Hi guys,
I'm hoping by having a discussion with various priests of different specs I can sort out my conflicting thoughts and emotions and decide what I want to do with my priest.
Right now she is level 68 and Shadow spec. I love being shadow, and being able to deal great damage while still bringing utility to a group with VE/VT. However, as I get into higher instances and gather up more +dmg gear I am running into major threat issues. This is where I want to hear your stories if you are having the same problems. I have been mostly running PUGs so I'm not sure if the problem is the tank not knowing how to generate and maintain threat on multiple mobs, or if it's me. On trash, I can't use VE at all without pulling aggro on mobs that aren't the main target. On bosses I can't weave in VE/VT until the boss is at least at 75% or again, I pull aggro. I have 3/3 shadow affinity as well, so I can't imagine what it would be like if I didn't.
Once you get into the level 70 instances and heroics, as a shadow priest are you still able to find groups or are people looking for a class with more traditional crowd control? I think we make a great combo with a paladin main healer, or even a paladin tank as we help them keep their mana bar full, but has that perception reached everyone else out there yet?
Now some questions for you holy/disc priests out there. How are we stacking up against the other healing classes? It seems like we are still the masters of AOE healing, but do these spells actually see use on a consistent basis? If not, it seems like paladins would have an advantage over us with their super efficient single target heals, their party buffs and the fact they can wear plate. Can we still solo heal an instance run with no problems, or are you finding you need an off-healer in the group to make things run smoothly?
If I was going to switch over to holy/disc I know I would be going at least 21 points into disc for Divine Spirit. The only question is if I should go 40 into holy to max out Empowered Healing. Does the extra +healing really make a huge difference in terms of efficiency? Or would it be better to go for Imp. Divine Spirit or Mental Strength (or a combo of the two)?
The reason I have so many questions is I hastily chose Primal Mooncloth tailoring as my specialization, re-specced holy/disc for about a day and hated it due to soloing coming to a crawl and a bad few instance runs and then hastily decided again to go back to shadow. So, that caused me to decide I wanted to go with Shadowcloth tailoring instead so I had to drop tailoring totally and re-level it. Now, I'm confused again so I want to be sure about what I'm going to do before I decide on my tailoring spec again :)
If any of you actually take the time to read this whole thing and answer even a few of the questions, I will really appreciate it. Let's have a constructive discussion and help anyone else out there with similar questions!
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Discussion- Holy or Shadow at 70Follow
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Well, I'm holy/disc, so i won't be able to answer your shadow aggro questions, altho i will say that even healing aggro in higher instances makes having a decent tank that takes care of their healer a necessity. As for wanting shadow priests in groups, i do see that request out there fairly frequently, more frequently now that horde has paladin healers. I haven't instanced with many shadow priests since TBC came out, but am slowly learning to appreciate them.
As for "can we solo heal or do we need an off-healer to make things run smoothly," there is exactly one boss in just one instance that i like to have an off-healer for, and that's Pinchy the Lobster in Heroic Slave Pens in Coilfang (the guy that does the de-buff that does 1k dmg per tick until target is healed to full). Other than that, all the heroics and lvl 70 instances i've been in, i can solo heal with no problem.
Honestly, i haven't been a huge fan of prayer of mending and the binding heal, our 2 new "aoe" healing spells. Just haven't gotten in the habit of using them... anybody else having a blast with them?
See below for my profile, you'll see that i also went into Disc for Divine Spirit, and skimped out on some of the flashier bells and whistles (that damn embarassing angel - look at me! i died! - and lolwell) in favor of a +healing, +mana, +regen utili-heal-bot build. Hey, works for me. As far as being able to solo, well, i have a completely different set of dmg/heal gear that any mediocre mage might be proud of, and can hold my own, tho i prefer to hang out with one other person just so things go a bit quicker.
Not so sure on the tailoring question, i have a guild buddy that can make the whitemend pieces, which have a drool-worthy set bonus, but honestly the blues i've got have nicer stats. I can't imagine life w/out making my own mana pots tho.
http://armory.worldofwarcraft.com/character-talents.xml?r=Kil%27jaeden&n=Djalla
Djalla - 70 Priest
Sneakypoo - 62 Rogue
Edited, Mar 31st 2007 9:27pm by Sneakypoo
As for "can we solo heal or do we need an off-healer to make things run smoothly," there is exactly one boss in just one instance that i like to have an off-healer for, and that's Pinchy the Lobster in Heroic Slave Pens in Coilfang (the guy that does the de-buff that does 1k dmg per tick until target is healed to full). Other than that, all the heroics and lvl 70 instances i've been in, i can solo heal with no problem.
