Shadow Ideas

[Cayumi]

Just wanted to share some thoughts and ideas I've had about Shadow, to improve our class and gameplay:

Baseline changes:

- Make Shadow Word: Death a baseline ability
- Make the concept of Shadow Word: Void baseline, incorporated into Mind Blast


Void Form abilities / changes

- Void Implosion.
Releases an explosive blast of pure void energy, de-activating Voidform and causing [the same damage as Void Eruption] Shadow damage to all enemies within 10 yds of your target. Basically the exact opposite of Void Eruption, letting you effectively cancel Void Form for another AoE burst and going back to building insanity for the next Void Form.

- Devouring Plague
Bring back this heavy third dot, now only castable in Void Form, costs 10-15 insanity to cast. Make it longer than it was at the end (at least 15-20 seconds) making us work around keeping it up by managing our Void Form and insanity.


I think these changes will first of all fix our baseline problems with the rotation regarding Void Bolt and Mind Blast coming of cooldown at the same time a lot, forcing people to spec Shadow Word: Void.
Making Shadow Word: Death baseline will make us better at execute and should never have been converted to a talent in the first place.

Void Implosion makes for a lot of flexibility in our playstyle, letting us consume the power we’ve gathered, and always using it before your Void Form ends could be a fun mechanic and would improve our damage both AoE and ST.

Bringing back Devouring Plague, in an altered state (but still as a third and our most powerful dot), is something that would greatly benefit our class and the feel of playing it. Making it cost insanity is to not make it too powerful as you won’t be able to put DP on countless targets without losing your Void Form.

Scenario: Enter Void Form, put out DPs between Void Bolts, before loosing Void Form you cast Implosion. Once out you DA for another Eruption. Sounds like great fun to me.

[Pregnant Orc]

Making Devouring Plague a Voidform only ability will make Dark Ascension part of the opener to get it rolling as soon as possible and because of that it will be a mandatory talent selection.
DP as the strongest DoT and VF only without DA in the opener would cement our long ramp up time and hurt in short encounters and trash fights making us suffer while questing and in dungeons.

So either make DA part of the base kit or make DP available outside of voidform for this suggestion is my recommendation.

[Ryshan]

In my Oppinion the design of Voidform is a problem.

I get the idea and have to admit that it sounds fun but in reality it just isn't.

The things i like about Voidform:

- The activation ( Void Eruption is a cool looking spell, cast time is a bit high )
- Void Bolt ( like to have a instant variant of MB )
- The look is also pretty nice.

The main problem i have with Void Form is that its impractical.
The ever increasing insanity drain makes it feel clunky. (Either get rid of the drain or make VF cancelable)

##############################################

My wish for shadow would be to return to (not so unique but effektiv ) Builder Spender Playstyle

This kind of playstyle is easy to handle while also giving players the opportunity to bank ressources for specific phases in encounters.
VF can stay but I would prefer to have it in the form of a strong baseline cooldown.

Dont have specific ideas about what spells would make for a good insanity spender. But hopefully others have a soultion for that.

[Ophenia]

Devouring Plague should be an alternative to Voidform gameplay. An option to delay Voidform without being in this wet-noodle dps state if we ever chose to delay the Voidform or not use it.

[Severusss]

I want Devouring Plague back in the form of a replacement for mass hysteria. Something like when you void erupt it puts devouring plague on all targets hit. It stays up for the duration of voidform and falls off when you drop out of it. Make it tick for more and more, increasing with each stack of voidform.

[sd2400533]

Just wanted to share some thoughts and ideas I've had about Shadow, to improve our class and gameplay:

Baseline changes:

- Make Shadow Word: Death a baseline ability
- Make the concept of Shadow Word: Void baseline, incorporated into Mind Blast

Agreed.

I reckon activate VF should only refresh all your DoTs and instant cast, but Replace your mind sear with Void Eruption. Void Eruption: attack all targets within 10 yards dealing X amount of Shadow damage, 4 sec CD.

I just think Void eruption has one of if not the best spell animation in game, it is a real shame we could cast it more often.

[Thelxi]

My idea is more aggressive but simple: turn void form into a 2 minute dps cooldown either baseline or on the talent tree somewhere so that people can really never see it again if they don't want to. With that out of the way, add another dot to the rotation to fill the... void left behind. A dot that maybe interacts with resources somehow? this one is a real brain teaser idk.

