Elemental Shaman Guide — Class Guides · WoW Wrath of the Lich King

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: Thunderstorm
Popular builds: 2
Version: WoW Wrath of the Lich King

How to play

Elemental in Wrath centres on Lava Burst, which always crits when your Flame Shock is on the target, and Lightning Bolt with Lightning Overload. Totem of Wrath raises the raid's spell power, Thunderstorm knocks enemies back and restores mana, and Elemental Mastery adds burst.

Keep Flame Shock up, Lava Burst whenever ready, Chain Lightning on several targets and Lightning Bolt to fill. Water Shield and Thunderstorm keep your mana up.

Elemental is strong in arenas with Thunderstorm and burst.

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 Wrath of the Lich King.

Rotation and priorities

1Totem of Wrath and the totems your raid needs.
2Flame Shock kept up.
3Lava Burst whenever it is ready.
4Lightning Bolt to fill; Chain Lightning on several targets.
5Elemental Mastery with Heroism and trinkets.
6Thunderstorm and Water Shield for mana.

Strengths and weaknesses

Strengths

Totem of Wrath and Heroism for the raid.
Lava Burst burst.
Thunderstorm knocks enemies away.

Weaknesses

Totems must be dropped again after moving.
Few escapes.
Mana on very long fights.

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
Hitto 446 rating, less talents
2
Spell power
3
Haste
4
Critical strike
5
Intellect
6
Mana per 5 sec

What to look for

Spell power and hit to the cap, then haste.
Spell power gems.
A one-handed weapon with a shield, or a staff.

Items worth chasing

Phylactery of the Nameless LichA trinket with a big spell power proc.
Muradin's SpyglassA trinket that stacks spell power.
Dying CurseA trinket with a spell power proc.

Builds

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

Elemental
Enhancement
Restoration

Elemental Raider
DamagePvE
5714
57/14/0
Raid damage with 57 points in Elemental, down to Thunderstorm, and 14 in Enhancement.
- Elemental Mastery 1/1
- Totem of Wrath 1/1
- Lava Flows 3/3
- Shamanism 5/5
- Thunderstorm 1/1
Glyphs: Glyph of Flametongue Weapon (major), Glyph of Totem of Wrath (major), Glyph of Lightning Bolt (major), Glyph of Thunderstorm (minor), Glyph of Water Shield (minor), Glyph of Ghost Wolf (minor)
Open in the talent calculator Theorycrafting
Elemental Gladiator
DamagePvP
5516
55/16/0
Arena and battleground damage with 55 points in Elemental, down to Thunderstorm, and 16 in Enhancement.
- Astral Shift 3/3
- Totem of Wrath 1/1
- Lava Flows 3/3
- Shamanism 5/5
- Thunderstorm 1/1
Open in the talent calculator Theorycrafting Talent order by level

Key talents

Thunderstorm · top talent, up to 1
You call down a bolt of lightning, energizing you and damaging nearby enemies within 10 yards. Restores 8% mana to you and deals 566 to 644 Nature damage to all nearby enemies, knocking them back 20 yards. This spell is usable while stunned.
Elemental Mastery · tier 7, up to 1
When activated, your next Lightning Bolt, Chain Lightning or Lava Burst spell becomes an instant cast spell. In addition, you gain 15% spell haste for 15 sec. Elemental Mastery shares a cooldown with Nature's Swiftness.
Storm, Earth and Fire · tier 7, up to 3
Reduces the cooldown of your Chain Lightning spell by 2.5 sec, your Earthbind Totem also has a 100% chance to root targets for 5 sec when cast and the periodic damage done by your Flame Shock is increased by 60%.
Booming Echoes · tier 8, up to 2
Reduces the cooldown of your Flame Shock and Frost Shock spells by an additional 2 sec., and increases the direct damage done by your Flame Shock and Frost Shock spells by an additional 20%.
Elemental Oath · tier 8, up to 2
While Clearcasting from Elemental Focus is active, you deal 10% more spell damage. In addition, party and raid members within 100 yards receive a 5% bonus to their spell critical strike chance.
Lightning Overload · tier 8, up to 3
Gives your Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning spells a 33% chance to cast a second, similar spell on the same target at no additional cost that causes half damage and no threat.
Astral Shift · tier 9, up to 3
When stunned, feared or silenced you shift into the Astral Plane reducing all damage taken by 30% for the duration of the stun, fear or silence effect.
Totem of Wrath · tier 9, up to 1
Summons a Totem of Wrath with 5 health at the feet of the caster. The totem increases spell power by 100 for all party and raid members, and increases the critical strike chance of all attacks by 3% against all enemies within 40 yards. Lasts 5 min.
Lava Flows · tier 9, up to 3
Increases the critical strike damage bonus of your Lava Burst spell by an additional 24%, and when your Flame Shock is dispelled your spell casting speed is increased by 30% for 6 sec.
Shamanism · tier 10, up to 5
Your Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning spells gain an additional 20% and your Lava Burst gains an additional 25% of your bonus damage effects.

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.