Newly updated for Cataclysm! Shamans in World of Warcraft are a true hybrid class, capable of devastating melee damage, ranged elemental damage, or powerful healing.  They wear leather at earlier levels, and upgrade to mail armor at level 40.  They are able to wield all weapons other than swords, polearms, and ranged weapons.  Each talent tree is focused on one particular playstyle.  Enhancement covers melee DPS, Elemental focuses on ranged damage, and Restoration specializes in healing.  Orcs, Trolls, and Tauren can be Shamans Horde-side, and Draenei are the only Shamans of the Alliance – at least until Cataclysm, at which point Dwarves will also be able to get their Shammy on!

Shaman Leveling Stats

This is a bit of a tossup depending on what spec you choose to use while leveling.  Most Shamans will use an Enhancement build, in which you will want to prioritize Agility, Hit Rating, Crit, and Intellect.  If you choose to level as an Elemental Shaman, you will want to look for Intellect, and Crit Rating.  If you plan on leveling mostly through instancing and are planning on going Restoration, go with the Elemental stats, and add in Spirit as something to keep an eye out for.

Shaman Leveling Build

The overall best Shaman leveling build is Enhancement. Though it can be a little rough before you get Dual Wield and Stormstrike, Enhancement deals the most damage and gives you fairly decent survivability without downtime. Elemental has better burst damage, and Restoration is a lot more survivable, but nothing beats Enhancement for burning through quest mobs and getting to 80 super fast.  My recommended Cataclysm shaman leveling build is as follows – click here.  That spec covers all the bases, and pretty much turns you into a fury warrior with a permanently full rage bar and the ability to heal yourself.  Enjoy.

Other Shaman Leveling Specs

If you want to stray from the crowd, you can level as Elemental.  It’s not quite as efficient, but there’s a certain satisfaction to be gained from killing an enemy before it can even reach you.  If you are planning on leveling Elemental, I would still go Enhancement up until level 40 so that you can pick up Shamanism and Elemental Mastery, as it is extremely frustrating to level Elemental with long casts and a low crit rate.  The major difference between leveling Elemental and Enhancement is that you will have much more down time as an Elemental Shaman.  Make sure to keep stocked up on the best water you can get for your level to minimize your time spent drinking.  If you’re looking for a good Cataclysm shaman leveling spec for Elemental – click here.

If you plan on spending most of your leveling time inside of an instance with a group, you may want to give leveling as Restoration a try.  While it’s definitely not the best suited for questing or grinding, Restoration lets you queue for dungeons as a healer, which will give you a much lower wait time than you’ll get filling a DPS slot as Enhancement or Elemental.  If you are planning on going this route, my Cataclysm leveling spec for a Resto shaman would look like this – click here.