Honestly, i haven't been a huge fan of prayer of mending and the binding heal, our 2 new "aoe" healing spells. Just haven't gotten in the habit of using them... anybody else having a blast with them?
See below for my profile, you'll see that i also went into Disc for Divine Spirit, and skimped out on some of the flashier bells and whistles (that damn embarassing angel - look at me! i died! - and lolwell) in favor of a +healing, +mana, +regen utili-heal-bot build. Hey, works for me. As far as being able to solo, well, i have a completely different set of dmg/heal gear that any mediocre mage might be proud of, and can hold my own, tho i prefer to hang out with one other person just so things go a bit quicker.
Not so sure on the tailoring question, i have a guild buddy that can make the whitemend pieces, which have a drool-worthy set bonus, but honestly the blues i've got have nicer stats. I can't imagine life w/out making my own mana pots tho.
http://armory.worldofwarcraft.com/character-talents.xml?r=Kil%27jaeden&n=Djalla
Djalla - 70 Priest
Sneakypoo - 62 Rogue
Edited, Mar 31st 2007 9:27pm by Sneakypoo
Quote:
Once you get into the level 70 instances and heroics, as a shadow priest are you still able to find groups or are people looking for a class with more traditional crowd control? I think we make a great combo with a paladin main healer, or even a paladin tank as we help them keep their mana bar full, but has that perception reached everyone else out there yet?
Most 70 groups are looking for dis/holy priests. I don't see how a shadow priest would be able to main heal an instance like SH. I switched to D/H at 70 and even now healing can be challenging.
Quote:
Now some questions for you holy/disc priests out there. How are we stacking up against the other healing classes? It seems like we are still the masters of AOE healing, but do these spells actually see use on a consistent basis? If not, it seems like paladins would have an advantage over us with their super efficient single target heals, their party buffs and the fact they can wear plate. Can we still solo heal an instance run with no problems, or are you finding you need an off-healer in the group to make things run smoothly?
The reality is that most paladins aren't holy so you'll be asked to main heal. In the later instances the mobs just keep getting bigger so yes the AoE heals come in very handy because generally the tank will at one point in the pull lose some aggro control.
Quote:
If I was going to switch over to holy/disc I know I would be going at least 21 points into disc for Divine Spirit. The only question is if I should go 40 into holy to max out Empowered Healing. Does the extra +healing really make a huge difference in terms of efficiency? Or would it be better to go for Imp. Divine Spirit or Mental Strength (or a combo of the two)?
I went a little different from Sneakypoo. My build is much more holy based and honestly I'm not quite sure if I like it better. From 54-58 I was a D/H with a heavy Disc. kind of like what Sneakypoo has. It worked very well for old world instances but I'm not sure how it would scale in OL. From what Sneakypoo says it sounds like the build works well.
Here is my build. (16/45/0). Yes I took the embarassing angel :] The spirit bonus is nice and I've found the angel itself to be marginally useful and have saved several wipes (although in the end everyone has to wait for me to run back anyway). I took Surge of Light in holy to help me rep grind but I haven't been getting many free insta-casts, I think it's broken?
http://armory.worldofwarcraft.com/#character-talents.xml?r=Andorhal&n=Providius
Edited, Apr 1st 2007 12:45pm by MookusOU
If you like shadow, stay shadow. And make a name for yourself as shadow - I've got a friends list full of people who know I'm shadow and appreciate it. People are also getting smarter and looking for shadow priests - a few days ago, I was asked by the raid leader who kicked me from my MC guild last June for staying shadow if I was still shadow and could run a heroic with him >.<
If you've got good healing gear, you can heal non-heroics with minimal backup. Granted, 2 years of being a shadow priest has certainly helped, but I've healed Shadow Labs, Shattered Halls, Steamvaults, Bot, and Mech, with a few heals thrown by other classes but otherwise very little assistance. Just don't be afraid to pop a mana pot.
With your aggro issues - get better tanks, watch KHL Threat Meter (force your tanks to get it if they don't :P ), and don't throw in MB/SWD so often. By the time VE, VT, and SWP are up, the tank's usually got decent enough aggro (especially if you've a hunter with Misdirection and another priest with PoM) that I open with SWD, Mind Blast, then three Mind Flays, VT, SWD, Mind Blast, and go from there (SWD first as to heal myself with the subsequent MB). Just watch KTM; if you're the highest on threat (100%), you pull aggro when the tank's at 77% (fights where the tank gets gouged/stunned/feared, you pull right after that if you're next highest on the aggro list, which is more often than not). Just keep in mind Fade with NOT help you, it hardly gets rid of one Mind Flay if you've got VE and VT ticking on a couple allies.
