Shadow priest PvP guide This is a fairly extensive guide on PvPing as a Shadow Priest . Hopefully , people who are new to PvPing with a shadow priest will learn a thing or two . This guide is for priests with at least 31 points talent in the shadow tree for Shadowform ( requires level 40 + ) . Overview . PVP . First of all , is PvP the thing for you ? PvP can be a huge adrenaline rush , but the learning curve ( lots of dying ) can be off - putting . In battlegrounds , arena , and other PvP , it is a great test of skill and often a challenge . However , it requires a different mindset than PvE . Why Shadow Priest ? Shadow priests , arguably , had been one of the most powerful PvP characters overall , although less so as of present . Priest specced shadow ( most talents assigned in the Shadow tree ) can do impressive amounts of damage in a short period of time , but have some survivability problems . They have two or more powerful DoT spells ( up to 3 ) , some limited healing / mitigation through Vampiric Embrace and , some 2 - 3 different CC techniques , such as an AoE Fear and Silence , great buffs , two or more powerful blasts , and optionally the most mana - efficient - per - damage channeling spell in the game . A Priest becomes a Shadow priest at level 40 , when Shadowform becomes available , which increases damage output by 15 % , decreases all damage taken by 15 % , and grants your Dots the ability to crit ; later talents improve shadowform even more . At the moment , Shadow is less suited to the majority of arena lineups than disc / holy . Pros and Cons of being a shadow priest : Pros : Cons : Slang . Some terms you may hear as a priest / Shadow priest . Talents . Get to Shadowform ASAP . Refer to the pages on priest talent builds for more detailed information . Spells . The following figures for damage are at level 80 , unbuffed , untalented , and undressed . Only spells specifically mentioned have cast times . Devouring Plague : 25 % base mana - 30 yards - " Afflicts the target with a disease that causes 1376 Shadow damage over 24 sec . 15 % of damage caused by the Devouring Plague heals the caster . " Toned down from the once overpowered Forsaken racial , but a vital part of a PvP shadow priest ' s arsenal of spells . Use whenever possible . Dispersion : 2 min cd . " You disperse into pure Shadow energy , reducing all damage taken by 90 % . You are unable to attack or cast spells , but you regenerate 6 % mana every 1 sec for 6 sec . Dispersion can be cast while stunned , feared or silenced and clears all snare and movement impairing effects when cast , and makes you immune to them while dispersed . " This ability can be used to avoid being focused on , to remove all snares , or to regen 30 % of your mana . This is the pinnacle of the Shadow tree . Fade : 15 % base mana - 30 sec cd . The tooltip has no application for PvP , but when properly talented + glyphed , Fade is on a 15 sec cd , and immediately clears all movement impairing effects from the priest . This is like Escape Artist on crack . Fear Ward : 3 % base mana - 30 yards - 3 min - 3 min cd . " Wards the friendly target against Fear . The next Fear effect used against the target will fail , using up the ward . Lasts 3 min . " Absorbs one Fear effect on the caster . Difficult to use properly . Ideally it should be cast just before the Fear effect is used , to reduce the risk that it will simply be dispelled or devoured , but this isn ' t always easy to predict . Inner Fire : 14 % base mana . " A burst of Holy energy fills the caster , increasing armor by 1800 and spell power by 95 . Each melee or ranged damage hit against the priest will remove one charge . Lasts 30 min or until 20 charges are used . " Only the later ranks provide the additional spellpower bonus . Changed in 3 . 0 . 9 to be undispellable . Very important buff to keep up , especially for the extra armor . Mind Blast : 17 % base mana - 30 yards - 1 . 5 sec cast - 8 sec cd . " Blasts the target for 992 to 1048 Shadow damage . " This will be one of your most frequently used spells , has a cast time of 1 . 5 secs ( quite fast ) , and high damage . Cooldown can be reduced to 5 . 5 sec with talents . Mind Control : 12 % base mana - 20 yards - 3 sec cast . " Controls a humanoid mind up to level X , but slows its attack speed by 25 % . Lasts up to 1 min . " Note that " X " is usually ' your own level + 2 ' . - I . e . - a lvl 40 should be able to control a level 42 . Very situational in PvP , but can be useful and fun . For example throwing people into the lava at BRM or off the cliff in AB , or Mind Control one mob to fight with another , control a mob to get his buff , etc . Patch 2 . 