Enhancement Shaman DPS Vault of the Incarnates Raid Guide — Dragonflight 10.2.7
On this page, you will find tips, tricks, and strategies tailored to your Enhancement Shaman for each boss of the following raid: Vault of the Incarnates. All our content is updated for World of Warcraft — Dragonflight 10.2.7.
Introduction
Below, you can find class and spec-specific advice for every fight in Vault of the Incarnates. If you are looking for a general overview of the Raid that is not spec-specific, check out our dedicated Vault of the Incarnates guides.
On this page, you will find Enhancement Shaman specific information to deal with each boss in the Vault of the Incarnates raid. These are not complete encounter guides but specific tips for doing the bosses as an Enhancement Shaman.
This page assumes that you already understand most of the mechanics of each encounter. These can be found on the full raid guide, so what is contained here are details specifically tailored toward Enhancement Shaman and how you can deal with each fight as best as possible.
All recommendations are progression-based tips and will not necessarily be the best for an overall DPS ranking.
Boss Talents Cheat Sheet
Due to Enhancement having some different builds depending on encounter types in Vault of the Incarnates, I have compiled a small cheat sheet for each different encounter type. Each individual boss will link the recommended build alongside it in its respective section, and any significant deviations on the spec tree will also be noted.
The general recommendation for all bosses currently is an Elementalist build due to its flexibility across different encounter types, though in the pre-patch Storm is much more competitive.
Vault Enhancement Shaman Cheat Sheet
Elementalist Single Target Build
Due to Season 4 using the Amirdrassil set bonus, we still stay firmly locked into Elementalist on all encounters due to the flexibility and damage profile it comes with. This is largely due to the fact that we have to make no compromises on the thing we are best at - boss damage - while still providing meaningful burst cleave. Our main role in the majority of compositions is to do as much boss damage as possible, and leverage our free cleave tools whenever we can without sacrificing that. As such, many encounters with adds still have us primarily focused on killing the boss and leaving them to the rest of the more efficient AoE specs in the raid.
Suggested Encounters: Import Code:- CcQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMzMzyMDYmZYmZmtZmlZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEAgAAYWmMDmlFzMzMGmZ2wyMzEYsMmZAAmB
Be sure to make use of the 'Copy Export String' button to import the build directly into your game!
Elementalist Cleave/AoE Build
Much like in the previous season, Season 4 still uses a build that brings
most of its cleave tools for free in single target builds. Any talents we
can pick up for more tends to cost us a lot of boss damage without much
worthwhile payoff. Pair this with many of the adds being low-priority fodder
enemies, it means we tend to stick to what we are good at. On a handful of
bosses however, it is useful to make a single swap, dropping out
Swirling Maelstrom in favor of
Crash Lightning as it covers
the resource loss while bringing extra AoE damage. It can also go further
and take
Crashing Storms if necessary, which will be noted in the
individual boss sections.
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Be sure to make use of the 'Copy Export String' button to import the build directly into your game!
Enhancement Shaman Tips for Vault of the Incarnates Encounters
Below we have a series of boxes that can be used to jump to detailed tips for Enhancement on each Vault of the Incarnates encounter, alongside a recommended build. Note that these tips are mostly specific to Enhancement, and do not cover basic aspects of the encounter if they are not important to us.
Vault Enhancement Tips
Eranog
While there are adds on this encounter, they tend to die so quickly that
you rarely get a good chance at doing real AoE to them. Due to their spawning
cycle, it is best instead to rely on Primordial Wave and
Hailstorm
as the method to deal with them, and as such Elementalist works best.
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Tips
- The boss will summon waves of Flamescale Tarasek roughly 20 seconds
into the fight, and then every 30 seconds after.
- This timer means you can squeeze
Primordial Wave in on the pull and get it back in time using the set bonus for the first wave, and hold for the second and third.
- Aim to have
Lava Lash ready to spread quickly as they come in as they tend to die very quickly, so you want to get
Splintered Elements value.
- The adds are too short-lived to justify
Crash Lightning here, so stick to single-target talents.
- This timer means you can squeeze
Spirit Walk is best saved for getting out when dropping
Flamerift. Similarly, if targeted by this and need to position awkwardly around other players to drop it use
Astral Shift.
Wind Rush Totem can be used to help the melee get out quickly, or alternatively used during the intermission to adjust around the
Army of Flame walls.
- During the intermission, aim to have
Primordial Wave and
Feral Spirit ready to burst an add down to create a gap by killing the chosen Primal Flame. Also, apply some spare
Flame Shocks to get extra
Splintered Elements value here.
