A Question for higher level Shadow Priests

[Haylo]

Ok my priest is level 37, and I haven't really gotten to any of the "hard" instances yet. I have a few questions for any priest that is pass the SM point I guess.

First how far into shadow talents did you go with your talent build? Right now i'm planning only to do the bare minimum to get shadowform, and I was going to use the rest in disc and holy.

Secondly how tough are the instances as a shadow priest? From what I read on the boards, these holy priests swear up and down that you must respec holy to get anywhere at a higher level.

The last question isn't really that important but i'm wondering if once you get shadowform and you're exping, how high level of mobs are you generally able to take solo? Right now I can usually take a lvl 40-41 but it takes a lot of mana, and elites my lvl +1 or +2 if I get really really lucky.

I need to know if soloing is still viable later on b/c since I play on a PST server and I live on the east coast I don't get to do a lot of instances etc cause usually when i'm logging off that stuff is just getting started.

[DangerPaul]

yeah, vonk is shadow spec, he totally sucks in instances and solo

do not read the forums, they are filled with the dumbest of fucking dumb players

[Harrison]

do not read the forums, they are filled with the dumbest of fucking dumb players

[vonkaar]

I can't come up with an analogy that truly captures the essence of what holy priests are in their dislike towards shadow priests. I tried. The analogies usually started with German sportcars but they always ended up with crying 11 year olds and apple streudel.

Basically...

Our guild has 3 high level priests. They are all shadow priests. Hell, every 50+ horde priest on our server is a shadow priest. I'm not so sure for the alliance, but know I've seen a lot of mind flay from their side as well. My point is... we are all doing JUST FINE.

[Tacks]

Vonkaar did Maradon at 40ish. Don't read the boards.

[Goose_Man]

I have nothing against shadow priests... and I'm only level 27 but I'm going the holy/disc route and so far it’s great! But then again I'm not a big soloer so I'm trying to make my self as group friendly as possible.

[Tikker]

IMO Holy is the weakest talent line for the priests


Shadow is strongest, followed by discipline

It's hard to beat the cool factor of the shadow priest

[Savanna]

I have shadow only up to mind flay and then am pretty much full disc. with just a few points in holy. I'm still a huge fan of disc. and even though I like aspects of shadow I can't see myself in a raiding situation being full shadow and being as efficient of a healer as a disc/holy specd. priest but that's just my opinion of course. The argument always falls back to what else shadow priests bring to the group then just healing. Some people love playing shadow out because that's more their playstyle. I played every caster during alpha-beta and if I wanted more dps, priest is not what I'd have gone for. I love the disc. line myself. It's really up to people's playstyles. I will say that I love stacking a good shadow priest in group.

Sav aka
~Heavann~Team Ice~Illidan

[Nayana]

Well i USED to be a holy priest... and I just got tired of sucking... ><

i went and unlearned all my talent points and then spent about 30 minutes looking through all the talents. and while im sure shadow has its advantages.. it still wasnt my style. granted i have the improved SW:Pain and the spirit tap... those are esential for solo.. my build now is heavy in discipline. my fortitude buff now gives more stamina, i have a 10% bigger mana pool... my instant spells cost 10% less, my shield spell can be recast faster... ect .. disc seems to just be more overall better rather than better in one specific area... and i have no more H8 toward shadow priests.. tho I am looking at the pure holy priests and thinking... your an idiot.... well only cause i have been down that path

[Goose_Man]

Hmm is holy THAT bad?

Im only level 27 and i spent 5 pts in spirit tap.

The rest are in holy:

5 Improved renew
5 Spiritual healing
1 Holy Fire
2 Subtlety (So far)

My plan is as follows:

Shadow: 5 spirit tap

Holy:
5 Improved renew
5 Spiritual healing
1 Holy Fire
5 Subtlety
2 Improved Flash healing
5 Improved Healing
2 Improved Prayer of healing

Discipline:
5 Unbreakable Will
3 Improved Power word shield
2 Improved Power word Fortitude
5 Mental Agility
5 Mental Strength

Then Ill have one point left over to put somewhere

I figured that would make me a pretty group friendly priest... but now I'm hearing that holy is the suck.

What do you guys think?

Btw if you havent found it yet check out: http://wowvault.ign.com/View.php?view=T ... elect_id=6 For talents.

[Tikker]

Holy doesn't suck

none of them do

Shadow and discipline just seem to add more dimensions to the priest, where Holy just improves what you already have (imo)


I really don't think you can go wrong with any spec for priest

[vonkaar]

Im only level 27 and i spent 5 pts in spirit tap. Good man

The rest are in holy:

5 Improved renew Good
5 Spiritual healing Good enough, it should be 15% IMHO.
1 Holy Fire HOLY FUCKING WASTE OF A TALENT. 5 second cast time? That's almost the entire recast delay of mind blast!
2 Subtlety (So far) good

My plan is as follows:

Shadow: 5 spirit tap

Holy:
5 Improved renew This is a good thing.5 Spiritual healing see above
1 Holy Fire waste
5 Subtlety good
2 Improved Flash healing very good5 Improved Healing good
2 Improved Prayer of healing waste

Discipline:
5 Unbreakable Will good
3 Improved Power word shield A MUST HAVE
2 Improved Power word Fortitude very good
5 Mental Agility debatable - I think it sucks personally
5 Mental Strength - I'd rather sink most of these points into shadow to at least get silence.

