You start getting talent points at level 10. From that point on, you get one every level. How you use these talents should reflect how you want to play your character. These are just as important as your equipment. Talents are broken up into 3 different trees. It takes points to climb the trees. The stronger talents need so many points already spent earlier in the tree and some require you spent points in a specific talent before you can get it. The three trees that Shamans have are Elemental, Enhancement, and Restoration. A lot of people will ask you where you spent most of your points to know what style of shaman you are.
Elemental
This tree is designed to augment your offensive spells. This tree focuses on shocks, lightning, and fire totem type spells. This tree is commonly used for players who want be long range fighters. Throwing lightning bolts at enemies and then running away as you frost shock them to gain ground and do it all over again. Elemental is the tree for casters.

Convection
Description: Reduces the mana cost of your Shock, Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning spells.
Ranks:Rank 1 by 2%
Rank 2 by 4%
Rank 3 by 6%
Rank 4 by 8%
Rank 5 by 10%
Commentary: This spell if very useful if you are going to be using your spells as the main way to do damage. This spell will reduce your down time and your need to drink. This will also extend how many damage spell you can cast in a raid per potion.
Concussion
Description: Increases the damage done by your Lightning Bolt, Chain Lightning and Shock spells
Ranks: Rank 1 by 1%
Rank 2 by 2%
Rank 3 by 3%
Rank 4 by 4%
Rank 5 by 5%
Commentary: This is an increase to your spell damage. This is very important to damage casters. This increase is much more noticeable the further along in the game you get.
Earth's Grasp
Description: Increases the health of your Stoneclaw Totem by XX and the radius of your Earthbind Totem by XX
Ranks: Rank 1 health of Stoneclaw by 25% radius, of Earthbind by 10%
Rank 2 health of stoneclaw by 50%, radius of Earthbind by 20%
Commentary: The increase to Stoneclaw allows for an additional hit or two. The radius increase of Earthbind is only 1 yard per rank. Both of these increases are not commonly considered worth using a talent point on. Other increases are more noticeable.
Elemental Warding
Description: Reduces damage taken from Fire, Frost and Nature effects
Ranks:Rank 1 by 4%
Rank 2 by 7%
Rank 3 by 10%

Commentary: Has a small amount of use in raiding. The real place this talent shines is in PvP combat. Three ranks of this ability negates 5 Ranks of convection from a fellow shaman. It has minimal use elsewhere.
Call of Flame
Description: Increases the damage done by your Fire Totems
Ranks:Rank 1 by 5%
Rank 2 by 10%
Rank 3 by 15%
Commentary: A lot of shamans neglect the steady damage that fire totems can do in a fight. 15% is a large increase to damage and can really shine with your area of effect totems that you have. Good talent as long as you are going to use your fire totems most fights.
Elemental Focus
Description: After landing a critical strike with a Fire, Frost, or Nature damage spell, you enter a Clearcasting state. The Clearcasting state reduces the mana cost of your next damage spell by 60%
Ranks: Rank 1 full effect
Commentary: This is a must have talent if you are going to play an elemental shaman of any type. With a high critical hit chance with your spells you can get a lot of spells for cheap.

Reverberation
Description: Reduces the cooldown of your Shock spells
Ranks: Rank 1 by 0.2 seconds
Rank 2 by 0.4 seconds
Rank 3 by 0.6 seconds
Rank 4 by 0.8 seconds
Rank 5 by 1.0 seconds
Commentary: This talent is very useful for shamans who are going this deep into the elemental tree. The ability to Earth shock and interrupt a caster and 1 second faster do it again is great. The ability to reapply frost shock if it gets resisted faster is a great thing. Flame shock doesn't gain much from this ability, but the other two's gain more than makes up for it.
Call of Thunder
Description: Increases the critical strike chance of your Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning spells
Ranks: Rank 1 by 1%
Rank 2 by 2%
Rank 3 by 3%
Rank 4 by 4%
Rank 5 by 6%
Commentary: This ability is very important if you are casting lightning bolts as your main damage spell. In conjunction with elemental focus helps out your damage and your mana efficiency greatly. The added jump from 4% to 6% is a good reason to max this talent out.
Improved Fire Nova Totem
Description: Reduces the delay before your Fire Nova Totem activates by X seconds and decreases the threat generated by your Magma Totem by X
Ranks:Rank 1 delay decreased by 1 second, threat reduced by 25%
Rank 2 delay decreased by 2 seconds, threat reduced by 50%
Commentary: This talent makes it so that Fire Nova totem will go off in a mere two seconds. What it doesnt do though is reduce the cooldown. A shaman who knows how to use his fire nova totem also knows how to manage the threat it causes. This negates the usefulness of that part of the totem. The usefulness of Magma totem is for many mobs at one time. This seldom is what is happening. So the reduction of threat again is not worth it because of how seldom this totem is used.