- If adds are going out of control both
Capacitor Totem and
Thundershock are options, but they are usually dead too quick to be of concern.
- For Mythic difficulty, there are some small approach changes:
- While adds will still die extremely quickly, the newly added Flamescale Captain
will usually last long enough to get value out of
Lashing Flames. This also casts
Pyroblast that needs to be interrupted with
Wind Shear.
Astral Shift is best saved here for
Flamerifts, as you will often be forced to stand in them while the raid adjusts around both them, the add spawns and
Molten Cleave.
- Try to apply
Flame Shock to both adds you intend to kill during
Army of Flame to create a path.
- While adds will still die extremely quickly, the newly added Flamescale Captain
will usually last long enough to get value out of
For more information, please refer to our Eranog guide.
Terros
Terros is the only pure single-target damage encounter in Vault of the Incarnates. As such, just like other single-target focused fights we still recommend Elementalist builds due to the strength of the interaction with the current set bonus and the consistency it provides.
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Tips
- Save
Wind Rush Totem for the
Resonating Annihilation cone cast, especially if you are not using
Demonic Gateway to avoid it as a group.
Spirit Walk is generally the preferred movement tool here as more controlled movement over an extended period allows you to dodge multiple ground effects and should be used liberally whenever you are caught out of place.
Totemic Recall can be used here as a reset for
Wind Rush Totem to cover even more movement as the raid may need it.
Astral Shift is best saved for
Rock Blast soaks, as this is the highest single instance of damage.
- On Mythic however, this is best used for
Infused Fallout, as most strategies rely on the raid stacking and clearing quickly with a quick movement so extra safety is ideal.
Wind Rush Totem can also be considered here to make the spread after smoother.
- On Mythic however, this is best used for
- Use
Ancestral Guidance following the destruction of
Awakened Earth, as the raid will be taking heavy damage from
Seismic Assault.
For more information, please refer to our Terros guide.
The Primal Council
This is a stacked 4-target AoE encounter from start to finish, assuming tanks
can keep them stacked which is relatively easy. As such, we recommend a cleave
Elementalist build with a slight variation to pick up Crashing Storms
to take advantage of the 4th target.
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Tips
Each boss must die within a few seconds of the others, or else you risk a
complete wipe. Because of the naturally high amount of funnel Enhancement does
due to its damage delivery being focused on an "anchor" target, it is wise to
cycle between targets manually to even out damage. This is naturally done
when optimizing your Lashing Flames uptime.
- Due to this encounter being entirely AoE, we opt out of
Elemental Blast for
Tempest Strikes to at least get some value, while still keeping the link to
Flurry.
- Make sure to maintain
Crash Lightning throughout, and cycle targets to apply
Lashing Flames. You will likely be resource-flooded here so aggressively use
Primordial Wave and
Feral Spirit as well, with a slightly higher priority on efficiently using
Hailstorm.
- Focus target either Kadros or Dathea and interrupt their repeat casts on cooldown to keep them in melee.
Wind Rush Totem can be used to get the group into a good position during
Meteor Axes to remove
Earthen Pillars.
Spirit Walk should be used to get into a good soak position for
Meteor Axes, or when you need to clear out
Primal Blizzard with fire patches.
- Position yourself to the side of the clump, ideally to avoid
Slashing Blaze and keep a good angle for
Crash Lightning.
- In Mythic difficulty loosely spread at the edge of melee whenever possible
to avoid spreading
Conductive Mark, and use
Spirit Walk to remove it at an
Earthen Pillar asap.
For more information, please refer to our The Primal Council guide.
Sennarth, the Cold Breath
While there are a lot of adds present here that provide opportunities
to activate Crash Lightning, the priority is boss and add burst
damage. We are excellent at both of these, and the AoE does not matter,
so using an Elementalist build allows us to leverage our funnel
tools.
- Single Target
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- Cleave
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Tips
- Due to the high uptime on adds and the high health priority target Frostbreath
Arachnid,
Crash Lightning is an option here. The boss has a generous hitbox, so aim to keep it active whenever an add is present.
Primordial Wave should be available for every Frostbreath Arachnid spawn as well, so make sure to have burst ready to kill it before the ramping damage becomes an issue. These spawn roughly 10 seconds after the boss settles on a new platform, so plan for this.
- Try to apply
Flame Shock to Caustic Spiderlings just before each
Primordial Wave if possible for additional
Splintered Elements triggers and funnel.
