Shadow Priest DPS Guide & Best Runes – Season of Discovery (SoD)

Season of Discovery Shadow Priest Build Guide Featured Image

Welcome to the SoD Phase 4 Shadow Priest DPS Guide!

This guide focuses exclusively on the Shadow specialization, exploring key components such as Runes, Talent Trees, Stat Priorities, Rotations & Abilities, Best Professions, BiS (Best in Slot) items, and Race Choices. The new Rune System introduced in the Season of Discovery has granted Shadow Priest a plethora of useful direct damage abilities and passive effects that significantly overhaul its previous dull playstyle. The specialization now has an interactive playstyle, displaying powerful DoT effects, strong Direct Damage spells, and iconic utility spells!

Talents

Runes

Stat Priority

  1. Spell Damage
  2. Shadow Spell Damage
  3. Critical Strike Chance
  4. Intellect
  5. Spirit
  6. MP5
  7. Hit Rating

Rotations & Abilities

The overall rotation for Shadow Priests has been significantly enhanced and simplified. Currently, Shadow Priest has two distinct rotations for Single-Target encounters, with the rotation changing based on whether or not the T1 set bonuses are present. Additionally, some of the runes such as Shadow Word: Death or even Despair will be changed for AoE-heavy encounters in favor of Void Zone and Mind Sear.

Standard Single-Target Rotation

  1. Maintain Shadowform
  2. Cast Vampiric Touch
  3. Cast Shadow Word: Pain
  4. Cast Void Plague
  5. Cast Homunculi on cooldown
  6. Cast Shadow Word: Death on cooldown
  7. Cast Mind Blast when you have 3 x stacks of Mind Spike
  8. Cast Mind Spike (Filler)

Single-Target Rotation T1 Set

  1. Maintain Shadowform
  2. Cast Vampiric Touch
  3. Cast Shadow Word: Pain
  4. Cast Void Plague
  5. Cast Homunculi on cooldown
  6. Cast Shadow Word: Death on cooldown
  7. Cast Mind Flay when the T1 6-item set bonus procs
  8. Cast Mind Blast when you have 3 x stacks of Mind Spike
  9. Cast Mind Spike (Filler)

AoE Rotation

  1. Maintain Shadowform
  2. Spread Vampiric Touch, Shadow Word: Pain, and Void Plague on as many targets as possible
    • Refresh DoTs for extended fights
  3. Cast Mind Sear
  4. Swap to Void Zone if you encounter large packs of mobs that die easily

Best Professions

Tailoring

Tailoring is by far the best profession that Shadow Priest can utilize It allows you to craft the new Season of Discovery epic gear pieces and provides you with a consistent way of generating gold.

Engineering

Engineering has long been seen as one of the best professions for PvE, bringing many gadgets, bombs, and specialized items. Furthermore, Engineering grants new special recipes in the Season of Discovery which can significantly enhance your overall performance.

Enchanting

Enchanting is yet another one of the best professions that a Shadow Priest can use, providing a powerful synergy with Tailoring, adding beneficial stats to equipment, and even disenchanting gear pieces into magical essences. Enchanting is also viewed as one of the best gold generation tools in the game besides the bonuses it offers and the access to the specific Season of Discovery enchanting sigils.

Best Races

For Alliance, the best race is Dwarf due to Stoneform and Fear Ward. Sadly, since Dwarf is by far the strongest option, the other two races are much more of an aesthetic option. For the Horde, the best possible option is Troll with Berserking and Shadowguard. Undead is also a decent option but Troll is the vastly superior option due to Berserking.

Human

The Human Spirit, Sword Specialization, Mace Specialization, Perception, Diplomacy, Feedback, Desperate Prayer

Dwarf

Night Elf

Undead

Will of the Forsaken, Shadow Resistance, Cannibalize, Underwater Breathing, Devouring Plague, Touch of Weakness

Troll

 

About the Author

Nevermore

Hey there folks, I am Nevermore and have been deeply passionate about WoW for more than a decade. Whether we talk about the hidden mysteries of Azeroth or the otherworldly Outland, my journey brought me here to share the things that I have experienced with you all.
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Nairb
Nairb
1 year ago

I’m not so sure that the Spell Power Xtreme will be achievable. The lowest level mobs that drop the schematic are level 35 elites in Scarlet Monastery. The other way to get it would be through Strong Iron Lockboxes, which are dropped by level 35 mobs. Given enough time, I’m sure some raid group would figure out how to farm level 35 mobs at level 25, but I don’t think it’s happening before phase 2.

Passion
Reply to  Nairb
1 year ago

While that is accurate, the goggles themselves are Bind on Equip, meaning they can be sold similarly to other Classic Era crafts like Nightfall.

All it takes is an effective team to get one recipe and they will be available on your server.

glow
glow
1 year ago

So if the priest racials are changeable with glyph for shadow pve, troll will be bis right? Since its gonna be Devouring + berserking

Ljuskrigarn
Ljuskrigarn
11 months ago

Which race will be BiS next level bracket and onwards for Alliance? As it stands now you might as well go human for increased rep.

Passion
Reply to  Ljuskrigarn
11 months ago

Impossible to say for certain as they have mentioned shaking up priest racials substantially.

Düster
Düster
10 months ago

Shadow Affinity is absolutely not needed in Phase 1, i really never got aggro in BFD

Passion
Reply to  Düster
10 months ago

There are no other talents worth taking with those points so the point is moot. Blackout is always a negative in raids and your mana cannot sustain more Mind Blasts.

asdasda
asdasda
11 months ago

lol no blackout

Passion
Reply to  asdasda
11 months ago

This is not a PvP build.

Hio
Hio
1 year ago

Didn’t know Priest’s had a Warlock spell in classic….

Passion
Reply to  Hio
1 year ago

What do you mean?

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