Elemental Shaman DPS Spec, Builds, and Talents — The War Within Pre-Patch

This build is optimal for pure single-target situations especially.

Be sure to make use of the 'Copy Export String' button to import the best build directly into your game!

Note that currently the difference between optimal single-target and AoE/Cleave builds is one or two points, namely, dropping Elemental Equilibrium for Liquid Magma Totem loses little single-target and is an enormous AoE gain. If enough targets are going to be stacked regularly, Echoes of Great Sundering is also a tremendous gain, though you do lose Magma Chamber which hurts your single-target.

Note that this class tree purposefully ignores some utility talents, such as Purge. You should adjust this recommendation depending on what utility will be used in each encounter. There is a reasonable amount of flexibility in our class tree; you can and should adapt your utility toolkit to the content you intend on doing.

This build is optimal for significant multi-target situations, meaning Mythic+ and raid fights where important packs of adds will live for some time. Currently if you are speedfarming Awakened Raids, it is pretty much just Diurna because other adds just die too fast or are not important enough. For most raid fights that include AoE/Cleave elements, I would recommend dropping Echoes of Great Sundering for Magma Chamber, as you will simply not cast enough Earthquakes over the duration of the encounter.

Be sure to make use of the 'Copy Export String' button to import the best build directly into your game!

Note that this purposefully ignores some utility talents such as Cleanse Spirit or Purge. You should adjust this recommendation depending on what utility will be used in each encounter.

If you absolutely want to play a more lightning-heavy build, you can try the following but know that it is not very strong at the moment.

Be sure to make use of the 'Copy Export String' button to import the best build directly into your game!

Note that the class tree assumes a non-specific dungeon situation, so for raid encounters, you can spec out some utility to grab more useful points, or you might have specific utility needs not covered by this general recommendation.

We recommend you also check out our Dedicated Mythic+ Page.

There are multiple talents that require a change to your rotation in order to use them optimally. You can find more information on how your rotation will look after selecting your talents on our Dedicated Rotation page.

The following sections will give the author's opinion on the viability of every talent, including whether some are "automatic picks" because there is no circumstance where you do not want them. Note that several of the starting talents are picked for you; you do not actually have a choice in the matter. The point requirements to reach the next rows of talents also sometimes force picks. Note that these opinions are mostly focused on PvE.

Ability	Description/Effect
Chain Heal	It is never picked or used.
Lava Burst	It is automatically acquired when specializing.
Astral Shift	It is your main defensive cooldown. It is an Automatic Pick. Its cooldown is reduced by Flash of Lightning, which means that if you use it and Planes Traveler, you can expect to have it back up about a minute after it ends.
Chain Lightning	It is automatically acquired when specializing.
Earth Shield	It is very strong for solo play PvP and useful in most PvE circumstances. There are some things you may want to grab over it in raids and M+, but it should definitely be a default pick and probably alongside Elemental Orbit for solo play and PvP.
Wind Shear	It is your "kick." It is fairly unique in that its 30-yard range and 12-second cooldown are shorter than all other ranged characters. This makes Wind Shear one of the best interrupts in the game, and you should use it a lot. This is, again, not quite an automatic pick, as you will not need it in every raid fight. Outside of those, however, you should always pick it. Its cooldown can be massively reduced by Flash of Lightning.
Frost Shock	Outside of Icefury, you should only use this for movement when you have nothing else to cast, when you need the slow, or if you really need extra damage immediately. It is an automatic pick for any build using Icefury, for obvious reasons.
Capacitor Totem	It is your only way to stun targets. It is of great value (and an automatic pick) almost everywhere outside of raids and is even useful in some raid fights. Flash of Lightning significantly lowers its cooldown, allowing a very comfortable uptime in Mythic+ especially. It can backfire in PvP, however, by putting stun-diminishing returns on people when you do not want to.
Spirit Walk	It is very good in most circumstances. It competes with the more "fun." Gust of Wind, which has a much shorter cooldown. In practice, Spirit Walk tends to be overkill in PvE, but in some circumstances, you may favor it.
Gust of Wind	It is competing with Spirit Walk, so depending on the fight, you may want to pick that instead. Unlike Spirit Walk, Flash of Lightning can significantly lower its cooldown. This means that in practice, instead of having a third of the cooldown of Spirit Walk, it should be closer to a quarter if playing a Lightning-focused build. It also allows you to break falls and reach otherwise unreachable locations, which is very nice for solo play. Overall, it is a default pick unless you specifically want Spirit Walk.
Healing Stream Totem	It is nice to have for solo play and can make an appreciable difference in Mythic+ or even raids. In fights where healing is a struggle, it can help a little. Flash of Lightning can significantly lower its cooldown. You generally pick this if you have nothing more important to grab or because you need to path to Elemental Warding.
Earthgrab Totem	It is very handy in solo play, PvP, and sometimes in Mythic+. Not so much in raids, with a few exceptions. Flash of Lightning can significantly lower its cooldown.
Purge	It is occasionally handy in solo and rarely in raids, very useful in Mythic+ and PvP.
Greater Purge	It is very handy in PvP but is otherwise never picked.
Earth Elemental	It is an automatic pick. Its only real downsides are a long cooldown, and the taunt can potentially backfire, so you have to carefully choose your moment. The additional health alone makes it worth picking. Note that since Patch 10.0.7, it cannot taunt or pulse threats to enemies that are not in combat yet, making it significantly more comfortable to use in dungeons.

