Shaman Arena Talent Specs

There are three major schools you will spec your shaman into. Restoration, elemental, and enhancement, and though blizzard has tried to make all specs equally potent for both arena and PvE, well sadly put they are currently still failing. In any regard, here are my advisements on shaman specs.

Restoration Talent Specs
0/9/52 Restoration Talent Spec (my shaman’s current spec for 2v2)
0/20/41 Restoration Talent Spec (you’ll typically need a support healer for this spec as it relies more on utility than raw healing)
0/5/56 Restoration Talent Spec (most raw healing of any spec)
8/7/46 Restoration Talent Spec (potential to add damage with good healing as well)

Without a doubt the most popular spec for a shaman, it offers great utility in both PvP and PvE settings and allows a shaman with a fair amount of gear to continue to heal while under heavy fire. The major benefit to the spec is without a doubt the earth shield, beyond the fact that it allows the wielder an additional 30% chance to ignore spell interruption, it’s one of the most mana efficient healing buffs in the game.

The spec is relatively simple, if you are attempting to function is a healer on your arena team you’ll be spec’d something very close to what I have linked above. With 56 points in the restoration tree you maximize your ability to effectively heal for long periods of time.

40/0/21 Elemental Talent Specs

40/0/21 Elemental Spec (greater burst)
40/0/21 Elemental Spec (greater mana longevity)
The elemental shaman is without a doubt one of the most effective classes for both traditional 2 healer / 3 dps teams and the “insta-gib” 4 dps style. Elemental gives you simply amazing burst damage while also providing your team with a great amount of utility. Though almost all elemental specs are the same 40/0/21 you point breakdowns may differ dramatically depending on your team setup, your personal play style, and your gear.

The hit cap for casters is 4%, therefore there is no need to put any more than 2 points in elemental precision. However, most players will only need 1 point here as you already have spell hit from weapon and helm enchant. By the same token if you are running a more traditional makeup you could choose to not put any points in the spec, this is all determined by your specific role on your 5v5 team. If you are spamming lightning bolts having the 4% hit cap will obviously be more important.

For traditional balanced teams it’s going to be important than you can consistently provide damage when needed, and not be constrained by the limitations your mana pool. The traditional spec I have linked above allows you to continually function on your team for the entire duration of mana, hopefully without having to drink. Now it’s important to remember that with this traditional spec you aren’t simply spamming lightning bolts, you and your team will be focusing much more on control and simply wearing the other team down. In essence, rank 1 lightning bolting the opposing teams totems, rank 1 earth shocking heals or crowd control spells, purging your focus target, etc. If you are more focused on just killing quick go with the 4 dps spec, this will allow you much greater killing power while still maintaining a great deal of utility in your spec.

0/46/15 Enhancement Talent Specs
0/46/15 Enhancement spec

I’ll be frank about enhancement, it’s pretty much always sucked. It’s just one of those specs that Blizzard never gave much thought to and as a result it was never truly viable. That said, due to many recent changes to the spec we can now say it is indeed a viable talent spec.

The changes in coming in patch 2.4 really make the spec a real option. To maximize the spec it’d be advisable for the shaman to group with a rogue or warrior. Since the shaman doesn’t have a healing debuff you’ll have to group with a class that has one in order to make the spec solid. Though when you throw bloodlust and wind fury onto of a healing debuff of another class you’ll have a truly devastating combination.

Related posts:

1. Druid Arena Talent Specs
2. Rogue / Prest 2v2 Arena Strategy
3. Priest / Rogue vs. Shaman / Warrior 2v2 Arena Strategy
4. Priest / Rogue vs. Druid / Warrior 2v2 Arena Strategy
5. Rogue / Priest 2v2 Arena Strategy Breakdown (Video)