Latest on this boardAll damage +5%; the 4-piece’s free spender is now always used up · 18 Aug 2026Fixed: Master of the Elements now raises Earthquake damage · 20 Aug 2026Fixed: Maelstrom Supremacy (Farseer) now raises Healing Surge healing · 26 Aug 2026

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By GamGem ResearchLast updated 9 Oct 2026

World of Warcraft · damage specialisation

Elemental Shaman talents for Midnight S2 — Farseer or Stormbringer, stat priority & rotation

Shaman · Patch 12.1 · Midnight Season 2 · Checked 2026-10-09

Boss

What changes for Raid?

Stats:: Item level › Intellect › Mastery › Haste = Critical Strike › Versatility
Press first:: Keep Flame Shock up so Lava Burst always crits
First cooldown:: add a damage event below
Build:: Farseer · guide linked below

Hero talent

Farseer

recommended by the guide

Key talents

Master of the Elements

+ Power of the Maelstrom, Fusion of Elements, First Ascendant

Stat emphasis

Mastery

then Haste = Critical Strike › Versatility

Single target

Master of the Elements + Power of the Maelstrom + Fusion of Elements

what the boss damage leans on

Area damage

Voltaic Blaze + Purging Flames only on cleave fights

what the pack damage leans on

Which talents change?

Raid vs Mythic+ · Farseer

The guide’s pure single-target build: everything for cleave or area is dropped

Master of the Elementstake for Raid
Power of the Maelstromtake for Raid
Fusion of Elementstake for Raid
First Ascendanttake for Raid
Molten Wraththe Mythic+ build’s — drop here
Voltaic Blazethe Mythic+ build’s — drop here
Purging Flamesthe Mythic+ build’s — drop here
Flames of the Cauldronthe Mythic+ build’s — drop here

Import string

The string is not copied here — import the Farseer build from Method ›

Which stats? — item level, then Intellect

Item levelalways first
Intellectprimary
Mastery#1
Haste#2 · tie
Critical Strike#2 · tie
Versatility#3

Farseer’s order (the guide writes Haste ≥ Crit); Stormbringer: Mastery › Crit › Haste › Vers.

What do I press now?

Farseer

CORE

1Keep Flame Shock up so Lava Burst always crits
2Spend on Elemental Blast or Earth Shock
3Lightning Bolt when nothing else is ready
4Spiritwalker’s Grace to keep casting on the move

COOLDOWNS

1Stormkeeper just before Ascendance — delay Ascendance for it
2Ascendance with trinket, potion and Bloodlust
3Hold Stormkeeper up to 10 s for packs or a damage amp

TWO OR THREE TARGETS

1Two: Voltaic Blaze on cooldown, Chain Lightning for Lightning Bolt
2Three in raid: Flame Shock on one target, no Lava Burst
3Otherwise the area list below

FARSEER OPENER

1Stormkeeper 3 s before the pull
2Lava Burst 1.5 s before, landing at 0
3Ancestral Swiftness, then Ascendance with trinket and potion
4Lightning Bolt, Lava Burst, then the priority

FARSEER SINGLE TARGET

1Ancestral Swiftness on cooldown, then a spell with a cast time
2Refresh Flame Shock under 6 s, or under 3 s of Fire Elemental
3Lava Burst without Master of the Elements
4Elemental Blast with it, or within 15 Maelstrom of cap
5Lightning Bolt

FARSEER AREA

1Stormkeeper, Ancestral Swiftness, Voltaic Blaze
2Lava Burst with Purging Flames, best on a Lava Surge proc
3Earthquake, then Chain Lightning

Order and spell names from Method’s playstyle page for 12.1.

Hero talent for Raid

Farseer

Guide: Farseer everywhere · Farseer recommended

Stormkeeper and Ancestral Swiftness call Ancestors who copy your casts — mostly Lava Burst — and cast Elemental Blast as they leave.

Ancient Fellowship over Latent Wisdomalways — better on average, with more swing from fight to fight
Routine Communication over Heed My Callall three of the guide’s builds: more Ancestors from your normal casts
Natural Harmony over Earthen Communionall three of the guide’s builds

Ready to pull?

