Shadow Priest

Shadow Priest puts 37 points into Shadow and 14 points into Discipline by level 60, with no respec on the way.

Key talents: Shadowform at 43.

By our sim, this build gets you from 10 to 60 in about 37% less time than playing with no talents.

At level 40 most of your ability damage comes from Mind Blast (52%), Wand (30%) and Shadow Word: Pain (18%).

Each talent gets a tier for how much it helps this build level, by our sim: S best, A strong, B solid, C small, Filler needed to reach deeper talents.

1. 10-11
   

   Wand Specialization 1-2 S

   Discipline. S tier: one of this build's best points for leveling.
2. 12-16
   

   Spirit Tap 1-5 A

   Shadow. A tier: a strong point for leveling.
3. 17-43
   First, filler points:

   • Shadow Focus 1-5B
   • Blackout 1-5
   • Shadow Affinity 1-3
   • Improved Shadow Word: Pain 1-2
   • Shadow Reach 1-2
   • Improved Mind Blast 1-5
   • Mind Flay 1
   • Improved Mind Flay 1-2
   • Vampiric Embrace 1

   

   Shadowform 1 B

   Shadow, at level 43. B tier: a solid point for leveling.
4. 44-48
   

   Darkness 1-5 B

   Shadow. B tier: a solid point for leveling.
5. 49-59
   First, filler points:

   • Twin Disciplines 1-5C
   • Power in Light 1-3

   

   Meditation 1-3 A

   Discipline, at level 57. A tier: a strong point for leveling.
6. 60
   

   Mental Agility 1 C

   Discipline. C tier: a small gain for leveling.

1. 
   Mind Blast

   on cooldown
2. 
   Wand

   filler
3. 
   Shadow Word: Pain

   once per mob

Share of your ability damage

• Mind Blast52%
• Wand30%
• Shadow Word: Pain18%

What our sim found levels best at this level with this build: DoTs once per mob, cooldowns on cooldown, and the rest on your best filler. Auto attacks are always on, so they are not listed.

Intellect > MP5 > Spell power > Spirit

• Intellect1.00
• MP51.00
• Spell power0.65
• Spirit0.45

1% crit is worth about 1 Intellect.

Stat values like Pawn: point for point, your best stat is 1.00 and the rest are worth that share of it. MP5 is mana regen per 5 seconds, as item tooltips show it. Your own gear shifts these: the Character page works them out for you.

• Put Shadow Word: Pain on each mob once: most mobs die before it needs refreshing.
• Wand mobs down when you run low on mana: it beats drinking more often.
• At level 40, for the same item budget, Intellect helps most, then spell power. Look for gear with those first.
• Some points (Blackout, Shadow Affinity and Shadow Reach and others) are filler to reach the next tier; they do little for leveling on their own.

How this is made: a typical character at each level (Classic-like stats, quest greens for gear) pulling same-level mobs one at a time, with downtime counted. It is an early version, refined as players’ combat logs measure what each talent really does.