As of now this guide will be a simple 3 Step guide until I can consult and expand upon (and when I'm not about to pass out
) It will be broken down into
1: Stat Priority and the calculation per talent specs since spriest have 2 play styles. 2: Spell rotation for Single target, Cleaving, and AoE fights also with talent choices taken into account.3: An explanation of how DoT clipping works now, how it's different, and what the most optimal times to Clip a DoT are for Spriest, why they are the most important, how they benefit, and any other special rulings that Spriest may follow. If you wish to read more in-depth or have any suggestions please let me know. (Currently plan on adding Glyph and Talent info as well.)As of what I currently know and can say this is what I have to offer. Shadow Priest currently provides medium single target damage and very-high single-target execute damage. Shadow provides very-low sustained AOE damage and medium to medium-high burst AOE and high multi-target damage, depending upon talent choice.
Shadow’s difficulty varies widely depending upon your talent choices and the individual fight. Generally, you can expect a medium level of difficulty when playing your Shadow Priest.
Step 1: Current Shadow Priest Stat Priority Per Talent Choices!:When using the
Auspicious Spirits talent, your stat priorities are:
Int = 1.00
Spell Power = 0.91
Crit = 1.07
Haste = 0.84
Mastery = 0.49
Multistrike = 0.70
Versatility = 0.65
Crit (1.07) > Int (1.00) > Spell Power (.91) > Haste (.84) > Multistrike (.70) > Versatility (.65) > Mastery (.49)
When using the
Clarity of Power talent, your stat priorities are:
Int = 1.00
Spell Power = 0.91
Crit = 0.76
Haste = 0.85
Mastery = 0.62
Multistrike = 0.66
Versatility = 0.64
Int (1.00) > Spell Power (.91) > Haste (.85) > Crit (.76) > Multistrike (.66) > Versatility (.64) > Mastery (.62)
When swapping talents, your “combined” stat priorities are:Int = 1.00
Spell Power = 0.91
Crit = 0.97
Haste = 0.84
Mastery = 0.55
Multistrike = 0.71
Versatility = 0.67
Int (1.00) > Crit (.97) > Spell Power (.91) > Haste (.84) > Multistrike (.71) > Versatility (.67) > Mastery (.55)
These stat priorities assume you will be swapping between
Clarity of Power and
Auspicious Spirits. I recommend using these priorities for generic gear decisions.
Step 2: The Varying Shadow Priest Rotations!:1. General Shadow Priest Single Target Rotation:1. Apply Vampiric Touch
2. Apply Shadow Word: Pain
3. Cast Devouring Plague when at 3 or more Shadow Orbs.
4. Cast Mind Blast if you have fewer than 5 Shadow Orbs.
5. Cast Shadow Word:if you have fewer than 5 Shadow Orbs. (Always cast Shadow Word: Death a second time unless you have 5 Shadow Orbs. Both casts in the double-tap
grant Shadow Orbs. Shadow Word: Death is only usable on targets that are below 20% health.)
6. Cast Insanity on the target when you have the Insanity buff (if you are using the Insanity talent).
7. Cast Mind Spike if you have a Surge of Darkness proc (if you are using this talent).
8. Apply and maintain Shadow Word: Pain and Vampiric Touch (Make sure to take advantage of DoT Clipping See Below!)
9. Cast Mind Flay as your filler spell.
2. General Shadow Priest Multiple Target Rotations:The multiple target rotation depends on how many enemies you are facing and how long these enemies will live. Use the following guidelines, but do not hesitate to adapt your playstyle to your particular situations.
2.1 Against 2-3 Targets:1. Apply Vampiric Touch AND Shadow Word: Pain to ALL targets
2. Cast Devouring Plague with 3 or more Shadow Orbs.
3. Cast Mind Blast if you have fewer than 5 Shadow Orbs.
4. Cast Shadow Word: Death if you have fewer than 5 Shadow Orbs. Always cast Shadow Word: Death a second time unless you have 5 Shadow Orbs. Both casts in the double-
tap grant Shadow Orbs. (Shadow Word: Death is only usable on targets that are below 20% health.)
5. Cast Insanity on the target when you have the Insanity buff (if you are using the Insanity talent).
6. Cast Mind Spike if you have a Surge of Darkness proc (if you are using this talent).
7. Apply and Maintain Shadow Word: Pain and Vampiric Touch (Make sure to take advantage of DoT Clipping See Below!)
8. Use Mind Flay as your filler spell.
2.2 Against 4 or More Targets:1. Apply Vampiric Touch AND Shadow Word: Pain to ALL targets
2. Cast Devouring Plague with 3 or more Shadow Orbs.
3. Cast Mind Blast if you have fewer than 5 Shadow Orbs.
4. Cast Shadow Word: Death if you have fewer than 5 Shadow Orbs. Always cast Shadow Word: Death a second time unless you have 5 Shadow Orbs. Both casts in the double-
tap grant Shadow Orbs. (Shadow Word: Death is only usable on targets that are below 20% health.)
