Enhancement Shaman DPS Mythic+ Tips — The War Within (11.1.0)

Totemic has a new coat of paint in Season 2, and it made a major difference to its AoE damage profile. It brings extremely high AoE burst when pairing Primordial Storm with Doom Winds - a lot of which is uncapped due to Imbuement Mastery - and has a renewed focus on Hot Hand to give it a unique flavor.

With good management, the amount of damage that can be done via both Reactivity and Sundering / Molten Thunder is extreme, and it still retains a good single-target core while building toward this. It does however have the extra wrinkle of managing Surging Totem positioning, and aligning a handful of desynced cooldowns to set up its big moments.

The build linked below is the universal recommendation for Totemic, and it does not have very many spare points after picking up its core tools. In the spec tree, it has one float point that can be spent depending on the situation, while on the class tree it has a few options that come down to preference or if a given dungeon has some utility requirements.

• Lashing Flames, Flurry and Elemental Assault (2nd point) are all alternatives to the Storm's Wrath / Stormblast pairing for single-target comfort. Crashing Storms is also an optional swap for any of these picks:
  • Lashing Flames provides a universal increase with no gameplay requirements as Sundering keeps it active on all targets.
  • Flurry increases Hot Hand uptime, which is core to the playstyle, and this is the only talent that provides more of it.
  • Elemental Assault provides even more single-target comfort via guaranteeing Maelstrom Weapon generation, but it's unnecessary vs. options that provide better filler to the empty GCDs it covers.
• There are a variety of control options on the tree, and while the current recommendation picks up Static Charge, Guardian's Cudgel can also be used for more up-front control. Lightning Lasso can also be picked up as a single-target stun.
• Dungeon specific utility such as Cleanse Spirit and Poison Cleansing Totem are on a case-by-case basis, and there are a number of talents taken here, such as Purge and Totemic Surge that can be switched out to access them.

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Stormbringer builds elevate the value of Maelstrom Weapon spenders, cycling aggressively toward Tempest casts for big payoff. It also incorporates Crash Lightning much more into its rotation in Patch 11.1, and also makes use of Converging Storms to convert it into high priority damage.

Ascendance also gives a powerful 2-minute window that's difficult to have disrupted, letting us unload a huge amount of damage in a short timeframe in either AoE or on bosses.

While the below build is what I would currently recommend, there are alternative talent packages that can be picked up to specialize further. Many of these are, however, more difficult in practice.

• Elemental Assault / Legacy of the Frost Witch - one point in Legacy provides a lot of value from the high uptime 15% Physical buff and the extra Stormstrike access in single-target. While Elemental Assault really shines at 2 points for extra Maelstrom Weapon reliability, it cannot outshine the value Legacy gives so we can only squeeze one into the recommended build.
• Feral Spirit + Witch Doctor's Ancestry - as Flowing Spirits was severely nerfed, this is the only alternative wolf option. This does give extra power to your Doom Winds windows, but the cost to your single-target comfrot and general gameplay is too high. That makes this a niche alternative that's not recommended.
• There are a variety of control options on the tree, and while the current recommendation picks up Static Charge, Guardian's Cudgel can also be used for more up-front control. Lightning Lasso can also be picked up as a single-target stun.
• Dungeon specific utility such as Cleanse Spirit and Poison Cleansing Totem are on a case-by-case basis, and there are a number of talents taken here, such as Purge and Totemic Surge that can be switched out to access them. Similarly, Call of the Elements can be taken if you need even more access to a specific totem in a dungeon.

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Stormbringer has some extra gameplay nuance in Mythic+, as both the Maelstrom Weapon counter and Awakening Storms can be carried between packs. This also includes Tempest procs themselves, meaning there is some extra micro-management over the course of a dungeon to optimize it.

While this was previously something we did a lot in Season 1, it seems that on keystone start and when bosses are pulled this counter is reset. This means there is no benefit to generating Awakening Storms stacks or building up your Maelstrom Weapon counter, as they get purged when the dungeon begins.

