Shadow Priest DPS Spell Summary in Battle for Azeroth (BfA) 8.0.1

Table of Contents

• +Introduction
  • 1. Class Overview
  • 2. Patch 8.0.1 Changes for Shadow Priest
  • 3. Shadow Priest Strengths
  • 4. Shadow Priest Weaknesses
  • 5. Shadow Priest Viability in the Current Patch
  • 6. Contents
  • 7. ChangeLog
• +Easy Mode
  • 1. Foreword
  • 2. The Basics for Shadow Priest
  • 3. Talent Choice for Shadow Priest
  • 4. Stat Choice for Shadow Priest
  • 5. Basic Rotation for Shadow Priest
  • 6. Azerite Traits
  • 7. ChangeLog
• ×Spell Summary
  • 1. Shadow Priest Spell Summary
  • 2. Main Resource for Shadow Priest
  • 3. Basic Abilities for Shadow Priest
  • 4. DPS Cooldowns for Shadow Priest
• +Builds and Talents
  • 1. Talent Choices for Shadow Priest
  • 2. Talent Cheat Sheets for Shadow Priest
    • 2.1. Raid Encounters
      • 2.1.1. Single Target
      • 2.1.2. Cleave
      • 2.1.3. Mythic+
    • 2.2. For General Use
  • 3. Tier 1 (Level 15) Talents for Shadow Priest
  • 4. Tier 2 (Level 30) Talents for Shadow Priest
  • 5. Tier 3 (Level 45) Talents for Shadow Priest
  • 6. Tier 4 (Level 60) Talents for Shadow Priest
  • 7. Tier 5 (Level 75) Talents for Shadow Priest
  • 8. Tier 6 (Level 90) Talents for Shadow Priest
  • 9. Tier 7 (Level 100) Talents for Shadow Priest
  • 10. PvP Talents (War Mode) for Shadow Priest
    • 10.1. Shadow Priest War Mode Talents
      • 10.1.1. General PvP Talents
      • 10.1.2. Shadow Priest PvP Talents
  • 11. ChangeLog
• +Azerite Traits and Armor
  • 1. Outer Ring Traits for Shadow Priest
  • 2. Middle Ring Traits for Shadow Priest
  • 3. Inner Ring Traits for Shadow Priest
  • 4. Current Strength of Notable DPS Traits for Shadow Priest
    • 4.1. Trait Ranking When Using Legacy of the Void
    • 4.2. Trait Ranking When Using Dark Ascension
  • 5. Find Azerite Armor By Trait/Power
  • 6. ChangeLog
• +Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities
  • 1. Shadow Priest Rotational Primer
    • 1.1. Shadowform
  • 2. Single Target Priority for Shadow Priest
  • 3. Multiple Target Rotation for Shadow Priest
    • 3.1. 2-5 Target Rotation
    • 3.2. 5-10 Target Rotation
    • 3.3. 10+ Target Rotation
  • 4. The Multiple Target Rotation Further Explained
  • 5. Important Notes for Shadow Priest
    • 5.1. Insanity Drain
    • 5.2. Regarding Dispersion/Void Torrent
    • 5.3. Optimizing Insanity Generation
    • 5.4. Dark Void Usage
    • 5.5. Dark Ascension Cycling & General Usage
    • 5.6. Optimizing Mindbender/Shadowfiend Usage
  • 6. ChangeLog
• +Mythic+ Tips
  • 1. Shadow Priest in Mythic+
    • 1.1. Shadow Priest Mythic+ Rotation
    • 1.2. Shadow Priest Utility
  • 2. Mythic+ Talents for Shadow Priests
  • 3. Mythic+ Affixes
    • 3.1. Tier One Affixes
    • 3.2. Tier Two Affixes
    • 3.3. Tier Three Affixes
    • 3.4. Seasonal Affix
  • 4. Mythic+ Azerite Traits
  • 5. ChangeLog
• +Common and Worst Mistakes
  • 1. Not Pressing Buttons Fast Enough
  • 2. Dealing With Movement Properly
  • 3. Not Knowing How To Sim Yourself
  • 4. ChangeLog
• +Frequently Asked Questions
  • 1. Battle for Azeroth Frequently Asked Questions
    • 1.1. Do I Use Misery or Dark Void For Dungeons?
    • 1.2. Do I Use Legacy of the Void or Dark Ascension For Dungeons?
    • 1.3. Do I Want To Intentionally Drop Out Of Voidform To Void Eruption Sooner?
    • 1.4. When Do I Use Mind Sear In Dungeons?
    • 1.5. When Should I Refresh My DoTs?
    • 1.6. Should I Use Dispersion As a DPS Cooldown?
  • 2. ChangeLog
• +Boss by Boss Strategies
  • 1. ChangeLog
• +Stat Priority
  • 1. The Basics of Stats for Shadow Priest
  • 2. Shadow Priest: Getting a Better Understanding
    • 2.1. Statistics Explanations
  • 3. ChangeLog
• +Gems, Enchants, and Consumables
  • 1. Gems for Shadow Priest
  • 2. Enchants for Shadow Priest
  • 3. Consumables for Shadow Priest
  • 4. ChangeLog
• +Macros and Addons
  • 1. Macros
    • 1.1. Generic Macros for Priests
    • 1.2. Specific Macros for Shadow Priests
      • 1.2.1. Dispersion Cancelaura Macro
      • 1.2.2. Shadow Crash Cursor Macro
      • 1.2.3. Mind Flay Camera Spin
  • 2. Addons for Shadow Priest
    • 2.1. Generic Addons for Priests
      • 2.1.1. ElvUI
      • 2.1.2. Boss Mods: Deadly Boss Mods or Bigwigs
      • 2.1.3. GTFO
      • 2.1.4. Parrot or Mik's Scrolling Battle Text
      • 2.1.5. Weak Auras
      • 2.1.6. Recount / Skada / Details!
    • 2.2. Specific Addons for Shadow Priests
      • 2.2.1. Twintop's Insanity Bar
      • 2.2.2. SPTimers
• +Gear and Best in Slot
  • 1. General Gearing Strategy
  • 2. Dungeon Gear to Look Out for
  • 3. World Quests
  • 4. Gearing Spreadsheet
  • 5. Reputation Gear
    • 5.1. Horde Factions
      • 5.1.1. Talanji's Expedition
      • 5.1.2. The Honorbound
      • 5.1.3. Voldunai
      • 5.1.4. Zandalari Empire
    • 5.2. Alliance Factions
      • 5.2.1. Proudmoore Admiralty
      • 5.2.2. 7th Legion
      • 5.2.3. Storm's Wake
      • 5.2.4. Order of Embers
    • 5.3. Neutral Factions
      • 5.3.1. Champions of Azeroth
      • 5.3.2. Tortollan Seekers
  • 6. Crafting Gear
    • 6.1. Tailoring
    • 6.2. Engineering
    • 6.3. Outer Ring Traits
    • 6.4. Inner Ring Traits
  • 7. Trinket Rankings
    • 7.1. Trinket Rankings for Single-Target
    • 7.2. Trinket Rankings for AoE
  • 8. ChangeLog
• +Simulations
  • 1. Disclaimer Page
  • 2. Magicsim
  • 3. ChangeLog

