Shaman PvP Guides for WotLK Classic

Last updated on Oct 03, 2023 at 16:00 by Seksixeny 14 comments

Welcome to our PvP Shaman hub for Wrath Classic. Here you will find overviews of all viable PvP Shaman specs, learn about their strengths, weaknesses and best consumables and professions, as well as macros and addons for Shamans.

You can also find links to the detailed specialization guides below.

1.

Core Concepts for Shamans in Wrath Classic PvP

Being a Shaman in Wrath Classic PvP can be a completely different experience, based on your talents, although all specs will bring Bloodlust IconBloodlust, Purge IconPurge, Wind Shear IconWind Shear and Hex IconHex, which are some of the best PvP utility spells in the game.

  1. Elemental Shamans deal massive burst damage with Lava Burst IconLava Burst and Chain Lightning IconChain Lightning, have all standard Shaman utility, and can displace the enemy team with Thunderstorm IconThunderstorm, making them the best Shaman specialization for PvP, overall;
  2. Enhancement Shamans are also all about dealing massive burst damage, but require melee range for Windfury Weapon IconWindfury Weapon and are relatively easy to kite due to having limited movement options after Feral Spirit IconFeral Spirit expires;
  3. Restoration Shamans bring strong single-target healing if allowed to cast, but even without casting they can rely on Earth Shield IconEarth Shield, Riptide IconRiptide, and Nature's Swiftness IconNature's Swiftness to cover dangerous situations.

Overall, Elemental is one of the most meta specs in Wrath Arena, but Enhancement and Restoration also have their place, and have some compositions tailored to their unique skills, such as Beastcleave for Enhancement.

2.

Talent Builds for Shamans in Wrath PvP

Shamans have multiple viable talent builds in PvP, which come down to your favored specialization.

2.1.

Elemental Shaman PvP in Wrath Classic

Elemental Shaman is the most improved PvP specialization in Wrath with the introduction of Lava Burst IconLava Burst, Hex IconHex, Wind Shear IconWind Shear, and Thunderstorm IconThunderstorm, as well as new talents Astral Shift IconAstral Shift and Storm, Earth and Fire IconStorm, Earth and Fire and the rework of Elemental Warding IconElemental Warding, Eye of the Storm IconEye of the Storm, and Elemental Mastery IconElemental Mastery.

Having all of these new burst, control and utility tools on top of good old Grounding Totem IconGrounding Totem, Purge IconPurge, and Bloodlust IconBloodlust allows Shamans to survive, control and burst down enemies to win matches, with tools for every situation and multiple high tier compositions.

Our guide below will take you through what you need to know in order to play as Elemental in Wrath Classic PvP.

2.2.

Enhancement Shaman PvP Talent Build

As Enhancement you have access to many of the general Shaman tools listed above, but trade the ranged burst provided by Lava Burst IconLava Burst and Elemental cooldowns for a melee playstyle which generates Maelstrom Weapon IconMaelstrom Weapon stacks which can be used for extra DPS, healing, or crowd control with Hex IconHex, as required.

Even with talents such as Earthen Power IconEarthen Power and Frozen Power IconFrozen Power, Enhancement is often vulnerable to being kited and crowd controlled, and can have trouble landing its attacks outside of its major cooldown, Feral Spirit IconFeral Spirit. Its burst damage and ability to chase targets is extremely strong with Feral Spirit up and Bloodlust IconBloodlust, however, making Enhancement strong in compositions looking to rush down their targets in quick games.

Our guide below will take you through what you need to know in order to play as Enhancement in Wrath Classic PvP.

2.3.

Restoration Shaman PvP Talent Build

While Restoration can be a strong healer on paper, its main problems are a lack of mobility and a reliance on hard-casts of Lesser Healing Wave IconLesser Healing Wave and Healing Wave IconHealing Wave for high healing output, which opens their healing to interrupts or crowd control.

Even with this healing weakness, Restoration is on a stronger spot than it has ever been, as Earth Shield IconEarth Shield in Wrath only has individual stacks removed with enemy dispels, rather than the full shield. The addition of Riptide IconRiptide and Improved Earth Shield IconImproved Earth Shield adds more instant cast healing, and the new Wind Shear IconWind Shear is the only ranged interrupt in game that has a short cooldown, combining with Grounding Totem IconGrounding Totem and Purge IconPurge to make Shamans a nightmare for enemy casters.

Our guide below will take you through what you need to know in order to play as Restoration in Wrath Classic PvP.

3.

Shaman PvP Macros and Addons

Macros and Addons can greatly benefit your gameplay, especially in PvP where split-second decisions translate to wins. Macros lessen the time it takes for you to perform an action by combining two or more commands into a single button. Addons increase the amount of information you are receiving, allowing you to make better decisions on the fly.

We list below our guides for Shaman-specific Addons and Macros. While many of these are targeted toward PvE, they can also be quite useful for PvP.

4.

PvP Shaman Professions in Wrath

Engineering is the main recommended professions due to the high amount of burst damage or healing on demand provided by Hyperspeed Accelerators Icon Hyperspeed Accelerators, which has no equivalent in any other profession. Unfortunately other tinkers, such as Nitro Boosts Icon Nitro Boosts, do not work in the Arena.

Tailoring is also a very strong burst option, especially for Elemental Shamans, as the Lightweave Embroidery IconLightweave Embroidery proc is extremely powerful, and getting it at the right time will make killing the opposite team much easier. You can also use Elemental Mastery IconElemental Mastery while the proc is up to take advantage of it.

Outside of these professions, Jewelcrafting is the most flexible profession as it allows you to get any stat (even Resilience) with its unique gems, while the other non-mentioned professions provides throughput boosts through Attack Power and Spell Power bonuses.

5.

Shaman Arena Compositions

If you are interested in learning more about a variety of Arena compositions featuring a Shaman and its relative strength in PvP, please consult our guides on them below:

6.

Changelog

  • 03 Oct. 2023: Updated for Phase 4 release.
  • 21 May 2023: Reviewed for Phase 3 release.
  • 18 Jan. 2023: Reviewed for Phase 2 release ahead of Ulduar raid release.
  • 24 Sep. 2022: Page added.
Show more
Show less