Hello,
I am a pretty new player and most of my playtime is Friday-Sunday. I decided to proceed with a Shadow Priest character after seeing some videos Publik has on the spec. I think the play style is pretty cool but I feel as if I am just doing something wrong.
I’m playing through the BFA questline so I can appreciate the story a bit. Even though I’m currently level 28 I don’t feel much more powerful than I did at level 12. My character feels weak and I don’t think I am where I should be. I know the Icy Veins rotation and stuff but my DPS seems pretty low. My Mind Flay seems to be doing more damage than my Devouring Plague and other DOTs combined.
Not sure if this is likely due to really low item level/gear or if I just have to “git gud”.
First, because of level scaling, you don’t really feel more powerful as you gain levels. In fact, you can sometime feel the opposite effect. At early levels, things are tuned easier and stuff dies faster mainly to account for the fact that most classes are still missing key tools. Once you get a bit higher, mobs have more hitpoints relative to your damage.
The game is balanced around end game, not leveling. Shadow is unfortunately an awkward spec for leveling, due largely to the fact that so much of it’s damage is tied up in dots (which while leveling often don’t get to fully tick before a mob dies.) In general, it’s about finding the best way to level for a spec.
Because of that, the proper end game rotation just might not always make sense when out in the world. If you’re fighting a single mob without a ton of hitpoints, it’s not worth it to get all of your dots up. If you really want to put your dots to good use while leveling, you’ll want to pull as many mobs as you safely can so you can dot up all the things.
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Does questing/progressing through the storyline yield quality gear at all? Or is the best stuff gained through dungeons, raids, & trading/auction house?
While leveling, what you get from quests will be on par with dungeon loot. Raids don’t really apply while leveling, and the AH is a trap while leveling. (Most of the gear on the AH is priced for max level transmog collecters, not levelers, and any gear you buy will be quickly replaced by quest/dungeon gear.)
At max level, the best gear comes from raids, mythic+, and rated PvP. Often, as an expansion goes on, they will add catch up gear that is generally gotten through various world content (such as questing) for those who hit max level part way through. We’re probably a while from that for this expansion, though, if they have it. Crafted gear (which you can get on the AH) can be a good way to fill in slots while gearing up. How much you want to spend for how much of a boost is up to you. If you do high end content, that crafted gear will get replaced.
Are you planning to only dps and never heal? If so, I recommend trying a few other classes to see what you like best. The more dps specs you can play on a dps character the more variety and nerf protection.
If your planning to do mid to high level mythic + dungeons, know that Shadow is currently not desired in mid to high level mythic + because they have no utility. For ranged, mages, druids, hunters, warlocks are all easier to get groups with. I have not seen a shadow priest In my last 30+ dungeon groups.
Shadow is still very good in all raid difficulties, and fine for lower dungeons. Players get picky when you move up to mid to high level dungeons.
Like others have said, scaling while leveling is a bit weird. You’ll replace gear fairly frequently, but sometimes an item of a higher item level might not be better. Your current item might have better stats for you. Be sure to look at what is actually an upgrade!
Your gear is a bit low right now; I have a character who is level 31 and her items average ilvl 35, whereas yours are at ilvl 14. It looks like you’re still wearing most of your starting gear from Exile’s Reach. It’s also entirely possible that the armory hasn’t updated your gear (it can be a little slow sometimes, especially if you haven’t logged out yet).
Based on your armory: You’re missing rings and trinkets. While those are harder to come by, you should have seen some by now. Also, you need an off-hand! A lot of your power comes from your weapon, you either need a staff or a dagger/sword & off-hand. A dagger has about half the stats as a staff because it expects you to have an off-hand to go with it.
Don’t forget your talents as well! You get talents at levels 15, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50. Those will help you increase your power and give you some movement options.
I recently returned to the game and leveled a Shadow Priest into the mid 30’s. I know what you mean by feeling a bit “weak”. I was told that near the end game levels when, you have all of your abilities unlocked, that it improves.