You can still however pre-stack the Tempest buff itself, and roll that into the keystone so long as you do it just before the dungeon starts. This only has benefits in dungeons that pull immediately after the gate opens, or else it will expire. The way to do this is:

• Use a training dummy toy (such as Turnip Punching Bag) and attack it, using Maelstrom Weapon spenders until your counter is set to a comfortable amount. Build Maelstrom Weapon, start the timer to put the key in, and use a spender and Ascendance to build back to 10. Once you are out of combat, start the key.
• You can also stack this to two if you want either with this method or using Awakening Storms procs, but it takes a bit longer to line it up.

This sets you up for opening burst as a dungeon starts, so long as the pull begins at most within 15 seconds of the key starting. Note though in any indoor dungeon there are no training dummies that can be used, so you'll have to do it outside and put the keystone in as you exit the loading screen.

With the change to Conductive Energy in Patch 11.1, we no longer need to actively manage this at all. Chain Lightning will naturally spread this along the chain, as will extra Arc Discharge procs when they occur. The only addition is using Primordial Wave to set up at the start of a pull.

You can hold stacks of Tempest to two, and it won't be consumed by Chain Lightning, meaning if a pack is about to die you can carry them over to the next pull with some good management. The more you condense these casts into brief windows, the bigger the payoff, so it is recommended to do so. With Arc Discharge now stacking to two as well, there is no punishment for using these back-to-back either.

Note that the Awakening Storms counter will be reset when you pull a boss within a dungeon, while active Tempest stacks and the Maelstrom Weapon counter will not.

For Stormbringer these are both a core component of the playstyle even in AoE. Aim to always have Crash Lightning buffed by the damage amp from Chain Lightning, and be aware of the cooldown reduction it provides in each cycle. With Converging Storms, the GCD in between them should be Stormstrike on your priority target to generate for the next cycle.

Totemic has some extra proc juggling to get the most out of it. It also has a lot of cooldown timer management to reach its full potential.

You want to always make sure to have both Totemic Surge and Totemic Projection talented whenever playing this. Be aware of when enemies are moving, and use Projection to drag it along with you. Remember it has a 10-second cooldown, so do not be too rushed doing so or they may simply move out again. So long as you're near your targets, you can also use the off-GCD recast to move it to your feet, with a 6-second cooldown.

If all things go wrong, also remember you can use Call of the Elements to reset its cooldown. If the totem is still active after doing this, you will need to cancel the existing totem to re-cast it, but this can save situations where it is locked out of range for too long.

Doom Winds is an explosive cooldown moment for Totemic, and it aims to fit as many AoE main-hand strikes as possible inside the window. Any of Crash Lightning, Sundering, Reactivity and Primordial Storm count for this, and saturating this window will lead to huge Flametongue Weapon damage via Imbuement Mastery. Aim to always start this window with Legacy of the Frost Witch by spending just before it.

Try to always blanket this window with Splintered Elements, and align every other cast with Primordial Storm. Sundering with Molten Thunder should be chain-cast due to its reduced GCD, unless Hot Hand is active, at which point you should weave.

A big warning for these cooldowns is they generate an extreme amount of threat in a short period - especially when overlapping cooldowns. Be careful not to frontload all of your damage into an unsuspecting tank else you may find yourself dead very quickly.

Whirling Earth allows us to instantly set up on a pull with Flame Shock, having it active in AoE and letting us Primordial Wave. Your Whirling Fire mote is also under your control, so delay your first Lava Lash until you have all of your other setup done and can fully commit to Lava Lash when it is up.

Enhancement has a wide variety of tools to stop enemy casts. Due to the large number of them, I have broken them down into single-target and AoE options.

Wind Shear is your interrupt tool and is one of the best available to any class. Being both ranged and having such a low cooldown makes for an excellent tool to disrupt targets with interruptible casts continually. You should be the one aggressively going after dangerous interrupts; allow other classes with longer interrupt cooldowns to handle less frequent casts or to be saved for emergencies if possible. Coordinate this with your group before starting the dungeon.

