Shaman
A collection of guides for the Shaman class, written by the wow-pro community.
Sapy's Guide to Resto Shaman Healing
Shamans are a very versatile class which offer a plethora of options for both DPS and healing. I'll focus on the healing in this guide at level 80 for both 5 man dungeons and then raid content. Like Paladins, Shamans are a utility class whose strength lies almost as much in what benefits they bring to others in the party/raid as their actual performance itself. The main difference in how this is achieved is our totems and one very 'heroic' ability. Yes they can be confusing, and it will take a while to figure out the best situation to use them in, but you'll get there sooner than you think. This guide will be broken up into eight main sections: Spells/Abilities, Totems, Talent Builds, Glyphs, Gems, Enchants, Healing Guide and Macros. Let's get started.
Table of Contents
This has long been the target of most Shaman button clicks. The spell 'jumps to 3 targets' (or 4 with a major Glyph). Who it heals is based on who is missing the most health (by absolute value and not percentage). Each jump reduces the healing done by 50%. The range for each 'jump' of the spell is approximately 10-15 yards.
Chain heal can crit on any of the three jumps or all) but the healing done to the next target is based on the non-crit healing done. Crits from chain heal will proc Ancestral Fortitude and Tidal Waves.
This is a great spell for when your party/raid is taking a lot of damage and players are bunched. Useful scenarios are for AOE bosses or anytime a group needs to be bunched. Think Loken from Halls of Lightning or Sapphiron from Naxxramus.
Another point of note is that Chain Heal will proc Tidal Waves, which is a must for all healing scenarios. Whether you use Chain Heal or Riptide for its proc depends on if it is single target damage you are facing or clustered damage.
A new addition with WoTLK, Riptide is an excellent addition to the Shamans arsenal. Riptide is a talent that gives us our only instant heal (not counting Nature's Swiftness). It has a 6-second cooldown. If you cast Chain Heal on someone with Riptide, it consumes the remaining healing left on the Riptide and increases your Chain Heal by 25%. Only a direct Chain Heal will proc Riptide though, not the jumps. The other big plus, as I mentioned above, is that it ill proc Tidal Waves.
This spell is very useful for any fight involving movement or burst damage. Earth shield your tank and cast a riptide before the pull and keeping him up during the initial pull is a simple task with your 30% quicker Lesser Healing Waves and Healing Waves.
This is our big heal, It takes 2.5 seconds to cast (3.0 seconds without talents) and is not as powerful as other classes' big heal spells. In the past this spell was buried in many Shaman's spell books because of its high mana cost and the greater effectiveness of other spells. However, with the Tidal Wave talents mentioned above and also the Healing Way talent it can be very useful in certain high damage situations.
This is the fastest heal a shaman can cast. With a nominal amount of haste and with the Tidal Waves buff this spell is a ~1 second cast. It does not stack Healing Way, but it is relatively cheap with talents at 626 Mana. This is the staple heal for many Shamans for light to mid single target damage. A combination of Chain Heal > Lesser Healing Wave x 2, or Riptide > Lesser Healing Wave x 2 makes full use of ease Tidal Waves proc and if you have a decent amount of crit it is very mana efficient thanks to the Improved Water Shield talent. Stack enough crit and with decent raid buffs you can chain cast Riptide > Lesser Healing Wave x 2 for a very long time.
This is the Shaman's version of the Priest's Power Word: Shield if you like. It has 6 charges (8 with talents) that heals the wearer every few seconds while taking damage.
What it heals for is based on the spellpower at the time it is cast, not when it procs. Hence, if its a tricky healing intensive pull you can drop a Flametongue totem if needed to boost its healing power.
It is important to note that it does generate aggro - 0.725 threat divided evenly among the mobs present. That is no problem for the tank to keep them off of you usually but if your tank is running into a set of mobs to round them up for an AOE tank and spank don't be surprised if one lunges for you.
This spell is very mana efficient, in that it heals for 2-3k depending on your spell power. Given that it has 8 charges, you can see why it is a must to have it up at all times on any target taking sustained damage. 626 mana with talents is damn good for 16-24k in heals.
One of the hardest things to manage when playing a Shaman is your water shield. This is absolutely critical for your mana regen and ability to heal. Not only does it give you an obscene amount of MP5, but thanks to the Improved Water Shield and Improved Shields it becomes even stronger and gives you back mana on each critical heal from Healing Wave, Lesser Healing Wave and Riptide. It cost no mana to cast, but it does steal GCDs, which can get tricky in a very healing intensive fight. You need to time it well, if no healing is required at any given moment it is often wise to refresh your shield even if you still have a charge or to left.
Other important Support Spells
Nature's Swiftness - Alt tabbed for a second while your tank pulled? Or need an emergency heal for an aggroing dpser? Then this is a godsent. Use this in conjunction with a Healing Wave and you can survive many mistakes.
Ancestral Awakening - There is much debate as to how useful this is in the Shammy community but I for one think its a godsent. Every little bit helps at times, and this has saved countless wipes for me already where a key DPS or healer gets damaged while i'm in the middle of a spellcast, and when it procs it saved them from certain death. No its not going to heal for a massive percent of your heals but the ~5% of your total heals that it does will often be the difference between a wipe and a clear on progression bosses/tough heroics.
Tidal Force - I use this with Nature's Swiftness thanks to a nifty macro is part of my 'Oh Crap' solution. Use it with a Healing Wave since it has a large chance proc ancestral awakening if you are talented for it, for a large amount.
