Topic
The Shadow Priest Thread
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Edited by Vyroxx on 1/8/12 8:36 AM (PST)
I wanted to be like Nyler and make my own thread since I don't really turn to any forums to make decisions based off of information I've found there because it's pretty much completely useless. But I'm going to go miles ahead of him :).
General Overview of the Shadow Priest Class Talents http://us.battle.net/wow/en/tool/talent-calculator#Xc02!Yhd!!kgkThZhTaSd!bfhRjPlOp - I like to use this for Hagara. This allows me to go inside the bubble without having the movement speed hinderance. http://us.battle.net/wow/en/tool/talent-calculator#Xc02!Yhe!!kgkTbZhTaSd!bfhRjPlOp - The only spec to go for PvE really. Glyphs Prime - Mind Flay, Shadow Word: Pain, Shadow Word: Death // Situational: Dispersion Major - Fade // Situational: Mass Dispel, Psychic Scream, Spirit Tap, Inner Fire Minor - Fading, Levitate, Fortitude, Shadow *The only glyphs that actually give you a DPS increase are the prime glyphs. All Major glyphs are situational. BIS Gear Normal Dragon Soul Head -  Hood of Dying LightNeck -  Flowform ChokerShoulder-  Mantle of Dying LightBack -  Woundlicker CoverChest -  Robes of Dying LightWrist -  Dreamwraps of the LightHands -  Gloves of Liquid SmokeWaist -  Cord of the Slain ChampionLegs -  Leggings of Dying LightFeet -  Splinterfoot SandalsRings -  Signet of Suturing Ring of the RivenTrinkets -  Cunning of the Cruel Will of UnbindingWeapon -  Dragonwrath, Tarecgosa's RestRanged -  Finger of Zon'ozzHeroic Dragon Soul Head - Hood of Dying LightNeck -  Petrified Fungal HeartShoulder- Mantle of Dying LightBack - Woundlicker CoverChest - Robes of Dying LightWrist -  Bracers of the BanishedHands - Gloves of Liquid SmokeWaist - Cord of the Slain ChampionLegs - Leggings of Dying LightFeet -  Janglespur JackbootsRings - Ring of the Riven Signet of SuturingTrinkets - Cunning of the Cruel Will of UnbindingWeapon - Dragonwrath, Tarecgosa's RestRanged - Finger of Zon'ozzWhat are the best enchants? Head - 60 Intellect 35 Crit Shoulder - 50 Intellect 25 Haste Back - 50 Intellect Chest - 20 Stats Wrist - 50 Intellect Hands - Either 50 Haste or 65 Mastery depending on if you reach a breakpoint with Haste or not. Legs - 95 Intellect 50 Spirit Feet - 35 Mastery Minor Movement Speed Weapon - Power Torrent Off-Hand (if applicable) - 40 Intellect What are the best gems? Meta - Burning Shadow Spirit Red - 50 Intellect Orange - Depending on how you're reforging your gear and if you have 4pc T13, you'll either want to go with 25 Intellect 25 Haste or 25 Intellect 25 Mastery. Purple - There are no blue slots in full BIS Dragon Soul gear, but if you find yourself with one in your current gear you'll want to go with 25 Intellect 25 Spirit. What are the best professions? Currently Blacksmithing and Tailoring are the best professions. The next professions that are better are all equal and they include Engineering, Alchemy, Inscription, Leatherworking and Enchanting. Since they have not fixed the Jewelcrafting gems, Jewelcrafting is currently the worst profession if you're in full epic gems. Reforging and Rotations I've found that for fights like Morchok, Yor'sahj and Warmaster that haste is the way to go with 4pc. Using the breakpoint 3202 is the best way to go about this if possible but if you can't hit that it's still more beneficial to do it. For fights like Hagara, Zon'ozz and Ultraxion I've found that Mastery > Haste > Crit excels. This is with reforging down to around 2284 haste (no lower). This is your breakpoint assuming you're recieving Dark Intent. Obviously using the new opener is more beneficial but I've found that the only real DPS increase comes from spiking off dots only when AA/Sfiend are up at the same time and it is definitely worth it to wait 10-20 seconds for them to line up. This hasn't been a problem for me on Ultraxion yet but I've found it to be one on all the other encounters I've tried. The rotation I've been using with my mastery reforging is prepot, MFlay to 5 stacks of Dark Evangelism and then I pop Berserking SFiend and AA and start Mind Spiking/Mind Blasting. MSx3 MB, MSx4-5 (Depending on how many you can fit into rotation depending on procs and if you have Bloodlust up) Mindblast, MSx4-5 Mindblast. It always more beneficial to finish off the AA instead of stopping the Mindspikes when SFiend is over. This is because when you're putting up DoTs they do not benefit from the Dark Archangel buff and you'll have Empowered Shadows when you're putting up your dots after Dark Archangel has expired anyways. Any information or asking for help is appreciated as this is a theorycrafting thread! |
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I'm at a dilemma with my current gear choices. Maybe you could help me out a little bit.
