvp video I made over the course of a night's arena.
http://www.filefront.com/16061943/Beastcleave-PvP-1-short.wmv/
Some people wanted to see it, so there it is.
*Section removed*
http://www.filefront.com/16061943/Beastcleave-PvP-1-short.wmv/
Some people wanted to see it, so there it is.
*Section removed*
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Comin back and Hard....Mode tips!
First off I'd like to thank all the people who have come requesting more posts in this blog. I really didn't think a lot of people would read it, so it makes me happy to see that I can help people, or at least entertain them. I really appreciate the support, and I'll try to meet the expectations. So after many very unexpected requests, I am here to post on random and useful Shaman info once again!
Secondly, I'd like to brag a little. This past week we achieved the US 9th Glory of the Icecrown Raider (25), allowing us to fly around on very smexy drakes. I'm very proud of us and I guess this is a good way to start my Helpful Heroic Tips for Enhancement. Enhancement Shamans are very delicate flowers and we need all the help we can get in order to keep up with the big boys.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Heroic Helpful Tips:
Lord Marrowgar:
If you really wanna push the dps, make sure you save wolves for Bonestorm phases and drop Fire Ele right before them. Keep Flame Shocks rolling on the boss and remember that he has a HUGE hitbox. Don't forget to always be doing damage! Utilize Maelstrom'd Lightning Bolts and Lava Burst whenever the boss is out of range. Of course you prioritize bone spikes at all times. Other than that, just stick close to him during normal phases so that you don't have to worry about the evil fires!
Lady Deathwhisper:
This is a very dangerous fight come phase 2 and your role is completely dependent on how your guild handles the fight. If you are on add duty, I would recommend that you ask your guild to let you be on the boss and put more aoe-intensive/threat heavy melee on the adds. Anyway, let's focus on phase 2 since it's the meat of the fight. Fire Ele in the middle of your boss tanking area so that you can focus on more important things. You should be able to get every other interrupt, so make sure that's one of your 2 top priorities. The other one is DON'T GET HIT BY GHOSTS! That is the biggest part of this fight. A single ghost can wipe the raid if it's followed by a Frostbolt Volley. Frostbolt Volley does seem to be pushed off his ability list as long as you keep interrupting Frostbolts, so that's a nice side benefit. I would suggest you play this fight as safe as possible. I basically turn into Pussioh for the duration of phase 2. My job is to do decent damage while avoiding ghosts and interrupting Frostbolts. Last thing, don't forget to Hex mind controls, especially on melee.
Saurfang:
Uh...stand there and dps. You can Chain Lightning the Blood Beasts (it doesn't suffer the aoe penalty) for extra epeen flexing, or you can bullshit your raid leader and tell him "it's to help the pussy casters" lolololololol.
Festergut:
Another standard fight. Green shit is placed under your feet to let you know that a green blob of rapeyourdps is about to land on you. We just have our melee move foot to foot every time he throws a goo. You CAN miss a single spore if you use Sham Rage for the bloat. You should be able to use 3 Rages before the first bloat IF AND ONLY IF you use them ASAP. Avoid green shit at all costs and do many deepz.
Rotface:
Once again, not a very complicated fight. Drop fire totem before you run out with diseases and continue to dps with LB/CL/LvB and Fire Nova whenever possible at range.
Professor Putricide:
Don't put too much focus on your Magma Totem for this fight, but don't forget it either. You want to make sure it's down every time an ooze spawns so that it can hit the ooze and the boss. You also want to CL every time the ooze runs past the boss. You generally want to hang on the side of the oozes since they seem to be a little touchy with their hitboxes. I still haven't found a great spot for Fire Elemental. Try to set the totem down in the middle for maximum possible range on the Ele.
