Elemental Shaman DPS Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities (Legion 7.3.5)

Table of Contents

• +Introduction
  • 1. Class Overview
  • 2. Patch 7.3 Changes for Elemental Shaman
  • 3. Patch 7.2.5 Changes for Elemental Shaman
  • 4. Elemental Shaman Strengths
  • 5. Elemental Shaman Weaknesses
  • 6. Elemental Shaman Viability in the Current Patch
  • 7. Contents
  • 8. ChangeLog
• +Easy Mode
  • 1. The Basics for Elemental Shaman
  • 2. Talent Choice for Elemental Shaman
    • 2.1. Single Target
    • 2.2. Multitarget
  • 3. Stat Priority for Elemental Shaman
  • 4. Basic Priority List for Elemental Shaman
  • 5. ChangeLog
• +Spell Summary
  • 1. Elemental Shaman Spell Summary
  • 2. Main Resource for Elemental Shaman
  • 3. Basic Abilities for Elemental Shaman
  • 4. Important Procs for Elemental Shaman
  • 5. DPS Cooldowns for Elemental Shaman
  • 6. Artifact Ability for Elemental Shaman
  • 7. ChangeLog
• +Builds and Talents
  • 1. Talent Choices
  • 2. Talent Cheat Sheets for Elemental Shaman
    • 2.1. The "Gambler"
    • 2.2. Icefury Build
    • 2.3. Lightning Rod Build
    • 2.4. Ascendance Build
    • 2.5. Mythic+
  • 3. Tier 1 (Level 15) Talents for Elemental Shaman
  • 4. Tier 2 (Level 30) Talents for Elemental Shaman
  • 5. Tier 3 (Level 45) Talents for Elemental Shaman
  • 6. Tier 4 (Level 60) Talents for Elemental Shaman
  • 7. Tier 5 (Level 75) Talents for Elemental Shaman
  • 8. Tier 6 (Level 90) Talents for Elemental Shaman
  • 9. Tier 7 (Level 100) Talents for Elemental Shaman
  • 10. ChangeLog
• +Artifact Traits and Relics
  • 1. Artifact Progression for Elemental Shaman — First 35 Points
    • 1.1. Early Point Investment
    • 1.2. Second Golden Trait
    • 1.3. Final Point Investment
    • 1.4. Patch 7.2: 35+ Trait Path for Elemental Shaman
  • 2. Relic Priority for Elemental Shaman
    • 2.1. Single Target
    • 2.2. Intermittent Cleave and AoE
  • 3. ChangeLog
• +Netherlight Crucible Relic Paths
  • 1. General Optimization Advice for Elemental Shaman
  • 2. Single Target Priority for Elemental Shaman
  • 3. Intermittent Cleave and AoE Priority for Elemental Shaman
  • 4. ChangeLog
• ×Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities
  • 1. Rotation for Elemental Shaman
    • 1.1. Single Target Rotation — Ascendance Build
    • 1.2. Single Target Rotation — Lightning Rod Build
    • 1.3. Single Target Rotation — Icefury Build
      • 1.3.1. Icefury Optimization
    • 1.4. Multiple Target Rotation
      • 1.4.1. 2 Targets
      • 1.4.2. 3 Targets
      • 1.4.3. 4 Targets
  • 2. Cooldown Usage for Elemental Shaman
    • 2.1. Ascendance
    • 2.2. Fire Elemental
    • 2.3. Stormkeeper
  • 3. Playing with Smoldering Heart as Elemental Shaman
  • 4. Managing Movement for Elemental Shaman
  • 5. Academic Information for Elemental Shaman
    • 5.1. Maelstrom Management
    • 5.2. Lava Burst and Flame Shock
  • 6. Opening Sequence for Elemental Shaman