2 has reduced the control time to 10 seconds in PvP situations . Mind Flay : 9 % base mana - 20 yards - channeled . " Assault the target ' s mind with Shadow energy , causing 588 Shadow damage over 3 sec and slowing their movement speed by 50 % . " Your bread and butter attack , a highly mana - efficient channeled spell that does a moderate amount of damage over 3 seconds . Has NO cooldown , so it can be chain - cast indefinitely . Mind Sear : 28 % base mana - 30 yards - channeled . " Causes an explosion of shadow magic around the enemy target , causing 212 to 228 Shadow damage every 1 sec for 5 sec to all enemies within 10 yards around the target . " This is a Shadow priest ' s AoE . Not really applicable to PvP , except for maybe keeping a flag from being capped . Does not do any damage to the target , only those around him . Psychic Scream : 15 % base mana - 30 sec cd . " The caster lets out a psychic scream , causing 5 enemies within 8 yards to flee for 8 sec . Damage caused may interrupt the effect . " This can be reduced to a 26 second cd with the Improved Psychic Scream talent . Casting this at the right time , especially in an arena match , is the most important thing a shadowpriest can do . Shadow Protection : 31 % base mana - 30 yards . " Increases the target ' s resistance to Shadow spells by 130 for 10 min . " Useful when fighting Warlocks and other shadow priests . Shadowfiend : 6 % base mana - 30 yards - 5 min cd . " Creates a shadowy fiend to attack the target . Caster receives mana when the Shadowfiend deals damage . Lasts 15 sec . " This nifty little spell summons a Shadowfiend minion . Not very long , but it does give a hunter ' s pet or a warlock ' s minion something else to swing at while you lay the smack down on their owner , and will regenerate your mana every time it hits something . This is available at level 66 . Shadowform : 32 % base mana - 1 . 5 sec cd . " Assume a Shadowform , increasing your Shadow damage by 15 % , reducing all damage done to you by 15 % and threat generated by 30 % . However , you may not cast Holy spells while in this form except Cure Disease and Abolish Disease . Grants the periodic damage from your Shadow Word : Pain , Devouring Plague , and Vampiric Touch spells the ability to critically hit . " This is the definitive spell in the whole tree , probably one of the best individual talents in the game . You should never leave this form , unless by yourself to heal up ( unless you ' re talented quite far into discipline ) . Silence 30 yards - 45 sec cd . " Silences the target , preventing them from casting spells for 5 sec . " Another 21 - point Shadow Talent , which requires two points in Improved Psychic Scream . A must in PvP , to interrupt healers and to stop Mages from sheeping , Warlocks from fearing , etc . Just dont use this on Mages polymorph if its casted on yourselve , use SW : D instead . Vampiric Embrace : 30 yards . " Afflicts your target with Shadow energy that causes you to be healed for 15 % and other party members to be healed for 3 % of any Shadow spell damage you deal for 5 min . " A 21 - point Shadow Talent , also a prerequisite of Shadowform . This heals you for 15 % ( 25 % when talented ) and others for 3 % ( 5 % when talented ) of all Shadow damage you cause . Absolutely great in both PvP and PvE as you can ' t cast other healing spells in Shadowform . PvP Tactics . As a Priest ( as well as any class ) , to be a good player in PvP , you must be able to change your strategy depending on what your enemy is doing , as well as a whole bunch of other variables , such as terrain ( you can ' t run up a cliff ) , mobs around where you ' re fighting , and their build / gear . So it is impossible to write a guide which encompasses all the variables . However , below is a list of possible strategies you can use against different classes : Note that against some classes ( like other casters / their teammates ) it is often advisable during the start of a fight to cast dispel once or twice on an opponent ( more in an arena setting , less in BGs ) , you can easily wipe off a lot of buffs / health with a minimum of mana . Such spells include Arcane Intellect , Power Word : Fortitude , Mark of the Wild , potion effects , Blessings , Shadow Protection and many more . It is also important to have a macro keybound for dispel that also works on yourself , to avoid having to switch targets , or to make a mouse - over macro . Melee classes may cause a problem by running around / through you , thus making it hard to hit them with Mind Blast . In that case , Mind Flay checks its LoS when