Enhancement Shaman DPS Mythic+ Tips — The War Within (11.1.5)
In this guide, you will find tips and advice to tackle Mythic+ dungeons with your Enhancement Shaman in World of Warcraft — The War Within (11.1.5).
Enhancement Shaman Mythic+ Guide for The War Within Season 2
In this guide, we will cover how to get the most out of your Enhancement Shaman in Mythic+ dungeons, including the best way to build your character's talents out, any rotational changes that you need to know, and tips and tricks to excel in each dungeon.
If you are unfamiliar with Mythic+ and its associated general mechanics, you can read more about it on our dedicated Mythic+ page below. You can also find out more about the Mythic+ Meta on the Tier List page.
Enhancement Shaman in The War Within Mythic+
Enhancement Shaman has access to a variety of different damage
profiles and a number of options when it comes to how to specialize. It is known
for good priority target damage and funnel while also bringing strong cleave and
AoE options. It sacrifices very little single-target damage to pick up its AoE
tools, and both of its hero talents in Stormbringer and
Totemic are suitable options with their own specialties. The
flexibility on offer when tailoring your playstyle to the situation is a huge
advantage Enhancement has access to.
Best Mythic+ Talents for Enhancement Shaman in The War Within
Currently, both hero talents are extremely strong, and they both have
their use cases depending on the type of dungeon and composition you are intending
to run. Our general recommendation is Totemic, but some quick notes on
what each of them are good at is:
Totemic - incredibly strong on demand burst AoE around its
Doom Winds and
Primordial Storm windows. Sacrifices almost no single-target to get there, and brings good priority damage.
Stormbringer - powerful 2-minute windows, and very strong consistent AoE damage in between. Also provides very good priority damage while performing its full AoE cycle. Lastly, it's much less likely to be disrupted during combat.
Both of these work, with the main thing deciding which you choose is the type
of cooldowns that are desirable, and what damage profile you are looking for. As
30-second/1-minute cooldown cycles are very easy to plug into any type of route
alongside more of its being uncapped, Totemic is the default option.
Best Mythic+ Talent Builds for Enhancement Shaman
Enhancement Shaman Mythic+ Talents -
Totemic
Totemic has a new coat of paint in Season 2, and it made a major
difference to its AoE damage profile. It brings extremely high AoE burst when
pairing
Primordial Storm with
Doom Winds - a lot of which is
uncapped due to
Imbuement Mastery - and has a renewed focus on
Hot Hand
to give it a unique flavor.
With good management, the amount of damage that can be done via both Reactivity
and
Sundering /
Molten Thunder is extreme, and it still retains
a good single-target core while building toward this. It does however have the
extra wrinkle of managing
Surging Totem positioning, and aligning a handful
of desynced cooldowns to set up its big moments.
Talent Swap Options
The build linked below is the universal recommendation for Totemic,
and it does not have very many spare points after picking up its core tools. In
the spec tree, it has three float point that can be spent depending on the situation,
while on the class tree it has a few options that come down to preference or
if a given dungeon has some utility requirements.
Lashing Flames,
Storm's Wrath and
Stormblast are all alternatives to the
Flurry and
Elemental Assault (2nd point) recommended here.
Crashing Storms is also an optional swap for any of these picks:
Lashing Flames provides a universal increase with no gameplay requirements as
Sundering keeps it active on all targets.
Storm's Wrath +
Stormblast provides much more comfort in single-target, while also improving
Windfury Weapon trigger rates for AoE.
- There are a variety of control options on the tree, and while the current
recommendation picks up
Static Charge,
Guardian's Cudgel can also be used for more up-front control.
Lightning Lasso can also be picked up as a single-target stun.
- Dungeon specific utility such as
Cleanse Spirit and
Poison Cleansing Totem are on a case-by-case basis, and there are a number of talents taken here, such as
Purge and
Totemic Surge that can be switched out to access them.
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Enhancement Shaman Mythic+ Talents -
Stormbringer
Stormbringer builds elevate the value of
Maelstrom Weapon
spenders, cycling aggressively toward
Tempest casts for big payoff.
It also incorporates
Crash Lightning much more into its rotation, and
also makes use of
Converging Storms to convert it into high priority
damage.
Ascendance also gives a powerful 2-minute window that's
difficult to have disrupted, letting us unload a huge amount of damage in a short
timeframe in either AoE or on bosses.
Talent Swap Options
While the below build is what I would currently recommend, there are alternative talent packages that can be picked up to specialize further. Many of these are, however, more difficult in practice.
