1. #1

    Shadow Priests and procs

    Re-typed >,<

    Hello all!

    Leveling my first priest and I've come to realize that Shadow spec have no procs to watch out for and must be talented, namely FDCL and Divine Insight. If memory serves, every other spec in the game has atleast one thing to keep an eye out on (Arms and Sudden Death, Surv and LnL, Frost DK and their horrible proc-based play, etc). Having a blast right now with my tentacled buddy Mindbender as he rapes 5-6 targets dotted up while glued to the floor with Void Tendrils. I'd hate to give him up for the supposedly superior single-target Insanity or the recently nerfed Mind Spike procs; would've been nice if FDCL was baseline.
    Definitely choosing Divine Insight over Power Infusion, as I like the idea of Shadow not being super reliant on burst cooldowns, and insta-cast MB seem too good to pass up. I just hate the idea of having to choose between the two. Twist of Fate seems great for leveling and battleground, but again I have to to give up on a proc. Leveling w/out something to watch out for other than a 3-Orb DP gets... mundane after awhile.

    TLDR- Not having any baseline proc kind of blows, for me atleast. Do you guys think its fine/bad talent design?

    -Terminal Lance
    Last edited by Terminal Lance; 2013-04-07 at 04:59 AM.

  2. #2
    Bloodsail Admiral Frmercury's Avatar
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    Tell that to everyone who cried hard in 5.0 when FDCL + DI was commonplace.

  3. #3
    Fluffy Kitten Yvaelle's Avatar
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    I dislike the randomness of proc-play, with that said - my main alt is a death knight!

    For solo play I definitely wouldn't give up Mindbender for FDCL, Mindbender is awesome

    Similarly - Insanity is really good, but its only really good if you aren't getting knocked back constantly - which probably means you arent soloing / questing / low-level dungeoning.

    Stick with Mindbender imo! Even if he dies, you get delicious sushi! (I'm super hungry and thinking about sushi)


    Edit: Also, know that you can use Mindbender / Shadowfiend as tanks by popping them and then Fading - the mobs will punch your pet - and our pets are borderline immortal - outside of being one-shot you can't outdps their regen.
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  4. #4
    Wish I can upvote comments! Sushi does sound good right now!! With that said, still can't see my priest w/out Mindbender. And Insanity, while I haven't tried it myself, seems like it would only be good on low movement fights (and not that great on mass pull leveling, and I'm still leveling).

  5. #5
    Bloodsail Admiral Frmercury's Avatar
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    When leveling I went with Mindbender + DI. DI = more DP = more self healing.

    Mindbender + Fade is where it's at. At 90 Void Tendrils + Divine Star is fan-tas-tic.

    Shadow is probably the best solo DPS out there, especially for leveling.

  6. #6
    Wow I never really thought about using Fade when busting out Omastar (that's what I named him). Then again I've never really needed it w/ PW: Barrier shielding me for more than my health at the moment + Dark Binding Renew. I'll keep this in mind!

    I've also been hearing that Divine Star is the best of the Lv90 talents, but w/ its short CD is it worth using on single target? Seems like alot of global cooldowns that I can use for something else.

  7. #7
    The only time you use Dstar for single target is when moving and you have no procs. Dstar is also really good on progression fights where healing is tough and your whole raid is stacked.
    Hi Sephurik

  8. #8
    How about Cascade? I'm at 70 right now, and (goin w/ the tooltip again) it looks like it deals atleast twice as much damage as Mind Blast when used at maximum range, is instant cast and on a longer cooldown. Does the damage between the two spells remain relatively the same at Lv90, and is it worth using as a single target?

    ---------- Post added 2013-04-08 at 01:01 PM ----------

    To elaborate more, my Mind Blast right now is hitting for about 3.8k. Cascade's tooltip is reading at 7.7k damage at max range, so about x2 damage of MB. So for example, if at 90 my Mind Blast starts hitting for, say 40k, does Cascade scale relatively the same and hit for 80k-ish? I'm guessing not, that's pretty absurd for an AoE spell no?

