Elemental Shaman – Visions of Perfection / Storm Elemental Build aka Meme-Spec

Who am I? I’m Drayygo, a Shaman main since WotLK and Elemental main since mid-Legion.

Introduction

Since patch 8.3 launched, many of you might have noticed, that Vision of Perfection (which got a 12% buff for its procc-rate) in combination with Storm Elemental and Primal Elementalist started to out sim Icefury / Master of the Elements. Depending on your stat distribution and the available Azerite-gear / Essences, the difference between our “default” build and the meme-specc could be pretty high. For myself it was around 3k difference, thanks to the fact i already had 3 Azerite pieces with . In this post I want to show you the basics and how that build worked out for me so far. Of course I can only provide heroic logs for now, but I will update as soon as I have killed a fair amount of mythic bosses, to give you an idea, how that spec can perform in one of the hardest contents in this game. We are clearing mythic decent-ish fast, so it shouldn’t take too long until you can see the mythic performance.

Talents

For me, the following talents sim highest:

I don’t recommend to copy-paste those talents, but to always sim yourself. I also change the last row quite often, because on some bosses I value the mobility from Stormkeeper higher than the higher SimDPS from Unlimited Power. On others, like Maut, where the burst from Stormkeeper is more likely to kill you, I choose the less bursty option and go Unlimited Power.

  1. As I don’t run any in my current setup, the first row is self explanatory – Earthen Rage or Elemental Blast, depending on your simulations. Elemental Blast just recently pulled ahead and they are still very close for me, so it comes down to personal preference. For bosses with frequent addspawns like Hivemind I would choose Earthen Rage over Elemental Blast regardless, as you dont use Elemental Blast if more than three targets are present.
  2. Second row, we have ahead by a huge margin, which makes sense as it gives you passive Maelstrom and increases the of your #1 damage ability: Lightning Bolt.
  3. Third row is a very situational utility-row. All talents have their ups, but I mostly run Spirit Wolf for the passive damage reduction, which can come in handy.
  4. In the fourth row I pick Storm Elemental obviously, because without it, the Storm Elemental build wouldn’t work, right?
  5. Fifth row is a tough one, in my opinion. We either have to sacrifice raid utility or a “defensive” cooldown. If the bossfight doesn’t need burst movement speed I go with Nature’s Guardian, in fights like Wrathion I talent into Wind Rush Totem.
  6. Next row is again pretty obvious, with Primal Elementalist we get access to a stronger version of our Storm Elemental and its on use effect. Surge of Power looks decent on paper, but we would lose out on Tempest, which is the greatest source of damage during our Vision of Perfection procs. Therefore the go-to choice will be Primal Elementalist.
  7. Last row on the other hand is at least for now up for personal preference. When you want to have a bit more movement, which this meme-build honestly lacks, I’d go Stormkeeper, if you don’t want burst but more consistent damage on fights like Maut, where burst can kill you, I’d go with Unlimited Power. Without any Traits and a strong emphasis on casting Lightning Bolt Ascendance is definitive no viable option. But, again, as always: SIM YOURSELF!

Gear

The Vision of Perfection/Storm Elemental build favors crit and haste the most. Versatility isn’t far behind either. Because this build scales so well with secondary stats, Elemental Blast is a viable option. The most important Azerite Trait you can get is Natural Harmony. Luckily for us, this is on every piece of Azerite in the new raid, Ny’alotha. Heart of Darkness, the raid-specific Azerite Trait is also pretty good for the same reason as Natural Harmony. With the choosen talents loses a lot of value because you won’t use Lava Burst as often as in the Icefury/Master of the Elements build. In terms of trinkets there is a lot that can work, I was lucky enough to get a 455 Azshara’s Font of Power, which’s on use effect lines up pretty well with Storm Elemental-CD and lasts for the entire duration (if you don’t get Vision of Perfection procs). The second trinket I use is Psyche Shredder which is basically BIS for (almost) every caster. As always, sim every trinket to figure out which is the best for your exact stats and gear.

Essences

The only essence slot that is mandatory is the major, as this specific build requires you to have the Vision of Perfection Major essence. For minors the most common are Worldvein Resonance (for fights were you can achieve a high uptime on 4 stacks), , Breath of the Dying (especially due to the 10 corruption resistance), Conflict and Strife, Blood of the Enemy and Essence of the Focusing Iris or even Symbiotic Presence. I use all of them, swapping them out depending on the fight. For more AoE heavy fights like Hivemind I use Blood of the Enemy or Symbiotic Presence, while on more stacked fights like Shadhar or Maut I go with Worldvein Resonance. But, again – sim all the essences that are available to you and swap them accordingly.

I went to most fights with the following Essences:

Vision of Perfection Major / Conflict and Strife, CoF and BotD Minor.

