Shaman Class Guide — Class Guides · WoW Wrath of the Lich King
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.
Draenei bring the shaman to the Alliance.
- Roles
- Damage, Healer
- Specializations
- 3
- Popular builds
- 7
- Version
- WoW Wrath of the Lich King
How the shaman plays
Shamans in Wrath bring Bloodlust or Heroism to the whole raid, and every spec is strong: Elemental with Lava Burst, Enhancement with Maelstrom Weapon and Feral Spirit, Restoration with Riptide and Chain Heal.
Call of the Elements drops a set of four totems at once, and Wind Shear interrupts spells on a short cooldown.
Water Shield and Mana Tide Totem keep mana flowing, and Hex turns an enemy into a frog.
Strengths and weaknesses
Strengths
- Heroism or Bloodlust for the whole raid.
- Totems and Mana Tide for the party.
- Chain Heal and Riptide.
Weaknesses
- Totems must be dropped again after moving.
- Few escapes.
- Mana on long fights.
Specializations
The specs compared
Each spec rated from 1 to 5 at what it does in WoW Wrath of the Lich King. Single and several targets mean damage for damage specs, healing for healers and threat for tanks; a spec's own guide names its ratings for its role.
| Rating |  Elemental |  Enhancement |  Restoration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single target | |||
| Several targets | |||
| Survivability | |||
| Utility | |||
| Solo and leveling | |||
| Ease of play |
- Elemental
Damage · 2 builds
Ranged nature and fire damage: stronger, cheaper Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning, and Elemental Mastery.
Top talent:
Elemental guide
Thunderstorm - Enhancement
Damage · 3 builds
Melee damage with weapon enchantments, Stormstrike and Flurry. The usual leveling tree.
Top talent:
Enhancement guide
Feral Spirit - Restoration
Healer · 2 builds
Healing with Chain Heal, Healing Wave and healing totems.
Top talent:
Restoration guide
Riptide
Gear
- Mail for every spec.
- Elemental wants spell power, hit (17%, 446 rating), haste and crit; Enhancement wants hit, expertise, attack power, haste and crit; Restoration wants spell power, haste, mana per 5 seconds and crit.
- Totems in the relic slot boost specific abilities.
Each spec guide ranks its stats and says what to look for on its gear.
Shaman class quests
The quests that unlock class abilities, by the level each route starts at.