Topic
(Sticky)
Shadow Beginners Guide for PvP: Itemization
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Edited by Merrik on 3/29/11 4:55 AM (PDT)
UPDATE! (29MAR11)
-My Armory now matches this Guide for your reference. ***This post will only cover Itemization, not Talent Specs or Arena/RBG Teams.*** Stat Priority 1) 4% Hit 2) 195 Spell Penetration (Arenas) or 240 Spell Penetration (Rated BGs) 3) INTELLECT > HASTE > CRIT > MASTERY Itemizing using 100% PVP Gear: Note: The reason a Shadow Priest uses 4/5 Mooncloth, 1/5 satin is for the powerful Mooncloth 4-Piece set bonus of "Snare Suppression for four seconds after casting PW:Shield". The one Satin piece we use is the Helm as it has +Haste which is great for us versus Mooncloth +Mastery. Note #2:: You MUST have 2/2 [Twisted Faith] for this to work, which you should anyway. Your +Hit will come from your +Spirit gear. This guide does not cover how to spec. RARE SET One Piece Satin  Bloodthirsty Gladiator's Satin Hood enchant with  Arcanum of Vicious IntellectFour Piece Mooncloth  Bloodthirsty Gladiator's Mooncloth Mantle enchant with  Greater Inscription of Vicious Intellect Bloodthirsty Gladiator's Mooncloth Robe enchant with  Enchant Chest - Mighty Resilience Bloodthirsty Gladiator's Mooncloth Gloves enchant with Enchant Gloves - Haste Bloodthirsty Gladiator's Mooncloth Leggings enchant with  Powerful Enchanted SpellthreadHaste Items  Bloodthirsty Gladiator's Pendant of Alacrity Bloodthirsty Gladiator's Treads of Alacrity enchant with Enchant Boots - Earthen VitalityAdditional +Spirit Items to Reach 4% Hit (via +Spirit)  Bloodthirsty Gladiator's Band of DominanceSpell Penetration: +195 Arenas or +240 for Rated Battlegrounds  Bloodthirsty Gladiator's D!@%@ of Diffusion enchant with Enchant Cloak - Greater Spell Piercing(More information further down concerning Spell Penetration) Second Ring, Belt and Bracer Bloodthirsty Gladiator's Band of Cruelty Bloodthirsty Gladiator's Cord of Cruelty enchant with  Ebonsteel Belt Buckle Bloodthirsty Gladiator's Cuffs of Prowess enchant with  Enchant Bracer - Mighty Intellect(Use Enchant Bracer - Speed if you cannot afford the  Maelstrom Crystal for Bracers)Trinkets (If you are Human, do not use the CC Breaker. Use double +Resilience.) Trinket Slot #1)  Bloodthirsty Gladiator's Badge of DominanceTrinket Slot #2)  Bloodthirsty Gladiator's Medallion of Tenacityor if Human, use Trinket Slot #2)  Bloodthirsty Gladiator's Insignia of DominanceWeapons  Vicious Gladiator's Spellblade enchant with Enchant Weapon - Power Torrent Vicious Gladiator's Endgame enchant with Enchant Off-Hand - Superior Intellect Vicious Gladiator's Touch of DefeatNote: If you cannot afford the Maelstrom Crystal needed for the Weapon enchant, a great alternative is Enchant Weapon - Hurricane.Note: Why choose a MainHand/OffHand (MH/OH) combo over a Staff? When you enchant your OH with +40 Intellect, you get -7Sta, +35 Int, +69SpellPower, -4 Crit and -4 Resilience versus a Staff. Except for very trivial stat losses, the MH/OH is a much better choice. Finally, Reforge the Chest and Shoulders from +Spirit to +Haste. Reforge the Bracers from +Mastery to +Spirit. Reforge Pants, Belt, CritRing, MainHand, OffHand and Wand from +Crit to +Haste. Why +195/+240 Spell Penetration? We have two "Schools of Magic", those being Holy and Shadow. Holy: As Shadow Priests, we rarely cast offensive Holy spells (such as Shackle Undead on a Death Knight with Lichborne active). Luckily Holy spells are the ONLY "School of Magic" that cannot be influenced by Resistance; it DOES NOT exist. Shadow: The two main Classes we deal with that require Spell Penetration are Priests and Paladins. Both can buff their teammates through a Spell and Aura respectively, that provides +195 Shadow Resistance. This would be the minimum except a Mage with [Mage Armor] active receives an additional +45 Resistances to all "School of Magic" (again, not Holy). This buff stacks with the Priest/Paladin buffs adding up to +240 Shadow Resist, although this is more commonly seen in Rated Battlegrounds versus Arenas. If you do not have +195 Spell Penetration (Arenas) or +240 Spell Penetration (RBGs), your Shadow spells' damage can be reduced dramatically. Gemming/Enchanting Meta Socket:  Burning Shadowspirit DiamondRed Socket and Belt Prismatic:  Brilliant Inferno RubyYellow Socket:  Reckless Ember TopazBlue Socket:  Purified DemonseyeYour final +Hit percentage should be ~4.03%, putting you slightly higher than needed. And it will only compound as you transition to the Epic Itemization. |
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Edited by Merrik on 3/28/11 6:32 AM (PDT)
The following Epic Set will be a summary as the same rules, gemming and enchanting apply (for the most part). I assume at this point a summary is enough versus breaking everything down in detail as you have gained experience and knowledge since gearing your Shadow Priest. The items will be listed in order from Helm down. If there are any changes to item enhancement, it will be noted.
