Post by Kevin on May 2, 2008 17:04:46 GMT -5
I was impressed with this post on our server forum so I thought I would post it... you know since we have so many shadow priests lol. I am not a theorycrafter, but I do know the shadow priest spec as well as anything I know so I agree with this... good stuff. Maybe some of you priests may want to give it a try. I love shadow spec myself.
forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=6286658693&sid=1
Try both. Go run a kara as a healer, 23/38/0 Disc/Holy
Then run Shadow 14/0/37
If you decide to go Shadow, things you want.
5/5 in Talent for Shadow Focus
3/3 in Shadow Affinity
76 Spell Hit on your gears
Improved Vampiric Embrace helps at the beginning
If you don't have enough points for 5/5 in Shadow Power, its fine, SPriest crits suck anyways.
This is a good beginning talent spec. Once you get better gears you can start to reduce Shadow Focus and move talents elsewhere. This is a PvE Spec.
For Discipline is what i use. Others like 3/3 in Shield. Just preference
www.wowhead.com/?talent=bxMRzhZZVGxuMLRhtyo
Spell Rotation for Optimal Damage and utility in Raid.
Remember Shadow Priests are about synergy with the rest of the raid. You will not be the top damage dealer. In a good raid you will be around number 9-11 on the damage meters.
1). By funneling mana to healers, the rest of the raid doesn't die
2). Shadow weaving. Make sure all your dots and shadow weaving are going. This will increase the damages of other Shadow Priests and Warlocks
3). Because other warlocks and mages don't have to stop to get more mana, drinking, whatever skills they got (never played those specs), you are adding about 150+ DPS to them. This is HUGE.
However you do want to keep in your damages. You want to be close behind.
So if you are just hitting Kara, you'll be doing around 700.
T4 is around 850+
T5 is around 1100-1200
T6 is around 1200-1600 depending on the fight.
The Shadow Priest damages does not scale very well at all with gears.
At Brutallus, in Sunwell, this is damage heaven. You'll be seeing Rogues, Warlocks and Hunters hitting over 2200-2400. Shadow Priests tend to be around 1500-1600 in this fight.
So if anyone in your raid says if you play your class right you should be doing more DPS than a warlock or Mage, tell the _l_
Your job in the raid is much more unique, its to heal your party, and to provide the mana so they can keep healing and can dpsing.
Spell Rotation
Before the fight even really starts, throw Vampiric Embrace. This is a very low threat skill, no chance of pulling aggro off the tank.
After, Vampiric Touch, Shadow Word Pain, Mind Blast, 2 Mind Flays, Mind Blast, Shadow Word Death, Mind Flays again. By then you'll have to renew your Vampiric Touch.
You want to do as many Mind Blasts as you can. 1 Mind blast = 2 Mind Flays, in 1.5 second cast. Shadow Word Death will usually crit higher than Mind Blast. And costs very little mana. Throw that in there when you feel comfortable.
Vampiric Embrace is running for heal your party, but its also for when you do SW:D. SW:D does increase your threat a bit. So if you are right on top of your tank, don't use it. Make sure you have Big Wigs or Boss Mod so you know when the next AoE dmg is coming, or you'll be in danger of death with SW:D.
Read up on bosses. Because Shadow Priest is a unique class, you have different affects on bosses
- Example: Do not use Vampiric Embrace on the Tidewalker in SSC. Yes those small heals will pull the murlocks and kill you. Just stick to VT, MB, and MF for that.
For gears, work in this order:
1) Spell Hit (76)
2) Damages. Forget the crit, the spell haste. Get gears with tons of damage on it
3). Spell Haste.
At around 1150+ Shadow Dmb Unbuffed you can start stacking Haste to your gear. When you are raid buffed you should be close to 1350-1400 Shadow Dmg.
- At this point 1 Spell Haste = 1 Dmg for Shadow Priest
Do not worry about criticals. 6 Spell crit = 1 Dmg. Yeah, crit is not a big deal. If the gear has it, it has it, but don't sweat over it.
Resources:
By far the best resource out their for theorycrafting, gearing up and spell rotation.
elitistjerks.com/
Take with grain of salt. Some of them think they know all but full of bullcrap
shadowpriest.com/
P.S, A Shadow Priests Damages is reliant on his raid also. Its not just you.
WIth same gears I did Tidewalker with one guild. I did 700 DPS. One I had to constantly watch my threat level backoff. And the synergy with a demonology warlock was horrific.
