Blizzard recently announced changes to multiple specs and classes that will arrive with the weekly reset on March 25th/26th. Elemental Shaman is one of the beneficiaries of a handful of buffs to their abilities, and we asked our Elemental Shaman guide writer Stormy how impactful these buffs actually are.
March 25th Elemental Shaman Changes
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Elemental
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Developers’ notes: Elemental is performing lower than we would like in single target, and our changes to Primordial Wave in season 2 left it feeling a bit lackluster. We’re increasing damage of several core spells, and significantly increasing the damage and Maelstrom generation of Primordial Wave.
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Lava Burst damage increased by 8%.
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Lightning Bolt damage increased by 8%.
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Icefury damage increased by 8%.
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Frost Shock damage increased by 8%.
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Primordial Wave now generates 12 Maelstrom (was 3).
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Primordial Wave damage increased by 500%.
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Stormy’s Thoughts on the Elemental Shaman Buffs
“Altogether these changes translate to a 5-6% buff to single-target for current Farseer builds,
and 2% for Stormbringer. Previously 
Primordial Wave was not worth pressing for its damage, and was only used for triggering 
Call of the Ancestors and proccing 
Splintered Elements, but these massive buffs turn it into a button that also deals good damage on top! Unfortunately it is unlikely to make the ability strong enough for Mythic+, as spreading our (weak) 
Flame Shock is still problematic.
These fairly sensible (yet delayed) changes put Elemental back in a reasonable spot for raiding, without significantly boosting its already strong Mythic+ performance. The changes do not alter our rotation in any significant way, nor do they make us swap hero talents for raiding or Mythic+. There might be some possible edge-cases like the Stix Bunkjunker encounter in Liberation of Undermine where we could end up playing a slightly different set of talents if our group needs more AoE, or focus on more boss damage instead. Lastly, these buffs do not move the needle regarding our tier set choice, although the new 4-piece set bonus is a bigger DPS boost on single-target as a result of these changes.”