Enhancement Shaman DPS Aberrus, the Shadowed Crucible Raid Guide — Dragonflight 10.1.7

In this section, you will find information and guidance for each boss individually in Aberrus, the Shadowed Crucible as a Enhancement Shaman. These are not complete encounter guides but provide specific tips for any Enhancement Shaman on each boss.

Below, we list most bosses' "base" talent setup. However, we will also list a boss-specific talent tree for each boss as well that will include any necessary talent swaps.

Considering that Enhancement has relative parity between both its Elementalist and Storm builds, most of the decisions will be made based on damage profile needs or personal preference. There will be a code linked for each build archetype for each boss with recommendations. There is a healthy split of bosses that lean between both builds, with Storm generally being recommended on single-target fights while Elementalist is played on any encounter with adds present. The recommendations are stated in each individual boss section.

The standard build import codes that suit each archetype used within Aberrus are as follows:

• Elementalist - BcQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIJJpEJgkEikkQJhAAAAAAAAAAAAAKRIJkgiAJtkkSAQSCBC
• Storm - BcQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIJJHAkcARSSSQSiECAAAAAAAAAAAAoEhkQCKCk0SSKBAJJkCC

You can easily import the talent trees below into the game with the "Copy Export String" button.

• Elementalist - BcQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIJJpEJJIJhAJUSIAAAAAAAAAAAAgSESCJoIQSLJpEAkkQaI
• Storm - BcQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIJJHAkcARSSSQSiECAAAAAAAAAAAAoEhkQCKCk0SSKBAJJkCC

Kazzara is an entirely single-target encounter without any burn windows, so standard builds apply here, with Storm being the recommendation.

• Have Astral Shift available for Hellsteel Carnage as it is the highest damage moment of the encounter.
• Save Spirit Walk and preferrably go into Ghost Wolf if you need to kite a Rays of Anguish beam into Dread Rift.
• Gust of Wind is an alternative option to counter the knockback from Wings of Extinction, but is much less versatile.
• Wind Rush Totem is best used to help less mobile members of the raid kite Rays of Anguish if they need to travel far.

• Elementalist - BcQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIJJpEJJIJhAJUSIAAAAAAAAAAAAgSESCJoIQSLJpEAkkQaI
• Storm - BcQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIJJHAkcARSSSQSiECAAAAAAAAAAAAoEhkQCKCk0SSKBAJJkCC

While The Amalgamation Chamber spends half of the fight with two bosses active, they are separated by such a large distance that we generally recommend Storm. With some creativity, though, Elementalist might be able to squeeze out some damage with multi-DoT tools.

• Use Astral Shift on either Fiery Meteor soaks if on the Fire side, or Coalescing Void if on the Shadow. During Phase 2, use it on Gloom Conflagration.
• Try to maintain Earth Shield whenever possible (although it is expensive on GCDs) to counter-act the ticking damage.
• Aim to have Earth Elemental overlap the last minute of Phase 2 for the additional Health, when stacks of Shadowflame Contamination gets too high. Also, save Ancestral Guidance for these moments.
• Storm builds can consider switching to Ascendance to weight more into consistent Phase 2 damage if you are struggling to meet the damage check.

• Elementalist - BcQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIJJpEJgkEikkQJhAAAAAAAAAAAAAKRIJkgiAJtkkSAQSCBC
• Storm - BcQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIJJHAkcARSSSQSiECAAAAAAAAAAAAoEhkQCKCk0SSKBAJJkCC

While in most situations, there is only one boss active on Normal and Heroic, as soon as Thadrion enters the arena, Erratic Remnant adds will spawn for the remainder of the encounter. This gives an edge to Elementalist builds who can capitalize on the funnel, while Storm focuses on dealing purely single-target damage.

• In Phase 1, you can use Astral Shift to stay closer during Bellowing Roar, alternatively use Spirit Walk to get out and back in quickly.
• Use Earth Elemental if you get multiple stacks of Rending Charge.
• Whenever Erratic Remnants are active, try to spread Flame Shock the them for the additional funnel, ideally lining it up with Primordial Wave and Sundering casts.
• In Phase 3, save Spirit Walk for the Deep Breath cast. Also, use Wind Rush Totem on these to assist the raid.
• Use Astral Shift if you have to soak multiple Temporal Anomaly as the damage can be quite high if done in succession.

