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 Pre-Patch (12.0.1).

Single Target

Cast Stormkeeper ~3 seconds before pull and Lava Burst ~1.5 seconds before pull.

• StormkeeperView detailsUse on cooldown, ideally before Ascendance.
• AscendanceView detailsSync with trinkets, Bloodlust, and Tempered Potion.
• Earth ShockView detailsUse if Ascendance will fade in 3 seconds or to avoid Maelstrom capping.
• Elemental BlastView detailsUse if Ascendance will fade in 3 seconds or to avoid Maelstrom capping.
• Flame ShockView detailsRefresh if <6 seconds remaining.
• Lava BurstView detailsUse if Flame Shock is active.
• Lightning BoltView detailsUse as a filler.

Start with Stormkeeper and Ascendance, syncing with cooldowns. Maintain Flame Shock and prioritize Earth Shock or Elemental Blast to avoid Maelstrom capping. Use Lava Burst when Flame Shock is active and fill with Lightning Bolt.

AoE

Cast Stormkeeper before engaging multiple targets.

• StormkeeperView detailsUse on cooldown, ideally before Ascendance.
• AscendanceView detailsSync with trinkets, Bloodlust, and Tempered Potion.
• EarthquakeView detailsUse if 5+ targets are present.
• Elemental BlastView detailsUse if 4 or fewer targets are present.
• Chain LightningView detailsUse as a filler for 2+ targets.
• Flame ShockView detailsMaintain on 1 target if 3 or fewer targets.

For AoE, prioritize Stormkeeper and Ascendance with cooldowns. Use Earthquake for 5+ targets or Elemental Blast for fewer. Maintain Flame Shock on 1 target and fill with Chain Lightning.

Cooldowns

• StormkeeperView detailsUse on cooldown; delay for AoE if needed.
• AscendanceView detailsSync with trinkets, Bloodlust, and Tempered Potion.
• Spiritwalkers GraceView detailsUse to maintain DPS during movement.

Use Stormkeeper on cooldown, delaying for AoE if necessary. Align Ascendance with major cooldowns and use Spiritwalkers Grace to maintain uptime during movement.

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.