Enhancement Shaman DPS Easy Mode — Battle for Azeroth (BfA) 8.2

1. Foreword

This section is intended for players who are new to the game or class, have no intentions of raiding Mythic difficulty, or simply want a more straightforward way to play their specialization without being overwhelmed by the numerous priorities and active abilities that need to be taken into consideration for optimal play.

2. The Basics for Enhancement Shaman

Enhancement is very focused around the flow of your Maelstrom and reacting to your Stormbringer procs. There are some ancillary effects that must be maintained between your Flametongue buff and some talent effects that are used in this build to enhance your damage, but the core gameplay plays itself in many ways.

The vital aspect to understand is that making sure you fill as many Global Cooldowns as possible, alongside maintaining your primary buff in Flametongue is crucial, alongside making sure that you keep Stormstrike on cooldown. Finally, you need to always ideally have enough Maelstrom available that you will be able to react to a Stormbringer proc if and when it occurs, while trying to avoid any going to waste by reaching the cap of 100.

3. Enhancement Shaman Talent Choices

Currently, there is not a great deal of choice in the Enhancement tree, even for very performance-oriented players, but the build listed below tries to focus on talents that require the least management to make use of, while giving the most flexibility and power in the largest array of content. While you may find better results with some different talents by selecting them based on the situation, this will provide the easiest path into learning Enhancement without struggling with output:

• Level 15: Lightning Shield
• Level 30: Forceful Winds
• Level 45: Spirit Wolf
• Level 60: Searing Assault
• Level 75: Nature's Guardian
• Level 90: Sundering
• Level 100: Elemental Spirits.

4. Enhancement Shaman Stat Priorities

The most versatile Enhancement stat priority when using this build is as follows when using this build.

1. Haste;
2. Mastery;
3. Critical Strike;
4. Versatility;
5. Agility.

Enhancement stats are somewhat fluid, depending on the gear you are currently wearing. Haste synergizes very well with the majority of the Enhancement kit by reducing the cooldown of your core spells, your Global Cooldown and increasing the pace it moves. Versatility and Critical Strike provide simple flat bonuses to the spec, and finally Mastery provides a solid boost with increases to your Stormbringer proc chance, alongside having a stronger impact during AoE situations. This means that focusing on Haste and Mastery will provide the most universally impactful boost in different content types.

5. Enhancement Shaman Basic Rotation

Because Enhancement is more reactionary, it operates on a priority list that you need to react to based upon your current state.

1. Cast Feral Spirit for a burst of damage.
2. Cast Crash Lightning if against 2 targets or above to maintain the buff.
3. Cast Sundering, hold this for AoE situations if possible.
4. Cast Stormstrike if available, especially with Stormbringer active.
5. Maintain Flametongue; this can refreshed with 4.5 seconds remaining.
6. Cast Crash Lightning on cooldown.
7. Cast Lava Lash at 50 Maelstrom with nothing else available.
8. Cast Rockbiter to generate Maelstrom.

This list should be a good springboard to grasp the basics of how to play Enhancement with the above build at its most fundamental level. Note that there are a lot of small optimizations that can be done with the priority list in certain situations to improve your damage and those can be found in the rotation section of the guide.

6. Enhancement Shaman Azerite Traits

Currently, the best trait to aim for as Enhancement that will serve best in most situations is Natural Harmony and you should stack as many as possible. After this, you want a mix of as many strong one points as you can, ideal options being:

• Roiling Storm;
• Ancestral Resonance;
• Thunderaan's Fury.

Middle Ring traits to aim for are Overwhelming Power, Heed My Call, Unstable Flames and Gutripper in any order.

7. Enhancement Shaman Azerite Essences

Ideally, Enhancement should be aiming to use the Blood of the Enemy Major essence, unlocked via Battleground content. However, the following essences are good substitutes:

• The Crucible of Flame — unlocked via progressing your Heart of Azeroth level;
• Essence of the Focusing Iris — unlocked via Mythic+;
• Condensed Life-Force — unlocked from The Eternal Palace raid content.

In the Minor slots that you unlock at Heart of Azeroth level 55 and 65, you should be using the following Minor essences:

• Worldvein Resonance (in groups) — unlocked via Island Expeditions;
• Essence of the Focusing Iris — unlocked via Mythic+;
• Conflict and Strife — unlocked via Rated PvP;
• The Crucible of Flame — unlocked via progressing your Heart of Azeroth level.

Please refer to our Enhancement essence page, for more information.

8. Changelog