Elemental Shaman Battleground Blitz Guide — The War Within (11.0.5)

Last updated on Oct 21, 2024 at 21:00 by Tiqqle 11 comments

This guide will walk you through everything you need to know about playing Elemental Shaman in Battleground Blitz, including specific playstyle tips, talent builds, and much more.

1.

Elemental Shaman in Battleground Blitz

2.

Playstyle as Elemental Shaman

In Battleground Blitz, Elemental Shaman is known as a disruptive caster. Using your totems to support your team like Grounding Totem Icon Grounding Totem, Capacitor Totem Icon Capacitor Totem, and Static Field Totem Icon Static Field Totem, while using Earthgrab Totem Icon Earthgrab Totem and Thunderstorm Icon Thunderstorm can disrupt positioning of the enemy team and kill enemies knocking them off cliffs.

3.

Battleground Blitz Talent Choices for Elemental Shaman

There are two builds for Elemental Shaman in Battleground Blitz to maximize damage and disruption.

3.1.

Lightning Bolt Stormbringer Build

While this build is more casting-heavy, it is my preferred option, given the change of playstyle and large critical hits of Tempest Icon Tempest during your burst.

3.2.

Lavaburst Farseer Build

Similar to previous playstyles with Lava Burst Icon Lava Burst, this build gives you high burst and sustained damage through the Farseer Hero talents.

Crowd Control as Elemental Shaman

In battleground, Elemental Shamans have multiple crowd controls to interrupt healers, reposition enemies, or crowd control them.

Elemental Shaman should use each of these different spells interchangeably depending on the team composition:

  • Hex Icon Hex
  • Capacitor Totem Icon Capacitor Totem
  • Earthbind Totem Icon Earthbind Totem or Earthgrab Totem Icon Earthgrab Totem
  • Thunderstorm Icon Thunderstorm
  • Purge Icon Purge or Greater Purge Icon Greater Purge
  • Static Field Totem Icon Static Field Totem
  • Lightning Lasso Icon Lightning Lasso
  • Wind Shear Icon Wind Shear
3.3.

Playing Defensively

3.3.1.

Crowd-Controlling the Opposing Team

Hex Icon Hex is a curse 7-second crowd-control which can be broken by damage. In general, you do not want to damage a target that has been hexed. That player does still have control of their character to move out of line of sight. This is best used on the enemy team when they have used an offensive or defensive cooldown or the healer as part of a crowd-control chain.

Earthbind Totem Icon Earthbind Totem/Earthgrab Totem Icon Earthgrab Totem is a placed totem that slows or roots any enemies within the radius. This totem is incredibly useful and should be used on cooldown. This helps your team's positioning. This totem can also help you land Capacitor Totem Icon Capacitor Totem.

Thunderstorm Icon Thunderstorm knocks back all enemies around the Shaman as long as they are not rooted or have an immunity to knock-backs or magic effects active like Anti-Magic Shell Icon Anti-Magic Shell from Death Knights. This is incredibly useful and can be used to save your teammates on arena maps with ledges, Dalaran Sewers, and Blades Edge Arena. This is also a great ability for battlegrounds in Eye of the Storm or certain areas of Twin Peaks and Arathi Basin, which can kill the enemies from fall damage in these cases.

Purge Icon Purge or Greater Purge Icon Greater Purge can be used defensively to purge off your opponent's offensive cooldowns or Mana back cooldowns, which are purgeable. One very important use is during a Priest's Mind Control Icon Mind Control of your teammate. When a Priest does this, it is better to use purge on your Mind Controlled teammate and not use your Wind Shear interrupt. This is because purge has no cooldown, while Wind Shear is on a 12-second cooldown.

Static Field Totem Icon Static Field Totem has only around 5K HP, but it can be an important factor when going for burst for a kill. This will allow you to get off your damage without being kited. This traps the enemy team within the circle. This can also be moved, dragging the enemy using Totemic Projection Icon Totemic Projection.

