class="MsoNormal">In patch
3.0, the
precursor to Wrath of the Lich King, Major and Minor glyphs were
introduced to
World of Warcraft via the Inscription profession.  What
exactly is a glyph?  It’s an
enhancement to existing spells and
abilities.  Major glyphs affect overall
performance in combat settings, usually increasing DPS or HPS output in
various
ways.  Minor glyphs are more of a
convenience, removing the reagent cost of an ability, or one of many
other
effects. Ultimately each character
is
able to use up to 3 major and 3 minor glyphs.
The
issue however, is
the numerous glyphs out there.  How do
you choose which is best for you?  How do
I get the most out of my HPS/DPS through glyphing? 
I’m here to discuss the best glyphs for each
of the three Shaman specializations.




border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2">
style="width: 100px; height: 98px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/68882"> style="text-align: center; background-color: rgb(102, 0, 0); color: rgb(255, 204, 51); font-weight: bold;">Enhancement
Glyphs
style=""> style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Glyph
of Storm Strike

Increases
the Nature damage bonus from
Stormstrike by 8%.  This glyph has great
synergy with the Static
Shock talent, Earth Shock and Lightning Bolt increasing overall DPS.

style=""> style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Glyph
of Windfury Weapon

Increases
the chance per swing for Windfury
Weapon to
trigger by 2%. Windfury now has a 22%
base chance to proc on a swing.  It’s
a
minimal DPS upgrade but it’s still in the top 3 glyphs of
choice. 

style=""> style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Glyph
of Feral Spirit Spirit
Wolves gain an additional 30% of the Shaman’s attack power. 
It is currently the third choice for most
Enhancement Shamans.  href="http://enhsim.wikidot.com/">EnhSim
is showing
this to be better than any other option. style=""> style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Glyph
of Lightning Shield style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Increases
the damage of Lightning Shield by 20%.  There’s
some testing going on at the EJ forums that’s pretty
interesting.   Tests are being performed to determine
how
Windfury compares to Lightning Shield in a setting where Lightning
Shield is
proccing from environmental damage.  No
conclusions have been reached as of this time but it’s
definitely
something to
follow.


border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2">
style="width: 100px; height: 98px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/68881"> style="text-align: center; background-color: rgb(102, 0, 0); color: rgb(255, 204, 51); font-weight: bold;">Elemental
Glyphs
style=""> style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Glyph
of Lightning Bolt Increases
the damage dealt by Lightning Bolt by 4%.  It’s
fairly obvious why this is a recommended glyph
as Lightning Bolt is
the most used spell in an Elemental Rotation. style=""> style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Glyph
of Flame Shock Increases
the duration of your Flame Shock ability by 6 seconds and it is not
consumed by
casting Lava Burst.  Again pretty much a
no brainer.  This
glyph makes Flame Shock last 18 seconds.  Without
the glyph one would need to refresh Flame Shock
every 8-10
seconds (after a Lava Burst) eating up global cool downs you could be
using for
Lightning Bolt or Chain Lightning. style=""> style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Glyph
of Totem of Wrath When
you cast Totem of Wrath, you gain 30% of the totem’s bonus
spell
power for 5
minutes.  Many shamans opt to go with
Glyph of Lava over Totem of Wrath but testing shows that the Shaman
would need
4000 spell power for Glyph of Lava to surpass the gains from Totem of
Wrath.  The reason?  The
bonus from Totem of Wrath affects all spells and not
just Lava
Burst. style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">


border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2">
style="width: 100px; height: 98px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/68884"> style="text-align: center; background-color: rgb(102, 0, 0); color: rgb(255, 204, 51); font-weight: bold;">Restoration
Glyphs
style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> style=""> style=""> style=""> style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Glyph
of Chain Heal Chain
heals will bounce to an additional target.  Personally
I’m not a fan of this glyph primarily
because I hate chain
heal spam.  I prefer to heal using
primarily Riptide and Lesser Healing Wave.  Even
so, this is a solid choice for any Shaman raid
healing with Chain
heal. style=""> style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Glyph
of Lesser Healing Wave Lesser
Healing wave heals for 20% more if your target is affected by Earth
Shield.  This is an amazing glyph for the
Shaman that
prefers to heal the Main Tank.  Lesser
Healing Wave is the most efficient spell to trigger Ancestral Healing
(25%
armor buff on the target).  It’s also
good for Ancestral Awakening. style=""> style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Glyph
of Riptide Increases
the duration of Riptide by 6 seconds, making it a 21 second heal over
time.  It can be useful in many
situations if you opt to play with Lesser Healing Wave. 
Riptide is used to Tidal Waves decreasing the
cast time of the next 2 Lesser Healing Waves.  It’s
good practice to use both procs in the 6
seconds it takes to cast
another Riptide. style=""> style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Glyph
of Earth Shield The
amount healed by Earth Shield is increased by 20%.  As any
type of healer, Earth Shield will
always be on a tank, making this glyph a must.


border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2">
style="width: 100px; height: 98px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/68883"> style="text-align: center; background-color: rgb(0, 0, 102); color: rgb(204, 204, 204); font-weight: bold;">Minor
Glyphs
style=""> style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Glyph
of Renewed Life Removes
the reagent requirement from Reincarnation.   It’s
a handy glyph to
have.  You’ll never have to buy ankhs
again!  I can’t begin to count the
number
of times I couldn’t pop in TBC because I ran out of ankhs. style=""> style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Glyph
of Water Shield A
must have for Restoration Shamans.  This
glyph increases the number of Water Shield charges from 3 to 4
resulting in
more global cool downs (more time spent healing). style=""> style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Glyph
of Thunderstorm Removes
the knockback from your Thunderstorm ability and increases the amount
of mana
returned by 2%.  Raiding guilds will
likely require this glyph for any raiding Elemental Shaman. 
Mobs flying all over the zone gets annoying
really fast.



The
rest are just minor conveniences and have no impact on group or raid
content so
I won’t cover them here.  Let us know which glyphs
you
prefer and why on the forums!


To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our World of Warcraft Game Page.

Last Updated: Mar 13, 2016

Comments

Related Content

Patch 5.4 Profession Changes