Shadow Priest DPS Vault of the Incarnates Raid Guide — Dragonflight 10.0.5
On this page, you will find tips, tricks, and strategies tailored to your Shadow Priest for each boss of the following raid: Vault of the Incarnates. All our content is updated for World of Warcraft — Dragonflight 10.0.5.
Introduction
Below, you can find class and spec-specific advice for every fight in Vault of the Incarnates. If you are looking for a general overview of the Raid that is not spec-specific, check out our dedicated Vault of the Incarnates guides.
On this page, you will find Shadow Priest specific information to deal with each boss in the Vault of the Incarnates raid. These are not complete encounter guides but specific tips for doing the bosses as a Shadow Priest.
This page assumes that you already understand most of the mechanics of each encounter. These can be found on the full raid guide, so what is contained here are details specifically tailored toward Shadow Priest and how you can deal with each fight as best as possible.
All recommendations are progression-based tips and will not necessarily be the best for an overall DPS ranking.
The build above is your generic single target talent tree. Each boss below will note if it uses this build or a different one and if you should tweak anything. Running the same talent build for every single boss is not optimal.
Note that there is a bug causing Screams of the Void to be less valuable
than it would be when talented into
Mental Decay. This has build implications
that are considered for builds on this page. If you are seeing this,
it means the bug is still happening.
In single target, if you do not want to play with Mind Spike at all,
you would talent out of that and
Void Torrent and dump those points
into whatever you choose in section 1 for utility and then 2 points into
Maddening Touch and 1 point into
Mental Decay. This is up to
a 3% DPS loss, but this is the option if you feel strongly about not using
Mind Spike and Void Torrent.
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Talent Builds By Boss
To make importing talents easier I have aggregated the builds into the list below into 3 main builds. Taking these as a baseline you can handle all types of raid encounters this tier.
Single Target
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Note that for either boss you can choose to drop Screams of the Void and
Idol of C'Thun to instead run
Mind Devourer and
Idol of Yogg-Saron. These builds are fairly close together in terms of damage,
and play similarly outside of the base filler spells. With C'Thun you fill with
Mind Flay and without it you fill with
Mind Spike.
Single Target with Light Cleave
- Eranog (With
Mind Sear)
- Sennarth (Drop
Mind Sear for
Mental Fortitude)
- Dathea (With
Mind Sear if going to Add Platform)
- Kurog Grimtotem (With
Mind Sear)
- Broodkeeper Diurna (With
Mind Sear if you will ever hit Adds)
- BIQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAISSLSAAAAAAAAAAAAAISiSkmUISSSJhEBpRSSi0IIBhUkWIJAA
With the recent changes to Psychic Link now working with
Mindgames,
Void Bolt, and
Void Torrent you could choose to add
Psychic Link
to these builds by swapping points out of
Dark Evangelism. This would lose you
single target damage but gain a good amount of cleave if that is what you are looking for.
On prog I would suggest focusing single target unless you are struggling with adds.
Mythic Kurog Grimtotem
On Mythic difficulty Kurog Grimtotem has an extra boss add throughout phase 1. This add is certainly something that needs to die before phasing and thus makes sense to tweak your build to help kill it quickly. This change specifically turns this fight into more 2-target damage than it is on other difficulties and thus I would suggest running one of these builds:
More 2 target damage
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Competitive 2 target with more Single Target
- BIQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAISSLSAAAAAAAAAAAAAISiSkmUgkkUSiEBpRSSi0IIBhUkWIJAA
Heavy Cleave
- The Primal Council
- Broodkeeper Diurna if you will be on adds full time in Phase 1
- BIQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAESiIBAAAAAAAAAAAAACKRaJNSSSSJJSEkGJJJSjgEESRahkAA
Eranog
Talents
For Eranog, you can use the default talent build at the top of the page or the
build below if you plan to damage the adds. This picks up Mind Sear to
give you a way to damage these adds easily. You can play this build with
Void Eruption if you plan on lining up cooldowns to kill adds, but
generally,
Dark Ascension will be better for focusing on boss or
priority add damage.
Suggested Talent Build
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Tips
-
The boss will frequently require you to move short distances when casting
Molten Spikes. If you know this is coming soon, try to save up instant cast spells. If taking
Surge of Darkness, this is the best candidate for those procs.
-
Shadow Crash should line up for every add set. With good timing, you can cast this just before the adds actually spawn but still get the timing right to hit them all before they start moving.
-
If talenting into
Mind Sear and
Mind Devourer for more add damage, save any procs you get to spend when the adds spawn. You should bank up Insanity for this as well.
-
Depending on the CC your group has, you could consider talenting into
Void Tendrils or
Psychic Horror to get more control over the adds.