Lightning Lasso Icon Lightning Lasso is a 5-second non-dispellable stun that does moderate damage each second. This is great for locking down an enemy to allow your team to burst or to crowd control a healer. Note that you will not be able to heal while channeling the stun, and you can be interrupted.

3.3.2.

Defensives Abilities

Astral Shift Icon Astral Shift is the main defensive for Elemental Shaman, which is on a 1.5-minute cooldown. This ability decreases damage taken by 40% for 12 seconds and is not usable while stunned. It is best to communicate with your healer and use this cooldown at high health when your opponents are using their offensive cooldowns and your healer needs help keeping you alive.

Burrow Icon Burrow an immunity, similar to Dispersion Icon Dispersion from a Shadow Priest. While under the ground, you can be healed and can move at full movement speed. This is particularly useful if your healer gets crowd-controlled and the Shaman does not have Astral Shift Icon Astral Shift available.

Stone Bulwark Totem Icon Stone Bulwark Totem is a useful totem providing an absorption shield to the Shaman. This can be reset with Totemic Recall Icon Totemic Recall to be used back to back. In addition, the actual totem can be relocated with Totemic Projection Icon Totemic Projection to avoid it being focused.

Ghost Wolf Icon Ghost Wolf is an underrated ability; it allows the Shaman to stay at 100% movement speed with any slowing debuff active. This is the way Elemental Shaman can kite melee opponents and stay very mobile. If you are moving beyond a very short distance, Ghost Wolf is worth the global cooldown it incurs. Ghost wolf can be purged, which is one of the reasons why the Spirit Wolf Icon Spirit Wolf talent is not as good as it could be.

Healing Surge Icon Healing Surge is a spammable heal that provides significant side-healing. This should be used if your healer is stunned or crowd-controlled.

Earth Shield Icon Earth Shield maintain this on yourself and one teammate due to talent Elemental Orbit Icon Elemental Orbit to provide side-healing to your team.

Healing Stream Totem Icon Healing Stream Totem should be used on cooldown to provide moderate amounts of passive healing. This is also increased through the 20% benefit if Earth Shield Icon Earth Shield is on the target and will provide significant side healing.

4.

Elemental Shaman Stat Priority and Gear

For the Lightning build, the stat priorities are:

  1. Intellect;
  2. Versatility;
  3. Haste;
  4. Critical Strike;
  5. Mastery.

For the Lavaburst build, the stat priorities are:

  1. Intellect;
  2. Versatility;
  3. Haste;
  4. Mastery;
  5. Critical Strike.
5.

The Role of Elemental Shaman in Battlegrounds

Buff your team with Skyfury Icon Skyfury raid buff for Mastery and Windfury.

5.1.

Capture the Flag (Warsong Gulch, Twin Peaks)

Talk to your team to see if you should go on offense or defense once the flag is picked up. It is highly likely you will be on offense, use your disruption and high damage in the team fight

Focus on lining up your burst damage on targets that are focused by your melee with Mortal Strike debuffs, like Warriors, Rogues, Demon Hunters.

5.2.

Resource Race (Arathi Basin, Battle for Gilneas, Deepwind Gorge)

On resource race maps, talk to your team to see which base you should go to. Focus on bases where your Thunderstorm Icon Thunderstorm could give you an advantage. For example, Lumbermill on Arathi Basins allows you to knock people off, which can be significant.

If you will be needed to sit a base. If so, make sure you are standing a fair distance from the flag and prepare your Liquid Magma Totem Icon Liquid Magma Totem in case someone starts capturing the flag.

5.3.

Hybrid (Eye of the Storm)

Similar to resource race maps, your role is to disrupt the enemy by knocking them off in the middle while maximizing your damage.

Note: Capping the flag will make the inactive bases active, and both teams will have to recap the nodes. Use this tactic if your team is falling behind on points or lost the team fight.

5.4.

King of the Hill (Temple of Kotmogu)

As a ranged and mobile DPS specialization, you are a good option to carry orbs. Do your best to maintain high damage and disruption while trying to carry the orbs for your team.

6.

Changelog

  • 21 Oct. 2024: Updated for Patch 11.0.5.
  • 09 Sep. 2024: Page added.
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