Shaman glyphs

Major glyphs

Icon	Item	Level	Function
	[Glyph of Fire Nova Totem]	15	Reduces the cooldown of your [Fire Nova Totem] by 3 seconds.
	[Glyph of Flame Shock]	15	Increases the duration of your [Flame Shock] ability by 6 sec and it is not consumed by casting [Lava Burst].
	[Glyph of Flametongue Weapon]	15	Increases spell critical strike chance by 2% while [Flametongue Weapon] is active.
	[Glyph of Healing Wave]	15	Your [Healing Wave] also heals you for 20% of the healing effect when you heal someone else.
	[Glyph of Lava Lash]	15	Damage on your [Lava Lash] is increased by an additional 10% if your weapon is enchanted with Flametongue.
	[Glyph of Lightning Bolt]	15	Increases the damage dealt by [Lightning Bolt] by 4%.
	[Glyph of Lightning Shield]	15	Increases the damage from [Lightning Shield] by 20%.
	[Glyph of Shocking]	15	Reduces the global cooldown triggered by your Shock spells to 0 sec.
	[Glyph of Stoneclaw Totem]	15	Your Stoneclaw Totem also places a damage absorb shield on you, equal to 4 times the strength of the shield it places on your totems.
	[Glyph of Frost Shock]	20	Increases the duration of your [Frost Shock] by 2 sec.
	[Glyph of Healing Stream Totem]	20	Your [Healing Stream Totem] heals for an additional 20%.
	[Glyph of Lesser Healing Wave]	20	Your [Lesser Healing Wave] heals for 20% more if the target is also affected by your [Earth Shield].
	[Glyph of Water Mastery]	20	Increases the passive mana regeneration of your [Water Shield] spell by 30%.
	[Glyph of Earthliving Weapon]	30	Increases the chance for your [Earthliving Weapon] to trigger by 5%.
	[Glyph of Windfury Weapon]	30	Increases the chance per swing for Windfury Weapon to trigger by 2%.
	[Glyph of Chain Lightning]	32	Your [Chain Lightning] strikes 1 additional target.
	[Glyph of Chain Heal]	40	Your [Chain Heal] heals 1 additional target.
	[Glyph of Mana Tide Totem]	40	Your [Mana Tide Totem] grants an additional 1% of each target's maximum mana each time it pulses.
	[Glyph of Stormstrike]	40	Increases the nature damage bonus from your [Stormstrike] ability by an additional 8%.
	[Glyph of Earth Shield]	50	Increases the amount healed by your [Earth Shield] by 20%.
	[Glyph of Elemental Mastery]	50	Reduces the cooldown of your [Elemental Mastery] ability by 30 sec.
	[Glyph of Totem of Wrath]	50	When you cast [Totem of Wrath], you gain 30% of the totem's bonus spell power for 5 min.
	[Glyph of Feral Spirit]	60	Your spirit wolves gain an additional 30% of your attack power.
	[Glyph of Riptide]	60	Increases the duration of [Riptide] by 6 sec.
	[Glyph of Thunder]	60	Reduces the cooldown on [Thunderstorm] by 10 sec.
	[Glyph of Lava]	66	Your [Lava Burst] spell gains an additional 10% of your spellpower.
	[Glyph of Fire Elemental Totem]	68	Reduces the cooldown of your [Fire Elemental Totem] by 10 min.
	[Glyph of Hex]	80	Increases the damage your [Hex] target can take before the Hex effect is removed by 20%.

Minor glyphs

Icon	Item	Level	Function
	[Glyph of Ghost Wolf]	20	Your [Ghost Wolf] form regenerates an additional 1% of your maximum health every 5 sec.
	[Glyph of Water Shield]	20	Increases the number of charges on your [Water Shield] spell by 1.
	[Glyph of Water Breathing]	22	Your [Water Breathing] spell no longer requires a reagent.
	[Glyph of Water Walking]	28	Your [Water Walking] spell no longer requires a reagent.
	[Glyph of Astral Recall]	30	Cooldown of your [Astral Recall] spell reduced by 7.5 min.
	[Glyph of Renewed Life]	30	Your [Reincarnation] spell no longer requires a reagent.
	[Glyph of Thunderstorm]	70	Increases the mana you receive from your [Thunderstorm] ability by 2%, but the spell no longer knocks enemies back.