Talents importedFarseer build — the guide is linked in “Which talents change?”
Stat targetMastery › Haste = Critical Strike after item level and Intellect
ConsumablesFlask of the Magisters (best), or Flask of the Shattered Sun by stats · Light’s Potential
Cooldowns assigned0 events on your timeline
InterruptWind Shear — 12 s cooldown, 4 s school lockout; the guide calls it the best kick in the game
First cooldownnone planned yet

Raid, M+ or Delves — what matters?

Job	Raid	Mythic+
Hero tree	Farseer (recommended)	Farseer (recommended)
Single target	Master of the Elements + Power of the Maelstrom + Fusion of Elements	Molten Wrath, and Elemental Blast before Lava Burst
Area damage	Voltaic Blaze + Purging Flames only on cleave fights	Voltaic Blaze, Purging Flames and Flames of the Cauldron always
Utility	Tremor Totem and Ascending Air	Capacitor Totem, Poison Cleansing Totem, Purge, Cleanse Spirit
Opener	Lava Burst pre-cast, then Ancestral Swiftness and Ascendance	Stormkeeper pre-cast, then Voltaic Blaze into Ascendance

Delves, Prey and outdoor: no source gives Elemental Shaman guidance for them yet — no column is guessed.

What goes wrong for me?

Stormkeeper right before Ascendance; Ascendance with trinket, potion and Bloodlust.
Farseer: Ancestral Swiftness on cooldown — much of the damage is its Ancestor.

I overcap Maelstrom: Spend as soon as you can — overloads add Maelstrom at random.
Elemental Blast once you are within 15 of the cap.
I lose casts when I move: Spiritwalker’s Grace casts on the move; an Evoker’s Time Spiral gives one more.
Frost Shock only while moving.
Two or three targets feel weak: Two: Voltaic Blaze on cooldown and Chain Lightning for Lightning Bolt.
Three in raid: keep Flame Shock on one and skip Lava Burst.
I die: Astral Shift: 40% less damage for 12 s.
Earth Elemental with Primordial Bond: 15% more max health for 30 s.

When do I spend cooldowns? · Nek’zali the Soulcoiler

Boss timers are not on this page — the events are yours (✎). Enter times from your boss mod; the warnings come from each cooldown’s length.

Ascendance3 min · lasts 15 s
Stormkeeper1 min
Ancestral Swiftness30 s · lasts 8 s
Spiritwalker’s Grace2 min · lasts 15 s
Astral Shift2 min · lasts 12 s
Earth Elemental3 min · lasts 30 s

No events yet — add the first big damage moment from your boss mod.

When do I swap a talent?

Talent	Type	Rule
Voltaic Blaze / Purging Flames / Crackling Fury	Damage	Take when cleave fights — the guide’s Raid/Cleave build, in place of Power of the Maelstrom and Fusion of Elements
Molten Wrath	Damage	Take when the guide’s Mythic+ build — in place of Master of the Elements
Preeminence	Damage	Take when a fight wants a longer, faster Ascendance over a shorter cooldown; First Ascendant is a bit ahead this tier
Earth Shock	Damage	Take when you cannot stand still for Elemental Blast’s cast — cheaper and instant
Spirit Walk	Utility	Take when slows or roots must be cleared — in place of Gust of Wind
Poison Cleansing Totem	Utility	Take when nasty poisons hit the group — nothing cleanses them faster
Healing Stream Totem	Defensive	Take when no other class talent is needed — rare in keys, uncommon in raid
Earthgrab Totem	Utility	Take when Kings’ Rest — high keys run it there far more than anywhere else

What does this fight ask of me?

Nek’zali the Soulcoiler

Break Gravebound Advance with magic damage, then kill each Amani before the well.
The intermission rewards strong AoE, as adds and corpses pile up there.
Melee soak each Hungering Pyre; killing both Echoes of Jawae closes the intermission.
In Phase 2, use Hero/Lust and cooldowns and burn the boss.