    • 6.1. Ascendance Opener
    • 6.2. Icefury Opener
  • 7. ChangeLog
• +Boss by Boss Strategies
  • 1. Elemental Shaman Boss Advice: Antorus, the Burning Throne
    • 1.1. Garothi Worldbreaker
    • 1.2. Felhounds of Sargeras
    • 1.3. Antoran High Command
    • 1.4. Eonar the Life-Binder
    • 1.5. Portal Keeper Hasabel
    • 1.6. Imonar the Soulhunter
    • 1.7. Kin'garoth
    • 1.8. Varimathras
    • 1.9. The Coven of Shivarra
    • 1.10. Aggramar
    • 1.11. Argus the Unmaker
  • 2. Elemental Shaman Boss Advice: Trial of Valor
    • 2.1. Odyn
    • 2.2. Guarm
    • 2.3. Helya
  • 3. Elemental Shaman Boss Advice: Emerald Nightmare
    • 3.1. Nythendra
    • 3.2. Ursoc
    • 3.3. Elerethe Renferal
    • 3.4. Dragons of Nightmare
    • 3.5. Il'gynoth, Heart of Corruption
    • 3.6. Cenarius
    • 3.7. Xavius
  • 4. ChangeLog
• +Stat Priority
  • 1. Stat Priority for Elemental Shaman
    • 1.1. Gambler Build
    • 1.2. Ascendance Build
    • 1.3. Lightning Rod
    • 1.4. Icefury Build
  • 2. Statistics Explanations for Elemental Shaman
  • 3. ChangeLog
• +Gems, Enchants, and Consumables
  • 1. Gems for Elemental Shaman
  • 2. Enchants for Elemental Shaman
  • 3. Consumables for Elemental Shaman
  • 4. ChangeLog
• +Macros and Addons
  • 1. Addons for Elemental Shaman
    • 1.1. ElvUI
    • 1.2. Weak Auras
    • 1.3. Boss Mods
      • 1.3.1. BigWigs Bossmods
      • 1.3.2. Deadly Boss Mods
    • 1.4. Name Plates
      • 1.4.1. KUI Nameplates
      • 1.4.2. TidyPlates
    • 1.5. Damage Meters
      • 1.5.1. Skada
      • 1.5.2. Details
    • 1.6. Extra AddOns
      • 1.6.1. Mik's Scrolling Battle Text
      • 1.6.2. Death Note
      • 1.6.3. Doom CooldownPulse
      • 1.6.4. Angry Assignments
  • 2. Macros for Elemental Shaman
    • 2.1. Wind Shear
    • 2.2. Purge
      • 2.2.1. Mouseouver Earthquake
      • 2.2.2. Stopcast Gust of Wind
  • 3. ChangeLog
• +Gear, Legendaries, and Best in Slot
  • 1. Tier Set Bonuses for Elemental Shaman
    • 1.1. Tier 21 Set Bonus for Elemental Shaman
    • 1.2. Tier 20 Set Bonus for Elemental Shaman
    • 1.3. Tier 19 Set Bonus for Elemental Shaman
  • 2. Trinket Notes for Elemental Shaman
  • 3. Legendary Items for Elemental Shaman
  • 4. Best legendary combos for Elemental Shaman
    • 4.1. Single-target combos
    • 4.2. AoE combo
    • 4.3. Survavibility combo
  • 5. Loot Competition for Elemental Shaman
  • 6. ChangeLog
• +Battle for Azeroth
  • 1. Foreword
  • 2. Basic Mechanics Changes for Elemental Shaman in BfA
  • 3. Baseline Abilities & Changes for Elemental Shaman in BfA
  • 4. The BfA Elemental Shaman Talent Tree
    • 4.1. Level 15
    • 4.2. Level 30
    • 4.3. Level 45
    • 4.4. Level 60
    • 4.5. Level 75
    • 4.6. Level 90
    • 4.7. Level 100
  • 5. Azerite Traits for Elemental Shaman
  • 6. The Base Rotation for Elemental Shaman in BfA
  • 7. Multi-Target Rotation for Elemental Shaman in BfA
  • 8. ChangeLog