Back to the TopNow here we go. Totems are what set us apart from other classes. Think of them like pets, you need to keep an eye on them, make sure they are still alive, make sure they are in range of those they need to effect and be sure to refresh them on time. Also, never underestimate the power they possess to change the outcome of a fight. Yes their buffs may seem small, but small differences can be the difference between a wipe and a clear. Get to know fight encounters, and know hat totems would be the most beneficial. Also, get to know what totems stack with other raid buffs. If you have a Pally with Fire Resistance Aura up then don't waste your Water totem on Fire Resistance since they don't stack. One last thing, again it may seem insignificant, but always recall your totems! The mana returned means less downtime drinking, and in some cases it can prevent a wipe since an errant pat might sniff them out and get pulled to your unsuspecting group.
Earth Totems
Stoneskin Totem - This should be your totem of choice for Earth totems while in a party or raid. It helps mitigate tank damage taken, which is always a huge plus.
Earthbind Totem - Great for running away from mobs while soloing, also very valuable for fights where it is necessary to slow down the bosses, such as Gluth in Naxxramus.
Strength of the Earth Totem - Huge boost to dps, but it does not stack with Deathknight's Horn of Winter spell. Only useful for when there is not Deathknight in the party/raid, and tank healing is not stressful.
Tremor Totem - Situation specific, but invaluable when needed. This is one of the most useful totems you have. If a boss or mob fears then you want to drop this totem during the pull. Simple.
Stoneclaw Totem - Really only useful for soloing, especially when you get unexpected adds. Can be a lifesaver in that situation, but keep it far away from dungeons/raids.
Earth Elemental Totem - This guy can save a lot of dungeon wipes if your tank does something silly and gets himself killed. It has a decent taunt and decent enough HP that you can keep it up for short periods of time if you need to. It will be one shot in most raid scenarios, but if things are falling to high hell around you it doesn't hurt to bring him out and hope for a miracle.
Fire Totems
Flametongue Totem - This is your totem of choice for most situations for Fire Totems. Huge boost to spell power is great for your heals and all casters in the group and unless fire or frost resistance is needed there really is no other viable option.
Fire Nova Totem / Magma Totem / Searing Totem - These are mainly offense totems which you will seldom use for raids or dungeons. Better to save your mana for healing, besides the raid or party ill usually get much more of a buffs from Flametongue. Searing Totems can sometimes have utility for bosses which have an aggro wipe since they will often go for the Totem first, giving the tank more time to pick them up. But, for the most part stay away. I don't even have them on my main toolbar.
Frost Resistance Totem - Pretty self-explanatory. If you need extra Frost resistance for some reason then this is an option. Remember that it does not stack with the Pally Frost Resistance Aura so plan accordingly.
Fire Elemental Totem - Useful in situations here AOE dps is needed, but chances are if your group is looking for help from their healer to DPS that you are in a fail group anyway. Aside from the novelty of it, save this for soloing if you are in a pinch.
Air Totems
Windfury Totem - Your staple air totem unless there is an Enhancement Shammy or Frost Deathknight. Excellent boost for melee DPS and your tank's aggro.
Wrath of Air Totem - Decent boost for spellcasters, use when you have a Frost Deathknight or Enhancement Shammy around.
Grounding Totem - This is often a forgotten totem, but can really be a huge boost to you and your raids survivability. Lay it down whenever you can to soak up errant shadowbolts or frostbolts from bosses and mobs. If you are getting pwned by a caster that your tank hasn't picked up yet rather than sit there and eat them all, drop a Grounding Totem to take one or two off of you. Can help to avoid a wipe.
Nature Resistance Totem - Pretty Self-explanatory. If you need nature resistance then this is an option. Note that this does not stack with the Hunter Nature Resistance Aspect.
Sentry Totem - Useful for some PVP situations, but never used in a raid or dungeon setting. Leave it in your spellbook unless you feel like having some fun.
Water Totems
Point of note here is that water totems only affect your 5 man party, not the whole raid like the others.
Mana Tide Totem - Ok so this is a talent, but no quarter decent Resto Shammy would ever not spec it. It is just awesome for all mana users in your party. Between this, water shield and the below Mana Spring Totem it is going to take a lot to make you OOM. One thing to watch though is that since this is a water totem it ill replace all other mana totems when used, be sure to drop them again once this is finished pulsing.
Mana Spring Totem - Unless you know you aren't going to have mana issues during a fight then this is your staple totem. It stacks with other Shaman's Mana Spring Totems also for uber regeneration in a raid.
Healing Stream Totem - If mana is not going to be an issue due to your party makeup or it isn't a healing intensive fight then this is often a valid choice. 200-300 health every couple seconds stacks up very quickly and can be a great help for fights which are short but healing intensive. Loken in Heroic Halls of Lightning comes to mind. Forget running away from the lightning. Drop this, heroism and chain heal till the cos come home and he's dead in < 1 minute.
Disease Cleansing Totem / Poison Cleansing Totem - These will take preference in fights where a mass poison or disease is put on your group. To important things to bear in mind, is that it only affects your party, so just cause you drop it in your 25 man raid doesn't mean it will take care of everyone, also, though it immediately takes off the poison/disease when placed, it then only does it every 5 seconds. In some fights 5 seconds is too long, and you ill still have to cleanse vital people faster than that, up to you to gauge.
Fire Resistance Totem - Gives fire resistance. Go figure...Also doesn't stack with the Pally aura, if there is a pally in your group get them to use their aura if fire resistance is needed, your other water totems are far more valuable that his silly Ret or Devotion Aura.
There are a ton of outdated Shaman talent guides on the web, most of which haven't been updated for WoTLK. There really isn't much wiggle room when it comes to talents, and most build are exactly the same minus a talent or two.
Here is what I currently run with - 0/14/57
This build maximizes crit by choosing Thundering Strikes. I also chose to go with Healing Focus which some skip for Healing Way but since I never use Healing Wave I rather have the minimal pushbacks. Lastly, some people chose to forgo a few points in Thundering Strikes to get Elemental Weapons. Personally I rather the crit for the extra heals and Water shield procs but to each their own.