Blood Prince Council:
DO NOT GET HIT BY MULTIPLE EMPOWERED SHOCK VORTEXES. Save your wolves' Spirit Walk ability, and possibly Rocket Boots, for moving between targets. Shadow prison stacks are based on how long you're moving, so movement speed increases will reduce the chances for you to get buttraped while all the other melee sit comfortably with 40k health. As usual, hit cooldowns every time they're up, but save like speed pots, and maybe lust, for the caster mob since he should have the least chance to turn and parry you or some shit.
Blood Queen Lanathel:
As I said before, you have to keep dps'ing at all times. If you get Pact of the Darkfallen or Swarming Shadows, make sure to drop a new fire totem for Fire Nova and keep shocking. Save personal cooldowns for your bite turn, Fire Ele during your last phase, and that should be it.
Valithria Dreamwalker:
Save cooldowns for the Blazing Skeletons. This is a good fight to utilize your full utility. Drop Earthbinds on Suppressors and the worms that spawn out of dead Aboms. Fire Ele in between the two gates for max use. When you're not dps'ing, heal the boss with Lesser Healing Waves. Overall not a dps fight. If you're the only Shamans, have the healers call for Bloodlust whenever they're ready for it.
Sindragosa:
Fuck this fight. Remove as much Haste oriented gear as possible. I switch out my Tiny Abom for a Whispering Fanged Skull and I switch out my Haste totem for the AP one (the names escape me at 6am). I wouldn't recommend going higher than 6 or 7 stacks of Chilled to the Bone. While you're waiting for your stacks to reset, you must still do damage! Keep Flame Shock rolling, Magma Totem down, then just Lava Burst, Lightning Bolt, Earth Shock, and Fire Nova. You could also use this time to refresh Lightning Shield or heal your dumb rogues who think they're special and go to like 10 stacks of Chilled to the Bone. IF YOU'RE GOING TO BE A DUMBFUCK ABOUT IT, GO MAKE US ALL A SANDWICH ASSHOLE!
THE LICH KING (he deserves caps):
Yea ok, I'll let ya know when we get some solid attempts in soon.
I didn't include Gunship for obvious reasons. :P
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
So I wanna recap a few general dps tips that can be applied to any fight.
1) Always be doing damage. If you're in melee, do your complete rotation. If you're at range, use your ranged abilities to keep up the dps.
2) Place your Fire Elemental at a central point so that he has the least chance of leashing. Also try to place it during or right before Bloodlust. This will allow you to maximize your GCD usage during Lust.
3) Don't screw up your rotation. We have to play damn near perfectly to even keep up with other melee, so try your best every fight!
Whenever I wake up I'll respond to the questions about Tiny Abom since I've gotten a few of them. The quick answer is that it's amazing if you're in 264+ gear with like 46%+ unbuffed crit and around 400-500 hit. Feel free to hit me up in game with specific questions whenever.
Peace and much love,
The Palioh
Secondly, I'd like to brag a little. This past week we achieved the US 9th Glory of the Icecrown Raider (25), allowing us to fly around on very smexy drakes. I'm very proud of us and I guess this is a good way to start my Helpful Heroic Tips for Enhancement. Enhancement Shamans are very delicate flowers and we need all the help we can get in order to keep up with the big boys.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Heroic Helpful Tips:
Lord Marrowgar:
If you really wanna push the dps, make sure you save wolves for Bonestorm phases and drop Fire Ele right before them. Keep Flame Shocks rolling on the boss and remember that he has a HUGE hitbox. Don't forget to always be doing damage! Utilize Maelstrom'd Lightning Bolts and Lava Burst whenever the boss is out of range. Of course you prioritize bone spikes at all times. Other than that, just stick close to him during normal phases so that you don't have to worry about the evil fires!