I would also support Blizzard's decision to get rid of "insanity" since now a couple of years later the whole concept of my priest going insane rotationally still hasn't quite convinced me. Maybe replace it with another resource like.. balls? spheres? idk another brain teaser right here. But hey, Blizzard had years to figure this out I am sure the end product of the promised shadow rework will reflect that.

[sourlol]

When we had shadow orbs our biggest complaints were ramp up time and no 3 min cds (beyond fiend).

If blizzard reintroduced orbs and DP (up to 5, consuming 3, with 2/3 as the default charge up—like soul shards), brought back death baseline, and made Voidform into a 3 min CD (basically just give us Dark Assension)—I’d be pretty happy.

Shadow talents have typically been compelling, altering your play style or needing to be swapped per fight—I have little worry Blizzard will come up with cool talents. But our baseline gameplay just needs to be Cata/MoP but optimized for fun (tune the numbers to where you want them—I don’t give a shit if we are 1st or last, just make us fun to play).

[Deleted]

When we had shadow orbs our biggest complaints were ramp up time and no 3 min cds (beyond fiend).

The "ramp up" of shadow orbs was so damned tedious after wipes, having to pray for procs from the tornado cow pet on your way to the boss or zoning back into the instance then immediately leaving the instance to tag any mob in sight was just so dumb. Genuinely cannot complain about getting free Twist of Fate procs from the cow tornado though during the boss fight, that was amazing even if it was only once or twice a fight.

It's mind boggling why they never truly added the blatantly obvious fix of casually generating 2 orbs out of combat like warlock embers but i think towards the end blizzard were well aware of this issue, think back to HFC the last raid we ever had with orbs, HFA area had target dummies you could build up on, not as great a fix as the casually generate 2 orbs out of combat but it was something.
Was this just a coincidence the dummies were there or was this blizzards short "bandaid fix" knowing full well we were losing orbs in legion so they didn't bother changing it?

I want to say it was the latter and if they did bring back shadow orbs i would want to say they would add this feature into it, but experience tells me they will have forgot clean all about this issue and it would take mass complaining before it was eventually added (if ever).

[sourlol]

@Clearcut

Blizzard class design isn’t unified and feels very silo’d. They consistently cart out terrible ideas, force them for an expansion—realize they are shit, and remove them...only to bring them out again, under a different name 2 expansions later—to all of the same gripes.

I used to look forward to the massive changes to every spec that came with each expansion. I guess I assumed they followed philosophy of fix what’s broken, and improve what isnt. A lot of what I’ve witnessed and played since MOP feels a lot more closer to change for changes sake.

[Deleted]

I used to look forward to the massive changes to every spec that came with each expansion. I guess I assumed they followed philosophy of fix what’s broken, and improve what isnt. A lot of what I’ve witnessed and played since MOP feels a lot more closer to change for changes sake.

That is the unfortunate absolute truth of the class design for most classes over the past few years and it is terrible.

[sd2400533]

- Devouring Plague
Bring back this heavy third dot, now only castable in Void Form, costs 10-15 insanity to cast. Make it longer than it was at the end (at least 15-20 seconds) making us work around keeping it up by managing our Void Form and insanity.


Bringing back Devouring Plague

Just in case you havent noticed, Shadow priest's spec fantacy is VOID now, XXX plague doesnt fit in to void theme therefore is not possible to be added.

[Craaazyyy]

Just in case you havent noticed, Shadow priest's spec fantacy is VOID now, XXX plague doesnt fit in to void theme therefore is not possible to be added.

everything is possible, rename it

also fuck spec fantasy

[Ophenia]

Just in case you havent noticed, Shadow priest's spec fantacy is VOID now, XXX plague doesnt fit in to void theme therefore is not possible to be added.

Great, bring it back, call it "Phantom Singularity", rename the Afflock "Phantom Singularity" by "Devouring Plague" (guess that fits "Affliction" fantasy along "Corruption", "Agony" and "Unstable Affliction"), and all your problems are magically solved.

Especially when a "Plague" seems kinda likely to AoE.

[Jedimindtrx]

OnT: I think in order to make Voidform AND Devouring Plague work, Voidform needs to be reworked into a steroid CD very similar to Incarnation: Chosen of the Elune for Druids.

Also depends which iteration of DP you like, OP suggests maintain the dot version during VF, BUT I prefer the only on one target version for big DOT ST target. I WANT DP to feel like a 100 Earthshock, Full Moon, Chaosbolt, 3x Unstable Affliction, 100 stacked Life Drain, or Glacial Spike. It needs to have that gravity of importance and damage for me. I play those other specs and it's satisfying, not always the best viability wise, but enjoyable.

