Shadow Priest talent build for Patch 3.0.2
by Alex Ziebart 
Oct 18th 2008 at 12:00PM
Echoes of Doom is here, along with all of its tasty new talent points. Things haven't changed very much for us Shadow Priests. If you enjoyed the Shadow Priest playstyle before, you still will. The numbers you put out in terms of Healing, DPS and mana regen are wildly different, but the buttons you push are pretty much the same. If you found Shadow Priest playstyle (not necessarily the numbers game) a little stale before patch 3.0.2, this patch and even Wrath itself won't change that very much. If you plan on sticking with Shadow, good on ya.I'm going to lay out my current Shadow talent build and explain why I picked the talents I did. Keep in mind that this spec is not for every aspect of the game. It's not even for every player. I'm using this spec as a level 70, PvE raiding spec. It's not perfect, I'm not completely happy with it, but I think that's because our trees are currently meant for level 80 and not level 70. I haven't been able to come up with something I like better yet. When I plan ahead for level 80, it feels much more complete. We don't have the luxury of those extra 10 talent points yet, so this is what I'm using for now:
Shadow
Tier 1
I skipped Blackout because its raiding applications are very limited. It works on some trash, but never bosses. That's a big 'meh' for sure. I went with Spirit Tap and Improved Spirit Tap, because that's going to act as a Shadow Priest's Meditation for now. Finally, Tier 1 of the Shadow tree has something genuinely useful to raiders!
Tier 2
My first choices in this tier were definitely Improved Shadow Word: Pain and Shadow Focus. They're very clearly good talents, and I don't think you can get away with skipping these for raiding.
You'll notice I only put one point in Shadow Affinity. Originally, I was not going to put any points here. Save this talent point for something else, if you want. You're probably thinking I'm absolutely crazy for skipping a -threat talent as a Shadow Priest, but threat is actually not really an issue for us currently. Tank threat is through the roof, and right now a good tank will be able to hold threat off of you in even the most threat sensitive encounters. If you want to, you can shift some points around to fill this out, but I don't see a need to do so at level 70.
Tier 3
If you are a Shadow Priest and do not take Mind Flay you are a fool. This is not up for debate.
I filled out Improved Mind Blast, all 5 points, because... hey. More Mind Blast. There are arguments for only putting four points into the talent, or even just three points, but I personally like going all in with it. Even if I don't end up using it as soon as it cools down every time it does so, having it cooled down more often is something I find beneficial in the long run.
I skipped Psychic Scream, and thus Silence, because the two just don't have enough benefit in raid dungeons.
Tier 4
This tier is one of those very, very obvious tiers. For PvE, it's all good. Lots of mana regen via lower Shadowfiend cooldown. More range, which is always nice. Shadow Weaving is fantastic, even if it's only personal damage now. Just fill out this tier.
Tier 5
Vampiric Embrace was my first choice. That's another must-have for any Shadow Priest, considering every other essential Shadow spell is tied to it. I didn't pick up Improved Vampiric Embrace, because at 70 you don't have enough talent points to get everything you want, and this felt like something I could cut without feeling bad. When the Vampiric Embrace nerf (which was needed, but perhaps too much) goes in, I may reconsider these points, I might not.
Focused Mind was an easy choice. An extra 15% mana cost reduction on our 'nukes' seems like something everyone would want.
Tier 6
I completely filled out Tier 6. It's all good stuff. More damage, more crit.
Tier 7
Pick up Shadowform. That's an easy choice. Fill out Shadow Power, too. Shadowform is essential and more damage on crits is an easy choice, really.
Tier 8
Fill it out. Improved Shadowform is fantastic. Misery is great for raids and personal DPS. I don't think I need to explain further.
Tier 9
I skipped Psychic Horror, that's definitely a PvP thing, or maybe a soloing thing. Not so much a raid talent. Nab Vampiric Touch, fill out Pain and Suffering. Pain and Suffering will essentially remove Shadow Word: Pain from your damage rotation. You'll hit it just once at the beginning of a boss fight (it'll drop sometimes, phase changes and such, but you get what I mean) and when you would've hit Shadow Word: Pain before Patch 3.0.2, you'll be hitting Devouring Plague instead.
