Elemental Shaman guide for WoW Forever

Update 3 November: the development notes of 2 November change this class a lot: Lava Burst is removed, more in our post. The new trees are not in the game data yet, so the builds and talents below still follow the old tree. We update this guide as soon as the new trees are in the game.

The Elemental Shaman in WoW Forever fights at range with lightning and lava. The spec starts slow, but once Lava Burst is in your build, the big critical hits and the extra Lightning Bolts from Lightning Overload stack up fast. Totems make you welcome in every group. This guide covers the level 30 build, the key talents, the rotation, totems, mana, stats and races.

Role	Ranged damage, single target and groups
Build at level 30	21 points in Elemental, Talented adds Trial by Fire 2/2, Lightning Overload 3/3 and Elemental Fury 1/5
Key talents	Elemental Focus, Trial by Fire, Earthbound, Lava Burst, Lightning Overload
Strength	Good damage on groups, raid-wide totems, a lot of utility
Weakness	Mana, no hard crowd control, totem positioning
Other Shaman guides	Enhancement Shaman, Restoration Shaman, Shaman leveling, Shaman level build

Strengths and weaknesses

Damage on groups. Magma Totem and Fire Nova, now its own spell that bursts out of your active fire totem, make area damage easy. Chain Lightning adds to it.

Group buffs. Totems give stats, Windfury to weapons and resistances. In Forever they work for the whole raid, not only your party.

Utility. Purge removes an enemy buff, Earth Shock interrupts, and you cure poison and disease. With Improved Ghost Wolf you move fast in combat, indoors too.

Mana. Shamans burn through mana, and Elemental more than most: you keep casting for damage and reach the best mana talents late. Until your gear catches up, this is the main brake on the spec.

Little crowd control. No hard crowd control. Earthbind Totem slows, and with Earthbound it roots, but it drops at your feet.

Positioning. Windfury Totem must reach the melee, your stat totems the group, and Magma Totem the enemies you hit with Fire Nova.

The level 30 build

The beta stopped at level 30, so the build uses 21 points. Talented from the Legacy system adds 5 more. Open the build in the talent calculator.

Talent	Points
Convection	3/5
Concussion	5/5
Elemental Alacrity	3/3
Call of Flame	3/3
Elemental Focus	1/1
Trial by Fire	1/2
Eye of the Storm	3/3
Earthbound	1/1
Lava Burst	1/1

Open the Talented version with Trial by Fire 2/2, Lightning Overload 3/3 and Elemental Fury 1/5.

Lava Burst sits in the fifth row and needs 20 points above it, so it is the 21st point. Our Shaman leveling guide has a solo version with the second point in Trial by Fire instead of Earthbound.

What the key talents do

Talent	What it does in Forever
Convection	At 3/5: Shocks, Lightning Bolt, Lava Burst and Chain Lightning cost 6% less mana
Concussion	Lightning Bolt, Chain Lightning and Earth Shock deal 5% more damage
Elemental Alacrity	Lightning Bolt, Chain Lightning and Lava Burst cast 0.5 seconds faster
Call of Flame	Fire totems, Flame Shock, Fire Nova and Lava Burst deal 15% more damage, and Flame Shock lasts 9 seconds longer
Elemental Focus	10% chance after a damage spell that your next damage spell costs no mana
Trial by Fire	At 2/2: Fire Nova deals 20% more damage with a 4 seconds shorter cooldown, and Magma Totem lasts 20 seconds longer
Eye of the Storm	70% chance that damage does not push back Lightning Bolt, Chain Lightning and Lava Burst
Earthbound	Earthbind Totem roots nearby enemies for 5 seconds when you drop it
Lava Burst	Hurls lava for 113 to 146 Fire damage, 20% more if your Flame Shock is on the target. 2.5 second cast, 10 second cooldown
Lightning Overload	10% chance that Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning cast a second copy for half damage, free and without threat
Elemental Fury	At 1/5: 20% more critical strike damage for your fire, frost and nature spells and your Searing and Magma Totems

Lightning Overload is the talent that makes the spec fun in Forever: the extra spell costs you nothing. Elemental Fury grows with every point you add after level 30.

