If you’re looking for a class in World of Warcraft that offers plenty of variety, you’ll love playing as a Shaman. The Shaman class offers two unique DPS specs and one healing spec, making them one of the best multi-spec classes in the game.
The various Shaman specializations all suit different areas of the game. It can be hard to know which one to pick for which setting, though, so I’ve put together this quick guide on picking the best Shaman spec in World of Warcraft.
Above all else, the best spec to pick is the one that you have the most fun playing. It’s all well and good making an Enhancement Shaman because it’s the most viable in PVP, for example, but if you don’t enjoy playing it then you’ll lose interest.
Here’s my guide to picking the best Shaman spec in Dragonflight.
Best Shaman Specialization for Solo Leveling
The best Shaman specialization to pick up for solo leveling in World of Warcraft is Elemental. This spec is decently easy to pick up and has a fun, varied rotation that you can adapt on the go.
Enhancement Shamans are a close second when it comes to the best solo leveling Shaman spec, from my experience. I’d recommend going with Elemental first, but if ranged DPS doesn’t work for you then check out Enhancement.
One of the main things that makes Elemental a great spec for leveling is that it has some fail safes to help keep players alive when tackling tricky mobs. Having Healing Surge on hand to top up your health is very handy, and abilities like Refreshing Waters help to make the spec even more effective for self-healing.
There are plenty of passive boosts to your skills that suit leveling by yourself, too. A good example of this is Call of Thunder, which helps to boost your Lightning Bolt, Chain Lightning, and Storm Elemental.
Another key talent that’s helpful for leveling is Primordial Fury. Primordial Fury ensures that any critical strikes with healing hit for 250% rather than 200%, giving the spec more survivability overall.
Elemental Shamans can also summon Fire Elementals, which are hugely helpful while leveling. These Elementals stay with you and fight for 30 seconds, all while boosting the damage of Flame Shock by 33% and making new Flame Shocks stay on a target for 100% longer.
This variety of abilities alongside the general utility of the main Shaman tree makes them ideal for quick and efficient solo leveling.
If there are any new players reading this who want a nice DPS spec to level as, I would recommend either looking at Elemental Shamans or checking out the various Hunter specs. Both are a lot of fun to level.
Best PVP Shaman Spec for Arenas
While both the Shaman DPS specs can be effective in Arenas, the Restoration spec manages to be one of the most efficient and impactful PVP healing specs around. It rivals some of the Priest specs for utility and adaptability, and it’s a lot of fun to play as well.
One of the main things that makes Restoration Shamans so great for Arenas is the wide variety of totems that they have on hand.
They can use a Spirit Link totem to mitigate damage for nearby allies, and a Mana Tide totem to keep themselves and other mana users full up. The Healing Tide and Healing Stream totems are also handy.
Restoration Shamans have lots of mana regeneration abilities too, which is important in Arenas. Water Shield is one of my favorites, restoring mana each time a melee attack hits. Resurgence helps restore mana too, hitting whenever a healing critical strike happens.
The standard Shaman tree has a lot of movement enhancing abilities that help Restoration Shamans perform even more effectively in Arenas as well.
Gust of Wind is a great tool for getting to an injured ally quickly, and Ghost Wolf can help you get around a pillar quickly as well. I’d recommend picking up Winds of Al’Akir to make your Ghost Wolf form even more efficient, as it boosts your movement speed bonus and does so again when you have 3 or more totems active.
PVP healing isn’t for everyone, so try out Elemental or Enhancement if you’re not keen on the idea of Restoration. If you’re down to try healing, though, Restoration is one of the most rewarding and adaptable healing specs to use in an Arena.
Best Shaman Spec for PVP Battlegrounds
I’d recommend playing either Restoration or Enhancement in a Battleground, depending on whether you enjoy healing in a team PVP environment or not. I’ve already looked at how Restoration is effective for PVP, and that’s relevant here too.
Enhancement is another great pick for Battlegrounds, especially if you prefer playing a DPS spec. It’s a versatile spec, and the standard Shaman talent tree gives Enhancement Shamans plenty of extra utility in a Battleground.