General Information

On this page, we list your Elemental Shaman core abilities and how they should be used together (rotation) in World of Warcraft Legion 7.3.5. We also explain when to use your various cooldowns. Then, we go deeper and present all the subtleties that you will need to know if you want to excel at playing an Elemental Shaman.

The other pages of our Elemental Shaman guide can be accessed from the table of contents on the right.

About Our Author and Reviewers

This guide has been written by Furty, who has an illustrious history in the World of Warcraft raiding scene and race for World First. He has been a member of guilds such as Serenity, Midwinter, and many more, and is currently raiding in Future. He plays most classes at the highest level. You can follow him on Twitter and watch him play on Twitch.

This guide has been written in collaboration with the team at Storm Earth and Lava, a group of Elemental theorycrafters that includes top players and prominent theorycrafters such as Stormy, Sadozai from Wizards IRL, and Gistwiki from Indestructible.

1. Rotation for Elemental Shaman

The rotation of an Elemental Shaman revolves around the following priority list.

1.1. Single Target Rotation — Ascendance Build

1. Apply Flame Shock if any of the following are true:
   • It is absent.
   • It will expire in 9 seconds or less, your Maelstrom is 20 or higher, and you have a stack of Elemental Focus.
2. Cast Totem Mastery if any of the following are true.
   • It is absent.
   • You are out of or moving out of range of a previous set of totems.
   • Your totems will expire within 3 seconds or less.
3. Cast Elemental Blast whenever available, regardless of whether Ascendance is active or not.
4. Cast Fire Elemental if it is off cooldown. Always pair your elemental with Haste buffs (e.g. Bloodlust) if possible, but do not sacrifice an extra usage by delaying your elemental.
5. Cast Earth Shock if Maelstrom is 117 or greater. If you are using the gambling build, cast at 70-75 Maelstrom outside of Ascendance.
6. Cast Lava Burst when Lava Surge is active, or if you have 2 charges of Lava Burst.
7. Cast Ascendance when available, providing you will not have to move during its duration or lose any active Stormkeeper stacks.
8. Cast Stormkeeper if you will be able to use all 3 charges of Stormkeeper.
9. Cast Lightning Bolt if Power of the Maelstrom is active and Lava Burst has fewer than 2 charges available.
10. Cast Lava Burst when available.
11. Cast Earth Shock if Maelstrom is 111 or greater and Lava Surge is not available.
12. Cast Lightning Bolt as a filler on a single target.

For more information on your opening sequence, please refer to our dedicated section.

1.2. Single Target Rotation — Lightning Rod Build

1. Apply Flame Shock if any of the following are true:
   • It is absent.
   • It will expire in 9 seconds or less, your Maelstrom is 20 or higher, and you have a stack of Elemental Focus.
2. Cast Totem Mastery if any of the following are true.
   • It is absent.
   • You are out of or moving out of range of a previous set of totems.
   • Your totems will expire within 3 seconds or less.
3. Cast Elemental Blast whenever available, regardless of whether Ascendance is active or not.
4. Cast Fire Elemental if it is off cooldown. Always pair your elemental with Haste buffs (e.g. Bloodlust) if possible, but do not sacrifice an extra usage by delaying your elemental.
5. Cast Earth Shock if Maelstrom is 117 or greater.
6. Cast Stormkeeper whenever available.
7. Cast Lightning Bolt if Power of the Maelstrom is active and Lava Burst has fewer than 2 charges available.
8. Cast Lava Burst whenever available.
9. Cast Earth Shock if Maelstrom is 111 or greater and Lava Surge is not available.
10. Cast Liquid Magma Totem whenever available. Delay the usage if multiple targets will be present within the span of its cooldown.
11. Cast Lightning Bolt as a filler on a single target.

For more information on your opening sequence, please refer to our dedicated section.

