DPS Rotation & Cooldowns

This rotation offers a general priority list for Enhancement Shaman abilities, along with key cooldowns at the bottom. It's based on a standard build and is here to help while we work on a smarter, build-aware system. If you are very new to the game or this class, we added info on the new assisted rotation features at the bottom of this guide. Updated for the latest patch in World of Warcraft: Midnight Pre-Patch (12.0.0).

Single Target

Ensure Lightning Shield and weapon imbues are active before combat.

• Doom WindsView detailsUse on cooldown for burst damage.
• AscendanceView detailsUse during burst phases.
• WindstrikeView detailsUse every GCD during Ascendance.
• TempestView detailsSpend at 9+ Maelstrom Weapon stacks.
• StormstrikeView detailsUse as a filler.
• Crash LightningView detailsUse as a filler.
• Lava LashView detailsUse as a filler.
• Voltaic BlazeView detailsUse as a filler.

Start with Doom Winds and Ascendance for burst. Use Windstrike during Ascendance, and spend Maelstrom Weapon stacks on Tempest. Fill with Stormstrike, Crash Lightning, and Lava Lash.

AoE

Ensure Lightning Shield and weapon imbues are active before combat.

• Doom WindsView detailsUse on cooldown for AoE burst.
• SunderingView detailsUse on cooldown for AoE damage.
• Crash LightningView detailsUse to trigger AoE effects.
• Primordial StormView detailsUse with 10 Maelstrom Weapon stacks.
• Chain LightningView detailsSpend at 7+ Maelstrom Weapon stacks.
• StormstrikeView detailsUse as a filler.
• Lava LashView detailsUse as a filler.
• Voltaic BlazeView detailsUse as a filler.

For AoE, prioritize Doom Winds and Sundering for burst. Use Crash Lightning to trigger AoE effects, and spend Maelstrom Weapon stacks on Primordial Storm or Chain Lightning. Fill with Stormstrike and Lava Lash.

Cooldowns

• Doom WindsView detailsUse every minute for burst damage.
• AscendanceView detailsUse during burst phases or as needed.
• SunderingView detailsUse every 30 seconds for AoE damage.
• Surging TotemView detailsUse every minute to enhance burst windows.

Use Doom Winds and Ascendance for burst phases. Sundering provides consistent AoE damage, while Surging Totem enhances your burst windows.

New to Class? Try Assisted Rotation

Patch 11.1.7 introduced new features that make it eaiser to pick and play new characters. These new settings can be enabled from settings » gameplay enhancements:

• Single-Button Assistant
• Assisted Highlight
• Cooldown Manager

If you are new to World of Warcraft or a certain class, enabling Assisted Highlight and Cooldown Manager can help you learn which abilities to prioritize and use.

While the Single-Button Assistant can be a much easier and more accessible way to play the game, it does come with a slight performance hit due to a small GCD penalty, as you will have to wait 25% longer in between spells and abilities.

To see which specs are best with the Single-Button Assistant feature, you can check out our DPS Rankings which uses SimC to sim every class using this feature.