Elemental Shaman DPS Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities - Dragonflight 10.2.7 (2024)

Welcome to our Rotation page for Elemental Shaman. On this page, you willfind everything you need to know about actually playing the spec in Raiding andMythic+ scenarios.

Due to simulations still being a work in progress and the many changes,these lists are a work in progress. Additional details for Fire-focused arecoming soon.

If the rotations below seem overwhelming to you, you might benefitfrom visiting our Beginner page, which outlines a close-to-optimalrotation in simpler terms.

The content on this page is purely PvE-related. If you are looking for PvPRotation Tips, please visit our PvP page below.

Neither our single-target nor our multi-target rotations change in Mythic+content. If you are looking for information and tips specific to Mythic+content, please visit our Mythic+ page below.

Shaman Elemental 10.2 Class Set 2pc : Primordial Wave also casts an Elemental Blast at the target at 70% effectiveness, and grants you allthree Elemental Blast bonus effects for 10.0 seconds. This Elemental Blast, of course,does not cost Maelstrom, and a pseudo "Pandemic" effect has been implemented, allowingsubsequent Elemental Blasts to extend a buff's duration to up to 130% of itsoriginal duration.

Shaman Elemental 10.2 Class Set 4pc: Lava Bursts burn your targetfor 10 percent additional damage over 4 sec, and after consuming Primordial Wave,your next 2 casts of Lava Burst also hit up to 3 additional targets affected byyour Flame Shock for 65 percent of normal damage. Those extra Lava Burstsgenerate Maelstrom, as you would expect.

We advise you to use our recommended T31 Fire-focused builds once you have Shaman Elemental 10.2 Class Set 4pc.

Shaman Elemental 10.1 Class Set 2pc grants you ONE charge of Stormkeeper.Assuming you are using a Lightning-focused build, the main thing to do is to makesure you have Electrified Shocks on the target(s) and have a Surge of Powerproc either for single-target (2 targets also, you would just cast Lightning Boltto benefit from Surge of Power) or with 6+ targets.

Shaman Elemental 10.1 Class Set 4pc helps getting more spenders (making Elemental Blasteven more desirable). It does not particularly change our gameplay otherwise.

This section is dedicated to providing an action priority list tailored to ourrecommended T31 Single-Target build which you can find in our Talent Page.

Note that as your opener, you can simply follow this list as well.

• Stormkeeper
• Surge of Power

1. Cast Fire Elemental.
2. Cast Primordial Wave if Splintered Elements is not up.
3. Cast Flame Shock during the pandemic window if Primordial Wavewill not be available in time.
4. Cast Lava Burst if either Lava Surge or Ascendance is up.
5. Cast Elemental Blast if Master of the Elements is up.
6. Cast Lava Burst.
7. Cast Frost Shock if Icefury buffs are available and Master of the Elementsis up.
8. Cast Icefury.
9. Cast Elemental Blast.
10. Cast Frost Shock if Icefury buffs are available.
11. Cast Lightning Bolt.
12. Cast Flame Shock and if really needed Frost Shock while moving.

Splintered Elements is mentioned as with its reworked effect, it isnow worth considering for many raid fights that include AoE elements.

The rotation of an Elemental Shaman revolves around the following prioritylist. Note that for the special "rotation" involving Stormkeeper, Surge of Power and Icefury, we assume you are using Eye of the Storm, Flow of Power and Swelling Maelstrom. If you are not, adjustaccordingly.

• Storm Elemental
• Fire Elemental
• Lava Surge
• Stormkeeper
• Surge of Power
• Icefury
• Electrified Shocks
• Master of the Elements
• Elemental Blast
• Primordial Wave
• Deeply Rooted Elements
• Ascendance
• Primal Elementalist
• Liquid Magma Totem
• Primordial Surge
• Further Beyond
• Windspeaker's Lava Resurgence
• Lightning Lasso

1. When in Ascendance form cast Earth Shock whenever available, but always alternate it with Lava Burst.
2. When in Ascendance form cast Elemental Blast whenever available, but always alternate it with Lava Burst.
3. Cast Earth Shock if your next cast will make you overcap Maelstrom.
4. Cast Lightning Bolt as a filler on a single target.
5. Cast Flame Shock as a filler while moving, unless Primordial Wave will become available
6. Cast Frost Shock as a filler while moving.

