Blizzard
Updated June 24
In this next build of the Shadowlands Alpha, we have updates to Shadow Priests that are intended to address some common concerns about the spec.
Returning Ability: Devouring PlagueWe've seen a lot of feedback that
Leerenform can be challenging to utilize to its full potential in some combat situations, such as in
Mythischer Schlüsselstein dungeons on non-boss encounters, or for leveling and doing outdoor content. We tend to agree that
Leerenform can feel unrewarding in situations where it becomes difficult to maintain efficient insanity generation. Rather than heavily re-designing
Leerenform, we're introducing a new tool for these combat situations with the return of
Verschlingende Seuche.
Along with Void Eruption, Devouring Plague will be the only other spell that costs Insanity. Our intent with
Verschlingende Seuche is for it to be used on enemies who die quickly, such as common creatures while leveling, or on simple trash pulls, while
Leerenform is more powerful on longer combat encounters.
Schattenwort: TodAlthough we've seen a lot of excitement around this iconic spell making a return, we have concerns that it wasn't very clear what its role will be in the modern Shadow Priest kit.
Schattenwort: Tod has always been intended to be an “execute” ability, so it must be something that is mostly used in the outdoor/leveling content. In the past,
Schattenwort: Tod found itself in
Priester's core rotations, even being used repeatedly against targets that weren't about to die.
For Shadowlands, we don't intend to add another core button to the
Priester's normal rotation. We want
Schattenwort: Tod to be situational. However, we feel that it could be a little more relevant in longer encounters such as boss fights. We've changed
Schattenwort: Tod to now deal 100% additional damage to targets at or below 20% health.
Priesters may now find that they wish to weave
Schattenwort: Tod into their rotations in some situations.
We feel that these changes will have a very meaningful impact on how the Shadow Priest now plays.
After you've tested this out in the Alpha, please let us know what you think. Thank you!