Shaman in WoW Forever

Confirmed race choices

These are the new combinations named in the sources below, not a complete list of every Shaman race.

Selected beta changes and issue history #

The cards retain their source dates. Read the current official summary below before using older class notes. Numeric client build and independent gameplay retests remain unavailable.

• Class tuning planned November 10: Blizzard plans Tuesday, November 10 hotfixes: Hunter pets and Voidwalkers get stats to tank about as well as in Classic Era; Affliction's damage-over-time spells stay worth casting alongside Wrack; Strength becomes Enhancement's best stat.
• October 15 beta update: Grace of Air, Strength of Earth, Windfury and Flametongue totems are raid-wide, and Grace of Air no longer excludes the other two. Chain Lightning costs about 35% less mana; Fire Nova hits for much less and costs much less. The Elemental tree is rebuilt around Lava Burst (21 points) and Elemental Mastery (31 points).
• October 8 beta update: October 8 prevents Fire Nova from immediately consuming Elemental Focus and adjusts low-rank Lightning Bolt scaling. Water Shield’s restored Mana tooltip is corrected and its erroneous 15-second cooldown text is removed. Mana Tide Totem’s pulse visual returns; Flametongue Totem uses a shapeshifted target’s actual attack speed.
• September 24 development notes: Flametongue Totem cannot stack with itself, Flametongue Weapon or Windfury Totem.

Filter the full patch briefing →

Check later notices and pending fixes →

Current official class design and beta changes #

October 7 describes five-minute persistent-buff totems, 60-minute weapon imbues, a tracking UI, Call of the Elements at 20 and Totemic Projection at 22. Call of the Spirits arrives at 30; Call of the Ancestors at 40 is beyond the former beta cap.

The article explicitly supports temporary Enhancement tanking in small groups through Rockbiter and Spirit Weapons, rather than establishing a tested raid tank build. Restoration adds Water Shield/Riptide and Elemental adds Lava Burst.

Source conflict: October 1 reports a fix to Totemic Recall’s Mana refund; the October 7 article still calls the refund bug current. Kingy has not independently established the installed client’s result.

Blizzard's follow-up edits (October 7–8): Elemental Mastery is gone, because keeping it would have made Elemental too strong in PvP once its PvE damage was raised. Restoration loses Nature’s Guidance. Weapon imbues, Rockbiter included, last 60 minutes and can run alongside sharpening stones, weight stones and wizard oils.

If Ghost Wolf looks glaringly bright, that's deliberate for now: developer Aidan Moon says it's a temporary fix for areas where the form was invisible. The brightness comes down in a hotfix, and the original look returns once a broader visibility fix is ready.

Compare the two announced new choices #

Blizzard names Dwarf Shaman on the Forever landing page and Windshaper Skyborne Shaman in the panel recap. Dwarf is the named new Alliance combination; Windshaper is the Horde Skyborne choice. Alliance High Order Skyborne has Mage instead.

The Skyborne unlock is separate from Dwarf Shaman #

The paid Skyborne unlock applies to the Windshaper choice. The product terms do not identify Dwarf Shaman as requiring that unlock. Heroic includes Skyborne and name reservations; Epic and the Warcraft Forever Collection also include the listed beta benefit.

Windshaper’s reported racial effects #

October 26 tuning gives Skyborne 2% Haste through Wind-Blessed. Skysight gives 15% movement speed for 15 seconds, or 30% with Charged; Read Leyline gives 50% Health/Mana regeneration for 15 seconds, or 100% with Attuned. Using Skysight at an elemental convergence or Read Leyline at a Ley Line grants its one-hour modifier. October 27 clarifies that both modifiers persist through death and are removed on raid entry. Read Leyline cannot be used during Innervate and is replaced by that more powerful effect. These are announced values, not tested class strength or spell interactions.

Official Shaman roles and the limited tanking announcement #

Blizzard’s October 7 article describes temporary Enhancement tanking in small groups through Rockbiter and Spirit Weapons. This does not establish a tested raid tank role or an optimized Elemental, Enhancement or Restoration build.

At PAX Australia, WoW Classic associate production director Clay Stone told the creator JackedIQ that a full Shaman tank role is popular inside the team but isn't being pursued now, so don't expect it at launch (Icy Veins report, October 11).

Dwarf racials and hybrid equipment deserve a fresh look #

Blizzard’s Dwarf preview changes Stoneform’s defensive bonus to Physical damage reduction. Mace Specialization increases critical chance with spells and abilities while a mace is equipped, and Find Treasure can remain active alongside other tracking abilities. Exact values and cooldowns still need current tooltips.

The itemization recap names Enhancement Shaman as one beneficiary of combined spell, melee and ranged hit and critical chance. Use that change to recheck the current equipment, not to assume an old Classic or Season of Discovery priority still applies.

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