Enhancement Shaman DPS Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities — Shadowlands 9.2.5
On this page, you will learn how to optimize the rotation of your Enhancement Shaman in both single-target and multiple-target situations. We also have advanced sections about cooldowns, procs, etc. in order to minmax your DPS. All our content is updated for World of Warcraft — Shadowlands 9.2.5.
If you were looking for TBC Classic content, please refer to our TBC Classic Enhancement Shaman rotation.
Enhancement Shaman Rotation
Welcome to our Rotation page for Enhancement Shamans. Here we go through the specifics of executing the spec in combat to get the most out of it in PvE scenarios.
Easy Mode
If you are just looking for a basic primer to get started and find the full breakdowns overwhelming, you can always start with our Easy Mode page to get yourself started with a close-to-optimal build and a simpler breakdown.
PvP
The content on this page is purely PvE-related. If you are looking for PvP Rotation Tips, please visit our PvP page below.
Enhancement Shaman Single Target Rotation
Enhancement Shaman plays with a priority list that focuses on making sure to cycle your ability cooldowns as often as possible, while reacting to procs as they happen. Your goal is to reduce downtime as much as you can, which sometimes means using a lower damage (but lower cooldown) ability in moment-to-moment gameplay. Having a sense of the cooldowns so that you can predict this in advance will come with practice, and is a good skill to have.
We have provided rotation switches below that allow you to populate the priority list based on talents we recommend in the Talents section. Check each box based on the talents you are currently using. If you are using a talent not recommended on the talent page it is not included; passive options with no impact on the rotation are also not included.
- Cast
Windfury Totem if not currently active.
- Cast
Feral Spirit.
- Cast
Flame Shock if it is not currently active.
- Cast
Lava Lash if
Flame Shock has less than 4 seconds remaining.
- Cast
Lightning Bolt if you have 10 stacks of
Maelstrom Weapon.
- Cast
Stormstrike.
- Cast
Lava Lash.
- Cast
Lightning Bolt if at 5 stacks of
Maelstrom Weapon.
- Cast
Frost Shock.
- Cast
Crash Lightning.
- Cast
Flame Shock.
- Refresh
Windfury Totem if nothing else is available.
Your time will be spent juggling your different strike cooldowns
in Stormstrike,
Lava Lash, and using
Frost Shock.
Any empty space can be filled with the lowest priority fillers in
Crash Lightning and refreshing
Flame Shock. In between this
you will be managing your stacks of
Maelstrom Weapon
that is spent on
Lightning Bolt as a mix-up tool to fill any
downtime, but is more flexible due to it not having a cooldown.
The more that you play with Enhancement, the more you will adjust to the ebb
and flow of each ability cooldown and know when you need to fill
with Maelstrom spenders. Making sure that you also react to quick
bursts of this, alongside Stormbringer procs while keeping
yourself as close to Global Cooldown locked as possible by managing
each of your strike cooldowns defines your performance on the spec.
How to Use Covenant Abilities as Enhancement Shaman
The majority of Enhancement abilities are extra damage sources that are just used on cooldown as often as possible, with some small differences:
Vesper Totem is used on cooldown as much as possible, ideally lining up with burst windows or with additional waves of enemies.
- With
Primordial Wave should be used on cooldown to apply
Flame Shock to your target, and you should make sure to consume the buff before it expires with
Lightning Bolt. In multi-target situations use this to apply the DoT to a different target, and replace one
Chain Lightning cast to make use of the Lightning Bolt echo effect.
Fae Transfusion should be used on cooldown, ideally when your main abilities are not available. Make sure if you take
Earthen Spike to line these up, and that you are safe before you begin the channel.
Chain Harvest simply replaces your
Maelstrom Weapon spender of choice when it is available, and slots in that place regardless of target count. Try to hit as many enemies as possible, even if that means holding onto it for a bit.
