Holdherhand's October 25 Elemental Shaman video builds around Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning, with Flame Shock kept as a fallback. His approach suits players looking for a lightning-focused alternative to Magma Totem. It also comes with a warning: this setup needs careful movement around Naxxramas attacks.
Choose upgrades for the problem in front of you
Holdherhand recommends taking the higher-quality offer between Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning. When the run needs more area damage, he leans toward Chain Lightning; when single-target damage is the problem, he favors Lightning Bolt.
His initial spell selection includes Earth Shock, Frost Shock and Healing Wave, but he then bans those three. That leaves Lightning Bolt, Chain Lightning and Flame Shock in his upgrade plan. Flame Shock stays available for occasions when neither lightning spell gets a useful offer.
Later in the commentary, he cautions against repeatedly taking tiny cooldown improvements once a spell is already casting quickly. Compare the actual choices on your card screen instead of treating every cooldown roll as the best pick. His discussion does not establish a universal cooldown cap.
Jewellery choices
| Slot | What he recommends |
|---|---|
| Necklace | Lightning Bolt first, with the Chain Lightning necklace as an alternative. |
| Rings | Cooldown reduction and critical strike chance. |
| Trinkets | Luck and critical damage. He also mentions double-cast or damage options in place of luck. |
When the spell necklaces are unavailable, he names the luck necklace and Choker of Enlightenment as alternatives. These are his choices for this run, not a measured ranking of all available jewellery.
He aims for full critical strike chance and warns against automatically spending every upgrade on the necklace. A strong critical-strike upgrade may be more useful than another small increase to the necklace's damage. Read the values offered in your own run; the video is not a fixed shopping list.
Keep moving through Naxxramas
Holdherhand describes this Shaman setup as fragile and calls attention to the frontal attack lines he is avoiding. His advice is to keep moving and pay attention to boss mechanics even when the damage output feels comfortable. Do not read the video's title as a promise that this build can absorb those attacks.
Check talents before copying the setup
The commentary combines Elemental and Enhancement talents, discussing Chain Lightning's jumps, Windfury and Maelstrom Weapon. The exact allocation should be checked against your current talent menu. The Shaman reference lists the site's documented talent effects and its data version; this video's build number is unknown.
Watch Holdherhand's original Elemental Shaman video for his explanation. For help reading individual choices, see spell upgrades and the items and Codex guide.
Sources & scope
Checked 26 October 2026 against the video's native YouTube transcript and publication details. This is an attributed summary of Holdherhand's recommendations, not a tested build or a claim about the strongest current spec. Game footage did not load in our browser, so the build number, talent menu and run results were not independently verified. Exact talent allocations and item-effect numbers are omitted. The source links to the original Aethus game; its advice should not be assumed to apply to the OutThisLife community build.
