The following compares the current state of Elemental Shamans to Frost Death Knights using the latest SimulationCraft data for end-game PvE in World of Warcraft The War Within patch 11.0.2.
Comparison
Category
Winner
Frost Death Knight
+1.84%
When simulating boss fight encounters, Frost Death Knights averaged 1.84% more DPS than Elemental Shamans (+28K DPS).
Elemental Shaman
+1.73%
When simulating AoE DPS, Elemental Shamans averaged 1.73% more DPS than Frost Death Knights (+14K DPS).
Frost Death Knight
+25.45%
Frost Death Knights have higher spike damage potential, achieving +1.4M more DPS than Elemental Shamans.
Spike damage is the peak DPS achieved in any given moment and is not sustained DPS.
Elemental Shaman
+2.07%
When upgrading the gear for both specs by +44 ilvl, Elemental Shaman DPS improved the most, +2.07% more than Frost Death Knight. In total, Elemental Shamans DPS increased by 67.15% and Frost Death Knights by 65.08%.
Frost Death Knight
+0.39%
+ Movement and latency lowered the DPS by 14.08% for Frost Death Knights.
+ Movement and latency lowered the DPS by 14.47% for Elemental Shamans.
When introducing occasional movement and real-world latency, Frost Death Knights performed better, as Elemental Shamans suffered a +0.39% DPS loss.
Elemental Shaman
When evaluating abilities used during boss encounters, Elemental Shamans had fewer damaging abilities in total, indicating a potentially less complex rotation.
The comparisons above highlight some of the key differences between Elemental Shaman and Frost Death Knight in the current meta, which can hopefully help you determine which spec to play or group up with.
Frost Death Knight
Elemental Shaman