Leveling build for an Enhancement Shaman
by Paul Sherrard 
Feb 6th 2007 at 11:27AM
Due to popular demand, I'm going to talk about a Shaman leveling build, specifically the one I chose in getting to 60. After 60, due to itemization, you have a lot more options.
The following guide is what worked for me. It assumes no respeccing, so you'll have some talents that contradict each other - shield spec, 2h, and dual-wield. As with any guide, it may not be the best for your particular playstyle. It's just a suggestion for newer players on talents they can use to help level quickly.
While leveling up, you really want to maximize damage, as a paladin does with their retribution tree. You could level up as elemental or restoration, but expect a long long grind to 60.
Enhancement is truly where it's at. Everything in this tree is geared to either increasing the damage you do, or reducing the damage you take. When leveling up, these are pretty important.
You should pick your gear accordingly as well. Strength increases damage and how much you block with a shield. Stamina increases hitpoints, Agility increases crit rate, and Int increases mana and spell crits. I'd place importance on stats in that order, but that's personal opinion.
Read on for the entire build.
As a result, we're going to only look at the Enhancement tree.
Tier 1: Levels 10-14
Shield Specialization - 5 points. Even at level 70, the 5% mana increase is going to equal 300-400 mana, enough for 1 extra lightning cast. Compare that to 5% increase in block and 25% increase to how much you block? No brainer. Shield Spec rules, even at high levels.
Tier 2: Levels 15-19
Thundering Strikes - 5 points. You want to crit as often as possible.
Tier 3: Level 20
Two-handed axes and maces - 1 point. If you want to really do a lot of damage at the lower levels, take this. I keep it even at high-level, as there are some nice 2-handers out there for resto/enhancement too.
Tier 2 and 3: Levels 21-24
Improved Ghost Wolf - 2 points. This is your get-out-of-jail card. A fast transform can let you flee a fight with your life. I lose it at 60, but for leveling it's great.
Enhancing Totems - 2 points. 15% increase to your two primary buffing totems. This means higher damage, more crits, better dodging.
Tier 4: Levels 25-29
Flurry - 5 points. Faster attacks? YES PLEASE!
Tier 5: Levels 30-33
Spirit Weapons - 1 point. Yay for parry! The 15% threat reduction is great for grouping. And it's the pre-requisite for dual-wield!
Elemental Weapons - 3 points. 40% increase to Windfury. Windfury is your bread and butter. Once you get it, you put it on your weapon and never take it off. Some folks like Rockbiter. Let em - damage works out about the same in the end, but Windfury attacks still let you get procs on an important talent later on. [EDIT: Changed Windfury to Elemental. I must've had the buff on my mind]
Tier 3 - Level 34
Anticipation - 1 point. I hate that you're stuck with 1 loose point at level 34. 1% dodge is good, much better than 2% armor, so I place the point here
Tier 5 - Levels 35-39
Weapon Mastery - 5 points. 10% extra damage with all weapons. 'Nuff said.
Tier 6 - Level 40
Dual Wield - 1 point. Are 2 weapons really better than one? I played with both, and while I think the end damage is comparable, it's more fun to watch your shammy attack with 2 weapons.
So here's what your talent tree should look like at 40: http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=uZVVbdq0sVz
at 40, you can swap out to chain armor and have 2 weapons. It's also time to get a mount. You could respec at 40, removing imp ghost wolf and 2-handed weapons, as you now hopefully have a mount and definitely have dual-wield. I prefer to keep this all the way to 70 though, so we'll continue.
Go get your chain, still focusing on str/sta/agi/int, and get 2 weapons. For maximum Windfury damage, get the slowest, highest top-end damaging weapons you can find.
Let's move on to 40-60, shall we?
Tier 6 - Levels 41-44
Stormstrike - 1 point. Instant attacks, and then increases your post-attack shock by 20%. YAY! More damage!