Doom Winds Gameplay
If you are playing with Doom Winds, while the buff is active
you should aim to fit as many main-hand abilities within the window
as possible as the highest priority. These are
Stormstrike,
Crash Lightning, and
Sundering and take precedent,
as they will each trigger their own individual
Windfury Weapon
proc.
Try to keep an eye on the cooldown of the buff so you can prepare
to switch up to main-hand strikes quickly, even if they are not
regularly at the top of your priority. Also, make sure not to drop it just
before downtime and waste the effect, as making use of these windows
is crucial. If paired with Ascendance, make sure
to drop it after shifting form to overlap the buffs as much
as possible.
Effects of Conduits on Enhancement Shaman
The only Conduit that has a strong impact on your rotation when
taken is the Necrolord-specific Tumbling Waves. When
using this, you need to make sure you have consumed the
Primordial Wave
before recasting it, and if you have access to
Splintered Elements
you should also make sure to wait for the Haste buff to expire. This
usually means spending it to trigger the Haste, casting Primordial Wave
and then sitting on the buff until it ends.
Double Legendary Impact
The Night Fae and Necrolords have considerations when using the effects with their desired Legendary:
- Necrolord — this needs to be set up before triggering
the effect to make sure you have as many active
Flame Shocks as possible. The extra Haste drastically accelerates the rate of
Primal Lava Actuators stack generation and provides a very strong burst window.
- Night Fae — while it grants cooldown reduction to
Feral Spirit, the amount of active cooldown reduction already coming from
Witch Doctor's Wolf Bones means that holding it for longer than 10 seconds really is not worth it. The only time to deviate from this is if a boss timer is especially favourable to adjusting your casts for it.
Tier 28 Set Bonus Impact
While the Enhancement bonuses are strong, neither of the effects
strongly alter the priority you should already be using and it is
extremely focused on single-target. The important factors are what
decisions you make when building your character after accessing it
rather than the active gameplay. Both Hot Hand and
Stormflurry
builds can be played with this for single-target, and this talent
selection dictates the button (and buff) you want.
Elemental Spirits
becomes a lock-in talent after gaining access to the 2-piece, but
which wolves spawn do not cause any changes to the rotation.
Enhancement Shaman AoE rotation
With all of the Patch 9.2 systems combined the number of variables change enough for Enhancement for it to warrant its own separate rotation tool specifically for what you are playing. Similar to the single-target rotation section, use the checkboxes below to populate the list underneath:
Talents | Covenant | Legendaries |
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- Cast
Windfury Totem if not currently active.
- Cast
Feral Spirit.
- Cast
Flame Shock if it is not currently active on your target.
- Cast
Lava Lash if the
Crash Lightning buff is active.
- Cast
Chain Lightning if you have 10 stacks of
Maelstrom Weapon.
- Cast
Stormstrike if the
Crash Lightning buff is active.
- Cast
Crash Lightning.
- Cast
Chain Lightning if you have 5 stacks of
Maelstrom Weapon.
- Cast
Frost Shock.
- Refresh
Flame Shock.
- Refresh
Windfury Totem.
While there is a lot going on in Enhancement's AoE rotation in
Patch 9.2, a lot of it comes down to what selections you make
with your build. There are many different avenues to delivering AoE, and
lots of the damage profiles differ in their style which is why it requires
a more tailored approach now. The crux forms around maintaining Crash Lightning's
buff component while also making use of the high power AoE cooldowns
available through various parts of the toolkit to deal strong sustained
damage.
Enhancement Shaman Opening Rotation
The opening sequence has some small quirks with some talents, but the spec is quick to get started as soon as you enter combat:
- Pre-cast
Stormkeeper if taken.
- Without
Doom Winds only: Pre-cast
Windfury Totem just before a pull.
- Cast
Flame Shock (or
Primordial Wave if Necrolord Covenant) when running into melee.
- Cast
Earthen Spike if taken.
- Cast
Stormstrike.
- Cast
Feral Spirit to generate
Maelstrom Weapon early.
- Night Fae Covenant only: Cast
Fae Transfusion.
