What would you do to fix Shadow AoE?

Classes Priest
1

Remove Psychic Link and bring back Mind Sear. Mind Sear will now passively spread SWP and VT if the main target it hits is affected by those spells. Replace the Shadow Crash tree with a new ability called Shadow Corrosion

Shadow Corrosion- Mind Sear causes all targets damaged by Mind Sear to take increased shadow damage stacking up to 10 times.

Additionally you can talent Shadow Corrosion with Void Instability.

Void Instability- when max stacks are reached the target explodes. Inflicting shadow damage divide equally amongst targets hit

Idol of N’Zoth change as well.

Idol of N’Zoth- The main target of Mind Sear has a chance to become afflicted with Paranoia, causing them to cower in fear and radiate X amount of shadow damage to nearby targets. If the target is already afflicted with Paranoia they then explode with shadow damage and slow nearby targets

5 Likes
2

I’d just introduce more abilities. How you gonna be called shadow preist and not have your enemies shadows attack themselves. Have a group aoe spell that causes a sharp claw of shadow to come up behind your targets and swipes at them real quick causing them whatever damage effect.

2 Likes
3

This is just Legion/BFA Voidform AoE but it’s (even more) mindless, you’re forced to stand still 100% of the time to do it, and you don’t have split cleave.

1 Like
4

One of the things I tried to advocate for throughout the void form days (Legion and BFA, even SL) was for void bolt and void eruption to be separate abilities and share a cool down. Being able to void erupt constantly would be super fun for AoE.

5

Not gonna lie, that mind sear proposal sounds a lot like sitting around and standing still while channeling with nothing else really going on.

Honestly fixing Shadow AoE is just buffing the ghost talents back up again, and maybe positioning a few of them higher in the tree, so you can commit to it earlier.

The problem right now is just that our tier and SW:D/IE suck to play, and that’s about it.

2 Likes
6

our choice should not have been taken away. why have talent trees when we are funneled into using aoe a singular way. same thing with mind sear we should have the option to use our skills. button bloat is a bs answer… if you dont want the button dont put it on your cast bar

1 Like
7

I keep suggesting that they should just make our dots an AoE baseline, keep the 8 targets limit so psychic link doesn’t become OP, there would be no need for mind sear. Also, shadow crash should be a poweful AoE spender with faster missile fired on target instead of on the ground, put it on a choice node with psychic link so people can choose. It’s an easy fix allowing a stronger aoe build vs a build that priorities single target but still won’t be helpless again multiple add spawns.

8

Make it a ground effect, that affects everyone in its AoE (on ground). Visual can be a giant shadow spike that breaks into multiple individual mini spikes per mob thats affected by it :slight_smile:

9

The visual effect isn’t our problem with shadow crash. Shadow Priest everywhere are frustrated with how slow moving and inaccurate the spell is, by the time it hits the ground mobs have often left the arrea, especially in dungeons. This wouldn’t be a problem if the spell was tethered to a targeted enemy. The slow moving ground targeting is a relic of when it was first introduce in Wrath as a dungeon boss spell, it has no reason to be that way anymore.

10

Which is why i suggested it be a ground target and take count of the mobs instantly. Whether they move or not they’re targeted like homing missles.

Change in visual is simply to be more pleasing and better representation of mobs affected :slight_smile:

11

That wouldn’t work without some needlessly complicated coding, it’s easier to just home on a target. They can slightly increase the radius as well.

12

Mind Sear, as it was, needed to be tuned so high to compete with other classes that it made it ludicrously powerful and made AoE as shadow nearly impossible to screw up. It also lead to huge balance problems as could be seen in the VoI council fight where shadow was insanely powerful even before getting buffed repeatedly.

It would be fine for them to make Mind Sear a filler spell again (or change Mind Flay back to how it was in Legion? where it automatically did Mind Sear if there were a handful of targets), but Mind Sear as a spender was bad design.

13

They could just revert back to Dragonflight S1 AOE. Mind sear was completely fine, and the procs made it extremely easy to run around and DPS without feeling like a turret constantly. Even the “button bloat” wasn’t that bad. They just needed to let us swap between mind flay and mind spike, which is now a thing in the talents. S1 was the best version of SP for this expansion.

1 Like
14

I would say this would do it without too much fuss.

