Shaman

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Other classes: Warrior, Paladin, Hunter, Rogue, Priest, Mage, Warlock, Druid

Shamans are totem-based hybrids that heal, cast elemental spells or fight in melee. Forever adds Lightning Mastery as the Elemental capstone talent and Riptide as the Restoration capstone talent, Mental Dexterity and Rage of the Farseer for Enhancement, and quality-of-life totem tools: Call of the Elements, Call of the Ancestors and Call of the Spirits drop up to four totems in one 3 sec cast, and Totemic Recall returns them for mana.

Elemental (Caster DPS)

Elemental opens with Flame Shock, fills with Lightning Bolt and uses Chain Lightning on cooldown for cleave. Elemental Alacrity (tier 2) makes Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning faster and leads to Lightning Overload, Call of Thunder (tier 5) gives both 5% more crit chance, Elemental Fury (tier 6) doubles spell crit bonus, and Lightning Mastery (tier 7, after Call of Thunder) takes 0.5 sec off Lightning Bolt and removes Chain Lightning's cooldown for 15 sec. Call of Flame makes Flame Shock and your Fire totems hit harder.

Enhancement (Melee DPS)

Enhancement is a melee shaman with Windfury Weapon, Flurry and Stormstrike, backed by powerful group totems. Forever builds the tree around Intellect: Mental Dexterity turns Intellect into attack power, Shamanistic Focus takes 45% off the Mana cost of shocks and Lightning Shield, Stormstrike moves up to tier 4, and Maelstrom Weapon and Rage of the Farseer sit at the bottom. Call of the Elements drops up to four preset totems, such as Windfury, Strength of Earth, Mana Spring and a fire totem, in one 3 sec cast.

Restoration (Healer)

Restoration Shaman is a group healer with Chain Heal and totems. Forever adds Riptide as the tier 7 Restoration talent: a heal over time that makes Chain Heal cast directly on that target 25% stronger. The loop is Riptide the tank, Chain Heal off them, and fill with Healing Wave or Lesser Healing Wave, while Mindfulness and Water Shield keep your mana flowing.

Tips & tricks: what ForeverDB learned

Elemental

Updated 8 November 2026 for build 1.60.1.70862 · From the DPS simulator, the game client

Learning from players: DPS. Collecting comparable fights before publishing observed cast patterns.

Observed cast patterns, not a proven optimal rotation. Gear, buffs, healing assignments and incoming damage can explain performance differences. HPS is effective healing; overhealing does not increase it. HPS counts effective healing, APS counts recorded shield absorption, and EHPS is their combined rate. Shield application sizes and overhealing do not increase EHPS. Healing assignments and incoming damage still limit healer comparisons. Build groups use the version reported by the log; some logs omit the hotfix build number.