- You can use
Mass Dispel on the
Leaping Flames DoT effect from the Flamescale Captain on Mythic difficulty.
For more information, please refer to our Eranog guide.
Terros
Talents
For this boss, the talent build at the top of the page should work well, but feel free to make tweaks to the class tree depending on what you prefer.
Suggested Talent Build
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- Can flex points out of
Void Shield and
Move with Grace to instead path into
Unwavering Will. This will open up the bottom left side of the class tree to invest into
Power Word: Life. If your group can benefit from this off-healing, I would highly suggest trying it out.
- OPTION: For less reliance on standing still and
Idol of C'Thun procs, you can instead take 2 points out of
Screams of the Void and 1 out of Idol of C'Thun and instead path through
Mind Devourer through
Idol of Yogg-Saron.
Tips
-
Leap of Faith can help position members quickly for
Awakened Earth. Careful doing this in Mythic to not remove
Infused Fallout stacks without realizing it.
-
Be sure to use
Fade and/or
Flash of Light (with
Protective Light) before soaking
Rock Blast.
For more information, please refer to our Terros guide.
The Primal Council
Talents
For this boss, I suggest you swap to the optimal 4-target talent build below.
Suggested Talent Build
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Tips
Each boss must die within a few seconds of the others or risk a complete wipe.
You will naturally do more damage to your current target, so be sure to target
swap to the highest health boss. Generally speaking, you should avoid doing
this too quickly and make sure you only swap to a target that either has
Devouring Plague ticking, or you are in
Voidform. If you need
to swap targets, do so at the next cast of Devouring Plague on the new target.
-
While you can soak both circles of
Meteor Axes with
Dispersion I would suggest holding, if possible, and just soaking one.
-
Save up instant cast procs or abilities so while clearing stacks of
Frost Tomb you maintain DPS.
-
If you are being put into the kick rotation, you might consider swapping out
Mental Fortitude for
Last Word. Only do this if this is required for you to make the kick order timings.
-
On this fight, you should always use your Insanity on
Mind Sear unless you purposefully want to focus on a boss without cleaving the others.
For more information, please refer to our The Primal Council guide.
Sennarth, the Cold Breath
Talents
On this boss, you have a few choices with your talent tree based on where you want to allocate damage. You will need to choose how much single target you want to drop to gain more Add damage. This boss has small and big adds that need killing at various priority levels. Using the build below will give you better add burst damage while still performing well single target but can be more to manage. The default build above is also adequate if you prefer it.
Suggested Talent Build
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Tips
The big spider is going to be the biggest priority. Make sure to focus on this
as soon as it spawns. Holding spell cooldowns like Void Torrent is a good
idea to get this down quickly. Note that Void Torrent is NOT buffed by
Dark Ascension,
but you still want to use it during Dark Ascension to get the extra critical strike
from
Ancient Madness.
With the suggested build on this boss, Mind Flay will not be your default filler.
Your rough filler priority for this fight will be below, but check out the rotation
guide for more details.
Filler priority with this build:
Mind Spike with
Surge of Darkness procs
Mind Flay: Insanity when available. You should fully channel this.
Mind Spike
-
Use
Fade with
Phantasm to help mitigate the various slow effects if needed.
-
If your positioning is compromised during
Gossamer Burst, you can use
Dispersion or other movement abilities to try and fight this off.
- Refrain from rushing up the stairs during intermissions. You can save up procs or other instant casts to move at your own pace. If done correctly, you will retain boss uptime.
-
Regardless of your build, tag the small spiders to keep a high
uptime on
Twist of Fate.
-
Hold
Shadow Crash if little spiders will be spawning soon, do not delay this more than a few seconds, though.
Dathea, Ascended
Talents
For this boss, you will want a mix of single target for the boss, priority damage for the Big add on the main platform, and cleave for the platforms. Other than normal, you will need to go to the platform, so you should equip yourself to be useful in those phases while maintaining a manageable number of single target.
Suggested Talent Build
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Note that Void Eruption could be used if you want to burst a specific add
platform or what
Void Bolt for another thing to press while moving. That being
said
Dark Ascension is still strong and lines up well for platforms.
Tips
-
Keep track of when
Cyclone is happening and bank up procs or instant casts, so you have as many things to press as possible in that 10 seconds without losing downtime.
- Drop one point in
Idol of Y'Shaarj and
Inescapable Torment.
- Add points to finish
Mind Devourer and get
Idol of Yogg-Saron.
-
Save
Vampiric Embrace for the intermission. With healers being split, this is where it will be the most useful.
For more information, please refer to our Dathea, Ascended guide.