Elemental Glyph Configurations

PvE

[Glyph of Flame Shock] is valuable with respect to an elemental shaman's damage rotation. It eliminates the need to cast an additional [Flame Shock] once a [Lava Burst] is used, saving a global cooldown and mana. In almost all situations, [Lightning Bolt] will be the primary spell used for damage dealing, making the additional 4% damage from [Glyph of Lightning Bolt] very difficult to pass. Both these glyphs should be considered as essential for any PvE elemental shaman.

A shaman with limited spell power, mana and critical strike may find that [Glyph of Flametongue Weapon] or [Glyph of Elemental Mastery] will be more damage and more useful than [Glyph of Lava].

1. [Glyph of Flame Shock], [Glyph of Lava], [Glyph of Lightning Bolt]

2. [Glyph of Flame Shock], [Glyph of Elemental Mastery], [Glyph of Lightning Bolt]

Consider [Glyph of Thunderstorm] as a Minor Glyph if mana is a concern.

PvP

There is much to consider when choosing glyphs for PvP, and there is usually no single set that will work for every team's play style. However, a shaman who put talent points into Improved Fire Nova Totem will find [Glyph of Fire Nova Totem] of use. [Glyph of Flametongue Weapon] will likely be of more use than [Glyph of Elemental Mastery], as most teams contain at least one class which can dispel magic effects. Like in PvE, [Glyph of Flame Shock] will likely be a good choice for saving time and mana by reducing the amount of times [Flame Shock] would need to be used in preparation for [Lava Burst], as well as saving the shaman's shock cooldown for an interrupting shock, like [Earth Shock] or Wind Shock.

1. [Glyph of Fire Nova Totem], [Glyph of Flame Shock], [Glyph of Flametongue Weapon]

[Glyph of Thunderstorm] should never be considered for use in PvP. If mana is a concern, consider [Glyph of Water Shield] instead.

[Glyph of Ghost Wolf] is not a very potent glyph, but could be considered a valid choice simply because it provides more PvP utility than many of the other minor glyphs.

Enhancement Glyph Configurations

PvE

The two glyphs every PvE enhancement shaman should have are [Glyph of Windfury Weapon] and [Glyph of Stormstrike]. The third option is dependent on the caliber of gear used by the shaman. A shaman with low critical strike might find [Glyph of Flametongue Weapon] useful, as it will allow for [Elemental Devastation] to proc more often, as well as marginally increase overall damage by increasing the damage from magical spells. [Glyph of Lightning Shield] is better option for a better geared shaman as their [Lightning Shield] will be much more potent, the tier 7 enhancement shaman sets gives a bonus to Lightning Shield, they will likely use Lightning Shield over [Water Shield] as mana would be less of an issue, and a larger amount of haste will allow for more [Static Shock] procs. [Glyph of Lava Lash] is generally considered to be an overall weak glyph, but is a better choice than either [Glyph of Lightning Shield] or [Glyph of Flametongue Weapon] depending on gear and talent choices; if an shaman has neither [Improved Shields] or [Static Shock], [Glyph of Lava Lash] should be considered viable.

[Glyph of Lightning Bolt] is not a good choice for an enhancement shaman, as [Lightning Bolt] in itself is not a significant enough amount of damage. As of 3.0.8, [Glyph of Shocking] is not a viable glyph. However, in 3.1, [Glyph of Shocking] will be improved and will likely be a better choice than [Glyph of Lightning Shield], [Glyph of Lava Lash] and [Glyph of Flametongue Weapon] because it is effectively removing 1 second from an enhancement shaman's DPS rotation, which will likely be a substantial DPS boost than the current half second.