Boss guide ›

Share my plan

Elemental Shaman · Raid · Nek’zali the Soulcoiler
Hero: Farseer · Stats: Item level › Intellect › Mastery › Haste = Critical Strike › Versatility
Talents: Master of the Elements, Power of the Maelstrom, Fusion of Elements, First Ascendant
Code: (the guide’s, linked on the page)
Patch 12.1 · checked 2026-10-09

Good at · weak at

● Simple to learn: a priority list of Lava Burst, Elemental Blast and Lightning Bolt.
● Huge burst in Ascendance, at its best on exactly five targets.
● One of the widest utility kits — Wind Shear, Capacitor Totem, Wind Rush and Poison Cleansing totems, Reincarnation.
● Maxroll rates its raid single-target damage excellent.
● Maxroll rates its Mythic+ area damage excellent.
● Sims put it 1st of 26 specs at 8 targets and 2nd at 5.

● A gap at two or three targets: Chain Lightning is weak there and Earthquake barely beats Earth Shock.
● Poor at spread cleave — long Flame Shock and Voltaic Blaze cooldowns, a short chain, a small Earthquake.
● An immobile class: Ghost Wolf deals no damage, so Spiritwalker’s Grace carries the movement.
● Survivability and mobility rated only average.
● Sims put it 14th of 26 at 3 targets.

Tier set · Ophidian Oracle’s Prophecy

● 2-piece: Earth Shock, Earthquake and Elemental Blast deal 25% more damage.
● 4-piece: When Stormkeeper or Ascendance ends, your next two Lightning Bolts, Chain Lightnings or Lava Bursts deal 25% more, and your next spender costs no Maelstrom.

Gone in Midnight: Deeply Rooted Elements, Icefury, Echoes of Great Sundering, Primordial Wave.

Gear:Items for Elemental Shaman ›· Full BiS lists:MethodWowhead

Apex talent · Feedback Loop

● Rank 1: more Elemental Overload damage.
● Rank 2: more critical strike chance, and Elemental Fury lifts spell critical damage further.
● Rank 3: each Elemental Overload has a 25% chance to fire once more.
● Four points: rank 1 on the first, rank 2 on the second and third, rank 3 on the fourth.

What top keys wear

Most worn by 340 Elemental Shaman in +20–23 keys, US+EU, week of Oct 6–14 (Blizzard API)

Median item level 329 · 340 characters’ gear and 350 characters’ talents · +20–23 keys · hero trees Farseer 100%

Trinkets

Rings

Neck

Aqirbane Reliquary95%

Back

Adherent's Silken Shroudcrafted · embellished28%
Speakeasy Shroud24%
Fireproof Drape13%

Main hand

Jan'thrazet, the Soul Fang86%
Aln'hara Canecrafted · embellished4%
Malevolent Spiritcudgel4%

Off hand

Spellbreaker's Rebukecrafted · embellished32%
Venom-Slashed Scuteward32%
Bubblefin Splash Guard19%

Head

Serpent Crown of the Ophidian Oracletier set90%
Crown of the Eternal Fang3%
Farstrider's Unwavering Visagecrafted2%

Shoulders

Hissing Mantle of the Ophidian Oracletier set96%
Farstrider's Brilliant Plumescrafted2%

Chest

Fanged Raiment of the Ophidian Oracletier set91%
Awoken Dreadfang Cuirass9%

Wrists

Farstrider's Plated Bracerscrafted · embellished78%
Rising Tide Wristguards10%
Arc-Glass Bindings3%

Hands

Hexing Grips of the Ophidian Oracletier set92%
Grips of Swirling Fury4%
Farstrider's Sharpened Clawscrafted3%

Waist

Farstrider's Trophy Beltcrafted · embellished39%
Serpentine Mixing Belt22%
Cursed Reliquary Cincture14%

Legs

Leggings of the Ophidian Oracletier set60%
Farstrider's Reinforced Fauldscrafted33%
Legguards of the Awakening Brood3%

Feet

Boots of the Reckless Wayfarer41%
Farstrider's Razor Talonscrafted · embellished32%
Greaves of the Noxious Depths9%

Embellishments

Arcanoweave Lining99%
Hunter's Ritual Stone10%
Loa Worshiper's Band6%

Talents — top keys against this guide’s Mythic+ build

This guide’s Mythic+ build plays Farseer; 100% of top keys do. Checked on its 4 named key talents and every choice node.

