Shaman Leveling Guide (Level 1-30)

Overview

This guide takes a Shaman from level 1 to 30 in WoW Forever, with a talent plan for Enhancement, Elemental and Restoration. The Shaman trees were rebuilt for Forever, so everything here is written from the beta client (build 1.60.1), not from Classic. Numbers can still change before launch.

Our recommendation: Enhancement. A big weapon, shocks, a Searing Totem at your feet and your own heals. The new Mental Dexterity turns Intellect into Attack Power, Shamanistic Focus nearly halves the cost of your shocks, and Stormstrike is now available at level 25 instead of level 40. Elemental and Restoration are covered in their own tabs.

What Forever changes for every Shaman

• Totems last 5 minutes. The buff totems that lasted one or two minutes in Classic now stay for five. Short tactical totems (Searing Totem, Earthbind Totem, Stoneclaw Totem) keep their short timers.
• One cast, four totems. Call of the Elements (level 20) drops up to four totems chosen on your Totem Bar. Call of the Ancestors (level 30) holds a second set. Totemic Recall (level 20) removes them and refunds a quarter of their mana, and Totemic Projection (level 22) moves them.
• Fire Nova is a spell (level 12): an instant burst around your active Fire totem, on a 10-second cooldown. The Fire Nova Totem is gone.
• Faster lightning. From rank 4, Lightning Bolt casts in 2.5 seconds instead of 3.
• Weapon imbues last 60 minutes.
• Water Shield is a Restoration talent you can take at level 20, and Mana Tide Totem moves up to level 25.
• Dwarves can be Shamans, which brings the class to the Alliance.

Best Races

Five races can be Shamans: Orc, Tauren, Troll and Windshaper Skyborne for the Horde, and Dwarf for the Alliance.

The Windshaper Skyborne bring 1% haste, 5% damage against Elementals, a glide and a movement speed buff: pleasant, with a little less for a melee Shaman than the three others. For Enhancement, pick Orc; for the smoothest leveling or a caster build, Troll.

Talents

You earn one talent point per level from level 10, which gives 21 points at level 30. Classic's plan of starting Elemental and switching to Enhancement at level 20 no longer applies: the two-handed weapon talent is gone from the tree, and Enhancement is strong from its first row.

Rotation

Before any fight: weapon imbue on, Lightning Shield up (from level 8). Shocks share one 6-second cooldown, so each time you choose one of them. Combine these rotations with the totem and kiting advice in Leveling Tips.

Lightning BoltLightning BoltEarth ShockAuto-attack

1. Rockbiter Weapon on your weapon at all times.
2. Pull with Lightning Bolt, and cast a second one while the enemy runs to you.
3. Earth Shock (level 4) when it arrives, or to interrupt a spell.
4. Melee the rest. Heal with Healing Wave after the fight, not during it.

Lightning BoltSearing TotemFlame ShockAuto-attackEarth Shock

1. Drop Searing Totem where you intend to fight, then pull with Lightning Bolt so the enemy comes to the totem.
2. Flame Shock as it arrives: the burn lasts 12 seconds.
3. Melee. When the shock cooldown ends, Earth Shock if the enemy still has a fair amount of Health; otherwise save the mana.
4. Fire Nova (level 12) only against two or more enemies standing near your totem.
5. Stoneclaw Totem (level 8) when two enemies are on you: it taunts them for a few seconds, enough for a heal.

Searing TotemFlame ShockStormstrikeEarth ShockAuto-attack

1. Totems down. With Call of the Elements you can place Searing Totem and Strength of Earth Totem in one cast; on short fights, the Searing Totem alone is enough.
2. Open with Flame Shock. With Shamanistic Focus shocks are cheap enough to use every time the cooldown is ready.
3. From level 25, Stormstrike on cooldown, then Earth Shock to use its 20% bonus. Reapply Flame Shock when its burn has ended.
4. Frost Shock (level 20) on enemies that run, and to kite.
5. From level 26, Magma Totem instead of Searing Totem against three or more enemies, with Fire Nova on cooldown.
6. Heal with Lesser Healing Wave (level 20) in an emergency, Healing Wave between fights.

Searing TotemFlame ShockLightning BoltLightning BoltEarth Shock

1. Searing Totem down, then Lightning Bolt from maximum range, twice if you can.
2. Flame Shock when the enemy gets within 20 yards.
3. Keep casting Lightning Bolt. Use a Clearcasting proc from Elemental Focus on it.
4. Earth Shock to finish, or to interrupt a cast.
5. Earthbind Totem, step back and cast again if the enemy is still healthy when it reaches you.

Chain Lightning is not learned until level 32, so before that your area damage is Fire Nova and Magma Totem, like every other Shaman.

Weapon imbue

• Rockbiter Weapon from level 1 to 29. It gives a large, flat Attack Power bonus (193 at rank 4, level 24) and works with every weapon speed. It also adds threat, which is what you want when tanking and no problem when solo.
• Flametongue Weapon (level 10) adds Fire damage on each hit, more on slow weapons. It benefits from spell damage, so it suits Elemental and Restoration Shamans who end up in melee.
• Windfury Weapon at level 30. A 20% chance on each hit for two extra attacks with bonus Attack Power. With a slow two-hander and Elemental Weapons, it is the biggest jump in damage of the whole leveling stretch.

