Enhancement Shaman DPS Spec, Builds, and Talents — Shadowlands 9.2
On this page, you will find out the best talents for each tier for your Enhancement Shaman in World of Warcraft — Shadowlands 9.2. We also have default talent lists for various types of content, such as raiding or Mythic+. If you play with Warmode on, we have your PvP talents covered as well.
If you were looking for TBC Classic content, please refer to our TBC Classic Enhancement Shaman talents.
Talent Choices for Enhancement Shaman
Level | Choices | ||
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15 |
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25 |
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30 |
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35 |
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40 |
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45 |
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50 |
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Talents can be freely changed when out of combat and in a rested XP area
(such as an inn or a capital city). Moreover, Tome of the Still Mind and
Codex of the Still Mind can be used to temporarily allow players to change
talents anywhere, as long as they are out of combat.
Enhancement Shaman Talent Cheat Sheet
This section aims to provide you with a quick and easy set of builds for different situations that lets you get the most out of your Enhancement Shaman. Enhancement currently focuses on having every part of its build built together, as there is a lot of synergy between certain parts that alter the priority and the Covenant you are playing so there is not a single build that covers everything. Because of that, we have compiled everything together below based on the Legendary selected and the damage profile it brings:
Witch Doctor's Wolf Bones: Pure Single-Target
This build sacrifices focuses specifically on dealing as
much single-target damage as possible and makes use of the Witch Doctor's Wolf Bones
Legendary effect. It does sacrifice AoE and flexibility to
do so, but is absolutely the highest output in scenarios it excels at.
This is usually paired with Night Fae.
- Level 15:
Elemental Blast
- Level 25:
Hot Hand
- Level 30: Player's Choice
- Level 35:
Elemental Assault
- Level 40: Player's Choice
- Level 45:
Sundering
- Level 50:
Elemental Spirits
Primal Lava Actuators: Multi-target and Funnel
New in Patch 9.2, this makes use of the new
Flame Shock spread and focuses on
Lava Lash
using
Primal Lava Actuators. It can leverage this for
funnel damage by focusing on a priority target, or maintain
debuffs on multiple targets to convert it into AoE so is
extremely flexible and strong when there are multiple
enemies active. This is usually paired with
Necrolord, but can use Venthyr
as well.
- Level 15:
Lashing Flames
- Level 25:
Hot Hand
- Level 30: Player's Choice
- Level 35:
Fire Nova
- Level 40: Player's Choice
- Level 45:
Sundering
- Level 50:
Elemental Spirits
Doom Winds: Burst and Uncapped AoE Damage
This is the only build we have access to that
has completely uncapped AoE, and has the advantage of
being frontloaded burst using Doom Winds
windows. This is more niche but very useful for certain
Mythic+ dungeons and pull routes. This is usually
paired with Venthyr, but is flexible
with other Covenants.
- Level 15:
Forceful Winds
- Level 25:
Stormflurry
- Level 30: Player's Choice
- Level 35:
Hailstorm
- Level 40: Player's Choice
- Level 45:
Sundering
- Level 50:
Elemental Spirits
Raiding
The above builds are more broad options, but do not account for specific boss-by-boss encounters. If you are looking for specific advice, you can check our dedicated raid page below.
Mythic+
Mythic+ can potentially require a mix of certain AoE and Single-Target talents, depending on affixes and other variables. If you want advice that is specific to Mythic+, you should check out our page below.
How To Use Enhancement Shaman Talents
A lot of the Enhancement talent choices add an additional ability or alter how you would play. We recommend you look at our rotation page linked below for more details on this.
Tier 1 (Level 15) Talents for Enhancement Shaman
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Tier 1 talents provide damage increases for different damage profiles.
Lashing Flames causes your
Lava Lash to leave a debuff on your target for 20 seconds, increasing the direct damage and DoT effect of your
Flame Shock by 100%.
Forceful Winds causes each successive
Windfury Attack within 15 seconds to increase all Windfury damage by 35%. This effect does not refresh itself.
Elemental Blast is an active ability with a 12-second cooldown and 40-yard range. This deals heavy Elemental damage, and increases your Haste or Critical Strike by 3%, or your Mastery by 6% for 10 seconds. This has a 2-second cast time, but damage can be increased and cast time reduced via
Maelstrom Weapon.