On trash, I rarely have this problem, but then again I tend to run with insanely high-damage groups (Afflic/Ruin lock, 3-minute-mage, myself, feral druid, healbot; one mob's usually dead in under 6 seconds). Better tanks or better CC, or don't throw VE on your target.
So far my favorite healbot build is at least 31 Disc, though maybe that's just cuz I like getting PI :P A good smiter build with still very good healing is 33/28 PI/SoL; ultimate healbot seems to me to be 23/38 (Improved DI).
EDIT: Mookus, your problem is your gear :O With the exception of Oshu'gun Relic, you need all new gear... you're still wearing level 60 stuff! :O Go and get yourself some good quest rewards and instance drops, that'll help immensely.
Edited, Apr 2nd 2007 1:35am by lsfreak
If you've got good healing gear, you can heal non-heroics with minimal backup. Granted, 2 years of being a shadow priest has certainly helped, but I've healed Shadow Labs, Shattered Halls, Steamvaults, Bot, and Mech, with a few heals thrown by other classes but otherwise very little assistance. Just don't be afraid to pop a mana pot.
With your aggro issues - get better tanks, watch KHL Threat Meter (force your tanks to get it if they don't :P ), and don't throw in MB/SWD so often. By the time VE, VT, and SWP are up, the tank's usually got decent enough aggro (especially if you've a hunter with Misdirection and another priest with PoM) that I open with SWD, Mind Blast, then three Mind Flays, VT, SWD, Mind Blast, and go from there (SWD first as to heal myself with the subsequent MB). Just watch KTM; if you're the highest on threat (100%), you pull aggro when the tank's at 77% (fights where the tank gets gouged/stunned/feared, you pull right after that if you're next highest on the aggro list, which is more often than not). Just keep in mind Fade with NOT help you, it hardly gets rid of one Mind Flay if you've got VE and VT ticking on a couple allies.
On trash, I rarely have this problem, but then again I tend to run with insanely high-damage groups (Afflic/Ruin lock, 3-minute-mage, myself, feral druid, healbot; one mob's usually dead in under 6 seconds). Better tanks or better CC, or don't throw VE on your target.
So far my favorite healbot build is at least 31 Disc, though maybe that's just cuz I like getting PI :P A good smiter build with still very good healing is 33/28 PI/SoL; ultimate healbot seems to me to be 23/38 (Improved DI).
EDIT: Mookus, your problem is your gear :O With the exception of Oshu'gun Relic, you need all new gear... you're still wearing level 60 stuff! :O Go and get yourself some good quest rewards and instance drops, that'll help immensely.
Edited, Apr 2nd 2007 1:35am by lsfreak
At level 65, as a shadow priest, i decided i don't go to instances until i hit 70 and get all possible quests done. Been there, done that. I soloed my way until all i had left were few group quests (5man), which i could have done as shadow, and the rest were quests that had to be done in instances.
I gathered all gear that i could. From quests, tailoring, few instances i've been. So, at level 70, eager to raid, i had damage gear with +600 damage and healing gear with +1200 healing.
So i did my respec, went holy/disc (SoL/imp DS) and started healing instances. Actually i love healing, so i prefer this now. I have absolutely no problem healing whatsoever instance. Haven't tried heroics, because i'm not yet revered with all factions, but i guess good groups make up for my lack of heroic experience.
Also, AoE healing is a lot used. Ppl will all get damaged usually. And all of them. Also, PoH tends to crit pretty often, so a free smite is almost always available after a PoH. I took Angel too. 5% spirit, and a free chance to save wipes. I saved more than few wipes with it. Example: Last boss Shattered Halls. I had 1k life and an add on me, boss at 5-10%. Died, PoH 2 times, renew and PoM on tank, died. Boss died, i ran back, was summoned and got my loot. Also, with a warlock in group, SoR is pretty cool. If you have SS, that's free healing for 15 (10?) seconds and then you get up again. Been there, done that.
Also, i'm starting to become known as the priest that goes DPS in instances. A group already had resto shaman healing, so i joined as DPS. I saved the party few times with my PoH, while the sammy was healing tank. Did like 2/3 the damage of the mage and hunter, but no one died. They said they never saw a Holy DPS priest before ...
Just because you spec holy that doesn't mean you can't go as dps/off healer in instances.
Tailoring: you will want to think of 2 things. If you become a healer, then you will not likely get +damage gear from instances/raids, so you might want to take shadowcloth tailoring to be able to make yourself some solo gear or for when you get tired of healing. If you stay shadow, then you will get +damage items, so maybe primal mooncloth tailoring will help you to get those healing items for when they are needed.
