TalentChic updates for Wrath
by Eliah Hecht 
Jan 12th 2009 at 2:00PM
There isn't a lot there that surprises me much. I wasn't expecting 51/13/7 to be the most popular DK build, though; everybody seems to be talking about dual-wield builds, which this decidedly is not. Balance comes in much lower on the Druid specs than seems to be the case on my realm, but my experience might just be biased.
As tipster Waluigi mentions, DPS specs dominate for many classes (notably Paladin and Priest). However, Resto is the most popular shaman build, and a tank build is most popular for druids, so this is not the case for all classes. It'll be interesting to see how this develops as more people hit 80 and get to endgame activities.
Filed under: Talents
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Eternauta Jan 12th 2009 2:12PM
Great!
I want to see some good Protection builds for my Pally.
P.D: No Firsts! Hahahahahaha!
Arivia Jan 12th 2009 2:22PM
You won't. The least common one is the best one. >< What are people doing with Reckoning and random ret talents?
Gormaggus Jan 12th 2009 5:19PM
Actually, the highest rank prot build is the one I use myself and doesn't include reckoning or any "random ret talents" :P.
casshan Jan 12th 2009 2:15PM
resto shaman is so popular, cause elemental is so broken...
Candina@WH Jan 12th 2009 2:46PM
As a Resto shammy, I leveled as Enh in a mix of S2/ZA gear.
Leveling resto was pretty slow. And Elemental/Resto itemization is pretty thin. Also crafted Blues/Epics for Ele/Resto are scarce (I think there are two, the Reckoning Treads and Chest piece).
I didn't bother specing Ele, even though I had a ton of Resto +SpellPower gear (after the 'normalization'). Ele is like being a mage. With less mana, poor AoE, no escape abilities, and no crowd control. Full of Fail.
Lemons Jan 12th 2009 3:28PM
Escape ability = Ghost Wolf (w/ 2/2 Imp Ghost Wolf)
Crowd Control = Hex
Mana regen = Water Shield and Mana Spring Totem
Enjoy your newfound abilities.
Zarfay Jan 12th 2009 6:48PM
I leveled as enhancement and decided to go elemental for a change of pace for restoration in tbc and I much prefered restoration in instances/raids and sometimes the extra survivability made pvp a little bit easier...
Also @ lemons you obivously don't play a shaman if you think ghost wolf is a viable escape ability and mana spring totem isn't as helpful as it might seem plus... Don't get me started on hex, it is the worst cc in the game and was just given to us to shut us up regardless of its use.
Ryan Jan 13th 2009 4:25AM
@Zarfay
I don't know what its like from a Shaman's point of view, but as a prot pally I love having a hexing Shaman with me in instances. The hex can be applied after I've pulled and I never seem to have to worry about the hex being broken by my consecration breaking it. Don't know if this is a bug, as the tooltip says damage might break the effect, but I've not seen it happen yet with a consecrate underneath the mob, so I'm always happy to bring a Shaman along for the hexing :)
ScytheNoire Jan 12th 2009 2:16PM
I think DW DK's are more popular on the test realm, not actual realms. I rarely ever see a DK DW.
Sharkhunt Jan 12th 2009 4:58PM
I wouldn't expect to see a lot of DW outside of the pool of players who keep up with theorycrafting and are trying to beat enrage timers. The damage output from 0/32/39 is godly, but the playstyle is less satisfying to me in PvP and has a more demanding rotation in PvE than a 2H build like 17/0/54.
Personally, I spec DW to raid and 2H for everything else. Cheap respec costs make the result of sites like this questionable.
itrus Jan 16th 2009 12:23AM
i actually see a lot of DW DKs on scarlet crusade. but its about half and half. kinda like when youd see fury and arms warriors, you can tell the pvpers and the pve players.
ash Jan 12th 2009 2:23PM
That Dk build is surprising. I figured more people would go up unholy for better dps for one thing. The other is the preponderence of unholy deathknights I see around. Bone armor anyone? Does anyone know if the 51/13/7 build is popular for raid dps or why it would be so common?
Amaxe Jan 12th 2009 2:29PM
I found the Enh Shaman one a bit surprising (I have an 18/53/0 and while I could see shuffling around the Ele points, I see less reason for the adding more points to the Enh tree). Given the mana-starved state we can be in without dual Oracle trinkets, I'd prefer to have watershield up over lightning shield.
But maybe if I was a full time raider getting mana buffs from the raid I could see it
Jinee Jan 12th 2009 2:41PM
That means that you're doing it wrong. I'm 0/16/56 and I can't think of a single fight where I have issues with mana. If you're able to hit a mob you're able to get mana back. If you run out of mana faster than 2 minutes you are severely lacking int. I can see it being an issue for pvp I guess.
Amaxe Jan 12th 2009 6:23PM
Enhancement is rather different than resto in that respect. To put out the DPS, it is a constant usage of Stormstrike, Earthshock, Lava Lash and Lightningbolt (not in that order of course).
Envision using one heal right after another with no stops
I use up 10% of my mana per fight. With twin Oracle trinkets I don't have soloing mana problems (dual = 10% of mana returned). In groups, I tend to use different trinkets to improve my DPS.
But even in EJ, they talk about the mana issues, and this is why static shock is debated over whether or not it is a good talent to use
sleeptastic Jan 12th 2009 2:30PM
51/13/7 is the most obvious dps build if you don't bother reading though theorycrafting sites. In fact even among DW DKs, in my experience very few are 32/39.
Amaxe Jan 12th 2009 2:40PM
Of course there can be a lot of debate among theorycrafters. In my case, half would say my putting 2 pts in Imp. GW is a waste, others say it is a good thing to do. Some swear by the Static Shock and some swear at it.
I think there are some general fundamentals (if you don't take talent X, you're doing it wrong) and some room for tweaking for personal preference. A lot of people say 5 pts in Concussion. I do 5 in convection trying to hold down my mana costs (I'm down to about 10% mana consumed per fight).
TL:DR Some parts of the build are effective if based on your personal play style, some are required for effective play.
thumper242 Jan 12th 2009 2:43PM
I actually chose 51/13/7 as a result of reading http://elitistjerks.com forums and checking their data with my own play style. Seems after reading around, there isn't really a HUGE difference in DPS, and it is most about play style and preference.
Jinee Jan 12th 2009 3:02PM
Not taking static shock is throwing away DPS imo. It's not a huge boost don't get me wrong but it's basically free DPS. If you're only at 10% mana consumed I'm amazed. Are you using LB at every single possible 5-stack of MW? On most fights I'll usually hit about 20-30% before I pop Shamanistic Rage.
Seeress Jan 12th 2009 2:42PM
This website lists no discipline talentbuild if you enter Priest and PvP...