Lady Deathwhisper:
This is a very dangerous fight come phase 2 and your role is completely dependent on how your guild handles the fight. If you are on add duty, I would recommend that you ask your guild to let you be on the boss and put more aoe-intensive/threat heavy melee on the adds. Anyway, let's focus on phase 2 since it's the meat of the fight. Fire Ele in the middle of your boss tanking area so that you can focus on more important things. You should be able to get every other interrupt, so make sure that's one of your 2 top priorities. The other one is DON'T GET HIT BY GHOSTS! That is the biggest part of this fight. A single ghost can wipe the raid if it's followed by a Frostbolt Volley. Frostbolt Volley does seem to be pushed off his ability list as long as you keep interrupting Frostbolts, so that's a nice side benefit. I would suggest you play this fight as safe as possible. I basically turn into Pussioh for the duration of phase 2. My job is to do decent damage while avoiding ghosts and interrupting Frostbolts. Last thing, don't forget to Hex mind controls, especially on melee.
Saurfang:
Uh...stand there and dps. You can Chain Lightning the Blood Beasts (it doesn't suffer the aoe penalty) for extra epeen flexing, or you can bullshit your raid leader and tell him "it's to help the pussy casters" lolololololol.
Festergut:
Another standard fight. Green shit is placed under your feet to let you know that a green blob of rapeyourdps is about to land on you. We just have our melee move foot to foot every time he throws a goo. You CAN miss a single spore if you use Sham Rage for the bloat. You should be able to use 3 Rages before the first bloat IF AND ONLY IF you use them ASAP. Avoid green shit at all costs and do many deepz.
Rotface:
Once again, not a very complicated fight. Drop fire totem before you run out with diseases and continue to dps with LB/CL/LvB and Fire Nova whenever possible at range.
Professor Putricide:
Don't put too much focus on your Magma Totem for this fight, but don't forget it either. You want to make sure it's down every time an ooze spawns so that it can hit the ooze and the boss. You also want to CL every time the ooze runs past the boss. You generally want to hang on the side of the oozes since they seem to be a little touchy with their hitboxes. I still haven't found a great spot for Fire Elemental. Try to set the totem down in the middle for maximum possible range on the Ele.
Blood Prince Council:
DO NOT GET HIT BY MULTIPLE EMPOWERED SHOCK VORTEXES. Save your wolves' Spirit Walk ability, and possibly Rocket Boots, for moving between targets. Shadow prison stacks are based on how long you're moving, so movement speed increases will reduce the chances for you to get buttraped while all the other melee sit comfortably with 40k health. As usual, hit cooldowns every time they're up, but save like speed pots, and maybe lust, for the caster mob since he should have the least chance to turn and parry you or some shit.
Blood Queen Lanathel:
As I said before, you have to keep dps'ing at all times. If you get Pact of the Darkfallen or Swarming Shadows, make sure to drop a new fire totem for Fire Nova and keep shocking. Save personal cooldowns for your bite turn, Fire Ele during your last phase, and that should be it.
Valithria Dreamwalker:
Save cooldowns for the Blazing Skeletons. This is a good fight to utilize your full utility. Drop Earthbinds on Suppressors and the worms that spawn out of dead Aboms. Fire Ele in between the two gates for max use. When you're not dps'ing, heal the boss with Lesser Healing Waves. Overall not a dps fight. If you're the only Shamans, have the healers call for Bloodlust whenever they're ready for it.
Sindragosa:
Fuck this fight. Remove as much Haste oriented gear as possible. I switch out my Tiny Abom for a Whispering Fanged Skull and I switch out my Haste totem for the AP one (the names escape me at 6am). I wouldn't recommend going higher than 6 or 7 stacks of Chilled to the Bone. While you're waiting for your stacks to reset, you must still do damage! Keep Flame Shock rolling, Magma Totem down, then just Lava Burst, Lightning Bolt, Earth Shock, and Fire Nova. You could also use this time to refresh Lightning Shield or heal your dumb rogues who think they're special and go to like 10 stacks of Chilled to the Bone. IF YOU'RE GOING TO BE A DUMBFUCK ABOUT IT, GO MAKE US ALL A SANDWICH ASSHOLE!
THE LICH KING (he deserves caps):
Yea ok, I'll let ya know when we get some solid attempts in soon.
