Enhancement Shaman Nerub-ar Palace Raid Tips - The War Within 11.0.5

By wordup Last Updated: 2024/10/21 Changelog Patch: 11.0.5

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Patch 11.0.5 DisclaimerincrediblymassivePlease check back in the next weekIf in doubt, a Stormbringer Storm build from last week hasn't got any weaker, and should be more comfortable to play in many fights due to Ascendance dropping to a 2 minute cooldown, so default to that for now. Enhancement Shaman Nerub-ar Palace Raid Talent BuildsElementalistStormsingle targetStormElementalistCrash LightningallStormbringer

Boss

Recommended Build

Import Build Directly In-Game

Preview Build

Ulgrax the Devourer

Storm

The Bloodbound Horror

Elementalist

Sikran

Storm

Rasha'nan

Storm

Broodtwister Ovi'nax

Elementalist

Nexus-Princess Ky'veza

Storm

The Silken Court

Elementalist

Queen Ansurek

Elementalist

Elemental Blast, this isn't mandatory. It has a much higher skill cap than the alternative in Tempest Strikes, and if you're struggling to execute it correctly I'd strongly recommend switching for a small (2-3%~) DPS loss and a significantly easier time while learning mechanics.

More information about each of the individual talents in this build is provided on the talent build guide:

Enhancement Shaman Talent Guide

Enhancement Shaman Nerub-ar Palace Boss Builds

Below you'll find a section for each boss with recommended builds, an overview of the encounter style and any specific tips related to it. Bear in mind these recommendations are generalized, and may not always overlap with what your specific raid group needs. In situations where you can tailor your build slightly to deal with certain mechanics, I'll try to note those in the tips sections. To re-terate, both Storm and Elementalist perform extremely close to each other, and in many cases the winner comes down to preference.

Ulgrax the Devourer Enhancement Shaman Talent Builds

Ulgrax the Devourer Elementalist
Ulgrax the Devourer Storm

Ulgrax the Devourer, the opening boss in Nerub-ar Palace, is relatively simple and for us is mostly a single target encounter. The fight is split between the main phase (where you're exclusively hitting the boss) and the intermission, where they will leave the platform and you'll be left to deal with a number of Ravenous Spawn adds. While these are important to kill, the entire raid has nothing else to do so investing into AoE isn't worth it, just make use of Tempest AoE to contribute as best you can.

Save Wind Rush Totem for Carnivorous Contest to help targeted players push against the pull-in and avoid being killed. It can also be used in the intermission to help the raid avoid Juggernaut Charge while dealing with adds.
Move out of the group when targeted by Digestive Acid and make sure to overlap it with Stalker's Webbing to clear up the melee area. Make use of Astral Shift / Stone Bulwark Totem to reduce the damage as it expires.
The intermission begins at 1m30s, and lasts for 45 seconds plus the amount of time it takes you to complete Ready to Feed. Make sure to only use cooldowns during this period, the intermission shouldn't need any.
Ideally, aim to hit as many targets as possible with Tempest to clear up adds quickly. Banking charges until they're stacked up is ideal. If your raid is struggling to clean them up efficiently, consider Crash Lightning to cycle Maelstrom Weapon faster.
Save Ascendance for the boss phase - you should ideally get one for pure boss damage in every cycle due to its 3 minute cooldown.

Having Spirit Walk still available after the intermission ends so you can ferry multiple Chunky Viscera to the boss to cancel out Hungering Bellows is nice, but if you need it to avoid the charge don't hesitate to use it - dying is far worse.

The Bloodbound Horror Enhancement Shaman Talent Builds

Bloodbound Horror Elementalist
Bloodbound Horror Storm

The The Bloodbound Horror is a bit more complex, requiring the raid to split into two teams that need to be sent down into a separate realm, dealing with a variety of important adds. Depending on your assignment and group composition, your exact role will vary but as a general recommendation having access to Crash Lightning for additional cleave is preferable. Generally we play Storm Swell due to us spending the majority of the encounter solely hitting the boss, and AoE is mostly picked up because it's a low cost high impact swap, hence the Elementalist recommendation.

