PvE Enhancement Shaman Rotation, Cooldowns, & Abilities

In this section we will be covering information on various spells and abilities that are in an Enhancement Shaman’s arsenal for Wrath of the Lich King. We’ll then be covering a detailed rotation for both single-target encounters and Area-of-Effect (AoE) encounters.

Make sure to read the Overview as well!

Single-Target Rotation

Now that we have explained the Enhancement Shaman’s abilities in-depth, we will move forward with the Single-Target Rotation. As we mentioned previously, the Enhancement Shaman has a rather difficult rotation to pull off, often annoying or outright demoralizing players who are trying to master it. Remember this and try not to give up.

First of all, we are using the Lightning Shield build, which means that we will have to upkeep Lightning Shield at all times. Now, due to Static Shock, we will have an on-hit chance to expend one of the orbs from the Lightning Shield. Furthermore, before the fight begins you’ll want to make sure you’ve enchanted your main hand weapon with Windfury Weapon and your off-hand weapon with Flametongue Weapon.

Make sure to open up with Flame Shock on the target – keep it up at all times. Your default Shock to follow with after Flame Shock should always be Earth Shock.

While your Stormstrike is still on cooldown, and you have just used your Earth Shock, you will want to make sure that your Magma Totem is placed in the proximity of the target. Considering the way we spent our talents, you will want to use Magma Totem at all times and maintain it.

Then, use Fire Nova. Remember to use Fire Nova on cooldown, just like with Stormstrike or your Shocks.

With testing during the beta, we have confirmed that Lava Lash is one of the lowest damage-dealing abilities in the whole rotation, meaning that you will want to use it as the last ability in your rotation, prioritizing every one ability.

Enhancement Shaman benefits from 2 massive DPS-boosting cooldowns, the first one is Feral Spirit and the second one is Fire Elemental Totem. Fire Elemental Totem can only be used once per fight, meaning that you will ideally want it up at the beginning of the encounter, of course, depending on the encounter itself. In some fights, you will want to pop it right at the beginning, for example, in fights such as Patchwerk or XT-002 Deconstructor, and keep it for later phases in fights such as Jarraxus, Deathbringer Saurfang, and Sindragosa.

When it comes to Feral Spirit, you will want to use it as soon as possible, paired with all of your other DPS-boosting effects, such as trinkets and potions. Use it every time it’s available, or during crucial moments when something needs to die ASAP.

Finally, Maelstrom Weapon, just like we mentioned above, is a very important mechanic that allows us to weave Lightning Bolt casts between our melee attacks. Depending on your cooldowns, you can choose to spend either 2-3 stacks of Maelstrom Weapon between your attacks or wait until you gain 5 stacks and instantly cast a Lightning Bolt. Depending on your weapon speed, you will either have fast access to 5 stacks of Maelstrom Weapon, meaning consistent Lightning Bolt casts, or a slower build-up that will provide lower damage but will preserve your mana pool.

The daunting part of this rotation is the simultaneous upkeep of both your Flame Shock and Lightning Shield, at all times. But, do not fret – with proper practice, it will become second nature to you.

Now that we have explained the rotation, we will also offer a summary to help you visualize it.

Rotation Example

• Imbue your weapons with Windfury Weapon on Main-Hand and Flametongue Weapon on Off-Hand
• Cast Lightning Shield before the engagement and whenever your stacks run out
• Beggining of combat: Flame Shock -> Place Totems (Call of the Elements) -> Feral Spirit -> Stormstrike (Debuff/Damage) ->Fire Elemental Totem -> Lightning Bolt(2-3 stacks of Maelstrom Weapon )-> Earth Shock -> Fire Nova -> Lightning Bolt (when you get 5 Maelstrom Weapon stacks) -> Lava Lash

With proper practice, you will master this rotation and become a true Enhancement Shaman.

Totem Setup

When it comes to totem setup, it will depend on how many shamans you have in your raid! Generally speaking, you will find more than one shaman in a raid composition, meaning that each of you will have a different totem setup.

Example for an Enhancement Shaman:

• Earth Totem: Strength of Earth Totem
• Fire Totem: Magma Totem
• Water Totem: Healing Stream Totem
• Air Totem: Windfury Totem

Weapon Sync

There is a special mechanic for Enhancement Shamans that revolves around their Flurry talent. Just like in TBC, you can sync both your Main-Hand and Off-Hand weapons, making them hit the target at the same time. By accomplishing this, you end up consuming just one of the Flurry charges, the game effectively treating both hits from your weapons as a single hit, thus consuming a single Flurry charge.

This can be done by weaving spells in between your auto-attacks or by using “Startattack” macros on your spells. However, you will require an addon that tracks your swing timer in order to pull it off.

There is one more important aspect that should be mentioned, you will always want to have your Main-Hand weapon attack first rather than your Off-Hand weapon, to ensure that your Windfury procs more efficiently.

By managing to synchronize your weapons, you can achieve up to a 5% damage increase, however, it will mean more intensive micro of your rotation. It is entirely up to you if you wish to min-max your rotation in such a way.

Weapon Speed

Weapon speed plays a big role in how an Enhancement Shaman works. Depending on your weapon speed, you can achieve two different things. With slower weapons, you will have more time to weave in Lightning Bolt casts but you will have a lower frequency of Maelstrom Weapon. With fast weapons, you will consistently gain Maelstrom Weapon stacks but you will be forced to cast Lightning Bolt more often, leading to a potential mana-management issue.

The idea is that depending on your weapon of choice, you will either benefit from more consistent damage or from higher burst damage. It is all up to you.

Area-of-Effect Rotation 

The AoE rotation of an Enhancement Shaman is very similar to our single target rotation, with a couple of key differences.

The first one is the Magma Totem, which we have mentioned previously. Great thing is, this ability synergizes well with the second ability of the Enhancement Shaman – the Fire Nova.

Furthermore, when you get 5 Maelstrom Weapon stacks, you’ll want to use Chain Lightning instead of Lightning Bolt, as it deals incredibly high AoE damage.

Finally, if it is available, you’ll want to use Fire Elemental Totem instead of Magma Totem. Bear in mind that it doesn’t benefit from the raid cooldown reset system that Blizzard implemented in WotLK Classic, and it has a pretty lengthy 10 minute cooldown, so you’ll want to save it for those fights with a LOT of adds for it to attack.

Our AoE as an Enhancement Shaman is unfortunately not the best, but it can be a lot of fun to see big Chain Lightning and Fire Nova crits all over your screen!