Unexperienced shadowpriest needs help!

[Naliek]

Hello forum! I've recently swapped from playing disc to now playing shadow, due to my guild needing me like that.
After reading through both EJ and MMO-champ guides, on how-to-play shadow, I still feel like I have some unanswered questions.

1) If I'm in mana need, would it be more efficient to do a few SW: D than to disperse, due to the lost DPS time? (Obviously dispersion is mainly situational - but say, tank and spank)
2) When Archangel is up, I can't fully spam mind blast and mindflay, due to the short period VT is up. Is it more efficient to let my VT go down for a few seconds, and spam the last mind flays / mind blast, or the other way around?
3) What is the most efficient way to AOE 3-4 targets. Is it to multi-dot with VT and SW:P, then Mind Sear, or? Just Multi-dotting two targets in general. Should I try to keep both VT and SW:P up, and then swap mind flay tagets, so SW:P dont fall off, or what is best?
4) Now that I have DMC: Volcano, is it most efficient to reapply VT and DP with, say, 10-13 seconds left on both, and then reapply right when the 1600 intellect buff is about to run out. Or should I wait untill they are nearly expired (obviously between 2nd last and the last tick), then apply them, for only 1 VT + DP duration? Or how is it most efficient?

Thank you in advance,
Naliek.

[Deleted]

1) SW is not much lower DPS than mindflay, so it's better to SWD than disperse.
2) No, keep dots up at all times.
3) Multidot for less than 5 targets.
4) DP should be refreshed as often possible to maintain highest uptime of the 'stronger' DP. VT requires several procs generally.

[Naliek]

Thanks alot, very helpful :-)

[Zuziza]

3) What is the most efficient way to AOE 3-4 targets. Is it to multi-dot with VT and SW:P, then Mind Sear, or? Just Multi-dotting two targets in general. Should I try to keep both VT and SW:P up, and then swap mind flay tagets, so SW:P dont fall off, or what is best?
4) Now that I have DMC: Volcano, is it most efficient to reapply VT and DP with, say, 10-13 seconds left on both, and then reapply right when the 1600 intellect buff is about to run out. Or should I wait untill they are nearly expired (obviously between 2nd last and the last tick), then apply them, for only 1 VT + DP duration? Or how is it most efficient?

Thank you in advance,
Naliek.

3) Multidotting below 5 like Priestlyone said, and practice until you can manage SW:P and VT on all 4. DP a random one as needed, and yes, switch MF targets so you only have to hard refresh VT. Dummies are a good way to practice this actually, since they're grouped up fairly well now for it in all cities. Lag will mess you up though, so keep that in mind.

4) The proc only last 12 seconds, so compared to the durations of VT and DP, it seems like you're clipping, but this isn't Wrath anymore. You don't reset the tic timer for VT, you just reset the duration and coefficients affecting the debuff when you recast it. That means that if you refresh VT in between two tics, the next tic will happen at the same time anyway, but with the new procs and such that are active (or aren't active) in mind. For VT, you are only sacrificing MF/MB cast time to refresh it for a proc, so as long as the difference in damage done by the tics before you refresh again is greater than the MF lost by the VT cast time, then it's worth refreshing for VT. I'm a bit less sure for DP, but I've always thought of its refresh working the same way (it doesn't affect the timing of the next tic), but you also get the Imp. DP damage when you cast it that also benefits from the Volcano proc. It's pretty much certain that DP is worth refreshing for it at the start and end of the 12 second proc, since it's 1 GCD and you also get the Imp. DP damage to balance the lost of MF tics.

I don't have any tests (with set numbers) in front of me, but we can at least think of how to look at them whether you do them yourself or someone else does for VT. The proc lasts 12 seconds, and VT lasts for 15. If you refresh VT right after the proc starts (maybe 1-2 seconds for cast time and reaction time), you'll have 10 seconds left on the proc and 15 seconds left on VT. If you refresh VT again right before the proc falls off, you'll get ~25 (maybe 23-24 more realistically) seconds of an empowered VT from the proc. You'll have to look at your own haste rating to see how many tics of VT you get in that time. Compare the average increase in tic damage for those ~25 seconds to the average increase in tic damage to MF over the same amount of time. You'll be essentially looking at how much 1 tic of MF typically increases in damage with the same proc, then comparing it to how much damage you'd get from tics of VT instead. What you want to find out is whether the total damage for 2 VT cast times worth (one right after the proc, and another just before it falls off) of MF with Volcano or the total bonus damage from ~24 seconds of VT tics with Volcano is greater. Quartz makes it easy to see just how long each of your casts is, so it shouldn't be difficult to test on some dummies if you have that. The reason you have to test this for your gear is because your haste is going to affect the result. A newly dinged 85 spriest (with the one Volcano trinket) is going to have very different results from someone in full 372 BiS.

It seems stupid complicated in a paragraph, so here's what you're looking at to compare when Volcano procs:
-How much extra damage do you get from MF in the time it takes to cast VT twice. (Estimated about 3-4 seconds worth of MF tics.)
-How much extra damage do you get from VT tics in ~24 seconds.

This test works for pretty much all other procs, but Volcano is by far the biggest one we consider. (PT is only 500 Intellect.) Keep in mind that if you have PT, it usually procs with Volcano because they have the same ICD. Micromanaging it for every proc you have available can be tedious, but it'd be worth it.

[Naliek]

Thank's a lot! This is of huge help to me, trying to min/max. Greatly appreciated! :-)