first casting the spell , and will track the target wherever they go , resulting in constant damage . If you manage to fear them or they are otherwise CCed , keep them from you as long as possible using Mind Flay / running away casting instants . This may be worth a lot more than getting some extra damage with Mind Blast / VT at the cost of damage received . The key with priests ( and all classes in pvp ) is key bindings ! If you have to look at your button bars to see where your Fear is , or use the mouse to click Shadow Word : Death , you ' re not going to be as effective . Ensure all keys are bound ( including trinkets , pots , etc ) , and don ' t forget to use shift / alt / ctrl to consolidate your bindings close to your left hand ( i , e , you can have " 1 " bound to Shadow Word : Pain and " Shift + 1 " bound to Devouring Plague ) . Other useful tips are using shift space for Fear / PvP trinket . Quick reaction time for most spells , especially CC and shields are key to countering opponents . See also : Priest PvP guide Death Knights . Against a DK ( and a warlock ) don ' t forget to use the mostly ignored spell Shackle Undead on minions / pets . This can even be used on the 51 - point Unholy DK ' s Gargoyle . Always begin with , and have your finger on Abolish Disease / Stoneform . They ' ll likely just run up to you first , saving Death Grip ( 25 / 35 sec cd ) for after fear . Dot them up , but beware of casting Vampiric Touch in melee range due to Mind Freeze ( interrupt and lockout for 4 secs , similar to a warrior ' s pummel ) being on a 10 sec cd . DKs also have Strangulate , which is on a 2 - min cd , and works similar to your own Silence . Fear , and dps / shield for 8 secs or less . Dispelling a death knights diseases is a major reduction in his dps ; if you find yourself doing this often , you may want to spec into the fourth tier of discipline for the mana reduction talents . You ' ll be death gripped back into melee range when the fear ends , and probably Chains of Ice ed . This can be dispelled ( Glyph of Dispel Magic ftw ) , or faded . You should also be aware of Anti - Magic Shell , which reduces magic damage by 75 % , and prevents you from applying magic effects , i . e . dots . This , or when Summon Gargoyle ( unholy ) , or Dancing Rune Weapon ( blood ) are active would be a good time to use Dispersion . Also keep in mind that DKs specced frost are capable of extreme burst at full runic power . Death knights also have quite a few defensive cooldowns , between Icebound Fortitude , Lichborne ( early frost ) , Unbreakable Armor ( deep frost ) , and Bone Shield ( unholy ) . Try to time your burst accordingly . One thing to note is that DKs are immune to fear while lichborne is active , but since they ' re classified as undead , they can be Shackled . Finally , as with all melee classes , Psychic Horror is quite powerful , especially to counter burst . Druids . The Druid probably is the most versatile and complex class . There are so many different specs , that it ' s hard to give a basic guide on how to fight them . Balance druids will be a mix of dps and healing , while resto druids won ' t likely cause you much defensive worry except for CC and maybe Insect Swarm , but they usually need to be CCed themselves . Feral druids should be treated much like a rogue , only with perhaps a little less CC . The Shadow priest ' s lack of potent burst damage gives druids an advantage . Try to dispel them whenever possible ( within reason , constantly dispelling Lifebloom works in their favor , unless you ' re not completely clearing the stack , which causes it to " bloom " ) . They have very potent HoTs and Innervate . Preventing those strongly limits their survivability . Druids in cat form are similar to rogues , and therefore dangerous . If they stealth , shield immediately . You will no doubt eat a Pounce + Maim initially . Then fear ( check for Berserk buff , which clears fear and makes them immune to it ) , and apply DoTs while running away . They ' ll likely Feral Charge behind you , which dazes you . You should have shielded again while they were feared . At this point , life sucks until you can fear again . You can use Dispersion to reduce damage , and make sure Inner Fire stays active . Use Fade if you see an opportunity for escaping melee range ( which you should be trying to do ) . Keep away from using spells with a cast time , as ferals also have Bash , which interrupts spell casting and stuns the caster . Dwarfs have a real advantage against feral druids , since they can Stoneform out of a druid ' s bleeds . At some point , if you manage to do enough