Spriesting

[Elena]

As I've been preparing for the server transfer that Torque and I are doing because of out move to S Korea I have spent a load of time working on setting up my spriest gear set, relearning the spell priorities, and just overall getting used to it again. I've also talked Undeadliest's ear off a lot during the last few weeks about it as well. Many thanks to him. So I thought I'd share my info for others who are interested.

Websites:
Shadowpriest.com
Priest forum on Elitest Jerks

Rotation:
Shadow priests don't really have a rotation except at the start. After that it's a priority system on spells.

My main starting rotation is VT>DP>MB>MF(each tick gives a SW proc)>SW:P. By this time MB cd is usually up or close to it so it's next. After that it's MF until VT or DP need to be recast or the MB cooldown is done again.

Always keep VT up but try not to clip the last tick if you can so start your next cast when the current DoT has about 1.5 secs left.

One thing to note is that SW:P still does not seem to be resetting to take into account the bonus damage from Shadow Weaving like we thought was fixed. So you need to definitely wait until after you've got a 5 stack to apply it or if you don't then be sure to reapply it after you have 5 stacks so that it will roll the entire fight with the bonus damage.

AddOns:
There are a lot that are available and you'll have to try them out to see which one(s) you like best and does what you need. The main issue I had was being sure to keep my DoTs up continuously without clipping them, as well as knowing when MB was coming off cooldown without watching my bars. Especially since you need to be able to watch other things while raiding (bombs, fire, runes, etc that you need to move out of or into depending on the fight).

I'll comment on a few I've personally tried but there are many and I have not had a chance to try them all yet.

A good list is found here on Elitest Jerks.

Quartz: This is a castbar mod. The main feature of the mod is a dynamic latency-timing bar.

DoTimer: With this mod you can track all of your DoTs on different mobs and it will also track your cooldowns. This mod is highly configurable and is what I personally use even though it does take some getting used to and I occasionally get tunnel vision watching dots and cooldowns tick.

ForteXorcist: This is another dot/cooldown tracker. I tried it but the load of options was just too overwhelming for me; it did seem really cool though. I think if I could have figured out how to set it up for what I need that I'd have liked it.

OmniCC: Adds text to items/spells/abilities that are on cooldown to indicate when they'll be ready for use. I began using this one when I first had to tank Instructor Razuvious. Very useful.

EventHorizon: I have heard a lot of talk about this one of late. Often called Guitar Hero of WoW.
Displays timer bars for you most important abilities' target debuffs (including DoT ticks) and cooldowns. All bars share a common time scale to make it easier to plan the next casts in your rotation. Video - YouTube Addon Note: There's no options GUI, for most settings you'd have to edit .lua files (see the addon's description).

There are many others that I use but DoTimer, OmniCC, and Quartz(if you have latency issues) are the ones I consider most crucial.
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Shiann: 80 Undead Shadow Priest

[Krath]

Additionally, pop any trinkets you have at the beginning to get the effect on SW:P for the entire fight.
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Xiwt Alors!

Xanthalanari - 80 Shadow or Disco Priest
Xiwt - 80 DPS or Tanky DK - 25/25 Saronite, 0/2 Blood.

[Elena]

[Zaviji]

Great post, Elena! And I really like DoTimer, too. I use it to keep track of all of my cooldowns when healing, as well. Very useful!

I had been starting to research shadow priests, rotations, etc but then opted to make my dual-spec another healing spec and haven't looked at it any further. I don't want to drop either of my current specs, but if/when I eventually do some dps again with Zav -- c'mon tri-specs! -- this will definitely be helpful, so thanks!
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Zaviji / Trillial / Tzyra (all retired)

[ufda]

The trinket thing doesn't work any longer. Mind flay refreshes properly calculate spellpower for the refresh of the SWP duration. It was fixed a few patches back.

[Krath]

Oooo, thanks Ufda. That's nice to know.
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Xiwt Alors!

Xanthalanari - 80 Shadow or Disco Priest
Xiwt - 80 DPS or Tanky DK - 25/25 Saronite, 0/2 Blood.

[Krath]

Bumping with a Shadowy Flowchart.

http://www.shadowpriest.com/viewtopic.php?f=61&t=21716
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Xiwt Alors!

Xanthalanari - 80 Shadow or Disco Priest
Xiwt - 80 DPS or Tanky DK - 25/25 Saronite, 0/2 Blood.

[Lavath]

[Zaviji]

[Zaviji]

Here's a link to a shadow priest guide written by a spriest in Ensidia.

It covers most of the same stuff mentioned here already, but I just thought I'd link it for another perspective.
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Zaviji / Trillial / Tzyra (all retired)

[Elena]

Post by Muqq in this thread talking about how haste will effect our dps through ICC.

http://shadowpriest.com/viewtopic.php?f=61&t=24846&start=15
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Shiann: 80 Undead Shadow Priest