PvE Enhancement Shaman Best in Slot (BiS) & Pre-Raid Gear - WotLK Classic - Warcraft Tavern (2024)

Fresh 80

There are plenty of options available for a fresh level 80 when it comes to your Weapon Slots! One thing to keep in mind is that “weapon synch” won’t be a very important aspect early on during your gearing journey. You may choose to forsake this concept even while preparing for ToGC or Onyxia’s Lair!

Weapons are generally broken down into two categories, with Spell Power Weapons being directly prioritized for the Spellhance Build while Physical Damage Weapons can be used both as primary and secondary weapons, whether you choose the standard Enhancement Build or the Spellhance Build.

The best option you can acquire as a Spell Power weapon is Aesuga, Hand of the Ardent Champion due to its Critical Strike Chance/Haste Rating secondary stats. While it may now be available from the Sidereal Essence Vendor, its price is quite hefty, meaning that it is completely up to you whether you buy it or not.

The best possible Physical Damage Weapon combination that you can acquire is The Masticator & Caress of Insanity. This is due to their great stat spread, offering Hit Rating, Haste Rating, Expertise Rating, and Critical Strike Chance. You may also choose to use 2 x Caress of Insanity if you wish to synch your weapon swing timer for an increased damage output. However, you will lose Hit Rating/Critical Strike Chance by doing so.

It is worthwhile mentioning that all of the previously presented items are entirely viable even while raiding the Trial of the Crusader and will be swapped only once you come across ToGC items or Ulduar 25 items.

As for temporary items that you may choose to use during your early gearing process, Stormtip and the Spectral Kris are great initial Spellhance options while Bloodcrush Cudgel can be used as a decent Off Hand Weapon for increasing your overall Expertise Rating. The only issue with Bloodcrush Cudgel is its very low Weapon Swing Timer which will reduce your overall direct damage from Stormstrike, but may increase the frequency of your Maelstrom procs.

Lastly, Aledar’s Battlestar is a decent Main Hand Weapon initial option, even if it provides a large amount of Armor Penetration. While Armor Penetration is not the best stat that we can acquire, it will still produce a decently high damage output since both our Basic Attacks and Stormstrike deal Physical Damage.

Pre-ToC/Onyxia’s Lair

For the Pre-ToC gearing phase, all the previous BiS options from Ulduar will remain the most potent options. Since ToGC and Onyxia’s Lair are AoE-oriented encounters, you will want to have both Spell Power Weapons and Physical Damage Weapons at your disposal.

Constellus and the Starshard Edge remain the most potent Spell Power options for the Spellhance Build, even with their lack of Haste Rating. Meanwhile, Aesuga, Hand of the Ardent Champion is a decent alternative if you need to gain a bit more Haste Rating. While both Constellus and the Starshard Edge can be hard to acquire since they drop from Algalon and may be heavily contested, Aesuga, Hand of the Ardent Champion became a convenient choice since you can now acquire it with SIdereal Essence.

The Golden Saronite Dragon will remain the best Physical Damage Weapon if you choose to ignore the Spellhance Build. Since Hit Rating will be crucial to us in ToGC due to how Maelstrom procs work. The The Masticator will be the next-best alternative to the Golden Saronite Dragon, however, you should replace the lost Haste Rating by using a Haste Rating item in one of your other gear slots.

If you chose to ignore the Spellhance Build and focus instead on Physical Damage Weapons and “synching” your weapon swing timers, the Caress of Insanity will remain the best possible Off-Hand Weapon that you can acquire. This is especially true as Expertise Rating can be an issue for Enhancement Shaman. You may also use 2 x Caress of Insanity as an entirely viable choice, especially since synching your weapon swing timer can add huge benefits.

Lastly, you may use Vulmir, the Northern Tempest as a viable Off-Hand choice. However, it won’t allow you to synch your weapons unless you use 2 x Vulmir, the Northern Tempest as the Spellhance options are capped at 1.80 and the other Physical Damage options are capped at 2.70.

Best-in-Slot

Spellhance

The most common replacement for the Spellhance Build will be your Main Hand Weapon! Depending on whether you find yourself in a Cleave situation or a Single-Target situation, you can quickly replace your Main Hand Weapon with a macro. Keep in mind that while you can use a Spell Power weapon in your Off Hand Slot, it is generally frowned upon and considered bad practice for optimizing your overall damage output. You will generally want to use a Spell Power Weapon in your Main Hand and a Physical Damage Weapon in your Off Hand.

