Enhancement Shaman DPS Mythic+ Tips — The War Within (11.0.5)

Stormbringer builds are very heavily skewed toward spending your Maelstrom Weapon aggressively and managing your Tempest procs for huge payoff. It has a lot of flexibility in how it can approach each pull, and has explosive burst moments over the course of a dungeon.

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.

• Flowing Spirits vs. Witch Doctor's Ancestry - These two talents are both very strong and both have their use cases. Flowing Spirits has higher potential in AoE when you can fill your GCDs with nature spells, aiming to force correct Feral Spirit spawns, while Witch Doctor's Ancestry has the advantage of always overlapping Primordial Wave and Ascendance (though it comes with the downside of potentially rolling incorrect wolves). Currently, the recommended build picks up Flowing Spirits, but this choice is purely preference based on the dungeon.
• There are a variety of optional picks for the last two talent points in the center. Flowing Spirits generally avoids as many non-nature fillers as possible (as it does not want to pollute its cast pool) so goes through Sundering to reach Stormflurry and have points spare for Flurry. Other options are:
  • Unrelenting Storms — this can be picked up to add Crash Lightning to your single-target filler pool with less of a loss. While it has no AoE benefit, it can make bosses much more comfortable for only a single point.
  • Ice Strike / Swirling Maelstrom — allows you to avoid "wasting" a point on Sundering, but requires sacrificing Flurry to reach it.
  • Fire Nova / Swirling Maelstrom — adds in an extra AoE tool for Witch Doctor's Ancestry builds, but tends to struggle with having enough single-target abilities to fill its GCDs. Optional pickup.
• 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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Totemic has a lot of potential burst due to the pairing of Surging Totem, Earthsurge and Molten Thunder (alongside Ascendance being a powerhouse cooldown with Oversurge). Unfortunately, it is also incredibly inconsistent due to that RNG, so while it has high-highs, it also has low-lows.

It is much easier to execute than Stormbringer's Tempest management, simply placing and moving the totem around with Totemic Projection, but does require a bit of awareness on both its cooldown and location in each pull.

The below build is what I would generally recommend for Totemic, as there are not many points to move around for additional damage gains. When it comes to the class tree however, there are some options that come down to preference or if a given dungeon has some utility requirements.

• 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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Stormbringer has a lot of 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 a lot of micro-management over the course of a dungeon to optimize it.

A thing to remember is the Maelstrom Weapon counter is permanent, always on, and only resets when you log out. A common thing to do at the start of every dungeon, before the keystone is used, is to pre-stack this up to roughly 35 Maelstrom Weapon so Tempest will be triggered on your first spender cast in the opening pull. There are two ways to do this:

• Cast Ascendance and use the Maelstrom Weapon generated to cast 3 Healing Surges on yourself, consuming 10 each. This should set the counter to at least 30. Ascendance will then have its cooldown reset when the key starts, but do not use any trinket macros — these do not reset.
• 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 ready for the opening pull.

This allows you to set up your opening pull with an explosive Tempest cast to go alongside Primordial Wave and your first Ascendance. Note as well, the Tempest buff does not fade when the keystone starts, so if you are expecting to pull within roughly 15 seconds of the key starting you can even consider pre-stacking two additional Tempest procs, and use the Ascendance Maelstrom Weapon generation to start the key ready to go!

While tab-targeting and applying Lightning Rod to different targets is a gain, it can be awkward to pull off and often costs damage in the process if done incorrectly. Bear in mind that Primordial Wave sets this up on every target hit (meaning having burst ready to go as a follow-up is ideal) and any Arc Discharge procs triggered via Chain Lightning will smart target a secondary enemy, applying the debuff to two at once.

Totemic is relatively simple both in the build you play and the way the Hero Talent operates, though there are some small things to keep in mind.

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.

If all things go wrong, also remember you can use Call of the Elements to reset its cooldown and place it again, as any time spent without the totem active is a huge damage loss.

This proc is a chance of a chance from Stormsurge procs, so flooding yourself with these is the best way to try and "force" resets in larger pulls. Overlapping Doom Winds with Crash Lightning and Sundering casts that hit as many enemies as possible gives you the best odds of getting it back, which is especially important during Oversurge.

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.

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.

Sundering is an incredibly versatile tool, often able to act as a pseudo-interrupt against multiple targets that are otherwise immune and does so 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 this feature 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. Lastly, Shocking Grasp from Stormbringer brings a small, inconsistent extra slow to targets through Nature damage critical strikes.

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:

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.

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. We can also talent into a powerful healing cooldown with Ancestral Guidance, which provides huge group healing during situations where we are dealing AoE damage.

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.

Alongside the more traditional tools specs bring to Mythic+, Shaman has a number of class-specific benefits when played.

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.

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.

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.

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 otherwise it will provide damage reduction to nearby enemies.

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.

Xalatath's Bargain: Oblivion spawns a number of orbs that will begin traveling toward enemies that you and your group need to intercept to receive a stacking Mastery buff.

Enhancement has a wide array of movement tools to deal with this, and if you have nothing else, you can just slip into Ghost Wolf and catch as many as you can. Ideally, try to have Wind Rush Totem and save it for these spawns so your entire group can assist with catching them.

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, both Ancestral Guidance and Maelstrom Weapon can be substituted to assist.