This site makes extensive use of JavaScript.
Please enable JavaScript in your browser.
Classic Theme
Thottbot Theme
Improved Improved Spirit Tap
Post Reply
Return to board index
Post by
105534
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
Post by
328121
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
Post by
Paolo
I am but a shadow of a shadow priest, my rarely-played offspec. So:
some
opinions
on the
matter
.
Oh, and the signal to noise ratio on shadowpriest.com is definitely on a downslope.
Post by
179128
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
Post by
105534
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
Post by
ande9249
its a fair question, and while i dont have the web surfing stamina to go much else but wowhead, here is my bit,
I am with atremini in that for the priest that just dinged 10, they go shadow because there is mana regen there. and you have to get to lvl 22 before 3/3 meditation even becomes an option. and so for any Spriest lvling, bot ST and IMP ST are essential.....now as we get up into lvl 73 where we have full shadow tree, and mediation 3/3.....its becomes a debate. the 10% increase to spirit is nothing to look over before or after the patch when the buffed
twisted faith
. the question is where would you use the 2 tp otherwise.
for example
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent#bVcbhZZGxfVRczffqfzAo
those two points could go to improving PW:S...not dps increase, Shadow reach....not dps increase, improved psychic scream...not dps increase, 2/3 shadow affinity...usfull threat reduction but not dps increase, psychic horror....not dps increase, inner focus....
what would you use it on,
and then the other three mostly PvP spells from disc tree. so however small the 10% of spirit is to dps, it is still more than the alternatives.
holding onto Spirit tap after you get into raiding circumstances and you delivering the killing blow becomes a 1:8 or 1:18 chance, let alone being able to use that greatly increased spirit in the next 15 sec.....well....
lets say that it would be breaking alot of tradition and "tried and tested" beliefs to go with any build resembling
this
Post by
tomgc
I... don't understand ande's build. It goes all the way into Disc to get 3% int? Not really worth it. It gets mana reduction talents, when if could go for IST. Lack of dispersion is loses you a panic "oh dear, i'm gonna die" button, lack of Shadow Reach forces you to move more on kiting fights. Improved Shadowform makes you lose less DPS when you get AoE'd, but is situational.
IST may not be a great pure DPS talent when you spreadsheet it, but what else can you get?
Post by
karlusdavius
Thanks
for
being
awesome
.
ZOMG i got a mention11!
To be honest, i think its a pure leveling change. Spirit tap took a pretty hefty hit with the spirit changes. Since the hierloom items give us a nice chuck of crit to level with, id say it's really nice to take for leveling.
EDIT: Once at 66 you get your Shadow Fiend. You can pretty much rotate yoru SF and Disp CD's to keep your mana high while chain pulling as spirit tap should have a near constant uptime with a lot of mobs around
61 Spec
65 Spec
then into Discipline
Post by
ande9249
the drive into Disc was rather for the mana reduction and mana burn cast time reduction. I acknowledge the loss in shadow reach i just never really find it big enough of a loss in PvE to be needed, and the improved shadow form....you either need both points in or it really wont do you any good to prevent AoE from removing the last tick of MF (otherwise what are you worried about, mind blast?)
for the preference of the player is whether you use the LAST point in the int boost or the dispersion talent. In general its a playstyle option in my mind. Have a "oh crap" button or a gentle boost to the overall character...
My earlier post agreed, and went into detail about how there are no other dps enhancing options for a shadow priest than IST, I was just trying to show that a the mana conservation of the off spec could offset the loss of mana efficiency from the cookie cutter spec....
not to mention that I was already shot down when I asked wowhead about going for
silence in PvE
, even though a patch made it into a PvE interupt. after that you basically have to say....okay, what now? try something new...
Post by
OscarDivine
The great thing about Shadow specs is that there is a LOT of flexibility when it comes down to point usage. There are core talents that you MUST have, but there are also a lot of optionals.