1. [Glyph of Windfury Weapon], [Glyph of Stormstrike], [Glyph of Lightning Shield]

2. [Glyph of Windfury Weapon], [Glyph of Stormstrike], [Glyph of Lava Lash]

3. [Glyph of Windfury Weapon], [Glyph of Stormstrike], [Glyph of Flametongue Weapon]

PvP

There is much to consider when choosing glyphs for PvP, and there is usually no single set that will work for every team's play style. Improved Fire Nova Totem is a viable choice for a PvP enhancement shaman, making [Glyph of Fire Nova Totem] a valid choice. [Glyph of Stormstrike] can be much less potent in PvP, as an enhancement shaman will not be using [Earth Shock] as frequently, likely choosing [Frost Shock] instead. This means [Glyph of Frost Shock] could be a powerful glyph by reducing the frequency a shaman would need to cast Frost Shock.

[Glyph of Lava Lash] is not a viable choice for a PvP enhancement shaman, as the off-hand should almost always be enhanced with [Frostbrand Weapon]. Like in PvE, [Glyph of Shocking] is not a strong choice. However, in 3.1 it will allow for almost instant use of a [Stormstrike] following a shock spell, which would be a significant amount of burst damage.

1. [Glyph of Windfury Weapon], [Glyph of Frost Shock], [Glyph of Fire Nova Totem]

2. [Glyph of Windfury Weapon], [Glyph of Stormstrike], [Glyph of Fire Nova Totem]

[Glyph of Ghost Wolf] is not a very potent glyph, but could be considered a valid choice simply because it provides more PvP utility than many of the other minor glyphs.

Restoration Glyph Configurations

PvE

A restoration shaman has many viable glyph options, some focusing more on their mana regeneration and others to boost healing. Due to the amount of options, it's important to chose depending on the need of the shaman. If mana is more of a concern, glyphs like [Glyph of Water Mastery] and [Glyph of Mana Tide Totem] should be considered. [Glyph of Chain Heal] is one of the best glyphs for raiding as restoration, as chain heal is one of the restoration shaman's best tools for raid healing. [Glyph of Lesser Healing Wave] makes [Lesser Healing Wave] much more potent and mana efficient for healing tanks when no other restoration shaman is in the raid.

Generally, [Glyph of Healing Stream Totem] is not very potent and the totem itself situational; it's value is diminished also in part due to [Mana Spring Totem] and [Blessing of Wisdom] stacking, as well as multiple Mana Spring Totems stacking with eachother (which is eliminated in patch 3.1). [Earthliving Weapon] is also a poor choice due to the fact 5% is not a significant increase, and earthliving has a high uptime on tanks as it is.

1. [Glyph of Chain Heal], [Glyph of Water Mastery], [Glyph of Lesser Healing Wave]

2. [Glyph of Chain Heal], [Glyph of Water Mastery], [Glyph of Mana Tide Totem]

Unlike other PvE talent specs, the [Glyph of Water Shield] is an excellent choice for the restoration shaman due to the [Improved Water Shield] talent, and should always be a choice.

PvP

There is much to consider when choosing glyphs for PvP, and there is usually no single set that will work for every team's play style. In PvP restoration has a less than appealing line up of glyphs, which will improve in patch 3.1. [Glyph of Earthliving Weapon] is slightly more viable, as in PvP the shaman's attention is less focused on a single target, having earthliving proc more often means more passive healing to more players. [Glyph of Lesser Healing Wave] remains very viable, as putting [Earth Shield] on targets likely attacked by enemies makes them considerably easier to heal with [Lesser Healing Wave]. Choosing [Glyph of Healing Wave] makes healing easier in situations where you find yourself being targeted along with others (despite long-cast spells being unpopular in PvP, [Healing Wave] can be viable with enough haste rating, and when spec'd into [Tidal Waves]).

[Glyph of Water Mastery] isn't as potent, as it's more likely a restoration shaman will be using Earth Shield on himself rather than [Water Shield]. Also losing viability is [Glyph of Chain Heal], as there's generally less clumping of players in PvP environments. The exception to this being that if you managing to let others being attacked rather then you by hiding in the crowd you can have Earth shield on your allies while you have water shield on yourself, but if your not in a clump of players like you find in AV where you can stay hidden his statement would be true.

1. [Glyph of Earthliving Weapon], [Glyph of Healing Wave], [Glyph of Lesser Healing Wave]

[Glyph of Ghost Wolf] is not a very potent glyph, but could be considered a valid choice simply because it provides more PvP utility than many of the other minor glyphs.

External links

For suggestions on glyph selection see glyph section of [[1]]