DEVOURING PLAGUE
Instant | 90 resource
Only one target at a time. If target has VT & SWP, those DOTS do their entire quicker.
Target receives 25% healing redux.
If dispelled, player receives 50% healing redux.
Lasts 8secs.
- DP acts as (1) Big DOT dmg (2) buffs VT & SWP giving more ticks (3) mortal strike
- This gives good functionality in PVE and PVP

Void Eruption
2s cast time | 60 resource
Same tooltip, but no longer goes into VF.
Acts as baseline AOE.

Dark Ascension
Instant | 2 charges | 20 recharge
Talent. Replaces Void Eruption
Removes resource requirement for VEruption.

VOIDFORM
Baseline| 3min CD
Void Erupt and assume a Voidform granting new abilities (Voidbolt)
Generates 60 resource.
Shadow and Void damage increased by 25% Haste increased by 25%.
Last 30secs.

********************
CORE GAMEPLAY | OG Shadowpriest style
Cast VT, SWP, MB, flayflaylflay, SWD during Execute
Spender A: BOOM Devouring Plague
Spender B: BOOM VEruption

OPENER on BOSS
MB, VT, SWP, VOIDFORM (which VErupts for free), DAscension, DAscension, MB, VB, flay,flay, DP.

Now that is real burst. It's not Overpowered because the DAscensions have to recharge. You won't see VOIDFORM for another 3min.

There, I have created a Boomkin in Shadowpriest form essentially, without ridding of Blizz's precious Voidform.

********************
Adding this in because I want to promote my dream Shadowpriest

DARK APOTHEOSIS
Talent | 2 min CD
Replaces Voidform.
Assumes a Dark Apotheosis form granting empowered abilities (Mindbeam). (Think of the Holy Apotheosis but Purple. reeee)
Can move during Mindflay. Mindblast turns into Mindbeam. (Think of it like Super Hadouken or Kamehameha but Purple. reee)
Shadow Damage increased by 25%. Fully casted Mindflays increase haste by 5% stacking up to 50%.
Last 20 secs.

Basically focused around CORE GAMEPLAY but accentuating the LAZZZZERBEAMZ <3

[RsinRC]

Literally had the same exact points i made in one of these threads. Brings it back to old school SP but instead if orbs, yu'd use insanity, VErupt as the aoe spender and dp for st.

Dark Apotheoses sounds nice. I'd be happy with STM enhancing the VF CD.

My ideas,

I would make SWD baseline again and replace the talent with SP's legendary cape from Legion with the added bonus of spread damage to close adds. Only to keep it in line with it being in the AoE tier. And to give our rotation a bit of spice.

I'd change LotV into a dot enhancing CD to give our dots flavor and replacing VF. Your next DP's DoT damage increases by 100%, refreshing your dots and increasing their tick rate by 100% 1.5m cd. (Gives us a new playstyle dynamic)

I'd leave VTor as a talent but can only be used after a DP.

Switch out San'layn with spectral guise.

Make San'layn give VT a leech debuff that heals you on Direct damage and increases DP's healing by 25% replacing last word.


As much as I'd like mindspike I'm on the fence with it. I would instead like a version of mindspike where it would inject your dots with bonus damage.

I'd completely redesign Dispersion. You gain 100% DR for the 1st second dropping 20% every second but you gain 20% dodge every second, lasting 5s and then completely dispersing into literal void energy where you disappear into thin air for the next 2 seconds (basically untargettable to the enemy for 2s). I always felt dispersion reducing damage was weird since you basically become a cloud of shadow energy.

I would completely move away fron shadowpriests having a tankish style of gameplay to an evasive/mobile play style thru a basic mix of cc, escapes and defensives. Also completely taking away hardcasting heals and turning our heals into a proc or insta heals like shaman while having insanity.

I'd remove SWV but increase MB's damage and insanity gain baseline but not by much and give VF's version of Mindblast 2 charges.

PWS completely redesigned with new animation. PWS morphs into PW:Void a Void shield that heals all damage taken in the next 2 seconds over time. Adds a great sense of skill when used correctly.

1 of our pvp talents should give mind blast's crits a root that lasts 4s

I can keep going but i'm currently tired.

Needless to say, infinite amount of ideas.

[sd2400533]

Its over guys, PTR raid testing has begun and still no tuning no rework no changes for shadow.