Ability milestones

• Level 1: Lightning Bolt, Healing Wave, Rockbiter Weapon. Level 4: Earth Shock and Stoneskin Totem (Earth totem quest). Level 6: Earthbind Totem. Level 8: Lightning Shield and Stoneclaw Totem.
• Level 10: Flame Shock, Searing Totem (Fire totem quest), Flametongue Weapon, Strength of Earth Totem and your first talent point.
• Level 12: Fire Nova, Purge, Ancestral Spirit. Level 16: Cure Poison. Level 18: Tremor Totem.
• Level 20: Ghost Wolf, Frost Shock, Lesser Healing Wave, Healing Stream Totem (Water totem quest), Call of the Elements, Totemic Recall, Frostbrand Weapon.
• Levels 22-28: Cure Disease and Totemic Projection (22), Magma Totem and Mana Spring Totem (26), Flametongue Totem (28).
• Level 30: Windfury Weapon, Grounding Totem (Air totem quest), Reincarnation, Astral Recall and Call of the Ancestors.

Stats & Gear

Enhancement

1. Weapon damage — a slow, hard-hitting two-hander. Every swing, Stormstrike and later Windfury Weapon are built on it.
2. Agility — critical strike chance, which triggers Flurry, plus dodge and armor.
3. Strength — 2 Attack Power per point.
4. Intellect — with Mental Dexterity, 1 Attack Power per point and a bigger mana pool on top. Far more valuable than it was in Classic.
5. Stamina — you fight in melee wearing leather, then mail from level 40.

Elemental and Restoration

1. Intellect — mana and spell critical strike chance.
2. Spell Power — more damage and healing on every cast, wherever you find it.
3. Spirit — mana regeneration between fights, and during them with Mindfulness.
4. Stamina

Professions. Skinning with Leatherworking covers your armor for the whole 1-30 stretch, since you wear leather. Herbalism with Alchemy is the choice for casters who want mana potions.

Best Leveling Weapons

Shamans cannot dual wield, so the choice is between a two-hander (solo damage) and a one-hander with a shield (tanking, healing or surviving a hard quest). Carry both. These are the dungeon and quest weapons worth chasing before level 30; all of them exist in the Forever item database, but their exact stats can differ from Classic, so compare before you equip.

Between dungeon runs, quest rewards and the Auction House fill the gaps. Train Two-Handed Maces and Two-Handed Axes at a weapon master when you find your first one, and raise a new weapon skill on easy enemies before you rely on it.

Leveling Tips

• Keep Lightning Shield up. It lasts 10 minutes and each charge is damage you did not have to cast during the fight.
• Fight next to your totems. Buff totems last 5 minutes now: place them in the middle of a group of enemies and pull to them instead of dropping new ones at every fight. Totemic Recall gives back a quarter of their mana when you move on.
• Do your totem quests on time. Earth at level 4, Fire at level 10, Water at level 20, Air at level 30. Without the totem item, you cannot use that element at all. The Water quest involves the most travel, so start it as soon as you reach level 20.
• Earth Shock is an interrupt. Keep the shock cooldown free when you fight a caster or a healer.
• Watch your mana, not your Health. A Shaman who starts a fight at a third of a mana bar has no heal and no shocks. Drink first.
• Take Improved Ghost Wolf before level 20. An instant Ghost Wolf that works indoors is 40% movement speed whenever you are not fighting.
• Carry a shield. One-hander, shield and Rockbiter Weapon make a Shaman a capable dungeon tank at these levels, and a much safer one against a tough quest enemy.
• Keep a food buff active. In Forever, food that grants a buff also gives 5% extra experience.

Earthbind kiting

Earthbind Totem (level 6) slows every enemy within 10 yards for 45 seconds. With a slow two-hander you can use it to take fewer hits: swing, step out of the enemy's reach while your weapon recovers, and step back in for the next swing. The enemy spends part of its time walking instead of hitting. It takes practice and a swing timer, and it is most useful against enemies that hit hard and slowly. The same totem is your escape: drop it, turn, and run in Ghost Wolf.

In dungeons

Between levels 13 and 30 you can run Ragefire Chasm, The Hall of Thanes, Ruins of Lordaeron, Wailing Caverns, the Deadmines, Shadowfang Keep, the Stockade, Excavation Site: Wetlands and Blackfathom Deeps (see the dungeon guide).

• Totems for the group: Strength of Earth Totem for melee, Stoneskin Totem when the tank is struggling, Healing Stream Totem or Mana Spring Totem (level 26) for Water, and Tremor Totem against Fear.
• Healing: Healing Wave for steady damage, Lesser Healing Wave when speed matters. Purge removes enemy buffs, and Cure Poison and Cure Disease are your job.
• Tanking: shield, Rockbiter Weapon, Earth Shock for threat and Stoneclaw Totem for loose enemies. Fire Nova generates threat on a pack.
• Damage: go easy on Earth Shock, which causes a lot of threat. Flame Shock and Stormstrike are safer.

Addons & Macros

Forever gives the Shaman a built-in Totem Bar for Call of the Elements, so the totem addons of Classic are less necessary. A few tools still help:

Shock + start attack

Starts your auto-attack along with the shock, so you keep swinging even when you are out of mana.

#showtooltip Flame Shock
/startattack
/cast Flame Shock

Stormstrike

The same idea for level 25 and beyond.

#showtooltip Stormstrike
/startattack
/cast Stormstrike

Interrupt without losing your target

Uses Earth Shock on the enemy under your cursor, or on your target if you are not pointing at one.

#showtooltip Earth Shock
/cast [@mouseover,harm,nodead][] Earth Shock

Mouseover heal

#showtooltip Lesser Healing Wave
/cast [@mouseover,help,nodead][help,nodead][@player] Lesser Healing Wave