I gathered all gear that i could. From quests, tailoring, few instances i've been. So, at level 70, eager to raid, i had damage gear with +600 damage and healing gear with +1200 healing.
So i did my respec, went holy/disc (SoL/imp DS) and started healing instances. Actually i love healing, so i prefer this now. I have absolutely no problem healing whatsoever instance. Haven't tried heroics, because i'm not yet revered with all factions, but i guess good groups make up for my lack of heroic experience.
Also, AoE healing is a lot used. Ppl will all get damaged usually. And all of them. Also, PoH tends to crit pretty often, so a free smite is almost always available after a PoH. I took Angel too. 5% spirit, and a free chance to save wipes. I saved more than few wipes with it. Example: Last boss Shattered Halls. I had 1k life and an add on me, boss at 5-10%. Died, PoH 2 times, renew and PoM on tank, died. Boss died, i ran back, was summoned and got my loot. Also, with a warlock in group, SoR is pretty cool. If you have SS, that's free healing for 15 (10?) seconds and then you get up again. Been there, done that.
Also, i'm starting to become known as the priest that goes DPS in instances. A group already had resto shaman healing, so i joined as DPS. I saved the party few times with my PoH, while the sammy was healing tank. Did like 2/3 the damage of the mage and hunter, but no one died. They said they never saw a Holy DPS priest before ...
Just because you spec holy that doesn't mean you can't go as dps/off healer in instances.
Tailoring: you will want to think of 2 things. If you become a healer, then you will not likely get +damage gear from instances/raids, so you might want to take shadowcloth tailoring to be able to make yourself some solo gear or for when you get tired of healing. If you stay shadow, then you will get +damage items, so maybe primal mooncloth tailoring will help you to get those healing items for when they are needed.
I was reading this thread with interest as I play both a warrior and a priest, with my main being the warrior. The aggro problems you are beginning to experience I think stem from 2 main factors. The first being the improved gear spellcasters have been getting ever since TBC came out. The additional +damage and +crit can cause serious additional threat. This is compounded by the second factor, which is that the warrior threat building skills do not scale well. That is, they are about as affective at end game as when we first hit 70. To give an example, I have been tanking for my guild for some time, and in the first few weeks of being level 70 had absolutely no problem holding aggro. As we are winding up towards Kara, I have noticed that the threat generated by our casters can easily pass mine when they are nuking heavily. I was watching KLH the other day and saw that our party's druid was doing double the threat per second that I was at one point. As things go on I don't think this will improve much to be honest. Some people are saying that this effect was intentional and that Blizzard wanted to make threat management an issue for the whole party/raid, not just for the tanks.
I agree with pretty much everything Isfreak said. My (almost) static group has a feral druid (main tank), pally (off-tank), lock (DPS), holy priest (main healer) and me, a shadow priest (DPS).
A few things that have made me a better shadow priest:
1. One spell that helps me do my thing is the pally's blessing that reduces threat by 30%. Nuke away.
2. Like others have said...run a threat meter. These things aren't perfect but they give you a pretty good idea of where you stand on the world's most hated list. Pull back when you're red lining. This is a good time to renew your DoTs.
3. Wait til your tank has about 3k threat built up to begin the MBs/MFs. Use the time you're waiting to initiate the VT/VE/SW:P. Most importantly...know your tank. Obviously hard to do with PUGs, but if you can find someone you routinely run with, you will definitely see a pattern in how your tank obtains/build aggro.
On our most recent run through Shadow Labs to help the main healer get his first Kara key frag (he's a little behind, I know), I dealt 967K damage over the instance, topping the charts (not even mentioning that 20% of the lock's damage is actually thanks to you) and ripped aggro only once (on the first 2 pull when you start, just cause I didn't care). Managing aggro is really fairly easy if you have the tools.
Anyway, having tons-o-fun as a Shadow Priest and the guildies love me. If you like it then stick with it, that's my 2 cents.
A few things that have made me a better shadow priest:
1. One spell that helps me do my thing is the pally's blessing that reduces threat by 30%. Nuke away.
2. Like others have said...run a threat meter. These things aren't perfect but they give you a pretty good idea of where you stand on the world's most hated list. Pull back when you're red lining. This is a good time to renew your DoTs.
3. Wait til your tank has about 3k threat built up to begin the MBs/MFs. Use the time you're waiting to initiate the VT/VE/SW:P. Most importantly...know your tank. Obviously hard to do with PUGs, but if you can find someone you routinely run with, you will definitely see a pattern in how your tank obtains/build aggro.