Rotation

One target

1. Keep Searing Totem down. Be in combat first, so the totem does not waste time.
2. Pull with Lava Burst.
3. Cast Flame Shock right after it: the instant shock lands before the slower lava, and Lava Burst then deals more damage.
4. Keep Flame Shock on the target.
5. Cast Lava Burst whenever it is off cooldown.
6. Fill with Lightning Bolt.

Groups

1. Keep Magma Totem down in range of the enemies.
2. Pull with Lava Burst, then Flame Shock right after it.
3. Cast Fire Nova whenever it is off cooldown.
4. Cast Chain Lightning as long as your mana allows.

Mana

1. Clearcasting from Elemental Focus: always spend it, even on a spell that is not ideal at that moment.
2. Convection saves a lot over a full fight, more so as your mana pool grows.
3. Mindfulness, 3 points early in the Restoration tree, keeps 50% of your mana regeneration going while you cast. Worth it once you have spare points.
4. Mana Spring Totem in your Water Totem slot, and mana potions in your bags.
5. Water Shield, deeper in the Restoration tree, restores mana on critical hits. It gives no passive mana in Forever.

Totems and movement

• Call of the Elements and the other Call spells drop a saved set of four totems with one button. They have a cast time.
• Totemic Recall takes your totems back for a little mana. Totemic Projection moves your active totems up to 30 yards, but costs a lot of mana: use it sparingly.
• Windfury Totem is the best melee buff in the game. Without the party restriction, it works for the whole raid.
• Tremor Totem removes fear, sleep and charm from allies in range. Good timing saves runs.
• Poison Cleansing Totem and Disease Cleansing Totem remove one effect per pulse.
• Ghost Wolf with Improved Ghost Wolf is instant and works indoors, so you can reposition in a fight. Shifting in and out costs a global cooldown.

Only drop the totems you and your group need, and agree with other Shamans who brings what.

Mouseover casting

Mouseover casting is built into Forever. Turn it on in Options, Combat: your spells then go to the unit under your mouse, frames included, while you keep your own target. That way you Purge or cure poison without losing your damage target. Click Casting in the Keybindings menu gives each mouse button its own spell.

Stats and gear

Stat priorities for level 60 follow after the launch. Until then:

• Spell damage: your main damage stat, and not on every piece of gear.
• Critical strike chance: every critical hit is worth more mana, and Elemental Fury makes them hit harder.
• Hit: less important early, but a missed spell wastes damage and mana. A high priority near level 60.
• Intellect: a bigger mana pool and more spell critical strike chance.
• Spirit: your main mana regeneration in Forever.
• Haste: faster casts and global cooldown, but not faster Flame Shock ticks, and you spend mana faster.

Armor. Cloth, leather or mail, whatever has the right stats: a lighter armor type has no penalty in Forever. Dungeons and Leatherworking give good leveling gear.

Weapon. As much spell damage as possible, then Intellect and hit. A one-handed weapon with a shield is usually best, but a better staff is fine too.

Totems. The relic slot of the Shaman. Still rare; look for one that helps your mana.

Races and professions

Faction	Race	Why
Alliance	Dwarf	The only Alliance Shaman, with 1% hit from Artisan’s Precision
Horde	Orc	Blood Fury for a burst window, the strongest choice
Horde	Troll	Survival abilities and Berserking
Horde	Tauren	Defensive racials, nothing for damage
Horde	Windshaper Skyborne	2% more spell and melee haste

Leatherworking makes well-statted gear while you level, with spell power, which is rare early on. Engineering makes strong trinkets and gadgets. Enchanting makes a strong totem early, Polished Driftwood Icon. More about groups in our dungeon guides.