damage , the druid might shift out and heal . If at all possible , a trinket + silence / dispel would turn the tables . Use PS as soon as possible again , and use this time to deal as much damage as possible . Druids in caster or moonkin form are a little easier . Just use Silence judiciously ( for example , STOP THEM FROM HEALING ) , and mana - burn / dps normally . This fight will involve some dispelling ( make sure when you ' re dispelling that you won ' t run out of mana first ; this will take some experimenting ) . Always dispel Innervate and Nature ' s Swiftness ( Nature ' s Swiftness is usually macroed , so you probably won ' t catch this ) whenever you see them . Stay out of melee range , except perhaps when fearing , to avoid getting Typhooned . This is usually your fight to win , if you play it right . Well - played restoration druids are very hard for a shadowpriest to kill . Their mana pool is larger than yours , and they will have higher regen and very efficient heals . You will have to apply a large amount of pressure ( lots of CC , which you don ' t really have , and avoiding being CCed yourself ) and a high amount of dps to win . Again , dispel Innervate . Remember , druids can ' t dispel magic effects , so keep your DoTs up constantly . Another alternative is to mana burn the druid down before dpsing ( make sure you have the talented Mana Burn before attempting ) . Although it might be difficult to take them down , they won ' t likely have the firepower to burn you down very quickly either . Hunters . Hunters can be quite difficult , due to Viper Sting , which is a poison effect that drains your mana . Dwarfs should burn their Stoneform here . Try to avoid Hunter ' s traps by learning what the animation looks like when they set them , and avoid running straight towards them if you think they ' ve set one , as this is where it will be 90 % of the time . Basically , the key to victory is a dps race , as their Viper Sting will drain 2 % of your maximum mana per second . This race is not in your favor ( Ghostcrawler ) . When fighting a hunter , keep in mind that they can use their ranged weapons on anyone 5 + yards from them , which eliminates the once famous " dead zone . " You must be 5 yards or closer to get in melee range , where they will do less damage . Don ' t bother attacking the pet , as it has too much health to defeat quickly ( the hunter will tear you up meanwhile anyway ) ; try to CC it . Load up the hunter with VE , instant DoTs , shield yourself , etc . Do not stop to cast spells with casting times yet , as the combined interrupt of the pet ' s melee and the hunter ' s attacks make this difficult . Instead , as you cast the above spells ( instant cast ) , make your way towards the Hunter . When you are within fearing range , fear both the Hunter and his pet . Beware of Scatter Shot ( early Survival ) , which lots of PvP hunters will have , and Silencing Shot ( deep marksmanship ) , as well as Intimidation ( early beast mastery ; pet stun ) as far as active CC is concerned . Don ' t forget your trinket , and Fade to remove snares / daze . Beast Mastery hunters are very difficult to beat 1 vs 1 . This is because they have Bestial Wrath and The Beast Within , which makes them and their pet immune to CC for 18 sec every 2 mins . While you should still fear them before if possible , you ' ll have to ride out the storm using Dispersion , keeping Inner Fire and up , and use mostly instants . If you can stay alive , the second fear will at least send the pet running for a while , giving you an advantage over the hunter ( who will trinket the fear ) . If the hunter runs low on mana , throw a talented Mana Burn his way ( ONLY if talented ) . Survival hunters will also have the talent Lock and Load , which will cause them to have significant burst after one of their Frost traps are sprung . In general , this fight can only be won by out dpsing the hunter , which can only happen if he is more CCed than you are , since his dps is higher . Mages . Mages are one class that possesses the necessary amount of burst to simply blow up a Shadow priest . This is countered by keeping them CCed at all times . Once you start that up , simply dps as you would any other class with an interrupt . Use your shield as often as possible ( every 15 secs ) , and possibly cast Mana Burn if the mage isn ' t focusing you . The most dangerous thing is to let them Polymorph or Counterspell . Polymorph will give them the first shot , making it pretty difficult to survive ( unless you have your PvP trinket ) . Take care if trinketing a polymorph , as it is spammable ; you might want to