Master of the Elements — 99% of top keys take it, over Molten Wrath (this guide’s pick)

Open the most common top-key build in the talent planner ›

How we counted: the best timed run of each character on Blizzard’s Mythic+ leaderboards this week, then its profile — gear only if it is still in this spec, talents from its active loadout. A share is of this spec’s sample, per slot (both rings and both trinkets merged); a row needs 2% and 2 characters. Read 2026-10-09 from Blizzard’s Game Data and Profile APIs, no names kept. Top keys, not all players — what they wear, not a best-in-slot list.

Ask the guide

Where sources disagree

Molten Wrath or Master of the Elements in keys?: ◆ Guide’s Mythic+ string: Molten Wrath; ◆ High keys: Master of the Elements 79%; ◆ Top 50 M+ Elemental: 49 of 50 take Master of the Elements
Mastery or Critical Strike first?: ◆ Guide: Mastery › Haste ≥ Crit › Versatility; ◆ Top 50 M+ gear: Crit +1037 just ahead of Mastery +998
Which hero tree in keys?: ◆ Maxroll’s Mythic+ page opens on Stormbringer; ◆ Method builds only Farseer for keys; ◆ Top 50 M+ Elemental: all 50 Farseer
Earthquake on the target or at the cursor?: ◆ Method: on the target — less to think about, no clipping into walls; ◆ Maxroll: at the cursor — it lands ahead of moving packs

What changed this season

Show PvP-only changes

2026-08-11 · 12.1 — Lava Burst and Lightning Bolt +30%, Chain Lightning and Flame Shock +60%; Tempest direct damage −20%
2026-08-11 · 12.1 — Ascendance: Elemental Overload +30% (was 75%); its free Lava Bursts at 50% (was 100%)
2026-08-11 · 12.1 — Power of the Maelstrom redone: Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning can make the next Lava Burst deal 20% more, two stacks
2026-08-11 · 12.1 — Stormkeeper no longer adds a Lightning Bolt overload; Molten Wrath 10% (was 15%)
2026-08-11 · 12.1 — Feedback Loop: rank 1 overloads +10% (was 35%) plus 10% damage; rank 2 crit bonus 15%/30% (was 25%/50%)
2026-08-11 · 12.1 — Farseer: Chain Lightning hits 5 (was 3), Ancestors’ spells −20%; Stormbringer: Supercharge overloads deal 10% more
2026-08-18 · 12.1 — All damage +5%; the 4-piece’s free spender is now always used up
2026-08-20 · 12.1 — Fixed: Master of the Elements now raises Earthquake damage
2026-08-26 · 12.1 — Fixed: Maelstrom Supremacy (Farseer) now raises Healing Surge healing

Where this comes from

How we checked: every talent named here is matched against Blizzard’s own tree (Game Data API, build 12.1.0.68914) by a test; builds, stats and cooldowns come from at least two dated sources, and where they disagree both sides are shown; loadout strings and BiS lists are linked, never copied.