Here is a slightly different build - 0/14/57
This build utilizes both Healing Way and Elemental Weapons.
Experimental Dual Wield Build - 0/31/40
No i've never run with it but with it you can get a heap more SP easily by using two healing weapons and enchanting both*. Also you get almost double the chance to proc Earthliving Weapon. You also get to carry many Enhancement Shaman raid-wide talents which can prove useful if there is no other Enhancement Shamans in your guild. The drawbacks are no Riptide, Earthshield, Ancestral Awakening or Tidal Waves but if you are going to be spamming Chain Heal all day long the benefits might outweigh the drawbacks. Up to you to decide.
It's been pointed out that most healing weapons are Main Hand only, however, it really doesn't change the fact that you get double the chance to proc Earthliving plus the extra heals from it), get an extra 63 spell dmg from the enchant and are a pseudo-Enhancement Shaman also so provide many important raid buffs. Even off hand +haste fist weapons might be useful. Again, not that I'd necessarily recommend it, but I can see it being useful for certain guilds/situations.
Now that Inscription has been added to the game, it offers a huge array in play style choices. Depending on what glyphs you chose you can radically change how your Shaman can be played. Below are a list of all the Resto Shaman friendly Major Glyphs.
Glyph of Chain Heal
Glyph of Earthliving Weapon
Glyph of Healing Stream Totem
Glyph of Healing Wave
Glyph of Lesser Healing Wave
Glyph of Mana Tide Totem
Glyph of Water Mastery
Since you can only chose 3 there are some definite choices here that you need to make which ill change your play style. Glyph of Water Mastery is almost universally taken since regardless hat play style you adopt mana regeneration will be very important. Glyph of Chain Heal is very very valuable for raid scenarios if you will be doing a lot of raid healing. Not so valuable for party scenarios since most times your group won't all be in range for heals. Glyph of Healing Stream I found very valuable for heroic runs, especially if you are undergeared. The extra healing is very nice. Glyph of Healing Wave can be valuable if you playstyle suits, personally since I almost never cast it there is no need for it. Glyph of Lesser Healing Wave is a very intriguing option, especially for MT heals in raids. This really boosts the performance of your Lesser Healing Wave. Thanks to this Glyph and Improved Water Shield spamming Lesser Healing Wave like a Pally click drunk on Flash of Light is actually a valid playstyle.
If you are going to be primarily solo and running a few heroics i'd recommend Glyph of Healing Stream Totem , Glyph of Water Mastery and Glyph of Earthliving Weapon. Whereas if you raid often i'd recommend Glyph of Chain Heal , Glyph of Water Mastery and either Glyph of Lesser Healing Wave or Glyph of Earthliving Weapon. But fear not, the beauty of Inscription is that it is cheap and very easy to try things out. Most of these glyphs run for 5-20G in the AH so its not like trying out an enchantment which costs significantly more. Now onto Minor Glyphs...
Glyph of Astral Recall
Glyph of Ghost Wolf
Glyph of Renewed Life
Glyph of Water Breathing
Glyph of Water Shield
Glyph of Water Walking
Glyph of Water Shield is a must have for every Resto Shaman, and a close second is Glyph of Renewed Life which can greatly help on tough bosses. The rest are a crapshoot, I went with Astral Recall which helps with my dailies grinding.
Ah gems, the bane of many pocket books around. I'll list both blue and green gems for the financially challenged. I won't list the JC only gems since that ill just confuse non-JCers. One point of note is that Perfect green cuts are a random proc for JCs as they cut gems. No one can cut perfect gems always, its just luck of the draw. Giving a JC a gem and getting pissy when you don't get a perfect cut back is very pedestrian, don't expect it, its just a nice surprise when you are getting things cut.
Red
Rare
Uncommon
Perfect Runed Bloodstone
Runed Bloodstone
Blue
Rare
Uncommon
Perfect Lustrous Chalcedony - (No its not a typo this has the same Mp5 as the blue gem)
Lustrous Chalcedony
Blue
Rare
Dazzling Forest Emerald
Energized Forest Emerald
Sundered Forest Emerald
Uncommon
Perfect Dazzling Dark Jade
Dazzling Dark Jade
Perfect Energized Dark Jade
Energized Dark Jade
Perfect Sundered Dark Jade
Sundered Dark Jade
Yellow
Rare
Brilliant Autumn's Glow
Quick Autumn's Glow
Smooth Autumn's Glow
Uncommon
Perfect Brilliant Sun Crystal
Brilliant Sun Crystal
Perfect Quick Sun Crystal
Quick Sun Crystal
Perfect Smooth Sun Crystal
Smooth Sun Crystal
Purple
Rare
Uncommon
Perfect Royal Shadow Crystal
Royal Shadow Crystal
Orange
Rare
Luminous Monarch Topaz
Reckless Monarch Topaz
Potent Monarch Topaz
Uncommon
Perfect Luminous Huge Citrine
Luminous Huge Citrine
Perfect Reckless Huge Citrine
Reckless Huge Citrine
Perfect Potent Huge Citrine
Potent Huge Citrine
Meta
Beaming Earthsiege Diamond
Bracing Earthsiege Diamond
Ember Skyflare Diamond
Insightful Earthsiege Diamond
Revitalizing Skyflare Diamond
There is no right or wrong way to gem. If you are very lo on spell power I would look at ignoring all socket bonuses and just going with Runed Scarlet Ruby (unless the socket bonus is very good). If your spell power is looking good then you might want to look at your haste rating, or crit. I included all the crit gems because many Shaman's overlook how important crit is to us for regen of mana. Depending on your play style you can get tons and tons of mana back through your crits, making it very very important just from a regen standpoint, forget the fact that it makes you heal more.