Ability	Description/Effect
Cleanse Spirit	It is occasionally useful in solo play, very handy in PvP, regularly used in dungeons and rarely used in some raid encounters.
Tremor Totem	It is mostly used in PvP and Mythic+. It has some use in solo play and rarely in raids, although when it works in raids, you definitely want it. Flash of Lightning can significantly lower its cooldown.
Hex	It is an automatic pick for Mythic+, PvP and solo play. It is rarely used in raids, but when you can use it is often mandatory.
Wind Rush Totem	It is a fantastic tool in raids where it is an automatic pick unless you absolutely need Earthgrab Totem. It is handy in PvP and Mythic+, but not as much for solo play unless you combine it with Spiritwalker's Grace or Earthbind Totem to kite things around. Flash of Lightning can significantly lower its cooldown.

Ability	Description/Effect
Spiritwalker's Grace	It is an Automatic Pick. It is a very helpful tool for movement which should be used to kite or to keep dealing damage when you have to move a lot. Flash of Lightning lowers its cooldown significantly. You might occasionally just want it for the movement speed to get somewhere quick, especially with Graceful Spirit.
Ancestral Guidance	Is an automatic pick with the talent tree rework, which made it much less costly to grab.
Thunderstorm	It is very good for solo play and PvP. It has niche uses in some raid fights and, especially combined with Thundershock, is very useful in Mythic+. Flash of Lightning can massively lower its cooldown.
Lightning Lasso	It is a strong pick for PvP. It is very good for solo play but competes with the formidable Thundershock, making it unpickable in Mythic+. Since you are unlikely to need Thundershock in raids outside of specific circumstances, Lightning Lasso can help lock out an add or deal a bit of damage while moving. Flash of Lightning can significantly lower its cooldown.
Totemic Projection	It is occasionally useful in PvP or to replace your Wind Rush Totem in raids. You often do not have anything better to grab while pathing to Stone Bulwark Totem.
Poison Cleansing Totem	It is theoretically useful in PvP or against certain enemies in Mythic+.
Totemic Recall	It is more or less an automatic pick and has three main uses: resetting your Liquid Magma Totem for heavy AoE situations, resetting your Stone Bulwark Totem totem for better survivability or getting another Wind Rush Totem for your raid. It can be used with any totem, so the potential is vast.
Stone Bulwark Totem	It is an automatic pick. It is not amazing by any means, but it synergizes with our other defensives.
Nature's Swiftness	In my opinion, it is an automatic pick in most circumstances. It is extra nice if you are using Elemental Blast as you otherwise always have to hard-cast it if Spiritwalker's Grace is not up. Flash of Lightning can significantly lower its cooldown.