Elemental Assault /
Legacy of the Frost Witch - one point in Legacy provides a lot of value from the high uptime 15% Physical buff and the extra
Stormstrike access in single-target. While
Elemental Assault really shines at 2 points for extra
Maelstrom Weapon reliability, it cannot outshine the value Legacy gives so we can only squeeze one into the recommended build.
Feral Spirit +
Witch Doctor's Ancestry - as
Flowing Spirits was severely nerfed, this is the only alternative wolf option. This does give extra power to your
Doom Winds windows, but the cost to your single-target comfrot and general gameplay is too high. That makes this a niche alternative that's not recommended.
- There are a variety of control options on the tree, and while the current
recommendation picks up
Static Charge,
Guardian's Cudgel can also be used for more up-front control.
Lightning Lasso can also be picked up as a single-target stun.
- Dungeon specific utility such as
Cleanse Spirit and
Poison Cleansing Totem are on a case-by-case basis, and there are a number of talents taken here, such as
Purge and
Totemic Surge that can be switched out to access them. Similarly,
Call of the Elements can be taken if you need even more access to a specific totem in a dungeon.
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Mythic+ Gameplay Tips for Enhancement Shaman
While the general rotational gameplay is covered on our Rotation page, any niche additional tips specific to Mythic+ are covered in this section.
Enhancement Shaman Mythic+ Gameplay Tips
Stormbringer Specific Tips
Stormbringer has some extra gameplay nuance in Mythic+, as both the
Maelstrom Weapon counter and
Awakening Storms can be carried
between packs. This also includes
Tempest procs themselves, meaning
there is some extra micro-management over the course of a dungeon to optimize it.
Pre-Stacking
Tempest
While this was previously something we did a lot in Season 1, it seems that on
keystone start and when bosses are pulled this counter is reset. This
means there is no benefit to generating Awakening Storms stacks or building
up your
Maelstrom Weapon counter, as they get purged when the dungeon
begins.
You can still however pre-stack the Tempest buff itself, and roll
that into the keystone so long as you do it just before the dungeon starts. This
only has benefits in dungeons that pull immediately after the gate opens,
or else it will expire. The way to do this is:
- Use a training dummy toy (such as Turnip Punching Bag) and attack it,
using
Maelstrom Weapon spenders until your counter is set to a comfortable amount. Build
Maelstrom Weapon, start the timer to put the key in, and use a spender and
Ascendance to build back to 10. Once you are out of combat, start the key.
- You can also stack this to two if you want either with this method or using
Awakening Storms procs, but it takes a bit longer to line it up.
This sets you up for opening burst as a dungeon starts, so long as the pull begins at most within 15 seconds of the key starting. Note though in any indoor dungeon there are no training dummies that can be used, so you'll have to do it outside and put the keystone in as you exit the loading screen.
Lightning Rod Management
With the change to Conductive Energy in Patch 11.1, we no longer need
to actively manage this at all.
Chain Lightning will naturally spread this
along the chain, as will extra
Arc Discharge procs when they occur. The
only addition is using
Primordial Wave to set up at the start of a pull.
Tempest Management
You can hold stacks of Tempest to two, and it won't be consumed by
Chain Lightning, meaning if a pack is about to die you can carry them
over to the next pull with some good management. The more you condense these casts
into brief windows, the bigger the payoff, so it is recommended to do so. With
Arc Discharge now stacking to two as well, there is no punishment for
using these back-to-back either.
Note that the Awakening Storms counter will be reset when you
pull a boss within a dungeon, while active
Tempest stacks and the
Maelstrom Weapon counter will not.
Crash Lightning and Stormstrike
For Stormbringer these are both a core component of the playstyle
even in AoE. Aim to always have
Crash Lightning buffed by the damage amp
from
Chain Lightning, and be aware of the cooldown reduction it provides
in each cycle. With
Converging Storms, the GCD in between them should be
Stormstrike on your priority target to generate for the next cycle.
Totemic Specific Tips
Totemic has some extra proc juggling to get the most out of it. It
also has a lot of cooldown timer management to reach its full potential.
Surging Totem Management
You want to always make sure to have both Totemic Surge and
Totemic Projection talented whenever playing this. Be aware of when enemies
are moving, and use Projection to drag it along with you. Remember it has a 10-second
cooldown, so do not be too rushed doing so or they may simply move out again. So
long as you're near your targets, you can also use the off-GCD recast to move it
to your feet, with a 6-second cooldown.
If all things go wrong, also remember you can use Call of the Elements to
reset its cooldown. If the totem is still active after doing this, you will need
to cancel the existing totem to re-cast it, but this can save situations
where it is locked out of range for too long.