Ah the great money suck that is enchanting. Enchanting your gear is a must, it gives huge boosts to your effectiveness and also demonstrates your dedication to your character. That having been said, just because you've dinged 80 and bought a BOE blue from the AH doesn't necessarily mean you want to sink a 200G enchant on it. Use your head and you'll be fine.
Head
Arcanum of Blissful Mending - Needs revered with the Wyrmcrest Accord. Available from their quartermaster in Dragonblight.
Shoulder
Greater Inscription of the Crag - Needs exalted with The Sons of Hodir, Available from their quartermaster in Storm Peaks.
Lesser Inscription of the Crag - Needs honored with The Sons of Hodir, Available from their quartermaster in Storm Peaks.
Cloak
Enchant Cloak - Haste
Enchant Cloak - Speed
Chest
Enchant Chest - Exceptional Mana
Enchant Chest - Greater Mana Restoration
Enchant Chest - Restore Mana Prime
Enchant Chest - Powerful Stats
Enchant Chest - Super Stats
Bracers
Enchant Bracers - Exceptional Intellect
Enchant Bracers - Superior Spellpower
Enchant Bracers - Greater Spellpower
Enchant Bracers - Greater Stats
Gloves
Enchant Gloves - Exceptional Spellpower
Waist
Yes I know there is no enchants for the waist but be sure to buy an Eternal Belt Buckle for it. Good for another socket for your gear. Very very valuable and usually not too expensive (goes for 60-75G on my server).
Legs
Sapphire Spellthread
Azure Spellthread
Boots
Enchant Boots - Greater Vitality
Weapon
Enchant Weapon - Exceptional Spellpower
Enchant Weapon - Mighty Spellpower
Shields
Enchant Shield - Greater Intellect
Healing rotations for Shamans are very different depending on what you are being asked to do. If you are on raid damage then you might spam Chain Heal almost exclusively, not much fun but effective. If you are on MT duty or in charge of keeping up single targets then it gets a bit more fun. The general panic attack cycle for Resto Shamans is:
Riptide + LHW + LHW
Thanks to the Tidal Waves talent the whole cycle takes 3 seconds (Riptide, 1 sec GCD, LHW ~1 sec cast, LHW ~1 sec cast), and will keep up just about anyone. About 350 haste or so is decent if you heal using this cycle a lot since that will reduce the cast time of Lesser Healing Wave while Tidal Waves is up to ~ 1 sec. Any more haste is wasted at this point since the 1 sec GCD will cap you.
Another valid healing cycle is:
Chain Heal + LHW + LHW
Chain heal also procs Tidal Waves, so this gives you two quick Lesser Healing Waves to splash around the raid before coming back to another Chain Heal. The good thing about this rotation is that since there is no cooldown on Chain Heal you can spam more out in a given window.
Now, you can also substitute Healing Wave for Lesser Healing Wave for the above rotation if there is some seriously injured folk in the raid. This can lead to massive healing since it will get +4% to its healing from Tidal Waves. Also, if you have 4 piece T7 bonus you get +5% heals to Healing Wave. No its is not as mana effective as Lesser Healing Wave or Chain Heal in the right scenarios, but it can be very useful in the right situations.
Healing as a Shaman is pretty damn fun. I've raided on a Holy Priest and Paladin extensively before and I must say Shammies rock. First thing you need to realize, is know what you are supposed to do and do it first before anything else. For heroics that is keeping the tank alive. Your priorities in heroics should always be tank/you, then dps in order of how good they are. Might sound crude, but if your party has been hit by a nasty aoe and everyone is dangling at 10%. Get your tank and yourself up ASAP, but then do you chose the 2.5K DPS hunter or the nub 1k DPS Deathknight? You know the answer. When in a raid, if you have been assigned to keep the raid topped up, don't be healing only the MT and forgetting about the raid. Research your fights, your poison cleansing or disease cleansing totems can often make fights a lot easier, so use them wisely. Learn to anticipate damage and heal accordingly, focus on bosses so you know at all times what they are doing so you can react better.
Here is some more drivel that I will spew while it is fresh in my memory. Always have your water shield in place. If you have a spare second and it is at 2 charges refresh it. Always know where your totems are, how much time they have left. Make sure to recall them after moving so as to not aggro pats. Always have your Earthliving Weapon on your weapon, never be caught without it. Know your party/raid makeup, it will determine what totems you drop. If you are getting pwned by a spellcasting mob, don't be afraid to break out Wind Shock to interrupt it and save yourself some damage.
In the end there is no substitute for knowing your class well, that will come with time, just read read read, and don't be afraid to ask other Shaman's a thing or two.
Totem Dropping can be a pain, make yourself a macro with your most used totem dropping rotation to eliminate the monotony:
/castsequence reset=4 Flametongue Totem, Mana Spring Totem, Windfury Totem, Strength of Earth Totem
Mana Tide Alert Macro
#showtooltip Mana Tide Totem
/stopmacro [nocombat]
/script local u,m = IsUsableSpell("Mana Tide Totem") if u and not m and GetNumPartyMembers() > 0 then SendChatMessage(" >>> Dropping Mana Tide <<<","PARTY") end
/cast Mana Tide Totem
Heroism Alert Macro - Alliance
#showtooltip Heroism
/stopmacro [nocombat]
/script local u,m = IsUsableSpell("Heroism") if u and not m and GetNumPartyMembers() > 0 then SendChatMessage(" >>> Popping Hero now! <<<","PARTY") end
/cast Heroism
Heroism Alert Macro - Horde
#showtooltip Bloodlust
/stopmacro [nocombat]
/script local u,m = IsUsableSpell("Bloodlust") if u and not m and GetNumPartyMembers() > 0 then SendChatMessage(" >>> Bloodlust used! <<<","PARTY") end
/cast Bloodlust
Pop both trinks and insta-cast Healing Wave
#showtooltip Healing Wave
/cast Healing Wave [nocombat]
/stopmacro [nocombat]
/use 13
/use 14
/cast Nature's Swiftness
/cast Healing Wave
Shaman Elemental Talent Guide
Hey guys im here to show u a great spec for shamans.