Kurog Grimtotem
Talents
On lower difficulties, this boss alternates between a single target and 2 targets depending on the phase. In Mythic, you will drop the single target and will have some periods of adds during that phase instead. Because of these changes, I suggest tweaking the build to have more 2 target potential but still a strong single target.
Suggested Talent Build
More 2 target damage (Mythic only)
Note that if you are doing this on Mythic and the add is dying too quickly it might be worth to use the more single target focused build below.
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Competitive 2 target with more Single Target
- BIQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAISSLSAAAAAAAAAAAAAISiSkmUgkkUSiEBpRSSi0IIBhUkWIJAA
Tips
-
With the suggested talent build, even though you take
Mind Sear, you should only cast this with
Mind Devourer procs in
Voidform on a single target or with a proc when facing 2 targets.
-
Note that if you want to do more damage during 2 target sections, you can
drop
Mind Spike and
Surge of Darkness for
Psychic Link instead. Psychic Link has no value on a single target, so damage to your main boss will suffer.
-
If your group is struggling with getting hit by too many
Frigid Torrent or you are just starting progression, consider talenting into
Mass Dispel to help out the healers.
-
During the intermission, the boss is immune, but you can continue to
generate Insanity from things like
Auspicious Spirits. Typically this makes it worth it to maintain your DoTs on him even during this phase. Still, re-dotting should be a low priority and something other than something to do while cooldowns are active.
For more information, please refer to our Kurog Grimtotem guide.
Broodkeeper Diurna
Talents
Depending on the strategy used, you will likely have some time hitting adds on this fight. You can stick with the single-target build if your group needs more boss damage. Still, the below build is suggested for anyone who plans to hit the adds in the first phase. Keep in mind this will lower your damage slightly in the last phase, so choose between the build that makes the most sense for what you need.
Suggested Talent Build
- More Single Target — BIQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAISSLSAAAAAAAAAAAAAISiSkmUISSSJhEBpRSSi0IIBhUkWIJAA
- More Add damage — BIQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAESSLSAAAAAAAAAAAAAggSkWSjDkkkUSiEBpRSSi0IIBhUkWIJAA
Tips
While the boss needs to be 50 yards away from the adds, it is possible to hit
the boss and the adds simultaneously with good tank positioning. Focus your
damage on one or the other based on your group's needs. Make sure only to
spend Insanity on Mind Sear when facing 3 or more targets, or you have
a
Mind Devourer proc in
Voidform or a
Mind Devourer
proc when facing 2 targets or more.
- You can use
Fade with
Phantasm to break either
Icy Shroud or
Frozen Shroud.
-
Cast
Dispel Magic to dispel the
Cauterizing Flashflames HoT from the Dragonspawn Flamebender. You can also use
Mass Dispel for
Icy Shroud and
Frozen Shroud.
For more information, please refer to our Broodkeeper Diurna guide.
Raszageth the Storm-Eater
Talents
For this boss, I would suggest running a mostly single target build but
picking up Mind Sear as well. This gives you the big single target
you want but still has some AoE for the add platforms.
Suggested Talent Build
- BIQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIk0CBAAAAAAAAAAAAQikkCpJFtIJJlESEkGJJJSLCgESRahkAA
- Drop
Silence or 1 point in
Dark Evangelism for
Mind Sear.
- OPTION: Drop
Screams of the Void and
Idol of C'Thun for
Mind Devourer and
Idol of Yogg-Saron. This can give you more platform and add damage with similar single target.
Tips
- Taking
Silence for the orbs is helpful but likely not required for most groups. Since you want
Mind Sear, it is better to drop
Silence or 1 point of
Dark Evangelism over
Mental Fortitude.
- Consider saving cooldowns to line up with the shield phases after the add platform.
- You can use
Mass Dispel to help quickly dispatch sparks.
Changelog
- 26 Jan. 2023: Small adjustment to Kurog non-Mythic build.
- 24 Jan. 2023: Update talent builds from 10.0.5 changes.
- 13 Jan. 2023: Correct Void Torrent suggestion for Sennarth.
- 05 Jan. 2023: Remove incorrect suggestion for Mass Dispel on Sennarth.
- 04 Jan. 2023: Simplify talent builds.
- 23 Dec. 2022: Update talent builds from Screams of the Void bug.
- 21 Dec. 2022: Update most talent suggestions after week 1 of raid.
- 13 Dec. 2022: Add alternative single target build for a few encounters that has more burst.
- 12 Dec. 2022: Swap to Idol of Y'Shaarj instead of Yogg-Saron for Eranog.
- 11 Dec. 2022: Page added.
More Priest Guides
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This guide has been written by Publik, Shadow Priest theorycrafter and SimC dev at Warcraft Priests. He currently raids in The Exiled on Arthas-US.
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