PvE Enhancement Shaman Rotation, Cooldowns, & Abilities

The Enhancement Shaman is a hybrid class, offering both high utility and high damage for its party. However, it has one of the hardest rotations in the current meta. In fact, due to how complicated it is, this specialization is off-putting for the majority of the players. Even so, with the proper knowledge you can turn the tide and bring forth the true wrath of the elements unto your enemies.

In this guide, we will go through several key points of the Enhancement Shaman’s gameplay and give suggestions for how you can perfect your playstyle.

As we already said, the Enhancement Shaman is a class that works as a hybrid, meaning that it can deal high-burst type of damage, while also providing utility and healing.

We will explain each of the three different aspects in turn, for you to form a good understanding. Because, after all, you don’t want to bring shame to the elements watching over you, right?

As an Enhancement Shaman, you are characterized as a fast-moving elementally-imbued warrior, striking your enemies with the force of nature itself. This is most notably demonstrated by the constant use of Stormstrike, a blow dealt with both of your weapons, which then empowers the next four sources of nature damage you deal to the target. You will find yourself spamming Stormstrike to dish out as much damage to your target as possible, but you aren’t limited to that tactic alone. You can also make use of Lava Lash, which is a strike dealt by your off-hand and is a perfect complementary ability to Stormstrike.

One of the most important aspects of our gameplay is the efficient use of Maelstrom Weapon stacks. This involves picking the right stacks and when to use them, and whatever you choose can make a major difference to your damage output, utility, or self-healing. For example, you can use it to proc an instant Hex, a powerful Chain Lightning (which is also a part of your standard rotation), or even a healing ability, such as the Healing Wave.

However, due to the high mana consumption of Chain Lightning and the high threat it generates, we will be using Lightning Bolt instead.

If you recall this from the Stat Priority section, the reason we wanted as much haste as possible is to proc Maelstrom Weapon and Windfury Weapon faster and more often. Keep in mind that our Tier 10 Set bonus gives us increased attack power for 10 seconds after we reach 5 stacks of Maelstrom Weapon, so strive to reach that point as often as possible.

Let’s move on to the next offensive array of spells under your command. Feeling overwhelmed? Don’t worry, we are just getting started.

The Shaman class comes with a sizable assortment of spells, called Shocks. These instant-cast spells provide a variety of effects that can be inflicted on your targets, most of them causing instant damage or damage over time. Flame Shock is an important spell from this set: apply it to your target and keep it up at all times. Earth Shock, on the other hand, is more of a situational instant-damage ability. It is best used against melee damage-dealers because of its reduction of attack speed. Then, there is Frost Shock – it provides some damage and inflicts a movement-slowing effect.

Now that we covered the Shock spells and your bread-and-butter Stormstrike, let’s now discuss your most powerful cooldown – the Feral Spirit. You should always try to find the right moment to unleash your wolves instead of bluntly throwing them out at the beginning of the fight. They come with a dash and can also stun your target. Most importantly, they offer a considerable amount of damage – thanks to our awesome pick of Glyph of Feral Spirit, they will also have an additional 30% from your own attack power. Try to unleash them after your trinket procs.

It’s extremely important to not forget to imbue your weapons with Shaman’s own unique effects. The Enhancement Shaman benefits the most from the Windfury Weapon effect, having the potential to trigger multiple melee attacks at once – which means more Maelstrom Weapon effects! Windfury should always be paired up with the Flametongue Weapon in your off-hand.

We will now dwell on the crucial part of the Shaman Class – indeed, the trademark of the class itself: its Totems. The Totems offer similar utility to the Auras of the paladin class, the shaman being originally considered paladin’s counterpart. Of course, there will be distinctive differences between their effects.

While you can place each of them individually, you can also make three presets which will come very handy when particular situations come up: this approach will offer the Shaman extreme versatility and lots of ways to counteract the potential threats.

If you want to use effects similar to the ones that come with Auras, you can place the Fire Resistance Totem, Frost Resistance Totem, or Nature Resistance Totem.You can also cast some empowering effects with the Windfury Totem, Strength of Earth Totem, and Flametongue Totem. Finally, some absorption effects are offered by the Tremor Totem and the Grounding totem.

Most of your utility comes from the proper use of Totems, with an exception of Heroism/Bloodlust, Hex, and Wind Shear. Wind Shear is a highly spam-able interrupt effect – use it as often as possible. Bloodlust speaks for itself: use it at the beginning for a burst. Finally, Hex is just a form of Polymorph. However, unlike with a mage, it will not regenerate the HP of the target and it will be harder to break.

Purge is another utility spell that is important to mention – it removes two beneficial effects from the target, making it a very good spell to use with enemies that try to buff themselves. You can use it in a boss fight like King Ymiron, for example, when Bane is active. Also, it comes handy in fights such as Lord Jaraxxus, when there are no mages in your group.

Healing comes easy as an Enhancement Shaman since you have the Maelstrom Weapon – it can be triggered to proc a very powerful heal, which is cast instantly. Aside from that, you have massive mobility, so you can just kite the target; as you reposition yourself, you can fully recuperate by using the Lesser Healing Wave and Healing Wave. Although proccing Chain Heal might seem like a good idea, do remember that its effectiveness is reduced by 40% for every target healed.

Finally, we will talk about Shamanistic Rage. It is one of the few defensive cooldowns at your disposal, but it also brings in a new flavor with the Tier 10 2-Piece Set bonus. Once you acquire two pieces of Tier 10, Shamanistic Rage turns into an offensive cooldown as well, now offering a 12% damage increase for 15 seconds. Make sure to integrate this into your burst.