Use Ascendance exclusively on the boss, as it has more power as a frontloaded single target cooldown when you're upstairs. Downstairs most of our damage comes from simply cycling Tempest efficiently, and casting it after each wave of Manifest Horror adds spawns. Due to this, we have no real preference on whether we go down in the first or second group.
Use Wind Rush Totem while downstairs to help your team rotate around the Spewing Hemorrhage beams. Try to stay ahead of them while dealing with any adds in each quadrant.
Interrupt Black Bulwark from Lost Watcher at range, while focusing your damage on the more dangerous Forgotten Harbinger to make sure Manifest Horror doesn't get out of control. Also make use of Earthbind Totem and Capacitor Totem to keep the Blood Horror spawns locked down before they reach the boss.
Try to save Spirit Walk to run out of the Goresplatter circle. Be very careful using Feral Lunge to re-engage the boss, as it will send you to a fixed spot in the centre of the entrance to the boss area no matter which angle you cast it from.
Move carefully when targeted by Grasp From Beyond, as moving too fast ahead of the group may trap them with tentacles you leave behind.

Sikran, Captain of the Sureki Enhancement Shaman Talent Builds

Sikran Elementalist
Sikran Storm

Sikran is a pure single target encounter with a varying degree of movement, requiring you to react to Phase Blades and position after-images correctly, while trying to keep as much uptime on the boss as possible. There's no real special recommendations here outside of just hitting the boss as hard as you can.

Save Spirit Walk to get out of the group if targeted by Phase Blades to drop the after-image in a safe spot away from the raid. Alongside this, use Astral Shift or Stone Bulwark Totem as it's about to hit to reduce the up front damage.
Use Wind Rush Totem to help the raid make distance for Shattering Sweep. Use Feral Lunge to get back to the boss quickly.

Rasha'nan Enhancement Shaman Talent Builds

Rasha'nan Elementalist
Rasha'nan Storm

The most important part of the Rasha'nan encounter is single target boss damage, however add waves that spawn do need to be killed efficiently before they get out of control. Generally in most raid compositions they die so quickly though that we can simply rely on Tempest burst AoE to cover that, and stick to a standard build, as they don't spawn often enough to justify a hard AoE switch.

While not necessary, switching to Elementalist and picking up Crash Lightning / Crashing Storms can help cover add waves if your raid has particularly low AoE. Sundering is also an additional one-point burst AoE option if you're struggling to line up your Tempest casts.
You'll generally only get two Ascendance casts at most here, so plan your uses accordingly with trinkets/potions/other effects to get the most out of it instead of sending it the moment it's ready.
Watch for the spawn timer on Infested Spawn and, when possible, try to have a Tempest available. This is a lot of value and helps clean up the adds quickly, but if you can't comfortably align it don't hold onto it for too long and waste casts.
Similarly, use Capacitor Totem as adds spawn to help lock them down before Infested Bite gets out of control.
Use Wind Rush Totem as the boss takes off to move to a new area of the platform. This should be available for every movement if you pick up Ascending Air. You can also use Totemic Projection to move it ahead of the group after applying it to cover the entire transition.
Use Ancestral Guidance either during Erosive Spray to assist healers, or when Infested Spawn adds are active to get more value out of the AoE damage you'll be doing. This is especially valuable to keep the players fixated healthy if any Infested Bite splashes go off.

Broodtwister Ovi'nax Enhancement Shaman Talent Builds

Broodtwister Ovi'nax Elementalist
Broodtwister Ovi'nax Storm

Broodtwister Ovi'nax is a lot more complex than the previous encounters and the first major step up within the raid, requiring your group to move the boss around a wide area while you deal with an onslaught of adds. Due to that, while priority damage is very important, the fight will almost constantly involve additional enemies that need to be cleaved down. With the bounce range of Chain Lightning being high enough to consistently jump between them, picking up Crash Lightning and Arc Discharge and switching to an Elementalist build to facilitate this is recommended.