Lightning Lasso can be used as a single-target stun, but the damage it deals is nowhere near as much as you would be doing when not channeling. This is moreso used to interrupt a cast and then canceled.

Hex is somewhat similar to Wind Shear as it allows you to either control a dangerous enemy before combat begins or interrupt a cast in an emergency. This cooldown can be reduced by 15 seconds, and apply an additional 70% slow if you talent into Voodoo Mastery.

Sundering is a versatile tool, often able to act as a pseudo-interrupt against multiple targets that are otherwise immune while also delivering a burst of damage. While it will not work on every target, be sure to pay attention to enemies that it does incapacitate so you can effectively use it in the future. Note that this does not incapacitate with Molten Thunder taken, nor does it trigger from Reactivity procs.

Capacitor Totem is your AoE stun tool to lock down mobs as you begin a pull to stabilize. This tends to be extra useful on larger pulls to allow the tank to grab aggro before enemies begin casting or to prevent key effects. This can be further enhanced with the Guardian's Cudgel or Static Charge talents. Guardian's Cudgel is extremely potent in spawning a second Capacitor Totem when the first one triggers, increasing the stun duration (at the cost of additional diminishing returns), while Static Charge will reduce its cooldown per target struck.

Thunderstorm (with Thundershock) is another powerful AoE pseudo-interrupt, being able to knock several enemies up into the air and disrupt spells that cannot be cast while moving. Be sure to practice using it to learn which enemies it works against and which are immune. For the vast majority of the time, Thundershock will be the preferred form of this ability, as keeping enemies together will make follow-up crowd control more effective and maintain DPS uptime. In niche situations, you may need to utilize Thunderstorm's knock-back effect to deal with a specific mob or group of enemies.

Earthbind Totem and Earthgrab Totem can significantly impair the movement of groups of enemies, aiding in your tank's ability to kite them should it be required. Hailstorm alongside either Arctic Snowstorm or Encasing Cold also provides a constant slow while executing the rotation if talented.

Due to being a hybrid class, Shaman has access to a number of tools that help both you and your group stay alive. I have separated these two key sections into two categories:

Staying alive is extremely important in Mythic+, and, often, you may find yourself responsible for your own life if the healer is busy putting fires out elsewhere. The key tools we have to deal with bad situations are:

• Astral Shift is our major personal defensive for a 40% damage reduction and is always paired with Planes Traveler for cooldown reduction. Used on the most dangerous enemy casts that need to be planned around.
• Stone Bulwark Totem has a long 3-minute cooldown but provides a big absorb shield (and some small follow-up ones) that should ideally be used to block a single lethal hit, making sure to plan this to avoid wasting its lengthy recharge time.
• Earth Elemental has an even longer 5-minute cooldown that provides flat health and the Primordial Bond damage reduction effect. This lasts a full minute, so it can often cover multiple dangerous effects, but be careful it does not disrupt the tank with its taunt effect.
• Spirit Wolf can be stacked up while in Ghost Wolf for up to a 20% reduction, which, while it completely prevents you from doing damage, does not have a cooldown, so it can cover anything you need it to.
• Stormbringer also has access to Nature's Protection for additional damage reduction, while Totemic has small additional absorb shields from Wind Barrier.

While healing is not your primary role, we can use multiple tools to help the party in deadly situations. A Maelstrom Weapon empowered Healing Surge or Chain Heal can help to stabilize you or an ally and should be used in emergencies. Healing Stream Totem can be taken and used whenever a gap in your rotation happens to help out, alongside providing a small follow-up damage reduction to some magic schools with Elemental Resistance.

Being proactive with healing tools is an effective skill to learn as an Enhancement Shaman, and while you should not be taking responsibility for the group's health, recognizing when you can jump in at critical moments can be the difference between life or death for the party.