One thing to keep in mind is that the Spellhance Build doesn’t account for synchronizing your “Weapon Swing Timer”, meaning that you will only be able to achieve weapon synch if you follow the standard Enhancement build. Nonetheless, the Spellhance build will be superior since it fairs far better in AoE situations such as the majority of ToGC’s encounters.

The best possible option in the third phase of the expansion is Misery’s End! This is due to a large amount of Spell Power granted by the item paired up with a perfect combination of Critical Strike Chance and haste Rating. Since we want as much Haste as possible, this item will be your main go-to.

The next-best alternative for it will be the Blade of Tarasque. This is mainly due to the similar Spell Power granted by the item but also due to the Haste Rating it grants. You can also use this item to increase your overall Hit Rating if you choose to swap one of your other Hit Rating items. Since its Weapon Swing Timer is faster, you will trade off direct damage for increased attack speed and faster Maelstrom procs.

You will also be able to use the previous best options from Ulduar as viable alternatives since their stats are so high, with Constellus following the same pattern as Misery’s End and Starshard Edge following the same pattern as the Blade of Tarasque. Even though their stats are fairly different, with a lack of Haste Rating, both weapons achieve similar results to the ToGC options.

The 245 Ilvl versions of Misery’s End and Blade of Tarasque will also be viable alternatives, albeit weaker options than the Ulduar items due to lower overall Spell Power. Still, they are great options and even better options than the Ulduar items if you find yourself in a complete Haste Rating deficit.

Lastly, Aesuga, Hand of the Ardent Champion can be used as a viable option that fits the same stat spread as Misery’s End. It is a convenient and potent option that can be easily acquired now that we have access to the Sidereal Essence Vendor.

Viable Weapon Combinations

• Misery’s End & Stormpike Cleaver
• Misery’s End & Remorseless
• Misery’s End & The Lion’s Maw
• Misery’s End & Caress of Insanity
• Blade of Tarasque & Stormpike Cleaver
• Blade of Tarasque & Remorseless
• Constellus & Stormpike Cleaver
• Constellus & Remorseless
• Starshard Edge & The Lion’s Maw
• Starshard Edge & The Grinder

Standard Enhancement

For the Standard Enhancement, you will find yourself Dual-Wielding two Physical Damage Weapons. The best possible option for your Main Hand Weapon will be Remorseless as it grants the highest possible damage output with its Critical Strike & Haste Rating secondary stat combination. While the weapon is a better fit for your Main Hand Slot, you may also use it as an alternative for your Off Hand Slot if you choose to use a Spell Power Weapon in your Main Hand.

The best possible option for your Off Hand Weapon will be the Stormpike Cleaver. The Stormpike Cleaver is the best option even when considering the Spellhance build as well, as it grants the best possible secondary stat combination, with Hit Rating playing a vital role in generating Maelstrom procs.

The Golden Saronite Dragon will still remain one of the strongest Main Hand Physical Damage options, especially since Hit Rating will be so crucial during this phase of the expansion.

As for other viable ToGC options, you will be able to use both The Lion’s Maw and The Grinder as viable options in both your Main Hand Slot and your Off Hand Slot. Since both items follow the exact same stat spread as Remorseless, you may choose to use them in any weapons combination that you desire, having high applicability even for Spellhance builds.

Lastly, Caress of Insanity and Vulmir, the Northern Tempest still retain a powerful position as viable Off Hand weapons, especially for builds that lack Expertise Rating. While lacking Expertise Rating is not as impactful as lacking Hit Rating, those two options may still prove themselves potent if you have a severe Expertise Rating deficit.

Viable Weapon Combinations

• Remorseless & Remorseless
• Remorseless & Stormpike Cleaver
• Remorseless & Caress of Insanity
• Remorseless & Vulmir, the Northern Tempest
• Golden Saronite Dragon & Remorseless
• Golden Saronite Dragon & Stormpike Cleaver
• Golden Saronite Dragon & The Lion’s Maw
• The Lion’s Maw & The Grinder
• The Grinder & Caress of Insanity