I hope we continue to be one of the most self-reliant DPS classes, and the one that can survive while the others are face down on the floor. I think as healers are going to struggle a hell of a lot, staying alive is going to really be worth something.

I’m not too worried about our “utility”. I’d be more worried about losing the hymns – I think these are raid savers. Being the only DPS class able to Dispel Magic (so far, I think we might be) is still pretty sweet. I’m happy to lose Prayer of Spirit and Misery. I do expect that Blizzard will replace these losses with something else though. I feel that all the “fun” DPS enhancing abilities are given to Mages, Shamans and Boomkin – straight up +dmg from spells % and crit % increases. I’d love to have something like that – even if it’s shared with other classes.

The graphic pretty much looks just like Lightning Shield, except it’s all shadowy. However, it’s likely you never saw it as there never were many troll shadow priests to begin with; most preferred to go Undead.

That said, on the same token… “Mind Flay” is iconic too. Or as it’s better known “face melt”. Don’t forget at the core, back at level 60, Shadow Priests pretty much had three things: Shadowform, Shadow Word: Pain and Mind Flay.

I however do agree with you, but in sort of an ironic sense/way. From the sounds of things, it sounds like Mind Spike will be a vastly better pvp ability except in Warsong Gulch. Mind Spike dealing shadowfrost damage means we won’t be as hampered by shadow resistance… and also being on a separate lockout from our other shadow spells is a very important implication.

Getting locked out of mind flay means we’re locked out of psychic horror, psychic scream and possibly silence; but there are virtually no reprecussions to being locked out of mind spike, we’ll keep our defenses and can still mind blast or mindflay.

One thing I’d like to mention, perhaps you have something to say on it… Have you noticed a lot of shadow priest “utility” is being taken away? No more Divine Spirit. Shadow priests do not bring a usable CC (I highly doubt we’ll see many undeads… while fighting elementals and dragons) like every other ranged DPS (entangle, cyclone; hex; polymorph; seduce, fear; frost trap, freeze trap). Won’t be able to use abolish disease in shadowform. We know Misery wont exist so we wont bring the hit. And lastly, replenishment is taking a hit, but even so a plethora or classes have it.

I was hoping:
(a) Mind Flay would become something of a PVP ability which really makes use of the snare. And we would get something else, direct damage off cooldown, for PVE
(b) Shadow Word: Pain would be placed higher on the DPS stakes than Devouring Plague

I’ll always think of Shadow Word: Pain, the very first real Shadow spell that Priests learn, as being one of our iconic abilities and it should be GOOD. Devouring Plague is an ex-racial spell that I’ve only been able to cast for a year.

Unfortunately I played a Rogue up until several months into the Burning Crusade and I didn’t know anything about the Horde racials at the time. I take it that Shadowguard didn’t have a visual effect?

It was kind of cool, having a rogue opening up on a poor little troll, only to get a blackout proc from the shadowguard. And suddenly you’re free to turn around and melt his face with his stunlock interrupted.

Also, I think under current implementation, mindflay will never leave the rotation, at the very least, it will always be useful for refreshing shadow word: pain. That said, as a player from vanilla, I am kind of disappointed as how Shadow Word: Pain has fallen into somewhat of a state of disgrace. Shadow Word: Pain use to be the single most powerful DoT in the game, now it’s one of the weakest and we only use it because it’s fire-and-forget via Mindflay refreshes.

I pray to Elune on a nightly basis “Grief Grip” does not make it live in any state or form. I do not want to be responsible for some fail DPS standing in the fire. No.

I do like the implications with the return of Shadow Word: Death and Mind Spike though. Having to be intelligent about spellcasts in different situation, that’s always a good thing in my book. Though, I am kind of worried by the number of keybinds needed…

Of course Mind Spike isn’t going to replace our entire rotation. What worries me is that many players will just find that spamming Mind Spike produces enough damage to get through your average dungeon/heroic. And I think that would be a shame. On three targets I imaging spamming Mind Spike on each on consecutively would be more damage than Mind Sear (since Mind Sear would only hit 2 targets).

I think the intention is that we’ll swap to our new spell when it comes time to burn down Bone Spikes or the like – raid adds that have little health and are top priority.