Currently, Surging Currents for Stormbringer players is bugged, gaining a stick from every target hit by Tempest, allowing this to effectively reach max stacks immediately after each cast. This can be very good for spot healing if you want to consider using it.

Alongside the more traditional tools specs bring to Mythic+, Shaman has a number of class-specific benefits when played.

Your toolkit includes an offensive dispel in Purge, a decurse in Cleanse Spirit, a fear, charm, and sleep break with Tremor Totem, and a poison removal with Poison Cleansing Totem. These effects are specific to certain dungeons, and you will often find yourself using these to deal with certain enemies. Be sure to adjust your talent loadout per dungeon to best deal with the most dangerous aspects of each.

Skyfury is our group buff, providing bonus Mastery and granting party member's melee auto-attacks a 20% chance to strike an additional time. This is one of the more potent and universal buffs that all specs like having, so it makes Shaman relatively desirable.

Earth Elemental is a potent emergency tool if the tank either dies or is struggling to handle a pack. It can also be used as a personal defensive cooldown to grant yourself additional maximum health and damage reduction with Primordial Bond. This has a long cooldown, so use it wisely. Also, be aware that the AI can sometimes be problematic, as it will rarely move with you once it has grabbed aggro.

Mana Spring can help out your healer with some additional Mana regeneration should they be struggling to keep up in a dungeon, and is an easy point to access. However, our talent points begin to get quite tight with all of the control tools we often take, so this is an optional bonus rather than a locked-in pick.

Wind Rush Totem can help the group with additional move speed and lasts for up to 20 seconds if players consistently refresh the buff duration. This can be even further enhanced with cooldown reduction using Ascending Air, or provide an AoE snare break whenever the buff is applied using Jet Stream.

Reincarnation allows you to resurrect after dying. This can be used to get back up after a lethal ability, or more importantly, it can skip certain packs. The ability to run ahead with your group, die, self-revive, and then resurrecting them is a niche tactic that some dungeon routes opt to use.

Bloodlust and Heroism are mainstays of all group content, and providing it is almost always a benefit to your party. Be sure to coordinate with your group regarding the most effective time to use it.

Xalatath's Bargain: Ascendant will periodically spawn a number or orbs in waves that need to be crowd-controlled in some way before they complete a cast. Each orb successfully stopped grants the group bonus Haste, so it is a high priority to deal with.

Enhancement comes with a wide array of stop tools that we can sequentially use to deal with them between Thundershock, Capacitor Totem, and if taken, Sundering. There is also some consideration to pick up Guardian's Cudgel for a back-to-back clear if your group is lacking stops if you move the follow-up totem around with Totemic Projection to catch any stray orbs.

Xalatath's Bargain: Voidbound will periodically summon a large Void Emissary that will begin to cast Dark Prayer. This must be focused down as a priority, as if the 15-second cast completes it it will provide damage reduction to nearby enemies. When defeated, the group gains bonus Critical Strike chance and cooldown reduction.

This needs to be killed off quickly, so ideally, having short, bursty cooldowns like Primordial Wave or a Tempest ready to go when it spawns makes things a lot easier on the group.

Xalatath's Bargain: Pulsar spawns an orb that orbits each player, and coming into contact with one of these will grant 4% Mastery and 2% Leech for the group, stacking, with a 30-second duration. Unsoaked orbs will increase enemy damage done and reduce damage taken.

Enhancement has no specific utility to deal with this, instead you need to be aware of your positioning both to make sure other players can soak up the orb circling you, and so you can catch orbs from nearby players.

Xalatath's Bargain: Devour will apply a debuff that must be either dispelled or healed off (though it will not absorb any incoming heals) to the entire group periodically throughout the dungeon.

On these weeks, I'd particularly recommend picking up Cleanse Spirit and Poison Cleansing Totem to assist the healer in clearing these off. If you find the group struggling to get rid of them and these are not available, both Ancestral Guidance and Maelstrom Weapon can be substituted to assist.