Dual Weapon Specialization - 3 points. This helps a lot in hitting with your off-hand. More hits = more damage
Tier 7 - Levels 45-49
Unleashed Rage - 5 points. 10% AP increase for you and party members after a critical strike. It's not much to start, but you can never say no to more damage
Tier 8 - Level 50
Shamanistic Rage - 1 point. Mana regen from hitting things? Oh yes! Now, this relies on high attack power, so to maximize mana regen, drop your Strength of Earth totem before going into a rage. If you're in a party and have been battleshouted by the warrior, even better.
Elemental Tier 1 - Levels 51-60
What?! But Paul, you said this was an Enhancement Build!! Yeah, I know, but you want more damage, and you want it cheaper and faster, right? Elemental is a great side-arm to enhancement.
Convection - 5 points. More mana-efficient offensive spells.
Concussion - 5 points. More damaging offensive spells.
And now the push from 60 to 70. It's interesting, because the last 10 levels give you a couple of options. Help your healing and get cheaper totems, or fill out your enhancement tree:
Restoration Tier 1 - Levels 61-65
Tidal Focus - 5 points. Cheaper heals
Restoration Tier 2 - Levels 66-70
Totemic Focus - 5 points. Cheaper totems. You use totems a lot, so this is great.
So your build looks like this: http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=hEZVVbdq0sVuqoV0x
-OR-
Enhancement Fill-out - Levels 61-70
Tier 6 - Mental Quickness - 3 points. Reduce the cost of your shocks even further!
Tier 2 - Improved Lightning Shield - 3 points. Do some damage back!
Tier 3 - Anticipation - 4 points. Max out that dodge
In this case, your build looks like this: http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=uEZVVfdE0sAuqo
So there you have it, 1-70 as an Enhancement shammy, with a couple of different possibilities towards the end. Let me know what you think.
Filed under: Shaman, Analysis / Opinion, Leveling, Talents
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Seper Feb 6th 2007 11:48AM
EVERYONE everywhere is saying shammys are the greatest thing. They enter a pvp arena and its either were screwed or weve won (depending on which side they are on). But whenever I see a shammy they suck. I have never ever seen a good shammy horde or alliance. So I ask.. why are they so good? They cant tank... their healing is minimal (in the situations i have been in at least), there dmg output is horrible.
I would never group with a shammy because past history as shown them to be absolutely useless.
So could someone set me straight and tell me why I should like shammys? I keep asking but no one gives me any answers :p
Thx.
Paul Sherrard Feb 6th 2007 11:53AM
Shammies are great at enhancing what you do. What class are you? Caster? Shammy can help restore your mana and improve your hit/crit. Melee? Shammy will help your DPS and your crit %. Healer? Shammy will laugh behind your back and cast the most efficient (HPM-wise) heals.
As a Hybrid, they're not awesome at any one thing. The good thing about a shammy, like a paladin or druid, is their versatility in any situation.
As with most classes, it's 80% the player, and 20% the class.
Northwind Feb 6th 2007 11:55AM
Shield Specialization? When you are going dual-wield? Go with Ancestral Knowledge instead. More mana for Stormstrike.
If you pvp a lot, Anticipation can be counterproductive when fighting warriors. Maybe use the stray point in Improved Lightning Shield instead.
If you run the numbers, Tidal Focus kinda sucks. I like Improved Healing Wave a lot better.
When you are melee-ing a lot, getting enough Resto for Healing Focus helps a lot. I recommend it.
Paul Sherrard Feb 6th 2007 12:03PM
@Northwind: The talent build is intended for someone leveling up with no respecs. I've personally found the shield spec to be far more of an asset than 50-100 extra mana at the lower levels.
Healing Wave is an inefficient spell, and I'd avoid its use wherever possible.
I should point out that this build is for leveling - ie: PVE. A PVP or Endgame build would be entirely different from what I've put forth here.
Northwind Feb 12th 2007 5:13PM
@ Seper:
Shammies are a buffing/support class. They are not the best at anything but do everything pretty well.
A fully specced resto shaman is actually quite a good healer. Elemental Shamans can actually do some amazing damage, as can enhancement shamans. And on my shaman I tanked every instance up to Dire Maul.
But, to answer your question:
Their totems provide the biggest buffs to dps in
the game. Along with Shamanist Rage and Bloodlust.
