through the lava and flame shocks

EDIT(20/10-08): The 2 new Glyphs from the upcoming patch 3.0.3 adds a bit to the point of this. First, there’s the Glyph of Lava, that increases the spelldamage contribution to Lava Burst by 10% (the damage of the spell got boosted by 10% aswell, as mentioned in the post, but that’s just awesome really). I’ll keep myself from updating the post with the new data, as it would only really change the fact that Lava Burst is hitting like a firetruck of Doom!, instead of an ordinary firetruck.

The addition of the new Glyph of Flame Shock adds the twist that Lava Burst doesn’t consume it, opening the option of not needing to reapply Flame Shock every time Lava Burst is cast, but instead keep it on a rotation of it’s own. Changes a fair bit, and will up the damage potential of the combination. I’ll leave the original post as it was, however, as it should still be a good read.

Original Post:
With the Wrath of the Lich King closing in on us – and the fact that I got a premade level 80 Shaman on the betarealm now – I decided it would fun to look a bit at spell rotations. I briefly looked at that at my previous post on elemental shaman glyphs. I’ll be focusing on the synergy between [Flame Shock] and [Lava Burst], mainly because of the extreme potential that was intended with this combination, and with the attempt of weaving this into a good rotation.

preface:
The following aberrations will be used, some standard, some semi-made up, but still made to give sense:
Flame Shock: FlaSh, Lightning Bolt: LiB, Lava Burst: LaB, Chain Lightning: CL, DPS: Damage per Second and GCD: Global Cooldown .

I’ll be doing this without looking at haste. With a proper amount of that, it might be possible to squeeze in an extra CL or LiB, depending on mana, if it’s a boss-fight and/or crowd controlled targets in proximity of the target.

The data from below are made from using this spec (57 / 14 / 0), which I’m planning on using at level 80.

If you just want to skip to the “important part” (tl;dr), find the caption called “planned rotation” at the end of this post.

lava burst:
The most important thing here is that LaB crits if you have a FlaSh on the target. The intention of the rotation is naturally to use LaB every time you can. I did some calculations on the damage potential of LaB, with the use of the general formula for calculating the critical strike damage output of a given spell:
(1.50 + .50*critbonus) * (basedmg * (1 + bonusdmg) + (casttime/3.5) * spellpower)

From talents we get these bonuses:
critbonus = 124%, from [Elemental Fury] and [Lava Flows].
bonusdmg = 11%, from [Concussion] and [Call of Flame].
casttime = 2.0 (untalented ofcourse, as the cast gets lowered to 1.5 from [Lightning Mastery]).
basedmg = 1082 to 1378 – this is without the upcoming ~10% boost, so expect bigger numbers. I’ll probably change the post to these new once when the data is released.
In regards to spellpower, I’ll let that be a variable for later.

So, using the data above, a crit LaB will output this amount of damage (numbers rounded):
min: (1.50 + .50*124%)*(1082*(1 + 11%) + (2.0/3.5)*spellpower)
= 2546 + 1.21*spellpower
max: (1.50 + .50*124%)*(1378*(1 + 11%) + (2.0/3.5)*spellpower)
= 3244 + 1.21*spellpower

That would, at a estimated 2000 spellpower (Naxxramas-entry) give a damage range of 4966 to 5664, which is rather magnificent for a 1.5 second cast, by averaging ((4966+5664)/(2*1,5)) 3543 DPS – and it’s guaranteed every time. In short; it’ll hit like a firetruck, literally.

flame shock:
FlaSh will be much more than just “that skill to make LaB crit”. From talents there’s quite some interesting things to note, that’ll make it deal a good deal of damage:

Range: 35 yards, from [Lava Flows], thus making it usable at maximum range (almost, that is. LiB, LaB and CL will have 36 yards).
Initial Boost: 100% critbonus, from [Elemental Fury]
Periodic Boost: 50% extra, from [Storm, Earth and Fire].

I won’t go into calculating the actual damage a FlaSh could do, but instead underline the point that it’s going to add quite a bit (yeah, perhaps I’m a slacker, sue me) on its own. Remember that the total DPS of this spell should be based from the 1.5 second GCD. With the rotation (see below) I have in mind, this would be the initial damage and 3 ticks, which I expect to be at least the damage of a LiB.

lightning bolt:
The good old spell, which is naturally still going to be the biggest part of the damage done, even though it doesn’t get as many bonuses as LaB from talents, there’s still a much bigger bonus from spelldamage. Also, unlike LaB, we have to consider the critical strike chance. Let’s recap the bonuses first though;

critbonus = 100%, from [Elemental Fury].
bonusdmg = 5%, from [Concussion].
casttime = 2.5 (lowered to 2.0 from [Lightning Mastery]).
basedmg = 715 to 815.

With that, min/max hits/crits will, using the formula above and the 2000 spellpower estimate, give these results: 1428,57
min hit: (715*(1 + 5%) + (2.5/3.5)*2000) = 2179
max hit: (815*(1 + 5%) + (2.5/3.5)*2000) = 2284
min crit: (1.50 + .50*100%)*(715*(1 + 5%) + (2.5/3.5)*2000) = 4359
max crit: (1.50 + .50*100%)*(815*(1 + 5%) + (2.5/3.5)*2000) = 4569

If we estimate that, like before, Elemental Shamans will have around 40% chance to crit, LiB should be worth ((.60*(2179+2284)+.40*(4359+4569))/(2*2)) 1562 DPS. This might seem low, but keep in mind it’s spamable, unlike LaB (which would, admittedly, be slightly overpowered).

planned rotation:
With all the above taken into consideration, it’s quite obvious that LaB should be used as often as possible. With the following rotation, I’ve tried to get as close as possible to the 8 second cooldown of LaB, while still keeping a constant flow in casting.

0.0: FlaSh hits (GCD is triggered),
1.5: GCD over,
3.0: FlaSh tick,
3.5: LiB hits (2.0 sec cast),
5.5: LiB hits (2.0 sec cast),
6.0: FlaSh ticks,
7.5: LiB hits (2.0 sec cast),
9.0: FlaSh ticks,
9.0: LaB hits (1.5 sec cast),
start over

This would, if FlaSh’s total contribution is considered to be the same of a LiB, give me a DPS of ((7,5*1562+1,5*3543)/9) 1892 DPS. It might not sound like much to the average raider, but there are certain things to keep in mind: This is without: buffs, totems, haste and [Curse of the Elements] (which affects nature now, too).

Ouch.

8 Comments


  1. You're welcome, although it doesn't quite sum up what I wrote. It does give the nice “OMG I CAN'T WAIT” though. :D

    Reply

  2. I think my pee pee went hard for a moment there >_<

    Reply

  3. Besides the upcoming boost to Lava Burst damage, it would seem there's a Glyph that increases the spellpower bonus to Lava Burst by 10%. Yum!

    Reply

  4. Would you add a Chain Lightening to your spell rotation or save that for multi-target situations?

    Reply

  5. Depends, really. DPS-wise it's surely worth it, but in order to do it, you must ensure that there's no crowd controlled monsters around.

    So, yes, I'd save Chain Lightning for situations that included multi-target situations AND when a target is by itself.

    Reply

  6. with the new patch CC isnt much used any more its faster to aoe packs even in sunwell..
    new enhancement instant cast talent offers chain lightning to use in packs! can run around 2800 dps on trash

    Reply

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