Tier 10
You only have one option here. Twisted Faith. It's a good option. Fill it out.
Tier 11
Dispersion is optional, but I took it because it's new and exciting and when I push the button and turn into a purple cloud my guildmates exclaim, "WTF was that!" The mana regen has its uses for sure, but I haven't seen it really pay off yet at level 70 in PvE. If you wanted points in Improved Vampiric Embrace or another point in Shadow Affinity, this is one of the points I would move.
Discipline
We have a mind-blowing 5 talent points leftover after this. The Shadow tree is absolutely loaded with good talents. I wouldn't call it bloated, because it all works together quite nicely, but at 70 it really doesn't leave much room to branch into other trees. No big deal, though. Those 5 talent points fit nicely into Discipline.
Tier 1
Twin Disciplines is where your points will go. It works on about half of your damage spells, so why not? If I remember correctly, it was changed so Mind Flay is modified by this talent as well. It's a solid choice, I think.
And that's my current talent spec. 5/0/56. Is it perfect? No, I don't think so, but like I mentioned up above: I don't think a 'perfect' spec can be achieved until level 80. That's sort of the point of the expansion. I think what I have is as good as I'll get as far as my wants and needs for now.
I definitely encourage other Shadow Priests to show us their builds in the comments section below. I'm definitely a raiding kind of guy, and I approach my talents that way. If you have soloing builds or PvP builds you like, show them off
Filed under: Priest, Analysis / Opinion, Talents, Wrath of the Lich King
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Lukeyo Oct 18th 2008 12:15PM
Am I the only one who kept Meditation?
erz Oct 18th 2008 12:21PM
You really don't need it anymore. Throughout the entire Hyjal run last night I didn't have to pot once with 3 minute shadow fiend and the occasional dispersion I never went below ~50% mana.
Caiginn Oct 18th 2008 12:24PM
No, I kept Meditation. Right now I'm sitting on 14/0/47, with the eventual goal of 14/0/57 at level 80.
70: http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=bVcbzhZZG0fVofzfVqczG
80: http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=bVcbzhZZGcfVRfzfiqczA
Mnaz Oct 18th 2008 12:27PM
Probably. Personally I went 5/0/56 to max out Twisted Faith and fill out other talents like Mind Melt and Imp. Shadowform rather than to get to Dispersion, although it does compensate a bit for the lost mana regen. All of that seems a lot more attractive than Meditation and a bunch of filler points.
Erz Oct 18th 2008 12:30PM
Did you guys not notice the mana return from imp. Spirit Tap? It's the new meditation, but for shadow priests. :P
Honestly though, you really, really don't need it anymore. Perhaps at level 80, but as of right now for a raiding (even farming, etc.) shadow priest, with all the nerfed content and extreme damage, meditation can easily be skipped over.
Chri Oct 18th 2008 8:24PM
I originally kept Mediation, but respecced a day later. Without putting all those points in discipline you end up with more DPS. The mana returns feel about the same - you do need to rely more on Shadowfiend & Dispersion. So I took the talents that reduce those cooldown.
I did spec into 2/2 Improved Vamp Embrace. It's gonna get nerfed so why not live it up now while it's insane. I no longer watch the DPS meters, I watch the healing meters. Too cool it's crazy.
Erz Oct 18th 2008 12:20PM
This is pretty much the exact shadow build I used in a Hyjal pug last night with a few top guilds on our server. ~1600ish dps on Rage, but I still need a lot of crit items. I expect that number to go up dramatically with some better gear. :) Looks like Spriests are working their way up the dps chain, especially with the new glyphs, as well.
Otce Oct 18th 2008 12:22PM
I recommend maxing out vampiric embrace. I found it insanely powerful in our Sunwell run this week, I even topped healing meters on Brutallus. And since threat is no longer an issue, its an easy choice. Drop a point from shadow affinity and pain and suffering.