Gust of Wind works very well here, as you can jump just before each
Gossamer Burst when facing away from the boss to stay on the platform. This also can be used to counteract the
Repelling Burst, just be aware you retain momentum and slide across
Icy Ground if you are in it.
- On Mythic,
Gust of Wind can also be used to readjust to a good position if you are caught by a
Gusting Rime during the platform ascent.
- On Mythic,
- Both
Thunderous Paws and
Spirit Walk can be used to remove any stacks of
Sticky Webbing, so long as you are not stunned.
- On Mythic the added ice on the pathway leading up to each new platform
makes it awkward to move here. Using
Ghost Wolf to get ahead is ideal.
Astral Shift is handy for dealing with the
Chilling Blast casts that overlap with these transitions when positioning is more chaotic.
For more information, please refer to our Sennarth guide.
Dathea, Ascended
Dathea is predominantly single-target focused but has add waves that are extremely important to deal with, so some AoE is necessary for both Heroic and Mythic difficulty. Thankfully, Enhancement can take enough AoE while still maintaining a primarily single-target profile to deal with the fight and does not necessarily need to invest in sustained AoE tools due to how short-lived the add portions are. Some extra movement and control tools, however, are great pickups.
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Tips
- While the add spawns may make it appealing to consider
Crash Lightning, adds are either moved apart or die too quick to get sustained use out of it. Instead rely on our free cleave tools.
- Aim to use
Primordial Wave on the Volatile Infuser adds for free damage, but be careful not to burst them down too early and knock the raid off the platform.
- If you are being sent upstairs, aim to have
Primordial Wave ready as well to burst the adds down. Anchor from the large add and spread to the smaller ones.
- If you are being sent upstairs, aim to have
Ancestral Guidance is best used either during
Cyclone when downstairs, or when sent up to the platform to assist the healer with you.
- Having both
Capacitor Totem and
Thundershock is very valuable for the upstairs platform to keep the adds locked down, allowing your group to focus instead on killing them off.
Wind Rush Totem is best used during
Cyclone to make sure you and your allies can stay out of the center.
Gust of Wind is preferable here as it allows you to adjust if you are ever knocked up, and after each, add
Blowback cast to readjust.
- Be very careful if using the above, though, as if targeted by
Conductive Mark you may spread it land on an ally.
- While being knocked up to the platform, try to catch the cast from the
Volatile Infuser to stop casts early using
Wind Shear.
For more information, please refer to our Dathea guide.
Kurog Grimtotem
The primary focus for Kurog is boss damage, and thus single-target is at a premium. Still, regardless of difficulty (though it increases significantly on Mythic), there are windows of cleave and AoE meaning that points can get tight to fit everything in here. Thankfully, Enhancement has access to some good options allowing it to contribute to every part of the fight when playing an Elementalist build.
Suggested Talent Builds:- Normal/Heroic
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- Mythic
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Tips
- Be sure to interrupt the Frozen Destroyer's
Frost Binds cast with
Wind Shear when this add is active.
- Maintain
Lashing Flames on both adds as much as possible as efficient damage is most useful in the intermission with both adds up.
- In Mythic difficulty there is a much higher amount of time spent with
additional enemies nearby, so there are extra damage considerations:
- The boss will spend most of the main phase with an add present as well. Make
sure to also maintain
Lashing Flames on this.
Crash Lightning is more of a premium here so make sure to maintain it throughout whenever adds are present.
Primordial Wave should always aim to hit multiple targets. Ideally, whenever possible, you can spread to leftover adds that spawn throughout. This is especially important during the Earth phase where you can also spread to Earth Breakers
- The boss will spend most of the main phase with an add present as well. Make
sure to also maintain
Ancestral Guidance should be used liberally in the main phase due to the high raid damage as the altar ramps up. This is especially useful in the Earth phase to get rid of the
Enveloping Earth absorbs.
Wind Rush Totem is helpful for the raid to weave in and out of the rings caused by
Erupting Bedrock.
- Quick self-healing with
Healing Surge can be useful to help healers if you are targeted by the
Enveloping Earth Heal absorb.
For more information, please refer to our Kurog Grimtotem guide.
Broodkeeper Diurna
The Encounter will have two separate roles dictated to the DPS: pure boss damage or dealing with the frequent add waves. We are extremely good at both, and there are builds to support both. Regardless though, there will always be a portion of the fight in which you deal with just the boss alone (especially in Mythic), so playing Elementalist is best suited with slight changes depending on your job.
