I've been plugging away at a shadow priest alt for a while, in levels 15-18 I was really enjoying it and killing things with ease... I thought I had it all figured out and was having a great time.
Now I've hit level 20 and I've got all these new spells, and all of a sudden I'm lost.
Mind flay seems to do absolutely rubbish damage.
My best damage spell (holy fire) isn't even a shadow spell!
There is a lot of info for spell rotations at end game, but can someone give me a clue as to how I am supposed to take down a mob at level 20?
Thanks.
(p.s I'd rather spec shadow all the way rather than levelling 1-39 as holy, as I've seen suggested by some people).
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OK I've hit level 20, whats my spell rotation?Follow
Until Shadowform, it's actually up to you to experiment. Personally I went with stacking DoTs (I had Starfire back then) and then Mind Blast -> Flay until it was time to wand. Even though Mind Flay seems to be low damage, you also have to take a look at the mana cost of it. It's damage will improve alot as you level but always stay as a very mana efficient spell.
After a very short while, I realized that using instants like SW:P to begin with was bloody retarded. Get the cast-time of your longest cast-time spell over with. In your case it's probably Holy Fire or possibly Mind Blast, can't remember that far back anymore. Still, start off with what will have a cooldown (like Mind Blast) then pop the instants like SW:P immediately after it lands. Then you can immediately MF and Wand afterwards for maximum amount of damage in the shortest amount of time.
Just remember to keep your wand at the highest possible dps as you level. It's going to be one of your most important tools. Lastly, don't fret. It might seem inefficient right now, but you'll find that your killspeed and fun will only increase the further down the Shadowy path you go.
After a very short while, I realized that using instants like SW:P to begin with was bloody retarded. Get the cast-time of your longest cast-time spell over with. In your case it's probably Holy Fire or possibly Mind Blast, can't remember that far back anymore. Still, start off with what will have a cooldown (like Mind Blast) then pop the instants like SW:P immediately after it lands. Then you can immediately MF and Wand afterwards for maximum amount of damage in the shortest amount of time.
Just remember to keep your wand at the highest possible dps as you level. It's going to be one of your most important tools. Lastly, don't fret. It might seem inefficient right now, but you'll find that your killspeed and fun will only increase the further down the Shadowy path you go.
thanks mate.
yeah thats fairly similar to what i came up with, which basically was:
holy fire, then sw:p, then shield, then mind flay, then mind burst and then wand to finish the guy off...
just feels like i need to run through my entire spell list every time because individually, they are all too weak...
yeah thats fairly similar to what i came up with, which basically was:
holy fire, then sw:p, then shield, then mind flay, then mind burst and then wand to finish the guy off...
just feels like i need to run through my entire spell list every time because individually, they are all too weak...
It'll get better as your Spelldamage improves. However, when you use Shield, always use it as soon as possible. It's there for 30 seconds, so you have plenty of time to take on the mob. But if it's a hardhitter, it won't be staying up the whole 15 seconds it takes for the debuff to go away and thus you want that particular debuff to be ticking away much earlier.
As another regular here is also fond at pointing out, don't get too set in your ways with the Shield. In some encounters it pays to replace Shield with Fear to keep the mobs from hitting you.
Oh, a quick tip: Mana Burn, when you get it, is not a PvE tool. Not even against casters. It's a PvP thing.
As another regular here is also fond at pointing out, don't get too set in your ways with the Shield. In some encounters it pays to replace Shield with Fear to keep the mobs from hitting you.
Oh, a quick tip: Mana Burn, when you get it, is not a PvE tool. Not even against casters. It's a PvP thing.
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Ha, as a shadowpriest that levelled. My rotations are MB -> SW:P -> MF -> MF -> wand/mb/fear( if the mob is elite) and rinse and repeat... and i dont run out my mana uz the mob will be dying from coming to me.
you will get loads of spell interrupts and stuff bt usually at that level 2/3 dots from mf( if u count mf as a dmg/sec dot) will be dealth as dmg....
PW:S is a nice spell bt i dont use it cuz its not mana efficent and causes some down time which i friggin hate.. and dont forget to use that handy dandy inner fire and it saves ur health so you can continue long.
From 20-61 i still dont get downtimes .... and things down fast
you will get loads of spell interrupts and stuff bt usually at that level 2/3 dots from mf( if u count mf as a dmg/sec dot) will be dealth as dmg....