• Elementalist - BcQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIJJpEJISSISCUSkAAAAAAAAAAAAAKRIJkgiAJtkkSAQSCBC
• Storm - BcQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIJBQSSkkkASSLJJAAAAAAAAAAAAgSESCJoIQSLJpEAkkQKI

Depending on both your raid's needs and your current build, you will have different jobs and specialties on this encounter. Elementalist excels at funnel damage and priority burst while losing very little single-target to AoE, so it is especially good for the Magma Mystics and, as such, is recommended. Storm, on the other hand, can provide more boss damage and consistent AoE to deal with the add waves but has lower overall potential.

• Depending on which build you play, your focus will be on different parts of the encounter due to your toolkit:
  • Elementalist builds can provide AoE mostly for free due to both Hailstorm and Ice Strike, allowing you to prioritize the most dangerous enemy while still dealing with small ones. It also has Primordial Wave for each Magma Mystic's Molten Barrier to break the shield quickly.
  • Storm, on the other hand, brings raw AoE and can switch up its damage quite easily depending on what stage of the encounter you are in. It also makes good use of the extra Maelstrom Weapon from Crash Lightning to feed more boss damage. You can also consider Ascendance for more Phase 2 damage.
• Astral Shift is mostly whenever you feel in danger in Phase 1, but in Phase 2, save it for your assigned Catastrophic Slam soak.
• Similarly, save Spirit Walk to get there in good time to avoid a raid wipe.
• Make sure to Wind Shear the Magma Mystic's cast after you break the shield. Otherwise, spend your Wind Shear aggressively on Lava Bolt casts.

• Elementalist - BcQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIJJpEJJIJhAJUSIAAAAAAAAAAAAgSESCJoIQSLJpEAkkQaI
• Storm - BcQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIJJHAkcARSSSQSiECAAAAAAAAAAAAoEhkQCKCk0SSKBAJJkCC

Rashok is an entirely single-target encounter without any burn windows, so standard builds apply here, with Storm being the recommendation

• Have Astral Shift ready for the Charged Smash soaks.
• Save Spirit Walk in case you are targeted by Searing Slam or, failing that, shift to Ghost Wolf so you can make it to the edge safely.
• Use Wind Rush Totem during the Elder's Conduit soak to help the raid dodge Shadowflame Fissures.
• Make use of Ancestral Guidance during the intermission, as this is the time the healers will be under the most pressure.

• Elementalist - BcQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIJJpEJgkEikkQJhAAAAAAAAAAAAAKRIJkgiAJtkkSAQSCBC
• Storm - BcQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIJJHAkcARSSSQSiECAAAAAAAAAAAAoEhkQCKCk0SSKBAJJkCC

While Zskarn is a mostly single-target encounter first, there are waves of adds that need to be dealt with. Due to this, Elementalist has an edge due to its burst AoE tools and that it can do it to extremely spread out targets, which the golems usually are. Storm on the other hand just uses a standard single-target build

• Gust of Wind is a consideration for the Blast Wave knockbacks, but Spirit Walk is the more flexible choice.
• Elementalist should aim to save Primordial Wave for each of the Animate Golems casts (you should be able to use it once on pull though). Because they can spawn far apart, manually apply one Flame Shock and cast Primordial Wave, on the other, so you can hit them both, plus the boss.
• Interrupt any stray golems Activate Dragonfire Trap with Wind Shear.
• Place Wind Rush Totem in the direction the raid is moving when the Tactical Destruction pillars are activated.
• Save Astral Shift for the Unstable Embers debuff. Make use of Ancestral Guidance whenever the raid is unstable following a Blast Wave cast.

• Elementalist - BcQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIJJpEJJIJhAJUSIAAAAAAAAAAAAgSESCJoIQSLJpEAkkQaI
• Storm - BcQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIJJHAkcARSSSQSiECAAAAAAAAAAAAoEhkQCKCk0SSKBA5AJSKI

Magmorax is an entirely single-target encounter without any burn windows, so standard builds apply here, with Storm being the recommendation. It does , however, always take Gust of Wind to deal with the knockback effects.

