"Mini Enhancement Shaman PvE Guide"
Posted: 25 Mar 2016 17:54
DISCLAIMER: I made this guide because some guys in guild chat were (hopefully) joking about how Enhancement requires 3 buttons to play, and I figured I could share some stuff like the priority systems I used when I was raiding a lot with Hellraisers and Divinity. I suppose some things in this "mini-guide" could be wrong, but this is what I've so far found to be the best priority systems for respective fights. I would never be able to write any of this if it weren't for the great player Discussion. Jasper's been my mentor for years, especially regarding Enhancement Shaman. :.)
Enjoy your Enhancement Shaman! Easily one of the most fun and interesting specs in the game.
26/8/2021 Editing this after all these years to correct some things I've learned since then as well as adding some details
PRIORITY SYSTEMS
Assuming your Enhancement Shaman has four pieces of tier 10 and proper itemization;
Single target priority system:
Wind Shear*****
Before encounter, buffer Lightning Shield & Totem Call****** ->
Start Auto Attack with Totems down ->
Shamanistic Rage+DPS Cooldown ->
Feral Spirit (Bloodlust) ->
Refresh Stormstrike Debuff ->
Use Maelstrom stacks (Lightning Bolt) ->
Refresh Magma Totem* ->
Refresh Lightning Shield if 4 stacks or less ->
Apply Flame Shock ->
Refresh Flame Shock ->
Fire Nova. ->
Earth Shock*** ->
Refresh Lightning Shield ->
Lava Lash ->
This priority system should be used vs a single target boss where no adds spawn.
This priority system should also be used vs something like Professor Putricide while DPSing standing still - but you should use Searing Totem while DPSing on the move and Chain Lightning or Magma Totem ONLY when you can chain, say, PP and Ooze/Gas simultaneously or when you know you can get more than 4 ticks of Magma Totem off after placing it.
Cleave priority system:
Wind Shear*****
Before encounter, buffer Lightning Shield & Totem Call****** ->
Start Auto Attack with Totems down ->
Shamanistic Rage+DPS Cooldown ->
Feral Spirit (Bloodlust) ->
Refresh Stormstrike Debuff ->
Use Maelstrom stacks (Chain Lightning > Lightning Bolt) ->
Refresh Magma Totem* ->
Refresh Lightning Shield if 4 stacks or less ->
Fire Nova ->
Lava Lash ->
Apply Flame Shock ->
Refresh Flame Shock ->
Earth Shock.
This priority system should be used vs something like Anub'Arak****. Chain Lightning when adds spawn, otherwise use Lightning Bolt. Don't hold on to Maelstrom Weapon stacks in anticipation of adds spawning, as you generate stacks fast enough that not casting Chain/Bolt is a DPS loss. If you are fighting something like Blood Beasts on Deathbringer Saurfang, use Lava Lash, Flame Shock and Earth Shock before Fire Nova when Blood Beasts are up**.
AoE priority system:
Wind Shear*****
Before encounter, buffer Lightning Shield & Totem Call****** ->
Start Auto Attack with Totems down ->
Refresh Magma Totem* ->
Shamanistic Rage+DPS Cooldown ->
Fire Nova ->
Feral Spirit (Bloodlust) ->
Refresh Stormstrike Debuff ->
Use Maelstrom stacks (Chain Lightning > Lightning Bolt) ->
Refresh Lightning Shield ->
Lava Lash ->
Apply Flame Shock ->
Refresh Flame Shock ->
Earth Shock.
This is for anything that constantly has more than 4 mobs that need to die.
If your Shaman has four pieces of tier 9 gear, then Earth Shock and Flame Shock (+refresh) should be moved up in priority over Fire Nova, Lava Lash (if your weapons aren't too great) and Lightning Shield (+refresh) for single target DPS.
Not having tier 10 makes Shamanistic Rage only useful for regaining mana or soaking damage, so use it for those purposes only.
If your Shaman has absolutely no set bonus pieces, then go Restoration for (possibly) faster emblem farming, lol.