5. Cast Insanity on the target when you have the Insanity buff (if you are using the Insanity talent).
6. Cast Mind Spike if you have a Surge of Darkness proc (if you are using this talent).
7. Apply and Maintain Shadow Word: Pain and Vampiric Touch (Make sure to take advantage of DoT Clipping See Below!)
8. Use Mind Sear as your filler spell.
2.3 Against Short Lasting Enemies:1. Keep Shadow Word: Pain up on all the targets
2. Cast Shadow Word: Death on low-health targets to generate more shadow orbs
3. Cast Mind Flay as a filler spell
4 If there is a large group 6+ enemies just channel Mind Sear
Step 3: DoT Clipping, why it's great, and how to use it!:DoT Clipping Has Been Improved! What does this mean to me? Well it means a couple things:-Recasting most damage over time effects that are already on a target now extends the effect to up to 130% of the normal duration of the effect (also known as the "Pandemic" rule).-For instance, if you refresh a 10 second DoT while it still has 3 seconds remaining, your new DoT will be 13 seconds. -For Shadow Priests, this rule applies to all of your DoTs except Devouring Plague.Using the "Pandemic" rule will not indefinetly increase or decrease your damage. It will, however, increase your DPS if you use it wisely. For instance, if you are about to enter a period of sustained burst damage I.E. the Insanity Talent, you will gain DPS if you are able to ensure your DoTs remain on the target for the duration of your burst. It is very important to make sure dots never fall off especially with the new dot clipping system. Below is a list of all your dots, their original durations, maximum duration via dot clipping, and the optimal time left on them to refresh them.Vampiric Touch (5 base ticks)
Original duration - 15 seconds
Maximum duration - 19.5 seconds
Optimal refresh time - < 4.5 seconds
It should be kept in mind that Vampiric Touch has a base cast time. This means the most optimal time to cast this is actually 4.5 second + the current cast time of your Vampiric Touch!Shadow Word: Pain (6 base ticks)
Original duration - 18 seconds
Maximum duration - 23.4 seconds
Optimal refresh time - < 5.4 seconds
The initial damage from Shadow Word: Pain will affect neither the total duration of the spell nor the interval.
Devouring Plague (6 fixed ticks)
Devouring Plague is unaffected by the DoT clipping changes. Instead, if you reapply Devouring Plague, the remaining Devouring Plague ticks (all of them, not just 30%) will be added and conserved in the total damage of the next Devouring Plague. (What this means is that if your current Devouring Plague had 1 tick left and you reapplied Devouring Plague then the next Devouring Plague will tick a total of 7 times, 1 tick to preserve the interval of the old Devouring Plague and 6 normal ticks as you would expect. This is even true if you refresh over a Devouring Plague with enhancements, such as trinket procs, spellpower potions, etc.) Also, multistrike counts as a reapplication of Devouring Plague. Thus, if you apply Devouring Plague and it multistrikes, you will get 7 total ticks. This is by far the most tedious to memorize of the spriest dots so I recommend hitting a training dumby and trying to mentally note when and how your devouring plagues should be thrown out as to maximize the vast potential of this spell!Mind Flay (4 base ticks)
Clipping after 1 tick gives 3+4 ticks
Clipping after 2 ticks gives 2+5 ticks
Clipping after 3 ticks gives 1+6 ticks
Clipping after 4 ticks (on an already extended Mind Flay) gives 1+3+7 ticks
Clipping after 5 ticks (on an already extended Mind Flay) gives 1+2+7 ticks
Optimal usage: do not clip more than 4 ticks. Clipping fewer than 4 ticks will preserve the total number of ticks.
Note: clipping 1 tick of Mind Flay is impossible due to the GCD unless you are under the effect of some haste debuff, such as the Mind Fungus effect on Brackenspore.
Mind Sear (5 base ticks)
Clipping after 1 ticks gives 5+6 ticks
Clipping after 2 ticks gives 4+7 ticks
Clipping after 3 ticks gives 3+7 ticks
Clipping after 4 ticks gives 2+7 ticks
Optimal usage: do not clip more than 2 ticks.
Note: The same clipping note from Mind Flay applies here. It is impossible to clip ater 1 tick due to the GCD unless under the effect of some sort of haste debuff.
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