1.3. Single Target Rotation — Icefury Build

1. Apply Flame Shock if any of the following are true:
   • It is absent.
   • It will expire in 9 seconds or less, your Maelstrom is 20 or higher, and you have a stack of Elemental Focus.
2. Cast Totem Mastery if any of the following are true.
   • It is absent.
   • You are out of or moving out of range of a previous set of totems.
   • Your totems will expire within 3 seconds or less.
3. Cast Elemental Blast whenever available, regardless of whether Ascendance is active or not.
4. Cast Fire Elemental if it is off cooldown. Always pair your elemental with Haste buffs (e.g. Bloodlust) if possible, but do not sacrifice an extra usage by delaying your elemental.
5. Cast Icefury when available if both of the following are true:
   • You are below 101 Maelstrom
   • You will be able to use all 4 Frost Shocks before they expire.
6. Cast Frost Shock if your Maelstrom is 20 or higher and you have a stack of Icefury.
7. Cast Earth Shock if Maelstrom is 117 or greater.
8. Cast Stormkeeper whenever available.
9. Cast Lava Burst when Lava Surge is active, or if you have 2 charges of Lava Burst.
10. Cast Lightning Bolt if Power of the Maelstrom is active and Lava Burst has fewer than 2 charges available.
11. Cast Lava Burst.
12. Cast Earth Shock if Maelstrom is 111 or greater and Lava Surge is not available.
13. Cast Lightning Bolt as a filler on a single target.

For more information on your opening sequence, please refer to our dedicated section.

1.3.1. Icefury Optimization

Icefury is best put to use on encounters where increasing our pressure on high priority adds is a necessity, or when movement is very high. We do not want to delay our usage by too long, however we can optimize our Icefury by ensuring the charges are available during periods of predictable movement.

It is best to use Icefury in combination with either or both of the Elemental Focus and Earthen Strength (Tier 21 2-piece bonus). Earthen Strength activates when Lava Burst connects with the target, rather than on a successful cast completion. This means to successfully consume the buff using a Frost Shock, it is best to be at mid-range so that your Lava Burst will connect as soon as possible.

Do not worry about optimizing around Elemental Focus and Earthen Strength too much unless you are already very comfortable with the rest of the rotation. As we are stacking Critical Strike, many of our Frost Shocks will be naturally empowered with these buffs without having to play around them. Seasoned players may be able to generate a slight amount of extra damage by optimizing their Lava Burst timings before each Frost Shock, however this can result in a DPS loss if done incorrectly.

1.4. Multiple Target Rotation

If Lightning Rod is being used, every cast of Lightning Bolt or Chain Lightning should be used on a target not yet affected by the Lightning Rod debuff, or the target with the lowest duration on their debuff. This will allow you to fully realize the effectiveness of this talent and maximize your damage output.

Once Static Overload has been unlocked, Maelstrom generation can be very spiky depending on your RNG, so beware Maelstrom capping by accident.

1.4.1. 2 Targets

1. Cast Liquid Magma Totem (if talented).
2. Apply and maintain Flame Shock on both targets.
3. Cast Earthquake at 50+ Maelstrom if the targets will remain in the zone for its duration. If you have BOTH The Deceiver's Blood Pact and Echoes of the Great Sundering, you should instead spend Maelstrom on Earth Shock.
4. Follow the single target priority, however, replace any filler casts of Lightning Bolt with Chain Lightning if it will hit both targets.

1.4.2. 3 Targets

1. Cast Liquid Magma Totem (if talented).
2. Cast Elemental Blast (if talented) on cooldown.
3. Apply and maintain Flame Shock on all targets.
4. Only cast Lava Burst when Lava Surge is available.
5. Cast Earthquake at 50+ Maelstrom (multiple instances of this spell overlap) if the targets will remain in the zone for its duration. If you have BOTH The Deceiver's Blood Pact and Echoes of the Great Sundering, you should instead spend Maelstrom on Earth Shock.

1.4.3. 4 Targets

1. Cast Liquid Magma Totem (if talented).
2. Spend all Maelstrom on Earthquake.
3. Cast Chain Lightning to generate Maelstrom.

2. Cooldown Usage for Elemental Shaman

Before using each of your cooldowns, you should take special care to consider several factors. Our offensive cooldowns have lengthy recharge times, but when correctly utilized, can be responsible for a large percentage of our damage output. You should always take into account:

• Your raid's Bloodlust/ Heroism/ Time Warp usage.
• The mechanics of the current boss, including intermissions and abilities that necessitate movement.
• The spawn timers of any adds that might be present, as we may want to use or delay certain cooldowns with respect to cleave and AoE.