GLYPHS & SPEC
The glyphs you should be using are;
Glyph of Windfury Weapon for an additional 2% proc chance on Windfury Attack,
Glyph of Lightning Shield for an extra 20% damage on Static Shock procs, and
Glyph of Stormstrike for an increased 8% nature damage on your Stormstrike debuff, OR
Glyph of Fire Nova (instead of Stormstrike) only if you are doing constant and very heavy AoE.
The spec you should be using looks like this -> 19/52/0
I suppose you could drop Improved Stormstrike and Clearcasting for points in Enhancing Totems or Improved Windfury Totem if you know you are never going to OOM because of Judgement of Wisdom and Replenishment in between your Shamanistic Rage (which usually always brings you to full mana with proper gear). Although I have never tried this, I don't see why it wouldn't work out in your raid's favor!
PROFESSIONS AND ITEMIZATION
The best professions you can get are Engineering for the 1 minute cooldown haste on-use that lines up perfectly with Shamanistic Rage and Tailoring for the Attack Power proc. I happen to love parachute cloak, and can't go without it on any of my characters, so my Shaman is Engineering/Leatherworking for a decent Attack Power enchant on wrists. Jewelcrafting is the second best option if you for some stupid reason want the parachute cloak like I do.
Make sure you always have at least around 20-26 expertise and 17% SPELL hit rating. Subtract 3% if you know you're always going be in group with Shadow Priests or Balance Druids, and an additional 1% if you know you're always going to be grouped with a Draenei. It's never practical to go for the melee hard cap with a dual-wielding spec, so stop getting hit at the spell hit hard cap.
Since the proc Windfury Attack has an internal cooldown of 3 seconds, you can itemize for haste until your static attack speed (with 20% Icy Talons/Windfury Totem + 3% Ret Paladin/Moonkin Aura + 30% Flurry + your relic totem buff) is at 1.00, 1.10 or even 1.50 and you will give your Windfury Attack a chance to proc every time your main hand hits.
It might seem like a weird thing to gear around but just like Fury Warriors, Feral Druids, Combat Rogues and Marksmanship Hunters that maximize their DPS with Armor Penetration cap, your Windfury build enhancement shaman will maximize its dps when you get the optimal haste rating for proccing Windfury Attacks -- while maintaining spell hit cap and expertise cap . This is why we love the gearing options in Wrath. Jewelcrafting is so great here, especially as a non-orc for that expertise in bis gear.
You can pay attention to this while gearing up, depending on how fast you are getting upgrades and if you don't have to worry about hit/expertise. You will be able to do this most effectively when you are close to BiS gear (duh).
for example 1.00 attack speed is about 1340-1370 haste rating, this is the best and is basically bordering on haste soft cap (capped GCD although haste still benefits melee attack and procs. 1.10 attack speed is at 1010 haste rating which is 40% melee haste
NOTES
*Magma Totem ticks every 2 seconds - make sure to refresh it fast as you can after it ticks as to make the interval between ticks as short as possible. Most optimal refresh is at 0 seconds, but if you have a half a second of downtime (nothing to cast and Lightning Shield fully stacked) you can of course refresh Magma Totem when it's not at 0 seconds. Be very careful with your timing when refreshing it right after 0 seconds because of a bug that sometimes destroys the Totem. It's just a timing thing you have to practice.
*You should use Fire Elemental Totem on stationary bosses since it frees up the global cooldown of having to refresh Magma Totem. When the Fire Elemental Totem runs out, use Magma Totem again. Only use it on stationary fights since you will miss out of Fire Nova damage if the totem is not near the mobs.
**Always make sure Lightning Shield is up before using Fire Nova, since it procs Static Shock. This can, depending on where you are in your priority system, make it worth to Fire Nova the Blood Beasts on Saurfang if you think you're lucky enough to get that RNG.
***An Earth Shock crit on average does more damage than a Fire Nova crit on one target. On two targets, Fire Nova does more damage than an Earth Shock crit if both Fire Nova hits are crits. On three targets, you always Fire Nova over Earth Shock.
****During Anub'Arak's underground phase, you use the AoE priority system (Duh).
*****Always use Wind Shear on cooldown to reduce threat levels. Of course try to use it in such a way that it doesn't interfere with things you need to interrupt, like Lady Deathwhisper's Frostbolts.