My take on this situation is that most of the optionals that you would take would be regeneration related, and not helpful in any significant way to help you out offensively. Given that Shadow Priests should really have no problem with keeping their mana going, I think the smartest thing is to go for abilities that make you better offensively than defensively (or regeneratively).
Of the spells that we have flexibility with, I think that
IST
really isn't a bad option to give us SOME offensive boost. For 10% spirit increase with 1000 spirit raid buffed, which might not be totally outlandish, but just for round numbers' sake... 10% of 1000 = 100 additional spirit. Twisted Faith adds 20% of that as Spell Power, so add 20 SP. This seems REALLY piddly at first, but if you think about it, adding 20 SP is almost equivalent to adding in a red socket, which we all love.
the other optionals are purely defensive, and add nothing more to your damage output.
Post by
tomgc
Shadow Reach is absolutely required in a fight which involves moving, for top DPS. Any why do you go into Disc for mana regen, when IST should provide you with enough to not go oom? Plus, Dispersion does have an offensive purpose (allows you to keep DPSing without fleeing from some boss moves, not that i'd skip dispersion anyway)
Post by
105534
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
Post by
OscarDivine
Plus, Dispersion does have an offensive purpose (allows you to keep DPSing without fleeing from some boss moves, not that i'd skip dispersion anyway)
Really?
I don't see that you can continue to cast while dispersed. Your dots will continue to tick, but it would do that regardless.
Post by
tomgc
Boss casts <insert killer AoE here> and rather than running you continue to DPS. Right as the move is about to hit you... disperse, then remove disperse and continue to DPS. Unless you can't remove disperse, which I forget.
Post by
Braevia
Question: What are the opinions of raiding Shadow Priests on Improved Spirit Tap vs Improved Vampiric Touch?
Post by
91278
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
Post by
Braevia
You mean Imp Vampiric Embrace, I take it? Personally I rate it much higher. (I)ST needs 5 points sunk into it for a
tenth
of a
ha
lf
of a Spirit-based spellpower increase -- and we have
zero
additional spirit on our BiS gear at Icecrown level apart from incidental gems. Imp VE, on the other hand, provides nigh-invulnerability for the Shadow Priest himself, unless he stands in the same bad stuff for five seconds -- and it provides a very nice boost to group HPS, which can be likened to Healing Stream totem. It's one more small number to be added onto a list of small numbers -- which
will
improve raid survivability by a noticeable amount. Take one of the elements away and you might not notice it. Take
all
of
them
away, and your healers have to work quite a bit harder.
Thanks for catching my typo there. This kind of confirms my suspicion - Imp. Spirit Tap didn't really seem like that huge of a boost damage-wise, and my memories of playing a Shadow Priest while leveling involve running around Howling Fjord dotting up everything that looked at me funny and laughing like a madman...which is to say that mana recovery was never an issue. I didn't even start buying water until I went Disc for healing (and even then, only until my gear caught up and I learned disc well enough that regen was no longer an issue).
Thanks for the quick answer. If you're still planning to retire from Shadow Priesting, I must say I'm sorry to see you go.
Post by
91278
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
Post by
Braevia
Making one last-ditch attempt at the PvE side of things. Trying to get into the top 25-man guild on my server. If I do end up leaving, I want to do it with the beauty of T10.277 on me. Hell, maybe I'll even enjoy it and will find some re-inspiration -- who knows?
Go for it! Me, I'm leveling my second Priest (first was BE, second will be Draenei or human) on a different server to hang with an RL friend of mine. I'm burnt out on healing, so I'm hoping to raid as a Shadow Priest.
The DPS sequence (I know, it's not a rotation...) is like a shock of cold water after months spent raiding as an Arcane Mage. So many buttons!
Anyway, I'd better stop here, before I go further off-topic in a necro'd thread.
Post by
91278
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
Post Reply
You are not logged in. Please
log in
to post a reply or
register
if you don't already have an account.