Elemental Blast deals a significant amount of single-target
damage, but has a higher requirement to use and falls off in AoE.
This is the ideal pure single-target option without factoring in
Legendaries.
Lashing Flames has the most ease of use in single-target,
but to make use of it in AoE it can be quite demanding. Thanks to
the Patch 9.2 change to allow
Lava Lash to spread
Flame Shock, this is now a good option for many different
scenarios, and gets extra benefit from
Hot Hand and
Primal Lava Actuators to allow you to maintain it on
multiple targets easier.
Forceful Winds is flexible in the type of damage it brings,
but it relies on you playing the
Doom Winds Legendary. Otherwise,
it has no rotational or build requirements.
Tier 2 (Level 25) Talents for Enhancement Shaman
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Tier 2 talents provide additional procs or active abilities that mix up the rotation.
Stormflurry grants
Stormstrike a 25% chance to strike your target an additional time for 40% damage. This effect can chain off itself and triggers all on-hit effects.
Hot Hand grants your melee auto-attacks with
Flametongue Weapon imbued a 5% chance to trigger an 8-second buff, reducing the cooldown of
Lava Lash by 75% and increasing its damage by 100%.
Ice Strike is an active ability with a 15-second cooldown (reduced by Haste). Deals moderate Frost damage, slows your target by 50% for 6 seconds and resets the cooldown of your Shock spells when cast.
Hot Hand provides a short burst window that creates a
one-two cycle of
Lava Lash-into-filler spell for
huge damage. This is a strong option for pure single-target situations,
and when paired with
Lashing Flames and
Primal Lava Actuators
is strong for AoE and funnel situations as well.
Stormflurry is the most simple to play choice on this row,
granting a solid single-target increase and also providing an extra
boost in AoE. The additional hits triggered can proc the splash
effect from
Crash Lightning, but note that it does not
generate the guaranteed
Maelstrom Weapon charge from
Elemental Assault.
Ice Strike is simply a bad pick in all current situations.
The additional active ability and low payoff when
cast makes it undesirable, and with it cluttering the
rotation which in Patch 9.2 comes at a premium with
our limited open GCDs this should always be avoided.
Tier 3 (Level 30) Talents for Enhancement Shaman
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Tier 3 talents provide utility tools for different scenarios.
Spirit Wolf causes
Ghost Wolf to grant an additional 5% Movement Speed and 5% damage reduction each second while active, stacking up to 4 times. These stacks are lost when leaving Ghost Wolf.
Earth Shield applies a shield to your target with 9 charges, increasing all healing you do to them by 20%. If the target takes damage, a charge will be consumed and heal them a small amount. This can only be active on one target at a time.
Static Charge reduces the cooldown of your
Capacitor Totem by 5 seconds per target hit, up to a maximum of 20 seconds.
Spirit Wolf provides the most flexible use here. It can be
awkward to make use of and requires you to shift into
Ghost Wolf
more than you may want to, but flat damage reduction and movement speed
can be very strong.
Unfortunately for Earth Shield, it is now exclusive with
Lightning Shield which has been made baseline for Enhancement.
The
Maelstrom Weapon the latter provides means that the overall
healing from Earth Shield tends to be weaker in solo content. In situations
such as raids, where you do not expect this to be happening, though, the
extra self-healing boost this gives can be useful if you keep maintaining
it. If playing Kyrian, this is a damage increasing tool as it
is the best method to trigger
Raging Vesper Vortex, making it
mandatory.
Static Charge is extremely niche for situations where you
expect to be frequently stunning large numbers of enemies on cooldown,
which even in Mythic+ is rare. Can be an extra crowd control option
if necessary.
Tier 4 (Level 35) Talents for Enhancement Shaman
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Tier 4 talents offer big, but specialized damage increase choices.
Elemental Assault increases the damage of your
Stormstrike by 15%, and causes it to always generate one additional stack of
Maelstrom Weapon.
Hailstorm causes each stack of
Maelstrom Weapon you spend (on spells such as
Lightning Bolt) to trigger a buff, causing your next
Frost Shock cast to deal 15% additional damage and hit 1 extra target per stack.