On our most recent run through Shadow Labs to help the main healer get his first Kara key frag (he's a little behind, I know), I dealt 967K damage over the instance, topping the charts (not even mentioning that 20% of the lock's damage is actually thanks to you) and ripped aggro only once (on the first 2 pull when you start, just cause I didn't care). Managing aggro is really fairly easy if you have the tools.
Anyway, having tons-o-fun as a Shadow Priest and the guildies love me. If you like it then stick with it, that's my 2 cents.
Yea, I just figured out part of the aggro problem. Did the calculations for another thread - aggro on my high-damage rotation (SWP, VT, VE, MF, SWD/MB every 9 seconds), I easily break 1.6k threat per SECOND, and that's in a raid situation where I'll be doing less threat (assumed 5 ticks of VT and 2 VE, versus 3-4 VT and 2-5+ VE in many 5-mans). I knew it was high, I had no idea it was THAT high. Wish I knew a 70 pally I could run with >.<
I'd definitely match your tailoring spec to your spec. Shadoweave is bar none the best shadow gear in the game pending Black Temple's release; same for PMooncloth for healing. Tier 5 is NO match for those two sets.
Edited, Apr 2nd 2007 6:20pm by lsfreak
I'd definitely match your tailoring spec to your spec. Shadoweave is bar none the best shadow gear in the game pending Black Temple's release; same for PMooncloth for healing. Tier 5 is NO match for those two sets.
Edited, Apr 2nd 2007 6:20pm by lsfreak
lsfreak-
Yeah I know my gear is horrible. After I got to OL I took a new job and I work a ton more hours now. I can only play about 2 hrs a night so I never really had time to hit instances from 60+. After doing Ramps/Blood Furnace I didn't do any instances until... well now. I've been looking through atlas tryin to find out where to get my new gear so that's my next step.
Yeah I know my gear is horrible. After I got to OL I took a new job and I work a ton more hours now. I can only play about 2 hrs a night so I never really had time to hit instances from 60+. After doing Ramps/Blood Furnace I didn't do any instances until... well now. I've been looking through atlas tryin to find out where to get my new gear so that's my next step.
Well, if you want any help or suggestions, just PM me. During beta I made a 17-page word document with every pieces of BC gear; ended up with most of the names/locations and the general stats memorized, so I should be able to point you in the right direction if you're stuck on something XD
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2 posts
Great discussion.. ta. I'm in exact same situation. But with lack of another priest in guild I am forced to go holy from shadow (which I have never given up before....I enjoy the face melting). Reason- We couldn't beat Prince Shaffar in Mana Tombs ( oh the embarrassment)
A tip I heard today, warrior is better specced protection to hold that aggro. Can someone confirm this please.
A tip I heard today, warrior is better specced protection to hold that aggro. Can someone confirm this please.
Well, after some thinking and looking through gear lists to compare Shadoweave and Primal Mooncloth sets to instance drops, I've decided that I'm going to stay shadow for now and go with Shadoweave tailoring. The pieces of that set are just much better than anything else out there for a Shadow Priest. I figure I can pick up some instance healing gear later on if I decide to change spec. Other priests do without Primal Mooncloth, so can I if it comes down to it :)
Now, question is what pieces I should be gunning for in other slots. Any thoughts on the Battlecast/Spellstrike sets? Or is there anything comparable that won't take so much gold to get.
Planning on finishing all quests before seriously hitting up instances so I have no idea what gear drops where (need to gold to finish leveling tailoring and enchanting). I will be doing a search and making a list for myself once exams are over later this month, but until I have time to sit down and do that, does anyone have a piece of gear or two off the top of their head they think is amazing for a shadow priest?
Thanks for the replies so far, they really helped. And, crazy as it sounds, I found a few decent posts on the O-Boards that made me realize how amazing my shadow priest can be if I find the right group of people to instance with.
Now, question is what pieces I should be gunning for in other slots. Any thoughts on the Battlecast/Spellstrike sets? Or is there anything comparable that won't take so much gold to get.
Planning on finishing all quests before seriously hitting up instances so I have no idea what gear drops where (need to gold to finish leveling tailoring and enchanting). I will be doing a search and making a list for myself once exams are over later this month, but until I have time to sit down and do that, does anyone have a piece of gear or two off the top of their head they think is amazing for a shadow priest?
Thanks for the replies so far, they really helped. And, crazy as it sounds, I found a few decent posts on the O-Boards that made me realize how amazing my shadow priest can be if I find the right group of people to instance with.
