Trash on Trash?Follow

I'm going to say that if you get grief for low DPS on Trash, point out they're dying so fast that you can't even get STARTED.

If that's still not enough, try mutli-dotting. It will give you a boost to trash DPS. When Cata hits, we'll be getting Mind Spike, which is our spell for just this purpose. A spamable spell to use when things fie before DoTs start ticking.

If you can safely move toward the trash mobs, the more of them that you dot up with SW:P the more likely that you'll spawn Shadowy Apparitions which can do decent damage assuming they amble to their destinations before the mobs die (hence you move towards the mobs shortening the ambling distance). Some people talk about running in circles. Me, I just go at walking speed during fights.

Don't bother with DP on trash. It uses a lot of mana and won't finish a lot of the time although it's decent to maybe use it situationally when you're on the move as an instant damage spell (now more damage than SW:D unless the target happens to be under 25% health).

Much of the time I don't bother with VT on all of them either since you can easily lose 10 seconds dotting multiple mobs and by then it's late in a lot of fights. I'll try to keep it up on at least one mob though since there are benefits.

Mind Blast on cooldown because it's our highest damage spell and to start replenishment. Try to use that on the highest health mob you can but don't spend a lot of time figuring that out. If your current target is under 25%, SW:D instead of MB.

Mind Flay everything else which will generally refresh SW:P. You still won't get fabulous DPS but you might do a little more than you are now. It's very situational and depends a lot on how many of what level and what the rest of your party is doing.

Work in a SW:D when you have a target under 25% health and send your Shadowfiend as often as you feel you can and still have it available for boss fights.

Mind Sear was nerfed and is terrible unless you can use it on a lot of mobs at once (six or more maybe).

To give an example of just how bad Mind Sear is, it's a viable alternate strategy to glyph for Holy Nova, dot up mobs with SW:P and then get on the move using Holy Nova at every opportunity. As stated above, being on the move will give a higher chance for SA's to proc and the damage taken together will be in the same ballpark as Mind Sear AND you're healing people. You'll drop out of Shadowform for this so make sure to get back in before going back to Shadow damage. Really, you're probably better off to multidot and MF/proc SA's but doing this IS fun.

Who knew?

For the future (your present at 81), Mind Spike looks better for this sort of thing but as many times as it's been changed to date, I'll delay judgment on it until I actually have the spell in hand. I'm just moving out of Outlands now so I have a ways to go.

Read up on Mastery. Right now, it's terrible for sPriests but it might change soon.

TL:DR -- Make good use of your instant spells while conserving mana. MB for replenishment. MultiDot SW:P then move for SA's. SW:D when it makes sense. Don't worry too much about DPS on trash. It's just something we have to deal with that it takes a while for everything to ramp up.

It will be a cold day in hell before I run in circles like an idiot just to proc something. There are other ways.

Edited, Oct 31st 2010 1:31pm by Moanique