Silence after trinketing . Note that polymorph can be countered using SW : Death if used a split second before polymorph is finished casting . Counterspell can completely lock out a spell school for 10 seconds if they cast it while you ' re casting , which would be absolutely devastating . For this reason , unless the mage has already counterspelled , try to cast instant , or near - instant spells , to reduce the likelihood of being locked out . One option is to cast Mana Burn , which a mage might counterspell , allowing you to cast freely in the Shadow school . If you " are " counterspelled while using a shadow spell , you still have the option of using Mana Burn , , or Dispelling buffs / debuffs . Mages also have Invisibility , which is a 3 second cast ( instant when talented ) which makes them disappear until they take damage / 20 seconds pass . Keep your DoTs on them , and they ' ll pop back into view or not use it at all . Mirror Image is a 30 seconds spell where the mage switches place with 3 low - dps copies of themselves . Don ' t try to Tab - target here , you ' ll waste time . Just stay on task / run away / use Dispersion . If possible , also dispel Presence of Mind and Arcane Power as soon as the mage uses them . Also consider that a common PvP spec for mages is frost , and that they can activate Iceblock , making them immune to your spells , and removing any current debuffs . In addition they can spec into a talent called Cold Snap , which will reset their cooldowns on all frost spells e . g Frost Nova , Ice Block , Cone of Cold , Summon Water Elemental . Use your fear to keep the pet controlled , and if you need to remove the iceblock you can use Mass Dispel . Dispel Ice Barrier right away , as it will hinder your damage significantly . In addition , do not waste mana on self - dispelling winter chill stacks as they are replaced too quickly . Paladins . In general , there are two different types of Paladin fights : those with Ret pallys , and those with Holy pallys . Since WotLK , Paladin ' s endurance mana - wise has increased , and Mana Burn has become a % burn , which makes it very effective on holy specs , and much less effective on ret specs . However , as with all mana dependent classes , if their mana is low , Mana Burn becomes more useful . Keep in mind the paladin can refill all their health with Lay on Hands on a 20 minutes cd , which also restores some mana . This is not usable in arenas . While DoTs are an integral part of Shadow priest dps , all paladins can remove one magic effect at a time with Cleanse . Finally , if a paladin uses Hand of Protection , indicated by giant golden wings , they are immune to physical damage , but NOT spell damage . This only needs to be dispelled if there are physical classes attacking with you ( or if you ' re Shadowfiend is out ) . Retribution pallys are mostly an auto - attack class , with lots of survivability and a surprising amount of burst , mostly through talents rather than abilities . The key is to survive the ret pally ' s burst , as it ' s better than a Shadow priest ' s . They have two methods of CC , Hammer of Justice , and Repentance . The former last 6 seconds , and will likely be on a 40 seconds cd . This would be a good time to use your trinket . Repentence is about the same as a rogue ' s Sap , only it can be used at any time . Since they can ' t touch you during its duration , trinketing depends on what ' s going on around you . Divine Shield is the other signature paladin ability , which clears all debuffs , and makes them immune to damage for 12 secs . During this time , they only deal 50 % damage . If you feel the need , Mass Dispel will clear this , allowing you to Silence attempted heals / attack bandaging / get back to dpsing . Note that Silence will also stop Paladins from using Judgements , Exorcism or Flash Heal , but not their melee attacks . To survive , use PW : S as often as possible , dispel Judgements from yourself if you can spare the GCD , use your CC as often as possible , and get out of melee range . Holy paladins , like holy priests , heal . They are also capable of some good burst , when specced as a Shockadin . One method of fighting a holy pally is with Mana Burn . Use this often , and try to keep the Paladin at almost zero mana ( very difficult ) . Don ' t forget to dispel Divine Plea WHENEVER it appears , to negate a holy paladin ' s longevity . If you can put enough pressure on a holy pally so that they have to spend their time healing , by all means DoT them up and burn them down , throwing in the odd mana burn for good measure . However , Cleanse is a cheap spell ( only 