Before Wotlk only enhancement was a viable dps but guess what! elemental is back and viable for raid dps.
well lets have less talk and more info.
here is my talent spec http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=hEhVqzdItGxst0xx0o
After you check out my talents, and get situated, I will tell you how to set up your Action Bar like mine
Action Bars:
Enable them all please.
Ok the top right ones for me are all my totems, first starting at second row top, is mana totem, under that strength of earth, to the left now starting at top, wrath of air, and our talent totem under that.
Ok now to start with where your spells are going to be,
this is all on the bottom left UI.
1:attack
2:lightning bolt
3:frost shock
4:chain lightning
5:lavaburst
6:flame shock
7:earth shock
8:wind shock
9:lesser healing wave
0:healing wave
-:thunderstorm
=:elemental devastation
Rotation:
our rotation is based on haste pretty much
Its flameshock>lavaburst>lightning boltx4or5 depending on ha'ste.
Remember to reset flame shock after it wears off
Glyph's:
make sure you have these, Glyph of flame shock, glyph of totem of wrath, glyph of ligntning bolt, those are the majors.
minors can be w/e u want, most people take reincarnation,water shield, and astral recall.
thank you for reading my new and updated guide.
[Enhancement] Leveling guide, 1 'till 80.
Welcome,
Table of content:
1. Foreword
2. What's the best leveling spec?
3. The spec
4. Abilities and Rotations.
5. Tips
6. Stats
7. Gear
8. Totem Quests
9. Glyphs
10. Addons
This is a guide which will tell which talents are the best to choose while leveling, also what rotation you should do, what kind of stats you should be focusing on and some tips. This is based on my opinion, that's why it's an Enhancement leveling guide in the first place 
. I have included alot of feedback, too, and I will change this guide when the class will change too.
Click on this arrow:
To go to the top of the page.
2. What's the best leveling spec?
The best (solo) leveling spec for the shaman is Enhancement. This is because it's the most mana efficient tree there is, while it still maintains a lot of damage, in fact the shaman deals the most damage with minimum mana useage (with duel wield, that is). This only counts after level 40, though, and before that you might try Elemental. Elemental is our Casting spec, with it, we boost our Lightning Bolt, Chain Lightning, Shocks and Totems.
I could write an Elemental leveling guide, but thats not needed. Browsing at the Wowhead forums brought me a guide for elemental leveling. Read CanadianSnipers' Elemental Leveling Guide if you choose to level as Elemental. That guide can take you to level 80.
If you want to level as Enhancement all the way, then read further. Otherwise, you could pick up the guide from level 40 and get some gear from the Auction House.
3. The spec:
10 - 14:
Ancestral Knowledge - 5/5.
15 - 19:
Thundering Strikes - 5/5
20:
Shamanistic Focus - 1/1
21 - 22:
Improved Ghost Wolf - 2/2
23 - 24:
Elemental Weapons - 2/3 (only 2)
25 - 29:
Flurry - 5/5
30:
Spirit Weapons - 1/1
31 - 33:
Mental Dexterity - 3/3
34:
Elemental Weapons - 3/3.
35 - 37:
Unleashed Rage - 3/3
38 - 39:
Weapon Mastery - 2/3 (only 2)
40:
Stormstrike - 1/1
41:
Dual Wield - 1/1
42 - 44:
Dual Wield Specialization - 3/3
45:
Lava Lash - 1/1
46 - 47:
Improved Stormstrike - 2/2
48 - 49:
Static Shock - 2/3 (only 2)
50:
Shamanistic Rage - 1/1
51:
Static Shock - 3/3
52 - 54:
Mental Quickness - 3/3
55 - 59:
Maelstrom Weapon - 5/5
60:
Feral Spirit - 1/1
We are now moving to the Elemental tree.
61 - 65:
Concussion - 5/5
66 - 68:
Elemental Devastation - 3/3
69 - 70:
Elemental Warding - 2/3
71 - 75:
Elemental Fury - 5/5
76:
Elemental Focus - 1/1
77 - 80:
Reverberation - 4/5
Click here for the build. This spec is made for solo gameplay, keep that in mind when your asked for an instance, group, or whatever.
4. Abilities and Rotations
Always take weapons with the highest min/max. damage range. These are usually slow weapons.
1 - 9.
Rotation: Auto attack + Earth Shock. Pull with Lightning Bolt. Always keep up Lightning Shield.
10 - 19.
Rotation: Lightning Bolt, until the mob is near you, then spam Earth Shock while auto attacking. Again, always keep up Lightning Shield.
20 - 29.
From now on, we will be using a method I call ‘Shield Twisting’. All you do is keeping a balance between Lightning Shield and Water Shield. Water Shield gives mana, but more then we need. Lightning Shield gives free damage, so keep a nice balance between those two ability’s.
Rotation: Lightning Bolt, until the mob is near you, then spam Earth Shock while auto attacking.
30 - 39.
Rotation: Pull with Lightning Bolt, then Auto attack + Earth Shock.
40 - 49.
Okay, so you´ve made it to level 40. Ready to rock? Because now we get our key ability’s. Between these levels we get Dual Wield, Stormstrike and Lava Lash. The fun can now start!
Rotation: Stormstrike > Earth Shock > Lava Lash > Shield Twist.
Note: Although I call this a rotation; you’ll notice that, after a while, you’ll simply be using the first ability that pops up from the cooldown. That's why you'll see "priority list" instead of "rotation" next time.
50 - 75.
As explained up here, you’ll now rather have a priority list rather than a rotation.
Priority list: Stormstrike > Earth Shock > Lava Lash.
