Enhancement Shaman Leveling Guide from 1 to 80 — Midnight Pre-Patch (12.0)

Last updated Yesterday at 18:00 by Wordup 51 comments

On this page, you will find our Level by Level Enhancement Shaman leveling guide for The War Within. Make sure to use the slider to make the guide adapt to your level. For more general leveling information, please refer to our Shaman leveling guide.

1.

Enhancement Shaman Leveling Guide for The War Within

Welcome to our Enhancement Shaman Leveling Guide for The War Within! This will help you in your journey to max level, covering talents and abilities you should know about.

Pre-Patch Disclaimer While in the Pre-patch, this page is still geared toward leveling up from 1-80. It will be updated closer to release with information on the 80-90 process.
1.1.

Enhancement Shaman Leveling Playstyle

Enhancement Shaman is very flexible when leveling, being suited to questing due to its extremely high mobility and ability to handle large pulls, using its self-healing to stay healthy. With big, versatile cooldowns such as Bloodlust Icon Bloodlust and Earth Elemental Icon Earth Elemental, it also has no problem dealing with particularly dangerous elites either. It also picks up AoE tools very early, suiting it well to dungeons as early as level 15, though you may find your queues go faster if you do so as Restoration to heal instead.

1.2.

Gear Options

When leveling up, you should always choose the piece of loot with the highest item level. You will often be replacing these gear pieces very quickly, so just equip whatever comes to you without worrying about secondary stats.

2.

Best Leveling Talents For Enhancement Shaman

During levels 1 to 9, you will have very few abilities to fight with, notably Lightning Bolt Icon Lightning Bolt, Flame Shock Icon Flame Shock and Primal Strike Icon Primal Strike. This will change at level 10 when you can select Enhancement as your specialization and begin to unlock additional abilities in the talent tree. Lightning Shield Icon Lightning Shield will also be unlocked at level 9.

At level 10, you will immediately be granted Stormstrike Icon Stormstrike - a replacement for Primal Strike Icon Primal Strike. This is the backbone of your melee rotation, and is used extensively throughout. Your first spec tree point is Maelstrom Weapon Icon Maelstrom Weapon, providing us a way to cast spells instantly.

Your talents can be changed anywhere in the world as long as you are out of combat. Be sure to explore various combinations of talents at will while leveling to get a feel of the gameplay flow. We have provided a sample leveling path below that balances core mechanics and complexity to introduce you smoothly.

Use the Copy button below to generate an Import Code to use in-game!

Enhancement Leveling - Level 70 Starting Talents
CcQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMzMDjZmZmZmhZmZAAAAAAAAAsBAAAAAAAzyMmxYZZGYmZhFzMzwYZMDAwMMmZYEAYwA
3.

Level by Level Rotation for Enhancement Shaman

To help with understanding what changes as you level up and progress through the talent tree, use the slider below to select your current level. Each time you level up, move it along, and the section will level up with you!

4.

Enhancement Level-by-Level Tips

Move the slider below to make the guide update to your level!

Level: 70

After reaching level 71 and unlocking Hero Talents, we recommend playing with Stormbringer to gain access to Tempest Icon Tempest. If you're jumping in at the start of The War Within campaign to get ready for the Midnight release, the import code above will provide you with a build ready to get started.

3.1.

Key Concepts

As you level and populate the talent tree, Enhancement will progressively have more unique mechanics outside of its rotation to bear in mind. This section will grow alongside the slider with each level.