******Your totem call should have Magma Totem in it, the other totems depend on your raid composition.
******You should always wear SLOW one-handed weapons with Windfury Weapon on your main hand and Flametongue Totem on your off hand.
Enjoy your Enhancement Shaman! Easily one of the most fun and interesting specs in the game.
26/8/2021 Editing this after all these years to correct some things I've learned since then as well as adding some details
PRIORITY SYSTEMS
Assuming your Enhancement Shaman has four pieces of tier 10 and proper itemization;
Single target priority system:
Wind Shear*****
Before encounter, buffer Lightning Shield & Totem Call****** ->
Start Auto Attack with Totems down ->
Shamanistic Rage+DPS Cooldown ->
Feral Spirit (Bloodlust) ->
Refresh Stormstrike Debuff ->
Use Maelstrom stacks (Lightning Bolt) ->
Refresh Magma Totem* ->
Refresh Lightning Shield if 4 stacks or less ->
Apply Flame Shock ->
Refresh Flame Shock ->
Fire Nova. ->
Earth Shock*** ->
Refresh Lightning Shield ->
Lava Lash ->
This priority system should be used vs a single target boss where no adds spawn.
This priority system should also be used vs something like Professor Putricide while DPSing standing still - but you should use Searing Totem while DPSing on the move and Chain Lightning or Magma Totem ONLY when you can chain, say, PP and Ooze/Gas simultaneously or when you know you can get more than 4 ticks of Magma Totem off after placing it.
Cleave priority system:
Wind Shear*****
Before encounter, buffer Lightning Shield & Totem Call****** ->
Start Auto Attack with Totems down ->
Shamanistic Rage+DPS Cooldown ->
Feral Spirit (Bloodlust) ->
Refresh Stormstrike Debuff ->
Use Maelstrom stacks (Chain Lightning > Lightning Bolt) ->
Refresh Magma Totem* ->
Refresh Lightning Shield if 4 stacks or less ->
Fire Nova ->
Lava Lash ->
Apply Flame Shock ->
Refresh Flame Shock ->
Earth Shock.
This priority system should be used vs something like Anub'Arak****. Chain Lightning when adds spawn, otherwise use Lightning Bolt. Don't hold on to Maelstrom Weapon stacks in anticipation of adds spawning, as you generate stacks fast enough that not casting Chain/Bolt is a DPS loss. If you are fighting something like Blood Beasts on Deathbringer Saurfang, use Lava Lash, Flame Shock and Earth Shock before Fire Nova when Blood Beasts are up**.
AoE priority system:
Wind Shear*****
Before encounter, buffer Lightning Shield & Totem Call****** ->
Start Auto Attack with Totems down ->
Refresh Magma Totem* ->
Shamanistic Rage+DPS Cooldown ->
Fire Nova ->
Feral Spirit (Bloodlust) ->
Refresh Stormstrike Debuff ->
Use Maelstrom stacks (Chain Lightning > Lightning Bolt) ->
Refresh Lightning Shield ->
Lava Lash ->
Apply Flame Shock ->
Refresh Flame Shock ->
Earth Shock.
This is for anything that constantly has more than 4 mobs that need to die.
If your Shaman has four pieces of tier 9 gear, then Earth Shock and Flame Shock (+refresh) should be moved up in priority over Fire Nova, Lava Lash (if your weapons aren't too great) and Lightning Shield (+refresh) for single target DPS.
Not having tier 10 makes Shamanistic Rage only useful for regaining mana or soaking damage, so use it for those purposes only.
If your Shaman has absolutely no set bonus pieces, then go Restoration for (possibly) faster emblem farming, lol.
GLYPHS & SPEC
The glyphs you should be using are;
Glyph of Windfury Weapon for an additional 2% proc chance on Windfury Attack,
Glyph of Lightning Shield for an extra 20% damage on Static Shock procs, and
Glyph of Stormstrike for an increased 8% nature damage on your Stormstrike debuff, OR
Glyph of Fire Nova (instead of Stormstrike) only if you are doing constant and very heavy AoE.
