To help ease the burden of levelling in WoW Classic, we’ve put together a comprehensive guide on the best Talents, Weapons, and Professions, as well as other information that you’ll need to know as a Shaman.
Stats to Focus On When Levelling
Strength = Agility > Stamina > Spirit > Intellect
Best Build For Levelling
This build wants you to fight in melee range to make the most of the Enhancement talent tree.Your long-term goal is to use a 2-Handed weapon to proc Windfury Weapon and do lots of damage. This build is viable from Level 10 right up to Level 60. Here are the talents you should prioritise when levelling up:
- Shield Specialisation 5/5: Essentially a must-have for increasing survivability in the early game
- Thundering Strikes 5/5
- Improved Ghost Wolf 2/2: Makes casting Ghost Wolf almost instant, which allows for quicker and easier travel
- Two-Handed Axes and Maces 1/1: The heart of this build. It allows you to use two-handed weapons and deal heavy damage
- Flurry 5/5: Another key talent. Put 5 points into it as soon as possible
- Elemental Weapons 3/3
- Weapon Mastery 5/5
- Stormstrike 1/1
Note: Any unmentioned talents are not crucial to this build, so you can put points into whatever you please in order to pass into the next tier of talents. Elemental talents can be researched in any order, besides Elemental Warding 1/3, which should always be taken last.
Unlike the prior build, this one specialises in ranged combat, being primarily a Elemental spec, with some points in the Restoration tree. On the other hand, it is only viable after Level 40 as it requires the full 31 points in the Elemental tree. Here are the talents you should prioritise when levelling up:
- Concussion 5/5
- Convection 5/5
- Elemental Focus 1/1
- Call of Thunder 5/5
- Eye of the Storm 3/3
- Call of Flame 1/3
- Elemental Fury 1/1
- Storm Reach 2/2
- Call of Flame 3/3
- Lightning Mastery 5/5
- Elemental Mastery 1/1
Note: Any unmentioned talents are not crucial to this build, so you can put points into whatever you please in order to pass into the next tier of talents. Restoration talents can be researched in any order, with you end goal being 5 points in Tidal Mastery.
Spells and Abilities to Prioritise
It goes without saying, you should definitely complete your Class Quests, which are given by your Class Trainer at levels 6, 10, 20, and 30. They will reward you with a different totem at each level, eventually giving you four. Also, your mount is just as important as these quests, and should be bought at Level 40 and 60.
Rotations and Important Information for Levelling
Basic Information
- Keep the highest rank of Rockbiter Weapon active at all times, or if you are Level 30 or more, apply the same logic to Windfury Weapon
- Ensure that you are buffed by Lightning Shield at all times
- Make the most of Ghost Wolf, as much for kiting as for travelling
- Kite your enemies with Earthbind Totem and Earth Shock
Rotation from 1-10
- Lightning Shield
- Earthbind Totem
- Lightning Bolt
- Auto-attack
- Earth Shock
- Auto-attack
Rotation from 10-60
- Lightning Shield
- Earthbind Totem
- Searing Totem
- Flame Shock
- Auto-attack
- Stormstrike (from Level 40)
- Auto-attack
Useful Weapons and Armour
Enhancement Specialisation
- Walking Stick, sold by any Weapons Vendor at Level 3, regardless of starting area
- Staff of Orgrimmar, a quest reward from Hidden Enemies (Level 9+), given by Thrall in Orgrimmar, taking place in Ragefire Chasm
- Crescent Staff, a quest reward from Leaders of the Fang (Level 10+), given by Nara Wildmane in Thunder Bluff, taking place in Wailing Caverns
- Bullova, sold by any Weapons Vendor at Level 30 in any Capital City
- Corpsemaker, dropped by Overlord Ramtusk in Razorfen Kraul
- Ravager, dropped by Herod in Scarlet Monastery
- The Rockpounder, dropped by Archaedas in Uldaman
- Gatorbite Axe, dropped by Rotgrip in Maraudon
- Princess Theradras' Scepter, dropped by Princess Theradras in Maraudon
- Force of Magma, dropped by Bael'Gar in Blackrock Depths
Elemental Specialisation
- Zum'rah's Vexing Cane, dropped by Witch Doctor Zum'rah in Zul'Farrak
- Kindling Stave, dropped by Pyromancer Loregrain in Blackrock Depths
- Quel'dorai Channeling Rod, dropped by Lethtendris in Dire-Maul
- Trindlehaven Staff, dropped by Overlord Wyrmthalak in Blackrock Spire
What Race Should I Choose?
Thanks to their racials, Blood Fury and Axe Specialisation, Orcs are unrivalled in both PvP & PvE. Orc Shamans rule the roost in PvE. In addition, having access to Hardiness gives them an overall advantage over other races in PvP.
Though not being the best race for Shamans, Trolls can offer Berserking, which is a great racial trait for the class. Honorable mention goes to Beast Slaying, which turns out to be pretty good for both levelling and farming.
World of Warcraft: Classic has a number of races to choose from, and making that choice has long-term consequences. You don't want to regret your choice later, so we've broken down the races in our tier list for WoW: Classic.
Professions
If you follow our guide when choosing a profession, Herbalism is a great choice, as if you also choose Alchemy, you can effectively become self-sufficient. And even if you don't choose Alchemy, you can still farm materials, either to give to your guild, or to sell at the Auction House for a tidy profit.
Engineering is the best choice by default, as it is widely used in both PvP and PvE. From Goblin Sapper Charges, to Arcanite Dragonlings, to even Dense Dynamite, you'll always find Engineering to be useful in some way or another!
Alchemy is one of the most important professions in World of Warcraft Classic, as alchemists can not only create flasks, but they can also craft a wide range of powerful potions, each as strong as the next. Given that Shamans don't have to take up a profession to craft specific pieces of armour, they make ideal alchemists!
World of Warcraft: Classic has a number of professions to choose from, from crafting armour with Blacksmithing and Leatherworking to farming materials with Herbalism and Minning. With something for everyone, here is our Classic Profession tier list.
Macros and Addons
There aren't any must-have addons specifically for Shamans, but here are some that will make your levelling easier across the board:
- Azeroth Auto Pilot
- Questie
- ClassicCastbars
- EquipCompare
- EZDismount
- MobInfo
WoW Classic sounds the return of a long and demanding leveling process, requiring patience and rigour. To make your task a bit easier, we offer some tips for both Horde and the Alliance, whatever your class: addons, zones, PvP, instances and more.
Written by Laerezh, Translated from the French by Millenium.