Blizzard — 12.1 patch notesShaman changes in 12.1 (notes Aug 6, live Aug 11) · read 2026-10-09
Blizzard — 12.1.5 notesChanges landing Oct 13 — Enhancement and Restoration only · read 2026-10-09
Blizzard — Midnight hotfixesHotfixes and tuning, Aug 13 – Oct 6 (Season 2 tuning on Aug 18) · read 2026-10-09
Warcraft Wiki — Ophidian Oracle’s ProphecySet bonuses per spec (tooltips), pieces, the Aug 18 and Sep 4 fixes · read 2026-10-09
Method — Midnight Season 2 tier set bonusesThe set’s name and each spec’s 2- and 4-piece · read 2026-10-09
Wowhead — Wind Shear tooltip12 s, 4 s school lockout · read 2026-10-09
Wowhead — Astral Shift tooltip2 min, 12 s, 40% less damage · read 2026-10-09
GamGem — Elemental in Mythic+ (Blizzard leaderboards)Seats in timed keys, US and EU, Sep 29 – Oct 6 — 352,237 runs counted · read 2026-10-09
Method — Elemental Shaman guideOverview, strengths and gaps, 12.1 changes (updated Sep 1) · read 2026-10-09
Method — Elemental Shaman talentsThree Farseer builds, class and spec talents, hero trees · read 2026-10-09
Method — Elemental Shaman stats and consumablesStat order per hero tree, gems, consumables · read 2026-10-09
Method — Elemental Shaman playstylePriority lists for raid and Mythic+, openers, cooldowns · read 2026-10-09
Maxroll — Elemental Shaman raid guideRatings, hero trees, apex, Stormbringer priority (updated Sep 5) · read 2026-10-09
Maxroll — Elemental Shaman Mythic+ guideMythic+ ratings, hero tree order, set bonuses (updated Sep 5) · read 2026-10-09
Wowhead — Ascendance (Elemental) tooltip3 min, 15 s, overloads +30% · read 2026-10-09
Wowhead — Stormkeeper tooltip1 min, two empowered casts · read 2026-10-09
Warcraft Wiki — Ancestral Swiftness30 s cooldown, an Ancestor for 8 s · read 2026-10-09
Wowhead — Spiritwalker’s Grace tooltip2 min, 15 s, cast while moving · read 2026-10-09
Wowhead — Earth Elemental tooltip3 min, 30 s · read 2026-10-09
Murlok.io — top 50 Elemental Shamans in M+Hero tree, stats and talents on top players · read 2026-10-09
Mythistone — Elemental Shaman in high keysHero tree, choice nodes, dungeon swaps · read 2026-10-09
Mythistone — sim tier listSimulationCraft ranks at 1, 3, 5 and 8 targets, simmed Oct 8 · read 2026-10-09
GamGem — mail Intellect itemsThe Season 2 items an Elemental Shaman can wear · read 2026-10-09

Elemental Shaman this season — quick answers

Farseer or Stormbringer for Elemental Shaman in Midnight Season 2?

The guide builds only Farseer, and all 50 top Mythic+ Elementals play it; Stormbringer is the lightning-only alternative; the guide recommends Farseer for raid and Mythic+. Top 50 M+ Elemental (rating 3969–4147): all 50 Farseer. High keys (top 1% of runs): Farseer 100%; the top 50 ranked: 99%. High-key Stormbringers take Supercharge 95% and Electroshock 72%. Blizzard’s leaderboards, Sep 29 – Oct 6: 26,659 seats in +16 keys, 3.01× an even damage share — 3rd of 27 damage specs. Top Mythic+ keys this week run Farseer 100%.

What is the Elemental Shaman stat priority for raid and Mythic+?

Item level first, then Intellect. Raid: Mastery › Haste = Critical Strike › Versatility. Mythic+: Mastery › Haste = Critical Strike › Versatility.

What does the Elemental Shaman Season 2 tier set do?

Ophidian Oracle’s Prophecy: 2-piece — Earth Shock, Earthquake and Elemental Blast deal 25% more damage; 4-piece — When Stormkeeper or Ascendance ends, your next two Lightning Bolts, Chain Lightnings or Lava Bursts deal 25% more, and your next spender costs no Maelstrom.

What changes for Elemental Shaman in the next patch?

The next patch’s notes list no Elemental Shaman change yet.

How long are the Ascendance and Stormkeeper cooldowns?

Ascendance: 3 min, lasts 15 s. Stormkeeper: 1 min.

What gear do top Mythic+ Elemental Shaman players wear (BiS)?

Most worn by 340 Elemental Shaman in +20–23 keys, US+EU, week of Oct 6–14 (Blizzard API). Trinkets: Vile Vial of Volatile Venom 92%, Gebbo's Bottomless Bag 86%, Wavecaller's Seastone 8%. Rings: Signet of Snarling Servitude 48%, Masterwork Sin'dorei Band 37%. Embellishments: Arcanoweave Lining 99%, Hunter's Ritual Stone 10%. Hero trees: Farseer 100%. Median item level 329. What most top keys wear — measured, not a best-in-slot list.