Managing Doom Winds and Cooldowns
Doom Winds is an explosive cooldown moment for
Totemic, and
it aims to fit as many AoE main-hand strikes as possible inside the window. Any
of
Crash Lightning,
Sundering,
Reactivity and
Primordial Storm
count for this, and saturating this window will lead to huge
Flametongue Weapon
damage via
Imbuement Mastery. Aim to always start this window with
Legacy of the Frost Witch by spending just before it.
Try to always blanket this window with Splintered Elements, and align
every other cast with
Primordial Storm.
Sundering with
Molten Thunder
should be chain-cast due to its reduced GCD, unless
Hot Hand is
active, at which point you should weave.
A big warning for these cooldowns is they generate an extreme amount of threat in a short period - especially when overlapping cooldowns. Be careful not to frontload all of your damage into an unsuspecting tank else you may find yourself dead very quickly.
Whirling Elements Motes
Whirling Earth allows us to instantly set up on a pull with
Flame Shock, having
it active in AoE and letting us
Primordial Wave. Your
Whirling Fire
mote is also under your control, so delay your first
Lava Lash until you
have all of your other setup done and can fully commit to
Lava Lash when
it is up.
Mythic+ Utility for Enhancement Shaman in The War Within Season 2
This section focuses on key talents and abilities we have access to that can be leveraged in Mythic+ situations. If you are looking for explanations on the entire Enhancement Shaman repertoire of Abilities and Talents, you can use our Glossary page.
Utility of Enhancement Shaman in The War Within
Interrupts and Crowd Control
Enhancement has a wide variety of tools to stop enemy casts. Due to the large number of them, I have broken them down into single-target and AoE options.
Single Target Crowd Control
Wind Shear is your interrupt tool and is one of the best available to
any class. Being both ranged and having such a low cooldown makes for an
excellent tool to disrupt targets with interruptible casts continually. You
should be the one aggressively going after dangerous interrupts; allow other
classes with longer interrupt cooldowns to handle less frequent casts or to be
saved for emergencies if possible. Coordinate this with your group
before starting the dungeon.
Lightning Lasso can be used as a single-target stun, but the damage
it deals is nowhere near as much as you would be doing when not channeling. This
is moreso used to interrupt a cast and then canceled.
Hex is somewhat similar to
Wind Shear as it allows you to
either control a dangerous enemy before combat begins or interrupt a cast in
an emergency. This cooldown can be reduced by 15 seconds, and apply an additional
70% slow if you talent into
Voodoo Mastery.
Area of Effect Crowd Control
Sundering is a versatile tool, often able to act as a pseudo-interrupt
against multiple targets that are otherwise immune while also delivering a burst
of damage. While it will not work on every target, be sure to pay attention to
enemies that it does incapacitate so you can effectively use it in the
future. Note that this does not incapacitate with
Molten Thunder
taken, nor does it trigger from
Reactivity procs.
Capacitor Totem is your AoE stun tool to lock down mobs as you begin
a pull to stabilize. This tends to be extra useful on larger pulls to allow the
tank to grab aggro before enemies begin casting or to prevent key
effects. This can be further enhanced with the
Guardian's Cudgel or
Static Charge talents.
Guardian's Cudgel is extremely potent in
spawning a second
Capacitor Totem when the first one triggers,
increasing the stun duration (at the cost of additional diminishing returns),
while
Static Charge will reduce its cooldown per target struck.
Thunderstorm (with
Thundershock) is another powerful AoE
pseudo-interrupt, being able to knock several enemies up into the air and
disrupt spells that cannot be cast while moving. Be sure to practice using it
to learn which enemies it works against and which are immune. For
the vast majority of the time,
Thundershock will be the preferred form of
this ability, as keeping enemies together will make follow-up crowd control more
effective and maintain DPS uptime. In niche situations, you may need to utilize
Thunderstorm's knock-back effect to deal with a specific mob or group of
enemies.
Earthbind Totem and
Earthgrab Totem can significantly
impair the movement of groups of enemies, aiding in your tank's ability to kite
them should it be required.
Hailstorm alongside either
Arctic Snowstorm
or
Encasing Cold also provides a constant slow while executing the
rotation if talented.
Defensive and Off-Healing Tools
Due to being a hybrid class, Shaman has access to a number of tools that help both you and your group stay alive. I have separated these two key sections into two categories:
Defense
Staying alive is extremely important in Mythic+, and, often, you may find yourself responsible for your own life if the healer is busy putting fires out elsewhere. The key tools we have to deal with bad situations are:
Astral Shift is our major personal defensive for a 40% damage reduction and is always paired with
Planes Traveler for cooldown reduction. Used on the most dangerous enemy casts that need to be planned around.
