Forever Meta

Beta snapshot · build 1.60.1.70124 · level cap 30 · L60 conclusions are projections until launch

Elemental Shaman

Ranged DPS

Lava Burst, Chain Lightning and Fire Nova on a talent-capped crit engine. Weak below 40, scary at 60.

Verified 2026-10-01
Build 1.60.1.70124

Elemental PvE: Crit Fury Lava Burst (32 / 5 / 14)

ProjectionTheory

Level-60 dungeon and raid-prep Elemental: max Alacrity into Elemental Fury and Lava Burst, Thundering Strikes for crit, Tidal Focus for Hit and a Restoration mana package.

32 / 5 / 14 (51 points)

Elemental

32 pts
Convection5/5
Concussion5/5
Elemental Warding
Reverberation
Call of Flame3/3
Elemental Devastation
Elemental Focus1/1
Elemental Alacrity3/3
Improved Fire Nova2/2
Eye of the Storm3/3
Call of Thunder1/1
Elemental Reach
Lightning Overload3/3
Earthbound
Elemental Fury5/5
Lava Burst1/1

Enhancement

5 pts
Earth's Grasp
Thundering Strikes5/5
Ancestral Knowledge
Guardian Totems
Mental Dexterity
Improved Ghost Wolf
Improved Lightning Shield
Elemental Weapons
Shamanistic Focus
Anticipation
Toughness
Flurry
Stormstrike
Spirit Weapons
Mental Quickness
Improved Stormstrike
Maelstrom Weapon
Rage of the Farseer

Restoration

14 pts
Improved Healing Wave
Totemic Focus5/5
Mindfulness3/3
Natural Grace
Tidal Focus5/5
Improved Reincarnation
Ancestral Healing
Healing Focus
Water Shield1/1
Tidal Mastery
Restorative Totems
Mana Tide Totem
Healing Way
Nature's Swiftness
Purification
Riptide

Stat priority

  1. Spell Power
  2. Hit
  3. Haste
  4. Crit
  5. Intellect
  6. MP5
  7. Spirit
  8. Stamina

Order follows Icy Veins' Elemental stat list (level-20 beta). Tidal Focus already gives +5% Hit, and Elemental Fury (+100% crit damage) will probably push Crit up once gear exists. Hit and Crit are unified spell/melee stats; do not apply TBC hit-cap math.

Best race

Dwarf
Alliance
Dwarf

Only Alliance Shaman race. Mace Specialization is +1% crit with a mace equipped, Big Game Hunter is +5% damage to Beasts and Stoneform covers poison/disease mechanics.

  • Find Treasure
  • Stoneform
  • Mace Specialization
  • Big Game Hunter
Orc
Horde
Orc
Runner-up: Troll

Blood Fury is a 15 sec, +10% Attack Power and Spell Power cooldown that lines up with Lava Burst and Chain Lightning windows; Axe Specialization adds +1% crit with an axe. Icy Veins names Orc the default Horde Shaman.

  • Blood Fury
  • Hardiness
  • Axe Specialization
  • Shatter Curse

Enchants

SlotEnchantEvidence
Two-Handed WeaponEnchant 2H Weapon - Mighty Spell PowerFormula name only; effect values not published.Datamined
NeckEnchant Necklace - Spell PowerNeck enchanting is new to Forever; effect values not published.Datamined
WristEnchant Bracer - Greater SpellpowerAlternative: Enchant Bracer - Superior Intellect if mana is the problem.Datamined
HandsEnchant Gloves - Natural PowerOne of three school-specific glove formulas; the name suggests Nature damage, which covers Lightning Bolt, Chain Lightning and Earth Shock but not your Fire spells. Effect values not published.Datamined