Erz Oct 18th 2008 12:24PM
Due to the nerf on VE that went live last night (?), imp. VE would only really benefit you and not the raid. I suppose there's not many other talents that you could get in replace for it, though.
Phynn Oct 18th 2008 10:19PM
Improved VE is a must have untill the nurf.
I was first on healing on Naj'entus and 2nd for the rest Black temple.
Otce Oct 18th 2008 12:29PM
The nerf to VE was on the Beta. For the time being it's still a must have for raiding Spriests imo.
Erz Oct 18th 2008 12:31PM
Ah okay, wasn't sure. :) Definitely grab it then until the nerf.
(First on healing, really?)
Joe Eversole Oct 18th 2008 12:36PM
I think Improved Shadowform is a PvP talent, and doesn't seem like it'll be useful in PvE/Raiding. I suppose if you are grinding/levelling and you skip popping a shield first, it'd make sense. I did something similar and it seems to be working well thus far:
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=bVZZGcfmRfzsiqczAo
4/5 Improved Mind Blast makes a cooldown of 6 seconds, or 3 GCD's. Usually I can toss in a Mind Flay or two and a SW:D in the window. I also put 1 point in Improved VE for a little more juice to help the healers.
Otce Oct 18th 2008 1:02PM
You don't need any points in shadow affinity now. It really is a waste of points.
Ettanin Oct 18th 2008 1:56PM
I agree that Shadow Affinity is a waste of points, but unfortunately that part of the Shadow tree is a bit awkward. I didn't want to put more than 1 pt in Improved Mind Blast, and then Mind Flay and Imp. Psy. Scream couldn't take enough points to get me over that 15 pt requirement, so I had to go back down the tree and place 1 pt in Affinity.
sammy Oct 18th 2008 1:31PM
This is my exact build. During a ZA run last night, I popped dispersion during Zul'Jin's spirit bolts and loved the 90% damage reduction.
Anyone figure out a newer, more optimal spell priority hierarchy yet? I'm basically using the old rotation during boss fights:
VT>>VE>>SW:P>>DP>>SWD>>MB>>MF
Popping Shadowfiend every 3 minutes to keep my mana up.
For grinding, I'm just going:
VT>>MB>>MF (>>SWD if needed)
The majority of the time that's all I needed when running my dailies. The DPS jump is making using SW:P a waste of mana since my MB is critting for 3.5-3.9K and my MF crits for 1.6-1.9K.
Any thoughts?
Erz Oct 18th 2008 1:41PM
Your rotation seems mine, but I'd suggest MB before SW:D, because it flows better with the gcd. VE shouldn't be always in your rotation, but if your group needs it I guess so.
Patrick Oct 18th 2008 5:40PM
erz,
The idea behind SW:D first is that you want the longer cooldown cooling off first so you can use it more often in a given fight.
You still have to sit through SW:D's GCD if you use it after you MB, even if it might feel like it "flows" better to do it that way.
Elanassa Oct 18th 2008 5:44PM
VT>>VE>>SW:P>>DP>>SWD>>MB>>MF
(Raiding) Until B9095 goes live in a week or so, I only use VT on bosses, and even then it feels like a waste at times. Once B9095 goes live, VT will nicely out-damage our SW:P's and will be a much stronger part of our rotation.
Devo Plague also feels like a waste, and it's only getting weaker (at 70) with the patch. You can probably skip it entirely >_<
You should delete SWD entirely from your raiding rotation, it's just not a very viable DPS boost. With ImpVE you don't need to worry about losing health... but the overall damage boost is so weak you should make sure you never use it when MB is on CD.
VT>>MB>>MF (>>SWD if needed)
I'd suggest SW:P > MB > MF x2.
Ettanin Oct 18th 2008 1:40PM
My build is almost exactly the same except I only put 1 point in Improved Mind Blast. You almost never get the benefit of having 5 points because unless the cooldown us 7.5s or 6s, you're going to be stepping all over your global cooldown. Place only 1 or 4 points in it. You probably don't need 5.
I also don't have any points in Focused Mind.
Instead, I took Silence, Imp. Psy. Scream, Psy. Horror and filled out Vampiric Embrace.