Stone Bulwark Totem has a long 3-minute cooldown but provides a big absorb shield (and some small follow-up ones) that should ideally be used to block a single lethal hit, making sure to plan this to avoid wasting its lengthy recharge time.
Earth Elemental has an even longer 5-minute cooldown that provides flat health and the
Primordial Bond damage reduction effect. This lasts a full minute, so it can often cover multiple dangerous effects, but be careful it does not disrupt the tank with its taunt effect.
Spirit Wolf can be stacked up while in
Ghost Wolf for up to a 20% reduction, which, while it completely prevents you from doing damage, does not have a cooldown, so it can cover anything you need it to.
Stormbringer also has access to
Nature's Protection for additional damage reduction, while
Totemic has small additional absorb shields from
Wind Barrier.
Off-healing
While healing is not your primary role, we can use multiple tools to help the
party in deadly situations. A Maelstrom Weapon empowered
Healing Surge or
Chain Heal can help to stabilize you or an
ally and should be used in emergencies.
Healing Stream Totem can be
taken and used whenever a gap in your rotation happens to help out, alongside
providing a small follow-up damage reduction to some magic schools with
Elemental Resistance.
Being proactive with healing tools is an effective skill to learn as an Enhancement Shaman, and while you should not be taking responsibility for the group's health, recognizing when you can jump in at critical moments can be the difference between life or death for the party.
Currently, Surging Currents for
Stormbringer players is
bugged, gaining a stick from every target hit by
Tempest,
allowing this to effectively reach max stacks immediately after each cast. This
can be very good for spot healing if you want to consider using it.
Other Enhancement Utility
Alongside the more traditional tools specs bring to Mythic+, Shaman has a number of class-specific benefits when played.
Offensive / Defensive Dispels
Your toolkit includes an offensive dispel in Purge, a decurse in
Cleanse Spirit, a fear, charm, and sleep break with
Tremor Totem, and a poison removal with
Poison Cleansing Totem.
These effects are specific to certain dungeons, and you will often find yourself
using these to deal with certain enemies. Be sure to adjust your talent loadout
per dungeon to best deal with the most dangerous aspects of each.
Other Utility
Skyfury is our group buff, providing bonus Mastery and granting party
member's melee auto-attacks a 20% chance to strike an additional time. This is one
of the more potent and universal buffs that all specs like having, so it makes Shaman
relatively desirable.
Earth Elemental is a potent emergency tool if the tank
either dies or is struggling to handle a pack. It can also be used as a personal
defensive cooldown to grant yourself additional maximum health and damage reduction
with
Primordial Bond. This has a long cooldown, so use it wisely. Also, be
aware that the AI can sometimes be problematic, as it will rarely move with you
once it has grabbed aggro.
Mana Spring can help out your healer with some additional Mana
regeneration should they be struggling to keep up in a dungeon, and is an easy
point to access. However, our talent points begin to get quite tight with all
of the control tools we often take, so this is an optional bonus rather than
a locked-in pick.
Wind Rush Totem can help the group with additional move speed and lasts
for up to 20 seconds if players consistently refresh the buff duration. This can
be even further enhanced with cooldown reduction using
Ascending Air, or
provide an AoE snare break whenever the buff is applied using
Jet Stream.
Reincarnation allows you to resurrect after dying. This can be
used to get back up after a lethal ability, or more importantly, it can
skip certain packs. The ability to run ahead with your group, die, self-revive,
and then resurrecting them is a niche tactic that some dungeon routes opt to
use.
Bloodlust and
Heroism are mainstays of all group content,
and providing it is almost always a benefit to your party. Be sure to coordinate
with your group regarding the most effective time to use it.
Season 2 Mythic+ Dungeon Tips for Enhancement Shaman
This section contains dungeon-specific tips and talent swap recommendations for each of the current dungeons in the Season 2 pool.
Mythic+ Tips for Enhancement Shaman in The War Within Season 2
Talent Swap Cheat Sheet
For a quick guide of which utility talents are needed in each dungeon, use the tool below to select a dungeon. Any relevant utility talents will be highlighted below.
Dungeons | |
---|---|
Cinderbrew Meadery | Darkflame Cleft |
Operation: Floodgate | Theater of Pain |
Priory of the Sacred Flame | The Rookery |
Operation: Mechagon - Workshop | The MOTHERLODE!! |
Based on the selections above, you should run the following class talents:










Talent and Dispel Recommendations
Totemic serves very well for the frequency of pulls, while
Stormbringer excels on mass pulls while still dealing extreme damage to priority targets. Both are equally viable options depending on your pace and routing.
