WoW Forever Shaman Leveling Guide (1-60)

In short

• Enhancement with a two-handed weapon; Forever Shamans cannot dual wield.
• Rockbiter Weapon until 30, then Windfury Weapon.
• Stormstrike is a level 25 talent and your main hit after that.
• Fire Nova (12) puts the threat on you, not on a totem.
• Lava Burst was removed on 2 Nov; skip any rotation that still uses it.
• Fill Enhancement first, then spend your points from 45 in Elemental.

Level 1 to 60 at a glance

Why this spec

Enhancement fits how Forever changed the class. You fight with a slow two-hander, which makes Windfury Weapon and Stormstrike hit hard, and your mana goes into shocks and totems rather than every hit. Elemental pays mana for everything; in a level-60 simulation it loses 32-39% of its damage when mana runs short, more than Hunter, Destruction or Affliction. Restoration is weak solo. At 40, dual spec lets you keep a healing set for dungeons without giving up your questing build.

Level by level

1-10Rockbiter, Lightning Bolt and your first totem

You start with Lightning Bolt, Healing Wave and Rockbiter Weapon. Pull with Lightning Bolt, then melee with Rockbiter on. Earth Shock arrives at 4 and the Earth Totem quest gives you Stoneskin Totem around 4 (level 3 for Skyborne on Zephras Isle). Lightning Shield comes at 8. Keep the weapon slow and two-handed if you find one; otherwise a one-hander and shield works. Earthbind Totem at 6 slows runners and helps when you need to escape. Respawns are fast in starting zones, so you rarely run out of mobs.

• Lightning Bolt
• Rockbiter Weapon
• Earth Shock
• Stoneskin Totem
• Lightning Shield
• Earthbind Totem

10-20Fire totem quest, Flame Shock and Fire Nova

Level 10 brings the Fire Totem quest for Searing Totem, plus Flame Shock, Flametongue Weapon and Strength of Earth Totem, and your first talent point. The basic pull from here: Flame Shock, drop Searing Totem, melee, and shock again when it is ready. Fire Nova is a trainer spell at 12 now, not a totem, and its threat goes to you, which makes small packs easy to hold. Zones: Westfall, Loch Modan or Darkshore for Alliance, The Barrens or Silverpine Forest for Horde. Hall of Thanes (13-18) and Ruins of Lordaeron (15-20) are new dungeons.

• Flame Shock
• Searing Totem
• Flametongue Weapon
• Strength of Earth Totem
• Fire Nova

20-30Ghost Wolf, water totem, Stormstrike

At 20 you train Ghost Wolf, Frost Shock, Frostbrand Weapon, Lesser Healing Wave and two new totem tools: Call of the Elements and Totemic Recall. The Water Totem quest unlocks Healing Stream Totem. Stormstrike is a row 4 talent at 25 and becomes your main button; put the next 2 points into Improved Ghost Wolf. Totemic Call comes at 22 (some guides still call it Totemic Projection), Magma Totem at 26. Zones: Duskwood, Wetlands, Ashenvale, Hillsbrad Foothills. Excavation Site: Wetlands (24-29) is the new dungeon in this range.

• Ghost Wolf
• Frost Shock
• Call of the Elements
• Totemic Recall
• Healing Stream Totem
• Stormstrike
• Magma Totem

30-40Windfury Weapon and the air totem quest

Windfury Weapon comes at 30 and replaces Rockbiter on your two-hander. The Air Totem quest at 30 ends with a weapon choice; Enhancement takes Rage of the Storm. Reincarnation and Astral Recall also arrive at 30, Chain Lightning and Windfury Totem at 32. Take Mental Quickness at 33-34, since Rage of the Farseer requires it, and Maelstrom Weapon at 35-39: at 5 stacks your next Lightning Bolt is instant. City of Dalaran (28-33) needs an attunement, The Drowned City is 35-40.

• Windfury Weapon
• Reincarnation
• Astral Recall
• Chain Lightning
• Windfury Totem
• Maelstrom Weapon
• Mental Quickness

40-50Rage of the Farseer, dual spec, riding

Rage of the Farseer, the Enhancement capstone, comes at 40, when row 7 opens. Chain Heal and Call of the Spirits also come at 40, along with dual spec and riding. Add Improved Stormstrike at 41-42 and the last two Ancestral Knowledge points by 44. Zones: Tanaris, The Hinterlands and Riverglades. Krol'dok Stronghold (40-45) sits in Riverglades; Alcaz Island Prison (48-53) is the other new dungeon. Grace of Air Totem arrives at 42.

• Rage of the Farseer
• Chain Heal
• Call of the Spirits
• Improved Stormstrike
• Grace of Air Totem

50-60Elemental points and the road to 60

From 45, with Enhancement done, spend most of the rest in Elemental: Convection, Concussion and Elemental Devastation; the last three points go to Tidal Focus in Restoration. Keep upgrading your two-hander; every Stormstrike and Windfury proc scales with it. Zones: Burning Steppes, the Plaguelands, Winterspring and Silithus. Blackmaw Hold (55-60) and Shaper's Terrace (58-60) are new, and Mount Hyjal opens at 60. A 9 Nov hotfix fixed Lightning Overload damage; check tooltips after each patch.

• Convection
• Concussion
• Elemental Devastation
• Tidal Focus

Class quests

Talent plan

How to fight

Stats · Gear

Tips

• Do every totem quest when it opens: Earth at 4, Fire at 10, Water at 20, Air at 30.
• Sit at a campfire before logging out for rested XP.
• Cooking food gives a 5% XP buff.
• Legacy points are shared across your characters; Adventure has Well Rested.
• The Legacy Talented perk unlocks talents up to 5 levels early.
• Class training 1-60 costs about 206-207 gold. Ghost Wolf at 20 is worth every coin.
• Dungeon mob XP went up 50% on 9 Nov, and Fire Nova lets you tank small dungeon packs.
• New spells are not auto-placed on your bars; drag totems in after each quest.

Common mistakes

• Following old guides that use Lava Burst; it no longer exists in Forever.
• Buying an off-hand for dual wield. Shamans cannot dual wield in Forever.
• Leaving the Air Totem quest and Windfury Weapon for later.
• Spamming Lightning Bolt as Enhancement and running dry.
• Dropping Searing Totem too far from the fight, so it never reaches the mob.

Questions