just wanting some knowlegdeFollow

ok so im at lvl 45 i decieded to go shadow.... now i am unsure of how to use this player...

any tips would be great....

That's a pretty broad question.

If you're asking about spell rotation - I'd say while in Shadowform, Mind Blast, SW:P, Mind Flay (x1/x2), wand.

If you're talking about how to be useful in a group - Return group health w/ VE, Add DPS, Return mana w/ VT (@lvl 50)

Actually, I give up. I have no idea what you want from me.

If you have VE than taking mobs 1v1 shouldn't be a problem with health. Actually you should be slowed down by having to drink and mana up, not heal. What is your spec?

As for the spell rotation make sure you throw in VE before you really start unloading. Try like MB, SWP, VE, MF ,MF, Wand. Pretty sure thats the rotation I used to use and it worked out well.

If you are still having health problems maybe spec into Imp.VE.

Solo Shadow priest techniques from my view:

Safe way: Shield, MB (optional), SW:P, (VE optional here), flay (maybe x2), , wand to death.
Fun way in a clear pull area (mana efficient):
MB (optional), SW:P, flay, fear (rank 1), flay, flay (optional), wand to death. Extra flays are to keep the mob from wandering far as well as the most mana efficient direct damage spell. No shield needed.

Add VE if you are < 100% health.
Add starshards if you are Night elf. Nice free DoT every 30 seconds. Most times farming I am pulling new singleton mobs every 25 to 30 seconds depending on travel time to the next mob.
You can pull without MB if the mobs are below you in level. Just pull with SW:P and flay a little more. SW:P and flay are very efficient.

No need to pop out of shadow. Learn bandage or eat stat food instead of heal for in-between combat heals. I find with same level mobs at 66 (and before that from the early 40's) that I do not need either very often. Rarely when single pulling.

My best advice would be to simply play. Try out different things, see what things seem more difficult... For example, with improved Mind Blast, I almost never use Smite or Holy Fire, and this is likely to be even more so now that I have Shadow Weaving (which decreases the target's shadow resistance). I tend to stick to shadow spells only, now, but without those talents, I'd probably use Smite and Holy Fire more often (especially since the latter is a DoT).

My rotation isn't based on any kind of math, so I don't know whether it's "the best", but it's what I do:

Mind Blast, Shadow Word: Pain, Shield, and if they're melee, Touch of Weakness. Mind Blast again. Then, if still at least half health after all that, Mind Flay until 1/4 health, and wand after that. If my mana is doing well, sometimes I'll throw in a third Mind Blast after a Mind Flay, but that's pretty rare.

I'm an Alchemist, so I always have plenty of mana potions. If I'm jumped by multiple mobs that I can't really handle easily, I take a mana potion. And I'm always forgetting to heal myself, unless I'm on the brink of death. I used to carry around healing potions, but I never used them. These are simply matters of style. So, you'll have to figure out your own style. I don't particularly like using the wand, since while it's rotating, I can't do anything else, and I'm not very adept at turning it off. So, I only use it at the very end of a fight or when my mana is really low. Other people use wands a lot more.

Another idea might be to start leveling a Shadow priest alt, so you can see what it's like at the lower levels. A lot of what we take for granted with our class/spec is stuff we learned earlier and just do by rote after all that experience. I'm currently leveling a Holy/Disc priest on another server and sorely miss my Spirit Tap (but this is going to be mostly a grouping character, so it will be moot once I start grouping more). Once I'm past Wand Specialization and Healing Focus, I'll probably start noticing bigger changes and adjust my playstyle accordingly.

Edit: I'm level 38. I can't address all of your issues. Also, I'm not 100% Shadow. I have a fair number of points in Discipline (I want to eventually get to Meditation) and 2 points in Holy (uninterrupted healing). So I don't have Vampiric anything yet.

Edited, Feb 7th 2008 2:24am by Vespassienne