  9. #9
    Deleted
    Quote Originally Posted by Terminal Lance View Post
    How about Cascade? I'm at 70 right now, and (goin w/ the tooltip again) it looks like it deals atleast twice as much damage as Mind Blast when used at maximum range, is instant cast and on a longer cooldown. Does the damage between the two spells remain relatively the same at Lv90, and is it worth using as a single target?
    For the record, my own priest is levelling in Pandaria so I don't have first hand experience, but this is what Icy Veins has to say:

    Quote Originally Posted by Icy-Veins Shadow Priest Guide
    If the targets are spread out, then you will want Cascade.
    If the targets are stacked loosely (ideally in a line, although we cannot quite see this happening very often), then Divine Star can shine.
    Finally, Halo will work well if the targets are close to each other.

    If you are using these talents exclusively against a single target (in which case they will all hit their target), then Halo provides the highest DPS.
    Bare in mind that Halo's DPS is maximised around the 35 yrd range with both being closer and further decreasing damage (so, if you're not exactly 35 yards away from the target, say you're 25 or 39, it won't be hit for the maximum possible damage) so if you cannot reach that 35 yard spot consistantly... Ok, here's where my knowledge runs out, but common sense suggests that if you can't reach 35 yards on single target consistantly, choosing Cascade would seem the best choice.

    As for the ability to remove procs from the spec if you wish, I rather like it, but I'm more drawn towards methodical specs (Shadow, Destruction, Arcane) than chaotic procc-y specs (either Frosts, Divine Purpose Retri, etc)
    Last edited by mmoc95c4570f6c; 2013-04-08 at 02:55 PM.

  10. #10
    Deleted
    Quote Originally Posted by Queen Ultima View Post
    Bare in mind that Halo's DPS is maximised around the 35 yrd range with both being closer and further decreasing damage (so, if you're not exactly 35 yards away from the target, say you're 25 or 39, it won't be hit for the maximum possible damage) so if you cannot reach that 35 yard spot consistantly... Ok, here's where my knowledge runs out, but common sense suggests that if you can't reach 35 yards on single target consistantly, choosing Cascade would seem the best choice.
    There's an addon for that.

  11. #11
    Also, 35 yards is incorrect. It's 25 yards. Even at 30 yards Halo will completely miss the target. HaloPro will give you proper range for max damage.

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Queen Ultima View Post
    For the record, my own priest is levelling in Pandaria so I don't have first hand experience, but this is what Icy Veins has to say:



    Bare in mind that Halo's DPS is maximised around the 35 yrd range with both being closer and further decreasing damage (so, if you're not exactly 35 yards away from the target, say you're 25 or 39, it won't be hit for the maximum possible damage) so if you cannot reach that 35 yard spot consistantly... Ok, here's where my knowledge runs out, but common sense suggests that if you can't reach 35 yards on single target consistantly, choosing Cascade would seem the best choice.

    As for the ability to remove procs from the spec if you wish, I rather like it, but I'm more drawn towards methodical specs (Shadow, Destruction, Arcane) than chaotic procc-y specs (either Frosts, Divine Purpose Retri, etc)
    This largely depends on the distance from the target:

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  13. #13
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    Seems consistent with my normal speccing - if you're going to be in melee range or running around a lot then spec DS (this is also best for self heals). Otherwise spec halo. Cascade is really situational, only worth it when there are lots of adds to bounce it off.

    For 5 mans and solo I always spec DS (for the heals mostly).

  14. #14
    @Ati, thanks for the add-on info! I'll be sure to download that once I hit 90.
    OT, just hit 75 last night and I chose Divine Insight (as Shadow). The proc chance seems pretty low, I'd be lucky to get 1 proc per boss fight, and tanks kill mobs so quick at this level that I don't have time to multi-dot. Does it get any better once I hit 80 where I get the Mastery?

  15. #15
    Fluffy Kitten Yvaelle's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Terminal Lance View Post
    @Ati, thanks for the add-on info! I'll be sure to download that once I hit 90.
    OT, just hit 75 last night and I chose Divine Insight (as Shadow). The proc chance seems pretty low, I'd be lucky to get 1 proc per boss fight, and tanks kill mobs so quick at this level that I don't have time to multi-dot. Does it get any better once I hit 80 where I get the Mastery?
    Mastery helps DI a LOT, for leveling I would probably recommend Twist of Fate, as you will frequently be damaging things dying and thus gaining a near-constant 15% damage buff
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