Hello, guys!
Firstly, I’ve never had a shaman at max level, but recently I wanted to discover the class. Even though I’ve never played shamans, I’ve always been a fan of the enhancement spec.
I’ve always heard that this specialization is difficult and has a lot of buttons, so I wanted to hear from you who are more experienced players.
Is enhancement as a beginner playable and viable? Or should I change my mind?
Well, that depends first of all one which build you intend to run. Enhancement currently has two distinct builds known as “Elementalist” and “Storm” which build upon different aspects of the spec kit to vastly different results.
Elementalist is the build which garners the frequent comments about button bloat and over-complication (rotation example: https://imgur.com/eTdRCJP), while Storm is often criticized for being over-simplistic and random (rotation example: https://imgur.com/PYYeHt0).
Storm is extremely easy to pick up and get going with, but is very rigid in whether it builds for ST or AoE, and is heavily at the mercy of RNG. A large percentage of Storm’s damage profile is dependent on proccing Deeply Rooted Elements, which activates brief Ascendance windows which pump out heavy semi-automated damage. This leaves Storm’s performance largely out of the player’s hands, with high risk of DRE activating at inopportune times such as just as a boss enters an immunity phase or the last mob in a pack dies.
Elementalist is a tangled web of synergies and ability interactions, none of which can really be ignored or talented away from without severely hindering your damage, and consequently has a very steep learning curve. That said, Elementalist is very flexible between ST and AoE, gives you full control over when you burst, and is extremely dependable and constant in its damage output once you get the hang of it.
For my money, Elementalist Enhancement is damn near the most fun build in the game, and the learning curve is absolutely worth it. Once the build clicks for you, it’s like being the madwoman dancing on the edge of a lightning storm, cackling wildly as you weave between the lightning strikes and slam them into your foes’ faces.
It’s also worth noting that many of the buttons on a shaman’s infamous overloaded action bars are actually our vast utility arsenal, which you can freely take more time to get the hang of as you get used to the class. For example, these are my main action bars: https://imgur.com/iUkiPrS. Note that the buttons outlined in red are my offensive abilities, with everything else being some form of utility, and even several of the dps buttons not being currently specced into and only included so I don’t have to dig their buttons out of my spellbook and find spots for them if I ever do spec into them.
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Best explanation ever about the spec.
Storm right now, is easier but like Lokka said, too much rng dependent.
Elementalist is far more efficient to maximize dps (S4 tier bonus is more beneficial for elementalist). Is not that hard to learn, u will see lots of shiny bottom to press. Is not a rotation, is more like a priority list to follow. Discords and some guides explain it very well, when u get use to it, is for me, one of the more satisfying spec to play. 
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Wow! Thank you for your attention and for the time you spent explaining this to me.
I was having a crisis of not finding any class in the game to play, but shaman seems like fun and I’m going to give it a try. Your explanation made me happy and a little confident to face this new world as a shaman.
I’ll try to start with the elementalist, although it’s more difficult, it appears to be fun to play.
Thank you my friend!
I like shaman because offers all the specs I enjoy , melee dps , range dps and healer . cheers
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Shaman is a very fun class. Enhancement is a very fun spec too. I like both storm and elementalist builds. I do with storm had more consistent damage, but in the next expansion that may be the case.
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Hi! I play enhancement in PvP, so my answer will be from my experience there. Enhancement is a really fun class, and I really enjoy the elementalist build. I usually play solo shuffle. Enhancement shaman does really well against other melee opponents, but struggles with mobility to keep up with ranged classes, such as mage or hunter. It’s not impossible, just harder. You can put out a lot of damage when you learn your rotation/priority list, though you might need weak auras to fully implement your damage (such as keeping count of your maelstrom weapon stacks and earth shield stacks).
We don’t have as many defensives as other classes and we rely heavily on our healing, though dampening makes that important part of our kit less effective over time, so the sooner you can put out a lot of damage, the better. I’m working on breaking 2100 ranking with my enhancement shaman right now, so I’m not exactly a pro, but with enhancement shaman not having as many advantages as other classes in PvP, if you see an enhancement shaman above 2400, you can know they’re a very good player. Obviously everyone above that rank is very good at the game, but it’s much more difficult to get a shaman there than a demon hunter for example (no hate, just facts).
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Got a steep learning curve playing Elementalist build but once you a the priorities down and really understand the kit it can be super fun playing and makes you feel like that gif of Alan in the Hangover when he’s counting cards. Alternatively you have the Storm build which is vastly more simple and more RNG dependant. Storm’s builds either are focused on ST or AOE where as Elementalist’s ST just does a bunch of passive cleave and you pretty much only swap a few talents for M+.
At the moment Elementalist is significantly in better Season 4 but I recommend if you do wanna start playing Enhance for TWW is to learn to play both builds since its unknown if one the builds will become more dominant. In season 2 we actually played both builds in raid based on the fight type (Storm for single target and Elementalist for cleave) and something like that could be the case in TWW.
For my personal taste as of now I vastly prefer Elementalist in Season 3/4 but with how Storm is working with the Stormbringer Hero Talents on Beta (keep in mind this may change) I’ve warmed up to Storm a bit more.
Deff try it out and if you’re having fun, that’s all that matters. Go check out some guides and stuff, take a look at Earthshrine (the Shaman Class Discord), and give it a whirl! Enhancement as of now has been some of best time I have had with a spec in all my time playing WoW despite our issues. I pretty much only Raid and do M+ for context.
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Thank you for the tips. I’m testing the builds and I think the class is really fun. It’s going to be a long road to learn. But maybe I found my class for TWW.