How to play it

  • Place all four totems before the pull with Call of the Elements (3 sec cast), Searing Totem last because it expires fastest. Keep a party buff totem (Strength of Earth) down before Searing, as Icy Veins advises; the buff is worth more than one extra Lightning Bolt.
  • Pull with Lightning Bolt at range, put Flame Shock up, then use Lava Burst while it ticks for the 20% bonus. Refresh Flame Shock on long-lived targets.
  • Fire Nova (explodes your active Fire Totem) on cooldown against 3+ enemies; Improved Fire Nova adds +20% damage and a 4 sec shorter cooldown.
  • Chain Lightning for packs. Lightning Overload gives your Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning a 10% chance for a free half-damage duplicate.
  • Use Earth Shock to interrupt; Eye of the Storm takes 70% of the pushback off your big casts.
  • Totemic Projection and Totemic Recall let you move totems up to 30 yards away instead of re-casting them, which Icy Veins calls a huge mana saver. Reincarnation is your own wipe-recovery tool.
  • Water Shield restores 2% max mana per globe when you are hit or when a healing crit lands, so on a DPS Shaman it is a sustain tool for incoming damage; Mindfulness keeps 50% of your regen going while casting.
  • Sep-24 note: Tranquil Air, Windfury and Grace of Air Totems no longer stack even across different Shamans, so talk to your raid's other Shamans before picking an Air totem.

Verdict

Elemental is the caster that finally gets a real rotation. Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning now cast faster at baseline, Elemental Alacrity (Row 3 in the vendored client data) strips another 0.5 sec off Lightning Bolt, Chain Lightning and Lava Burst, and the 31-point capstone Lava Burst hits 20% harder into your own Flame Shock. Icy Veins expects DPS Shamans to "perform extremely well" now that early raids lost their heavy Nature/Fire resistances.

The honest caveat: nobody has played this spec past the beta cap. Icy Veins calls Elemental "quite weak" at low levels because Lava Burst and Elemental Alacrity were out of reach at the level-20 cap, and the lowered base spell damage makes the early game a slog of Lightning Bolt and Flame Shock. Public tier lists scatter it between A and S (wowforever.co aggregates MMOExp A, Overgear A, a forum thread S), so treat every L60 number here as theory.

Our build commits 32 points to the Elemental tree because every one of them is damage or mana: Concussion, Call of Flame, Alacrity, Call of Thunder into Elemental Fury (+100% crit damage, a five-point talent in this build of the game), Lightning Overload and Lava Burst. Thundering Strikes (+5% crit to all spells) from Enhancement and Tidal Focus (+5% Hit) plus mana tools from Restoration fill the remaining 19 points.

Strengths

  • Lava Burst, Chain Lightning and Fire Nova give a single-target and AoE toolkit in one spec (Icy Veins calls it an all-rounder DPS profile).
  • Elemental Fury plus Thundering Strikes and Call of Thunder stack crit chance and crit damage for a spiky, high-ceiling damage profile.
  • Earth Shock interrupt, Purge, Earthbound root, Tremor and Grounding Totems: the deepest utility belt of any DPS spec.
  • Totemic Projection and Call of the Elements make totem upkeep far cheaper and less annoying than in Classic.

Weaknesses

  • Poor at low levels: Icy Veins rates early damage weak, and Lava Burst only arrives on the 31st talent point (level 41 in our leveling order).
  • Mana hungry. Convection, Totemic Focus, Mindfulness and Water Shield exist in this build purely to keep the bar full.
  • Totem coverage is a recurring cost: Sep-24 changes mean Flametongue Totem no longer stacks with Flametongue Weapon or Windfury Totem, so group totem coordination matters.
  • Every L60 placement is a projection; public tier lists disagree between A and S.

Sources

  1. Shaman Class Guide - WoW Forever — Icy Veins, 2026-09-20reputable
  2. World of Warcraft: Forever Elemental Shaman Guide — Icy Veins, 2026-09-23reputable
  3. WoW Forever Racial Guide — Icy Veins, 2026-09-28reputable
  4. WoW Forever - PvP Rank System Explained — Icy Veins, 2026-09-19reputable
  5. WoW Forever Beta Development Notes - Updated September 24 — Blizzard Entertainment, 2026-09-24official
  6. New Enchanting Formulas for World of Warcraft Forever — Warcraft Tavern, 2026-09-17reputable
  7. Warcraft Forever: Itemization & Loot (Expertise, Spell Damage & More!) — Method, 2026-09-15reputable
  8. WoW Forever Tier List: Every Public Ranking, Compared — WoW Forever (wowforever.co), 2026-10-01fan
  9. WoW Forever PvP & Honor System — WoW Forever Wiki, 2026-10-01fan