PvP Enhancement Shaman Rotation, Cooldowns, & Abilities

• Author: Nevermore
• Date: February 9, 2022
• Updated: February 9, 2022
• Expansion: WotLK Classic

PvP Enhancement Shaman

Stat Priority

Talents & Builds

Pre-Raid & Best In Slot (BiS)

Gems, Enchants, & Consumables

Rotation, Cooldowns, & Abilities

In this section we will be covering PvP rotation in Wrath of the Lich King and discussing your abilities/spells in further detail.

With how player-versus-player combat works in World of Warcraft Wrath of The Lich King, we will be discussing a single-target rotation, because most times you will want to focus on a single enemy to… *cough*provide them some spiritual guidance*cough* as quickly as possible, by inflicting as much burst damage as possible. However, thinking about having set rotations might not be helpful to begin with.

Player-versus-player requires a bit of a different mindset compared to PvE content; instead of a defined rotation you should have a set of strategies: a general attack strategy, a few ways of reacting to your opponent, and even just a plan for a preemptive strike (if you want to start by causing chaos). PvP requires fast thinking, fast reactions, and adaptability. Unlike the PvE scenarios, the encounters here are not scripted – you can expect anything from your enemy. However, this does not mean their actions can’t be predictable, depending on their situation at the moment (and yours).

The Enhancement Shaman is a class that works as a hybrid, meaning that it can deal high-burst type of damage while also providing utility, debuffs, and healing. We will explain each of these four aspects separately for a clearer understanding. (After all, we don’t want to bring shame to the elements watching over you, right?)

As an Enhancement Shaman, you are characterized as a fast-moving, elementally imbued warrior. You strike your enemies with the force of nature itself, and this is most notably demonstrated by the constant use of Stormstrike – a blow dealt with both of your weapons, which then empowers the next four sources of nature damage you will deal to the target. You will probably find yourself spamming Stormstrike to dish out damage to your target, but you are not limited to it alone – you also get Lava Lash, which is a strike dealt by your off-hand weapon, and is a perfect ability to complement Stormstrike.

One of the most important aspects of our gameplay is the proper use of Maelstrom Weapon stacks. The proper choice of our stacks and when we use them is going to be crucial to our damage output, utility, and self-healing. You can use a stack to proc an instant Hex, a powerful Chain Lightning (which is also part of your standard rotation), or a healing ability, such as the Healing Wave. The efficient use of this effect will make or break your PvP encounters, so make sure to decide on what ability you are going to use, and when you are going to use it.

As was mentioned earlier, the Chain Lightning is another bread-and-butter spell of the Enhancement Shaman. Just remember to use it in combination with Maelstrom Weapon – if you simply sit and cast it, you might as well be only dreaming about being an Elemental Shaman, so don’t be a dummy.

Now onto the next offensive array of spells that you possess. Feeling overwhelmed? Don’t worry, we are only getting started.

The Shaman class possesses a vast variety of spells called Shocks: they are instant-cast and inflict a variety of effects on the targets, most of them dealing instant damage or damage over time. Flame Shock is a spell that you should apply to your target often, and must upkeep at all times. Earth Shock is a situational instant-damage ability, best used against melee damage dealers since it reduces their attack speed. Meanwhile, Frost Shock causes damage as well as a movement-slowing effect. Even better, it inflicts a Snare because of the Frozen Power, provided your target is at least 15 yards away from you.

Now that we covered the Shock spells and your bread-and-butter Stormstrike, we will now discuss your most powerful cooldown, Feral Spirit, coming in at 3 minutes. Your wolves are best used at the beginning of the fight because they have a Dash effect for their entire duration, making them extremely fast. They can also inflict Stun on their targets.

One extremely important step that you should never forget is to imbue your weapons with Shaman’s unique effects. The Enhancement Shaman benefits the most from the Windfury Weapon effect, having the potential to trigger multiple melee attacks at once – which means more Maelstrom Weapon effects! Windfury should always be paired up with Frostbrand Weapon in PvP scenarios, due to the slowing effect it offers.

We will now dwell on the crucial part of the Shaman Class – indeed, the trademark of the class itself: its Totems. The Totems offer similar utility to the Auras of the paladin class, the shaman being originally considered paladin’s counterpart. Of course, there will be distinctive differences between their effects.

While you can place each of them individually, you can also make three presets which will come very handy when particular situations come up: this approach will offer the Shaman extreme versatility and lots of ways to counteract the potential threats.

If you want to use effects similar to the ones that come with Auras, you can place the Fire Resistance Totem, Frost Resistance Totem, or Nature Resistance Totem. You can also cast some empowering effects with the Windfury Totem, Strength of Earth Totem, and Flametongue Totem. Finally, some absorption effects are offered by the Tremor Totem and the Grounding totem.

Most of your utility comes from the proper use of Totems, with an exception of Heroism/Bloodlust, Hex, and Wind Shear. Wind Shear is a highly spammable interrupt effect – use it as often as possible. Bloodlust speaks for itself: use it at the beginning of a burst. Finally, Hex is just a form of Polymorph. However, unlike with a mage, it will not regenerate the HP of the target and it will be harder to break.

Next, we will move on to the debuffs. While you do not have access to a lot of debuffs as an Enhancement Shaman, you can remove beneficial spell effects through the use of Purge, which can be considered a debuff of its own. Next, you got the Earthbind Totem, which places a constant Slow effect on the target while it sits in their proximity. Finally, you can use Flame Shock to deal damage over time.

Healing comes easy as an Enhancement Shaman since you have the Maelstrom Weapon – it can be triggered to proc a very powerful heal, which is cast instantly. Aside from that you have a massive mobility, so you can just kite the target; as you reposition yourself, you can fully recuperate by using the Lesser Healing Wave and Healing Wave. Although proccing Chain Heal might seem like a good idea, do remember that its effectiveness is reduced by 40% for every target healed. So, you might want to use this one in large fights instead, such as Battlegrounds or open-world PvP.

Now that we have explained what our spells do in depth, let’s look over a quick summary of how a fight should proceed.

You will want to open up with Bloodlust or Heroism, followed by Feral Spirit. Immediately place your totems up, choosing a preset you have created depending on the enemy you are facing, and close the gap. Your Wolves will help you close the gap faster with their Stun. The moment you reach your target, you can unleash your elemental wrath with Stormstrike upon those that lack spiritual awareness. Be sure to Purge your target as often as possible to weaken them. In addition, debuff them with the Earthbind Totem and Flame Shock to stop their attempt to escape. In case you notice that your enemy tries to cast a powerful spell or a crowd control ability towards you, you can always block it with the Grounding Totem. Just make sure to replace it after it absorbs the effect. Furthermore, you should make use of the Frost Shock to hold the target in place, and Ghost Wolf in case you need to kite or further chase the target.

Now that you possess the knowledge, all you need to do is practice!