Use Astral Shift / Stone Bulwark Totem when targeted by Experimental Dosage. Also make use of Spirit Walk to quickly get to your assigned egg to spawn the correct adds. After the dosage detonates, if healers are struggling consider using a health potion or spenidng Maelstrom Weapon to heal yourself to clear the absorb.
Be careful when doing the above if targeted by Sticky Web to not trigger a Web Eruption chain reaction by sprinting near others, as it will cleanse it. Ideally, hold Spirit Walk for this and use it after moving to a safe area. I'd recommend avoiding Thunderous Paws as the quick reaction to Ghost Wolf might end up causing a detonation in the middle of melee.
You can also take Jet Stream here and set up a designated dispelling area for players to run into and remove their webs away from other players, but try not to drop it at random as it will clear any players inside. If this is causing problems, simply switch to Ascending Air and use it to assist the melee getting to Experimental Dosage eggs.

Use either the boss or a Colossal Spider as an anchor target to cleave off. Be extremely careful hitting spiders as they spawn, as tanks need time to get thread on them and they will absolutely kill you if they turn your way.
Try to help slow any Blood Parasite spawns and AoE them down, ideally slowing them with either Hailstorm or Earthbind Totem. Lock them down after they spawn with Capacitor Totem and Thundershock, and if the raid is still struggling to prevent them from fixating allies take Guardian's Cudgel to keep them stunned for even longer.
Wind Shear is ideal to interrupt Poison Burst from Voracious Worm spawns while the raid adjusts to kill it, especially if an egg is popped far from the boss.

Nexus-Princess Ky'veza Enhancement Shaman Talent Builds

Nexus-Princess Ky'veza Elementalist
Nexus-Princess Ky'veza Storm

Nexus-Princess Ky'veza is another pure single target encounter, requiring a lot of movement and adjustment while trying to keep full uptime on the boss. This is more conditional on how your raid positions Assassination phantoms and the tank orients the boss to make sure you can pull against Nether Rift effectively. You also need to make sure you have some of your own movement tools saved to deal with these mechanics if you're targeted, rather than using them purely to stick to the boss. It also deals an incredibly high amount of damage from targeted mechanics, so be on the ball with your survival tools.

When targeted by Assassination, if your raid has fixed positions to drop them make sure you have Spirit Walk ready to get to the correct spot. Use Astral Shift / Stone Bulwark Totem before it goes off to stay healthy and avoid dying to Reaper, and position correctly for the follow-up Queensbane so you don't shoot the orbs through the rest of the melee.
If the raid is ever looking unstable and you know there's incoming damage, Health potion, Healthstone or use Maelstrom Weapon to keep yourself out of range of the Reaper instant kill.
In heroic and above positioning can be tight for this, so try to have some ranged abilities available in case you're forced to sit out of range for a while. Do not under any circumstances move back into melee until Queensbane has expired, else you'll kill your team by shooting orbs straight through them.
Wind Rush Totem should be used during Nether Rift to help the raid push against it and stick to the boss. It can also be used in the intermission as, while Eclipse is fairly easy to outrun it does help players get to the safe spot quicker to orient their Regicide lines more comfortably.

The Silken Court Enhancement Shaman Talent Builds

Silken Court Elementalist
Silken Court Storm

The Silken Court is an extremely high movement fight with a lot of volatility on how much uptime you'll be getting on each boss. Ideally with good tank positioning you should have relatively high uptime on Crash Lightning between the two bosses and Shattershell Scarab waves that move toward melee, but in some cases you'll simply have no way of forcing more uptime. I'd still recommend picking this up, and since there's a lot of situations where Storm Swell will fizzle I'd also grab Arc Discharge as well. Elementalist Is generally more comfortable here to pick up AoE talents but a Storm loadout is equally strong, just punished slightly more by downtime shifts.

Try and maintain Crash Lightning whenever possible and watch for when the bosses are about to split to get a last second refresh. Similarly, if you can keep Lashing Flames and Lightning Rod up on both bosses it's worth doing.
Try to slow and CC Shattershell Scarab spawns while they're cleaved down, ideally killing them before they become immune to being slowed.
When you successfully block Reckless Charge from Anub'arash with Binding Webs, he takes double damage for 12 seconds. Try to dump any high value globals into this window. Depending on your raid's plan, big cooldowns like Ascendance should be held here for incredibly high burst, but try to avoid losing a use. Similarly, hold and set up Primordial Wave as the charge is winding up.
This also applies to the Stinging Swarm dispels on Skeinspinner Takazj, though it can be slightly more awkward to set up burst in the chaos. Ideally, aim to always be sending cooldowns into these two damage amps whenever possible.