• Save Gust of Wind for Overpowering Stomp so you can safely stay on the platform and not lose uptime.
• Use Astral Shift whenever you are targeted by Molten Spittle. This is also a time when you may need to watch yourself and heal with Maelstrom Weapon if you are low when it is about to expire.
• Ancestral Guidance is best to help the raid recover from the Igniting Roar casts.

• Elementalist - BcQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIJJpEJISSISCUSkAAAAAAAAAAAAAKRIJkgiAJtkkSAQSCBC
• Storm - BcQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIJBQSSkkkASSLJJAAAAAAAAAAAAgSESCJoIQSLJpEAkkQKI

While the most important part of this encounter is boss damage, there are some extremely high-importance adds that spawn that need to be burned down quickly. They also allow for funnel and cleave effects to be activated, so the flexibility of Elementalist makes it recommended here. Storm also switches to Storm Cleave to make use of Crash Lightning for add spawns.

• For Elementalist builds:
  • Make sure in Phase 2 to maintain Flame Shock on the boss and Voice From Beyond adds whenever possible. You can also apply Flame Shock to allies for funnel, but DO NOT trigger the Lightning Bolt casts until their mind control is broken.
  • Try to have Primordial Wave ready for these add burns both for the burst damage and to get multiple Splintered Elements activations.
  • Can spread Flame Shock to the max of 6 Twisted Aberration spawns for extremely high boss funnel in Phase 3.
  • Also brings consistent, free add cleave with Hailstorm in Phase 3 as well.
• Plan out your cooldowns so you can overlap Earth Elemental with higher stacks of Umbral Annihilation in Phase 2, and aim to use Astral Shift for the final pulse before the transition, which is the most deadly.
• In Phase 3, try to overlap Astral Shift uses with the Ebon Destruction casts, as soaking Sundered Reality pools still tick for high damage.
• If you are struggling with the knockbacks, you can consider Gust of Wind to avoid getting knocked through the walls and triggering Shatter
• In Phase 3, make sure to hold Sundering and Primordial Wave for the Twisted Abberation spawns to burst them down before they become a problem.

• Elementalist - BcQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIJJpEJISSISCUSkAAAAAAAAAAAAAKRIJkQKCk0SSKBoEkQgA
• Storm - BcQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIJBQSSkkkASSLJJAAAAAAAAAAAAgSESCJoIQSLJpEAkkQKI

While the majority of this encounter is spent focused on boss damage that can encourage a Storm playstyle, the most important aspect of the fight is dealing with the waves of Null Glimmer adds, therefore we recommend playing Elementalist due to how well its cooldowns align with their spawns. It is simply the case that we are one of the most efficient AoE specs on this encounter due to our cooldown timings, so make this your job.

Phase 1:

• Use Astral Shift aggressively when clearing your Oppressing Howl effect in the Searing Breath cast.
• Both Astral Shift and Earth Elemental should be used as the phase ends (roughly 1:40 into the fight) during the Glittering Surge cast. Ancestral Guidance is also worth using here as well.
• Drop Wind Rush Totem during the intermission when the group reaches 9 stacks of Oblivion to speed them up when going downstairs.

Phase 2:

• Each Null Glimmer wave spawns after Abyssal Breath, which is roughly 40 seconds apart. You should aim to have Sundering ready for every one of these, alongside Primordial Wave to burst them down quickly.
• While Gust of Wind can be taken to counteract the Infinite Duress knockback, Spirit Walk is much more flexible. Just position correctly to not get knocked off.
• Capacitor Totem, Thundershock and Wind Shear can be used to control the Null Glimmers when they attempt to cast. Thunderstorm can also be taken to knock them into the Desolate Blossom.

Phase 3:

• Be very wary of the frontal from the boss during this phase as it is extremely dangerous.
• Save Spirit Walk for Cosmic Ascension if you are having issues getting out. Similarly, use Wind Rush Totem here to help the group.
• Null Glimmer spawns are more spread out here, with the first two coming a minute apart and then another 1:40 until the third. Plan your Sundering and Primordial Wave casts around these.