For more information on your opening sequence, please referto our dedicated section.

Note that if you are using Primal Elementalist without Storm Elemental,you can cast Meteor whenever you want, as you can only cast it onceper Elemental. Since its damage is not split, you ideally want to hold onto itif multiple targets are going to be present.

This section is dedicated to providing an action priority list tailored to ourrecommended T31 AoE / Mythic+ build which you can find in our Talent Page.

1. Cast Fire Elemental if Ascendance is not up.
2. Cast Stormkeeper if Ascendance is up and aprevious Stormkeeper buff is not available (for people still using Shaman Elemental 10.1 Class Set 2pc).
3. Cast Totemic Recall if Ascendance is not up and Liquid Magma Totem is on cooldown for a long time, depending on how longadds will live.
4. Cast Liquid Magma Totem if Ascendance is not up.
5. Cast Primordial Wave on whichever target is closest to losing the Flame Shock effect,unless it is close to dying.
6. If specced into Surge of Power, cast Flame Shock when it is upon whichever target has the lowest duration Flame Shock effect, unless it is close to dying.
7. Cast Lava Beam if Ascendance and Master of the Elementsare up.
8. Cast Lava Burst if Ascendance is up.
9. Cast Earthquake if Master of the Elements is up, you have 15 ormore stacks of Magma Chamber and Lava Surge is not up
10. Cast Chain Lightning if Master of the Elements is up butneither Ascendance or Lava Surge are up
11. Cast Lava Burst.
12. Cast Earthquake.
13. Cast Chain Lightning.
14. Cast Flame Shock on whichever target is closest to losing its DoT effect.

• Storm Elemental
• Fire Elemental
• Lava Surge
• Surge of Power
• Stormkeeper
• Electrified Shocks
• Power of the Maelstrom
• Primordial Wave
• Ascendance
• Deeply Rooted Elements
• Primal Elementalist
• Elemental Blast
• Echoes of Great Sundering
• Liquid Magma Totem
• Splintered Elements

1. If all targets are split, keep Flame Shock up on as many of them asyou can as long as they will live for the whole duration.
2. Cast Earthquake.
3. Cast Lava Burst if there are 3 or fewer targets, and if a Flame Shock is up,ideally right before using Stormkeeper-boosted abilities, or an Echoes of Great Sundering Earthquake.
4. Cast Chain Lightning.
5. Cast Flame Shock when moving

• Tempest has no target limit but does reduce damage beyond 5 targets.
• Meteor is limited to 8 targets.
• Earthquake and Liquid Magma Totem have a soft-cap at 20 targets.This cap is high enough that it should rarely matter.

Funneling means using the fact that there are multiple targets present in the fightto gain damage on a single target. For Elemental Shamans, this means having multiple Flame Shocks running on several targets and using the additional Lava Surgeprocs to gain a significant amount of DPS on one target. If this is an important partof the fight, you may want to gear toward Haste, as this is a very good startfor this strategy.

If you are using the talent Master of the Elements, you may want to tryto use the buff on the most appropriate spell for the situation, usuallyyour spender. From best to worst, you ideally want to use Master of the Elementson:

1. Lightning Bolt empowered by Stormkeeper
2. Earthquake if it will hit 4+ targets or 2+ if empowered by Echoes of Great Sundering.
3. Elemental Blast
4. Earth Shock
5. Frost Shock empowered by Icefury
6. Lightning Bolt empowered by Power of the Maelstrom
7. Icefury
8. Lightning Bolt
9. Frost Shock

Note that the list above is what will give the most value for the proc,but IT DOES NOT MEAN THAT THIS IS THE ACTUAL SPELL PRIORITY IF YOU HAVE A PROC.It should not override the fact that you should cast Earth Shock if youhave 90 or more Maelstrom or that casting Elemental Blast should generallytake priority over everything else if long-term efficiency is the goal. Obviously,there are plenty of situational exceptions, but it is impossible to give staticpriorities for every situation.

