Shadow Priest Trinket Rotation Question

[Siiana 1]

Hey,

I'm a shadow priest and I got a mythic Obelisk of the Void yesterday, which I was really stoked about!

However I'm unsure when it's the ideal time to click the trinket. I don't really know how int boost works with dots etc.

Should I use the trinket before throwing up dots? Do I use it before casting shadow crash or before it lands? Would you instantly use it at the start of a fight if you don't have insanity or should I save it for voidform? Is it worth to click it before void eruption for the extra damage to my dotted enemies or should I save a few seconds and use it instantly after when I'm actually in void form?

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Another unrelated question I have about shadow priest rotation is about what I read here on Icy Veins. The guide recommends I use void eruption before anything else, as in I apply Vampiric Touch and Shadow Word Pain after entering void form. This feels weird to me - I always dot up first and then use void eruption because I don't want to spend time throwing dots in voidform, also void eruption deals damage to targets I have dots on. The suggested rotation on this website feels even more wrong on multiple targets - surely I'd like to have my dots up on the targets before entering void form for the extra splash damage and to not risk running out of insanity dotting up stuff on many targets, no?


Thank you!

[Valks 2,375]

Not sure on the trinket side of things, but as for the rotation:

Our rotation guides are not a simple sequence of events. It is a priority. This means the guide is telling you that your first priority is to pop Void Form. This is to avoid wasting energy. You then immediately swap to the other rotation, where you now focus on other parts.

If you were to follow the priority, you would refresh the DoTs before Void Form becomes available, because:

Build Phase (not in  Voidform)

1. Cast  Void Eruption (to enter Voidform).
2. Cast  Mind Blast.
3. Apply and maintain  Shadow Word: Pain and  Vampiric Touch on all targets.

Can't enter Voidform, so you cast Mind Blast. Still can't enter Voidform, so you apply your DoTs. This assumes that you will constantly be checking the DoTs.

[Siiana 1]

10 minutes ago, Blainie said:

Not sure on the trinket side of things, but as for the rotation:

Our rotation guides are not a simple sequence of events. It is a priority. This means the guide is telling you that your first priority is to pop Void Form. This is to avoid wasting energy. You then immediately swap to the other rotation, where you now focus on other parts.

If you were to follow the priority, you would refresh the DoTs before Void Form becomes available, because:

Build Phase (not in  Voidform)

1. Cast  Void Eruption (to enter Voidform).
2. Cast  Mind Blast.
3. Apply and maintain  Shadow Word: Pain and  Vampiric Touch on all targets.

Can't enter Voidform, so you cast Mind Blast. Still can't enter Voidform, so you apply your DoTs. This assumes that you will constantly be checking the DoTs.

So what happens if I find myself in the scenario where I can enter Voidform but I have no DoTs on the target? At the start of a boss fight for example. In this case I would go Void Eruption -> Mind Blast -> DoTs according to this list, no? I've always gone DoTs -> Void Eruption -> Mind Blast to benefit from the Eruption splash. To me it just feels like I'd be missing out on DPS otherwise, but I suppose calculations have been done about this that would prove me wrong. Just wanted to make sure.

Edited September 16, 2016 by Siiana

[Valks 2,375]

3 minutes ago, Siiana said:

So what happens if I find myself in the scenario where I can enter Voidform but I have no DoTs on the target? At the start of a boss fight for example. In this case I would go Void Eruption -> Mind Blast -> DoTs according to this list, no? I've always gone DoTs -> Void Eruption -> Mind Blast to benefit from the Eruption splash. To me it just feels like I'd be missing out on DPS otherwise, but I suppose calculations have been done about this that would prove me wrong. Just wanted to make sure.

There should be an adjusted rotation for the "pull" phase. I'll ask and see if this was forgotten or if this was intended.

[Siiana 1]

2 minutes ago, Blainie said:

There should be an adjusted rotation for the "pull" phase. I'll ask and see if this was forgotten or if this was intended.

Awesome, thanks for all your help :)

[Valks 2,375]

13 minutes ago, Siiana said:

Awesome, thanks for all your help :)

No problem, it's what I'm here for! If you have any other questions, just ask.

[Woofikins 3]

For dots, I refresh them before void form if they are going to fall off before my void bolt will hit the target (GCD, flight time).  There shouldn't be a point, especially in a single target situation, that your dots fall off.

As far as the trinket goes though, there are numerous ways you could use it I'm sure.  But for myself, I sync my on-use trinkets up with void form to capitalize on that % increased damage.

[Shine 144]

As far as your trinket goes, intellect scales all your damage, generally it's smart to use on pull with prepot. After that you want to use it pretty much on cooldown. That said sometimes it's smart to save it for bloodlust or some burstphase. If you want to pair it with something voidform is a good one. pop trinket before going into voidform and ideally use void torrent in its duration.

Edited September 23, 2016 by Shine

[Siiana 1]

Thanks for all your advice. Yeah I usually end up grouping it with Void Torrent, or when my haste is really high like with PI or Heroism. It sucks that it doesn't trigger GCD yet I can't pop it *during* a spell because during an intense StM I don't even have enough time to move my fingers to the keybind and back again. Granted I probably picked a bad keybind for it (shift + c)...