Shadow Crash cooldown reduced to 4 seconds
Shadow Crash travel time decreased by 50%
All shadow damage increased by 3%
10.2 tier set bonus additions -
2-piece: SW:D is cast two additional times at 15% efficiency. When the target is below 20% health, SW:D is cast two additional times at 20% efficiency. SW:D No longer damages the caster
4-piece: every 0.5 seconds Shadow Crash and SW: Pain gain a damage increase, increasing their damage done on the next cast stacking up to 12 times.

2 Likes
15

This would be a big nightmare IMO, lol

I do not want to be pushing Shadow Crash every 4 seconds.

1 Like
16

You wouldn’t push it any more than you do now unless you change packs, miss, etc… Then it would be off CD. You would also allow the damage to stack more if you didn’t use it on CD.

2 Likes
17

I’m not in the game atm, but in the bottom row, we can summon one of those octopus guys that heaves shadow orbs at targets. If you ever notice, he throws those things really fast. I suggest that they get rid of shadow crash, and we just throw a fast moving shadow orb at the ground and it creates a plume of shadow smoke or something and with a much wider radius

That and bring damnation back of course .

18

The only issue with shadow is the lack of uncapped aoe and set bonuses that enforce a single build. What would I do?

  • Bring back mind sear. Shadow crash is not that much of an issue if I can deal with the critters through sear

  • Move mindbender tree choices to the middle so you can benefit of the play style they obviously want you to play without sacrificing choice

  • Remove 4 set bonus shadow crash bonus dmg and make SW:P buffed dmg to splash through psychic link. In fact, why are we using SW:P at all? Just make the bonus buff mind games so we have a reason to press that button instead.

19

I’ve pretty much played all the DPS casters and seen the good, bad, great, and awful.

A. If keeping the current iteration.
I’d give Shadow Crash a total of 3 charges OR lower the CD to 8 secs.

B1. If keeping the current iteration, but wanting to add to it, with the same animation resources
Every time you enter into VF/DA or DP, you also do a Void Eruption. Speaks for itself.

B2. If keeping the current iteration, but wanting to add to it.
I’d give DP a similar application like new Wild Mushrooms without WM charges. DP would hit a target and explode 1 sec later doing AOE dmg and putting a mini-DP on all targets hit within that 10yd radius.

C. My rework.
AOE DOT Application:
I’d change Shadow Crash to be Vile Taint+EQ. Instant Cast. Instant DOT Application. Lower the CD to 8sec with 2 charges. Have Shadowy Gravity Animation where the Shadow Crash hits or like use DnD, sub Tentacles or the hands.

AOE Spender:
Void Bomb/Black Hole
Make it like the Wild Mushroom idea I had above, no charges, insanity spender.
Use a Purple/Black Arcane Orb for animation.
Instant Cast on a target, explodes for AOE dmg around the target.

Void Bomb/Black Hole v2
Similar to Mage PVP Orb Talent where they can place a Orb anywhere and it pulses. This is would be the same thing, except a Black Hole is pulsing as opposed to 1 time explosions.

If you have Insanity resources, you can actually start a pack with a AOE spender…

AOE Filler:
Mind Sear

Extra:
AOE Talent (fun)
Shadow Orb
Similar many casters having an additional spell in the tree. I got these ideas from SL, DF beta playing Evoker, and seeing again in s3 doing TOT. There’s an ability in TOT where a Shadow orb is summoned, then a shadow beam is casted.

  1. Summon a Shadow Orb at a target, fires a shadow beam, if the target dies, chooses nearest target.
  2. Who remembers that Shadow Orb animation in early Legion that got axed so fast. Summon a Shadow Orb, fires Shadow needle bolts at targets in combat for Xsec. (smart AOE)

Mind Beam, Mind Wave,
3. Give it the Evoker FireBreath treatment with the Orbital Strike Aim or just 1 target lock like any Void Torrent.
Hold it down for bigger and wider beam like a Kamehaha. Good dmg ST and AOE depending on the hold.

20

Mind Sear returning I don’t think solves it. Unless mind sear is simply a spell you cast that channels like the fel barrage rework. This whole spec needs a rework and the talents.
I’d like to see more Old God and insanity inducing in the tree. Imagine how broken but fun it would be to have whispers from the void cause enemies in m+ to hit each other on their next auto attack and ability.
Imagine for bosses the entire fight your shadow damage is causing them to build up insanity and by the 20-30% mark a boss starts losing it and you get huge execute damage.
If the shadow Hero tree isn’t completely based around Yoggy or an old god I feel it’s a missed opportunity.