- No specific utility talents are required here, but
Totemic Recall is strongly recommended regardless of hero talent choice.
Purge is also an optional recommendation.
Bosses
Brew Master Aldryr
- Use
Wind Rush Totem at the bar during
Happy Hour to assist with delivering brew. Use
Totemic Recall straight after to make sure you can cover both intermissions.
- Use
Feral Lunge as the boss arrives at the bar for the intermission to negate the knockback and pick up brew quickly.
- Use
Astral Shift for either
Hot Honey debuffs (these are very painful) or during
Happy Hour as the group will be split.
I'pa
- Try to spread
Flame Shock to Brew Drops for
Splintered Elements, and hold consuming
Primordial Storm if possible to hit multiple drops at once.
Thundershock can be used to knock any that get close up to buy the tank time to kite.
Benk Buzzbee
- Spread
Flame Shock to bees as they spawn. Hold
Primordial Wave for each wave to trigger stronger
Splintered Elements.
Goldie Baronbottom
- Use
Astral Shift for
Burning Ricochet shots if unstable, otherwise during
Let It Hail!.
- Drop
Wind Rush Totem during the
Let It Hail! intermission to help the group dodge around fire waves at the stack spot.
Trash
Spirit Walk can be used to clear
Honey Volley if any casts go off to avoid
Beeswax telegraphs cast by Honey Harvesters.
Purge can be taken to remove
Rejuvenating Honey if any casts go off, but these should be interrupted as a priority.
- Use
Astral Shift during Hopgoblins' charge, as the impact will deal heavy group damage. If targeted, use
Spirit Walk to dodge out of the way quickly after aiming it.
Talent and Dispel Recommendations
Totemic works very well for the pull frequency, and is capable of having cooldowns consistently.
Stormbringer on the other hand can deal with organized large pulls and works better on the boss encounters present, but both are equally capable.
Tremor Totem is an optional pick to cover for mistakes.
Bosses
Ol' Waxbeard
Flame Shock should be spread constantly to support
Splintered Elements. Cleaving adds down to keep them under control is helpful, but keep the boss as your primary priority target.
- As
Stormbringer, pool
Tempest to deal with the Dynamite Cart. As
Totemic use
Totemic Projection quickly and focus it as quickly as possible.
- Be very careful using
Feral Lunge across the tracks, as you can be caught in a carts path. This is especially important to be aware of during
Underhanded Track-tics.
Blazikon
- Save
Spirit Walk for
Wicklighter Barrage to make sure you can light at least two candles.
- Rotate
Astral Shift and
Stone Bulwark Totem to survive
Dousing Breath. Be aware one is cast very early into the fight.
The Candle King
- Make sure to interrupt
Paranoid Mind. Depending on queuing you can do this solo, but not consistently.
Tremor Totem can be used if you see an interrupt about to be missed.
- Make sure to hit wax statues inside wax pools if possible, or ones
isolated alone if targeted by
Darkflame Pickaxe.
- Save
Astral Shift in case you are forced to clear statues with
Throw Darkflame inside wax.
The Darkness
- Use
Astral Shift if targeted by
Shadowblast. When running out, use
Spirit Walk to grab a candle and
Feral Lunge back to the boss.
Tremor Totem can be used if you see the candle is going to be depleted, in particular during
Eternal Darkness.
- Interrupt
Call Darkspawn quickly, and use any adds spawned to empower
Splintered Elements.
Trash
- If timed well you can use
Thundershock to reset the momentum of
Wild Wallop cast by Overseers.
- This entire dungeon is filled with pulls of a high health priority target and smaller surrounding trash. Enhancement excels here as a priority specialist, so make sure to focus these down to even out the pack while CCing smaller enemies.
Talent and Dispel Recommendations
Totemic's flexibility is strong here depending on how you navigate the different pull sizes. If you're more comfortable and have set large pulls,
Stormbringer excels with its high burst and is better suited for the boss encounters here.
Purge is recommended here, and
Poison Cleansing Totem is optional.
Bosses
Coin-Operated Crowd Pummeler
- Use
Astral Shift on
Static Pulse. Use
Feral Lunge straight after to get back to the boss.
- Save cooldowns for the expose phase. These should be slightly desynced
from your
Primordial Wave cooldown.
Azerokk
- Make sure to maintain
Flame Shock on the add being kited.
Primordial Wave can be used for each
Azerite Infusion to burn the targeted add down quickly before it overwhelms the tank.
