Rift Cleric Shaman Guide

Rift Cleric Shaman Guide by Ahov

61 Shaman/10 Druid/5 Inquisitor is the top dps spec for clerics.

In this thread I may shorten ability names or terms.

FW = Frozen Wrath
LH = Lightning Hammer
MB = Massive Blow
CE = Combined Effort
Phys = Physical attack; in the opener example, you will use your top physical priority
Nonphys = Nonphysical attack; in the opener example, you will use your top nonphysical priority
RoS = Rush of Strength
DF = Deep Freeze
GS = Glacial Strike

Buffs

Shaman: Furious Assault, Courage of the Panther, Courage of the Eagle, Vengeance of the Winter Storm, Courage of the Bear, Glory of the Chosen, Heart of the Frozen Sea (non-raid)

Inquisitor: Armor of Devotion

Macro (optional)

Physical abilities + FW priority

#show frozen wrath
suppressmacrofailures
cast frozen wrath
cast massive blow
cast combined effort
cast crushing blow
cast Ekkehard’s Grasp

Individual abilities to have on your bar

Shaman: Lightning Hammer, Massive Blow, Strike of the Maelstrom, Avalanche Strike, Rage of the North, Rush of Strength, Deep Freeze, Bitter Wind, Ride the Lightning, Jolt, Icy Blow, Windwalk, Glacial Strike

Inquisitor: Vex

Druid: Combined Effort, Eruption of Life

Optional keybinds (since we already have a ton)

Vengeance of the Winter Storm, Vengeance of the Primal North – having these keybound can help you quickly alternate as needed to blow up adds and then go back to burning a boss.

Glacial Shield, Shield of Oak – these two shields respectively from Shaman and Druid do not share a cooldown, so you can help mitigate damage during intensive phases or with dead healers.

General Priorities

Nonphysical

1. Frozen Wrath
2. Glacial Strike
3. Lightning Hammer
4. Jolt proc
5. Eruption of Life
6. Icy Blow

Physical

1. Massive Blow
2. Combined Effort
3. Crushing Blow

What the hell are priorities?

Due to encounter disconnects, lag, a botched rotation, target switches or Jolt RNG, you may find yourself with a drastically different ability order than another Shaman. In my dps guides I prefer not to list rotation blocks unless they are very stable in combat and easily recoverable. Shaman dps is not easily recoverable without understanding the priorities for every damaging ability.

Top priority begins with 1; when you need a physical attack you will normally use Massive Blow if it’s available. If not, you will use Combined Effort. If not, you will use Crushing Blow. This is the order of damage.

A similar idea applies with the nonphysical attacks: normally when you need a nonphysical attack you will use Frozen Wrath. If unavailable, you’ll use Glacial Strike and so forth.

Opener + Cooldown block (may not be able to practice completely on the dummy due to less ability lag; if you are not able to apply the Frozen Wrath then fill in with an Icy Blow)

Vex > FW > CE > LH > MB > Nonphys > phys > nonphys > phys > nonphys > phys > nonphys > phys > nonphys (NOT JOLT)> phys > (Cooldown block begins) Vex > {Rotn} FW > {DF} MB > {ROS} Jolt > MB > nonphys (usually Lightning Hammer) > CE

The cooldown block will not be exactly the same throughout a fight. In fact, it is rare for it line up exactly like this. Often you will need to use Rush of Strength to get a Massive Blow prepared, so instead you will MB > jolt > CE

Shaman DPS Concepts

With general priorities listed above along with the opener and cooldown block, we can now form a complete rotation for the spec. There are a few rules to follow for Shaman which are very important-

1. Never use two physical attacks in a row. Your Frostbite talent increases the damage of your next physical attack when you use a nonphysical attack. Thus, it is ideal in most cases to alternate between nonphysical and physical attacks. This is demonstrated in the opening rotation.

2. Always use Vex before Frozen Wrath. This keeps the rotation clean and predictable. Make sure to delay Vex/FW application by one GCD due to lag caused by Frozen Wrath. Otherwise you may re-apply Vex and find yourself unable to apply Frozen Wrath, skewing your timers.

3. It is sometimes acceptable to use two nonphysical attacks in a row. With practice you will be able to identify when your Massive Blow is two GCDs away. As to not waste potential Massive Blows, you will simply use your next two nonphysical priorities. Another scenario is when you have a glacial strike or jolt proc and you are two GCDs away from starting over your rotation with vex/FW. Example: Icy Blow for Frostbite and you get a jolt proc, you would do IB > Jolt > Vex > FW. Or, if your Glacial Strike is available directly after: IB> GS > Vex> FW. Jolt procs, Glacial Strike, and Lightning Hammer are all nonphysical abilities which hit harder than a Frostbite-buffed Crushing Blow. Thus, at the end of a Frozen Wrath cycle you may use two nonphysical attacks if they are available and a more powerful physical attack such as Massive Blow is not available.

4. You may have noticed my final nonphysical attack before the cooldown block excludes Jolt. This is to ensure it is available during Deep Freeze as it is your most powerful nonphysical attack to immediately deal its damage, with the exception being Glacial Strike. Sub-30%, try to have a Glacial Strike available during the cooldown block instead of Jolt.

5. Never use Jolt without a proc. It’s very weak.

6. When using Lightning Hammer, ensure the previous one has completed its final tick.

7. Eruption of Life does not consume a Life Surge tick from your previous Eruption of Life. If you still have one stack of Life Surge on the target, do not use Eruption of Life. Replace with an Icy Blow.

8. Rage of the North and Deep Freeze are delayed in the opening rotation for a couple of reasons. A) If you use it immediately, yes, you are potentially gaining an extra rage of the north. However, it is being wasted because you are missing important buffs and debuffs. Instead, it is combined with all possible buffs/debuffs including Flaring Power. B) Deep Freeze maximizes your dot potential. Any dots on the target prior to Deep Freeze will tick for 50% extra damage.

9. Rush of Strength should be reserved for a cooldown block to ensure Massive Blow is available. If Massive Blow is already available, you may use Rush of Strength after your CE for another powerful physical attack.

AoE

Two-target: Use Strike of the Maelstrom to spread Frozen Wrath but don’t necessarily worry about other multi-dotting. Maintain Vengeance of the Winter Storm and focus primarily on ST abilities. Keep in mind Strike of the Maelstrom is a physical attack, so be sure to follow up with a nonphysical attack.

Three-targets+: Ensure Frozen Wrath is applied on a target. Activate Vengeance of the Primal North and alternate Strike of the Maelstrom with Avalanche Strike. Avalanche Strike is nonphysical and buffs each Strike of the Maelstrom.