- Kyrian Covenant only: Cast
Vesper Totem.
- Cast
Ascendance if taken, and then immediately
Windstrike.
- With
Doom Winds: cast
Windfury Totem to trigger the buff.
- Continue with the single-target rotation.
Where you go from here depends entirely on your resource
state with Maelstrom Weapon, and if
Stormbringer
has activated. You will often go down the priority list getting your
cooldowns cycling, and the flow will begin from there.
Note if you are playing with Doom Winds here, you
should not pre-cast
Windfury Totem to avoid wasting a
portion of the buff and instead use it after your cooldowns are
set up.
Mythic+ Rotation
The rotation page covers all of the details on playing the spec in combat, but if you are looking for specific details related to Mythic+ you can refer to our dedicated page below.
Enhancement Shaman Cooldowns
Enhancement only has access to two cooldowns, one of which is a talent, and is mostly reliant instead on its sustained damage profile.
Feral Spirit
Feral Spirit summons two wolves that deal low damage to your
target, and generates one stack of
Maelstrom Weapon instantly
when cast on a 2-minute cooldown. It will also generate an additional
5 stacks over its 15-second duration. These deal reasonable single-target
damage, and also help to give an instant burst of Maelstrom Weapon to
get you started in an encounter, so we try to use it on cooldown.
Elemental Spirits can be taken to reduce the cooldown by 30
seconds and grant additional effects, but the RNG buffs and lack of
ability to play around them means it really does not change anything
about our gameplay.
Ascendance
Ascendance is a big cooldown that deals
a huge AoE burst when cast, and also gives 15 seconds of sustained
single-target via the reduced cooldown on
Windstrike. While
this does require a talent to use, it provides an extra burst option
as a 3-minute cooldown that is also quite versatile because of the newly
added on cast AoE effect paired with a reliable window of
strong ability usage.
Optional Read: Notes on Enhancement Shaman
Weapon Imbues and Buffs
You should always make sure you have both Windfury Weapon
and
Flametongue Weapon imbued on your weapons. These contribute
a lot to both your damage and your ability proc rates, and missing them
will hurt you a lot. You should also keep
Lightning Shield
active if you are facing enemies that will strike you in melee,
as the extra
Maelstrom Weapon charges can be converted into
more damage or healing.
Maelstrom Weapon Details
The newly added mechanic of Maelstrom Weapon is important
to grasp if you intend to play Enhancement. This has a 20% chance to
trigger from any melee hit, and stacks up to 10 times. Each stack reduces
the cast time of your next
Lightning Bolt/
Chain Lightning
cast by 20%, and increases its damage by the same amount. Only 5 stacks
can be consumed at once, making the spells instant.
While it is tempting to cast these spells as soon as you hit 5 stacks, you should instead be pooling to make use of the 10 stack cap. It serves instead as a high damage filler to mix up the rotation based on the state of your other ability cooldowns. If you rush to cast this as soon as you hit 5, you will often find yourself starved and having wasted other ability uses.
Windfury Totem
Windfury Totem currently provides a solid boost to anyone
in your party, meaning up to 4 other melee players can gain an
advantage from this effect in a raid. This has a 20% chance to proc
per auto-attack with a 0.5-second internal cooldown per player, but
will only trigger from main-hand swings. These extra attacks count
as regular auto-attacks, meaning they proc all on-hit effects, but they do
not affect Hunter auto-shots, pets or guardians.
Crash Lightning Explained
Crash Lightning looks simple on the surface, but has a lot of moving
parts and is an important aspect of Enhancement gameplay. The Nature damage proc
while the buff is active will trigger in single target as well, so finding
opportunities to activate the buff will improve your single-target damage
as well, so look for chances to hit a stray add and get it active. Second,
any hits from the initial strike have a chance to trigger
Stormbringer
due to them all being counted as a weapon strike, so try to hit as many targets
as possible with the initial cast. Finally, these hits all have a chance
to trigger
Windfury Weapon on targets struck, emphasizing the importance
of hitting multiple enemies. This is even more important when using
Forceful Winds, which can gain multiple stacks per Crash Lightning
cast.
