Elemental Shaman Pre-Patch Guide for WotLK Classic

Elemental Shamans are very strong in the Wrath of the Lich King pre-patch, even without having access to their iconic new spell, Lava Burst yet.

While less Shamans are needed per raid due to Bloodlust and buff totems such as Wrath of Air Totem being raid-wide in Wrath, these two in particular are still unique Shaman buffs, and Totem of Wrath is still one of the best caster buffs, only surpassed by a well-geared Demonology Warlock with Demonic Pact.

This page will go over pre-patch talents, rotation, gear, and consumables for Elemental Shaman, allowing you to quickly get up to date with your character while waiting for Wrath to officially start!

This talent tree is focused on dealing maximum damage while maintaining enough Mana to cast Chain Lightning on cooldown until the end of the fight.

Lava Burst talents are avoided, as you can only learn the spell after the pre-patch, at Level 75.

Glyphs enhance or change class specific abilities, and you can have up to two major glyphs and three minor glyphs at Level 70, with a third major glyph being unlocked at Level 80.

Many glyphs will only be available after Wrath launches, so in the pre-patch Elemental will be using Glyph of Lightning Bolt and Glyph of Totem of Wrath as major glyphs. For minor glyphs, Glyph of Water Walking, Glyph of Water Shield and Glyph of Renewed Life are nice quality of life options.

1. 17% Hit before talents / Draenei to cap;
2. Spell Power;
3. Haste;
4. Critical Strike;
5. Intellect;
6. Mp5.

We will be presenting the skill rotation of an Elemental Shaman as a priority list, which means you should try to use the ability at the top of the list first for maximum DPS.

As Elemental, you should always use Flametongue Weapon on your weapon.

The single largest difference between playing Elemental at 70 and 80 is the lack of Lava Burst, which is a new spell to fit into your rotation.

1. Place down your totems with Call of the Elements (party-dependent but generally will include at least Totem of Wrath);
2. Elemental Mastery when available if you will be able to cast uninterrupted for its duration;
3. Chain Lightning;
4. Lightning Bolt;
5. Flame Shock (if the target will not die in its duration) or Earth Shock when movement is required.

Besides regular Chain Lightnings, most of your area damage will come from Magma Totem and Fire Nova, which creates an explosion coming from your active Fire Totem, thus you will want to be close to the enemies you are hitting in order to be able to refresh Magma nearby whenever it expires.

1. Magma Totem;
2. Fire Nova;
3. Elemental Mastery when available if you will be able to cast uninterrupted for its duration;
4. Chain Lightning;
5. Lightning Bolt;
6. Flame Shock (if the target will not die in its duration) or Earth Shock when movement is required.

Most TBC Phase 5 gear in the guide linked below is still excellent, but you will want to value Hit gear much more than you did in the past due to the cap going from 16% to 17%, Totem of Wrath losing its 3% Hit bonus, Elemental Precision going from 6% Hit to 3% Hit when maxed, and the Nature's Guidance talent being removed alongside its 3% Hit bonus, for a total of 9% Hit loss from talents relative to TBCC. This loss is partially compensated by the new 3% Spell Hit raid debuff brought by Boomkins or Shadow Priests, but is still a huge Hit loss, overall.

• Spell Healing gear such as Brooch of Nature's Mercy is converted into Spell Power gear ( Brooch of Nature's Mercy) and gains a lot of value in the pre-patch;
• Hit gear such as Grand Magister's Staff of Torrents, The Skull of Gul'dan, Amulet of Unfettered Magics, Handguards of Defiled Worlds, or the crafted Loop of Forged Power are all great options for fixing your Hit in the pre-patch;
• Most Sunwell Plateau gear is good enough to enter early Wrath raids with, especially Erupting Epaulets, which are pre-raid best in slot;
• To complement raiding, or if it is not an option, farming Honor in the pre-patch through battlegrounds will allow you to buy the full "Brutal" PvP gear set, which is close in power to gear from Sunwell Plateau and has no randomness in its acquisition;
• With the increased Hit cap, Veiled Pyrestone and Great Lionseye are the best gems for yellow gem slots, or even red slots if you are far behind the Hit cap.

Enchants mostly stay the same in the pre-patch but Enchant Boots - Surefooted deserves a special mention as it goes from a niche melee enchant to the best general DPS enchant, giving 10 Crit and Hit rating.

Flask of Blinding Light is the recommended flask for Elemental Shaman. Eat Spicy Hot Talbuk (if not hit capped) or one of Blackened Basilisk, Poached Bluefish, and Crunchy Serpent otherwise.

Weapon oils are no longer used in the pre-patch: you should be using Flametongue Weapon, instead.

Haste Potion is the best DPS potion, although you can also use Super Mana Potion if you have Mana issues. You can no longer use two potions during combat, but you can use one just before entering combat, which will allow you to use another mid-fight if the encounter is long enough.