2.1. Ascendance

There are a few things to consider before each Ascendance usage.

• ensure Flame Shock will last the duration of Ascendance;
• ensure no boss mechanics will interfere, such as intermissions, boss movement, or mechanics that will force you to move;
• try to begin with as little Maelstrom as possible;
• clear Lava Surge if active, and any remaining Lava Burst charges;
• cast Elemental Blast immediately before activating Ascendance.

It is always worth it to recast Elemental Blast during your Ascendance. Do not let yourself Maelstrom cap either; be sure to cast Earth Shock when you rise above 117 Maelstrom.

It is more efficient to spend your time in Ascendance casting Lava Burst instead of Lava Beam. Even if there is intermittent cleave on an encounter, try to use Ascendance during single target portions of the fight.

2.2. Fire Elemental

Fire Elemental has a very long cooldown, and its usage should be considered carefully. The best time to use this cooldown is always during periods of increased Haste or damage, and therefore we typically will pair it with the Bloodlust/ Heroism/ Time Warp usage. That said, we never want to lose a potential usage of Fire Elemental by delaying it for maximum efficacy. For example, on an encounter that lasts 6 minutes, you would use Fire Elemental immediately on the pull and once again as soon as it is off cooldown, regardless of when Bloodlust is used.

2.3. Stormkeeper

Stormkeeper is used more or less on cooldown on single target encounters, provided it does not interfere with more important rotational abilities, such as Elemental Blast.

On multitarget fights, or fights with intermittent cleave and AoE, it is more efficient to delay your Stormkeeper (up to 30-40 seconds) until you are able to Chain Lightning the adds. A great example in Antorus is Portal Keeper Hasabel; you should always be delaying Stormkeeper for Transport Portals rather than using it immediately on cooldown.

3. Playing with Smoldering Heart as Elemental Shaman

Smoldering Heart is an extremely dominant legendary item that is used on most encounters. Spending Maelstrom grants a 0.10% chance per Maelstrom consumed to grant Ascendance for 10 seconds. This means, assuming you correctly follow the above rotation, that your abilities have the following chance to proc Ascendance:

• Earth Shock has a 10% chance;
• Earthquake has a 5% chance;
• Flame Shock has a 2% chance;
• Frost Shock has a 2% chance.

Regardless of what talent setup you are using, you should play as if you had Ascendance talented whenever this legendary procs. If you are playing with Lightning Rod and there are multiple targets in Chain Lightning range, you should use Lava Beam, as it can apply and trigger Lightning Rod.

4. Managing Movement for Elemental Shaman

Elemental is notoriously hampered by encounters with very high movement, as much of our burst damage as well as multitarget is only effective if we are able to stand still for the duration. While Icefury has mitigated this weakness to a certain extent, correctly playing around movement remains forefront to success for Elemental Shamans. Always make an effort to proactively position yourself to reduce potential movement from mechanics. Keep careful track of boss timers and mechanics, as they can spell disaster for your damage if you are targeted during a damage dump.

5. Academic Information for Elemental Shaman

5.1. Maelstrom Management

You should avoid casting Lava Burst above 113 Maelstrom and Icefury above 101 Maelstrom. These limits are the maximum Maelstrom you can have before casting those spells to not overcap Maelstrom without an overload proc (Mastery). It is likely these spells will overload at raid levels of gear, therefore, if you cast Lava Burst at 113 Maelstrom or Icefury at 101 Maelstrom it is likely you will overcap Maelstrom and waste valuable resources. In practice, it is safer to cast these spells at lower Maelstrom than their limits to avoid wasting your overload procs. The key to success is managing all of your separate procs without overcapping Maelstrom.

5.2. Lava Burst and Flame Shock

The reason why Flame Shock should always be up on your target is because:

• each tick has a chance to proc Lava Surge, which resets the cooldown of Lava Burst;
• your Lava Burst will always critically hit if Flame Shock is on the target. This is very important due to your Elemental Focus and Elemental Fury passives.