Ability	Description/Effect
Planes Traveler	It is neck and neck with its sister talent Astral Bulwark. What is best entirely depends on the circumstances. Overall, if you are not sure what you need, Astral Bulwark is a better default pick. Advanced players may prefer this one, though.
Astral Bulwark	It is a great default pick, especially if you are not very familiar with the content, or if you prefer having a strong panic button over a lighter one that is available more often.
Spirit Wolf	It is somewhat niche compared to Thunderous Paws and should mostly be picked if you are going to stand in Ghost Wolf for several seconds in order to "tank" a powerful ability, like a Druid going into Bear Form. It can be nice during mechanics when you will not be doing any DPS, anyway. Because of the ever-increasing damage in high Mythic+, this talent can become mandatory at certain thresholds in order to survive certain unavoidable damage instances.
Thunderous Paws	It is more generally useful than its sister talent and should be a default pick, although if you do not think you will need the extra speed, you can safely pick something else.
Winds of Al'Akir	The bonus is too small/niche to have much use unless you really have a spare point and regular burst movement is important.
Elemental Orbit	It is excellent for solo play and PvP and becomes an automatic pick in all content if using Lightning Conduit unless you really need the points for other utility and end up dropping Earth Shield altogether. If you can spare the point, it is a nice way to provide a modicum of additional healing in Mythic+ and Raids.
Fire and Ice	It is an automatic pick. You always pick damage.
Ancestral Wolf Affinity	Might be worth something in PvP but is otherwise ignored.
Encasing Cold	Unlikely to ever be picked, even if it was buffed.
Arctic Snowstorm	Unlikely to ever be picked, even if it was buffed.
Brimming with Life	It is an automatic pick in every circumstance. Both benefits are very powerful.
Static Charge	It is an automatic pick for Mythic+. Depending on timings, it might be worth picking if you need Capacitor Totem for a raid encounter. Otherwise, you can mostly ignore it.
Guardian's Cudgel	It is mostly useful for solo play or some PvP compositions. Diminishing Returns on stuns make it much less useful if other people in your group also have stuns. It can backfire in PvP, however, by putting stun-diminishing returns on people when you do not want to.

Ability	Description/Effect
Elemental Resistance	You will probably pick this up to path to Elemental Warding unless you need Tremor Totem or Cleanse Spirit, but it is unlikely to make a difference as it is a very low duration, small situation buff, and its application is somewhat random. Badly designed.
Nature's Guardian	It is an automatic pick. There is no reason to ever not have this, especially for builds using Flash of Lightning.
Nature's Fury	It is an automatic pick. Major damage talent.
Refreshing Waters	Good for solo play or PvP, nice to have in other situations if you have spare points. You will always get Elemental Warding, so it is never needed to path to Spiritwalker's Grace.
Elemental Warding	It is an automatic pick. Most of the damage you will take is magic damage, especially outside of PvP, and it is a required pick to get Ancestral Guidance
Primordial Bond	It is an automatic pick. In Fire builds especially, that is going to be close to 5% permanent damage reduction.
Voodoo Mastery	It is mostly a PvP talent, although it might be handy on some specific M+ pulls.
Totemic Focus	Generally nice to have, but unless the radius is really handy, like on a raid boss where you really want a larger Tremor Totem or Wind Rush Totem radius, it is definitely a low priority.
Ascending Air	Useful if you need Wind Rush Totem more often or would benefit from a slightly longer effect. It is not a default pick unless you have a good reason for it but a solid upgrade nonetheless.
Jet Stream	The snare removal is potentially extremely powerful, and it is very nice on encounters where Wind Rush Totem is valued like Rasha'nan.
Enhanced Imbues	As long as you are picking either Improved Flametongue Weapon, Lightning Conduit or both (which should be always), you will pick this, making this functionally an automatic pick.

