Soulstones Soulstones are bag - slot , conjured items , which a warlock can create beginning at level 18 , that temporarily grants a buff on a target player conferring the power of self - resurrect ion . If used on a dead ally , that ally is instantly resurrected . Often , the term is used as a verb meaning to apply a soulstone to a target . Creating a Soulstone . The spell requires three seconds of casting time and five percent of base mana . The soulstone created is soulbound to the warlock , but only one soulstone can be held at a time . Creating a soulstone only starts the global 1 . 5 - second cooldown , but due to the soulstone being unique and soulbound , it must be used before another can be successfully created . Tactics and tips . Using a Soulstone . Having a soulstone in the inventory provides no benefit , and it cannot be equipped . The benefit occurs when the warlock selects an ally ( or himself / herself ) and uses the soulstone ( usually by right - clicking on it ) . This requires approximately 2 seconds and ends with a sound and graphical effect that surrounds the target of the soulstone . The buff image ( ) , looks like a soulstone on the target . The soulstone self - resurrect effect lasts 15 minutes . Using a soulstone has a 15 - minute cooldown that begins when the warlock actually uses the soulstone on someone . If the target dies after 1 minute , it will be 14 more minutes before the same warlock can use another soulstone on anybody . If the target dies after 14 minutes , though , the warlock can use another one in 1 minute . Because the cooldown is the same length as the effect ' s duration , it is possible for the warlock to provide near - continuous coverage for one person ( possibly themselves ) . As of Patch 4 . 1 , the soulstone can be used to resurrect another targetted dead player . Dying while Soulstoned . A player who dies while soulstoned will be presented with an extra option : besides the usual " Release Spirit " choice , there is a new option called " Use Soulstone " . Choosing this will immediately return the player to life where he or she died , with reduced health and mana . Choosing " Release Spirit " or accepting another player ' s resurrection will essentially waste the soulstone effect . Before using a soulstone to resurrect , it is good to make sure no mob s are in close aggro range , since depending on survivability against any nearby mob that attacks immediately , a quick death also wastes the soulstone benefit . Using a Soulstone in a group . The best use of the soulstone in a group situation is for the warlock to pick a rez - capable character ( usually a priest or paladin , sometimes a shaman or a druid ) and soulstone that person as a form of " wipe insurance " . It is the Soulstoned person ' s job to be sure to die far from the mobs ' spawn points , so that , if the entire party is wiped out , they can wait until no mobs are around , then self - resurrect with the Soulstone and commence wipe recovery . Most groups choose to have a paladin soulstoned first , as they tend to have the best survivability of the rez - capable classes . Priests and druids are usually the next in line , followed by shamans ( who are already capable of self - rezzing via Reincarnation ) . In general , it is best to soulstone a character who will be standing away from monsters , as that character has less of a chance to accidentally aggro another group . Tips for being Soulstoned while in a group . If you are the target of a soulstone , congratulations ! For the next 15 minutes , if you die you will be able to rez right where you died . With great power comes great responsibility . Take extra care where you die ( this is known as " dying well " ) . Soulstone resurrection takes place at the exact spot where your corpse is — if that ' s right next to the mobs that just wipe d your party , you ' ll immediately draw aggro and probably die again . If you are soulstoned and the wipe is coming , try to pick a safe place away from the mob ' s home so you can resurrect safely . Do not succumb to the delusion that you can single - handedly turn the tide of the battle by resurrecting with partial health and mana and no buffs in mid - combat . Your group is counting on you to wait until the mobs go away and " only then " to use the soulstone to resurrect yourself and begin resurrecting the others . " Never rez until the wipe is complete " is generally the best plan , but there are very specific , limited occasions when using the Soulstone as a combat rez is an acceptable tactic . One situation is if you died while soulstoned but are near where mobs will return after the wipe — that is , if you died badly — and there ' s nothing you ' re losing by using the soulstone now except a chance to turn the tide of the battle . Another example might be if you are the healer and you die late in the fight , when the boss is almost dead ( 1 % to 3 % health ) . Using the soulstone as a combat rez and using a mana potion to get your mana back up quickly can mean that you are soon looting . ( It can also mean that everyone now has to run back from the graveyard or even that your run is over due to respawns . Be careful in this situation and realize you will be taking a lot of flak , and