About the Shadow Priest Talents and Class in WoW Classic
First things first – the BandurArt likes to create video games, mostly the visual part and also LOVES to play games as well. Just like most old-school MMORPG fans, we’ve had our share of time in World of Warcraft Classic since the early 2000s. That is why we decided to post our experience in the format of a guide about the Shadow Priest talents in WoW Classic. Perhaps it is the beginning of a new series of posts about World of Warcraft.
Shadow Priest is an interesting sub-class for the Priest class in WoW Classic. It combines the uses of dark magic spells with tactical gameplay. Being quite contrary to Holy and Discipline specializations, which focus on healing, Shadow Priests are total damage-dealers. When they actually get an iconic Shadowform, the power ramps up, but the healing spells are off the table. Instead, they become pure, full-on damage dealers with a unique flavor to both raids and PvP.
But what really makes the Shadow Priest unique is how he can add to other classes as well. Just like with the Diablo IV Necromancer build, the talent Shadow Weaving increases shadow damage taken by enemies, which is not only a great deal for the Priest himself but also makes the Warlocks hit even harder. In raid environments, which most often include Warlocks, this makes Shadow Priests quite valuable, even considering their overall lower damage compared to other dealing classes.
Shadow Priests shine even more in self-sustain with talents such as Vampiric Embrace. It is an active ability that heals party members for a portion of the damage that you deal to the enemy. It means the more you hurt your enemies, the more your allies get healed. But the longer the fight, the better it helps to stabilize your WoW team.
Of course, being a Shadow Priest is not all flowers and sunshine. One of the downsides would be the heavy mana dependency. Shadow spells rip through your mana, and if you don’t monitor it properly, you may find your Shadow Priest sucking his thumb in the middle of a fight out of mana. If you want to keep the damage flowing, consumables and proper resource management are essential.
Undead and Trolls are popular choices for Horde Shadow Priests. Undead bring Will of the Forsaken, allowing them to break out from any fear effects. Trolls derive benefit from Berserking which increases their casting speed. Alliance players would find Dwarves, which have Fear Ward and could be helpful with some encounter cases, but Humans are also a great choice with a spirit bonus, aiding in mana regeneration.
WoW Shadow Priest talents are more than just mere damage-dealing characters – they are a main support class with a dark twist. If being synergizing with Warlocks, this class is a must-have addition to any raid team.
About The Best Shadow Priest Races
One of the most essential things you will do in building a Shadow Priest in WoW Classic is choosing a race. While most other classes have specific racial skills that really don’t factor into the difference in gameplay as far as maximizing the tool or damage goes, Priest’s racial skills do play an important role.
Alliance
For Alliance fans, Dwarves are the number one choice. They have access to Fear Ward, a skill that removes or prevents fear – a mechanic used in several boss fights. Dwarves also get Desperate Prayer – it is an instant healing power that sometimes saves a character from a permanent death case.
Since not all of their racial passives help with damage, the usual spells make them the best choice for a raid. Humans are a solid alternative because of their The Human Spirit bonus for enhanced mana regeneration. Night Elves aren’t as good here since all of their racial skills aren’t that priest-friendly.
Horde
From the Horde tree of skills – it’s usually a question between Trolls and Undead. Trolls have some really signature skills, including Berserking for the casting speed depending on the amount of missing health for quick spell output. Shadowguard is a passive skill that empowers their DPS by helping them deal more damage.
The Undead are not bad either, having the Will of the Forsaken to provide them immunity from fear effects and have some great damage over time with the Devouring Plague. However, Trolls are the best pure DPS optimization of WoW Shadow Priest talents.
The Introduction to Shadow Priest Talents in WoW Classic
Shadow Priests in WoW Classic are all about mastering dark magic to complete the most significant damage possible, whether in dungeons or raids. But the real secret behind being great in this class is choosing appropriate talents for any situation. Talent choices make a huge difference, and different content really does demand different approaches.
Shadowform
The core of the Shadow Priest gameplay is Shadowform – a game-changing talent that boosts the damage but locks you out of casting healing spells. That means once you commit to Shadow, you have become a damage dealer.
Mind Flay and Vampiric Embrace
The Shadow Priest talents like Mind Flay and Vampiric Embrace round out the major skills in your damage-dealing toolkit, with Vampiric Embrace going so far as to heal you and your party for a portion of the damage dealt.
Mana Regeneration
Shadow Priests are notorious for their mana consumption. They require careful stat prioritization and the use of consumables all the time. You’ll want to balance Spell Power for maximum damage output with Mana Regeneration to make sure you don’t run dry in longer fights. The unique Shadow Priest talents like Shadow Weaving can increase the shadow damage taken by your enemies.
Consumables and Gear
Consumables and proper gear can boost the performance. Many Shadow Priests will be using Flask of Supreme Power to increase the spell damage, and mana potions will become part of the rotation as you attempt to last for long battles. Some Shadow Priest talents, such as Shadow Focus, reduce your dependence on hit rating, so you can concentrate more on Intellect and Spell Power.
You should read more about the useful consumables and gear for Shadow Priest talents on the fan-made page for “vanilla” WoW Classic fans.
About the Shadow Build Talents Builds in PvE and PvP
There are many ways to level up your Shadow Priest build thanks to the different distribution of your talents.
- Deep Shadow Build-PvE Focused
This build is used if you want to deal the most damage for the PvE walkthrough. You have to sacrifice some healing talents and put them all into the Shadow tree. This build is ideal for the raids where your job will be to increase the shadow damage.