I didn't include Gunship for obvious reasons. :P
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
So I wanna recap a few general dps tips that can be applied to any fight.
1) Always be doing damage. If you're in melee, do your complete rotation. If you're at range, use your ranged abilities to keep up the dps.
2) Place your Fire Elemental at a central point so that he has the least chance of leashing. Also try to place it during or right before Bloodlust. This will allow you to maximize your GCD usage during Lust.
3) Don't screw up your rotation. We have to play damn near perfectly to even keep up with other melee, so try your best every fight!
Whenever I wake up I'll respond to the questions about Tiny Abom since I've gotten a few of them. The quick answer is that it's amazing if you're in 264+ gear with like 46%+ unbuffed crit and around 400-500 hit. Feel free to hit me up in game with specific questions whenever.
Peace and much love,
The Palioh
Thursday, February 18, 2010
White Crit Cap, New Findings, Crit Cap Calculator
Crit Cap
http://elitistjerks.com/f31/t76785-crit_depression_combat_table/p3/#post1548494
That's a link to an EJ thread regarding the white crit cap. Basically, the dude who did the original testing forgot to think about blocks or some shit. Anyway, the thing we need to be concerned with is the fact that our crit caps are no longer where we thought they would be and that you CAN actually remove Hits from your hit table. This would, assuming you're expertise capped like you should be, leave you with only Crits, Misses, and Glancing blows.
Now, if you somehow manage to reach the dual wield hit cap, you can also remove Misses, leaving you only Crits and Glances. This is a rather silly goal and I doubt us Enhancement Shamans will be aiming for it (though you can get it, I'm so close).
The following link is a download to a small spreadsheet that will allow you to calculate your raid buffed crit % and it will also tell you how much room you have until you reach YOUR specific crit cap.
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=364Q598C
http://elitistjerks.com/f79/t87972-enhancement_critical_cap_analysis_tow_hotc/p3/
^That's the link explaining the spreadsheet if needed. You simply input your UNBUFFED agility, crit %, and specify your Orcness or non-Orcness. You must have a 1 in one of the race boxes and a 0 in the other. Do not leave either or both of them blank.
Even though I put "New Findings" in the title, this was actually discussed like 2 weeks ago, but I just kept putting off listing it here since I was fairly busy.
That's all I really have for now. Go now, rape the meters!
http://elitistjerks.com/f31/t76785-crit_depression_combat_table/p3/#post1548494
That's a link to an EJ thread regarding the white crit cap. Basically, the dude who did the original testing forgot to think about blocks or some shit. Anyway, the thing we need to be concerned with is the fact that our crit caps are no longer where we thought they would be and that you CAN actually remove Hits from your hit table. This would, assuming you're expertise capped like you should be, leave you with only Crits, Misses, and Glancing blows.
Now, if you somehow manage to reach the dual wield hit cap, you can also remove Misses, leaving you only Crits and Glances. This is a rather silly goal and I doubt us Enhancement Shamans will be aiming for it (though you can get it, I'm so close).
The following link is a download to a small spreadsheet that will allow you to calculate your raid buffed crit % and it will also tell you how much room you have until you reach YOUR specific crit cap.
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=364Q598C
http://elitistjerks.com/f79/t87972-enhancement_critical_cap_analysis_tow_hotc/p3/
^That's the link explaining the spreadsheet if needed. You simply input your UNBUFFED agility, crit %, and specify your Orcness or non-Orcness. You must have a 1 in one of the race boxes and a 0 in the other. Do not leave either or both of them blank.
Even though I put "New Findings" in the title, this was actually discussed like 2 weeks ago, but I just kept putting off listing it here since I was fairly busy.
That's all I really have for now. Go now, rape the meters!
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
25m Lich King down!
Last night we finally got him. It was more than obvious that this took way too long to do, but whatever, shit got done. Really wish I didn't lag a lot in that fight, then it might be more fun.
This means we get to do Hard Modes next week, which should give me something to do during raids, and something else to aim for. Maybe I can start Frapsing again once we get to them as well.