Basically, you get a shaman to buff your group's dps, and then fill in whatever other role you need. And a resto shaman is very very difficult to kill. Durable healers ftw.
Matt Park Feb 6th 2007 12:15PM
If you're dual wielding, getting enough resto to Nature's guidance is really helpful - +3% to hit is very nice.
and @1 - resto shamans are GREAT at healing, if done right. Mana Tide and Earth Shield alone make them loved in groups. Plus enhancement's damage output isn't horrible at all - properly geared shamans can rival rogues in terms of pure damage, while providing +10% attack power, +77 agi, and +86 str to everyone in their group. Plus mail means we're tough enough to take a hit or two if we grab aggro (which is almost a certainty if we're doing that much damage)
AcidCat Feb 6th 2007 12:21PM
Enhancement has much better synergy with Resto, I wouldn't waste any extra points in Elemental.
- Nature's Guidance is awesome with Dual Wield
- Without a sheild, you'll be taking considerably more damage. As such, talents that help you heal become more valuable - Healing Focus for easier healing in combat is helpful
- If you are going to stay Enhancement at 70, consider Nature's Swiftness instead of Shamanistic Rage. An instant heal in a bad situation is much more valuable than some mana regen IMO.
Glocky Feb 6th 2007 12:30PM
@Seper - Generalizations FTL. Everyone, including Shammies, don't say we are the greatest thing. Read the WoW forums, we are asking for tweaks and changes.
This ENH build for leveling is just that, for leveling to L70 quickly, without relying on mana which would create downtime. As an Ele/Resto blend, I group often to fill the role of DPS and off healer.
Shammies make great off-tanks, especially if there is an extra caster that cannot be crowd controlled. Earthshock for interupts and aggro until your groups DPS can switch to your target.
At first I was worried Pallies would reduce the role of shammies in end game raids, but rather, they compliment each other nicely. Fury warriors love it when there are 1 or 2 shammies dropping totems for them in a group.
I probably can't change your mind, but please be aware that your general comments are stictly your opinion, and are arguably inaccurate and reflective of a shallow exposure to good shammies.
Gman Feb 6th 2007 12:42PM
I've played my Shaman main for the last year+, and I have to say that this is a fantastic leveling build guide.
At 23/24, personally I would spec Improved Lightning Shield instead of Enhancing Totems and then add the third point in later instead of Anticipation. LS is one of the most mana-efficient ways we have of dealing damage.
Post 50, please spec Mental Quickness before convection/concussion. The spells that I use during grinding/leveling are ALL instant, except for that first lightning bolt to pull. MQ affects totems, sheilds, shocks... it's better.
I'd also offer an alternative to people who hate GY runs. Skip the respec at 40, and wait until 41. THEN, respec to 0/21/21 to get Nature's Swiftness and Healing Focus. This will greatly increase your survivability... you'll always have that NS+Heal at your fingertips if you have a bad pull. After that, keep running up the Enhancement tree like in the guide above.
someone Feb 6th 2007 12:45PM
Everyone is saying shaman are great because the alliance remembers that one time they were triple WF critted and believe that happens every swing. O and that FrostShock always crits for 8000 damage.
Currently the shaman is the hardest class to play because we got hosed as far as new abilities or talents. We are also the only class with no form of CC at all. A shaman in its self is fine, its just when you compare us to any other class you realize how much easier they have it. I suggest that if you right now have a non-shammy main you stay with that toon, trust me it will save you a lot of frustration. The Shaman is "shinny" right now, in a month you wont think its fun anymore.
Resto: If you want to be a good shaman this is what you have to spec, it is currently our only viable spec. If you spec resto you can main/solo heal a 5man no trouble.
Enhancement: This is a leveling only build, end of story. Enhancement shaman have great damage output, but NO argo control and NO damage migration, which makes them horrible in 5mans(they pull too much argo and require too much healing). Enhancement shaman could have a place in raids, but they are the last person I would choose to take into a 5man instance.
Elemental: This was the PvP build before the talent review, now its just a joke for everything. They can do damage on par with other casters, but just do not have the mana to continue casting. Also this tree has NOTHING to offer after the 31pt talent, it is a broken tree. For PvP resto is a better build.