In most scenarios, especially in a raid, there are two main uses for Surge of Power. Either you use it on Lava Burst in order to geta full additional use of Fire Elemental, or, if the fight will not last longenough, you use it on Lightning Bolt for additional Mastery: Elemental Overload procs.

In addition, against exactly 2 targets within 8 yards of each other, youwant to use Earth Shock to empower your Flame Shock tohit both targets, but only if Flame Shock is not already present on both or iswithin the pandemic window.

If you do not know what the "pandemic window" is, look here

Finally, if you are using Stormkeeper as well, you shouldalmost always want to pool Maelstrom before casting it so that both Stormkeeper-empowered Lightning Bolts become also empowered by Surge of Power. The exactamount of Maelstrom required depends on the talent, whether or not you are usingany combination of these talents: Eye of the Storm, Flow of Power, Elemental Blast, Searing Flames.

Here is an example assuming you use our recommended single-target build with Eye of the Storm and Flow of Power:

1. Pool Maelstrom until you have at least 58 (50 with Shaman Elemental 10.1 Class Set 4pc); if specced into Electrified Shockscast an Icefury-empowered Frost Shock just before or just after casting Stormkeeper.
2. Cast Stormkeeper
3. Cast Earth Shock
4. Cast Lightning Bolt
5. Cast an Icefury-empowered Frost Shock if specced into Electrified Shocks
6. Cast Earth Shock
7. Cast Lightning Bolt

This talent has some interesting synergy with Primordial Wave and Skybreaker's Fiery Demise for heavy multi-dotting of split targets.

Before using each of your cooldowns, you should take special care to considerseveral factors. Our offensive cooldowns have lengthy recharge times, but whencorrectly utilized, they can be responsible for a large percentage of our damageoutput. You should always take into account:

• Your raid's Bloodlust/ Heroism/ Time Warp usage.
• The mechanics of the current boss, including intermissions and abilitiesthat necessitate movement.
• The spawn timers of any adds that might be present, as we may want to useor delay certain cooldowns with respect to cleave and AoE.

There are a few things to consider before each Ascendanceusage.

• Ensure Flame Shock is present on as many targets as possible.
• Ensure no boss mechanics will interfere, such as intermissions, boss movement,or mechanics that will force you to move. It can be a good idea to use Spiritwalker's Graceto ensure full DPS uptime.
• Clear Lava Surge if active, and any remaining Lava Burstcharges.
• If using this talent, cast Elemental Blast immediately beforeactivating Ascendance.

Do not let yourself Maelstrom cap; be sure to cast your spender whenor before you reach 90 (140 with Swelling Maelstrom) Maelstrom,. If using Further Beyond, make sure you do not let Ascendance fadewhen you could have used a spender to extend it.

Fire Elemental (or Storm Elemental) has a long cooldown, andits usage should be considered carefully. The best time to use this cooldownis always during periods of increased Haste or damage, and therefore, we typicallywill pair it with the Bloodlust/ Heroism/ Time Warp usage.That said, we never want to lose a potential usage of Fire/Storm Elemental by delayingit for maximum efficacy. For example, on an encounter that lasts 3 minutes, youwould use Fire Elemental immediately on the pull and once again as soon asit is off cooldown, regardless of when Bloodlust/Heroism/Time Warp is used.Remember not to use Earth Elemental when your Fire/Storm Elemental is stillaround if you use Primal Elementalist.

Stormkeeper is used more or less on cooldown on pure single-target encounters.

On multiple-target fights or fights with intermittent cleave and AoE, itcan be a good idea to delay your Stormkeeper until you are able to Chain Lightning the adds.

Elemental is a lot more mobile in Dragonflight, between getting Spirit Walkor Gust of Wind with some talents increasing your movement speed further, especially in Ghost Wolf form and Icefury being a must. Fire-focusedbuilds also have formidable mobility thanks to massive amounts of Lava Surgeprocs. Elemental is, at worst, a fairly mobile spec, especially if you use yourinstant spells to adjust your positioning. Proactively position yourself toreduce potential movement from mechanics. Keep careful track of boss timersand mechanics, as they can spell disaster for your damage if you are targetedduring a damage dump.