Gear, my specialty :D I really should throw up a thread about shadow priest gear and try and get it stickied.
First off, the really easy stuff. Get to the AH, find yourself a Flawless Wand of Shadow Power. Watch that AH like a hawk ;P Also, Cloak of the Black Void (an hour of farming tops) and Khorium Band of Shadow (again, an hour, though the mats here are usually cheap enough it's better to get them off the AH). Finally, 15 Hellfire PvP tokens and go to Zangarmarsh for your Mark of Defiance.
Spellstrike Pants are bar none the best shadow priest pants in the game right now, though personally I'm taking tier 4 helm over the spellstrike hood (partly for the -2% threat meta gem I can throw in there). I wouldn't bother with Battlecast.
Also, be sure to throw the right enchants and gems on your stuff. Mystic Spellthread on your pants, Inscription of Discipline (hope you're Aldor :P) on your shoulders, and pretty much all Runed Living Rubies in sockets (only exceptions I can see are dmg/hit and dmg/int gems from Heroics, and the very rare instance where a different gem gives a socket bonus that will total higher than all +9dmg gems).
Second is quests. Some of the big ones are a chain in Shadowmoon for the Evoker's Helm of Second Sight (among the highest pure +dmg, and crit for PvP), Natasha's Arcane Filament from a quest in Blade's Edge, and possibly Netherwing Sorcerer's Charm (though personally I think the healer's one is worth picking up, as it far outclasses other easily-attainable offhands).
Next big thing is Kara key, and you might as well grab gear from the instances you must do while there so as to minimize This means Shadow Labs, then Arcatraz and Steamvaults, then Black Morass (Old Hillsbrad if you haven't done it yet). From just those four instances, you can get some excellent gear: Shadow Lab quest gives Shattrath Wraps (and jumpers while you're waiting to get Shadoweave Boots), and from bosses Jaedenfire Gloves of Annihilation and Brooch of Heightened Potential, as well as several nice pieces of stamina gear for a stamina set (Gruul and similar fight, as well as PvP - Wand of the Netherwing, Robes of the Oblivion), plus the recipe for your Spellstrike Pants. Steamvaults has Sash of Serpentra, and Arcatraz the Nether Core's Control Rod (+hit wand if you need it). Black Morass has Mantle of Three Terrors and Khadgar's Kilt of Abjuration if you're a ways off from your crafted pieces, as well as Star-Heart Lamp. Congrats, now you can get into Kara :P After that, I'd get some Mech and Bot runs in, mainly for Bloodfyre Robes of Annihilation (until you get Shadoweave) and Bangle of Endless Blessing.
After the Kara key quest, your biggest thing is Heroic instances. Run the top instances in each place till you hit Revered and get the gear you want. My suggestion is Steamvaults first (easiest and seems to be the heroics people are looking for the most), followed by Shadow Labs. You eventually need to hit Exalted with Shadow Labs for your Gavel of Unearthed Secrets, which should probably be your biggest task. After that, there's some excellent gear from heroics, especially Mana-Tombs (Glyph-Lined Sash and Cobalt Band of Tyrigosa), and for stamina sets, Underbog (Argussian Compass and Demonfang Ritual Helm). Get your Orb of the Soul-Eater (25 heroic badges) and Icon of the Silver Crescent (41 badges).
I'd check around (wowhead has an excellent loot page under each dungeon zone) to see which gear you want, since many items are sidegrades by the time you get to Heroics.
Have fun :D
First off, the really easy stuff. Get to the AH, find yourself a Flawless Wand of Shadow Power. Watch that AH like a hawk ;P Also, Cloak of the Black Void (an hour of farming tops) and Khorium Band of Shadow (again, an hour, though the mats here are usually cheap enough it's better to get them off the AH). Finally, 15 Hellfire PvP tokens and go to Zangarmarsh for your Mark of Defiance.
Spellstrike Pants are bar none the best shadow priest pants in the game right now, though personally I'm taking tier 4 helm over the spellstrike hood (partly for the -2% threat meta gem I can throw in there). I wouldn't bother with Battlecast.
Also, be sure to throw the right enchants and gems on your stuff. Mystic Spellthread on your pants, Inscription of Discipline (hope you're Aldor :P) on your shoulders, and pretty much all Runed Living Rubies in sockets (only exceptions I can see are dmg/hit and dmg/int gems from Heroics, and the very rare instance where a different gem gives a socket bonus that will total higher than all +9dmg gems).
