Enhancement Shaman took the biggest hit of Forever's first class tuning on 10 November. Stormstrike now deals 100% weapon damage instead of 150% on an 8-second cooldown instead of 6, Maelstrom Weapon procs far less often, and Intellect gives less attack power. All of it is in Blizzard's hotfix notes.
What changed
| Before | After | |
|---|---|---|
| Stormstrike damage | 150% weapon damage | 100% weapon damage |
| Stormstrike cooldown | 6 s | 8 s |
| Maelstrom Weapon, faster cast and lower cost | 4/8/12/16/20% by rank | 20% at every rank |
| Maelstrom Weapon, procs per minute | 20 at every rank | 6/7/8/9/10 by rank |
| Mental Dexterity, Intellect to attack power | 50/100/150% | 33/66/100% |
Maelstrom Weapon's chance now depends on your main-hand speed, and the tooltip shows it.
Why
Blizzard said on 6 November that Intellect and spell power were beating Strength and attack power for Enhancement, so Shamans were taking Mage and Warlock gear. The aim is for Strength to always be the best stat. The cuts above make that true. See class tuning on 10 November.
What to do now
- Gear for Strength and attack power first, with a little Intellect or spell power on top. A quest reward got the same treatment: Rage of the Storm now has 16 Strength instead of Intellect and a slower 3.6 speed.
- Slow two-handers are better for Maelstrom Weapon now that its chance scales with weapon speed. See Shaman weapons.
- Weapon imbues and weapon totems now stack, another 10 November fix, so use both.
Is Enhancement still worth playing?
Yes, but it's no longer the top melee pick. We moved it down a tier for dungeons and leveling in our PvE tier list. Windfury Totem still helps a whole group, and Enhancement still levels steadily. For the full spec guide see Enhancement Shaman.