Juhlz Feb 6th 2007 1:43PM
I had this type of spec (enhancement)for a long time and while it was a great leveling build I have since found the going full Resto (0/20/41) has made it even easier and with a bit less downtime (Earth Shield rocks) having +damage hear helps in that department and whne I get into my +healing gear I can solo heal any instance TBC has thrown at me (regularly hit for 4k crit heals with 7800 mana unbuffed)
E Feb 6th 2007 1:07PM
Great advice. Pretty much what I did (sitting at 59 now).
Minor quibble: there is no "Windfury Weapons" talent. It was combined with the Rockbiter talent to form "Elemental Weapons" which helps no matter which weapon buff you use. A must have.
the best advice I aver read for a Shaman I read too late, unfortunately. That was Don't Buy a Mount. If you have gold to burn, great, but if you're scraping by, use that gold to upgrade your weapons. Buy a Flurry Axe, or put it away until you hit 50 and buy a couple Dawn's Edges (a great Enh Shammy weapon... two of which are a dream when you can DW at 50).
Honestly, I don't think you'd miss having a mount, especially if you have Ghost Wolf on a 1 second cast. Every time I mount up ( a 3 sec cast) I wish I had spent my gold elsewhere...
umamasyean Feb 6th 2007 1:47PM
Great post. Regarding the stat order, I prefer AGI/SPI/INT myself…at least in higher levels for crit-procing bonus with increase hit in DW. Great for partying too because grinding solo will get pretty boring. I found SPI/INT better to recharging spells to cast so you can do more damage than STR bonus. Especially those instant ones that do different elemental effect as opposed to straight damage from STR bonus. You can really notice it running around and when you have zero mana and swinging waiting for the next shock to light up.
I though Frostbrand weapon does comparable…if not more than WF. I think they nerfed WF some time ago in a patch. In addition the Frost elemental effect makes it so you don’t have to run after the fleeing mobs that much. I find chasing mobs kinda annoying and they can cause adds too.
Elemental Shamans can often do more damage than rogues…at least until they run outta mana. And because they are known to duel well, you stand a better chance in PVP encounters that would otherwise turn you into a ghost for several minutes.
twh Feb 6th 2007 8:22PM
Lore-wise, I liked the shaman, but since there were none to be found Alliance-side, I pretty much stuck with my paladin.
And now that we got Draenei space shaman, I can still help it with my pally's money.
Thank you very much for the guide.
Steven Feb 6th 2007 7:36PM
Eh
I leveled my first sham to 60 as elemental. That was bad. Enhancement is definitely the way to go to level.
However, I disagree with some of this stuff, mainly because I think it's prudent to use lvl1 spells as enh. I use lvl1 LB, ES, and frost shock, but keep flame and CL & LS at highest levels (because if I use them I'm actually wanting the dmg). I keep the high-rank spells very very close for emergencies, but tend to not use them. I also don't use LS very often. My damage isn't as high as it could be, but it's still VERY quick killing, and I almost never have to stop to drink. I fire a heal when I need it, and stormstrike every time it's available, and can keep on like that all day. I DW and carry a shield although I never use it. I have zero INT or SPI, biggest stat is STA, and I try to get AGI items over STR (+AGI and +power/+dmg is ideal). Having flurry up almost constantly along with shamanistic rage is invaluable. Fast offhand with fire buff. Only 48 at the moment (have a 9-5 and a bit of a life), but my post-50 points will all be in Rest - uninterruptible heals for when i'm in trouble during combat, +spell/melee hit, lower mana for heals, lower mana for totems.
I'm pretty sure the longer time it takes me to kill due to not using LB or high rank shocks is far outweighed by never drinking. Plus drinking just annoys me.
Kazia Feb 6th 2007 9:02PM
While it might be nice to add flexibility, if your goal is to level effecitvely without respec then this build has too many talent choices that slow you down.