PW:S is a nice spell bt i dont use it cuz its not mana efficent and causes some down time which i friggin hate.. and dont forget to use that handy dandy inner fire and it saves ur health so you can continue long.
From 20-61 i still dont get downtimes .... and things down fast
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Until Shadowform, it's actually up to you to experiment.
I can't stress how much that is true. While reading trough stickies and getting basic knowledge might help if you want to do everything right from the start, *nothing* gets you better in playing your class than figuring stuff out yourself. At least for the lower levels.
apothik wrote:
just feels like i need to run through my entire spell list every time because individually, they are all too weak...
I think this is a great thing to do. It helps you familiarize yourself with the strengths and weaknesses of the spells. As you level, they will bounce back and forth as far as effectiveness, and you will be able to alter your rotation to match instead of being anchored to a fixed rotation.
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Oh, a quick tip: Mana Burn, when you get it, is not a PvE tool. Not even against casters. It's a PvP thing.
first boss slave pens, mana burn owns him for free
he has like 8k mana, and no mana = no lightning bolt, and much less totems
not that hes a hard boss, but it owns him for free... it has pve usage, just VERY limited
mongoosexcore wrote:
Quote:
Oh, a quick tip: Mana Burn, when you get it, is not a PvE tool. Not even against casters. It's a PvP thing.
first boss slave pens, mana burn owns him for free
he has like 8k mana, and no mana = no lightning bolt, and much less totems
not that hes a hard boss, but it owns him for free... it has pve usage, just VERY limited
All I could really see it doing is slowing down your kill and neutralizing totems that really aren't dangerous anyway. Maybe on heroic it would have some use, but no one's going to do heroic anymore.
if hes oom, you barely need to heal period (a renew and a flash here+there is usually plenty)
then you got 5 deeps on him, since healer barely needs to heal at that point
plus, the mana burn at that level it 400 dmg per cast in itself so... it isnt horrible
sorry, i like tangents... and when i go on them :D
then you got 5 deeps on him, since healer barely needs to heal at that point
plus, the mana burn at that level it 400 dmg per cast in itself so... it isnt horrible
sorry, i like tangents... and when i go on them :D
Mindflay for damage isn't too bad. But one of the best benefits of mindflay is doing damage while slowing down an incoming mob.
Usually I hit the mob with a long casting hard hitting spell, before shadowform this is usually a holy spell. After shadowform I use mind blast instead.
long casting hard hitting nuke -> instant dot -> flay -> flay -> wand
That's basically what I do
Usually I hit the mob with a long casting hard hitting spell, before shadowform this is usually a holy spell. After shadowform I use mind blast instead.
long casting hard hitting nuke -> instant dot -> flay -> flay -> wand
That's basically what I do
I went Shadow, so....
I opened with Smite, MB, or Holy Fire. (Yeah, I was wierded out that some times the Holy spells did more damage at lower lvls.)
Then I immediately applied my DOT.
Then it was wand, wand, wand, wand... (Get a good wand) I'd say 60%+ of my damage was wand damage. I had little to no down time and could kill mobs higher than me with no problems.
I opened with Smite, MB, or Holy Fire. (Yeah, I was wierded out that some times the Holy spells did more damage at lower lvls.)
Then I immediately applied my DOT.
Then it was wand, wand, wand, wand... (Get a good wand) I'd say 60%+ of my damage was wand damage. I had little to no down time and could kill mobs higher than me with no problems.
Thanks to everyone (especially NorthAl) for their helpful advice so far.
I guess that was half of my beef... I didn't sign up to become an omnipotent master of shadow energy to tickle critters to death with my toy wand... I want to be casting plagues and dare i say it, melting faces.
Someone, please tell me that when I'm level 70 I'm still not wanding critters??
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Then it was wand, wand, wand, wand... (Get a good wand) I'd say 60%+ of my damage was wand damage.
I guess that was half of my beef... I didn't sign up to become an omnipotent master of shadow energy to tickle critters to death with my toy wand... I want to be casting plagues and dare i say it, melting faces.
Someone, please tell me that when I'm level 70 I'm still not wanding critters??
Ah the silence is deafening.
Yes, you will still be wanding but only for the last two to five seconds of the fight. Ending the fight with a Mind Flay + two seconds of wanding will be perfect, as it lets you get Spirit Tap going outside the five-second rule. Other than that, you won't be wanding unless you are OoM.
one final thing i need to ask is, how are we for mana regen in 5man instances, when we aren't getting the killing blows on mobs and getting our spirit tap bonus regen? Are we drinking all the time?