Speculation: The class guide's rotation card uses Searing Totem here and the simulator disagrees: check it in game before trusting either: At level 60, the simulator's 60 s single-target fight did 1.6% more damage without Searing Totem. The class guide disagrees, so treat this as a lead to test. (level 60)
Speculation: The class guide's rotation card uses Flame Shock here and the simulator disagrees: check it in game before trusting either: At level 60, the simulator's 60 s single-target fight did 1% more damage without Flame Shock. The class guide disagrees, so treat this as a lead to test. (level 60)
Simulator: Clearcasting (from Elemental Focus) reduces your next damage spell's mana cost by 100%. Cast Lightning Bolt within 15 sec before it fades. It comes up 2.51 times in a 60 s fight in the simulator. (level 60)
Simulator: At level 60, Elixir of Greater Intellect is your best consumable at +6.5% DPS in the simulator. Scroll of Intellect IV comes second at +4.5%. (level 60)
Simulator: At level 60, Arcane Intellect from a Mage is the party buff that helps you most, adding +8.4% DPS in the simulator. (level 60)
Simulator: At level 60, your damage breaks down as: Lightning Bolt 72%, Flame Shock 16%, Lightning Overload 11% (simulator, recommended build, best gear for the level, 60 s single-target fight). (level 60)
Simulator: At level 60, mana runs short: in the simulator's 60 s fight you spend 10.4 s unable to cast. Drink between pulls and start full. (level 60)
Simulator: At level 60, the simulator values your stats like this (1 spell power = 1): Intellect 2.4, crit rating 0.47. (level 60)
Simulator: At levels 20-29, Scroll of Intellect IV is your best consumable at +6.6% DPS in the simulator. Greater Arcane Elixir comes second at +2.5%. (levels 20–29)
Simulator: At levels 20-29, Blessing of Wisdom from a Paladin is the party buff that helps you most, adding +7.7% DPS in the simulator. (levels 20–29)
Simulator: At levels 20-29, your damage breaks down as: Lightning Bolt 72%, Flame Shock 14%, Searing Totem 13% (simulator, recommended build, best gear for the level, 60 s single-target fight). (levels 20–29)
Simulator: Searing Totem is worth 8.6% of your DPS at levels 20-29: the simulator's fight without it did that much less damage. (levels 20–29)
Simulator: Flame Shock is worth 3.7% of your DPS at levels 20-29: the simulator's fight without it did that much less damage. It kept it on the target 70% of the time. (levels 20–29)
Simulator: At levels 20-29, mana runs short: in the simulator's 60 s fight you spend 12.5 s unable to cast. Drink between pulls and start full. (levels 20–29)
Simulator: Clearcasting (from Elemental Focus) reduces your next damage spell's mana cost by 100%. Cast Lightning Bolt within 15 sec before it fades. It comes up 2.74 times in a 60 s fight in the simulator. (levels 30–39)
Simulator: At levels 30-39, Greater Arcane Elixir is your best consumable at +5% DPS in the simulator. Baked Salmon comes second at +4.7%. (levels 30–39)
Simulator: At levels 30-39, Arcane Intellect from a Mage is the party buff that helps you most, adding +3% DPS in the simulator. (levels 30–39)
Simulator: At levels 30-39, your damage breaks down as: Lightning Bolt 71%, Flame Shock 16%, Searing Totem 9% (simulator, recommended build, best gear for the level, 60 s single-target fight). (levels 30–39)
Simulator: Flame Shock is worth 6.8% of your DPS at levels 30-39: the simulator's fight without it did that much less damage. It kept it on the target 92% of the time. (levels 30–39)
Simulator: Searing Totem is worth 4.4% of your DPS at levels 30-39: the simulator's fight without it did that much less damage. (levels 30–39)
Simulator: At levels 30-39, mana runs short: in the simulator's 60 s fight you spend 2.7 s unable to cast. Drink between pulls and start full. (levels 30–39)
Simulator: Clearcasting (from Elemental Focus) reduces your next damage spell's mana cost by 100%. Cast Lightning Bolt within 15 sec before it fades. It comes up 2.16 times in a 60 s fight in the simulator. (levels 40–49)
Simulator: At levels 40-49, Elixir of Greater Intellect is your best consumable at +10.2% DPS in the simulator. Scroll of Intellect IV comes second at +4.8%. (levels 40–49)
Simulator: At levels 40-49, Blessing of Wisdom from a Paladin is the party buff that helps you most, adding +7% DPS in the simulator. (levels 40–49)
Simulator: At levels 40-49, your damage breaks down as: Lightning Bolt 68%, Flame Shock 15%, Lightning Overload 10% (simulator, recommended build, best gear for the level, 60 s single-target fight). (levels 40–49)
Simulator: At levels 40-49, mana runs short: in the simulator's 60 s fight you spend 14.2 s unable to cast. Drink between pulls and start full. (levels 40–49)
Speculation: The class guide's rotation card uses Searing Totem here and the simulator disagrees: check it in game before trusting either: At levels 50-59, the simulator's 60 s single-target fight did 2.6% more damage without Searing Totem. The class guide disagrees, so treat this as a lead to test. (levels 50–59)
Speculation: The class guide's rotation card uses Flame Shock here and the simulator disagrees: check it in game before trusting either: At levels 50-59, the simulator's 60 s single-target fight did 1.2% more damage without Flame Shock. The class guide disagrees, so treat this as a lead to test. (levels 50–59)
Simulator: Clearcasting (from Elemental Focus) reduces your next damage spell's mana cost by 100%. Cast Lightning Bolt within 15 sec before it fades. It comes up 1.953 times in a 60 s fight in the simulator. (levels 50–59)
Simulator: At levels 50-59, Elixir of Greater Intellect is your best consumable at +9.8% DPS in the simulator. Scroll of Intellect IV comes second at +6.7%. (levels 50–59)
Simulator: At levels 50-59, Arcane Intellect from a Mage is the party buff that helps you most, adding +8.5% DPS in the simulator. (levels 50–59)
Simulator: At levels 50-59, your damage breaks down as: Lightning Bolt 76%, Lightning Overload 11%, Flame Shock 11% (simulator, recommended build, best gear for the level, 60 s single-target fight). (levels 50–59)
Simulator: At levels 50-59, mana runs short: in the simulator's 60 s fight you spend 19.2 s unable to cast. Drink between pulls and start full. (levels 50–59)

How to play it at level 60: priority, procs and cooldowns

What to press, in order. Cast the first one that is ready and whose condition holds.