Whenever you have 4/5 or 5/5 Mealstrom Weapon, use Lightning Bolt or Chain Lightning, (use Chain Lightning only on AoE). Try to have the Stormstrike debuff on the target before pulling this one out. Do this when their is a gap between the cooldowns.
75 - 80.
Priority list: Stormstrike > Earthshock > Lava Lash.
Again, do a 5/5 Mealstrom Weapon when their is a gap between your cooldowns.
5. Tips
Instances.
Solo.
Professions.
6. Stats
In the following order: Stamina > Agility >Intellect > ManaPer5Sec > Strength.
-
1 - Stamina: Needed for health.
2 - Agility Needed for Attack Power and Critical strike chance. Also gives armor and dodge, but that's not why we're using it.
3 - Intellect: Needed for mana, also gives spell critical strike chance. Needed for everything, and gives attack power because of the talent Mental Dexterity.
4 - Mana Per 5 Seconds: You won't see this alot until outland, but Water Shield gives this, too. It basicly gives you a certain amount of mana every five seconds. But since patch 3.0 we see mana flowing in very smooth, but the term "MP/5" is still used.
5 - Strength: Needed for Attack Power. Since Shamans gained attack power from Agility, and Intellect, this stat has lost his power. Let's just say that this stat is not bad to take. But don't go for it.
7. Gear.
Here I will show some gear you can pick up while leveling, although this guide is aimed at solo gameplay, going to an instance or two isn't a bad idea.
Weapons & Shield's
Combinations have the same color, and are under each other.
10 - 20:
-
Lvl 15 - 2H - Rhahk'Zor's Hammer
Lvl 18 - 2H - Taskmaster Axe
20 - 30:
-
Lvl 20 - 2H - Arced War Axe
Lvl 20 - 1H - Butcher's Cleaver
Lvl 20 - Shield - Commander's Crest
Lvl 27 - 2H - Corpsemaker
Lvl 27 - Shield - Heart of Agamaggan
Lvl 30 - 1H - Pronged Reaver
30 - 40:
-
Lvl 37 - 2H - Ravager
Lvl 35 - 1H - Mallet of Zul'Farrak, Note: you can get this weapon at level 35, but this thing is very powerful. It can last 'till Outland. Imo, this weapon is a good choice you won't regret - Thanks to Lycander for letting me know about this weapon.
40 - 50, you can Dual Wield now.
-
Lvl 43 - 1H - The Hand of Antu'sul
Lvl 45 - 1H - Ripsaw
50 - 60:
-
Lvl 51 - 1H - Coldforged Hammer
Lvl 50 - 1H - Grizzle's Skinner
[A]Lvl 60 - 1H - Grand Marshal's Handaxe
[H]Lvl 60 - 1H - High Warlord's Bludgeon
For more items, use http://www.wowhead.com/
8. Totem quests.
Im not going to write a walkthrough for every quest, but I give the links to first part of the quests.
Call of Earth.
The earth totem quest for Orcs/Trolls
The earth totem quest for Taurens
The earth totem quest for Draenei's
Call of Fire
The fire totem quest for Orcs/Trolls
The fire totem quest for Draenei's
The fire totem quest for Tauren's
Call of Water
The water totem quest for Orcs/Trolls
The water totem quest for Taurens
The water totem quest for Draenei's
Call of Air
The air totem quest for Orcs/Trolls
The air totem quest for Taurens
If you by accident accept the quest that will teleport you on a mountain, don't be afraid and jump off the wooden plank, you will be teleported back to the quest giver!
The air totem quest for Draenei's
9. Glyph's
Click here for a list of Shaman glyphs.
The following glyph's are a good choice for enhancement:
Major - Glyph of Lightning Shield
Major - Glyph of Stormstrike
Major - Glyph of Shocking or Glyph of Water Mastery - Your choice.
Minor - Glyph of Water Shield
Minor - Glyph of Water Walking
Minor - Glyph of Ghost Wolf or Glyph of Water Breathing - Again, your choice.
Here are some addons specific for the shaman.
- Call of Element's [i]An addon which shows bars for your totems, tells you when you need to pull a totem, tells when your totems are destroyed and tells you when your weapon enchant is expired.
- ShieldsUp An addons which tells you when your Water Shield/Lightning/Earth shield fade's.
- Windfury Cooldown Timer
This addon shows the [b]invisible cooldown of Windfury, if you want, you can use Stormstrike or Lava Lash so that it can proc Windfury.
Click here for a list of shaman addons.
Useful Addons while leveling:
- RatingBuster, The design aim of RatingBuster is to provide detailed, meaningful and customizable information about items so you can easily decide for yourself which item is better.
- AutoProfitX , Adds a button to a vendor-window which, if you click on it, makes you sell all the gray items in your inventory.
- XBar, Makes bars for things like Tracks, Buffs, Companions, and of course, Totems!
- ArkInventory, is a bag addon, which allows you te create seperate windows for different stuff, also shows the vendor price of items.
.Special thanks to:
- Gotler
- Cyonna
- Jiyambi
- Zerox.
And especially Brune, he is a P.I.T.A, but knows alot about the shaman class, too 
.
~Trollvink.
[Enhancement] Raiding Guide. For beginners and advanced shamans.
Table of content.
- Foreword
- Your role
- Stats
- Gems
- Enchants
- Spells and ability's
- Talent builds
Foreword
Welcome to this guide! I've made this guide since wow-pro has very few shaman guides, and even less enhancement guides. This guide will focus on both getting your shaman ready for raids, and how to keep up in raids. I will show what gear you need, what stats to focus on, and what rotation (or priority list) you should use.
But first of all, I'll tell you what role an enhancement shaman has in raids.
