Elemental ShamanvsEnhancement Shaman

What’s the best spec for Shamans, Enhancement or Elemental? Below breaks down their current DPS potential and compares the two.

This page analyzes multiple simulations for both Enhancement Shamans and Elemental Shamans using profiles and settings intended to achieve their maximum DPS. Multiple sim environments are used to test how they perform in various conditions. Is one the AoE king? Does one scale better with gear upgrades? Is one more bursty, and more reliant on big cooldowns? Below analyzes the data to find the strengths of each.

Simulation results were created with SimulationCraft
Using game data from Patch 10.0.2 • WoW Dragonflight •

Elemental Shaman
Least affected by movement (single-target)Elemental Shaman’s single-target DPS was -373.5% less affected by increased movement compared to Enhancement Shamans.
Simplest GameplayElemental Shaman has fewer damaging abilities which could indicate a simpler rotation.
DPS less dependant on big cooldownsElemental Shaman’s DPS is less bursty, meaning it had more consistent damage. With 45.46% less difference in lowest and peak DPS during a fight when compared to Enhancement Shamans.

Enhancement Shaman
Best boss DPS (in perfect settings)Enhancement Shaman achieved 42.7% more maximum boss DPS than Elemental Shaman when there was no movement or lag.
Best boss DPS (in realistic settings)Enhancement Shaman achieved 10.13% more maximum boss DPS than Elemental Shaman when dealing with occasional movement, lag and crowd-control.
Best AoE DPS (in perfect settings)Enhancement Shaman achieved 34.56% more AoE DPS than Elemental Shaman when there was no movement or lag.

While the above highlights the DPS advantages between Elemental and Enhancement Shamans, the DPS potential should not be the only factor in your decision. Ultimately, you should also consider the playstyle that you enjoy most while crushing it in Mythics+ and Raids!

Resources

More Spec Comparisons