Shaman Stats To Look Out For

Stats to look out for

Mail Specialization gives us a 5 percent intellect in addition to the intellect on the gear, so try to wear all mail where possible. If you've just switched to elemental and have absolutely no caster mail at level 85, then I suggest running dungeons and questing as enhancement until you've got the beginnings of a good set of mail gear. The infamous streamlining of stats that came about with Cataclysm has worked wonders for my favorite class, something resto shaman will appreciate, as you can use resto gear quite happily for elemental.

Intellect This stat increases our mana pool, spell damage and it even adds a small amount of crit rating. All of our spells benefit from this stat, and the more we have of it, the more efficient our damage deal is. At high levels, when you have access to the talent Rolling Thunder, it increases the amount of mana returned. It also boosts the power of our fire totems; Totem of Fire Elemental, Searing Totem and Magma Totem all do more damage the more intellect we have.
Spirit/Hit Until hit cap, spirit (which I prefer to take over normal spell hit) is our strongest stat. We have a talent that converts any spirit on our gear into spell hit. As ever, non-draenei will need 17 percent hit or 1,742 hit rating, and draenei will need only 16 percent hit or 1,640. All your hit must come from your gear, gems and enchants, as Cataclysm removed class buffs and debuffs that related to hit from the game. No longer does our gearing depend on the presence of another player in the raid or party!
Haste This stat decreases our cast times, decreases the time between Flame Shock ticks, and thus increases the amount of spells and the number of flame shock ticks occurring in a given time period. It is a holistic stat; the more mastery and intellect we have, the more valuable haste is. In an ancillary fashion, it boosts the opportunities for Rolling Thunder to proc, and thus increases the damage from Fulmination and increases the overall amount of mana returned in a given time period. I would also like to emphasize that there is no soft haste cap to aim for and no ideal haste number (especially this early in the expansion cycle). Haste isn't as valuable as intellect or spirit, but always keep an eye out for gear with haste on.

Mastery This new stat was introduced in Cataclysm and increases the chance for Elemental Overload to occur. Elemental Overload is chance for your next Lava Burst, Lightning Bolt or Chain Lightning to trigger a second spell on the target. This second spell is threat-free, costs no mana, and does 75 percent of normal damage. When you chose to become an elemental shaman, you'll receive a base 16 percent chance, and each point of mastery is an additional 2 percent chance. Elemental Overload is, effectively, free damage! Mastery is a good stat and fairly easy to obtain on level 85 gear.
Crit As ever, crit remains the underdog of elemental stats due to our passive crit and because Lava Burst will crit on a Flame Shocked target no matter how little crit we have. Don't gem for it; don't enchant or reforge for it. You'll have enough.