Your Role
As an enhancement shaman you're obviously a DPS class, and a support class. The idea is that shamans boost the damage of the whole raid! Just look at our (raid/group) buffs, Enhancement shamans bring the following buffs:
- Strength of Earth - This totem gives 155 strength and agility to the whole raid! Horn of Winter overwrites it, but if the shaman is specced for Enhancing Totems, Strength of Earth becomes better, and will overwrite Horn of Winter.
- Windfury Totem - This is a totem that gives a flat 16% melee haste, can be improved which makes it on par with the the DK version.
- Unleashed Rage - This is a talent you, probably always, pick up. The expertise is good, and the 10% more AP is very strong, and almost passive (as you will crit in the time you have this buff). The same as the DK version. Any Enhancement shaman should always take this, the expertise it gives is more then welcome.
- Flametongue Totem - This is totem that increases the spellpower of those in range, since you will be hitting the boss, and casters standing at a distance, the pure caster classes won't gain the most out of it. You, on the other hand, get better shocks and lightning bolts / chain lightnings.
- Bloodlust / Heroism - This is our best buff. This is one of the major reasons to take a shaman to a raid. Don't forget to pop this during the essential burst times in a raid.
- Healing / Mana Stream Totem - Depending on your group setup(since this one is not raid wide), this can be a very strong totem, if your in a melee group, you can probably better drop Healing Stream, but if you're in a group that has mana problems, you can better use Mana Stream.
- Stoneskin Totem - This one is usually dropped by a resto shaman, but if you're in the group of the tank, this one is also an option if you're open to sacrifice some damage for more migation. You can still use Strength of Earth though, since the agility also gives some extra dodge. Anyhow, this is still a buff we can bring to a raid.
- Wrath of Air - Again, this is not a recommended totem, the haste more of use for casters, and those will probably don't get the buff. We have it, so I list it.
We still have a bunch of other totems, which I am not going to list here, since they are hardly used, click here for a list of totems.
This said, totems for the best buffs (for ourselves) are Strength of Earth, Flametongue Totem or Magma Totem, Windfury Totem and either Healing- or Mana Stream Totem.
- Magma totem for more personal DPS (Good tip from Brune: It's a 'leech' dps totem, place it while you have to do something else, like getting adds on a boss, while this stays on the boss)
- Flametongue totem if you really, really want to boost the casters' dps.
Stats
Now I will show what kind of stats we'll need to be succesful as a shaman. This goes from greatest to the least.
Hit Rating
The most important stat to cap, this should be the first stat that you stack and cap. You only want to hit the spell hit cap though, which also caps your Stormstrike and Lava Lash. Caps are as listed below.
The cap is 17%, 16% for Draenei. In a raid, the cap is 14%, 13% for Draenei due to the 3% hit from Shadow Priest and/or Moonkin.
In short:
17%- 446 hit rating.
16%- 420 hit rating (Draenei).
14%- 368 hit rating (Raid).
13%- 341 hit rating (Draenei Raid).
It should be noted that you should first cap for special attacks (8%), then get expertise capped, see below, and then get spell hit capped.
Expertise
Expertise reduces the chance that a mob can dodge and parry your attacks. In most raid situations you'll be attacking from behind so there is no chance of the target parrying, only dodging, and you'll want to reduce this to 0%.
The cap to make mobs not be able to dodge is 6.50%. So if you are going to attack from behind, the amount of Expertise Rating you need is as follows:
6.50%- 214 Expertise Rating or 26 Expertise
6.50%- 140 Expertise Rating (This is only if you have Unleashed Rage, which increases your Expertise by 9 (not rating). This will take dodge off of the table, and since you are attacking from behind, the mob will not be able to parry).
Agility/Intellect/Crit/Haste/Attack Power
After capping the above, you will want to raise these stats as high as possible without going under the above caps. This is mazimize your DPS overall.
Gems
Sometimes, a gem will have stamina. Stamina is somewhat less useful for raiding, then, for example, attack power. I list them, because they can be useful, but are not the best to take. I leave it up to you which gems are the best.
Red
Delicate Stormjewel
Bright Scarlet Ruby
Delicate Scarlet Ruby
Precise Scarlet Ruby
Bright Bloodstone
Blue
There are no good blue gems, the only useful blue gem would give stamina, which isn't even that much needed. You're much better of getting multi colour gems.
Yellow
Rigid Stormjewel
Quick Autumn's Glow
Rigid Autumn's Glow
Smooth Autumn's Glow
Perfect Quick Sun Crystal
Perfect Rigid Sun Crystal
Perfect Smooth Sun Crystal
Brilliant Autumn's Glow
Purple
Balanced Twilight Opal
Guardian's Twilight Opal
Shifting Twilight Opal
Green
Forceful Forest Emerald
Jagged Forest Emerald
Vivid Forest Emerald
Orange
Accurate Monarch Topaz
Deadly Monarch Topaz
Deft Monarch Topaz
Glinting Monarch Topaz
Pristine Monarch Topaz
Stark Monarch Topaz
Wicked Monarch Topaz
Meta
Chaotic Skyflare Diamond
Invigorating Earthsiege Diamond
Relentless Earthsiege Diamond
Swift Skyflare Diamond
Swift Starflare Diamond
Thundering Skyflare Diamond
Chaotic Skyfire Diamond
Enchants
Head
Arcanum of Torment
Arcanum of Ferocity
Shoulders
Chest
Enchant Chest - Powerful Stats
Enchant Chest - Super Stats
Cloak
Bracers
Enchant Bracers - Greater Assault
Enchant Bracers - Expertise
Gloves
Enchant Gloves - Precision
Enchant Gloves - Expertise
Enchant Gloves - Crusher
Belt
Leg
Boots
Enchant Boots - Superior Agility
Enchant Boots - Icewalker
Enchant Boots - Greater Assault
Weapons
Titanium Weapon Chain
Enchant Weapon - Berserking
Enchant Weapon - Mongoose
Enchant Weapon - Accuracy
Spells and ability's
I'll keep this one short and simple, this is all you need to know.