Second is quests. Some of the big ones are a chain in Shadowmoon for the Evoker's Helm of Second Sight (among the highest pure +dmg, and crit for PvP), Natasha's Arcane Filament from a quest in Blade's Edge, and possibly Netherwing Sorcerer's Charm (though personally I think the healer's one is worth picking up, as it far outclasses other easily-attainable offhands).
Next big thing is Kara key, and you might as well grab gear from the instances you must do while there so as to minimize This means Shadow Labs, then Arcatraz and Steamvaults, then Black Morass (Old Hillsbrad if you haven't done it yet). From just those four instances, you can get some excellent gear: Shadow Lab quest gives Shattrath Wraps (and jumpers while you're waiting to get Shadoweave Boots), and from bosses Jaedenfire Gloves of Annihilation and Brooch of Heightened Potential, as well as several nice pieces of stamina gear for a stamina set (Gruul and similar fight, as well as PvP - Wand of the Netherwing, Robes of the Oblivion), plus the recipe for your Spellstrike Pants. Steamvaults has Sash of Serpentra, and Arcatraz the Nether Core's Control Rod (+hit wand if you need it). Black Morass has Mantle of Three Terrors and Khadgar's Kilt of Abjuration if you're a ways off from your crafted pieces, as well as Star-Heart Lamp. Congrats, now you can get into Kara :P After that, I'd get some Mech and Bot runs in, mainly for Bloodfyre Robes of Annihilation (until you get Shadoweave) and Bangle of Endless Blessing.
After the Kara key quest, your biggest thing is Heroic instances. Run the top instances in each place till you hit Revered and get the gear you want. My suggestion is Steamvaults first (easiest and seems to be the heroics people are looking for the most), followed by Shadow Labs. You eventually need to hit Exalted with Shadow Labs for your Gavel of Unearthed Secrets, which should probably be your biggest task. After that, there's some excellent gear from heroics, especially Mana-Tombs (Glyph-Lined Sash and Cobalt Band of Tyrigosa), and for stamina sets, Underbog (Argussian Compass and Demonfang Ritual Helm). Get your Orb of the Soul-Eater (25 heroic badges) and Icon of the Silver Crescent (41 badges).
I'd check around (wowhead has an excellent loot page under each dungeon zone) to see which gear you want, since many items are sidegrades by the time you get to Heroics.
Have fun :D
lsfreak wrote:
I really should throw up a thread about shadow priest gear and try and get it stickied.
That would be great, or add it to the stickied thread on Shadowpriests.
42 posts
Funny how it turned out.
I hit 70 during the last day of March.
Did quest leading to karazhan key and turned Holy/Disc.
But the catch is iam less wanted by peers for instances now lol, remembered a druid asked me to come to mech, and his response to me turning Holy wasn't as i thought, he actually perfered me staying Shadow and was surprised that I respecced quite fast. Nethertheless we still did mech but then realm maintainance had to ruin our wonderful group. :(
I hit 70 during the last day of March.
Did quest leading to karazhan key and turned Holy/Disc.
But the catch is iam less wanted by peers for instances now lol, remembered a druid asked me to come to mech, and his response to me turning Holy wasn't as i thought, he actually perfered me staying Shadow and was surprised that I respecced quite fast. Nethertheless we still did mech but then realm maintainance had to ruin our wonderful group. :(
I <3 Isfreak.
I really think that if you have the time and the energy you should write up a structured Shadow Priest gear guide and have it added to the Shadow Priest Sticky. Or, make your own sticky :) Either way, it would be nice to give people an idea of what to look for and maybe a place to discuss the nuances between different pieces, like which ones are your best return if you need more +hit, if it's better to go more +dmg instead of getting +crit, how much stamina you really need for 5-mans, heroics, or raids, etc. I haven't played this character enough to tackle that myself, although I do have a tailoring guide in the works. I think I'll stick with that project for now :)
I really think that if you have the time and the energy you should write up a structured Shadow Priest gear guide and have it added to the Shadow Priest Sticky. Or, make your own sticky :) Either way, it would be nice to give people an idea of what to look for and maybe a place to discuss the nuances between different pieces, like which ones are your best return if you need more +hit, if it's better to go more +dmg instead of getting +crit, how much stamina you really need for 5-mans, heroics, or raids, etc. I haven't played this character enough to tackle that myself, although I do have a tailoring guide in the works. I think I'll stick with that project for now :)
Glad you asked this question, I had a rough time last night in Crypts (my fault for not moving fast enough on the flares) but I am tired of people being disappointed in my healing when I am 100% shadow.
I'm going to stay shadow, can't imagine being otherwise and people can just deal.
I'm going to stay shadow, can't imagine being otherwise and people can just deal.