General Information

On this page, we list the spells that you will often use as a Shadow Priest.

The other pages of our Shadow Priest guide can be accessed from the table of contents on the right.

About Our Author

This guide has been written by Isentropy, top Shadow Priest and one of the main theorycrafters of the spec over at Warcraft Priests. He currently raids in Echoes.

1. Shadow Priest Spell Summary

If you are new to Shadow, this is a great place to start to get an understanding of how the spec works. On this page we will discuss what abilities you have, what they are used for within the specialisation, how they interact with each other and also with important cooldowns. If you already have experience with Shadow and are comfortable with it in Legion, it is recommended you skip this section and move on to the rest of the guide.

2. Main Resource for Shadow Priest

Insanity is your primary resource as a Shadow Priest. All of our offensive abilities generate Insanity. The goal is to generate 90 Insanity (60 Insanity with the Legacy of the Void talent) in order to enter Voidform, at which point you go into an enhanced state during which your Insanity is progressively drained and if you run out of Insanity, Voidform ends. Once you drop out of Voidform you will want to build Insanity again like before and then go back into Voidform, repeating the process. Insanity management is a crucial part of playing a Shadow Priest.

Mana is your secondary resource as a Shadow Priest. Most of our utility spells cost Mana to use, though managing Mana attentively is generally not required.

3. Basic Abilities for Shadow Priest

These are your core skills that are available regardless of talents, and form the core gameplay of the specialization.

Void Eruption has a 2.5-second cast time (reduced by Haste), at the end of which you enter Voidform. Void Eruption also deals a big burst of damage to all enemies within 10 yards of your target. The Shadow rotation is altered while you are inside of Voidform, and this is the part of the gameplay that is the most complex. During Voidform, the cooldown of Mind Blast is reduced by 1.5 seconds, and you gain 0.5% Haste per second (multiplicatively).

Void Bolt is an ability that replaces Void Eruption while Voidform is active. It is instant cast and it deals damage to the target, adding 3 seconds to the existing durations of Shadow Word: Pain and Vampiric Touch to the target and all nearby targets, on top of also generating Insanity.

Shadow Word: Pain is one of your two DoTs. It deals Shadow damage to the target over time, and generates Insanity on application.

Vampiric Touch is one of your two DoTs. It deals Shadow damage to the target over time, heals you for 50% of the damage dealt, and generates Insanity on application.

Mind Blast deals damage to a single target, which has a 7.5-second cooldown, affected by Haste, and which generates a high amount of Insanity. It is generally one of your highest priority spells. Its cooldown is also reduced once you go into Voidform.

Mind Flay is a channeled spell that deals Shadow damage to the target and slows their movement speed by 50%. It generates Insanity, has no cooldown, and is used as a filler throughout your rotation.

Mind Sear is a channeled spell that deals Shadow damage to your target and all other targets within 10 yards. It generates Insanity per target hit and serves as the replacement of Mind Flay in the rotation if there are 3 or more targets. It is also our only baseline on demand AoE spell.

4. DPS Cooldowns for Shadow Priest

Shadowfiend has a 3-minute cooldown and it summons a shadowy fiend that attacks your target for 12 seconds. It is a fairly decent increase in DPS when used, and is considered an offensive cooldown. Ideally it should be paired with high Haste buffs such as high Voidform stacks and Bloodlust.