We also get to do 10m Hard Modes this week. The gear from there, ilvl 264, is really good. Can't wait to get some of it seeing as I have little to no competition in our group for loot. :P I was listening to the other 10m group do Marrowgar on heroic and it sounded like he hits very fucking hard. This means I'll probably end up being Resto for quite a few bosses until we get more gear and more comfortable with the fights. I don't really mind since Resto is still fun to play. As long as I don't have to go Ele, respecing is OK by me. :D
The 4pc t10 is still pissing me off. Take these 2 Deathbringer parses. One is mine(the first) and the other is some lucky Korean asswipe:
Palioh
http://www.wowmeteronline.com/combat/detail/325876318#damageout
Korean Bitch:
http://www.wowmeteronline.com/combat/detail/322853046#damageout
Now, if you check out the Buffs and Debuffs tab, you can see the source of my frustration. Out of my 24 Maelstrom Weapon procs, I got 3 Maelstrom Powers(the 4pc bonus. The Korean, however, managed to get 5 Maelstrom Powers out of his 20 Maelstrom Weapon procs. I would love for this to be explained to me! Screw this random, proc-based bullshit that has been present since the class was put into being. Give me something that I can rely on please.
Now, it's only a 200 dps difference between us, and I still have the top US parse for him, but it really bothers me that my 4pc is a random bonus that could completely fuck you or, once in a blue moon, do what it was designed to do.
This means we get to do Hard Modes next week, which should give me something to do during raids, and something else to aim for. Maybe I can start Frapsing again once we get to them as well.
We also get to do 10m Hard Modes this week. The gear from there, ilvl 264, is really good. Can't wait to get some of it seeing as I have little to no competition in our group for loot. :P I was listening to the other 10m group do Marrowgar on heroic and it sounded like he hits very fucking hard. This means I'll probably end up being Resto for quite a few bosses until we get more gear and more comfortable with the fights. I don't really mind since Resto is still fun to play. As long as I don't have to go Ele, respecing is OK by me. :D
The 4pc t10 is still pissing me off. Take these 2 Deathbringer parses. One is mine(the first) and the other is some lucky Korean asswipe:
Palioh
http://www.wowmeteronline.com/combat/detail/325876318#damageout
Korean Bitch:
http://www.wowmeteronline.com/combat/detail/322853046#damageout
Now, if you check out the Buffs and Debuffs tab, you can see the source of my frustration. Out of my 24 Maelstrom Weapon procs, I got 3 Maelstrom Powers(the 4pc bonus. The Korean, however, managed to get 5 Maelstrom Powers out of his 20 Maelstrom Weapon procs. I would love for this to be explained to me! Screw this random, proc-based bullshit that has been present since the class was put into being. Give me something that I can rely on please.
Now, it's only a 200 dps difference between us, and I still have the top US parse for him, but it really bothers me that my 4pc is a random bonus that could completely fuck you or, once in a blue moon, do what it was designed to do.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
10m Lich King Down :o
One of our 10 man groups downed him on Tuesday, but our group didn't get to go until yesterday. In any case, he is dead and we are now Kingslayers. :D
Most ashamedly, I admit I did the fight as Resto. The extra healer really does help when you don't have an OP Beacon bot. Now it's time for 10m heroics, which some guilds have shown in 25m to be extremely doable. Here's hopin.
If you haven't done so already, be sure to update your Enhsim with the latest version. I've been seeing a lot of questions about TAJ and I'm pretty sure they recently updated the sim to fix TAJ's modeling.
Most ashamedly, I admit I did the fight as Resto. The extra healer really does help when you don't have an OP Beacon bot. Now it's time for 10m heroics, which some guilds have shown in 25m to be extremely doable. Here's hopin.
If you haven't done so already, be sure to update your Enhsim with the latest version. I've been seeing a lot of questions about TAJ and I'm pretty sure they recently updated the sim to fix TAJ's modeling.
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