Ability	Description/Effect
Graceful Spirit	It is an automatic pick outside of PvP, where its sister talent is the automatic pick. Spiritwalker's Grace is very useful; getting it more often, and moving even faster with it is always going to be useful.
Spiritwalker's Aegis	It is an automatic pick for PvP and useless everywhere else.
Totemic Surge	Unless you will benefit from Seasoned Winds it is required to path to Totemic Recall, making it an automatic pick. It is a decent talent by itself and can really make the difference in getting key totems back when you need them, especially as it synergizes with Flash of Lightning.
Seasoned Winds	It is a very niche talent, but when it ends up useful, it is VERY strong. We will detail its specific uses in our dedicated M+ and Raid pages. Very strong for PvP as well, especially now that it does not have the opportunity cost of being a dedicated PvP talent anymore.
Mana Spring	Gives some Mana back to a few allies with a proximity requirement, and loses a lot of value if you do not use a Lava Burst -centric build. It is an okay default pick if Mana ends up being a concern at all, Note that multiple Mana Spring Totems' effects also do not stack.
Thundershock	It is a formidable variant of Thunderstorm, turning it into a reliable crowd-control ability without moving enemies and risking attracting additional hostiles. While advanced Shaman players have learned to put the regular Thunderstorm to good use; newer players should probably always pick this. The additional reliable crowd control is very welcome in Mythic+, in other circumstances, you are likely better off with the regular version.
Traveling Storms	Has a lot of potential but, unfortunately, only works on players. Not a default pick, but will definitely see some use.
Call of the Elements	More or less an automatic pick, though in raid situations, you may not need the extra cooldown.
Creation Core	Unless you have a very specific purpose in mind for it, get Call of the Elements instead.

Earth Shock/ Elemental Blast, Earthquake and either Fire Elemental or Storm Elemental are required picks. You cannot go down the tree without picking them all. Fire-focused builds take Fire Elemental, while lightning-focused builds take Storm Elemental.

Elemental Blast currently blows Earth Shock out of the water, and it is NOT close. Even if you love the mobility from Earth Shock, it simply does way too little damage right now to be used in PvE scenarios. It remains good in PvP because interrupts exist.

Fire Elemental is currently your default pick and is superior in most ways to Storm Elemental unless you are using a Lightning-Dominant build, in which case you likely have to use the latter.

Ability	Description/Effect
Icefury	Has been overhauled and is now much easier to use. It is currently very powerful and an automatic pick, most notably because Fusion of Elements is insanely strong.
Thunderstrike Ward	Currently not very good and unnecessary for pathing because Eye of the Storm is mandatory but entirely dependent on tuning. It also is one more maintenance buff to recast regularly...

Ability	Description/Effect
Ascendance	Is currently an automatic pick for every build.
Stormkeeper	It is an automatic pick for lightning-dominant builds and some hybrids, but the opportunity cost to path to it is too high for fire-dominant builds. Its single-target burst value remains significant when stacking multiple synergistic procs, but its multi-target value has been gutted by the overload rework. It is likely to remain a must-have for PvP.
Primordial Wave	It is a staple of fire-dominant builds and is an automatic pick for those in every situation.
Liquid Magma Totem	It is an automatic pick for Fire-dominant builds when any kind of significant stacked Cleave/AoE scenario will occur. If you pick it you should also grab Totemic Recall and Call of the Elements from the class tree if you did not already have them.

Ability	Description/Effect
Elemental Fury	It is an automatic pick for every build.
Flash of Lightning	It is an automatic pick in almost all situations. Not so good in PvP where you cast too few Lightning Bolts, but you want Icefury anyway. It reduces almost all your cooldowns. Here is the list: Stormkeeper Storm Elemental Reincarnation Astral Shift Thunderstorm Lightning Lasso Gust of Wind Wind Shear Spiritwalker's Grace Nature's Swiftness Totemic Recall Totemic Projection Nature's Guardian Earth Elemental Bloodlust Ancestral Guidance Cleanse Spirit Purge Greater Purge Hex Astral Recall ALL totems except Liquid Magma Totem It notably does NOT work on Spirit Walk
Lava Surge	Automatic pick for fire-focused builds but generally not worth the points for lightning-focused builds.
Aftershock	It is unreliable and requires reactivity and playstyle adjustments, but overall, it is very strong in most circumstances, especially in AoE. It pairs well with Elemental Blast. Currently, the default pick in most circumstances.
Surge of Power	It has been greatly weakened by the rework and is currently very difficult to justify unless you want additional Flame Shock spreading without picking Liquid Magma Totem.
Echo of the Elements	It is an Automatic pick for every build.
Unrelenting Calamity	It is an automatic pick for every build, if only as a pathing node.
Master of the Elements	It is an automatic pick. Reliable damage buff that works on any build and mandatory to path to multiple mandatory talents.