Rixxa Fluxflame
- Use
Wind Rush Totem during
Gushing Catalyst to help your group get to the safe spot.
Mogul Razdunk
- Have
Astral Shift saved for the intermission, and use it if you are targeted by multiple
Buster Shot casts.
- Aim to have
Primordial Wave to burn down Skyscorchers to end the intermission quickly.
- Save
Spirit Walk and use
Wind Rush Totem as a backup if you are targeted by
Drill Smash.
Trash
Purge should be used liberally to remove
Tectonic Barrier from Stone Fury. This is especially important so that
Furious Quake can be interrupted.
Poison Cleansing Totem can be used to remove
Toxic Blades from Hired Assassin to help the tank out.
Talent and Dispel Recommendations
Totemic can keep up well with the high frequency of lower count pulls, and works well dealing with priority threats.
Stormbringer on the other makes use of the downtime for additional cooldown uses, and deals with bosses better.
Purge has some small uses and is recommended to pick up.
Bosses
The Platinum Pummeler and Gnomercy 4.U.
Feral Lunge can be used to jump back to the boss if knocked up by
Foe Flipper. Be careful doing this to make sure you don't land in
Platinum Pummel.
- Prioritize hitting The Platinum Pummeler while
Platinum Plating is inactive, and switch to Gnomercy 4.U. when it's up. Aim to kill them evenly.
K.U.-J.0.
- Aim to use cooldowns either just after
Venting Flames or after the third leap from
Explosive Leap. This boss has a lot of forced downtime so squeeze as much damage as possible out during the active phase.
- Use
Astral Shift for the
Explosive Leap, ideally also overlapping the
Blazing Chomp dispel.
Head Machinist Sparkflux
- Every other cast of
Primordial Wave should line up with plant spawns. Apply
Flame Shock to these and
Feral Lunge (if it's safe!) to burst them down quickly.
King Mechagon
- You can still hit the boss just from the edge of the enemy target ring
during
Cutting Beam, just make sure to stand behind while edging forward to avoid getting hit.
- Be very careful about positioning and actively dodge
Recalibrate, even if it costs you uptime, as these are lethal.
Trash
- This dungeon is filled with key priority targets with higher health to focus down in larger pulls. Make sure to focus these - in particular Waste Processing Units - while cleaving onto smaller enemies.
Purge should be used to remove
Defensive Countermeasure on Defense Bots.
Talent and Dispel Recommendations
Totemic has a lot of flexibility in the dungeon and can deal with any necessary route changes with good adaptation.
Stormbringer on the other hand can deal well with the high intensity pulls, and is especially good at the boss encounters here.
- No specific utility talents are required here.
Bosses
Big M.O.M.M.A.
- Funnel into the boss here and cleave onto the adds. If
Kill-o-Block Barrier is cast, switch to adds to kill them off and trigger the intermission.
- Use cooldowns during the
Jumpstart cast to burn the boss as much as possible. Also use
Astral Shift here.
- Use
Spirit Walk to position
Sonic Boom away from the group and dodge it as it's launched.
Keeza Quickfuse
- Try to focus Bront when possible, as uptime will be much lower when he's charging around. During this, switch over to Keeza.
- Save
Spirit Walk to position
Barreling Charge to overlap bombs.
- Use
Astral Shift if targeted by
Kinetic Explosive Gel to survive until you get a dispel.
Swampface
- Alternate
Astral Shift,
Stone Bulwark Totem and
Earth Elemental to survive
Awaken the Swamp.
- Save
Spirit Walk for
Mudslide in case you are caught out of position. Using it during
Rushing Tide can be helpful to adjust, but is dangerous and may pull your linked ally around.
Geezle Gigazap
- Use
Spirit Walk to run out and position between a water pool with
Leaping Sparks. Use
Feral Lunge after to jump back to the boss safely.
- Save
Astral Shift for when you're targeted by
Gigazap.
Trash
- Use
Astral Shift in pulls containing Shredders during
Shreddation, as it's pretty likely you'll get caught in some hits.
- Try to focus down Architects in pulls containing them to avoid them
getting back up onto scaffolding. Additionally, while
Spirit Walk does remove the root from
Nailgun, you will be re-rooted immediately after.
- Rotate
Capacitor Totem and
Thunderstorm to interrupt
Reload from Demolitionists to prevent recasts of
R.P.G.G..
Talent and Dispel Recommendations
Totemic deals well with the frequent large pulls, and is very flexible to different routing throughout.
Stormbringer on the other hand has the edge in some of the larger high intensity pulls, so both are options depending on your group's route.
