Elemental GoodnessFollow

Nothing too horribly interesting, but considering how dead this forum is, might start some conversation :D

My fairly small family/friends guild has recently had multiple healers getting nicely geared at the same time a few of our main dps had to take a break from the game due to RL. Because none of our other healers are too fond of dpsing, I finally get to play with my main spec as Elemental!

I've been able to run as a dps for a few raids previously, and have been competitive, but our hunter guild leader has always firmly held the top spot. Now that I get to re-gem/re-reforge/re-enchant for optimal damage, rather than healing, I'm hoping to pass him at some point, hehe. Our fire mage is ecstatic...I'm her walking caster buff machine, hehe.

I really do enjoy being able to provide most of the caster/healer buffs, toss out off-healing when needed, interrupt reliably, and still put out above-average damage. Should be a fun change...now I just have to be sure I know all of the raid mechanics from a non-healer perspective, hehe :D

Crit is nice at lower levels, and still not a bad stat, but it's generally not one to be super-focused on at max level. This stuff is all going to be based on level 85, so some of it might not apply at your level ;)

Spirit will work as hit provided you have 3/3 in Elemental Precision (which you should-makes resto/ele gear almost identical). You want to do all you can, within reason, to get hitcapped first off. You'll also want to take into account what content you're running (for example, you need less hit when running heroics than when you're running raids).

Intellect is the main stat you'll end up wanting to gem and enchant for after you're hitcapped. After that, haste and mastery are about equal (you get mastery at 80, I believe), followed by crit. After you're hitcapped, spirit/hit are pretty much useless, so try not to end up too far over cap.

You won't have a true "rotation" so much as a priority system. You'll want to keep dots on the main target, then use the highest priority direct damage spell. It will basically end up like this...

-Searing Totem
-Flame Shock on main target
-Lava Burst when off cooldown (the Lava Surge talent will reset the cooldown on this fairly often)
-Earth Shock if your Lightning Shield is above 7 stacks and your Flame Shock has more than 6-7 seconds left
-Lightning Bolt

Fire Elemental is nice dps as well, and you'll also want to be using your cooldowns at the best time for the fight...Elemental Mastery, Spiritwalker's Grace, and all that fun stuff. Unleash Elements is good to use while moving, same with Earth Shock (even at <7 stacks, as long as it won't cause FS to fall off).

You'll be throwing out some Chain Lightnings, Thunderstorms and Earthquakes and possibly switching up your totems as needed for AoE situations as well. Careful with Earthquake for adds on long raid fights though...it's a huge mana hog.

Another thing to watch out for is using the correct totems for your group...there's a lot in the way of buff overlap, and you generally want to be familiar with the buffs that EVERYONE can give and how they interact, so you can get the most from your group. Think I'll make an additional post with that information :D

That's what comes to mind atm...if you have any other questions, let me know...my char is also in my sig, I believe.

Haste doesnt seem to do much when you are levelling, it is only when you can start to stack it that you really notice it. More Haste makes your Flame Shock deal damage faster and lowers the cast time on everything. More casts mean more Procs from Lava Surge, Rolling Thunder, Mastery and Clearcasting.