The spec you should be using looks like this -> 19/52/0
I suppose you could drop Improved Stormstrike and Clearcasting for points in Enhancing Totems or Improved Windfury Totem if you know you are never going to OOM because of Judgement of Wisdom and Replenishment in between your Shamanistic Rage (which usually always brings you to full mana with proper gear). Although I have never tried this, I don't see why it wouldn't work out in your raid's favor!
PROFESSIONS AND ITEMIZATION
The best professions you can get are Engineering for the 1 minute cooldown haste on-use that lines up perfectly with Shamanistic Rage and Tailoring for the Attack Power proc. I happen to love parachute cloak, and can't go without it on any of my characters, so my Shaman is Engineering/Leatherworking for a decent Attack Power enchant on wrists. Jewelcrafting is the second best option if you for some stupid reason want the parachute cloak like I do.
Make sure you always have at least around 20-26 expertise and 17% SPELL hit rating. Subtract 3% if you know you're always going be in group with Shadow Priests or Balance Druids, and an additional 1% if you know you're always going to be grouped with a Draenei. It's never practical to go for the melee hard cap with a dual-wielding spec, so stop getting hit at the spell hit hard cap.
Since the proc Windfury Attack has an internal cooldown of 3 seconds, you can itemize for haste until your static attack speed (with 20% Icy Talons/Windfury Totem + 3% Ret Paladin/Moonkin Aura + 30% Flurry + your relic totem buff) is at 1.00, 1.10 or even 1.50 and you will give your Windfury Attack a chance to proc every time your main hand hits.
It might seem like a weird thing to gear around but just like Fury Warriors, Feral Druids, Combat Rogues and Marksmanship Hunters that maximize their DPS with Armor Penetration cap, your Windfury build enhancement shaman will maximize its dps when you get the optimal haste rating for proccing Windfury Attacks -- while maintaining spell hit cap and expertise cap . This is why we love the gearing options in Wrath. Jewelcrafting is so great here, especially as a non-orc for that expertise in bis gear.
You can pay attention to this while gearing up, depending on how fast you are getting upgrades and if you don't have to worry about hit/expertise. You will be able to do this most effectively when you are close to BiS gear (duh).
for example 1.00 attack speed is about 1340-1370 haste rating, this is the best and is basically bordering on haste soft cap (capped GCD although haste still benefits melee attack and procs. 1.10 attack speed is at 1010 haste rating which is 40% melee haste
NOTES
*Magma Totem ticks every 2 seconds - make sure to refresh it fast as you can after it ticks as to make the interval between ticks as short as possible. Most optimal refresh is at 0 seconds, but if you have a half a second of downtime (nothing to cast and Lightning Shield fully stacked) you can of course refresh Magma Totem when it's not at 0 seconds. Be very careful with your timing when refreshing it right after 0 seconds because of a bug that sometimes destroys the Totem. It's just a timing thing you have to practice.
*You should use Fire Elemental Totem on stationary bosses since it frees up the global cooldown of having to refresh Magma Totem. When the Fire Elemental Totem runs out, use Magma Totem again. Only use it on stationary fights since you will miss out of Fire Nova damage if the totem is not near the mobs.
**Always make sure Lightning Shield is up before using Fire Nova, since it procs Static Shock. This can, depending on where you are in your priority system, make it worth to Fire Nova the Blood Beasts on Saurfang if you think you're lucky enough to get that RNG.
***An Earth Shock crit on average does more damage than a Fire Nova crit on one target. On two targets, Fire Nova does more damage than an Earth Shock crit if both Fire Nova hits are crits. On three targets, you always Fire Nova over Earth Shock.
****During Anub'Arak's underground phase, you use the AoE priority system (Duh).
*****Always use Wind Shear on cooldown to reduce threat levels. Of course try to use it in such a way that it doesn't interfere with things you need to interrupt, like Lady Deathwhisper's Frostbolts.
******Your totem call should have Magma Totem in it, the other totems depend on your raid composition.
******You should always wear SLOW one-handed weapons with Windfury Weapon on your main hand and Flametongue Totem on your off hand.