Eye of the Storm
Description: Gives you a XX% chance to gain the Focused Casting effect that lasts for 6 sec after being the victim of a melee or ranged critical strike. The Focused Casting effect prevents you from losing casting time on Shaman spells when taking damage.
Ranks:Rank 1 gives 33% chance
Rank 2 gives 66% chance
Rank 3 gives 100% chance
Commentary: This talent is great in the PvP environment, and has little use in PvE environment. NPC characters and mobs do not critically hit often enough on a pure caster to make this worth the talent points while leveling.
Elemental Devastation
Description: Your offensive spell crits will increase your chance to get a critical strike with melee attacks by X% for 10 sec.
Ranks:Rank 1 by 3%
Rank 2 by 6%
Rank 3 by 9%
Commentary: This talent should only be trained if you are splitting points between elemental and enhancement trees. A lot of full elemental shamans never get up in melee range, so this would be useless for them. This talent is one of those ones that if you are meeting the requirements just right, it is well worth it.
Storm Reach
Description: Increases the range of your Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning spells
Ranks:Rank 1 by 3 yards
Rank 2 by 6 yards
Commentary: This spell adds to the range you are able to cast. As a casting class you want to stay as far away from your target as you can. This is a great talent to add distance. This also helps with kiting targets around you can get further away before turning around and starting your spell casting.
Elemental Fury
Description: Increases the critical strike damage bonus of your Searing, Magma, and Fire Nova Totems and your Fire, Frost, and Nature spells by 100%.
Ranks: Rank 1 Full effect

Commentary: Basic critical hits with spells are only 150% of the damage. With this makes it so when you critically hit with a spell you do 200% of the damage. This is a

huge boost to damage due to spell casters focusing on how often they critically hit. Have to have talent if you are playing an elemental shaman.
Unrelenting Storm
Description: Regenerate mana equal to X% of your Intellect every 5 sec, even while casting.
Ranks:Rank 1 to 2%
Rank 2 to 4%
Rank 3 to 6%
Rank 4 to 8%
Rank 5 to 10%
Commentary: This talent allows you to regenerate mana within the 5 second rule where you can not regenerate mana while casting/channeling and for 5 seconds after you finish casting/channeling. This will help maintain your mana levels and if you are casting spells back to back to back you will never regenerate mana without this. Okay skill, must have for raiding shamans.
Elemental Precision
Description: Increases your chance to hit with Fire, Frost and Nature spells by X% and reduces the threat caused by Fire, Frost and Nature spells by X%.
Ranks:Rank 1 chance to hit increased by 2%, reduces threat by 4%
Rank 2 chance to hit increased by 4%, reduces threat by 7%
Rank 3 chance to hit increased by 6%, reduces threat by 10%

Commentary: This talent is designed for raiding shamans who are casting on mobs higher in level then themselves. There is a small gain in PvP where characters have added benefits to get around spells, but the primary reason still sits in the realm of raiding. The added threat reduction is so that you can cast more often without getting to the top of the threat meter. This talent is for raiding shamans and should not be taken be for you are doing high end instances or raids.

Lightning Mastery
Description: Reduces the cast time of your Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning spells
Ranks: Rank 1 by 0.1 seconds
Rank 2 by 0.2 seconds
Rank 3 by 0.3 seconds
Rank 4 by 0.4 seconds
Rank 5 by 0.5 seconds
Commentary: This talent will speed up your casting of your primary damage dealing spells. This means more damage per second. This decreased cast time means less time for your opponent to interrupts or silence you while you are casting. Good talent all around and a have to have for elemental shamans.
Elemental Mastery
Description: Your next Fire, Frost, or Nature damage spell has its mana cost reduced by 100% and is guaranteed a critical strike.
Ranks: Rank 1 give the full effect
Commentary: This talent gives you a free critical hit with you next damaging spell. All you have to provide is the cast time. This talent is a must have for any elemental build. The ability to cast a chain lightning mana free and have a guaranteed critical hit is something that can not be passed by.
Elemental Shields
Description: Reduces the chance you will be critically hit by melee and ranged attacks
Ranks:Rank 1 by 2%
Rank 2 by 4%
Rank 3 by 6%
Commentary: This is a good talent for PvP. The down side is it doesn't reduce the chance to get hit by a critical spell. This is like a watered down version of resilience. Shamans have other places they could place talent points. This should only be taken by the PvP purest.
Lightning Overload
Description: Gives your Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning spells a X% chance to cast a second, similar spell on the same target at no additional cost that causes half damage and no threat.
Ranks:Rank 1 gives a 4%
Rank 2 gives a 8%
Rank 3 gives a 12%
Rank 4 gives a 16%
Rank 5 gives a 20%
Commentary: Lightning overload is a needed talent for Totem of Wrath the 41 point talent in the elemental tree. Lightning Overload itself is effective for adding damage. The 20% chance for it to proc on both lightning and chain lightning is decent.

It can not proc off itself, but the ability to get another chain lightning bolt is huge when taking on a lot of mobs. Since the follow up spell is only at half damage it is more like getting a critical hit with your first spell. Lightning Overload can be a critical hit.
Totem of Wrath
Description: Summons a Totem of Wrath with 5 health at the feet of the caster. The totem increases the chance to hit and critically strike with spells by 3% for all party members within 20 yards. Lasts 2 min
Ranks:Rank 1 is full effect
Commentary: This is the 41 point talent for the elemental tree. This totem is arguably a great totem or a waste of a skill point. It really comes down to what you are doing with your shaman. If you are PvPing a lot with you shaman this is not worth the talent point. The totem is too easily destroyed and they battles move around a lot. If you are doing instances or raiding this is a great totem. The added 3% is a lot of extra damage if you are placed in a group with other casters. This totem is also one of the few that stack with others of the same kind. So two shamans in the same group drop two Totems of Wrath and everyone in the group has 6% increased chance to hit and critically strike with their spells.