Shadow is priest’s DPS specialization, and focuses on damage-over-time abilities interspersed with periods of burst damage. It is currently performing and represented well in PvE, bringing middle of the pack DPS for both AoE and single target.
This guide is intended to give you an overview of the basics of shadow so that you may perform passably well – it is not intended to be an in-depth guide. For more (and better!) information on how to master shadow, please visit Icy Veins’ shadow priest guide.
Last Updated: March 13, 2015 (up-to-date for 6.1)
Cheat Sheet
- Clarity of Power Dotweave single target; Auspicious Spirits 4+ targets
- Haste gems & enchants unless you have separate gear sets (then it’s mastery for CoP, crit for AS)
- Dotweave rotation: Mind spike until MB is off cooldown. At 5 orbs, SW:P, VT, DP, channel Insanity, MB on cooldown, DP again, back to spike
- AS/CoP Lite rotation: Apply SWP and VT to all main targets, DP at three orbs, mind flay as filler.
Stat Priority
Clarity of Power Dotweave/Dotless: Mastery > Haste > Multistrike > Critical Strike > Versatility
Clarity of Power Lite: Haste > Multistrike > Critical Strike > Versatility > Mastery
Auspicious Spirits: Critical Strike > Haste > Multistrike > Versatility > Mastery
Void Entropy: Haste > Multistrike > Critical Strike > Versatility > Mastery
Gems & Enchants
With the changes to gems and enchants, you will simply want to use the gems and enchants that correspond to the best stat for the rotation. However, if you are regularly changing between rotations dependent on fight, you will want to use haste gems and enchants, with Mark of the Thunderlord (Critical Strike) on your weapon.
For low ilvl gear, it is recommended to use Breath enchants and green-quality gems. Switch to blue-quality gems and Gift enchants for better gear that you do not plan to replace as soon.
Clarity of Power Dotweave/Dotless: Mastery (Mark of Bleeding Hollow)
Clarity of Power Lite: Haste (Mark of Warsong)
Auspicious Spirits: Critical Strike (Mark of the Thunderlord)
Void Entropy: Haste (Mark of Warsong)
Talents and Glyphs
What glyphs and talents you use will be dependent on the fight. However, the below is a generally recommended setup that can perform well on all fights:
Level 15: Desperate Prayer or Angelic Bulwark
Level 30: Angelic Feather
Level 45: Insanity
Level 60: Your decision – Void Tendrils is the PvE default
Level 75: Twist of Fate
Level 90: Halo (Cascade for multi-target)
Level 100: Clarity of Power
Glyphs are almost entirely your personal decision. Here are my recommendations:
Glyph of Reflective Shield (minor DPS boost)
Glyph of Shadow Word: Death (gives you something to cast on the move – recommended with dotweave/dotless)
Glyph of Mind Flay
Glyph of Fade (very good if you like your healers)
Glyph of Silence (VERY useful on fights with interrupts)
Glyph of Restored Faith
Glyph of Vampiric Embrace
All of our minor glyphs are purely cosmetic, and offer no combat benefits.
Talent discussion
Though Insanity, Twist of Fate, Halo, and Clarity of Power are considered the “default”, shadow is quite unique in that the level 100 talents can completely change our playstyles, and as such, have different Simcraft rankings – they are basically considered a different specialization. Clarity of Power Dotweave will be your default rotation for single target, and Auspicious Spirits will be the choice for multi-target fights like Blast Furnace. It is currently not recommended to take Void Entropy in any situation. For those who favor a more classical style of play, Clarity of Power Lite is an alternate rotation that will still provide decent single and multi-target damage (it’s what I play!).
In regards to the other talents, Mindbender is a decent choice single target, as is Surge of Darkness for multitarget. It is not recommended to take Shadowy Insight on any fight, but Power Infusion will be a good choice on single target fights where you cannot proc Twist of Fate’s buff.
Rotation
Below I cover each rotation specifically. Remember, you will want to use CoP dotweave single target, and AS multitarget, generally.
Clarity of Power Dotweave
Dotweaving is a rotation using the CoP talent that focuses on “weaving” in our other DoTs during Devouring Plague uptime in order to maximize DPS. At first blush this rotation may appear to be unforgiving and impossible to move with; however, if you learn to anticipate periods of movement, you will still be able to do very good damage.