You should only cast Lava Burst when Flame Shock is active on the target, or the target will live for less than 6 seconds. Flame Shock ticks every 2 seconds without accounting for Haste, meaning that you have to take advantage of Lava Surge within one global cooldown to avoid potentially wasting a new Lava Surge proc from the next Flame Shock tick. By the same token, casting Lava Burst immediately as it comes off cooldown is also imperative so that Lava Surge is not wasted while Lava Burst is off cooldown.

Flame Shock's duration is based off of Maelstrom. While it technically costs no Maelstrom to cast, you will spend up to 20 Maelstrom applying it if it is available. Flame Shock lasts 15 seconds when you have 0 Maelstrom, and 30 seconds when you have 20 Maelstrom. For every additional point of Maelstrom you have above 0 your Flame Shock will be extended by 5%, up to a maximum of 100% extension at 20 Maelstrom.

Flame Shock benefits from Pandemic, meaning that you can refresh it any time that it has less than 30% of its original maximum duration remaining and the remaining duration will be added to the new debuff. Therefore, if you apply a Flame Shock with the maximum value of 20 Maelstrom (30-second duration), you will be able to refresh it without wasting any duration when it has 9 seconds or less remaining, and it will be extended by 30 seconds. For example, if your Flame Shock had 6 seconds left, and you refreshed it with a 20 Maelstrom Flame Shock, your new Flame Shock would last 36 seconds.

Always try to re-apply Flame Shock with an Elemental Focus buff if possible.

6. Opening Sequence for Elemental Shaman

6.1. Ascendance Opener

1. Cast Totem Mastery 4.5 seconds before the pull.
2. Cast Fire Elemental 3 seconds from the pull.
3. Use Potion of Prolonged Power.
4. Pre-cast Lightning Bolt at 2s from the pull.
5. Apply Flame Shock.
6. Cast Lava Burst.
7. Cast Lava Burst.
8. Cast Elemental Blast.
9. Apply Flame Shock again.
10. Activate and racial abilities or on use trinkets.
11. Activate Ascendance and spam Lava Burst. Re-cast Elemental Blast when it comes off of cooldown. Cast Earth Shock when you Maelstrom cap.
12. Use Earth Shock when Ascendance ends.
13. Proceed with normal priority.

6.2. Icefury Opener

1. Cast Totem Mastery 4.5 seconds before the pull.
2. Cast Fire Elemental 3 seconds from the pull.
3. Use Potion of Prolonged Power.
4. Pre-cast Elemental Blast at 2s from the pull.
5. Apply Flame Shock.
6. Cast Lava Burst.
7. Activate and racial abilities or on use trinkets.
8. Proceed with normal priority.

7. ChangeLog

• 15 May 2018: Added Earth Shock usage for gambling build to basic Ascendance Rotation, changed Lightning Bolt to Lightning Rod in Playing with Smoldering Heart section, fixed Flame Shock priority in Icefury Opener.
• 02 Mar. 2018: Fixed a typo in Ascendance APL.
• 19 Feb. 2018: Complete renovation of page layout and content.
• 29 Aug. 2017: Small change for Patch 7.3: Added Earthquake to 2-target rotation.
• 24 Jun. 2017: Updated Maelstrom Management section slightly.
• 21 Jun. 2017: Updated openers, action priority lists, and cooldown usage.
• 14 Jun. 2017: Removed mention of Earthquake on single-target as it no longer gains ticks based on Haste.
• 19 Apr. 2017: Added Earthquake on single-target section based on new theorycraft. Modified rotations based on the new builds we present in the talents page.
• 27 Mar. 2017: No changes needed for Patch 7.2.
• 09 Jan. 2017: Fully updated rotation page for Patch 7.1.5.
• 01 Dec. 2016: Split guide into single & multi target sections for clarity. Added two separate opening sequences for different Tier 7 talents.
• 25 Oct. 2016: Updated Stormkeeper section to note that it now has a 1.5-second cast and affected spells are now instant in Patch 7.1.
• 29 Aug. 2016: Updated for Legion's launch.
• 18 Jul. 2016: Updated for the Legion pre-patch.

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