One of the best things about the Enhancement talent tree is the variety in damage buffs that it contains. Elemental Weapons is one of the most interesting ones, giving a solid 10% boost to all Fire, Frost, and Nature damage dealt.
The Feral Spirit ability is also very useful in Battlegrounds. This move summons two Spirit Wolves, which fight alongside you in battle for 15 seconds. There’s even a passive ability with the same name that imbues your Spirit Wolves with elemental energy, boosting their damage and making them more effective.
There are also great CC moves in the Enhancement tree which suit team fights nicely.
Sundering is one of my favorite moves. It causes Flamestrike damage by striking the ground in front of you, incapacitating any enemies caught by it for 2 seconds. These 2 seconds can make all the difference when dealing with a group.
While Enhancement Shamans certainly aren’t as tanky in PVP as, say, Warrior specs or Paladin specs, they can hold their own. They have a variety of damage dealing moves and ways to control groups of foes, and some emergency heals and powerful passive abilities as well.
Best Shaman Specialization for PVE
While all the Shaman specs are viable for PVE to some extent, the main one that I would suggest checking out for your next raid or dungeon is Enhancement.
One of the main reasons why I would recommend picking Enhancement as the best Shaman spec for PVE is the variety of damage output options. Enhancement excels with both single target and cleave damage, and it has a balanced rotation.
Another reason why Enhancement Shamans are the most viable Shaman spec for PVE is that they offer plenty of variety and adaptability with their talent trees. The Enhancement talent tree can fit a lot of different fights and boss battles, meaning that they’re incredibly useful for guilds looking to progress with high-end content.
Enhancement Shamans also have some great CC, dispel, and damage mitigation abilities that suit PVE perfectly. They’re great at supporting raid parties (without taking a backseat) and even have abilities like Windfury Totems to help bolster party members during battle.
Best Shaman Spec for Soloing Old Content
All the Shaman specs are suitable for soloing old content to some degree, but the main one that I would suggest picking up is Enhancement, purely for the added survivability and damage potential that it offers.
Enhancement has some particularly interesting abilities relating to the Ghost Wolf form that Shamans can transform into. These can help to cut down the amount of time that your solo content runs can take.
One of the main Ghost Wolf abilities that Enhancement offers that can be useful for taking down difficult raid bosses from older raids is Feral Lunge. This move lets you lunge at an enemy in Ghost Wolf form, dealing considerable damage.
Ancestral Wolf Affinity is another useful Ghost Wolf ability that can help speed up your solo runs. This ability allows you to use Cleanse Spirit, Purge, Wind Shear, and various totems without canceling your Ghost Wolf form.
The various weapon enhancements that Enhancement Shamans can access are useful for soloing old content, too. Hot Hand, for example, has a 5% chance of reducing the cooldown time of Lava Lash by 75% and making it do 40% more damage for 8 seconds.
The variety of damage-boosting abilities and enhancements that Enhancement Shamans use make them one of the best Shaman specs for soloing old content, especially when you consider their additional perks like Ghost Wolf abilities.
What to Do When You’ve Picked a Spec
Once you’ve decided what kind of Shaman you want to play as, here’s what I’d recommend doing next to improve your experience:
- If you’re making a brand new character, decide on your leveling route and check out the latest gold farming methods to see if you can make some gold while you’re questing.
- If you’re looking to play your Shaman in a PVE setting, take a look at the easiest M+ dungeons and raids to start off with. If you’re playing a new spec or class, it’s always nicer to start with a less intense encounter to give yourself time to learn the rotation.
- If you want to take your new Shaman into a PVP setting, check out the most popular Arena comps and get to grips with which classes you might be up against. Even if you’re a Battleground fan, it’s good to know what the current favorites are as it can help prepare you for what you’ll need to counter.
Shamans are fun and versatile, and they can thrive in lots of areas of the game. The Ghost Wolf ability gives extra mobility and can make leveling gathering Professions a lot easier as well. No matter what you’re passionate about in World of Warcraft, there’ll be the right Shaman specialization for you.