maybe even removed from the group , if you do this wrong . ) These situations are — or should be — fairly rare , however . When in doubt , wait until combat is over to use the soulstone . If you are in a raid , the same rules apply ; if you ' re in a safe spot , don ' t resurrect using the soulstone unless you ' re too near where the mobs would be in the case of a wipe . If you merely died from a bit of bad aggro management and the fight is still clearly under control , it is also generally acceptable to use the soulstone . If a boss is nearly dead , you may also want to use the Soulstone . The difference in a raid is that you should probably request the raid leader ' s orders before using the Soulstone in any case other than having died in a spot you know is bad ( and if that ' s the case , tell the raid so they don ' t presume you used it wrongly ! ) . The leader should be watching the situation closely and know what to have you do . Also , if he tells you it ' s alright to use it in combat , you are thereby exempt from any fault if it was the wrong decision . If you have the ability to resurrect other players , check to see whether they ' re Soulstoned before you do so . The " soulstoned " buff will appear if you select their corpse ( assuming they haven ' t yet released ) . This means they ' re looking at the " Release Spirit / Use Soulstone " dialog box , perhaps thinking about what to do . The only reason they shouldn ' t self - resurrect if there ' s an ally alive and going around resurrecting people is if by using the soulstone they might aggro nearby mobs , as by having an ally cast a resurrect spell on them they will move to that ally ' s ( hopefully safe ) location . But if they ' ve died in a good location , you only have your mana to lose by casting a rez on them . If you are a shaman that has been soulstoned , and die , take care not to use Reincarnation as you will start its long cooldown , use up an , " and " waste the soulstone . Tips for warlocks using Soulstone in a group . Understand the responsibilities you are giving an ally if you soulstone them . Choose a party member based not only on their class abilities to recover your group from a wipe , but also on their understanding of the guidelines above . If you soulstone someone who tends to die bad , or who rezzes during combat , consider someone else next time . Remember that the rest of your group are also depending on you to soulstone the right person . Soulstones and shamans . In general , shaman s are considered a lesser choice for soulstone after priests and paladins because of their Reincarnation ability . However , using a soulstone will allow the shaman to save the Reincarnation cooldown for another wipe , and if someone else is soulstoned , the shaman generally shouldn ' t be using Reincarnation anyway . So , the argument that " Reincarnation is doing nothing while not being used , and using it sooner and having the soulstone on someone else just sees to the ability ' s usefulness and the cooldown coming back faster " is moot . The shaman ' s resurrection ability has no cooldown , just like a priest ' s or paladin ' s , and a shaman is nearly as viable a choice for the soulstone as anyone . The one reason that the shaman would be considered a slightly lesser choice for it would be if the group wishes to have more than one person capable of self - resurrection in case one of them dies in a bad place . Also remember that , much like paladins , some shamans will be built to be in melee combat , and the chance of a melee character dying in a good place to use a Soulstone is less probable than a ranged character doing the same . Enhancement shamans will generally be tied with Retribution paladins for the lowest priority rezzers to receive the soulstone buff . Soulstones and druids . Prior to Wotlk , druid s were considered the last of the healing classes to soulstone . This was due to the fact that the only resurrection spell a druid had was Rebirth . While Rebirth is , and remains , the only resurrection spell that can be used in combat , it costs the druid a reagent unless glyph ed , and has a long cooldown . ( 20 minutes since patch 2 . 3 , down from 30 minutes . ) With the introduction of Revive , a normal resurrection spell without cooldowns or regeants , this raises the potential for druids to be soulstoned . Druids remain the only class that can resurrect in or out of combat , as well as tougher armor either by wearing leather , or turning into a form . If one is considering to soulstone between a priest and a druid , the main healer should get a soulstone . Druids could arguably be a wiser class to receive a soulstone , but may not be ideal if a priest or other class is dying frequently . Spell information . The Create Soulstone spell is of the Shadow school . The act of using a soulstone begins an action of the type " spell " titled " Soulstone Resurrection " ( English client ) . This spell occurs when the soul is stored , not when the player is resurrected . This may be identified with Addon s by using spell events . Removed ranks . The main difference between the type of soulstones was the amount of health and mana they restored when the target of the buff was revived . < onlyinclude > < / onlyinclude >