Earthgrab Totem is an optional extra.
Bosses
Captain Dailcry
- Whichever mini-boss is present during the encounter will share health with the boss, so cleave as much as possible to end the fight faster.
- Use
Astral Shift during
Holy Radiance channel from Elaena.
Baron Braunpyke
- Use
Astral Shift for
Castigator's Shield cast. Right after, use
Spirit Walk to remove the slow and get to safety.
Prioress Murrpray
- Aim to have at least some cooldowns back for the burn after she moves
upstairs at 50%. Use
Wind Rush Totem to help your group get upstairs as quickly as possible.
- Place
Earthgrab Totem at the top of one of the staircases to lock the adds that run up in place, which should cause them to die off before reaching you.
- Save
Spirit Walk in case you are targeted by
The Sacred Flame to kite the beam safely.
Trash
Spirit Walk can be used to clear the slow from
Thunder Clap cast by Suleyman.
- Save interrupts when facing Duelmal for
Cinderblast, as we're perfect for dealing with it using our ranged short cooldown
Wind Shear.
- Be careful when the High Priest Aemya mini-boss casts
Reflective Shield as some of our more explosive casts can put us in extreme danger of dying.
Talent and Dispel Recommendations
Totemic can shift cooldowns around depending on how your group routes through, though the benefits of
Stormbringer's funnel and single target burst cooldowns for bosses makes it a stronger choice in higher keys.
Cleanse Spirit is recommended.
Bosses
Kyrioss
- No specific tips as this is a fairly standard single-target boss.
Stormguard Gorren
- Use
Astral Shift when targeted by
Chaotic Corruption.
- Use
Spirit Walk to adjust around
Crush Reality beams safely.
Voidstone Monstrosity
- Save cooldowns for the
Storm's Vengeance to burn the boss as much as possible during the expose.
- Depending on the key level the shield phases should last over 30
seconds, meaning you can use
Primordial Wave once during this and once during the expose.
- Use
Spirit Walk to get to a safe dispel spot with
Unleash Corruption, or as it expires.
- Try to orient your position so you can reach a Voidstone Fragment during
Null Upheaval while still being in range of your healer. Also be aware of where the tank is facing
Oblivion Wave.
Trash
Cleanse Spirit should be used to remove
Seeping Corruption cast by Oracles.
- Use
Spirit Walk or
Wind Rush Totem to push back against
Attracting Shadows cast by Diffusers.
- Use the smaller enemies surrounding Consuming Voidstones to funnel into them as a priority target.
Talent and Dispel Recommendations
Totemic can shift some talents around for the more single-target focused nature of the dungeon, and has flexible tools available to deal with different routes.
Stormbringer on the other hand can frontload big cooldowns into the few large pulls here, and has a stronger single-target kit for the large number of bosses.
Cleanse Spirit and
Purge are both recommended.
Bosses
An Affront of Challengers
- Use
Astral Shift during
Searing Death in case any of the circles overlap.
Gorechop
- Save
Spirit Walk for situations where you get caught out of position during
Meat Hooks.
- Use Oozing Leftovers to funnel into the boss when possible - they will
die on their own due to
Oozing.
Xav the Unfallen
- Cleave
Oppressive Banner down whenever it's active.
- Save
Spirit Walk for
Might of Maldraxxus to adjust around the combo, especially if there's any banners up to remove the slow briefly.
Kul'tharok
Primordial Wave should naturally line up every other cast with
Draw Soul, which you should use to burst the adds down quickly.
- Use
Astral Shift when targeted by
Well of Darkness.
Mordretha, the Endless Empress
- Every other cast of
Primordial Wave should line up with
Manifest Death, which you should use to burst these down.
- Save
Spirit Walk in case you are caught on the wrong side of
Dark Devastation, especially during the final phase.
Trash
Purge should be used immediately to remove
Bone Shield from Bone Magus.
Cleanse Spirit should be used as a priority to dispel
Curse of Desolation cast by Nefarious Deathspeaker. Additionally, you should dispel
Shadow Vulnerability cast by Portal Guardians.
Affix Tips, Tricks and Management for Enhancement Shaman in The War Within Season 2
This section contains some quick tips to deal with each of the weekly Xalatath-themed affixes in Season 2 of The War Within Mythic+. If you are looking for general dungeon guides or an overview of Mythic+, check our dedicated page below.
Affix Guide for Enhancement Shaman in The War Within
Ascendant Affix Management for Enhancement Shaman
Xalatath's Bargain: Ascendant will periodically spawn a number or orbs in waves that need to be crowd-controlled in some way before they complete a cast. Each orb successfully stopped grants the group bonus Haste, so it is a high priority to deal with.