Suggested Talent Builds:- AoE
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- Single-Target
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Tips
- When playing on the adds, taking
Crash Lightning as your extra
Maelstrom Weapon generator is best. You can also opt into
Crashing Storms for full AoE, but it is not strictly necessary to cover the important ones.
- For boss damage, you spend almost no time with adds present and any that do
get close can just be cleaved with tools such as
Primordial Wave, so we go full single-target.
- The first adds wave spawns roughly 40 seconds into the encounter,
so getting
Primordial Wave on cooldown early and squeezing in an extra cycle before they arrive is ideal.
- During add waves only maintain
Lashing Flames on the priority adds - usually Juvenile Frost Proto-Dragon. Funnel as much damage as possible into these as
Chilling Tantrum is very dangerous.
- During these
Chilling Tantrum casts, use
Ancestral Guidance to assist the healers.
- Use
Capacitor Totem and
Wind Shear to help lockdown the Primalist Mages.
Purge is an option to deal with the
Cauterizing Flashflames, but this is better dealt with using AoE dispel tools. If your group is struggling, consider this.
- Movement tools are at a premium here, so
Wind Rush Totem and
Spirit Walk are highly recommended if assigned to adds.
- Both
Thunderous Paws and
Spirit Walk can break the
Frozen Shroud casts in the final burn phase, and you should do so ASAP to avoid death.
- On add waves with Drakonid Stormbringer present save
Wind Shear to interrupt
Static Jolt.
- Use
Astral Shift if targeted by
Empowered Greatstaff of the Broodkeeper, especially those that overlap with
Wildfire casts.
For more information, please refer to our Broodkeeper Diurna guide.
Raszageth the Storm-Eater
Raszageth has many desirable damage profiles depending on your group and its struggles. We have many options that can be taken, but generally a boss damage focused single-target build works best just using some of our cleave tools efficiently to deal with the extra damage requirements.
Suggested Talent Builds:- CcQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMzMzyMDYmZYmZmtZmlZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEAgAAYWmMDmlFzMzMGmZ2wyMzEYsMmZAAmB
Tips
Wind Shear,
Purge,
Sundering,
Thunderstorm and
Capacitor Totem can all deal with the
Volatile Current adds, and many are at a premium due to being AoE.
- Both
Spirit Walk and
Gust of Wind are useful here, with the former having more general applications and the latter allowing you to move quickly out of dangerous
Lightning Breath and
Lightning Devastation casts.
- In Mythic,
Feral Lunge helps to keep you on the platform, as the pushback is significantly stronger.
- In Mythic,
Astral Shift is best saved for situations where you are targeted by
Static Charge.
- In Mythic,
Astral Bulwark is a consideration due to the sheer damage done by
Static Charge, and can be used in any situation where the raid is not covered by cooldowns.
- In Mythic,
Primordial Wave has several uses throughout the encounter and plays a large role in what makes Elementalist builds so good here:
- In the first intermission, this can be used on the first and third sets
of adds after spreading
Flame Shock from the Surging Ruiner, helping to clean them up quickly.
- Can be used for every
Stormsurge shield, which are cast roughly 80 seconds apart, so in some cases, you can get an extra cast in between.
- In the second intermission, you can make use of the Colossal Stormfiend
to spread and burst the small adds down while funneling into the large add with
the
Splintered Elements buff.
- In Mythic. if assigned to the Red side with Flamesworn Herald, you will need to
burst down the shields. To do this, you should use
Primordial Wave which with efficient play should be ready for every single cast, so make sure to use it here. You can also take
Manic Grieftorch as an extra burst tool if you have access to one and your side is struggling. Discuss these assignments with your raid.
- In the first intermission, this can be used on the first and third sets
of adds after spreading
- In Mythic, if assigned to the Blue side with Frostforged Zealot, use
Ancestral Guidance in tandem with your cooldowns to help get rid of the
Shattering Shroud debuff.
Wind Rush Totem has applications throughout the encounter and should be used regularly. Discuss with your raid to cover important movement events.
- Both
Thunderous Paws and
Spirit Walk can be taken to remove the
Fulminating Charge root and can be taken if needed.
For more information, please refer to our Raszageth guide.
Changelog
- 07 May 2024: Reviewed for 10.2.7.
- 22 Apr. 2024: Updated for Season 4.
- 01 May 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.1.
- 20 Mar. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
- 24 Jan. 2023: Large updates with Mythic tips added for all bosses.
- 11 Dec. 2022: Page added.
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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