Rotation & Macros
Stats & Consumables
The main playstyle of the Shadow Priests is focused on building and spendingInsanity. The damage output is consistent for Single Target and hasflexibility with certain talentsto also have more multi-target damage. While Shadow Priests have a lot of spells available to them, there are a few basic rules to making sure that you can maintain good damage while not going insane in real life.
Related:Shadow Priest Talent Builds
How To Play Shadow Priest In Dragonflight
At the most basic level of understanding there are4 fundamental thingsto keep in mind when DPSing.
Following these guidelines will get you most of the way there, but there are a lot of other factors, such as using other cooldowns (Mindbender,Dark AscensionorVoid Eruption,Power Infusion,Mindgames, andVoid Torrent) at the right time that will push your damage even further.
Shadow Priest Rotation and Skill Priority
Single Target Opening Rotation
When every skill is available, for instance at the beginning of a boss fight, follow the rotation listed below:
¹ Note that you should instead castVampiric TouchifShadow Crashis going to miss its intended target.
Full Single Target Priority
For the duration remainder the fight, there is no set rotation and you should follow the skill priority below:
If the situation calls for movement use the following spells in this order:Shadow Crash,Shadow Word: Death,Divine Star,Shadow Word: Pain. You can still useDevouring PlaguewithMind Devourerprocs andMind SpikewithSurge of Darknessprocs.
Shadow Priest AoE Priority
Forfights with 2 targets, the skill priority is the same as the Single Target Priority except maintainShadow Word: PainandVampiric Touchon both targets. AddHaloorDivine StarbeforeMind Flay: Insanityin the priority list.
Forfights with 3 or more targets, the emphasis is on getting as manyMind Searuses as possible, it should be focusedabove everything else when you have more than 75 insanityor when you have aMind Devourerproc. The skill priority still remains the same except usingShadow Crashto applyVampiric Touchis now necessary and should be used on cooldown.
Whenfighting 5 or more targetsdon’t useShadow Word: Deathanymore, and when there are6 or more targetsdon’t useMindgamesanymore.
Helpful Tips
When refreshing the DoT onShadow Word: PainandVampiric Touchwhen they have a duration of less than 30% time remaining will increase the duration of the next DoT by that amount. If you refresh them before this time period it will only refresh the duration and not include that extra time. For example,Shadow Word: Painhas a duration of 16 seconds, if refreshed at the 30% mark (4.8 seconds remaining) the duration of the next one will be 20.8 seconds. If refreshed at 31% the duration of the next one will only be 16 seconds. If talented intoMiseryboth DoTs have a 30% window of 6.3 seconds.
When refreshingDevouring Plague, the damage of the previous DoT is included in the next one, and therefore if capped on Insanity you shouldn’t wait until the DoT falls off.
In Mythic+ useFadeand applyVampiric Touchto as many targets as you can if the targets are spread out when the tank is gathering them up.
For extra survivability usePower Word: ShieldandVampiric Embracewhen needed and useDesperate Prayerif caught by a few too many hits orDispersionfor the heaviest of damage.
Shadow Priest Macros
Macros can come in handy to improve the efficiency of your rotation or for specific situations. Creating a Macro is easy: Type"/m"or"/macro"in the chat box to access the Macro Menu, clickNew, enter aName,and select anIcon. Don’t forget to clickSavewhen making changes.
Cooldowns All-In-One
With the class talentTwins of the Sun Priestessensure that you are also giving another player the buff as well. This macro can be changed to target a specific player or your focus target if you prefer with “@focus” instead. It will also cast it on yourself if no target exists. This also combines it withDark AscensionorVoid Eruptionand the top trinket (for bottom trinket: “/use 14”).
Cancel Dispersion
This macro castsDispersionon the first button press then cancels it on the second. you may also add any other “/cast ability” afterward to immediately get back into casting without downtime.
Angelic Feather Under Yourself
This macro will castAngelic Featherdirectly underneath you to guarantee yourself the movement speed buff.
Additionally, if you have the talentBody and Soulyou can alternate usage of this withPower Word: Shieldfor more speed buffs