For fights where you can stack I switch CoF to Worldvein Resonance.

Consumables

There are no real differences to the default build, you still want to use as combat potion, and as bufffood. If you can afford it or have saved up some Augment Runes, I’ll use them on any progress fight.

Add-Ons/Macros

While there are plenty of Add-Ons that can help or make the default UI more appealing, I don’t consider any of those mandatory except Weakauras and either Big Wigs (which i use) or DBM. One of the, at least for me, most important WAs specific for that build is the one, that shows a glowing icon when Storm Elemental has Call Lightning Buff and you can press Tempest safely.

For that you can use the one that @BloodmalletEU made: click me!

Boss by Boss Advice

This isn’t meant to be a boss by boss guide, just some advice you may find useful.

Wrathion

Nothing special here, just delay your Storm Elemental for the time the P2 has ended (and all spires are destroyed). Potential Vision of Perfection procs can destroy stacked spires, but it’s not worth using your cooldown for that. On Mythic it’s the same, Assassins die from passive cleave and even though it might yield higher overall DPS, I’d use Storm Elemental exclusively on Wrathion himself.

Maut

Depending on your healers’ capabilities and overall raid–dps as well as execution you should delay your second Storm Elemental for after the manashield if you do NOT lose a total usage. On Mythic, where the damage on the shield can be tight, you definitely want to use Astral Shift on 15+ stacks and call for an external afterwards. If both is not available just stop dpsing for 2-4 seconds until you are at full HP again. I’d 100% play Unlimited Power over Stormkeeper on this boss, as Stormkeeper is more likely to kill you when you get a Earth Shock crit before/after. I’d also play Worldvein Resonance at this boss.

Prophet Skitra

There is nothing special except the fact, that you can build up stacks on the Illusions if you happen to have a Storm Elemental proc and you haven’t figured out which one is the real Skitra. Wind Rush Totem is mandatory in this fight if you don’t have 10 feral/guardian druids. Even on mythic this boss is a joke. I would not use Worldvein Resonance on this boss.

Dark Inquisitor Xanesh

Even though this boss favors Icefury/Master of the Elements more than Vision of Perfection/Storm Elemental, you can still make it work. If you utilize stutter-stepping to slowly walk away from AoE you won’t lose much DPS. On Mythic adds don’t live long enough to use Storm Elemental on them, but i would blast Stormkeeper in them. I would also use a /target XXX /cast Wind Shear /targetlasttarget macro for kicking the add casts without losing your main target.

Hivemind

This is THE boss made for Storm Elemental. And I don’t mean because of padding. Use Storm Elemental exclusively on one of the two bosses or ravager if you’re lacking DPS on it. If you can hold Storm Elemental without losing a usage, try to hold the last one until both bosses are stacked to get some extra boss DPS for “free”.

Shadhar the Insatiable

Basic Patchwerk fight with low – medium movement. Nothing you can really do to avoid movement. It’s a good fight to use Worldvein Resonance, though.

Drestagath

Don’t try to pad damage on the boss without having the buff – damage that is healed is removed in WarcraftLogs. Other than that, this is another fight, especially on mythic, where funneling is most likely stronger than Vision of Perfection/Storm Elemental. It can still work, especially if you used trinket/Storm Elemental shortly before you collect the buff, so you already have all buffs and stacks rolling.

Ilgynoth

DO NOT USE Thunderstorm WHILE MC IS ACTIVE! EVER!

Other than that, you can use Storm Elemental on pull and every P1 phase and still have it up for the last push phase. The free cleave from EotS is super nice to have, as well. Wind Rush Totem is also pretty good at that fight.

Vexiona

Use Storm Elemental on boss exclusively. Adds die from passive cleave and tank mechanic. Tremor Totem is handy in last phase.

Ra-Den

This fight is one, that suits Vision of Perfection/Storm Elemental really well. If you aren’t really unlucky then not much movement is happening in first stage, and last stage either. Another great fight for Worldvein Resonance.

Carapace of N’zoth

Depending on your DPS you might want to hold on Storm Elemental for addspawns in P1, but normally just use Storm Elemental on CD. Wind Rush Totem is again very handy in this fight, as well as Tremor Totem. If your Storm Elemental comes up, safe it for last phase addspawn, that way you can utilize the free cleave on the adds the most, without losing boss-dps.

N’zoth

You can blast N’zoth, as you have Storm Elemental up basically every burn phase, where N’zoth is vulnerable. Your overall DPS will be lower than most others, as you don’t have much to burst on Psychus, but that shouldn’t be your goal – except if you are struggling to kill him with 5-7 stacks. Last phase is also pretty low movement if you position yourself properly, further enhancing your capabilities.

P.S.: Don’t even try to start that fight without having Wind Rush Totem talented.

FAQ