Alongside this, Crash Lightning casts are augmented by your
Chain Lightning casts increasing the damage by up to 60%, making it
a good follow-up. It will also trigger the
Gathering Storms
effect, boosting the damage of your next
Stormstrike cast
by 5% per target hit, allowing you to funnel more damage into one
target.
Shocks and Pandemic
In single-target situations, you want to make sure that you keep
Flame Shock active at as close to 100% uptime as possible.
You can refresh it based on the Pandemic window at any time under
5.4 seconds. With Patch 9.2
Lava Lash will refresh
this when there are less than 3 other targets in range, meaning that
it effectively maintains itself with the rotation.
Patch 9.2 also unlinked the cooldown of our Shocks,
meaning we can use either freely. Frost Shock is the stronger
filler so is your go-to cast especially due to it being buffed
by 40%, while
Flame Shock is at the very bottom of our
priority unless it is not active on your target already.
Flame Shock Spread
Patch 9.2 brings the long awaited addition of Flame Shock
spread via
Lava Lash casts. This is simply just free damage
in AoE compared to previous patches due to the extra DoTs, but also
enables a lot of other things such as
Fire Nova,
Primordial Wave
and
Primal Lava Actuators.
The way it currently works is that when you cast Lava Lash,
it does not just apply the DoT to other targets it selects but actually
casts an extra
Flame Shock on them, dealing the direct
damage at the same time.
Talent Specifics
Tier 1 Talents
Lashing Flames provides a strong damage boost
by doubling the output of your
Flame Shock when maintained, which
should be doable at all times on 1 to 2 enemies. If paired with
effects such as
Hot Hand or
Primal Lava Actuators you
can keep this active all the way up to the cap of 6, making it a
strong AoE option just from the DoT damage alone. While this is simple
to play in single-target, it is significantly harder to pull off in AoE
so keep that in mind.
Elemental Blast brings the strongest single-target damage,
and requires you to maintain
Maelstrom Weapon to make sure
you have 5 available when it is about to come off cooldown. This is
the hardest talent to optimally play, but is worth it when you can
manage the rotation around it. In AoE the displacement of other
higher value casts causes it to fall off so is not recommended
in those situations.
Forceful Winds is the simplest option on the tier, and has
very little to play around. It slots into the rotation and will naturally
cycle based on your casts, with slightly higher value when there are
extra targets to proc it with via
Crash Lightning. The only situations
it is currently taken, though, is when paired with
Doom Winds.
Tier 2 Talents
Hot Hand has a very low proc chance which can be frustrating,
but the extreme value of these procs is too much to ignore. It creates a
brief window of a one-two playstyle, having you cycle
Lava Lash casts
between the next highest damage ability available as it floods you with
ability uses. It is ordinarily single-target focused usually, but with the
right build it can also work in AoE and cleave situations, and is
generally the go-to pick in Patch 9.2.
Stormflurry is the easiest to play option, providing a good
boost in both single-target and AoE situations alongside synergizing
well with the
Enhancement Shaman 4-Piece Tier set bonus. The additional hits
do trigger the
Crash Lightning splash and are affected by the damage boost
from
Elemental Assault, but do not trigger the guaranteed extra stack
of
Maelstrom Weapon. They also trigger all on-hit effects
(such as
Windfury Weapon and
Stormbringer).
Ice Strike requires you to be using your Shock spells
aggressively, while also managing the cooldown of itself, and the other
abilities you do in the regular rotation. This clash makes it hard to
execute ideally, and even when it is the payoff is so low that it
is unlikely to see any use. Patch 9.2 effectively kills the
talent due to how high the GCD requirements are from other portions
of the rotation, so it should always be avoided.
