WoW WotLK Elemental Shaman guide: PvE and PvP talents, leveling

The WoW WotLK Elemental Shaman is a force of nature – literally. Bending the elements to their will, they’re incredibly powerful if you have the right talent build, so here’s a rundown of what you’ll need for PvP and PvE, as well as how to level quickly in Blizzard’s MMO.

Shamans are one of WoW WotLK Classic’s more obscure classes. Split into three different specs (Elemental, Enhancement, and Restoration), they can be played as a DPS or healer depending which path you choose to follow. Elemental Shaman is the damage specialisation, armed to the teeth with nature’s fury and determined to make mincemeat of her enemies. That’s provided you have the right build and the will to grind through the leveling process though, because despite their magical prowess they’re one of the harder classes to play in the early stages of the game.

Love a challenge? Then here’s a rundown of everything you need to know to play Elemental Shaman in WoW WotLK; from the best PvE and PvP builds to how to level effectively.

Best race for the WotLK Elemental Shaman

Only a select few races can play Shaman in WotLK, so you’re a little more limited than normal. For Horde players we’d recommend Troll for PvE-centric warriors, and Orc for PvP. Orc also comes in second to Troll in terms of PvE, so if you’re looking to do a bit of both this may be the best option. On the Alliance side, Draenei are the only real choice – mainly because they’re the only Alliance race that can pick the class.

These races have been chosen based on their synergy with the spec’s talents. For PvE, the Troll’s Beast Slaying increases damage dealt to animals by 5%, and Berserking increases attack and casting speed by 10%. There’s no real downside here, especially because you can also gain extra health regen via Regeneration. Orcs, on the other hand, can resist pesky PvP stuns with Hardiness, and Blood Fury increases damage and healing from spells – perfect for a ranged DPS.

While you’re pretty much stuck with Draenei on the Alliance side, their Gift of Naaru is great when using healing spells as heals players up by 50 damage, and Heroic Presence increases the hit chance by one, helping out your party as a whole.

Best PvE talents for Elemental Shaman in WotLK

So you’ve chosen to slay monsters instead of other people – that’s probably a good thing. For PvE Elemental Shaman the build is pretty strict because you need to ensure you combat the class’ poor mana pool whilst also making sure you get that bang for your metaphorical buck. Below is the standard PvE build, and we recommend you keep to it as much as possible.

Best PvP talents for Elemental Shaman in WotLK

So instead of monsters you’re looking to crack heads in the Arena. It’s a dangerous course of action, but playing Elemental Shaman is one of the best options in PvP. You can dish out huge amounts of damage from afar, meaning that you can shred health bars with the right talent build. We’ve listed these below.

Elemental Shaman leveling in WotLK Classic

Before we go any further, you need to know that leveling an Elemental Shaman is hard. The class has a poor mana pool, which in turn means that if things get ugly, you’ll be struggling. Even when the going is good there’s very few spells that actually help you in the way of defence, so may find yourself constantly in the red. What we’re saying is be prepared to die – a lot.

If you’re willing to suffer through countless grey screens it is well worth it though, as the class becomes incredibly powerful as it goes on. To help you out, make sure you’re dropping your Strength of Earth, Mana Spring, Wrath of Air, and Totem of Wrath totems whenever you can. These buff earth, water, air, and fire spells respectively, and can help you tenfold. It’s also worth picking up an Earthbind totem if you find your defensive stats aren’t great. You’ll want to place this between yourself and your enemy to slow their advance.

When the fighting kicks off, make sure you’ve got your Flametongue Weapon and Water Shield prepped. You can then use your Chain Lightning accompanied by Elemental Mastery on cooldown. Then, go in for the kill using Flame Shock if your enemy will survive the duration of the spell, or Earth Shock if that health bar is a little too much. If they’re still alive, a swift Lightning Bolt will seal the deal.

For those with a few more totems, you can drop the Stoneclaw totem to continually stun enemies that attack it. You can pull some and leave others to attack the totem, then use Fire Nova to obliterate the enemies you have chained. Fire Nova also works well with the defensive Earthbind totem we mentioned earlier, and will be even stronger if you’ve got a fire totem like Magma or Totem of Wrath active at the same time.

The path of WoW’s Elemental Shaman isn’t easy, but hopefully this guide will help you become the most devastating ranged DPS that Azeroth has ever seen. If you’re looking to try out one of the other Classic WoW classes, be sure to check out our WoW WotLK Death Knight guide if you’re looking for something a little more tanky.