New guild, never came close to his threat, it was heaven. The Destruction warlocks were hitting 1500+ and I loved the affliction warlocks. 1050 DPS, over 300 DPS increase.
forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=6286658693&sid=1
Try both. Go run a kara as a healer, 23/38/0 Disc/Holy
Then run Shadow 14/0/37
If you decide to go Shadow, things you want.
5/5 in Talent for Shadow Focus
3/3 in Shadow Affinity
76 Spell Hit on your gears
Improved Vampiric Embrace helps at the beginning
If you don't have enough points for 5/5 in Shadow Power, its fine, SPriest crits suck anyways.
This is a good beginning talent spec. Once you get better gears you can start to reduce Shadow Focus and move talents elsewhere. This is a PvE Spec.
For Discipline is what i use. Others like 3/3 in Shield. Just preference
www.wowhead.com/?talent=bxMRzhZZVGxuMLRhtyo
Spell Rotation for Optimal Damage and utility in Raid.
Remember Shadow Priests are about synergy with the rest of the raid. You will not be the top damage dealer. In a good raid you will be around number 9-11 on the damage meters.
1). By funneling mana to healers, the rest of the raid doesn't die
2). Shadow weaving. Make sure all your dots and shadow weaving are going. This will increase the damages of other Shadow Priests and Warlocks
3). Because other warlocks and mages don't have to stop to get more mana, drinking, whatever skills they got (never played those specs), you are adding about 150+ DPS to them. This is HUGE.
However you do want to keep in your damages. You want to be close behind.
So if you are just hitting Kara, you'll be doing around 700.
T4 is around 850+
T5 is around 1100-1200
T6 is around 1200-1600 depending on the fight.
The Shadow Priest damages does not scale very well at all with gears.
At Brutallus, in Sunwell, this is damage heaven. You'll be seeing Rogues, Warlocks and Hunters hitting over 2200-2400. Shadow Priests tend to be around 1500-1600 in this fight.
So if anyone in your raid says if you play your class right you should be doing more DPS than a warlock or Mage, tell the _l_
Your job in the raid is much more unique, its to heal your party, and to provide the mana so they can keep healing and can dpsing.
Spell Rotation
Before the fight even really starts, throw Vampiric Embrace. This is a very low threat skill, no chance of pulling aggro off the tank.
After, Vampiric Touch, Shadow Word Pain, Mind Blast, 2 Mind Flays, Mind Blast, Shadow Word Death, Mind Flays again. By then you'll have to renew your Vampiric Touch.
You want to do as many Mind Blasts as you can. 1 Mind blast = 2 Mind Flays, in 1.5 second cast. Shadow Word Death will usually crit higher than Mind Blast. And costs very little mana. Throw that in there when you feel comfortable.
Vampiric Embrace is running for heal your party, but its also for when you do SW:D. SW:D does increase your threat a bit. So if you are right on top of your tank, don't use it. Make sure you have Big Wigs or Boss Mod so you know when the next AoE dmg is coming, or you'll be in danger of death with SW:D.
Read up on bosses. Because Shadow Priest is a unique class, you have different affects on bosses
- Example: Do not use Vampiric Embrace on the Tidewalker in SSC. Yes those small heals will pull the murlocks and kill you. Just stick to VT, MB, and MF for that.
For gears, work in this order:
1) Spell Hit (76)
2) Damages. Forget the crit, the spell haste. Get gears with tons of damage on it
3). Spell Haste.
At around 1150+ Shadow Dmb Unbuffed you can start stacking Haste to your gear. When you are raid buffed you should be close to 1350-1400 Shadow Dmg.
- At this point 1 Spell Haste = 1 Dmg for Shadow Priest
Do not worry about criticals. 6 Spell crit = 1 Dmg. Yeah, crit is not a big deal. If the gear has it, it has it, but don't sweat over it.
Resources:
By far the best resource out their for theorycrafting, gearing up and spell rotation.
elitistjerks.com/
Take with grain of salt. Some of them think they know all but full of bullcrap
shadowpriest.com/
P.S, A Shadow Priests Damages is reliant on his raid also. Its not just you.
WIth same gears I did Tidewalker with one guild. I did 700 DPS. One I had to constantly watch my threat level backoff. And the synergy with a demonology warlock was horrific.
New guild, never came close to his threat, it was heaven. The Destruction warlocks were hitting 1500+ and I loved the affliction warlocks. 1050 DPS, over 300 DPS increase.