EPIC SET INCLUDING 2200 WEAPONS Vicious Gladiator's Satin HoodBurning Shadowspirit Diamond, Arcanum of Vicious Intellect, Brilliant Inferno Ruby======================================  Vicious Gladiator's Pendant of Alacrity====================================== Vicious Gladiator's Mooncloth MantleGreater Inscription of Vicious Intellect, Reckless Ember Topaz, Reforge Spirit to Haste======================================  Vicious Gladiator's D##!! of DiffusionEnchant Cloak - Greater Intellect====================================== Vicious Gladiator's Mooncloth RobeEnchant Chest - Peerless Stats, Brilliant Inferno Ruby,Reckless Ember Topaz, Reforge Spirit to Haste====================================== Vicious Gladiator's Cuffs of ProwessEnchant Bracer - Mighty Intellect, Reforge Mastery to Haste====================================== Vicious Gladiator's Mooncloth GlovesEnchant Gloves - Haste,  Stormy Ocean Sapphire====================================== Vicious Gladiator's Cord of Cruelty Eternal Belt Buckle, Timeless Demonseye,Brilliant Inferno Ruby, Reforge Crit to Haste====================================== Vicious Gladiator's Mooncloth LeggingsPowerful Enchanted Spellthread, Brilliant Inferno Ruby,Timeless Demonseye, Reforge Crit to Haste====================================== Vicious Gladiator's Treads of AlacrityEnchant Boots - Earthen Vitality, Reckless Ember Topaz======================================  Vicious Gladiator's Band of Cruelty====================================== Vicious Gladiator's Band of Dominance====================================== Vicious Gladiator's Badge of Dominance====================================== Vicious Gladiator's Medallion of TenacityVicious Gladiator's Insignia of Dominance if Human======================================  Vicious Gladiator's SpellbladeEnchant Weapon - Power Torrent, Reforge Crit to Spirit====================================== Vicious Gladiator's EndgameEnchant Off-Hand - Superior Intellect, Reforge Crit to Haste====================================== Vicious Gladiator's Touch of DefeatReforge Crit to Haste ====================================== NOTES OF INTEREST Final +Hit Percentage 4.05% Enchants that changed from Rare to Epic Upgrading Cloak, Chest Gems that changed from Rare to Epic Upgrading All Blue Socket, Gloves, Belt, Pants Reforging that changed from Rare to Epic Upgrading Main Hand Weapon, Bracer Trinket Discussion By this point your Resilience is much higher than when you had a Rare set. There is no rule that says you must have Resilience in both or any Trinket slots. But you should stay above at least 3,000 Resilience, (4.0.6 = 31.50% Damage Reduction). However if you do not use at least one Resilience Trinket, you will fall below 3,000 Resilience. Another non-Human option is to use (Less Resilience, more damage), Trinket Slot #2: Vicious Gladiator's Medallion of Cruelty Reforge Crit to HasteFor Humans, popular alternatives for Trinket Slot #2 are, Vicious Gladiator's Insignia of Dominance Tyrande's Favorite Doll Darkmoon Card: Volcano Reforge Mastery to Haste====================================== I hope this Guide continues to help you. Thank you very much! Battlemaster Merrik Former Rank 13 Alliance Current [High Warlord] |
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2/2 Twisted Faith is actually a relatively prominent choice among top PvP shadow priests. Aside from the obvious 1/1 Spi-Hit conversion and the added OOC regen, many consider it superior to improved mind blast. I personally prefer the added 2% shadow damage over imp MB which, in its current comparatively low-damage state, is very mediocre. Come the patch, this may change, but I don't find myself counting down the seconds on my MB cooldown like I did in wrath.