Fire Nova is an active ability with a 15-second cooldown, causing each of your active
Flame Shocks to erupt dealing low Fire damage to up to 6 targets around them.
All three of these options are good and your decision is based on what damage profile you are looking for. This row is one of the most important to define your rotation.
Elemental Assault provides the best single-target
damage increase, improving the damage of
Stormstrike.
The real benefit though is the extra
Maelstrom Weapon which
helps to cycle
Feral Spirit thanks to the
Witch Doctor's Wolf Bones
Legendary effect, so is the pick for these situations.
Fire Nova is now a full-fledged AoE talent thanks
to the Patch 9.2
Flame Shock spread being added,
and can set itself up without needing heavy GCD investment. This
deals good funnel damage without requiring extra effort, and
at 5+ targets also brings the highest AoE available on the row.
Hailstorm excels at 3-4 targets, but is the most
rotationally disruptive option on this row. The Patch 9.2
buff to
Frost Shock brings this up as a good low target
cleave option, but the builds it slots into are more specific as
it is very GCD hungry.
Tier 5 (Level 40) Talents for Enhancement Shaman
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Tier 5 talents provide additional movement and healing options.
Nature's Guardian causes you to heal for 20% of your maximum health when you drop below 35% health. This effect has a 45-second cooldown.
Feral Lunge is an 8-25 yard range charge that also does minor Physical damage. This is on a 30-second cooldown and a 0.5-second Global Cooldown.
Wind Rush Totem summons a totem for 15 seconds that increases the speed of allies within 10 yards by 60% for 5 seconds. As long as allies remain in the area this will be refreshed. This has a 2-minute cooldown and can be placed up to 40 yards away.
In any situation where your group can capitalize upon
Wind Rush Totem, it is the best choice by far. The refresh effect in
the area is extremely powerful as it allows for unique benefits to the group to
deal with mechanics. If this is not necessary, however,
Feral Lunge
provides a good amount of additional personal mobility and sticking power, so is
a great choice in those circumstances.
Nature's Guardian, on the other hand, gives you a modest amount of
additional self-sustain that will also automatically activate, keeping you
healthy in situations where you are brought low. This is a solid choice for
Raids and Dungeons, especially in the event that you are not in need of extra
mobility.
Tier 6 (Level 45) Talents for Enhancement Shaman
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Tier 6 talents focus on providing additional burst and AoE tools.
Crashing Storm causes
Crash Lightning to also leave an electrified zone on the ground for 6 seconds, dealing low Nature damage to any target within it each second.
Stormkeeper is an active ability with a 1-minute cooldown that causes your next two
Chain Lightning casts to be instant and deal 300% increased damage. This has a 1.5-second cast, but can be made instant via
Maelstrom Weapon stacks.
Sundering is an active ability with a 40-second cooldown that deals massive "FlameStrike" (Fire/Physical) damage in a line and incapacitates targets hit for 2 seconds.
Sundering provides a flexible choice in all situations, providing
an extra burst AoE tool that Enhancement can sometimes be lacking in.
It can also slot in to fill gaps in the single-target rotation as a high
value cast without any cost. It can also trigger
Windfury Weapon
imbue procs, meaning it synergizes excellently with
Doom Winds.
It also has the lowest GCD requirement on the row which is very important
in Patch 9.2.
Stormkeeper has no strong use cases currently.
Since it does not scale with
Maelstrom Weapon on the spenders,
and requires 3 globals and some resource to make use of does not justify
the damage it deals, so should be avoided.
Crashing Storm has little to no value in Patch 9.2
situations because of how GCD constrained we are.
Crash Lightning
as a filler has dropped in priority, and even with the damage this brings
it struggles to even compete with
Frost Shock. In AoE the story
is even worse because Sundering deals more on average in sustained fights,
while also being burst. Avoid this.
Tier 7 (Level 50) Talents for Enhancement Shaman
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Tier 7 talents enhance existing burst windows, or grant new ones.
Elemental Spirits reduces the cooldown of
Feral Spirit by 30 seconds, and and causes you to spawn two wolves in any combination from a pool of 3 Elements that provide the following buffs to you for the 15-second duration:
- Fire —
Molten Weapon increases your Fire damage by 20% and causes
Lava Lash to burn the target for an additional 35% of the damage dealt over 4 seconds. This effect accumulates much like
Mastery: Ignite for Fire Mages.