[Nayana]

5 Mental Strength

?? you dont like this... ? how is 10% bigger mana pool a bad thing ?

and mental agility... i dunno i kind of liek the fact that shield, renew, pain dot, (and unded priest dot/lifetap) , fortitude ect all cost 10% less

other than that though... i agree with you thats a decently solid build

[vonkaar]

5 Mental Strength

?? you dont like this... ? how is 10% bigger mana pool a bad thing ?

Shrug... it's the same answer that I give for mental agility and meditation. It's nice, but I'd rather have the fun tools I get from the shadow tree. Longer reach... silence... vamp embrace... shadow form.

and mental agility... i dunno i kind of liek the fact that shield, renew, pain dot, (and unded priest dot/lifetap) , fortitude ect all cost 10% less

Almost all of the instant cast spells are only cast once per battle, or during buffing and would require downtime 'anyway'... so saving 50 mana per cast isn't a lifesaver for me. This is especially true during solo-play. In groups, I'll often cast renew a few times in a single encounter, but we are still talking about a very small amount of mana here. Same goes for shields and dots.

[Tacks]

5 talent points for 500 ( guessing) mana doesn't seem worth it to me.

[Rotj]

I'm pretty much Disc / Holy atm. Level 36 Priest.

- Discipline Mastery

Unbreakable Will Rank 5
Improved Power Word: Shield Rank 3
Improved Power Word: Fortitude Rank 2
Mental Agility Rank 2
Discipline Total: 12

- Holy Mastery

Improved Renew Rank 5
Spiritual Healing Rank 5
Subtlety Rank 5
Holy Total: 15
Total
Total Points Spent: 27

Level Required: 36


I'm pretty much at a standstill of what to go now. My playing style is a super group healing whore..soloing has never been my thing..only do it if I don't have time really hehe. vonk, what's your take on Divine Spirit? Having never played in beta to high level encounters..would the extra 23 spirit be crucial?

It's very tempting to use the rest of the points to get Vamp Embrace or even Silence..I must say.

[nibbon]

my plan:
Discipline Mastery
Unbreakable Will Rank 5
Improved Power Word: Shield Rank 3
Improved Power Word: Fortitiude Rank 2
Mental Agility Rank 5
Mental Strength Rank 5
Improved Mana Burn Rank 2
Meditation Rank 5
Inner Focus Rank 1
Discipline Total: 28
Holy Mastery
Holy Specialization Rank 5
Spiritual Healing Rank 5
Holy Fire Rank 1
Subtlety Rank 5
Improved Healing Rank 5
Improved Prayer of Healing Rank 2
Holy Total: 23
Total
Total Points Spent: 51
Level Required: 60

[Demius]

Our guild has 3 high level priests. They are all shadow priests. Hell, every 50+ horde priest on our server is a shadow priest. I'm not so sure for the alliance, but know I've seen a lot of mind flay from their side as well. My point is... we are all doing JUST FINE.

AHEM! ... depends what you consider high lvl, as I am 40 about to be 41 and maybe 42 by the end of the night.

Bow before me!

[lareau]

I can't come up with an analogy that truly captures the essence of what holy priests are in their dislike towards shadow priests. I tried. The analogies usually started with German sportcars but they always ended up with crying 11 year olds and apple streudel.

Basically...

Our guild has 3 high level priests. They are all shadow priests. Hell, every 50+ horde priest on our server is a shadow priest. I'm not so sure for the alliance, but know I've seen a lot of mind flay from their side as well. My point is... we are all doing JUST FINE.

I'm not a shadow priest. I'm a discipline priest with a 10-15 points in shadow!

[vonkaar]

Ah, well... you are also a troll and so your judgment is obviously flawed.

Rotj... Divine spirit is a huge debate for me. One one hand, it's a neat buff. 29 spirit is nothing to scoff at. It lasts long enough to justify casting, it's inexpensive on mana and can be cast on other people, so... you'll win with the ladies.

On the other hand... it's at the bottom of the fucking disc tree. That means you have to get 30 fucking points of a LOT of useless shit just to earn it. I could easily spend 10 points in disc - 5(unbreakable will) 3(shield) 2(fort). Those are must haves for every priest. The next 10 could go in... 5(mental agility) 5(mental strength ). So now you have 20. The next 5 should go to meditation... and then one on inner focus (yhe one cool utility spell on the disc tree). But then you still need to figure out what to spend 4 points on. That's what sucks... Improved mana burn is good, but that's SUCH a waste of 2 disc points and everyone knows it. You have to figure out what to waste 4 more levels worth of disc points on, just so you can get an additional 29 spirit buff? Whoopee!

I mean, if I was getting a new nuke that turned my enemies into frogs after 4 wawted disc points... maybe... but I mean, that's all you have to look forward to? A new buff? bleh...

Think about it... You have 10 obvious points to spend. The next 5-10 are pretty safe. Past that it's pretty screwy. During that time, you could be having fun with the shadow tree getting all of the badass skills like stuns, spirit tap, improved dot, improved damage, mind flay!, improved fade, greater range, vampiric embrace, silence! and shadow form.

[Zanathar]

Hey Vonk, is duoing a shadow priest (on my second account) a viable option? Warlock/Shadow Priest combo...

[Zanathar]

And what the fuck do the damn goats mean? And why do I have 114.3 of them?

[DangerPaul]

The goats are for playing games in the arcade.

As for 2 boxxing in WoW, I think it would be more trouble than its worth, since its already easy enough that a retard can play. I mean, look, I play.

[vonkaar]

The fastest group I was ever in was last night... just a random pickup with a 43 warlock and a 42 hunter... non stop kills of 45-48 ogres... all dead in about 5 seconds, I pull another... seriously, it was absolutely crazy xp.

[Tacks]

Are you sure it wasn't faster in your ZF pickup group?