What I'm wearing now is what I feel was optimal out of everything I have, but heres a list of everything else I have sitting in my bags that I could use. Mantle of Dying Light Gloves of Liquid Smoke Chelley's Sterilized Scalpel Goblet of AngerIf I could get my hands on the main hand from morchok or the offhand from Ultraxion I would switch weapons, and that would give me a bunch more spirit to let me use the shoulders/gloves too. I feel that the current one's I have just drops me down too much spell power wise. Do you refresh your dots on procs, if so which procs? |
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Edited by Vyroxx on 1/8/12 10:56 AM (PST)
I'd definitely switch out the T12 shoulders for T13 and use the Gloves of Liquid Smoke as your off-piece. It's better.
Definitely use Scalpal/Goblet. Even if the Goblet is 378, it's still better to use it. The Madness staff is complete garbage. With the Goblet you should have enough spirit to reach the hit cap. It makes up for the spirit you lose from the gloves. Plus you can reforge the gloves from Crit to Spirit which will make up for it also. If you have any other trinket I'd look into replacing that DMC:V. If you have Necromantic Focus or VPLC that would be a much better alternative to using DMC:V. Also another item I'd recommend to pick up is the Band of Reconstruction from Valor Points. It is much better than Crystal Prison Band and will allow you to pick up some more spirit as well for when you switch weapons. I really only refresh my dots if I put them up before Empowered Shadows which is only on the opener. Or if Power Torrent, Lightweave and my trinket line up then I'll refresh VT/DP. Most of the time it's a DPS loss to waste a global to refresh them when you can use MFlay/Mind Blast that benefit from these procs immediately. |
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Edited by Vampiroth on 1/8/12 11:01 AM (PST)
Even with the Liquid Smoke being raid finder? I already have them all enchanted and gemmed, reforged to spirit. When I get time to log back in I'll post the stat difference. I think the spell power difference was pretty big though. Thanks for the tips!
I have been wanting to get away from the haste procs. I prefer passive haste, and wanted to get to the 3202 mark. |
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Edited by Vyroxx on 1/8/12 11:49 AM (PST)
Oh wow, I didn't even realize they were LFR haha, my bad. Herpity derp on my part. They must've taken the Raid Finder green text away on the armory haha.
Edit: Yeah I'd say keep using T12 Shoulders/T13 Gloves until you get 403 Gloves of Liquid Smoke. |
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assuming you're receiving Dark Intent. Reading this in nearly 90% of every spriest "howto" threads brings a tear to my eye. The sad part is, progressive raiding we have 1 warlock, I jump into LFR and there is 9 of them. My head wants to explode. |
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Haha I make our warlocks give me DI.
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Edited by Vampiroth on 1/8/12 4:02 PM (PST)
Current setup
Spell Power: 10056 Haste: 31.05% Hit: 16.61% Crit: 14.40% Mastery: 13.24 W/ Shoulders + Gloves Spell Power: 10137 Haste: 30.18% Hit: 15.24% Crit: 14.99% Mastery: 13.69 W/ Shoulders + Gloves + Weapons Spell Power: 9774 Haste: 31.97% Hit: 16.57% Crit: 15.35% Mastery: 14.40% W/ t12 shoulders + 13 gloves and Weapons Spell Power: 9693 Haste: 32.85% Hit: 17.95 (Could reforge out of spirit, to lazy to run to the npc though) Crit: 14.76% Mastery: 13.96 It just seems like every option I take I lose way to much spell power, or hit. The best thing I could do I guess would be get the offhand from Ultraxion, seeing as I would still have a hit problem with the main hand from Morchok. And I also raid without DI. QQ |
He's a champ when it comes to !@#$%. Too bad our only raiding warlock doesn't have one. |
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No persuasion. I just tell them to DI me and the do.