Lightning Bolt: Fill the gaps with it: Your filler: cast it when nothing above is ready; worth 81.6% of your DPS (Simulator, Forever client, ForeverDB guide)

React to:

When Clearcasting procs: Lightning Bolt within 15 sec: Your next damage spell has its mana cost reduced by 100%. (Simulator, Forever client)

Before the pull:

Arcane Intellect (Simulator, Forever client)
Blessing of Wisdom (Simulator, Forever client)
Elixir of Greater Intellect (Simulator, Forever client)
Blessing of Kings (Simulator, Forever client)
Scroll of Intellect IV (Simulator, Forever client)
Mark of the Wild (Simulator, Forever client)
Greater Arcane Elixir (Simulator, Forever client)
Baked Salmon (Simulator, Forever client)

Avoid:

Leave Searing Totem out of single-target fights at level 60: the simulator's 60 s fight did 1.6% more damage without it. (Simulator)
Leave Flame Shock out of single-target fights at level 60: the simulator's 60 s fight did 1% more damage without it. (Simulator)

Latest changes:

8 November 2026: tip wording or values (client build or hotfix rebuild)
7 November 2026: 50-59: removed Flame Shock; 50-59: Lightning Bolt worth 80.6% -> 83.3%; 1 new tip(s) (client build or hotfix rebuild)
7 November 2026: client build 1.60.1.70790 -> 1.60.1.70862; new Blizzard post (new client build 1.60.1.70862)

Enhancement

Updated 8 November 2026 for build 1.60.1.70862 · From the DPS simulator, the game client

Learning from players: DPS. Collecting comparable fights before publishing observed cast patterns.

Simulator: At level 60, Elixir of Greater Strength is your best consumable at +2% DPS in the simulator. Bear Bruscitti comes second at +1.6%. (level 60)
Simulator: At level 60, Arcane Intellect from a Mage is the party buff that helps you most, adding +7.5% DPS in the simulator. (level 60)
Simulator: At level 60, your damage breaks down as: auto attacks 33%, Stormstrike 23%, Flame Shock 16% (simulator, recommended build, best gear for the level, 60 s single-target fight). (level 60)
Simulator: Stormstrike is worth 18.7% of your DPS at level 60: the simulator's fight without it did that much less damage. (level 60)
Simulator: Flame Shock is worth 6.6% of your DPS at level 60: the simulator's fight without it did that much less damage. It kept it on the target 79% of the time. (level 60)
Simulator: At level 60, mana runs short: in the simulator's 60 s fight you spend 4 s unable to cast. Drink between pulls and start full. (level 60)
Simulator: At level 60, the simulator values your stats like this (1 attack power = 1): Intellect 8.76, Strength 2, crit rating 1.65. (level 60)
Simulator: At levels 20-29, Elixir of Greater Strength is your best consumable, worth +1.4% DPS in the simulator. (levels 20–29)
Simulator: At levels 20-29, Blessing of Kings from a Paladin is the party buff that helps you most, adding +3.4% DPS in the simulator. (levels 20–29)
Simulator: At levels 20-29, your damage breaks down as: auto attacks 51%, Earth Shock 17%, Flame Shock 13% (simulator, recommended build, best gear for the level, 60 s single-target fight). (levels 20–29)
Simulator: Flame Shock is worth 9% of your DPS at levels 20-29: the simulator's fight without it did that much less damage. It kept it on the target 89% of the time. (levels 20–29)
Simulator: Searing Totem is worth 8.7% of your DPS at levels 20-29: the simulator's fight without it did that much less damage. (levels 20–29)
Simulator: At levels 30-39, Bear Bruscitti is your best consumable at +1.7% DPS in the simulator. Scroll of Strength IV comes second at +1.5%. (levels 30–39)
Simulator: At levels 30-39, Blessing of Kings from a Paladin is the party buff that helps you most, adding +4% DPS in the simulator. (levels 30–39)
Simulator: At levels 30-39, your damage breaks down as: auto attacks 35%, Stormstrike 25%, Windfury Attack 14% (simulator, recommended build, best gear for the level, 60 s single-target fight). (levels 30–39)
Simulator: Stormstrike is worth 21.9% of your DPS at levels 30-39: the simulator's fight without it did that much less damage. (levels 30–39)
Simulator: Flame Shock is worth 6.3% of your DPS at levels 30-39: the simulator's fight without it did that much less damage. It kept it on the target 88% of the time. (levels 30–39)
Simulator: At levels 40-49, Bear Bruscitti is your best consumable at +1.8% DPS in the simulator. Elixir of Greater Agility also gives +1.8%. (levels 40–49)
Simulator: At levels 40-49, Mark of the Wild from a Druid is the party buff that helps you most, adding +5.7% DPS in the simulator. (levels 40–49)
Simulator: At levels 40-49, your damage breaks down as: auto attacks 32%, Stormstrike 25%, Windfury Attack 13% (simulator, recommended build, best gear for the level, 60 s single-target fight). (levels 40–49)
Simulator: Stormstrike is worth 20% of your DPS at levels 40-49: the simulator's fight without it did that much less damage. (levels 40–49)
Simulator: Flame Shock is worth 6.7% of your DPS at levels 40-49: the simulator's fight without it did that much less damage. It kept it on the target 78% of the time. (levels 40–49)
Simulator: At levels 40-49, mana runs short: in the simulator's 60 s fight you spend 3.5 s unable to cast. Drink between pulls and start full. (levels 40–49)
Simulator: At levels 50-59, Elixir of Greater Strength is your best consumable at +2.7% DPS in the simulator. Bear Bruscitti comes second at +2.2%. (levels 50–59)
Simulator: At levels 50-59, Mark of the Wild from a Druid is the party buff that helps you most, adding +6.4% DPS in the simulator. (levels 50–59)
Simulator: At levels 50-59, your damage breaks down as: auto attacks 33%, Stormstrike 25%, Flame Shock 14% (simulator, recommended build, best gear for the level, 60 s single-target fight). (levels 50–59)
Simulator: Stormstrike is worth 18.3% of your DPS at levels 50-59: the simulator's fight without it did that much less damage. (levels 50–59)
Simulator: Flame Shock is worth 7.1% of your DPS at levels 50-59: the simulator's fight without it did that much less damage. It kept it on the target 84% of the time. (levels 50–59)
Simulator: At levels 50-59, mana runs short: in the simulator's 60 s fight you spend 4.1 s unable to cast. Drink between pulls and start full. (levels 50–59)