Enhancement comes with a wide array of stop tools that we can sequentially use
to deal with them between Thundershock,
Capacitor Totem, and if
taken,
Sundering. There is also some consideration to pick up
Guardian's Cudgel for a back-to-back clear if your group is lacking stops
if you move the follow-up totem around with
Totemic Projection to catch
any stray orbs.
Voidbound Affix Management for Enhancement Shaman
Xalatath's Bargain: Voidbound will periodically summon a large Void
Emissary that will begin to cast Dark Prayer. This must be
focused down as a priority, as if the 15-second cast completes it it will provide
damage reduction to nearby enemies. When defeated, the group gains bonus Critical
Strike chance and cooldown reduction.
This needs to be killed off quickly, so ideally, having short, bursty cooldowns
like Primordial Wave or a
Tempest ready to go when it spawns
makes things a lot easier on the group.
Pulsar Affix Management for Enhancement Shaman
Xalatath's Bargain: Pulsar spawns an orb that orbits each player, and coming into contact with one of these will grant 4% Mastery and 2% Leech for the group, stacking, with a 30-second duration. Unsoaked orbs will increase enemy damage done and reduce damage taken.
Enhancement has no specific utility to deal with this, instead you need to be aware of your positioning both to make sure other players can soak up the orb circling you, and so you can catch orbs from nearby players.
Devour Affix Management for Enhancement Shaman
Xalatath's Bargain: Devour will apply a debuff that must be either dispelled or healed off (though it will not absorb any incoming heals) to the entire group periodically throughout the dungeon.
On these weeks, I'd particularly recommend picking up Cleanse Spirit and
Poison Cleansing Totem to assist the healer in clearing these off. If you
find the group struggling to get rid of them and these are not available,
Maelstrom Weapon can be substituted to assist.
How To Sim Mythic+ for Enhancement Shaman
Accurately simulating Enhancement in dungeons can be difficult because of how much its priority and damage shifts depending on the layout. The Dungeon Slice profile is roughly accurate in most cases and does account for cooldown holding, but it is a much broader estimation. To assess gear, we recommended doing short simulations of single-target, 5-6 target, and then extended ones of either these or Hectic Add Cleave. Depending on the dungeon, these can be taken to estimate the best between them all. A quick solution can be to use the Hectic Add Cleave profile to give a general sense of many situations.
On our Gear Page below, we have compiled BiS items for Enhancement Shaman that also apply to Mythic+.
Changelog
- 28 Apr. 2025: Added dungeon tips.
- 21 Apr. 2025: Reviewed for Patch 11.1.5, emphasized how close both trees are with recent Stormbringer buffs.
- 16 Mar. 2025: Shifted Totemic tree to pick up more single target comfort.
- 04 Mar. 2025: Cleaned up recommended builds to account for Flowing Spirits nerf and Season launch.
- 24 Feb. 2025: Updated for Patch 11.1.0.
- 15 Dec. 2024: Reviewed for Patch 11.0.7, added recommended flags.
- 05 Nov. 2024: Updated with Stormbringer vs. Totemic builds, and added in gameplay tips section.
- 21 Oct. 2024: Updated for Patch 11.0.5, will require future updates following release.
- 09 Sep. 2024: Updated for War Within Season 1 release.
- 07 May 2024: Reviewed for 10.2.7.
- 22 Apr. 2024: Updated for Season 4.
- 21 Mar. 2024: Reviewed for Patch 10.2.6, added note regarding Ember of Nullification.
- 15 Jan. 2024: Reviewed for Patch 10.2.5, touched up some sections and added defensive trinkets as options.
- 09 Nov. 2023: Restructured and updated for Patch 10.2.
- 06 Nov. 2023: Updated link to Mythic+ hub.
- 04 Sep. 2023: Some restructuring for Patch 10.1.7, added in Infurious Boots of Reprieve as a crafting option.
- 20 Jul. 2023: Added note about Sporecloak to gear section for key pushing.
- 10 Jul. 2023: Updated for Patch 10.1.5 with shift to Storm Cleave for Storm builds.
- 01 May 2023: Updated for Patch 10.1 and new Season 2 builds, alongside initial Tier set opener.
- 20 Mar. 2023: Reviewed and added small improvements 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.
More Shaman Guides
Guides from Other Classes
This guide has been written by Wordup, a frequent theorycrafter involved in a number of class communities. He is also an experienced player who has been in the world top 100 since the days of Sunwell, currently raiding in Echoes. You can follow him on Twitter.
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