I did a Karazahn run last night dual wielding in blues and green with 2 60 dps weapons. While I kept up a nice front of damage, I was still last in DPS as expected, and I also died the most execpt for healers. Some of that is inexperience, but a lot of it was due to the fact that I had the least HP of all the rest of the raid, and only some 3k armor.
In light of that, I started hunting around for what the optimum itemization would be for a DW PvE shaman, and I was rather disappointed in my results. At first I used only Mail, and that was pathetic. I basically only upgraded my %hit by 3 and my HP by 1k. My crit and AP were about the same! What now? time to dig into leather.
So far, I have come up with
http://ctprofiles.net/2717022. Keep in mind CTProfiles is very buggy, and some stats do not sow up or are totaled incorrectly. I also chose the weapons based on the current theory of closest to 2.0speed without going below gets the most WF attacks, and they are relatively easy to get. I added some stats myself since CTProfiles is buggy.
ALL red sockets are 16 AP
ALL yellow sockets are 4 crit and 4 STR
ALL blue sockets are 6 Stam and 4 STR
The linked profile shows:
1459 AP (base 110 base AP + 214 from base 107 STR + 1125 from all stats added)
185 hit rating (11% I think? CT doesn't show the 20 Netherscale bonus or 9 from gems)
281 crit rating (12.645% crit) 83 AGI (3.32% crit) + ~5% base + 5% talent = ~26% crit
3200 added HP (since tauren get 5%, I won't put any totals)
5348 mana (My figures come up with 870 total added mana from INT, and with Ancestral knowledge, I think CTprofiles is close enough)
Since shamanistic rage basically negates the need for INT or MP5, we don't really need mana enhancement from gear. I think the ideal set of stats on armor would be Crit, STR/AP, STA, %hit, and nothing else. Item budgets are perfectly capable of granting us these statistics. However, a large % of mail items with either AGI, AP, or Crit rating have MP5 on them, apparently designed for hunters. Some of the best gear for us in leather is, of course, designed rogues and feral druids, with set bonuses applying to those classes. I don't mind sharing the weakness of low armor as a price for in your face melee, but I do mind doing less DPS, taking more damage, having less HP, AND drawing more aggro all combined into one package.
Edit: *Mar. 14, 2007*
I took a lot of whining commentary out and put what I think I can finally say is the best possible set of armor an enhancement shaman can get . I focused a lot more on AP, since I was finding my Shamanistic rage to be spiky at best with my current 1100 ap unbuffed hoping that Crusader would proc and such.
Some more theorycrafting:
Imp Battleshout = 381
Imp MOTW = 18 STR = 36 AP
Imp SoE totem = 188 AP
Trueshot Aura = 120 AP
Fel Strength Elixir = 120 AP
Relentless Assault = 360
20 STR food = 40 AP
Blessing of Kings = 10% of STR?
STR is 242 with linked gear + 38 from food and MOTW so 56AP bonus from BoK STR
I don't know if BoK multiplies AP, but let's assume not.
Total AP = 1459+1245 from bonus effects = 2704
Unleashed rage =10% so 2704*1.1 = 2974 controllable AP during raids, or 446 mana per SR proc
Bloodlust Gem use ( 270 AP for 20 sec), add 297 AP
2xCrusader instead of 2x Potency, add 194 AP (160 base + 16 for BoK + 18 for UR)
Hunter pet proc (no idea, but it's more than 0)
Obviously spiking this high will likely get you aggro, but it's fun to theroycraft nonetheless.
Since the previous edit I have acquired a Fel Edged Battleaxe for my MH and holy CRAP does that make a huge difference. Once I get an MH like BBWP or Decapitator, I will put the FEB in the OH and I think I will probably not get any better weapons until Serpentshrine and beyond.
I did a LOT of set comparisons, and found that Desolation is VERY good until you can get the gear posted. Ebon Netherscale is just better, even if by a small %. Cobrascale Hood just tops every other head slot, and if you include gems, Midnight Legguards and Ferocious Swift Kickers top their respective slots, even if you try for set bonuses. I think the main thing lacking from this build is HP, which is somewhat rectified by changing the gloves and legs to stam enchants, and getting a cloak with stam instead of the Vengeance wrap. You can swap out a few gems, too.