- Frost —
Icy Edge causes all of your attacks to deal a fixed amount of additional Frost damage and slow the target by 30% for 3 seconds.
- Lightning —
Crackling Surge increases the damage of
Stormstrike and
Windfury Attack by 35%.
- Fire —
Earthen Spike deals heavy Physical damage and increases the Physical and Nature damage you do to the affected target by 20% for 10 seconds. Has a 20-second cooldown.
Ascendance deals massive Nature damage around you when cast. It provides a 15 second buff that for the duration converts
Stormstrike to
Windstrike with a 66% reduced cooldown, and your auto attacks into
Windlash. These both ignore armour and a 30-yard range.
Elemental Spirits is a strong option especially if you
are playing a
Witch Doctor's Wolf Bones single-target build.
Once you gain access to the Tier 28 set bonus however, this becomes
a lock in no matter what scenario and is always played.
Ascendance provides a high power burst window both
in AoE from the pulse when cast, and in single-target from the 15-second
window. It does however come with a long cooldown, and due to the set
bonus coming in Patch 9.2 it pushes strongly away from this
talent.
Earthen Spike is single-target focused and for pure sustained
damage it can work. It has synergy with both
Doom Winds and
Legacy of the Frost Witch, however the former has a preference for
Ascendance, and the latter is currently too weak to
consider. In Cleave and AoE, this value drops significantly meaning it
does not serve an adequate niche to justify picking.
PvP Talents (War Mode)
"War Mode" is an optional feature that enables open world PvP encounters that confers some benefits when active:
- Grants access to PvP talents in the open world.
- 10% increase in World Quest rewards at max level.
- 10% more experience gained while leveling.
- Earn Conquest Points which can reward gear every week.
With the benefits of War Mode for leveling and PvE content, it is recommended to enable the feature to maximize your leveling and rewards at maximum level. However, you will open yourself up to open world PvP, so be aware of hostile enemy players who could interfere with you, this is a risk you will have to decide on your own if you want take.
If you are interested in doing PvP as an Enhancement Shaman or want to look into how to deal with PvP encounters when playing it, please refer to our dedicated PvP guide.
Enhancement Shaman War Mode Talents
Generally the selections are made to optimize your ability to kill enemies faster, increasing your pace when moving through content. In the Shadowlands update, the PvP crowd control reduction talents have been removed, and will be replaced by trinkets available at level 60
Ride the Lightning provides the largest damage increase option, adding additional effects to each
Stormstrike cast.
Shamanism allows for more liberal
Bloodlust /
Heroism usage without having to worry about the 10-minute lockout. Great for solo and duo content.
Skyfury Totem provides a moderate boost when staying in the same area, increasing your Critical Strike damage and Healing by 20% for 15-seconds, with a 40-second cooldown that is low enough to be used liberally, and boosting allies within its range on top of that.
Counterstrike Totem replicates and reflects damage you take for 15 seconds, on a 45-second cooldown. This can be really strong when in dealing with lots of enemies to convert your health pool into damage.
Other options that are useful include Swelling Waves and
Spectral Recovery as healing tools, increasing your sustain either
while in combat or moving between encounters.
Thundercharge can
have some limited uses, increasing the recovery rate of your cooldowns between
areas, but Enhancement does not have a lot of impactful tools to make use of
this effect.
Ethereal Form,
Seasoned Winds,
Static Field Totem,
Unleash Shield and
Grounding Totem have very limited PvE uses,
being more focused on in-combat control more suited to a PvP engagement,
and as such are not really recommended for efficient enemy killing.
Changelog
- 21 Feb. 2022: Updated for Patch 9.2 with new build sections.
- 01 Nov. 2021: Checked for Patch 9.1.5, removed Covenant note.
- 29 Jun. 2021: Updated for Patch 9.1.
- 09 Mar. 2021: Updated for Patch 9.0.5 to reflect Stormkeeper changes.
- 18 Jan. 2021: Refined some selections and removed more niche options due to build dominance.
- 24 Nov. 2020: Page updated for Shadowlands launch.
- 13 Oct. 2020: Page updated for the Shadowlands 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 also follow him on Twitter.
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