Tier 4 Talents
Elemental Assault is the single-target powerhouse on the row,
increasing consistency via the extra reliable
Maelstrom Weapon
charges and increasing the damage of
Stormstrike which pairs
very well with our ideal single-target Legendary
Witch Doctor's Wolf Bones.
Fire Nova has been brought back from the dead thanks to the
addition of
Flame Shock spread via
Lava Lash, meaning
that getting effective casts consistently is realistic now. It does
good upfront AoE, has a fairly low GCD requirement (which is important
in Patch 9.2), and really excels at 4 targets and up.
Hailstorm increases the value of your
Maelstrom Weapon
spending abilities by triggering a buff that turns
Frost Shock
into a huge AoE burst tool. This rounds out the AoE rotation nicely
as a finisher in between the other buttons we use regularly, dictating
the pace via the cooldown of Frost Shock and received a 40% buff in Patch 9.2.
This serves as the mid-range Cleave option and with a build that has room
to fit it in it excels in those situations.
Tier 6 Talents
Sundering is the most flexible option and should always
be your pick. This provides an additional rotational tool for intermittent
downtime, or a heavy burst AoE cooldown if needed with the lowest GCD requirement.
You should make sure to save if it you expect enemies to spawn within
its cooldown instead of burning it on a single target, but otherwise
is a simple active to make use of.
Crashing Storm might be the easiest to play here, but is
extremely weak. While it slots in rotationally without any requirements,
that enemies are prone to moving out of the pool before it gets full
value can often really hurt it. With Patch 9.2 systems considered,
the GCD requirement from this as well means that the value shrinks
because there are simply more valuable buttons to be pressing.
Stormkeeper has a similar story to
Crashing Storm,
it costs too many GCDs to make use of with too little payoff. Because it
does not benefit from
Maelstrom Weapon the
Chain Lightning
casts are pretty unimpactful, and as such it should just be avoided.
Tier 7 Talents
Elemental Spirits improves your
Feral Spirit dropping it
to a 90-second cooldown. Each wolf will come with an independent element
that is rolled randomly when cast:
- Fire —
Molten Weapon. This increases the value of Fire damage you deal, but due to
Lava Lash's high cooldown, is hard to capitalize upon unless you get lucky
Hot Hand procs.
- Frost —
Icy Edge provides a flat damage buff and impacts none of your abilities, just providing a flat damage boost to your hits when active.
- Lightning —
Crackling Surge has large swing potential by boosting the impact of
Stormbringer chains.
You can also roll two of the same wolf, and their boosts multiply. While all of these effects may sound important when reading them, the buffs alone do not dictate your rotation in any meaningful way. Regardless of the number of each wolf active, you will still follow the same priority list at the top of the page based on your talent selections. With the T28 set bonuses, this talent becomes a locked-in choice in all situations.
Ascendance provides a 15-second window of
consistent damage via
Windstrike with the reduced cooldown,
and a big burst on cast. When you pair this boost with the additional
range it provides, it makes for a versatile and high powered option
certain encounter types if planned around correctly, and adds a powerful
burst AoE cast into your arsenal.
Earthen Spike is very much focused on sustained single-target,
but even then does not outdo the alternatives. Picking this means you
are opting into a less desirable damage profile without much in the way
of synergistic talents to improve this. It also has by far the highest
GCD requirement on the row, and as such should be avoided.
Changelog
- 31 May 2022: Page reviewed for Patch 9.2.5.
- 24 Apr. 2022: Small change to AoE priority for Maelstrom spending.
- 21 Feb. 2022: Updated for Patch 9.2 to explain changes, add new rotation tool and AoE sections.
- 01 Nov. 2021: Reviewed and approved for Patch 9.1.5.
- 29 Jun. 2021: Updated for Patch 9.1.
- 09 Mar. 2021: Page updated for Patch 9.0.5 with some small adjustments.
- 24 Nov. 2020: Page updated for Shadowlands launch.
- 13 Oct. 2020: Page updated for the Shadowlands pre-patch.
More Shaman Guides
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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 also follow him on Twitter.
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