The dark wizards wipe out their enemies with the help of sinister shadow and terrible void magic.
If you want to deal out as much damage as possible in WoW: Shadowlands, the Shadow Priest is an excellent choice. Alternatively, you can choose between two healing specializations, the Holy Priest and the Discipline Priest.
The most important changes
The Shadow Priest has undergone the most significant changes of all classes. The new Mastery: Shadowweave increases your damage on the target percentage for each of your effects Shadow Word: Pain, Vampire Touch, and Devouring Plague.
While Void Shape is active, the maximum effect applies to all targets. Void Shape has also been reworked. It increases your damage by 20% for 15 seconds. It also no longer consumes your insanity.
Devouring Pestilence is back to serve as a filler and reduce madness when Void Shape cannot be used optimally. Mind Flay has a run time of 4.5 seconds instead of three, and generates 18 insanity instead of twelve. Mind Explosion runs for 4.5 seconds instead of three and generates six instead of five insanities. Vampire Touch now generates five instead of six, and Void Lightning now generates 12 instead of 20 insanity.
Shadow Word: Death is now an ability rather than an attribute priority, and has been revised. The ability no longer has a charge, has a 20 second cooldown instead of nine, and can always be used against the target. Below 20% health of the target, the damage is increased by 150%. If your target does not die due to Shadow Word: Death, the damage dealt is reflected back to you.
Vampire Touch heals you by 50% of the ability’s damage. Dark Thoughts is a new passive ability. It is triggered by Mind Flay and Mind Blast and causes Mind Blast to gain a charge, become an instant cast spell, and can be used when channeling Mind Flay and Mind Blast. The passive ability Shadowy Appearances has been revised.
Uses of Mind Blast, Devouring Plague, or Void Lightning summon a shadow that runs to targets with vampire touch and deals shadow damage to them. Critical hits summon two shadows. A great many talents have been heavily reworked or newly introduced. Take a good look at the talent tree.
How to play the Shadow Priest
The attribute prioritization looks like this as a Shadow Priest:
- Intelligence
- Speed
- Critical hit chance
- Mastery
- Versatility
| Stage | Talent | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 15 | Unfurling Darkness | After you cast Vampire Touch on a target, your next use of Vampire Touch within eight seconds is a spontaneous spell and immediately deals 1,433 Shadow damage. This effect can only occur once every 15 seconds. |
| 25 | Intangibility | Dispersion heals you by 50% of your maximum health over the course of the effect duration, and the cooldown is reduced by 30 seconds. |
| 30 | Twist of Fate | When you deal damage to a target that has less than 35% health, your damage dealt and healing caused are increased by 10% for eight seconds. |
| 35 | Psychic Horror | Panics the target on the spot and stuns them for four seconds. |
| 40 | Psychic Link | Mind Blast deals 50% of its damage to all other targets within 40 yards affected by your Vampire Touch. |
| 45 | Mindbender | Summons a mind bender that attacks the target for 15 seconds. Generates five insanity with each attack. Replaces your Shadow Spirit. |
| 50 | Hungering Void | The target becomes more vulnerable to the void and takes 10% more damage from you for six seconds. The effect can only occur once on a target. When you cast Void Lightning on vulnerable targets, the duration of your Void Shape is extended by one second, or two seconds for a critical hit. |
Activate your shadow form. Cast Devouring Plague on the target and try to have the effect of it on the target as often as possible. Also use Devouring Plague if you have too much madness.
Activate your Spirit Bend. Keep your DoTs Vampire Touch and Shadow Word: Pain running on the target. Always use Void Eruption when it is available. When you are in Void Form like this, always cast Void Lightning when it is ready.
As soon as the target drops below 20% Health, Shadow Word: Death takes high priority. Note, however, that if the target does not die from the spell, the damage will be reflected back to you. You also cast Mind Blast whenever the ability is available.
As a filler, use Mind Flay on single targets. If Mind Flay triggers Dark Thoughts, you immediately cast Mind Blast. Against multiple targets, use Mind Explosion instead of Mind Flay.