Not really. Spirit Tap isn't our only Mana Regen tool, remember? Remembering to always get a VT up before you Mind Blast a target will give you the replenishment buff, and keeping that ticking will be a huge help. Not to mention that you'll be using Shadowfiend and Dispersion to regain mana as well.
You'll just have to remember some important things about mana regen. Always start the Dispersion cooldown as soon as you can get the full benefit of the mana regen. Same principle as Potions used to have. The same goes for Shadowfiend. Always pop it as soon as you can get all of the mana from it, but never wait so long that you'll be out of mana anyway before the Cooldowns are done with.
I usually just top myself off manawise before bosses and drink afterwards as well. I make sure Dispersion and Shadowfiend isn't on cooldown when we enter any bossfight as well. On trash? Well, it'd have to be some seriously messed up pull to make me go OoM.
You'll just have to remember some important things about mana regen. Always start the Dispersion cooldown as soon as you can get the full benefit of the mana regen. Same principle as Potions used to have. The same goes for Shadowfiend. Always pop it as soon as you can get all of the mana from it, but never wait so long that you'll be out of mana anyway before the Cooldowns are done with.
I usually just top myself off manawise before bosses and drink afterwards as well. I make sure Dispersion and Shadowfiend isn't on cooldown when we enter any bossfight as well. On trash? Well, it'd have to be some seriously messed up pull to make me go OoM.
thanks everyone!!
sorry one more question... (well two actually).
- at what point is spell power more beneficial than stacking spirit?
- how does spellpower affect my dots? is it a case of different coefficients for different spells or is there a general rule of thumb I can apply for dmg per tick?
i ask because i picked up a pair of boots with +9 shadow spell power on them, and wondering if they are worth more than my current +5 spri, +4 stam boots. Do I get an extra +9 damage each tick of my sw:pain and mind-flay?
Does this also apply to devouring plague, which means i actually get healed for more as well?
Thanks and hopefully you guys won't hear from me again until I'm level 80 and asking questions about naxx. :)
Edited, Dec 11th 2008 7:12pm by apothik
Edited, Dec 11th 2008 7:13pm by apothik
- at what point is spell power more beneficial than stacking spirit?
- how does spellpower affect my dots? is it a case of different coefficients for different spells or is there a general rule of thumb I can apply for dmg per tick?
i ask because i picked up a pair of boots with +9 shadow spell power on them, and wondering if they are worth more than my current +5 spri, +4 stam boots. Do I get an extra +9 damage each tick of my sw:pain and mind-flay?
Does this also apply to devouring plague, which means i actually get healed for more as well?
Thanks and hopefully you guys won't hear from me again until I'm level 80 and asking questions about naxx. :)
Edited, Dec 11th 2008 7:12pm by apothik
Edited, Dec 11th 2008 7:13pm by apothik
I'm a little lazy right now, so I can't be ***** to look up all the spell coefficients.
However, Shadowpriest.com has got all the information you need about spells and coefficients.
It's a very good site for both high-end theorycrafters and complete newbies.
I can tell you immediately that it won't add 9 damage to each tick.
However, I personally always stacked Spellpower over Spirit. Still, if you are going for leveling efficiency I'd probably keep those two stats equally dispersed over my gear.
However, Shadowpriest.com has got all the information you need about spells and coefficients.
It's a very good site for both high-end theorycrafters and complete newbies.
I can tell you immediately that it won't add 9 damage to each tick.
However, I personally always stacked Spellpower over Spirit. Still, if you are going for leveling efficiency I'd probably keep those two stats equally dispersed over my gear.
NorthAI answered all your questions except this one;
--> I've answered that before. Yes, as far as I know increasing damage on devouring plague increases healing done with it. The spell simply heals 15% of the damage it deals. 100 damage would mean 15 healing. 200 damage would logically mean 30 healing.
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Does this also apply to devouring plague, which means i actually get healed for more as well?
--> I've answered that before. Yes, as far as I know increasing damage on devouring plague increases healing done with it. The spell simply heals 15% of the damage it deals. 100 damage would mean 15 healing. 200 damage would logically mean 30 healing.
if i read that shadowpriest site correctly, +9 shadow damage just adds an extra 9dmg over the duration of the dot... I will stick to stacking spirit for now.
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