How to play it at level 60: priority, procs and cooldowns

What to press, in order. Cast the first one that is ready and whose condition holds.

Searing Totem: When it's missing from you: Keep it up: 91% of the sim's fight; the sim gains little from it (Simulator, Forever client, ForeverDB guide)
Stormstrike: Whenever it's ready: Keep it up: 60% of the sim's fight; worth 18.7% of your DPS (Simulator, Forever client, ForeverDB guide)
Flame Shock: When it's missing from the target: Keep it on the target: up 79% of the sim's fight; worth 6.6% of your DPS (Simulator, Forever client, ForeverDB guide)
Earth Shock: Fill the gaps with it: Your filler: cast it when nothing above is ready; worth 9.6% of your DPS (Simulator, Forever client, ForeverDB guide)

Keep up:

Flame Shock on the target, at least 75% of the time (Simulator, Forever client)

Before the pull:

Arcane Intellect (Simulator, Forever client)
Mark of the Wild (Simulator, Forever client)
Blessing of Kings (Simulator, Forever client)
Battle Shout (Simulator, Forever client)
Blessing of Wisdom (Simulator, Forever client)
Blessing of Might (Simulator, Forever client)
Elixir of Greater Strength (Simulator, Forever client)
Bear Bruscitti (Simulator, Forever client)
Scroll of Strength IV (Simulator, Forever client)

Latest changes:

8 November 2026: tip wording or values (client build or hotfix rebuild)
7 November 2026: tip wording or values (client build or hotfix rebuild)
7 November 2026: client build 1.60.1.70790 -> 1.60.1.70862; new Blizzard post (new client build 1.60.1.70862)

Restoration

Updated 7 November 2026 for build 1.60.1.70862 · From the game client

Learning from players: Healing + absorbs/s (EHPS). Collecting comparable fights before publishing observed cast patterns.

