Enhancement Shaman DPS Stat Priority — Midnight Pre-Patch (12.0)

Welcome to our Stat Priority page for Enhancement Shaman in The War Within! Here we'll quickly be going over the stats you should aim for on gear, alongside any special considerations depending on your build.

Pre-Patch Disclaimer

Due to the Midnight stat squish, we're starting with an inflated amount of secondaries available. This means some recommendations here may not carry through to the full expansion, so bear that in mind.

Enhancement has two different Hero Talents, each with a slightly different preference for each stat. Generally however, you can get away with using the same gearset for both of them without losing much:

2.

Stat Priority for Enhancement Shaman

Stormbringer Stats Totemic Stats

2.

Stormbringer Stat Priority

Currently, when playing in either single-target or AoE, Stormbringer builds have the following stat priority:

1. Agility
2. Haste
3. Mastery
4. Critical Strike
5. Versatility

In Midnight, Agility is more valuable once again now that stats have been squished, so choosing items based on item-level is advised.

Due to Stormbringer's need to cycle through Maelstrom Weapon, even with the random chance to trigger Tempest in Midnight, Haste remains on top. Mastery is close behind due to the high amount of magic damage dealt by the tree and the extra need for Stormsurge procs.

The bonus Crit scaling provided by Stormcaller and Overcharge puts it ahead of Versatility, which remains at the bottom, though it comes with some defensive benefits.

You may find as you reach higher Haste levels (around 30-35%) that both Mastery and Critical Stike start to catch up, as you run into diminishing returns in the pre-patch.

2.

Totemic Stat Priority

Currently, when playing in either single-target or AoE, Totemic builds have the following stat priority:

1. Agility
2. Mastery
3. Haste
4. Critical Strike
5. Versatility

In Midnight, Agility is more valuable once again now that stats have been squished, so choosing items based on item-level is advised.

Due to Totemic sourcing a large amount of damage from Windfury Weapon and magic abilities, Mastery is consistently the strongest stat available. Haste comes in second for additional Maelstrom Weapon to fuel Totemic Momentum.

While there are some Crit scaling options, in the pre-patch these aren't taken, but it does still manage to edge out Versatility - though that comes with some small defensive bonuses.

Every stat has a limit where they will begin to offer less increase per point gained, which are known as the points of diminishing return. Once you have reached these amounts, stats will become progressively less valuable and may fall behind other options. The current breakpoints are:

• Critical Strike - 365 Rating
• Haste - 348 Rating
• Versatility - 365 Rating
• Mastery - 428 Rating

With the higher item level in the Pre-patch left over from The War Within, you will very quickly hit the first breakpoint on at least two stats. Be aware that these breakpoints often result in unusal sim results, and you should follow the recommendations.

If you are ever in doubt about what items to wear for any given situation, the only way to truly figure it out for your character is to use Raidbots. Here you can compare gear you already have, as well as items you don't.

Due to every character being unique with variables based on your current gear, it is much easier to trust its bespoke output rather than a general priority if you are looking to min-max your damage potential.

The best gems, enchants, and consumables are dictated by your stat priority, covered on our dedicated page:

As an Enhancement Shaman, Agility is your primary stat, which should be present on all Mail gear you wear, alongside your weapons. Individual stats provide the following benefits:

• Agility - provides you with Attack Power, which increases the damage of all of your melee abilities. Enhancement also converts this to Spell Power, increasing both spell damage and healing power.
• Critical Strike - increases the chance for your attacks and abilities to critically strike, dealing double damage.
  • Certain talents (e.g. Overcharge) increase this bonus damage above the base 200% multiplier.
  • Also increases the chance to trigger the Flurry effect from abilities.
• Haste - increases the speed of your melee autoattacks, increasing the frequency of Imbue procs and Maelstrom Weapon stack generation. Additionally:
  • Increases the tick rate of both Flame Shock and Surging Totem.
  • Reduces your Global Cooldown to a minimum of up to 0.75 seconds.
  • Reduces the cooldown of your Stormstrike, Lava Lash, and Crash Lightning abilities.
• Mastery - Mastery: Enhanced Elements increases all Fire, Frost, and Nature damage dealt. Additionally:
  • Increases the chance to proc Stormsurge and Windfury Weapon, scaling at a much smaller rate. The converted chance can be increased by 150% via the Storm's Wrath talent.
• Versatility - increases all damage and healing you do (including trinkets and proc effects) by a flat amount. Additionally, reduces all damage you take by half of that amount.