WoW Classic Shaman Weapons Guide

Shamans know how to use one-handed Maces, Unarmed and Staves when created, but they can also learn Daggers and one-handed Axes from Weapon Masters around the world.

You will only learn how to use two-handed Maces and Axes with Two-Handed Axes and Maces at level 20 or later. Until then, look to use a two-handed Staff for maximum damage, although using a one-hand and a shield has its own merits, as well.

Remember that no matter how good a weapon is at a given level, it will quickly be outclassed by common weapons of higher level, especially for Shamans who can benefit from Intellect weapons as well. So don't waste too much time chasing for the perfect low level weapon unless you are making a twink character or enjoy doing so for the sake of it.

While the list of weapons you will wear during your journey in Azeroth is potentially vast, some notable weapons of each type you might want to be looking out for along the way are listed below.

Axes, both one-handed and two-handed, are the preferred Enhancement weapons in WoW Classic, as there are a lot of notable ones. This is especially true for Orc players, who get +5 weapon skill for axes from their racial, Axe Specialization.

Maces also make for great Shaman weapons. They come in caster (spell damage / healing / Intellect) and physical damage (Strength / Agility / damage procs) varieties.

Staves are powerful two-handed weapons which you can use from your character's creation. This allows them to be the overall fastest leveling weapon option from the start, and there are quite a few powerful staff quest rewards that you can look for while leveling.

In the late game, staves are mostly oriented towards Elemental and Restoration Shamans, as most have spell damage / spell healing / Intellect stats.

Daggers are often neglected by Shamans, but are often some of the best weapons you can find while leveling, and their quick speed allows you to waste little damage when overkilling an enemy, which is a problem with slower weapons.

While your kill speed will be lower than it would with two-handed weapons, being able to use a shield will allow you to take less damage, and thus require less downtime.

In the end game, most physical damage daggers will be taken by Rogues, and as such you will be left with the caster daggers, which are best suited to Elemental and Restoration Shamans, as most of them sport increased spell damage / spell healing / Intellect, which is also useful for Enhancement, but less so.

While there are a few fist weapons Shamans can use in WoW Classic, they are few and far between. If you get a good one, such as Vilerend Slicer feel free to use it with a shield for a nice leveling boost.

While Shields are not, technically, weapons, they still occupy the off-hand weapon slot, and should thus be covered in this guide. Using one will increase your survivability and resilience at the cost of some of your potential damage, and is often worth the trade off, especially for Elemental and Restoration Shamans who gain little damage from not using one.

Shamans cannot use Swords.

Shamans cannot use Polearms.

Shamans cannot use Crossbows.

Shamans cannot use Bows.

Shamans cannot use Guns.

Shamans cannot use Thrown Weapons.

While we will be only listing two-hand weapons below, it is perfectly viable to use a one-hander and shield to level as well, in which case you would be looking for Meteor Shard combined with Commander's Crest, or Hypnotic Blade combined with Aegis of the Scarlet Commander, among other similar options.

• Items from Weapon Vendor NPCs can be upgrades over your current weapons if you have not gotten anything new for a while. Watch out at level 20 (perfect for Two-Handed Axes and Maces) for Battle Axe, and later for Bullova;
• Your first blue weapon should be Crescent Staff, which is a quest reward from Leaders of the Fang, which can be done in Wailing Caverns. It has great damage for the level it can be obtained at, and you will be able to use it for a long time;
• Manual Crowd Pummeler drops from Crowd Pummeler 9-60 in Gnomeregan and has great stats, as well as an amazing on-use effect;
• Look for Corpsemaker in Razorfen Kraul, which is a relevant, and somewhat early weapon you can obtain;
• Illusionary Rod in Scarlet Monastery: Library, Ravager in Scarlet Monastery: Armory and Mograine's Might at Scarlet Monastery: Cathedral are all very strong weapons which can be obtained in Scarlet Monastery. Ravager is especially relevant, as its proc causes huge area of effect damage when it activates;
• For caster Shamans, Zum'rah's Vexing Cane, from Zul'Farrak is a great staff, having all the stats you need while leveling up, and it can be used while you are farming your pre-raid best in slot.
• Maraudon has Gatorbite Axe and Princess Theradras' Scepter, both of which have good damage and are relatively easy to get. Also, you can get Resurgence Rod from the Corruption of Earth and Seed quest, which has no pre-requisites and only requires you to kill Princess Theradras.

Shamans have many end-game weapons at their disposal. Depending on what you are looking for, there are many different sources of weapon upgrades, but you will mostly find them inside dungeons and raids, with the occasional quest reward.

• Annihilator and Nightfall are both extremely important for raids due to their damage increasing debuffs, and Shamans are one of the best classes to keep it up, especially when in Enhancement spec;
• Dreadforge Retaliator is a relatively easy Axe to obtain and is something you can use until you have raid gear, especially if you are Orc. Look towards Spinal Reaper as your ultimate personal DPS Axe, from Ragnaros himself;
• Sacred Protector (PvP) and Gizlock's Hypertech Buckler (PvE) are your best Shield options before raiding;
• Trindlehaven Staff and Witchblade are really nice for caster Shamans, get Slavedriver's Cane if you are Enhancement.

• There are quite a few interesting late game Maces, such as Hand of Edward the Odd and its special effect, or Molten Core's Aurastone Hammer which is best in slot for caster Shamans. Of course, the ultimate prize is Sulfuras, Hand of Ragnaros, which was used by Unbreakable;
• In Blackwing Lair, you can find Lok'amir il Romathis, one of the best weapons in the game for caster / healer Shamans, Staff of the Shadow Flame and Claw of Chromaggus which are also great and, for Enhancement, Herald of Woe and Drake Talon Cleaver;
• Malistar's Defender, which drops from Ragnaros, or Red Dragonscale Protector from Vaelastrasz the Corrupt are great shields to aim for. Alternatively, get Master Dragonslayer's Orb for Elemental damage dealing!

While Rank 14 weapons (such as High Warlord's Battle Mace) are among the best currently in game for Shamans, as they are for most classes, there are also a few notable reputation rewards you can chase.

• Crackling Staff is obtained at Alterac Valley Revered and is a good starter caster staff;
• Lei of the Lifegiver (Healer), Therazane's Touch (Elemental) and The Unstoppable Force (Enhancement) are all Alterac Valley Exalted rewards and some of the best loot available for Shamans throughout WoW Classic.

You can find a complete weapon (and armor) list for Shamans at itemization.info, including filter options that allow you to restrict and / or order your search by phase, class, slot and other parameters.

For more end-game gearing information, please refer to our PvE BiS gear guides for Shamans:

And to our PvP BiS gear guides for Shamans: