Hybrid Cleave 5-man: Elemental Shaman Earthbound and Fire Nova talents (levels 15–40)

Theorycrafted before the WoW Forever beta (September 17, 2026). The group plan follows how cleave groups played in Classic, the talents use the pre-release WoW Forever trees on this site, and ability levels quoted from Classic may differ in Forever. Expect updates once the beta is testable.

The group at a glance

Hybrid Cleave for levels 15–40: a Protection Warrior, a Destruction Warlock, an Elemental Shaman, a Marksmanship Hunter and a Restoration Druid.

Hybrid cleave mixes ranged area damage with control, so it works with pulls of medium size and still kills bosses quickly. The Warrior holds with Thunder Clap, the Shaman roots the pack with Earthbound, the Warlock stuns it with Rain of Fire and Pyroclasm, the Hunter shoots Multi-Shot with no pet to pull extra mobs, and the Druid heals the group with Wild Growth. It covers all four classes that neither other plan uses.

Role	Spec	Job in the pull
Tank	Protection Warrior	Charges in Defensive Stance, Thunder Clap threat, Shield Slam on the kill target
DPS	Destruction Warlock	Rain of Fire with Pyroclasm stuns, Bane of Havoc on the kill target
DPS	Elemental Shaman	Earthbound roots the pack, Fire Nova and fire totems
DPS	Marksmanship Hunter	Multi-Shot without a pet, Trueshot Aura for the party
Healer	Restoration Druid	Wild Growth on the group, Rejuvenation and Swiftmend on the tank

Every spec in the table links to its own guide with talents for that slot.

How the hybrid cleave plays

1. Pull size: one or two packs. This group has less AoE than three mages, but much more control and single-target damage.
2. Opener: the Warrior charges in Defensive Stance (Vanguard) and uses Thunder Clap. The Shaman drops Earthbind Totem next to the pack: Earthbound immobilizes everything nearby for 5 sec.
3. Damage window: while the pack is rooted, the Warlock casts Rain of Fire (Pyroclasm can stun its targets for 6 sec), the Shaman uses Fire Nova and Magma Totem, the Hunter uses Multi-Shot.
4. Kill target: the Warlock puts Bane of Havoc on the most dangerous mob. It takes 15% of all damage the Warlock deals to the other mobs, so it dies first without anyone switching.
5. Bosses: everyone switches to single-target: Incinerate, Lava Burst, Sniper Shot and Shield Slam all come online by level 40.

Your job as Elemental Shaman

You start the damage window. Earthbound makes Earthbind Totem immobilize nearby mobs for 5 sec when you cast it, which keeps the pack in Rain of Fire and away from the ranged players. Fire Nova and your fire totems deal the AoE, and Lightning Bolt with Lightning Overload handles single targets.

Pull by pull

• Wait for the Warrior’s Thunder Clap, then drop Earthbind Totem next to the pack.
• Fire Nova and your fire totem while the pack is rooted.
• Flame Shock and Lava Burst on the kill target once AoE is done.
• Chain Lightning (Classic level 32) on packs of three.

Mistakes that wipe the group

• Earthbind before the Warrior has threat: the root breaks and the pack walks to you.
• Fire Nova on a crowd-controlled mob.

Talent order by level

One point per level from level 10. The talent tree above shows the finished level 40 build; use the level slider to see it at any level.

• Levels 10–14 · Convection 5/5 — Cheaper Shocks, Lightning Bolt, Lava Burst and Chain Lightning.
• Levels 15–17 · Call of Flame 3/3 — +15% damage for fire totems, Flame Shock, Fire Nova and Lava Burst.
• Levels 18–19 · Reverberation 2/5 — 1 sec shorter Shock cooldown.
• Level 20 · Elemental Focus 1/1 — 10% chance for a free damage spell after casting one.
• Levels 21–25 · Elemental Fury 5/5 — Bigger critical strikes on fire totems and elemental spells; required for Call of Thunder.
• Levels 26–27 · Improved Fire Nova 2/2 — +20% Fire Nova damage and 4 sec shorter cooldown.
• Level 28 · Call of Thunder 1/1 — +3% critical strike chance for Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning.
• Level 29 · Eye of the Storm 1/3 — Less pushback while casting.
• Level 30 · Earthbound 1/1 — Earthbind Totem immobilizes nearby targets for 5 sec when cast: the whole group’s control opener.
• Levels 31–33 · Lightning Overload 3/3 — 9% chance to cast a free second Lightning Bolt or Chain Lightning with half damage and no threat.
• Level 34 · Elemental Reach 1/2 — More range for Lightning Bolt, Chain Lightning, Fire Nova and Lava Burst.
• Levels 35–37 · Elemental Alacrity 3/3 — 0.51 sec faster Lightning Bolt, Chain Lightning and Lava Burst.
• Levels 38–39 · Concussion 2/5 — +Lightning Bolt, Chain Lightning and Earth Shock damage.
• Level 40 · Lava Burst 1/1 — Fire nuke, +20% damage when Flame Shock is on the target.

Dungeons by level

Every WoW Forever dungeon that overlaps levels 15–40. Dungeons marked New were added in WoW Forever; the rest are the original Classic dungeons.

Levels	Dungeon	Notes
13–18	Hall of Thanes (New)	Burial chambers beneath Ironforge.
13–19	Ragefire Chasm	Original Classic dungeon.
15–20	Ruins of Lordaeron (New)	Scourge forces in the ruined city.
18–24	The Deadmines	Original Classic dungeon.
19–25	Wailing Caverns	Original Classic dungeon.
23–29	Shadowfang Keep	Original Classic dungeon.
24–29	Excavation Site (New)	Rogue Titan constructs above Whelgar’s Excavation in the Wetlands.
25–31	Blackfathom Deeps	Original Classic dungeon.
26–32	The Stockade	Original Classic dungeon.
28–33	City of Dalaran (New)	Constructs, broken enchantments and demons; a wider city layout.
30–36	Razorfen Kraul	Original Classic dungeon.
31–37	Scarlet Monastery Graveyard	Original Classic dungeon.
31–37	Gnomeregan	Original Classic dungeon.
34–40	Scarlet Monastery Library	Original Classic dungeon.
35–40	The Drowned City (New)	Trolls, naga and pirates off the Stranglethorn coast.
37–43	Scarlet Monastery Armory	Original Classic dungeon.
38–44	Razorfen Downs	Original Classic dungeon.
39–45	Scarlet Monastery Cathedral	Original Classic dungeon.
40–55	Krol’dok Stronghold (New)	New WoW Forever dungeon.

This group works from the first dungeons: Hall of Thanes and Ruins of Lordaeron are good places to learn the Earthbind opener with small packs. It shines in the City of Dalaran and The Drowned City, where mixed packs with casters punish pure AoE groups.

Where the group struggles

• Lower AoE ceiling: do not pull like a spell cleave group. Two packs is the limit.
• Warrior Rage on multi-target pulls is tight early on. Let the Warrior build Rage on the first pack before adding the second.
• Crowd control breaks when area damage lands on a sheeped or trapped mob. Mark CC targets and keep AoE away from them.