6 % base mana ) and the pally will outlast you if you can ' t keep enough pressure . Don ' t forget that you have Silence , which is deadly against any healer . Also , a holy paladin ' s only CC will be a 1 minute cd HoJ , since they likely won ' t have it talented , which means you should try to stay close to them for fearing purposes . As with most healer fights , you won ' t be taking a lot of damage , but you ' ll need to avoid being CCed and cause an inordinate amout of pressure in order to bring them down . Priests . Shadow priests have an advantage over Holy / Discipline priests with Silence and more dps . Mana Burn will be used on you , and you should do likewise . If you expect a lot of priest vs priest fights , Improved Mana Burn ( talent ) will be useful . The main advantage other than damage capability or mana burning goes to the priest who can best counter fear effects , with WotF , trinkets , Unbreakable Will , and Fear Ward . Even Shadow Protection helps against fear , as well as mana burn , and any other Shadow effects . When fighting against another priest , getting the first long duration fear off essentially wins the fight . As a guide for Shadow priests , this section is pretty short . You know what CC capabilities your class has . Trinket fear , apply pressure , stay calm . Don ' t try to dispel Pain Suppression . Rogues . From the Rogue : Priest PvP guide page : If you catch a priest without his shields up , the fight is already yours . Stunlock him and kill him . For most Rogue fights , just try to stay alive at the beginning by using your shield . This will not always be possible with the amount of cooldowns rogues currently have to work with . Always have Inner Fire on , as well as Fortitude ( this is true all the time , not just against rogues ) . Use Psychic Scream as soon as possible . Rogues will likely open with Cheap Shot ( 4 sec stun ) , and possibly Garrote ( 3 sec silence + bleed ) . Stoneform out of garrote as a dwarf . After this , you ' ll likely see a Kidney Shot . If you ' re going to use your trinket , do it here , rather than after cheap shot , since you ' ll have to eat the kidney shot anyway . Check for pre - emptive WotF , then fear . This will give you a couple of seconds to do some damage and shield up again . Chances are , once you apply your dots / fear , the rogue will break the fear ( trinket or WotF ) , Cloak of Shadows ( removes all debuffs , i . e . DoTs ) and Vanish / Blind . Do NOT bother attacking the rogue while cloak of shadows is active ( looks kind of like shadowform ) as it reduces spell hit chance by 90 % . Once the rogue vanishes , bandage + shield up , because the fight starts all over again . If you break a stunlock , use Fade clear poisons and run away casting instants . It ' s important you shield up whenever possible , to avoid huge Ambushes or Mutilate sequences while you ' re stunned . Keep your DoTs up if you get a chance , and use Dispersion to avoid some of the damage while stunned . Hopefully by this time your fear is off cd again . This time , if the rogue isn ' t undead , they ' ll have to eat a full duration fear , having used the trinket the first time . Keep all DoTs on the Rogue , along with VE , and they will be unable to Vanish until the 1 min timer is up for CloS . Other abilities to note are Kick ( interrupts spellcasting , and locks the school you were casting for 5 sec , very deadly ) , Gouge ( instant incapacitate , can only be used if you ' re facing the rogue ) , and Sap , which can only be used OOC . DO NOT trinket sap , gouge , or blind ( maybe blind , but only if it ' s going to give you a huge 1 - up ) , since the rogue has other , more potent , CC waiting for you , like kidney shot . Shaman . Shaman come in three flavors : Elemental ( caster ) , Enhancement ( melee ) , and Resto ( healer ) . Each shaman has access to a number of totems , with which you should be somewhat familiar ( list of totems ) . The most important three for a PvP Shadow priest are the Grounding , Tremor , and Earthbind totems . Grounding totem redirects the next harmful spell to itself , so it can absorb your silence or fear or mind blast , even a shadowfiend attack ( hint , hint ) . This is the most important totem to watch for , and is on a 15 sec cd . Tremor totem pulses every 3 seconds and removes any charm / fear / sleep effects on the shaman ' s party within 30 yards . You must destroy it before fearing , if you want it to last more than a couple of seconds . Since most totems only have 5 health , a wand / staff hit / , or any damaging spell is enough to destroy it . Earthbind isn ' t really dangerous , but can hinder you when approaching for a fear . Also , shamans have Purge , and offensive dispel which is quite cheap , and Cure Toxins , which will remove your devouring plague . The key is to keep up enough pressure to distract the shaman from using these spells . Shaman have a form of CC called Hex , which has a 1 . 