  • Remember to Recuperate! - Whenever you're low on health between pulls, you can use the Recuperate Icon Recuperate ability available to all classes to quickly recover.
  • Reach Level 10 First - Due to Enhancement only being unlocked as a talent specialization at Level 10, you should use the abilities provided to you in the intro quests until you are presented with the option.
  • Understand Maelstrom Weapon - It's important to learn early that you should only ever commit to casting spells when at 5 stacks of Maelstrom Weapon Icon Maelstrom Weapon or above, making them instant. Stacks are spent on Lightning Bolt Icon Lightning Bolt in single-target, and Chain Lightning Icon Chain Lightning in AoE.
  • Always be Imbued! - A core part of the Enhancement toolkit are weapon imbues. Make sure to have Flametongue Weapon Icon Flametongue Weapon applied at all times.
  • Always be Imbued! - A core part of the Enhancement toolkit are weapon imbues. Make sure to have Flametongue Weapon Icon Flametongue Weapon and Windfury Weapon Icon Windfury Weapon applied at all times. These spells will naturally cast onto the appropriate weapon in your main and off-hand.
  • Always be Imbued! - A core part of the Enhancement toolkit are weapon imbues. Make sure to have Flametongue Weapon Icon Flametongue Weapon and Windfury Weapon Icon Windfury Weapon applied at all times. Lightning Shield Icon Lightning Shield will automatically apply these through Instinctive Imbuements Icon Instinctive Imbuements.
  • Don't forget Buffs! - Keep yourself buffed with Skyfury Icon Skyfury for the additional Mastery and auto-attack procs. Remember to recast this every 60 minutes, or if you enter a dungeon with new party members.
  • Use your Shield - Make sure to keep Lightning Shield Icon Lightning Shield active at all times for the extra Maelstrom Weapon Icon Maelstrom Weapon and damage when being struck.
  • Use your Shields - Make sure to keep Lightning Shield Icon Lightning Shield active at all times for the extra Maelstrom Weapon Icon Maelstrom Weapon and damage when being struck. Also, thanks to Elemental Orbit Icon Elemental Orbit, you can keep Earth Shield Icon Earth Shield active at the same time for additional healing.
  • Use your Shields - Make sure to keep Lightning Shield Icon Lightning Shield active at all times for the extra Maelstrom Weapon Icon Maelstrom Weapon and damage when being struck. Instinctive Imbuements Icon Instinctive Imbuements will also apply Earth Shield Icon Earth Shield, which is permanent via Therazane's Resilience Icon Therazane's Resilience. Refresh this every hour.
  • Pull around big cooldowns - Use Bloodlust Icon Bloodlust whenever you are up against dangerous enemies, or have pulled a large pack and need to burst it down quickly.
3.2.

Dynamic Priority List

Below is a sample priority list to keep track of which abilities to press:

  1. Cast Flame Shock Icon Flame Shock when engaging enemies.
  2. Cast Voltaic Blaze Icon Voltaic Blaze when engaging enemies.
  3. Cast Tempest Icon Tempest with charges available and 8+ Maelstrom Weapon Icon Maelstrom Weapon.
  4. Cast Doom Winds Icon Doom Winds on cooldown, ideally against elites and large groups of enemies.
  5. Cast Lightning Bolt Icon Lightning Bolt if at 5+ stacks of Maelstrom Weapon Icon Maelstrom Weapon. Switch to Chain Lightning Icon Chain Lightning in AoE.
  6. Cast Lightning Bolt Icon Lightning Bolt if at 5+ stacks of Maelstrom Weapon Icon Maelstrom Weapon. Switch to Chain Lightning Icon Chain Lightning in AoE.
  7. Cast Primal Strike Icon Primal Strike.
  8. Cast Crash Lightning Icon Crash Lightning on cooldown.
  9. Cast Stormstrike Icon Stormstrike.
  10. Cast Lava Lash Icon Lava Lash.
  11. Cast Voltaic Blaze Icon Voltaic Blaze.
  12. Cast Lightning Bolt Icon Lightning Bolt if at 5+ stacks of Maelstrom Weapon Icon Maelstrom Weapon.
3.2.