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o hai! bump to my leet and favorite spriest in the world, napkins!! :D
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Oh, that hurts man.
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When you are spiking do you wait for the 3 orbs to mind blast or just go ahead and use it instantly after that spike? I've noticed if I hit it too fast I don't consume shadow orbs. I would assume that it is best to wait as even if you do wait you should still have 3 orbs up for the next spike, right?
I did lfr early just to play around with this and noticed the damage from spiking and mind blast is massive. Spike is higher than dots even with haste not reforged away, and only using it during sf. |
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Edited by Vyroxx on 1/14/12 12:09 PM (PST)
Well, for spine I don't worry about it too much since I'm pushing as much damage as possible.
But as far as Spiking/Blasting, your blast will never get the orbs because it's instant. Your MS will eat the orbs before your MBlast, but if your last MS doesn't eat them then obviously your MB will. It's not worth it to wait for the Orb if you have an instant mindblast. What you can do is create a macro like the following: /cancelaura Mind Melt /cancelaura Mind Melt This is to ensure that your mindblast will most definitely get the 3 orb proc with the 3 mindspike debuffs. I haven't tested it out too much except for one fight and I really didn't notice a huge difference. I honestly think that it's more beneficial to just spam MS/MB until Archangel is over rather than waiting for the Mind Blast orbs. You'll miss out on your third MB with AA. As far as the MS/MB rotation goes, depending on your RNG and if you're raid is losing lust it could be massively better than the normal rotation. |
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Guys, can you check my specs and see if I need to change anything? I'm using the MS/MB on openers like this: pot -> mind flay until 5 stacks of archangel -> AA -> shadowfiend -> MS x 2 -> MB -> MS x 3 -> MB -> MS x2 (will have one last MB with orbs which I save after I apply dots) -> VT -> SP -> DP -> MB (saved from before to make sure I have empowerment on future immediate dots). I definitely see a nice dps increase.
My problem/questions relate to the haste cap and also 2nd most important stat (mastery vs. crit). I get DI in raid and I'm wondering if I should reforge haste away until I reach 2284 since right now I have 2904 and cannot reach the magical 3202 haste cap. I think the above MS/MB rotation would benefit greatly with the increased mastery (or maybe crit as some people told me and cannot come to a conclusion). Here are my questions: 1. Haste rating: shall I keep it the way it is or reforge down to 2284 (I get DI in raids) and bump my mastery (or crit) rating? 2. If the recommendation is stack as much haste as possible, is mastery my 2nd best stat or shall I reforge to crit? (some people told me crit because of the trinkets I use do not no have mastery) 3. I should probably change the haste enchantment I have in my gloves to mastery +65 since I'm not close to get to the 3202 haste cap / same with the gem I'm using in my ring Seal of the Grand Architect (will use the int + haste gem). 4. Any other recommendations? I checked the best priest on world of logs and see people capping haste at 2589, people stacking haste as much as possible, people having very low haste and mastery 20+ rating, too many variables!!! I checked all best dps and could not come to a final conclusion. Also, looks like a lot of them are using the Baleroc H trinket as opposed to the ones I use (which I believe they are BIS for us at normal/heroic versions). Anyways, your help will be greatly appreciated!! I spent hours reading and also trying reforge combinations! Thanks!! :) |
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Any thoughts????? :)
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Vyroxx probably has a better answer for you than I do, but my recommendation would be that switch the glove enchant regardless. If you plan on spiking you should for sure reforge that haste into mastery or take off reforges that reforge away mastery. You could get the valor ring that has spirit + mastery on it for a mastery set as well, just be sure you do not go lower than 2284 haste with DI.
If you plan on not using the spike rotation on some fights then I would recommend you keep your haste. If you are going to reforge per fight then yes go ahead and reforge after Morchok. As far as trinkets go, Cunning of the Cruel even on LFR is better than everything out of normal dragonsoul minus Will of Unbinding. I would personally keep using both of those trinkets, but I could be wrong here. |