Forever client: There is no simulation for this spec yet. The order shown here comes from the site's rotation card for level 60, using cooldowns and costs from the Forever client. (level 60)
Forever client: Nature's Swiftness has a 3 min cooldown at level 60, according to client data: about once every second or third pull. (level 60)
Forever client: There is no simulation for this spec yet. The order shown here comes from the site's rotation card for levels 20-29, using cooldowns and costs from the Forever client. (levels 20–29)
Forever client: There is no simulation for this spec yet. The order shown here comes from the site's rotation card for levels 30-39, using cooldowns and costs from the Forever client. (levels 30–39)
Forever client: There is no simulation for this spec yet. The order shown here comes from the site's rotation card for levels 40-49, using cooldowns and costs from the Forever client. (levels 40–49)
Forever client: Nature's Swiftness has a 3 min cooldown at levels 40-49, according to client data: about once every second or third pull. (levels 40–49)
Forever client: There is no simulation for this spec yet. The order shown here comes from the site's rotation card for levels 50-59, using cooldowns and costs from the Forever client. (levels 50–59)
Forever client: Nature's Swiftness has a 3 min cooldown at levels 50-59, according to client data: about once every second or third pull. (levels 50–59)

How to play it at level 60: priority, procs and cooldowns

What to press, in order. Cast the first one that is ready and whose condition holds.

Call of the Elements: When it's missing from you: Before the pull: your totem set in one cast. (ForeverDB guide, Forever client)
Water Shield: When it's missing from you: Keep it up. (ForeverDB guide, Forever client)
Riptide: When it's missing from you: On the tank whenever it's ready; rank 3 at 60. (ForeverDB guide, Forever client)
Healing Wave: Whenever it's ready: Rank 10 at 60, your biggest single heal. (ForeverDB guide, Forever client)
Lesser Healing Wave: Whenever it's ready: Fast heal; rank 6 at 60. (ForeverDB guide, Forever client)
Cure Poison: Whenever it's ready: Remove a poison. (ForeverDB guide, Forever client)
Cure Disease: Whenever it's ready: Remove a disease. (ForeverDB guide, Forever client)

Keep up:

Riptide on you, at least 0% of the time (ForeverDB guide, Forever client)

Cooldowns:

Nature's Swiftness: as needed (ForeverDB guide, Forever client)

Before the pull:

Water Shield (ForeverDB guide, Forever client)

Latest changes:

7 November 2026: client build 1.60.1.70790 -> 1.60.1.70862; new Blizzard post (new client build 1.60.1.70862)
6 November 2026: tip wording or values (client build or hotfix rebuild)
4 November 2026: client build 1.60.1.70755 -> 1.60.1.70790; new Blizzard post (new client build 1.60.1.70790)

Every spec's latest changes. Re-studied every week and after each new game build.

Best in slot gear at any level: Elemental, Enhancement, Restoration

Best professions for Shamans: Leatherworking + Skinning.

Shaman abilities

Ancestral Fortitude
Healing Wave (level 1)
Lightning Bolt (level 1)
Rockbiter Weapon (level 1)
Earth Shock (level 4)
Stoneskin Totem (level 4, from the Classic class quest Call of Earth (rank 1))
Earthbind Totem (level 6)
Lightning Shield (level 8)
Stoneclaw Totem (level 8)
Flame Shock (level 10)
Flametongue Weapon (level 10)
Searing Totem (level 10, from the Classic class quest Call of Fire (rank 1))
Strength of Earth Totem (level 10)
Ancestral Spirit (level 12)
Fire Nova (level 12)
Purge (level 12)
Cure Poison (level 16)
Tremor Totem (level 18)
Call of the Elements (level 20)
Frost Shock (level 20)
Frostbrand Weapon (level 20)
Ghost Wolf (level 20)
Healing Stream Totem (level 20, from the Classic class quest Call of Water (rank 1))
Lesser Healing Wave (level 20)
Totemic Recall (level 20)
Cure Disease (level 22)
Poison Cleansing Totem (level 22)
Totemic Call (level 22)
Water Breathing (level 22)
Frost Resistance Totem (level 24)
Far Sight (level 26)
Magma Totem (level 26)
Mana Spring Totem (level 26)
Fire Resistance Totem (level 28)
Flametongue Totem (level 28)
Water Walking (level 28)
Astral Recall (level 30)
Call of the Ancestors (level 30)
Grounding Totem (level 30)
Nature Resistance Totem (level 30)
Reincarnation (level 30)
Windfury Weapon (level 30)
Chain Lightning (level 32)
Windfury Totem (level 32)
Sentry Totem (level 34)
Windwall Totem (level 36)
Disease Cleansing Totem (level 38)
Call of the Spirits (level 40)
Chain Heal (level 40)
Grace of Air Totem (level 42)

Data from the WoW Forever client, build 1.60.1.70862, extracted 2026-11-09.