The talents for this build:
- Shadow Weaving (5/5) – increases the shadow damage dealt by you and your Warlock allies by 15%;
- Shadowform (1/1) – increases the shadow damage dealt and reduces the physical damage taken;
- Mind Flay (1/1) – the core spell that deals damage and slows the enemy;
- Vampiric Embrace (1/1) – heals your team based on your shadow damage;
- Improved Mind Blast (5/5) – reduces Mind Blast’s cooldown for higher DPS;
How to distribute the talents:
- Shadow – 30 points;
- Discipline – 0 points;
- Holy – 0 points;
You can also check different PvE builds with various Shadow Priest talents for WoW Classic on Reddit.
- Balanced Build (PvP and Dungeon Versatile)
The Balanced Build uses some of the best Shadow Priest talents to deliver decent damage and a smidge of healing, making it a great setup for dungeons or PvP. With the Balanced Build, you will maintain good DPS, but you can still support your team through healing.
The talents for this build:
- Shadow Weaving (5/5);
- Mind Flay (1/1);
- Vampiric Touch (1/1) – gives you healing over time;
- Improved Vampiric Embrace (2/2) – boost the team’s healing effect from Vampiric Embrace;
How to distribute the talents:
- Shadow – 28 points ;
- Discipline – 2 points ;
- Holy – 0 points;
Also, we recommend using these tips when creating any new PvE build with Shadow Priest hero talents:
- Spell Damage increases the damage from shadow spells;
- Intellect increases your mana pool and spells crit;
- Spell Hit Rating matters. If you want the 6% rating for spell hit so you won’t miss too much on bosses;
Picking the Best Shadow Priest Raid Talents and Dungeon Talents
1) Dungeon Talent Build
The 14/0/37 dungeon talent build is perfect for 5-man dungeon raids. This build focuses on keeping damage as high as possible with relatively low threat generation. Include the talents such as Shadow Reach for increased range and Shadow Affinity to reduce the threat.
The Vampiric Embrace gives your party healing as you are damaging. If you want even more healing power, you can use an additional point in Improved Vampiric Embrace to increase the amount of health restored.
How to distribute the talents:
- Shadow – 37 points;
- Discipline – 14 points;
- Holy – 0 points;
2) Raiding Talent Build
The 15/0/36 raid build invests in Mental Agility in the Discipline tree to reduce mana costs – it is crucial for the long boss fights. You’ll be dropping Vampiric Embrace since its healing can cause an unwanted threat in raids. Instead, pick up Inner Focus for the free, high crit chance Mind Blast that’s perfect for increasing your burst damage.
How to distribute the talents:
- Shadow – 36 points;
- Discipline – 15 points ;
- Holy – 0 points;
3) Hybrid Build
This build strikes a balance between DPS and healing – useful both in dungeons and in badly optimized teams. Such Shadow Priest talents like Shadow Weaving and Vampiric Touch increase your personal DPS. While Improved Vampiric Embrace increases the team’s healing ability. Basically, you serve as extra support for your teammates.
How to distribute the talents:
- Shadow – 26 points;
- Discipline – 4 points;
- Holy – 0 points;
What do you think about our favorite WoW Classic builds with Shadow Priest talents? If you don’t find them great enough, then it is worth watching the video.
Tips for Gameplay and Rotation for Shadow Priest Talents
- Shadow Priests are supportive damage dealers – not as hybrid as Retribution Paladins but they still are very important for any raid;
- You do not have any buffs you need to maintain, but your Shadow Weaving talent changes the game;
- When this debuff is applied, the Shadow damage taken is increased by 15% for the huge boost to the damage output of Warlocks in your raid;
- Just by standing and using your rotation, you can add to the raid’s overall damage;
First and foremost in raids, you want to avoid using Vampiric Embrace. Considering this heals your group for the damage that you deal with, it might sound like a good idea, but in reality, the amount of threat generated outweighs the benefits. You only heal the other four members of your party, and in large raids, you really don’t have much time to devote to anything other than pure damage and keeping the threat low.
You’ll also want to remain in Shadowform at all times to increase your Shadow damage by 15% and reduce incoming physical damage. You won’t be able to heal in this form, but that’s not your role – your job is pure damage.
When it comes to the rotation for any build with Shadow Priest talents:
- Keep the Shadowform;
- Use Mind Blast on cooldown;
- Fill the gaps with Mind Flay;
Major Mana Potion or Dark Rune when you run low on mana. When things get super tight, you may even have to drop Mind Blast from your rotation and maintain Shadow Weaving with just Mind Flay.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best spec for the Priest in Classic WoW?
If you enjoy healing, Holy and Discipline are some of the best specs. Holy provides you with pure healing throughput for the raids and dungeons. The discipline will give you even more universal skills and damage mitigation for the build with Shadow Priest PvP talents. If you want to deal damage effectively, Shadow is one of the good specs to be in. It specializes in shadow magic, providing some of the strongest DPS and use in a team.
What is so special about the Shadow Priest class in the WoW Season of Mastery?
Shadow Priest remains a DPS specialization focused on dealing shadow magic damage in WoW Classic’s Season of Mastery version. Shadow Priests will be very important in Season of Mastery because of their skill to boost the raid-wide damage, especially for Warlocks because of their Shadow Weaving debuff.
Can you heal in the dungeons of WoW Classic as a Shadow Priest?
Yes, a Shadow Priest can heal in the dungeons, but it requires some adjustment. Even though Shadow Priests are primarily a damage class, they can still offer the skills to heal by just switching out of Shadowform. Yes, the healing spells are typically weaker compared with Holy or Discipline, but in low-level dungeons or casual groups, they can handle the healing with decent gear and consumables.
Conclusion
WoW Classic Shadow Priest talents can help to build the different styles of gameplay both for PvE and PvP walkthrough. Hopefully, you found our guide useful and interesting. The BandurArt team recommends following our blog where we regularly post interesting guides for gamers and game developers related to the creation of visual content. Also, we are looking for teams who want to collaborate and develop new games together! Feel free to contact us any time.
