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Shaman Runes SoD: Essential Enhancements for Every Build

  • Updated 24 Feb 2025
  • ~5 min

Season of Discovery added Runes to World of Warcraft. Adding a powerful new enchantment to the game, giving players the ability to enhance their gear, in turn unlocking new abilities and even new spells.

If you’re yet to get your head around which runes are the best to get for your Shaman, this is the guide for you. So buckle up, it’s time to choose the best runes for your build.

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What Are Runes?

Runes are a special engraving which can be added to specific gear slots. Offering up new bonuses which change or enhance your character’s abilities. For Shaman builds, runes in the Season of Discovery can change how spells work – or even add entirely new spells to your roster.

So, essentially, Runes are a new type of upgrade you can use to make your build even stronger. Making them something that you most definitely want to understand.

How to Get Runes

There are two primary ways to acquire runes:

World of Warcraft Shaman Runes SoD Broker

Rune Broker

Rune Brokers are located across major cities, these vendors sell runes and skill books, allowing you to pick up specific enhancements on demand.

If you’re looking for your first rune, head to one of these cities:

Alliance:

  • Darnassus
  • Ironforge
  • Stormwind

Horde:

  • Orgrimmar
  • Thunder Bluff
  • Undercity

Questing and Discovery

Runes, especially those tailored for Shamans in the Season of Discovery, can also be found as rewards for quests. So you will also accumulate a few runes as you simply play.

How to Use Runes in SoD

Once you’ve got your hands on some runes, you can gain their benefit by engraving them into your gear. The process is simple:

  1. Choose an item from the right slot – Each rune is for a specific slot, so can only be applied to that piece of gear.
  2. Engrave the rune at a rune engraver, in a major city.

So, the process is simple once you have the runes. However, you’ll want to carefully consider which runes you apply to gear, as to best benefit your build.

How to Use Runes in SoD

Once you’ve got your hands on some runes, you can gain their benefit by engraving them into your gear. The process is simple:

  1. Choose an item from the right slot – Each rune is for a specific slot, so can only be applied to that piece of gear.
  2. Engrave the rune at a rune engraver, in a major city.

So, the process is simple once you have the runes. However, you’ll want to carefully consider which runes you apply to gear, as to best benefit your build.

How to Use Runes in SoD

Once you’ve got your hands on some runes, you can gain their benefit by engraving them into your gear. The process is simple:

  1. Choose an item from the right slot – Each rune is for a specific slot, so can only be applied to that piece of gear.
  2. Engrave the rune at a rune engraver, in a major city.

So, the process is simple once you have the runes. However, you’ll want to carefully consider which runes you apply to gear, as to best benefit your build.

Choosing the Best Shaman Runes by Slot

Runes are not one-size-fits-all, and in the Season of Discovery, Shamans have access to a variety of runes tailored to different builds. This means that you will likely want to choose runes yourself, instead of simply being told the “best” runes. That said, this section breaks down the different runes and why you would want them.

Ring Runes

Ring runes are unique, offering some of the most widely applicable buffs. For this reason, the best rune will most certainly depend on which skills you use as a Shaman. But the Runes you can choose from are:

  • Rune of Axe Specialization
  • Rune of Dagger Specialization
  • Rune of Defense Specialization
  • Rune of Fire Specialization
  • Rune of Fist Weapon Specialization
  • Rune of Frost Specialization
  • Rune of Healing Specialization
  • Rune of Mace Specialization
  • Rune of Meditation Specialization
  • Rune of Nature Specialization
  • Rune of Pole Weapon Specialization

Belt Runes and where to find them

Fire Nova – Quest or Rune Broker.

Replaces Fire Nova Totem with a spell that causes your Fire Totem to emit damage at its location.

Maelstrom Weapon – Purchase from Rune Brokers.

Grants a stacking buff from melee attacks, reducing cast time and mana cost of certain spells.

Power Surge – Rune discovery through questing or vendors.

Resets cooldowns on Lava Burst and Chain Lightning, making them instant casts under certain conditions. Also provides mana regeneration.

Boot Runes

Ancestral Awakening – Quest or vendor.

Summons an ancestral spirit to heal the lowest-health party member after a critical heal.

Decoy Totem – Purchase or quest rewards.

Redirects attacks to a summoned totem while granting movement-immunity effects.

Spirit of the Alpha – Rune Broker or world discovery.

Increases threat and damage for tank builds, with a complementary buff for DPS Shamans.

Bracer Runes

Overcharged – Questing with Dyadic Icon or vendor purchase.

Converts Lightning Shield into an area-of-effect ability with no charge loss.

Riptide – Rune discovery quests or Rune Brokers.

Introduces the Riptide spell, healing a target instantly and over time, with synergy for Chain Heal.

Rolling Thunder – Vendor or questing rewards.

Enhances Lightning Shield interactions and provides mana regeneration through Earth Shock usage.

Chest Runes

Dual Wield Specialization – Rune Broker.

Improves dual-wielding performance, enhancing hit chances and off-hand damage.

Healing Rain – Quest reward or vendor.

Adds an area-of-effect healing spell for group support.

Overload – Questing with specific items or Rune Brokers.

Adds a chance to duplicate spells at reduced power, greatly enhancing overall output.

Glove Runes

Lava Burst – Rune discovery or Rune Brokers.

Guarantees a critical hit on targets affected by Flame Shock.

Molten Blast – Vendor or quest.

A high-threat ability dealing fire damage to multiple enemies.

Water Shield – Quest or Rune Broker.

Provides passive mana regeneration and additional mana recovery when struck.

Leg Runes

Ancestral Guidance – Quest rewards or Rune Brokers.

Converts a percentage of damage into healing or healing into damage, depending on the target.

Earth Shield – Vendor or world discovery.

Shields the target, reducing pushback and healing them when attacked.

Greater Ghost Wolf – Rune Broker or questing.

Allows Ghost Wolf indoors and reduces damage taken while active.

Cloak Runes

Coherence – Rune Broker.

Improves the effectiveness of Chain Heal and Chain Lightning, adding extra targets.

Feral Spirit – Quest reward or vendor.

Summons Spirit Wolves for added damage and utility.

Storm, Earth, and Fire – Vendor or discovery.

Boosts Chain Lightning and Flame Shock damage while adding crowd control through Earthbind Totem.

Conclusion

Runes in the Season of Discovery are a must-have for any WoW player looking to unlock the full potential of their Shaman build. Thus, you’ll want to spend some time figuring out which runes are best for your specific shaman build. Then you can find