Cataclysm Classic Shadow Priest Talent Builds

Shadow Priest has one of the most restrictive specs in all of Cataclysm, with 39 out of your 41 talent points being required in mandatory talents. Below you'll find our recommended talent build for all PvE content as a Shadow Priest.

Your only options for talents as Shadow are the 2 points in Phantasm. You can instead take these 2 points out and put them in Inner Sanctum for 4% reduced spell damage taken, helping out your healers in raids.

In this section we will go over some of the key talents you will use when you are playing a Shadow Priest. Be sure to understand your most important talents as they are vital to play the build to its fullest strength.

• Twisted Faith — Increases your Shadow damage dealt by 2%. Also gives you spell hit rating equal to your spirit from gear. You need this talent as your gear has spirit on it because you share gear with healers.

• Improved Devouring Plague — Your Devouring Plague will deal 30% of the total DoT damage instantly. This lets you cast Devouring Plague while moving for extra damage if you have no other instant cast spells to cast.

• Shadowform — When activated gain 15% increased Shadow damage dealt and 15% reduced damage taken. Also grants you and all nearby group members 5% increased spell haste.

• Harnessed Shadows — Increases the chance to gain a Shadow Orb from by 8%, giving you a 18% total chance.

• Vampiric Embrace — Personal buff, causes you to heal yourself for 6% of the Shadow damage you deal. You will also heal your party for 3% of any Shadow damage you deal.

• Masochism — Restores 10% of your maximum Mana whenever you take backlash damage from your Shadow Word: Death. Proc this whenever you are running low on Mana.

• Mind Melt — Increases the execute damage of your Shadow Word: Death by 30%. Whenever you cast Mind Spike, the cast time of your next Mind Blast is reduced by 50%, stacking up to 2 times.

• Pain and Suffering — Your Mind Flay will refresh the duration of your Shadow Word: Pain, meaning you will only need to cast Shadow Word: Pain once per fight.

• Vampiric Touch — Gives you another Shadow DoT in your rotation. Whenever you use Mind Blast on targets debuffed with Vampiric Touch you will grant Replenishment to 10 group members, restoring 1% Mana every 10 seconds.

• Sin and Punishment — Causes your Mind Flay crits to reduce the cooldown of Shadowfiend by 10 seconds, allowing you to use it much more often for DPS.

• Shadowy Apparition — When your Shadow Word: Pain deals damage, you have a 12% chance to summon a shadow which moves towards the target with Shadow Word: Pain on them. When it reaches the target it deals Shadow damage to them. If you are moving the chance increases from 12% up to 60%, making it a DPS increase to move whenever you are on global cooldown when casting instant cast spells such as Devouring Plague.

• Dispersion — The final talent at the bottom of the Shadow tree, this can act as either a defensive ability or be used to restore some Mana. Typically you will use this ability defenively when you are dealing with a raid mechanic, often times being able to solo a raid mechanic that would normally require multiple people to handle.

• Evangelism — Your Mind Flay will give you a stack of Dark Evangelism, increasing your Shadow DoT damage dealt by 2% per stack, up to 5 stacks total.

• Archangel — Consume the Dark Evangelism stacks, restoring 5% of your max Mana and increasing the damage dealt by Mind Flay, Mind Spike, Mind Blast, and Shadow Word: Death by 4% per stack for 18 seconds.

Prime glyphs are new to Cataclysm, giving you a third "row" of glyphs you can use on your character. You don't really have many options when it comes to prime glyphs as there are very limited options, usually only three avaiable for each specialization.

• Glyph of Shadow Word: Pain — Shadow Word: Pain is your main DoT, making this a mandatory glyph.
• Glyph of Mind Flay — Mind Flay is your most frequently casted spell, making this a mandatory glyph.
• Glyph of Shadow Word: Death — Resets the cooldown of Shadow Word: Death if it fails to kill the target. Great for executing a low health enemy.
• Glyph of Dispersion — Reduces the cooldown of Dispersion by 45 seconds. Use this one if you will soak multiple raid mechanics solo, allowing you to survive.

Shadow does not have any real useful glyphs, with Glyph of Spirit Tap being the only major glyph that offers a combat benefit.

• Glyph of Spirit Tap — Restores 12% of your max Mana when you get a killing blow with Shadow Word: Death. Try to execute low health enemies to get this Mana back.
• Glyph of Mass Dispel — Reduces the cast time of Mass Dispel by 1 second. Use this one on trash or bosses where you need to AoE dispel your group or certain enemies.
• Glyph of Fade — Reduces the cooldown of Fade by 9 seconds. This is great when paired with other talents like Phantasm, or when AoEing with Mind Sear.

Minor glyphs typically provide very minor benefits. Priest does not really have many options when it comes to minor glyphs, limiting your choices down to these three for almost all PvE content.

• Glyph of Fading — Reduces the Mana cost of Fade by 30%. Very minor benefit, but better than other options.
• Glyph of Shadowfiend — Grants 5% max Mana if your Shadowfiend dies early. Usually your Shadowfiend won't die, but you don't have many other options.
• Glyph of Levitate — Removes the reagent cost of Levitate, allowing you to cast it for free.