NephthysWanderer the Charming wrote:
Glad you asked this question, I had a rough time last night in Crypts (my fault for not moving fast enough on the flares) but I am tired of people being disappointed in my healing when I am 100% shadow.
I'm going to stay shadow, can't imagine being otherwise and people can just deal.
I'm going to stay shadow, can't imagine being otherwise and people can just deal.
That is the exact reason I don't join a group if they expect me to main heal. I'm shadow for a reason, sticking me in the main healing spot when I'm not the right spec and don't have a great healing set of gear just gimps the group and makes things no fun for anyone involved. I say if you're shadow, only join a group if they are fully aware of this fact and you can stay shadow the whole time. Or, if you're going in with a great guild group with an off healer, then you can probably heal relatively stress free. The game is supposed to be fun, so if shadow is fun for you, do it to the best of your ability, don't heal just because people say you should. :D
I just keep my healing gear up-to-date so I can main heal with a bit of backup if I need to. Wouldn't even both trying in heroics and raids, though.
You convinced me, I'm slowly putting together a guide to the best shadow priest gear at level 70. Anyone know if I can get item links in the text (like on the news, where it pops up in a window), or do I just have to link to the page?
EDIT: Damn, premium member only thing, and I'm cheap :( [wowitem=27781]Demonfang Ritual Helm[/wowitem]
Edited, Apr 3rd 2007 8:51pm by lsfreak
You convinced me, I'm slowly putting together a guide to the best shadow priest gear at level 70. Anyone know if I can get item links in the text (like on the news, where it pops up in a window), or do I just have to link to the page?
EDIT: Damn, premium member only thing, and I'm cheap :( [wowitem=27781]Demonfang Ritual Helm[/wowitem]
Edited, Apr 3rd 2007 8:51pm by lsfreak
NephthysWanderer the Charming wrote:
Glad you asked this question, I had a rough time last night in Crypts (my fault for not moving fast enough on the flares) but I am tired of people being disappointed in my healing when I am 100% shadow.
I'm going to stay shadow, can't imagine being otherwise and people can just deal.
I'm going to stay shadow, can't imagine being otherwise and people can just deal.
You can always try to find some holy speced Pallys to buddy up with and
get on your fl. They complement each other very nicely.
SP keeps the pally's mana bar up, Pally lowers SP's threat.
win/win
I've noticed lately in General Chat that more and more ppl are looking for Shadow Priests specifically. I think because we can bring VE / VT and Misery to the fight. VE / VT to help keep a fairly steady stream of mana and health flowing and bump other Priests/Warlocks/Mages damage output an additional 5% with Misery. As a 66 shadow priest I love the idea of being asked to do instances because I'm shadow. Often pre-BC I would get "oh nevermind" when I say that I'm shadow after being asked to join.
I have a few OL greens (... of the Prophet and Physician items) and quest rewards that give me about +550 healing which helps when I do go as a main healer or off healer. In addition to the +healing, the items bump up mana pool by about 1500 and my spirit byt about 70, giving me the ability to heal longer.
I also use a mod called ClosetGnome that allows me to easily swap from my damage gear to healing gear when I find I need to switch roles for the good of the group.
I don't for a second think I can main heal level 70 instances or heroics, but I do think that I would be able to off-heal out of shadowform and keep the party "topped off" with VE/VT up and spamming SW:P, MB and MF while in shadowform.
Aggro is and has always been a big issue for priests. Just let the main tank build up a little aggro for a few seconds as you cast VT/VE/SW:P, then wait a tick or 2 then start blasting away with MB / MF. It should minimize the risk of pulling.
If you enjoy being shadow, stay shadow and play it for all it's worth!
- Azoth
I have a few OL greens (... of the Prophet and Physician items) and quest rewards that give me about +550 healing which helps when I do go as a main healer or off healer. In addition to the +healing, the items bump up mana pool by about 1500 and my spirit byt about 70, giving me the ability to heal longer.
I also use a mod called ClosetGnome that allows me to easily swap from my damage gear to healing gear when I find I need to switch roles for the good of the group.
I don't for a second think I can main heal level 70 instances or heroics, but I do think that I would be able to off-heal out of shadowform and keep the party "topped off" with VE/VT up and spamming SW:P, MB and MF while in shadowform.
Aggro is and has always been a big issue for priests. Just let the main tank build up a little aggro for a few seconds as you cast VT/VE/SW:P, then wait a tick or 2 then start blasting away with MB / MF. It should minimize the risk of pulling.
If you enjoy being shadow, stay shadow and play it for all it's worth!
- Azoth
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