heh I was thinking exactly the same thing :P

ditto.

PW:Shield - wand - afk - repeat

(lowbie holy priest w/wand spec just for leveling)

PW:S is one of those spells that priests of every level use frequently in solo play.

Oh! and by frequently, I really mean "ALL THE TIME".

No kidding! I was told not to use PW: Shield in groups because it's so mana inefficient, but it's the best thing ever for soloing: I rarely take damage and no interrupted casts! Mind flaying a mob to death without it would suck, and who cares if I have to drink more often if I'm not having to bandage or pop out of shadowform to heal?

I have to agree that is a very ignorant comment regarding PW:S. You should not comment on classes that you do not even have a basic knowledge of, as new people to the game might stumble across this post and actually heed the "advice." Harsh, perhaps, but true.

Thank god. I really felt like a noob priest there for a second. It's awesome as a shadow priest and a discipline priest. Even though I know it's generally considered dumb, I got PW:S for my mostly arena spec. I just couldn't take solo'ing mobs without it :D

Mana spring totem pays for itself in 6 ticks untalented, and 5 ticks talented. If the fight is going to last 12+ seconds, or you will be fighting in totem range for >12 seconds, you will see a benefit to dropping it. This isn't even taking the 25% refund if you totemic recall it before it expires.

L2shaman or priest or about any class.

Exactly. It's the only way to use Mind Flay without pushback vs melee. And Mind Flay is one of the most mana-efficient spells a Priest has and it's short duration means you won't waste ticks as can happen with SWP.

I use Power Word: Shield in exactly two solo situations: when I'm running away and am low on health, and when I've overpulled or accidentally body-pulled and need to situate myself.

Otherwise, as far as I'm concerned, Mike is right; it's more efficient to toss Renew on myself and negate the damage that way. (In fact, I resist using Power Word: Shield /because/ it prevents hit-based spell delays; to be most efficient with cooldowns, my optimal spell rotation actually relies on being delayed a little while casting Smite, so that Mind Blast can finish cooling down.)

Then again, I'm specced Holy/Disc, with 5 points in Spirit Tap so that I have very little downtime between fights; on the other hand, I didn't use PW:S when I was Shadow, either.

This is what paid blogging gets you ... power word shield isnt for soloing .

Can't get a single Smite off without my PW: Shield on first. :) CONSTANTLY using it solo.

Shadow I only use it when I need for my VE to heal me up.

Holy I have fine mana regen but spell knockback makes me furious so I although yes, my renew can usually outheal the damage I prefer to just shield and get the mob smitten* rather than waiting forever for it to die.

Not that it hasn't been emphasized enough already, but PW:S is THE option for a soloing shadow priest. It keeps you healed up (VE really just doesn't do as well) and protects you from interruption when channeling Mind Flay. For any soloing priest not liberally using the spell, I highly recommend that your try.