Survival Tools

Enhancement also has a robust toolkit for surviving different situations through a variety of spells and effects:

  • We can use our Maelstrom Weapon Icon Maelstrom Weapon stacks to generate Raging Maelstrom Icon Raging Maelstrom stacks, which make Healing Surge Icon Healing Surge instant. If you're in danger, spend these to stay healthy.
  • Earth Elemental Icon Earth Elemental is your own personal pocket tank for emergencies, and will taunt nearby enemies to take the pressure off. This lasts for 30 seconds, making it great for dangerous elites. Avoid taking Primordial Bond Icon Primordial Bond when solo to keep this effect.
  • Earth Shield Icon Earth Shield gives us passive healing, and even boosts Self-healing while maintained. The Maelstrom Weapon Icon Maelstrom Weapon gained from having Lightning Shield Icon Lightning Shield active is generally more useful.
  • Earth Shield Icon Earth Shield gives us passive healing, and even boosts self-healing while maintained.
  • Earth Shield Icon Earth Shield gives us passive healing, and even boosts self-healing while maintained, and doesn't lose charges anymore in Midnight thanks to Therazane's Resilience Icon Therazane's Resilience.
  • Reincarnation Icon Reincarnation lets us get straight back up if you ever die but has a lengthy 30-minute cooldown. If you ever go a bit overboard, use this to get back right to where you started without needing to run back. Just be careful - you spawn with low Health, so if enemies are nearby, it might be worth walking instead.
3.2.

War Mode Talents to Level Up as an Enhancement Shaman

If you are willing to take the risk and utilize War Mode, the following PvP talents are recommended during leveling or for other open-world content. There may be times when you would like to use other options and are encouraged to experiment! PvP talents can be freely changed at any time.

Your first PvP talent slot will unlock at Level 20, your second at Level 30, and the final at Level 40.

3.2.1.
  • Level 20:Counterstrike Totem Icon Counterstrike Totem lets you pull aggressively and deal the damage back to enemies, using your own Health as a resource!
  • Level 30:Burrow Icon Burrow is a good option as an extra movement and opening burst tool, and can also be used as emergency survival.
  • Level 40: Lightning Lasso Icon Lightning Lasso grants an extra stun against dangerous enemies, and a little extra damage while channelling. There's not a lot of good options early on though so mightaswell pick this up while we wait to gain access to Shamanism Icon Shamanism at Level 48.
  • Level 48+:Shamanism Icon Shamanism unlocks when we gain Bloodlust Icon Bloodlust at 48, and reduces its cooldown to a mere minute, giving us a much more frequent burst window.
4.

Changelog

  • 19 Jan. 2026: Updated for Midnight Pre-Patch.
  • 30 Nov. 2025: Reviewed for Patch 11.2.7.
  • 05 Oct. 2025: Reviewed for Patch 11.2.5.
  • 04 Aug. 2025: Updated for Patch 11.2.
  • 15 Jun. 2025: Reviewed for Patch 11.1.7.
  • 21 Apr. 2025: Reviewed for Patch 11.1.5.
  • 24 Feb. 2025: Updated for Patch 11.1.0.
  • 15 Dec. 2024: Reviewed for Patch 11.0.7.
  • 21 Oct. 2024: Updated for Patch 11.0.5.
  • 09 Sep. 2024: Reviewed for The War Within Season 1.
  • 21 Aug. 2024: Updated for The War Within.
  • 23 Jul. 2024: Updated for The War Within Pre-Patch.
  • 13 May 2024: Format adjustment to move slider closer to rotation.
  • 07 May 2024: Reviewed for 10.2.7.
  • 22 Apr. 2024: Reviewed for Season 4.
  • 19 Mar. 2024: Reviewed for Patch 10.2.6.
  • 15 Jan. 2024: Reviewed for Patch 10.2.5, no changes necessary.
  • 06 Nov. 2023: Updated for Patch 10.2 talent changes.
  • 04 Sep. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.1.7, no changes necessary.
  • 20 Jul. 2023: Rewritten to include rotation advice.
  • 10 Jul. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.1.5.
  • 01 May 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.1.
  • 22 Mar. 2023: Updated for Patch 10.0.7.
  • 24 Jan. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
  • 11 Dec. 2022: Reviewed for Dragonflight Season 1.
  • 28 Nov. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight launch.
  • 25 Oct. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
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