While you may have found shield spec to be far more of an assest, it is only active while wearing a shield while Ancestral Knowledge is always active. That coupled with the fact that you should never be using a shield anyways makes it redundant. I am sure your lining up responses as to when you have had to use one, but in the context of leveling, you shouldn't ever. If you do a bad pull, don't switch to shield and try and survive, kite; or at least GW out, reset and try again.
Improved Lightning Shield is far superior to Enhancing Totems. Lightning shield is a shamans most efficient mana/dps spell, moreso with the talent. While grinding through mobs you should use little mana if you can help it. Perhaps one shock per mob at the most, though you should keep LS active almost all the time. This is in contrast to the fact that you will not use totems that often. In fact, you should only lay totems down if your going to be pulling mobs back to their range as to get the full time out of them. This doesn't happen all the time as often mobs are too spread out. If you lay down totems every fight and start using shocks, you will end up drinking every 1-2 fights rather than every 7-10. This means I would also drop the elemental talents completely. Unless your going to go heavy into elemental, you should really not touch the tree at all. These points are better spent in restoration.
All the rest of the talents are the stock staple of any enhancement build. Where I would only differ is I would stop at Stormstrike and then start into the restoration tree. Until you get to 60 and to Outlands, the itemization for dual wielding is horrible. It is much easier to upgrade a single two-hander and your normal stats than two 1handers as well as maintain +to hit on your gear. If you do decide to head straight to dual wielding, don't start doing it until you at least have Dual Wield Specilisation, and even then, the constant misses will really hurt. 12-14% to hit is good target to maintain for any dual wielder.
Going down the restoration tree after Stormstrike I would take the same two talents in tier 1 and 2. They do help alot and are better for leveling than the others. If you are going to switch over to dual-wielding sooner than later, take the 3% to hit and move back into enhancement tree, otherwise take healing focus.
My preference was to go to Nature Swiftness over Shamanistic rage, but this is because I like my oh shit button while leveling. Shamanistic rage is more of a end game talent to my mind, one where, as DPS, you don't have to worry to much about your own life. This means of course two more fillers one of which I suggest being to add 10 yard more range to your totems. More an instance talent but still nice 60-70.
If you don't go to NS, I would still suggest 13-18 points in restoration for the extra to hit and healing focus (and trust me, you will be healing yourself alot in instances until you learn proper agro control ;) with the rest (43-48) in Enhancement. Once you get shamanistic rage, good fillers are enhanced totems and anticipation.
Thats my 2 cents. Hope it helps.
steve Feb 7th 2007 4:22AM
After reading up to the 3rd comment I just scrolled down and wrote my own because I was absolutely disgusted with stupidity. Buffing the group is a very small part of what a good shaman can do. One that is specced and geared properly can be among the best at dps or healing but never both. My current build is 41-0-20 and I am always #1 in five man runs damage. Havent done any 25 man yet but expect to be among top 5 considering in MC as 43-8-0 I was always in the top 10. Wrath of air and totem of wrath has spoiled casters in my guild and they would never want to raid without it. I love buffing my group and I off heal when we get into trouble. I know full resto specced shaman that are amazing and enhancement shaman that will beat most rogue/hunter/dps warriors on dps as well as buff the hell out of their group. Problems with shaman still?
Mekias Feb 7th 2007 10:58AM
@ Kazia. I 100% agree. Thanks for saving me all the typing.
@ someone. Elemental is not a joke. I do very well with it. Also, I don't think anyone knows how viable a non-resto shaman will be in 25-man raids yet. Resto will probably be the norm but, until I have the numbers, I won't rule out Elemental and Enhancement for raiding.
Pritchard Feb 14th 2007 6:09PM
I love these posts where someone plays a hybrid class or knows someone who plays a hybrid class that is the top at dps.
So let me jump in. I play a holy specced priest who regularly out-dpses hunters, rogues, mages and warlocks...often times tripling what they can do.
Oh I almost forgot. Holy Specced priest FTW!
Jared Mar 1st 2007 10:24PM
Lolz @ Pritchard.
As far as shammys go though, i would say pvp over raiding...So quit talking about topping dps....b.c ur guild had the most shit rogues in the game, then... and stop talking about highest healers......holy priest ftw....hybrids will always be runner up, end of story.