Hello all,
Coming back to the game after a long time off, I decided to level a Shadow Priest. I’m currently level 53 and I’m following the Icy Veins “Shadow Priest Dragonflight Leveling Guide From 1 to 60”.
I’m looking for a bit of input on rotation / talents, because as-is, things feel very clunky. A few questions:
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First and foremost, is this build actually viable or should I be aiming for something else while leveling? If there are better options, I’m all ears.
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It seems to me that Mind Spike should be the filler spell in the build, because of the Mind Blast perks. This leaves Mind Flay in a very awkward place. Mind Flay was my filler for 15 years, but it feels weird to cast it now. Should I be casting Mind Flay at all, or just filling with Spike?
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If Mind Flay isn’t part of the rotation, should I get rid of the Mental Decay and Mind Flay: Insanity talents?
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I strongly dislike having so many cooldowns to manage, but I’m willing to learn if that’s what it takes to be successful. Should I be casting Power Infusion, Dark Ascension, Void Torrent, Mind Games, Mindbender / Shadow Fiend on cooldown or save them for big packs / bosses?
Any other tips that would help make things feel less convoluted would be much appreciated.
Thank you!
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Welcome to Masochist side of Specs.
Main thing to consider is there’s big difference between leveling in the world and a dungeon.
I took a look at the Shadow Priest Leveling Tree
In response to:
- Yes, the build seems made for leveling. Especially with Void Torrent, Mind bender, Mind Flay: Insanity. Focuses on taking down 1-2 mobs at a time. You’re going to be DPing a lot and so Mind Flay: Insanity makes sense for single target.
- Yes, that is also the current issue with the spec. Supposedly per GCD Mind Spike does more damage and has more Insanity generation.
If Mind Flay just feels better, just use Mind Spike during the Instant Cast procs. NBD.
- Yes, in terms of leveling, you definitely can, and opt for Unfurling Darkness for more VT mob spread and Single Target burst if you VT, VT. Yes, you can opt for Encroaching Shadows instead of Mind Flay: Insanity for more DP impact damage. More power to your hardest hitter essentially.
- I’m assuming your talking about dungeons. Now things start to change from the leveling build.
Essentially, yes, use on cooldown, unless you know a boss is really coming up. Shadow is fortunate to have 2min and 1min windows are very convenient in estimating this. Unlike some 3min and or 1.5min window classes. Adding sometimes I pop off on a pack before a boss because there more overall DPS in doing that… (scummy winky face).
The Icy-Veins M+ tree is what I use. I actually found it to be the best prior to even checking the guide by doing dummy and dungeon testing. Except I take out Puppet Master for Psychic Horror for more utility.
You’ll notice no Mind Spike and Void Torrent, and Void Eruption instead of Dark Ascension. Reason is Void Bolt will summon Shadow Apparitions which is a part of your damage in both single target and AOE.
When it comes to Mobs/Packs with CDs, I use:
Shadow Crash, Unholy Nova, Mindbender, MB, PI, VF, SWD, MB, VB, MB.
If there’s a Mind Devourer Proc, cast Mind Sear, before your next MB to not waste the Mind Devourer Proc. That takes priority.
Every 1min your Mindbender and Unholy Nova is up.
Unholy Nova, Mindbender, SWD, MB, MB. Same as above, prioritize Mind Devourer procs for Mind Sear.
In summary, the leveling tree makes sense because it’s meant to take out questing like mobs. 1 to 2 at a time, at a power level that is meant for questing.
The leveling tree isn’t best suited for dungeons, the MVP talent for dungeons is currently Mind Devourer in DF Pre-patch.
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Can’t thank you enough for the help. Really appreciate it!
It’s not self-explanatory when new to the game and leveiing a new priest. You will have no idea what the new spells are supposed to do or how they should be placed in your rotation. You will have to search the internet and spend hours reading or watching videos to figure it out, or just wing it and deal with possible (probable) suboptimal DPS. They did a terrible job at explaining the leveling priest shadow spells and how they fit into your rotation. I am disappointed in returning.