Use Wind Rush Totem with Jet Stream during the intermission to help players adjust around the Shatter Existence cones comfortably.
Use Astral Shift / Stone Bulwark Totem on Venomous Rain or during the intermission, as it's the highest raid damage in the encounter.
Use Feral Lunge to stick to the boss following Void Step. Save Spirit Walk to get out of the Entropic Desolation AoE.

Queen Ansurek Enhancement Shaman Talent Builds

Queen Ansurek Elementalist
Queen Ansurek Storm

Queen Ansurek has a lot of things going on throughout the encounter, and the damage profiles required shifts drastically depending on the phase you're currently in. Broadly speaking, having the versatility of Elementalist while picking up Crash Lightning is preferred, but Storm as a full single target focus also works - both builds opting to stick to Storm Swell for more boss damage. Here moreso than any encounter, you can shift up your picks based on your guilds issues (or the phase you're currently working on) so don't be afraid to experiment.

Phase 1
Spirit Walk is heavily recommended moreso than usual here to break Silken Tomb. Make sure to run to the edge to avoid putting webs under the melee. You should be able to remove the first and third, and should your raid have a Time Spiral spare for the second you can do all three.
Similarly, as Silken Tomb is being cast aim to have a Tempest banked to help kill them off quickly.

In an emergency if you're caught by Web Blades, both Spirit Walk and Thunderous Paws clear the 95% slow for you to reach the Reactive Froth pool soak. Wind Rush Totem with Jet Stream can also be placed between the raid and the pools to clear off any slows and help avoid missed soaks.
Watch for the number of stacks of Frothy Toxin applied to the raid. If something goes wrong and you have 3 or more, use Astral Shift / Stone Bulwark Totem to survive.

Intermission & Phase 2

During Predation always make sure you give yourself at least 3 seconds to run out during Wrest, and make use of both Ghost Wolf and Spirit Walk if available to get out. Also use Wind Rush Totem here to assist the rest of the melee.
Ascendance being a 3 minute cooldown only becomes available part way through. Discuss with your raid whether you need the additional damage to break the shield before Wrest 3, or you can save it for platform adds.
Make sure to kick Shadowblast late to reduce auto damage on your tanks.
Be careful using Tempest on the bridges near Caustic Skitterer, as often tanks need time to gather these while moving.
Make sure to use Astral Shift / Stone Bulwark Totem when healers are dispelling Gloom Touch.

Phase 3

Watch for the timer on Infest, and aim to have at least one Tempest ready to help burst down Gloom Hatchlings. These cannot reach the boss, so slow and CC them if needed.
Wind Rush Totem is best used to help Royal Condemnation targets moved to their assigned spot, especially if they're out killing adds when targeted. Alternatively, it can be used just before taking the Abyssal Conduit to help the raid spread out before bombs go off.

Enhancement Shaman Viability in Nerub-ar Palace

Enhancement brings a very strong variety of damage profiles, and most importantly has exceptionally strong single target damage while also having some funnel to bring bosses down faster. The variety of cooldowns at its disposal - both long and short - to help with key moments in encounters alongside the free cleave it provides makes it one of the strongest available melee in Nerub'ar Palace.

It's also relatively durable with the updates in The War Within, though it sometimes needs to resort to using Maelstrom Weapon on healing in particularly dangerous situations. Alongside that, as a Shaman it brings Skyfury to cover that raid buff for your team and both Ancestral Guidance and Wind Rush Totem as additional useful utility.

Strengths	Weaknesses

About the Author

This guide is written by Wordup, a long-time Enhancement player and moderator on the Shaman Discord server, Earthshrine. I've played every iteration of Enhancement since Sunwell, and played in Echoes on Laughing Skull (EU) since Warlords of Draenor. You can catch me on Twitter, or in Discord if you have any guide related questions!

Our Enhancement Shaman guides are always updated with the latest information from in-game experience, simulations, and logs; make sure to check our changelog to this page, by clicking on View Changelog at the top of the page. If you are interested in more in-depth Enhancement Shaman guides for , make sure to browse the Navigation Bar below, and our list of Related Guides just beneath the Table of Contents.

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Enhancement Shaman Nerub-ar Palace Raid Tips - The War Within 11.0.5

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