Mind Blast > Mind Spike > Mind Spike > Mind Spike
Mind Blast > Mind Spike > Mind Spike > Mind Spike
Mind Blast > Mind Spike > Mind Spike > Mind Spike
Mind Blast > Mind Spike > Mind Spike > Shadow Word: Painbr>
Mind Blast > Vampiric Touch > Devouring Plague > Mind Flay (1 GCD)
Mind Blast > Insanity (2 GCDs) > Devouring Plague > Mind Blast > Insanity (1 GCD) > Insanity (2 GCDs)
Reset
Remember to cast your level 90 talent on cooldown (but don’t delay Mind Blast for it).
Execute Rotation
It is not recommended to continue dotweaving in execute, so cast Mind Spike upon entering execute to remove any dots. Your execute rotation will be the below priority:
Shadow Word: Death x2 > Mind Blast > Devouring Plague > Mind Flay
Though that rotation may seem a bit scary, the essentials of it are this:
- Mind Blast is always kept on cooldown
- Shadow Word: Pain and Vampiric Touch are applied to the target before Devouring Plague is cast, so that they will fall off by the time the second plague ends
- Mind Spike is cast as filler when Plague is NOT on the target – Mind flay is the filler when it is
- You do NOT need to maximize Insanity uptime. It is there purely to give some extra oomph while you protect Devouring Plague
Clarity of Power Dotless
CoP dotless is very similar to dotweave, and was the “intended” rotation for CoP. It’s much more forgiving than dotweave, and you may consider it if dotweave is giving you trouble. Your rotation is:
Mind Blast until three OR five orbs > Mind Spike as filler > Devouring Plague > Mind Flay while plague is on the target > > Level 90 talent on cooldown > Reset
You can choose to cast Devouring Plague at three or at five orbs. If you wish to have a large burst of damage at a particular time, then save up for five orbs. This is recommended if you have a trinket or some other cooldown available soon.
Clarity of Power Lite
Clarity of Power Lite is a rotation that plays much more like a classic shadow priest. It is a very high-mobility rotation, and while its damage is lower than dotweave, it is much more fluid. Your rotation is more of a priority, but here’s a guide:
Mind Blast > Shadow Word: Pain > Vampiric Touch > Devouring Plague at 3 orbs > Mind Flay as filler > Level 90 talent on cooldown
In execute, Shadow Word: Death becomes top priority.
Make sure you keep SWP and VT up at all times – do not let them fall off. We no longer need to worry about snapshotting, so get as close to 100% uptime as possible!
Auspicious Spirits
Keep an eye on your orbs when you’re playing AS. Your rotation will be a priority:
Mind Blast > Shadow Word: Pain > Vampiric Touch > Devouring Plague at 3 orbs > Mind Flay as filler > Level 90 talent on cooldown
In execute, Shadow Word: Death becomes top priority.
Void Entropy
Void Entropy has a very high ramp up time. You will want to start with 3 or 5 orbs as often as possible to mitigate this. Your rotation will be the following:
Mind Blast > Shadow Word: Pain > Vampiric Touch > Mind Blast > Mind Flay as filler > Mind Blast > Void Entropy > Mind Flay as filler > Refresh dots as necessary > Mind Blast until 3 orbs > Devouring Plague
In execute, Shadow Word: Death becomes top priority.
You will be able to maintain Void Entropy on a maximum of two targets. You will not need to recast Entropy again unless it falls off. Do not waste Entropy on anything that will not be up for longer than a minute.
AoE
2 – 4 targets: Shadow Word: Pain and Vampiric Touch other targets. Continue main rotation on one target. With Insanity talent, Mind Sear after Devouring Plague.
5+ targets: Mind Sear. With Insanity talent, Mind Blast on cooldown, Mind Sear after Devouring Plague.
Consumables
Food: Savage Feasts will give 100 Haste. 125 stat food matching your stat below:
Clarity of Power Dotweave/Dotless: Sleeper Sushi
Clarity of Power Lite: Buttered Sturgeon
Auspicious Spirits: Pickeled Eel
Void Entropy: Buttered Sturgeon
Flask: Greater Draenic Intellect Flask
Potion: Draenic Intellect Potion
Utility and Other Hints
Dispersion is very powerful for PvE. Use it if you know you’re going to take a lot of damage or if you’re going to mess something up.
Glyph of Restored Faith is very useful on some fights – for example, Blackhand or Operator. Don’t underestimate it!
If you have Glyph of Reflective Shield, anticipate incoming spikes of damage and shield yourself, such as Enfeebling Roar on Twin Ogrons. It’s a boost to your DPS!
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