Ability	Description/Effect
Fusion of Elements	It is an automatic pick. It currently has many bugs and interactions that inflate its power; it is unclear whether they are intended or not. Either way, it will remain mandatory unless the interactions are neutered and the numbers on it lowered.
Storm Frenzy	It is an automatic pick for lightning-dominant builds but is not picked otherwise.
Swelling Maelstrom	It is an automatic pick. It is a great quality of life that allows you to pool more Maelstrom and not overcap, and now it also buffs your damage.
Flow of Power	It is an automatic pick despite being nerfed; every build really needs the extra Maelstrom gain.
Elemental Unity	It is part of our best single-target setup for raids. It can be an option for solo play or PvP.
Flux Melting	It is not good enough at the moment.
Lightning Conduit	It is an automatic pick, even for fire-dominant builds, if only because you want it to path to Eye of the Storm.
Power of the Maelstrom	It was gutted by the Mastery rework but is required to path to Echo Chamber and Stormkeeper, making it an automatic pick for lightning-dominant and hybrid builds.
Improved Flametongue Weapon	Does not stack with weapon runes. Automatic pick if you are playing a fire-dominant build.
Everlasting Elements	It is a solid talent, but points are tight, and in multi-target scenarios especially, fire-dominant builds already have a permanent Fire Elemental thanks to Skybreaker's Fiery Demise.
Flames of the Cauldron	It is an automatic pick for fire-focused builds and is otherwise ignored.
Eye of the Storm	It is an automatic pick apart from some fire-focused Mythic+ builds that do not use Elemental Blast either.
Echo Chamber	It is an automatic pick for lightning-dominant builds, but the opportunity cost is too high for fire-dominant builds.
Searing Flames	It is an automatic pick for fire-dominant builds. It is quite good by itself and is the only good way to get to Skybreaker's Fiery Demise.
Earthen Rage	It is currently very undertuned and never worth picking.

Ability	Description/Effect
Elemental Equilibrium	Requires using either Icefury, Elemental Blast or both. Since we recommend always using at least one of the two, this is an okay damage increase for lightning-focused builds and is mandatory for those not getting Echoes of Great Sundering, as you need one of the two in order to grab Lightning Rod.
Echo of the Elementals	It is an automatic pick for fire-dominant builds, even though it is not particularly powerful, you simply want it to path to Skybreaker's Fiery Demise.
Mountains Will Fall	It has been weakened by the overload changes but is still okay. It is a good default pick that is largely spec-agnostic and is mandatory to path to Echoes of Great Sundering.
First Ascendant	It is currently not good enough to compete with Preeminence unless the timing is absolutely perfect for the burst periods you want.
Preeminence	It is an automatic pick whenever you pick Ascendance.
Skybreaker's Fiery Demise	It is an automatic pick for fire-dominant builds, largely because of its extremely strong synergy with Elemental Unity Allows you to get permanent Fire Elemental in multi-target scenarios..
Magma Chamber	It remains quite strong, but the competition makes it difficult to justify for multi-target/cleave encounters for fire-dominant builds that also need Liquid Magma Totem and all the other fire talents. Automatic pick for lightning-dominant builds, however.
Splintered Elements	It is an automatic pick whenever you are picking Primordial Wave, so for any fire-dominant build. It is a large portion of the power of Primordial Wave.
Echoes of Great Sundering	It is an automatic pick whenever regular significant AoE/Cleave will be in play for all builds, especially if the "bonus" procs we get from Fusion of Elements are intended.
Deeply Rooted Elements	Remains too strong to ignore and is an automatic pick with all fire-dominant and most hybrid builds, no matter the target profile.
Lightning Rod	It is an automatic pick for lightning-dominant builds and is otherwise ignored.
Primal Elementalist	It is still fairly weak and not really worth the opportunity cost despite the various talents buffing elementals. Potentially still pickable for single-target encounters or occasional AoE if they occur with good timings for the elementals' special abilities.