Elemental Shaman Guide — Class Guides · WoW Burning Crusade

Ranged nature and fire damage: stronger, cheaper Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning, and Elemental Mastery.

A caster and fighter in leather, and later mail, who calls on the elements with shocks and totems. Shamans heal, deal damage with Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning, or fight in melee with weapon enchantments. More about the shaman

Class: Shaman
Roles: Damage
Used for: Raids and dungeons, Player versus player
Top talent: Totem of Wrath
Popular builds: 2
Version: WoW Burning Crusade

How to play

Elemental's deep talent, Totem of Wrath, gives your party 3% spell hit and crit, so every raid wants an Elemental shaman with its casters. Lightning Overload can cast a second Lightning Bolt or Chain Lightning for half damage, Elemental Mastery makes a spell a certain crit, and Unrelenting Storm returns mana based on Intellect.

The rotation stays simple: Lightning Bolt as filler and Chain Lightning when ready, with Totem of Wrath, Wrath of Air and Mana Spring down and Water Shield up.

Elemental is also strong in arenas, with Elemental Mastery burst and Earth Shock interrupts.

At a glance

Single-target damage
Damage to groups
Survivability
Utility for the group
Solo play and leveling
Ease of play

Rated 1 to 5 against the other specs in WoW Burning Crusade.

Rotation and priorities

1Totem of Wrath, Wrath of Air and Mana Spring for your party.
2Water Shield on.
3Lightning Bolt as your main spell.
4Chain Lightning whenever it is ready.
5Elemental Mastery with Bloodlust and trinkets.
6Bloodlust or Heroism when the raid calls for it.

Strengths and weaknesses

Strengths

Totem of Wrath helps every caster in your party.
Bloodlust or Heroism.
Lightning Overload adds free damage.

Weaknesses

Runs low on mana in long fights.
Less personal damage than mages and warlocks.
Few escapes.

Stats and gear

Stat priority

Most valuable first. Bars compare each stat with the best one; a cap in the note means the stat drops off once you reach it.

1
Spell damagenature damage counts
2
Hitto 16%, less Totem of Wrath and talents
3
Critical strike
4
Spell haste
5
Intellect
6
Mana per 5 sec

What to look for

Spell damage and hit; cloth caster pieces are fine early on.
Spell damage gems in red sockets.
A one-handed mace or dagger with a shield.

Items worth chasing

Icon of the Silver CrescentSpell damage, and more on use.
Quagmirran's EyeA spell haste proc.
Spellstrike HoodCrafted cloth helm with spell hit.

Builds

Each bar splits the build's talent points by tree.

Elemental
Enhancement
Restoration

Totem of Wrath Stormcaller
DamagePvE
4120
41/0/20
Raid Elemental: Totem of Wrath raises spell crit and hit for the group, Lightning Overload doubles some casts, and Elemental Mastery adds a free crit.
- Elemental Fury 1/1
- Elemental Precision 3/3
- Elemental Mastery 1/1
- Lightning Overload 5/5
- Totem of Wrath 1/1
Open in the talent calculator Theorycrafting Talent order by level
Elemental Mastery Burst
DamagePvP
4021
40/0/21
Elemental for arenas: Elemental Mastery into a guaranteed crit, Nature's Swiftness for an instant heal, and Restoration for staying power.
- Elemental Fury 1/1
- Elemental Mastery 1/1
- Elemental Shields 3/3
- Lightning Overload 5/5
- Nature's Swiftness 1/1
Open in the talent calculator Theorycrafting

Key talents

Totem of Wrath · top talent, up to 1
Summons a Totem of Wrath with 5 health at the feet of the caster. The totem increases the chance to hit and critically strike with spells by 3% for all party members within 20 yards. Lasts 2 min.
Improved Fire Totems · tier 4, up to 2
Reduces the delay before your Fire Nova Totem activates by 2 sec. and decreases the threat generated by your Magma Totem by 50%.
Storm Reach · tier 5, up to 2
Increases the range of your Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning spells by 6 yards.
Elemental Fury · tier 5, up to 1
Increases the critical strike damage bonus of your Searing, Magma, and Fire Nova Totems and your Fire, Frost, and Nature spells by 100%.
Unrelenting Storm · tier 5, up to 5
Regenerate mana equal to 10% of your Intellect every 5 sec, even while casting.
Elemental Precision · tier 6, up to 3
Increases your chance to hit with Fire, Frost and Nature spells by 6% and reduces the threat caused by Fire, Frost and Nature spells by 10%.
Lightning Mastery · tier 6, up to 5
Reduces the cast time of your Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning spells by 0.5 sec.
Elemental Mastery · tier 7, up to 1
When activated, this spell gives your next Fire, Frost, or Nature damage spell a 100% critical strike chance and reduces the mana cost by 100%.
Elemental Shields · tier 7, up to 3
Reduces the chance you will be critically hit by melee and ranged attacks by 6%.
Lightning Overload · tier 8, up to 5
Gives your Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning spells a 20% chance to cast a second, similar spell on the same target at no additional cost that causes half damage and no threat.

Elemental Combat abilities by level

When each ability arrives: trained abilities at the level a trainer first teaches them, talent abilities (gold frame) at the first level the talent can be taken.