New Totems in 3.2
Continuing in the change to make relics purchaseable with emblems (thank god), 3.2 will allow you to purchase your sigil/libram/idol/totem with the new Emblems of Triumph. So, far the totem choices for Shamans appear to be pretty nice. They are iLevel 245 so a definite upgrade from Ulduar 25 totems.
The Enhancement totem is Totem of the Quaking Earth and I could see this being pretty popular based on the straight AP it gives every time you use Lava Lash. Some initial testing done on the PTR showed that this totem procs constantly, so it’s looking like PvE enhance shamans actually have a good totem for once and don’t have to rely on PvP ones.
However, given the overall reduction in Haste from Teir 8 to Tier 9, I could see some Enhance Shamans possibly going for the Elemental totem in order to maintain a higher haste rating. Elemental shamans who have done testing with this on the PTR do not seem overly thrilled and are, so far, calling this inferior to the current Totem of Hex.
Update: While Elemental shamans are still discussing the stats on this totem, Enhancement Shamans are leaning towards (again) the Elemental Totem given the fact that we sling Lightning Bolts more often than we sling Lava Lashes. Initial testing shows almost a 100 DPS increase over the Enhancement totem, making the Electrifying Wind totem (for now) the Enhancement winner.
now that 3.2 dropped and totem changes are now in effect, with the change to Shocks no longer stunning targets, do I now change Earth Shock to Wind Shock to get the interrupt, or am I misreading that change?
Wind Shear is your only interrupt now, and it reduces threat (still) and it’s on a separate cooldown. If you can remember to hit it in your rotation when you need to interrupt something (Vezax for instance) it’s actually pretty handy. Earth Shock just reduces melee attack speed on your mobs now – still awesome, but no more interrupt.