If abilities are on Cooldown, continue down the list to the next ability.
- Lightning Bolt if 5 stacks Maelstrom Weapon (Try to have the stormstrike debuff on the target, but don't do this if you need to burst down quickly (example: Emalon adds).
- Stormstrike
- Earthshock
- Lava Lash
- Refresh Totems and Shields
The best DPS is gained by having two slow weapons. Fast off-hands are not an option anymore, since the spellpower from Flametongue scales with speed (which means: slow = more).
For single target (like bosses) I use the Fire Elemental, and for AoE Magma Totem. If the Fire Elemental is on cooldown, I use Magma totem, too, on bosses.
Talent builds
- 16/55/0
This build is your basic Enhancement build. This build chooses mana regulation over damage. It uses water shield over lightning shield for mana regeneration. All of the raid support (Unleashed Rage and Improved Windfury Totem) is chosen incase no one else in your raid has them, or a replacement for them.
- 20/51/0
This build is for Shaman that don't need to worry about mana and have someone to cover 20% melee haste for them. It has Reverberation for an increased amount of Earth Shocks, which will be an increase in Dps. Lightning Shield is chosen for the increased damage.
- 16/55/0
This build is made for high damage output, it skips some of regeneration ability's, but sacrifices those for more damage.
- 16/55/0
This is a stock Enhancement build. It will provide great mana efficiency and allowing the use of Lightning Shield. Using Lightning Shield will increase your Dps, while all of the mana efficient talents will keep your mana bar rather full.
- 16/55/0
All essential raid buffs are taken for overall raid benefit. The Lightning Bolt glyph is taken for the increased LB damage that will come out of it. The Windfury Weapon Glyph is taken as well for an increase in Windfury procs.
Making your own build
If, for some reason, you'd like to make your own build, remember this good tip from Chriske:
Rule: When selecting talents for mana regen purposes the following is true on a per point basis.
Shamanistic Rage > Improved Stormstrike > Shamanistic Focus > Elemental Focus
That's it! With this information, you should be able to raid succesfully, goodluck!
[Resto] Cloud9's Shaman Pre-Raid Gear Guide
Hello and welcome to my pre-raid gear guide for restoration shamans. This guide is dedicated to you shamans who have just turned level 80 and want to start raiding as quickly as possible. Well, before you can enter raid instances like Naxxramas and preforme well, you need good gear. In this guide I have added the best gear you can get outside of raids, it is recommended that you attain most of the gear for each slot added in this guide before starting raids.
Head:
Helm of the Lightning Halls Bind on Equip
Battlemap Hide Helm HC Utgarde Keep
Helm of the Majestic Stag Kirin Tor - Honored
Neck:
Lattice Choker of Light 25 Emblems of Heroism
Titanium Spellshock Necklace Crafted
Amulet of Dazzling Light HC Nexus
Shoulders:
Epaulets of Market Row Bind on Equip
Mantle of the Tribunal HC Halls of Stone
Spaulders of the Violet Hold HC Violet Hold
Back:
Wispcloak Crafted
Shroud of Resurrection Utgarde Pinnacle Normal
Ancient Dragon Spirit Cape HC Oculus
Chest:
Robes of Crackling Flame Kirin Tor - Exalted
Dalronn's Jerkin HC Utgarde Keep
Revenant's Breastplate Crafted
Wrist:
Bands of Channeled Energy HC Nexus
Limb Regeneration Bracers HC DTK
Cuffs of Winged Levitation HC Oculus
Hands:
Grips of Fierce Pronouncements The Wyrmrest Accord - Exalted
Lightning-Charged Gloves HC Halls of Stone
Fiery Obelisk Handguards HC Old Kingdom
Waist:
Mail Girdle of the Audient Earth HC Halls of Lightning
Beadwork Belt of Shamanic Vision 40 Emblems of Heroism
Slad'ran's Coiled Cord HC Gundrak
Legs:
Kilt of Dark Mercy Knights of the Ebon Blade - Exalted
Skirt of the Old Kingdom HC Old Kingdom
Frozen Forest Kilt HC Nexus
Feet:
Sandals of Crimson Fury The Wyrmrest Accord - Exalted
Revenant's Treads Crafted
Cleric's Linen Shoes HC Nexus
Rings:
Band of Enchanted Growth HC Oculus
Titanium Spellshock Ring Crafted
Signet of Hopeful Light Argent Crusade - Exalted
Band of Guile HC The Culling of Stratholme
Trinkets:
Winged Talisman HC Halls of Lightning
Soul Preserver The Culling of Stratholme Normal
Spark of Life HC Halls of Stone
The Egg of Mortal Essence 40 Emblems of Heroism
2 Hand:
Staff of Draconic Combat HC Oculus
Staff of Wayward Principles HC UK
Staff of Sinister Claws HC Old Kingdom
1 Hand:
War Mace of Unrequited Love HC Nexus
Titansteel Guardian Crafted
Gavel of the Fleshcrafter HC The Culling of Stratholme
Off hand:
Zom's Crackling Bulwark Bind on Equip
Protective Barricade of the Light 35 Emblems of Heroism
Facade Shield of Glyphs HC Azjol'Nerub
Preforming good in PVE is not just about gear, it is also important that you choose the right spec, that you are using the best spell rotation and that you gem and enchant your gear correctly.
For talent spec, i recommend looking up at some good specs at wowhead, wowwiki and other sites, but you can't really go so much wrong in resto,
For gems you should be stacking Spell Power gems, forget the socket bonus, just throw in red gems, they will increase your healing the most. For totem you will be using Totem of Forest Growth which can be purchased for 15 Emblems of Heroism.
Thank you for reading and good luck raiding.