Shadow Priest 10.2.6 Guide

Introduction

This guide presents an in-depth view of the Priest's Shadow Specialization in WoW Dragonflight patch 10.2.6! You will learn everything about the spec, such as how to level, gear, prepare, and then min-max your Shadow Priest for the most challenging PvE content in World of Warcraft, Season 3.

First, we'll check out the specialization's particularities and see why the Shadow Priest is one of the best specs in Dragonflight in the ongoing meta. Then, you'll learn how to gear your Shadow Priest, what stats to prioritize, and the best leveling spec, talents, and rotation to get you to the maximum level in no time.

Finally, we'll discuss min-maxing your character for the end-game content and teach you what gear to use for Mythic Raiding and Mythic Plus dungeons. By the end of the guide, you will become a master of the Shadow specialization! Sounds good, right? Let's get started!

Table of Contents

• Shadow Priests: Strengths and Weaknesses
• How to gear your Shadow Priest
• How to level your Shadow Priest. Leveling tips
• Best Shadow Priest talents for end-game content
• Shadow Priest in Dragonflight - FAQ

Shadow Priests in Dragonflight: Strengths and Weaknesses

In World of Warcraft, the Priest class has three specializations: Shadow, Holy, and Discipline. All three priest specs focus on ranged-combat fights and require wise resource management. The Shadow priest covers the ranged DPS role and uses Insanity and Mana as resources.

The Shadow Priest represents one of the best DPS classes for Mythic Dungeons and Mythic Raiding in Dragonflight Season 3, providing excellent single-target damage!

The Shadow Priest uses a various weapons, such as daggers, maces, staves, and wands. As for raid gear, the priest shares the Conqueror Tier Token with Paladins, Warlocks, and Demon Hunters for legacy content. In the Dragonflight expansion's latest raid, it shares the Venerated Tier Token with Paladins and Shamans.

In the table below, we present the Shadow spec's strengths and weaknesses:

How to gear your Shadow Priest

In World of Warcraft, gearing is one of the most critical aspects that enhances your character's overall performance by providing massive amounts of stats, armor, procs, and set bonuses. This guide will teach you how to properly gear up for the most challenging content in WoW Dragonflight, Mythic Raiding, and Mythic+ Dungeons.

We'll start with the basics and cover the Shadow Priest's stats priority, check out the tier set bonuses, and finally, the best in slot gear you can get from mythic raids and dungeons.

Shadow Priest stat priority

Regardless of the class and spec you roll into in World of Warcraft, the stats are a key component when gearing up and min-maxing your character for the end-game content. Shadow Priests wear Cloth gear, with Intellect as the main stat.

The Intellect stat increases the power of your spells and abilities, in other words, the damage you deal to enemies. Also, please note that a higher and adequate item level will better impact your character's performance than a perfect stat distribution, so always keep an eye on the gear's item level!

The Shadow Priest stats priority looks like this:

• 1. Intellect
• 2. Haste
• 3. Mastery
• 4. Critical Strike
• 5. Versatility

So, as a Shadow Priest, you will primarily value item level for Intellect as the primary stat, then Haste, followed by Mastery, Critical Strike, and Versatility as secondary stats.

In other words: Intellect > Haste > Mastery > Critical Strike > Versatility. And here's why:

Intellect: Increases your spell power and, therefore, all the damage you are dealing to your enemies

Haste: Increases your attack speed and your spell casting speed

Mastery: Increases the effectiveness of Mastery: Shadow Weaving

Critical Strike: Increases the chance for extra effectiveness on your attacks and heals

Versatility: Increases healing and damage dealt and reduces damage taken

Shadow Priest Tier Set Bonus

To start with, what is a tier set in World of Warcraft?

In WoW, a tier set is a unique class armor set with powerful 2-set and 4-set specific bonuses for each specialization of that particular class. Tier set bonuses change based on the character's active talent specialization, ensuring that the bonus is appropriate and useful to that spec.

So to recap, tier sets are unique pieces of armor that, when equipped simultaneously, provide you with a bonus, different for each spec of the chosen class. This bonus is based on the number of pieces from the set you have equipped, with most tier sets providing bonuses when equipping 2 or 4 pieces.

How to get the Shadow Priest Tier Set in Dragonflight Patch 10.2.6

There are three ways you can get tier set items in WoW in the Dragonflight expansion:

• Raids: You can get tier set items found as class tokens from specific bosses in the Dragonflight raids.
• Revival Catalyst: The Revival Catalyst crafting system allows you to craft Tier armor from non-set pieces of the same item level.
• Great Vault: You can obtain tier set items from all activities that typically reward Great Vault, such as raiding, Mythic+ dungeons, and PvP.

The fastest way to obtain tier set items is to take advantage of these three sources that can reward you with tier set items for your priest. The best advice is to complete the raid weekly - this is probably the fastest way to get your hands on the desired tier armor. In case you don't have a team to raid with, complete some Mythic+ Dungeons or some PvP matches.

