DPS Rotation & Cooldowns

This rotation offers a general priority list for Elemental 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 (12.0.1).

Single Target

Ensure Flame Shock is applied before starting.

• StormkeeperView detailsUse on cooldown.
• AscendanceView detailsUse after Stormkeeper.
• Elemental BlastView detailsIf <15 Maelstrom from capping.
• Elemental BlastView detailsIf Master Of The Elements is active.
• Earth ShockView detailsIf <15 Maelstrom from capping.
• Earth ShockView detailsIf Master Of The Elements is active.
• Lava BurstView detailsIf Master Of The Elements is not active.
• Lava Burst
• Lightning BoltView detailsTo consume Master Of The Elements.
• Flame ShockView detailsRefresh within pandemic window if Master Of The Elements is not active.
• Lightning BoltView detailsUse as filler.

Maintain Flame Shock and prioritize Stormkeeper and Ascendance. Use Elemental Blast and Earth Shock to manage Maelstrom and maximize Master Of The Elements. Fill with Lava Burst and Lightning Bolt.

AoE

Ensure Flame Shock is applied to multiple targets.

• StormkeeperView detailsUse on cooldown.
• AscendanceView detailsUse after Stormkeeper.
• EarthquakeView detailsUse against 4+ targets.
• Elemental BlastView detailsUse against 3 or fewer targets.
• EarthquakeView detailsUse if possible.
• Voltaic BlazeView detailsRefresh Flame Shock.
• Chain LightningView detailsUse as filler.

For AoE, prioritize Stormkeeper and Ascendance. Use Earthquake for 4+ targets and Elemental Blast for fewer. Maintain Flame Shock with Voltaic Blaze and fill with Chain Lightning.

Cooldowns

• StormkeeperView detailsBuffs next 2 casts of Lightning Bolt or Chain Lightning.
• AscendanceView detailsBuffs Overloads and applies Flame Shock to nearby enemies.

Use Stormkeeper to enhance Lightning Bolt or Chain Lightning. Pair Ascendance with other cooldowns for maximum effect.

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.