You should avoid casting Maelstrom-generating spells above a certain Maelstromthreshold that would make you go over the Maelstrom cap. Because of all the talentsand procs interacting with that threshold, it is difficult to give exact numberswithout making a detailed list that would be very impractical to use. We recommendinstead that you use Swelling Maelstrom and follow our recommended prioritiesin order to never overcap. Keep this in mind when pooling Maelstrom as well.It is likely these spells will overload at raid levels of gear; therefore, if you cast Lava Burst at 90/140 Maelstrom or Icefury at 75/125 Maelstrom, it is likely you will overcap Maelstrom and waste valuable resources. In practice,it is safer to cast these spells at lower Maelstrom than their limits to avoidwasting your overload procs. The key to success is managing all of your separateprocs without overcapping Maelstrom.

This section is currently somewhat obsolete unless Lava Burst gets buffed.

The reason why Flame Shock should always be up on your target isbecause:

• each tick has a chance to proc Lava Surge, which resets thecooldown of Lava Burst;
• Your Lava Burst will always critically hit if Flame Shock is on thetarget. This is very important due to your Elemental Fury passive.

You should only cast Lava Burst when Flame Shockis active on the target, or the target will live for less than 5 seconds.Flame Shock ticks every 3 seconds without accounting for Haste, meaning that youhave to take advantage of Lava Surge within one global cooldown toavoid potentially wasting a new Lava Surge proc from the next Flame Shock tick.By the same token, casting Lava Burst immediately as it comes off cooldown isalso imperative so that Lava Surge is not wasted while Lava Burst is off cooldown.

Flame Shock benefits from Pandemic, meaning that you canrefresh it any time that it has less than 30% of its original maximum durationremaining, and the remaining duration will be added to the new debuff.Therefore, you are able to refresh Flame Shocks without wasting any durationwhen it has 5 seconds or less remaining, and it will be extended by 18 seconds.For example, if your Flame Shock has 5 seconds left and you refresh it, your newFlame Shock would last 23 seconds.

Note that there are several ways this opener can be adjusted. If you would want Stormkeeper before it comes off cooldown, you can hold onto it instead,this means adding at least one Lightning Bolt before each Lava Burst.

The second part of the opener will depend on your 2PC timer; you want to, if possibledelay the Frost Shock -> Lava Burst -> Elemental Blast sequenceuntil you know the follow-up Lightning Bolt will be buffed by the 2PC.

1. Cast Stormkeeper 3 seconds before the pull
2. Cast Storm Elemental 1.5 second before the pull
3. Cast Icefury on pull
4. Apply Flame Shock
5. Cast Frost Shock
6. • Did Icefury overload?
7. Cast Lightning Bolt (possibly several times in a row depending on your 2PC timer)
8. Cast Frost Shock
9. Cast Lava Burst
10. Cast Elemental Blast
11. Cast Lightning Bolt
12. Proceed with normal priority.

1. Cast Storm Elemental 1.5 second before the pull.
2. Cast Icefury on pull
3. Apply Flame Shock
4. Cast Frost Shock
5. Cast Lightning Bolt (which should be buffed by Shaman Elemental 10.1 Class Set 2pc
6. Cast Lightning Bolt
7. Cast Frost Shock
8. Cast Lightning Bolt
9. Cast Stormkeeper
10. Cast Flame Shock
11. Cast Lava Burst.
12. Cast Elemental Blast
13. Cast Lightning Bolt
14. Cast Frost Shock
15. Cast Lava Burst
16. Cast Elemental Blast
17. Cast Lightning Bolt
18. Proceed with normal priority.

• Surge of Power
• Stormkeeper
• Icefury
• Primordial Wave

1. Cast Fire Elemental/ Storm Elemental 3 seconds before thepull.
2. Cast Lava Burst.
3. Proceed with normal priority.