Mythic dungeons and PvP are highly beneficial because even if you can't drop the set items while participating in these activities, you increase the chances of getting your set items at the Great Vault or the Revival Catalyst console in Thaldraszus. At the revival catalyst console, you can convert the non-set pieces obtained in dungeons or PvP into tier set items.

Let's have a closer look at the Great Vault feature:

And this is what the Revival Catalyst looks like:

Back to our Shadow Priest Tier Set. Now that you learned how to obtain the tier set, let's see some set bonuses and particularities, shall we?

The Priest Tier set is called Draconic Hierophant's Finery. For the Shadow spec, it comes with the following bonuses for two pieces and four pieces equipped:

• 2-Set: - Shadow Word: Death triggers 2 additional times at 15% effectiveness. Shadow Word: Death's cast using Deathspeaker or on targets below 20% only triggers one additional time.
• 4-Set: - Receiving backlash damage from Shadow Word: Death empowers your next Shadow Crash or Shadow Word: Pain to deal more damage, stacking up to 12 times.

In the table below, we present you the sources for Shadow Priest Tier Set items:

The remaining tier set items (Cloak, Wrists, Waist, and Boots) can be obtained by using the Revival Catalyst in Thaldraszus.

As previously stated, you unlock the tier set bonuses for your Shadow Priest when you equip any two or four pieces of the Blessings of Lunar Communion set. For itemization and build optimization, your four pieces of tier set as a Shadow Priest will be the Legs, Shoulders, Chest, and Gloves.

Raid Best in Slot (BiS) Gear for Shadow Priests

In the table below, you can find the best item to use in each slot from the raid as a Shadow Priest:

Mythic+ Best in Slot (BiS) Gear for Shadow Priests

In the table below, you can find the best item to use in each slot from the Mythic+ Dungeons as a Shadow Priest:

Best in Slot (BiS) Trinkets for Shadow Priests

The best Shadow Priest trinkets for end-game content are:

This wraps up everything you should know about gearing your Shadow Priest: the stats priority, how to obtain the tier set, and what items to use in the end-game activities. Moving on to the next section of our guide, we'll teach you how to level your Shadow Priest in Dragonflight patch 10.2.6. Sounds good, right? Let's dive in!

How to level your Shadow Priest. Leveling tips

Before leveling your Shadow Priest, you must first create and customize the character. That brings us to the first question: what race should you go for when creating the character? Let's find out, shall we?

Best Shadow Priest Races

When it comes to races, with so many options to choose from, you are probably wondering what would be the best race for the Shadow spec. In World of Warcraft, each race has different racial abilities and spells, but no races offer an immediate advantage compared to others regarding the Shadow spec. I highly recommend choosing the race you like the most, aesthetically speaking.

However, in the table below, you can see the top 10 best races for Shadow Priests based on performance gain:

Now, if you want to make an idea of what race players generally choose for their Shadow Priests:

• For Alliance: Human, Void Elf, and Night Elf.
• For Horde: Blood Elf, Undead, and Troll.

Best Shadow Priest Leveling Talents and Rotation in Dragonflight 10.2.6

The best talents to use while leveling to level 60 as a Shadow Priest are:

Shadow Priest Basic rotation:

• Shadow Priests excel at maintaining damage over time (DoTs) while managing Insanity. Start by applying your DoTs with either Shadow Crash & Vampiric Touch.
• Always cast Mind Blast on cooldown.
• Once you have Insanity, prioritize spending it on Devouring Plague. Use Shadowy Insight procs strategically, kiting enemies slightly while you cast.
• For filler, use Mind Spike.
• Finally, unleash Shadow Word: Death on enemies below 20% health.
• Remember, the key is keeping both DoTs active and efficiently generating and spending Insanity. This is a general priority, not a rigid order for your spells.

Follow the rotation, and you'll get to the maximum level quickly! Now that we've covered the leveling part, it's time to move on to the end-game.

In the next section of our Shadow Priest Guide, we'll present the best talents to use for PvE end-game content, such as raiding and Mythic+ dungeons. In the end game, it's crucial to use the right talents and prioritize the skills you use depending on the activity. Choosing the best talents will significantly impact your performance as a DPS!

Best Shadow Priest End-game Talents

From the PvE perspective, there are two main end-game activities we'll take into consideration: Mythic raiding and Mythic+ Dungeons. We'll treat them separately to keep things clear and avoid confusion.

Best Talents for Mythic Raiding in Season 3 (patch 10.2.6)

In the picture below, you can see the best talents for mythic raiding as a Shadow Priest:

Single-Target Build

Shadow Crash Build

Best Talents for Mythic+ Dungeons in Season 3 (patch 10.2.6)

As a Shadow Priest, these are the talents you must use to maximize your damage in M+ Dungeons:

Mythic+ Build