Aside from that, great guide. You might include the desired 4% hit cap in your early itemization as I see a lot of people requesting information on that in the forums at times. |
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Edited by Merrik on 1/29/11 6:21 AM (PST)
2/2 Twisted Faith is actually a relatively prominent choice among top PvP shadow priests. Aside from the obvious 1/1 Spi-Hit conversion and the added OOC regen, many consider it superior to improved mind blast. I personally prefer the added 2% shadow damage over imp MB which, in its current comparatively low-damage state, is very mediocre. Come the patch, this may change, but I don't find myself counting down the seconds on my MB cooldown like I did in wrath. Thanks for your input! I can see how a flat 2% would prove useful, I just believed a quick CD MB that can maintain a Heal Debuff would be more useful. At the very least, I will admit my being jaded as I really only play Rated BGs these days and that may be why I leaned more towards my choice. By having great input like, it will negate my subjectivity. Awesome post. Voted for sticky and all that stuff. Dusknoir, glad to see ya'. Can you elaborate the choice to take 2/2 [Twisted Faith]? Besides the obvious +2% percent damage, is there itemization difference that allows us to tighten our stats closer, OOC Regen or just a more static way to keep constant DPS compared to having those points elsewhere? As for the Spell Pen, I wasn't going to go into detail but I figured the extra effort might help explain the "bare minimum" +195 and the common +240 Mage. People could then have a better understanding and make their choice. I mainly do Rated BGs myself. I will go adjust a few thing right now as well as add Weapons to the list. Thanks for your input! |
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Very good read, Merrik!
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Good read.
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That is interesting. Normally I forget Spell Penetration and wonder why my damage is also tanking when trying to kill other players sometimes, aside from the constant "resist, resist, resist" ----------------------------------------------- High Damage vs. Survival, is there a magic percentage or amount of resilience where you would notice yourself staying alive much longer through one or two people? For Example: Could after reaching a certain amount of resilience gem int perhaps? I myself would prefer the Survival route because I hate dying more than anything but just curious. As for Twisted Fate with the Twin Disciplines thats an excellent 8% increase. Aside from that it gives me more room to play with gems as well instead of always having to worry about reaching a hit cap. Granted I pvp with some PvE gear because my main spec is Holy PvE and there is spirit all over it, I haven't completely grinded out my entire PvP set for shadow yet but it sure does feel nice not worrying about hit at all. |
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To answer your first question, those "Gem Specs" I listed are a foundation for the individual to build off of. How to Gem in Arenas and RBGs can vary as Dusknoir possibly insinuated. But there is a solid truth to it. You can build off of those specs for your own play style too, which is also what they can be used for. I'm personally sitting at 4130 Resilience and loving it. As for the [Twisted Faith], it can give you more breathing room to itemize, but only slightly. When I began building my set before purchasing any item, I first figured out which items would get me as close as possible to Hit, the SPen. After that, I chose all the Haste items and built around that. Anything Crit or Mastery I was left with was to be reforged. I don't use [Twisted Faith], I'm mainly a RBG'er. My mentality s staying alive as long as possible (situational speaking) versus being able to burn someone down. And when I do worry about burning someone down, I have the help of my team. But that doesn't make me right or wrong. Come next patch when [Mind Blast] damage is substantially increased, people may shift their points back into [Improved Mind Blast] to cast it more often. |
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Nice read, but you'll never make me competent at pvp. Also, voted for sticky.
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no mention of the possibility of 4/5 mooncloth for the new 4p bonus?
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You mention the both a high damage spec and survivability spec. Could you provide a link for each?
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Sticky this naow! Very nice and complete guide.
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Edited by Merrik on 2/1/11 9:55 AM (PST)
By "spec" I meant "Gemming spec". I'm not happy with my current spec. I have Apparitions but I'm unsure I like them for RBGs. I'm still sorting through Recount numbers. I'll get back to you soon though once I research more Arena folks. |
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+40 resi on chest really worth giving up +20 all stats?
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85 Goblin Priest
7880
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You should also provide a list for when double 2pc bonus is being nerfed. Which is when shadow is going to favor 4pc mooncloth instead of satin. Since we will force to take a piece of spirit gear (spirit-hit) we can remove a piece of hit off-piece :)
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The preferred method is +40 Resilience Chest for flat damage reduction versus 200 HP coupled with 20 Int / 20 Spi.
My "Double Dipping" discussion will be reworded for clarity. I tried to say that, lol. Also I don't want to discuss the 4-Piece Mooncloth Bonus until it goes live as it may confuse new players. Wish they would put that on the Satin pieces. |