5 sec cast on a 45 second cd . This should be interrupted with silence ( unless you ' re saving it for a heal ) or trinketed . It doesn ' t break immediately on damage . Also , when a shaman shifts to Ghost Wolf form , you can dispel it . Elemental shaman will mostly be casting Lightning or Chain Lightning , Lava Burst , and various Shock s , with a little healing and totem damage thrown in . The first three spells have long cast times , so you can silence easily . Shaman shocks include Earth Shock ( damage and INTERRUPT ) , Frost Shock ( damages and slows movement by 50 % ) , and Flame Shock ( damage and DoT ; amplifies lava burst ) . Each of these are on a 5 - 6 second cd depending on talents . If you get earth shocked while casting , it locks out the school you were using for 2 secs , or about 1 . 5 GCDs . Use this time to cast mana burn / shield / dispel , then use the remaining 2 - 3 seconds to cast a shadow spell with a cast time . When trying to fear an elemental , remember that Thunderstorm has a slightly larger range than psychic scream , so use caution . Enhancement shaman are trouble for a Shadow priest . They have a large burst potential , with Flurry , Windfury , and a high critical chance . They will purge and earth shock liberally , so instants are better , unless you can put some distance between you and them ( use fade to escape frost shock ; dispersion to temper Flurry , which looks like a little tornado ) . They also have the ability to summon to summon to Spirit Wolves for 45 sec every 3 min , which can increase their movement speed , and heal based on the wolves ' attacks . This is a good time to fear , hopefully , both the shaman and his pets . Although shaman have an offensive purge , they cannot dispel themselves , so DoT them up as much as possible . Keeping shields and VE up is extremely important against enhancement , as is a well timed mana burn . Restoration shaman have 4 spells you need to worry about besides totems : Chain Heal , Earth Shield , Lesser Healing Wave and Riptide . They also have Healing Wave , but it ' s a long cast , so they won ' t likely use it very much in PvP . For chain heal and less healing wave , you should use silence as CC as often as advantageous . Earth shield can be dispelled for about the same amount of mana as it costs , which is probably less than advantageous for your smaller mana pool . Instead , wait for when the shaman applies riptide , then dispel them both at the same time . Warlocks . It is near impossible to beat a warlock who has a Felhunter out ( interrupts spells and devours magic effects ) . Just be thankful that you ' re Shadow , not Holy . Warlocks come in three flavors as well : Affliction ( DoTs and drains ) , Demonology ( mixed bag , strong pet ) , and Destruction ( like a fire mage ) . Warlocks have several different types of CC themselves , plus whatever their minion can do ( see below ) . First , Fear ; this is a spammable 1 . 5 second cast spell that lasts 10 seconds max , the effect of which is similar to psychic scream . This spell calls for a silence / breaking LoS / running through the warlock . They also have Howl of Terror on a 40 second cd . Affliction will likely have this instant cast , but otherwise it ' s a 1 . 5 second cast . Note that the effect isn ' t fear , but horror , but is still on diminishing returns with fear . Third , they have Death Coil , which is on a separate DR . Fortunately , this is on a 2 minute cooldown . Destruction warlocks will also have Shadowfury , which is like an expensive War Stomp on a 20 sec cd that does some damage . When you add a warlock ' s natural magic resistance , and extra shadow resistance , this is a very difficult fight for a priest . For affliction warlocks , you have the choice of dispelling boatloads of debuffs / dots off yourself and minimizing damage , or being extremely offensive and going all out . Both tactics work about the same . They will probably dot you up with Corruption , Unstable Affliction , Haunt , Curse of Agony , and maybe even Seed of Corruption , although this is very rare as it locks out Corruption , which is both a major damage dealer and a self heal mechanism due to Siphon Life . Be aware of Unstable Affliction when using Dispel on yourself or others . The damage you take after dispelling scales with