WotLK Classic Elemental Shaman Guide

Last updated on Jan 02, 2024 at 22:44 by Seksixeny 1 comment

Welcome to our Elemental Shaman guide for WotLK Classic, tailored for PvE content. Here, you will learn how all you need to know to play Elemental Shaman proficiently. Click the links below to navigate the guide or read this page for a short introduction.

1.

Introduction

Elemental Shaman is an excellent support caster in Wrath Classic, having good ranged DPS on their own which starts off strong due to their strong talent tree, but scales worse than other casters in the long run.

They also provide powerful support totems such as Windfury Totem IconWindfury Totem, Wrath of Air Totem IconWrath of Air Totem, Strength of Earth Totem IconStrength of Earth Totem, Totem of Wrath IconTotem of Wrath, and have utility totems such as Tremor Totem IconTremor Totem and Cleansing Totem IconCleansing Totem that can keep allies safe.

If you would like to see where Shaman falls in the overall rankings among DPS specs for both PvE and PvP in Wrath Classic, we have created pages dedicated to explaining what classes and specializations are the best of the best through multiple factors. However, ultimately, you should not let these lists dissuade you from playing what you enjoy.

2.

Strengths and Weaknesses

V Strengths
  • +Able to burst on demand with Elemental Mastery IconElemental Mastery.
  • +Great AoE DPS and damage scaling, with a simple rotation.
  • +Shared gear with Restoration allows for easy swapping between healing and damage between encounters.
X Weaknesses
  • -Low mobility and survivability.
  • -Simple rotation can lead to boring gameplay.
3.

Best Races for Elemental Shaman

3.1.

Alliance

Draenei is the only race available. While it is not the most impactful Shaman races, it does provide useful benefits such as its 1% group Hit aura.

3.1.1.

Draenei

  • Gemcutting IconGemcutting increases your Jewelcrafting skill by 5.
  • Gift of the Naaru IconGift of the Naaru is an instant cast spell with a 3-minute cooldown that heals over time. Because it is free, it can be occasionally useful, and being on the Holy school allows you to cast it in PvP even while interrupted on Nature.
  • Heroic Presence IconHeroic Presence increases your party's chance to Hit by 1%.
  • Shadow Resistance IconShadow Resistance increases your Shadow Resistance by 10.
3.2.

Horde

Troll is the best race for PvE and also good in PvP, Orc is a great race for PvP, and Tauren is the weakest overall.

3.2.1.

Troll

  • Beast Slaying IconBeast Slaying gives a 5% damage bonus against Beasts.
  • Berserking IconBerserking is a 3-minute cooldown that gives you 20% increased attack and casting speed for 10 seconds.
  • Regeneration IconRegeneration gives +10% passive health regeneration and allows you to regenerate 10% of your total health regeneration during combat.

Trolls are a decent choice if your goal is to maximize your throughput, due to Berserking IconBerserking. Beast Slaying can also be useful against Beast-type enemies.

3.2.2.

Orc

  • Axe Specialization IconAxe Specialization increases your expertise by 5 while wielding an Axe.
  • Blood Fury IconBlood Fury is a 2-minute cooldown that increases your offensive stats for 15 seconds.
  • Command IconCommand increases your pet damage dealt by 5%.
  • Hardiness IconHardiness decreases the duration of stuns on you by 15%.

Orc is the go-to PvP race, due to Hardiness IconHardiness, which reduces the duration of stun effects. Blood Fury IconBlood Fury makes Orc a decent choice for PvE, serving as an extra cooldown and no longer reduces healing on you!

3.2.3.

Tauren

War Stomp IconWar Stomp is quite reliable in PvP, often allowing for an emergency Lesser Healing Wave IconLesser Healing Wave cast, but has few PvE uses. The 5% increased health from Endurance IconEndurance is useful, but minor.

4.

Best Professions for Elemental Shaman

In Wrath all professions have unique stat bonus benefits, with gathering professions giving the lowest and Engineering and Tailoring having the most powerful and flexible benefits. Jewelcrafting is a good choice before Epic Gems are available, whereas Blacksmithing becomes viable after you can obtain Epic Gems.

Engineering is great because of the unique Hyperspeed Accelerators Icon Hyperspeed Accelerators tinker, which gives 340 Haste for 12 seconds every minute. By using this extra Haste during your cooldowns or on difficult parts of a fight, you can get more benefit than the static stats of other professions. Engineering also provides multiple explosives for extra damage and Nitro Boosts Icon Nitro Boosts for a burst of speed!

Tailoring is also great due to the unique cloak enchant Lightweave Embroidery IconLightweave Embroidery, which provides a large damage boost, especially when its proc lines up with your cooldowns, potions, and Hyperspeed Accelerators Icon Hyperspeed Accelerators.

5.

Best Shaman Macros and Addons

Using macros and addons makes your life significantly easier when playing Wrath Classic, and they can improve your experience a lot, depending on how skilled you are at customizing them.

If you are interested in learning more about addons and macros suited to Shaman, check out our guides below:

6.

Changelog

  • 02 Jan. 2024 (gear page): Updated for Phase 5.
  • 01 Oct. 2023 (gear page): Updated for Phase 4.
  • 26 Sep. 2023 (pre-raid gear page): Added P4 best in slot items.
  • 11 Aug. 2023 (stats page): Fixed typo on 17% Spell Hit wording and added much more details on Spell Hit.
  • 11 Aug. 2023 (rotation page): Replaced Earth Shock with Frost Shock in rotation.
  • 11 Aug. 2023 (this page): Changed second recommended profession to Tailoring and Strengths / Weaknesses section.
  • 22 Jun. 2023 (talents page): Removed PvP talent and glyph references.
  • 12 Jun. 2023 (pre-raid gear page): Added P3 best in slot items and new page layout.
  • 23 May 2023 (gear page): Added P3 best in slot items and new page layout.
  • 23 May 2023 (enchants page): Updated for Phase 3.
  • 18 Feb. 2023 (talents page): Talent and glyph changes to account for Fire Elemental resetting on encounter end.
  • 11 Feb. 2023 (gear page): Re-added Phase 1 gear as an option for alt gearing before going into Ulduar.
  • 11 Feb. 2023 (talents page): Further talent, glyph and talent explanation improvements.
  • 18 Jan. 2023 (enchants page): Reviewed for Phase 2 release ahead of Ulduar raid release.
  • 18 Jan. 2023 (stats page): Reviewed for Phase 2 release ahead of Ulduar raid release.
  • 18 Jan. 2023 (rotation page): Reviewed for Phase 2 release ahead of Ulduar raid release.
  • 18 Jan. 2023 (spells page): Reviewed for Phase 2 release ahead of Ulduar raid release.
  • 18 Jan. 2023 (this page): Reviewed for Phase 2 release ahead of Ulduar raid release.
  • 17 Jan. 2023 (pre-raid gear page): Updated for Phase 2.
  • 17 Jan. 2023 (gear page): Updated for Phase 2.
  • 17 Jan. 2023 (talents page): Adjusted recommended talents with Ulduar in mind.
  • 12 Sep. 2022 (pre-raid gear page): Page added.
  • 12 Sep. 2022 (gear page): Page added.
  • 12 Sep. 2022 (enchants page): Page added.
  • 12 Sep. 2022 (stats page): Page added.
  • 12 Sep. 2022 (rotation page): Page added.
  • 12 Sep. 2022 (talents page): Page added.
  • 12 Sep. 2022 (spells page): Page added.
  • 12 Sep. 2022 (this page): Page added.
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