the Warlock ' s spellpower and it ' s base damage is twice the DoT ' s base damage . It is also capable of a critical strike and it silences you for 5 seconds . Even with all other DoTs on you as well , it is still often not worth the risk of accidentally dispelling Unstable Affliction . However , you probably should dispel Seed of Corruption if you ' re playing on a team . They ' ll likely also Drain Life , and fear in the meantime . Just use your trinket to get out of the most dangerous CC , shield up , fear whenever possible , and try to maximize your damage / minimize theirs . Use the break you get from silencing them wisely . Destruction is a lot more DD type spells . They ' ll still use the same CC , but you ' ll see spells like Immolate , Chaos Bolt , Incinerate , Searing Pain , Shadowflame and Shadowbolt . Destruction has a talent called Nether Protection , which occasionally ( 3 / 10 spells ) reduces damage by 30 % from that spell school . This is a good time to shield / mana burn ( mana burn quite effective against warlocks if you can cast it safely ) . Fortunately , most destruction spells have cast times , so use silence to negate a dangerous cast and give yourself some breathing room . In this fight , go all out dps , without bothering to self - dispel . If you are fast though , dispelling the Immolate / Shadowflame effect is quite valuable as it makes the warlock incapable of casting Conflagrate , an instant DD with high crit chance due to Fire and Brimstone when the Immolate has 5 or less seconds remaining , the haste effect of Backdraft for his next 3 spells , and also wastes time for a lock who tries to Conflagrate an enemy who is not Immolated , and having to use another 1 . 5 sec cast to put another Immolate up , it being a relatively weak DD , and yet another chance for the priest to dispel it in a timely fashion . Warlocks deep in demonology have access to Metamorphosis , which just means you should stay right on them or 25 + yards from them , as they gain Demon Charge , a 3 second stun . Dispersion serves well during metamorphosis . Warriors . Warriors are one of the classes that Shadow priests can consistently do decently against . The number one thing to remember against a warrior is to keep your up as much as possible . Its effect is not reduced by Mortal Strike , and it starves a warrior of rage ( not anymore ) . As with all melee types , Psychic Horror is your best friend . Beware trying to cast spells with cast times , as a warrior has access to Pummel ( 4 sec interrupt on a 10 sec cd ) , and especially if the warrior has a shield equipped ( Shield Bash ; 6 sec interrupt on a 10 sec cd , and Spell Reflection ; reflects the next spell within 5 sec ) . Warriors with shields should generally be avoided , since they are usually specced protection , making them deadly for you ( see Concussion Blow , Devastate , Shield Slam , Shockwave , and Gag Order ) . They can essentially keep you stunned and silenced around 50 % of the time . As well , be aware of Intercept , which can only be used in berserker stance . This works like Shadowstep , except that it stuns for 3 sec . Finally , Intimidating Shout is the warrior equivalent of Fear . Trinketing here is a good option . You ' ll likely get pulled into combat with a warrior by Charge , which can now normally be used in combat ( talents in Arms / Protection ) . If they don ' t have the talents , try to throw up an instant ( VE , SW : P ) to put them in combat first . It ' s best to use your fear as soon as possible , to get the cd running . Don ' t forget that warriors now have Berserker Rage available to them in all stances , which makes them immune to / breaks fear for 10 sec on a 30 sec cd . You should check for this ability , which looks like this or . You will be Hamstrung , which can be removed with Fade , and Rend can be removed with Stoneform . Mortal Strike doesn ' t affect you too much , except for reduce the amount of VE healing by 50 % . Last , warriors have Shield Wall on a 5 min cd , which reduces the amount of damage taken by 60 % for 12 seconds . \ Get out of Bladestorm . Conclusion . The key stats in order are : In organized PvP , priests are often the first target , and we need the stats to survive the initial burst . Especially in arena , it is important to time CC well for a Shadow priest to survive . As a finishing note , I strongly advise all shadow priests to watch a few rank 13 / 14 shadow priests ( or post 2 . 0 . 1 equivalents ) in action to see how they adapt to different situations and the tactics they use . A lot can be learned from watching people more skilled than yourself .