Priest · Shadow · Leveling · level 30 of 60

Shadow Priest leveling build at level 30

Spirit Tap, Blackout, Improved Shadow Word: Pain, Mind Flay, Shadow Weaving, Vampiric Embrace, Darkness and Shadowform, then Discipline for Wand Specialization, Mental Strength and Meditation.

Talents at level 30

TalentTreeRankTaken at
Spirit TapShadow5/510, 11, 12, 13, 14
BlackoutShadow5/515, 16, 23, 24, 25
Shadow FocusShadow1/519
Improved Shadow Word: PainShadow2/217, 18
Mind FlayShadow1/120
Improved Mind FlayShadow2/221, 22
Shadow WeavingShadow3/326, 27, 28
Vampiric EmbraceShadow1/129
Dark InspirationShadow1/530

Next five points (31–35)

  1. Level 31: Silence (Shadow)
  2. Level 32: Devouring Contagion (Shadow)
  3. Level 33: Devouring Contagion (Shadow)
  4. Level 34: Shadow Focus (Shadow)
  5. Level 35: Darkness (Shadow)

Notes that apply by 30

  • Spirit Tap first: mana after every kill is what makes Shadow level. Shadow Word: Pain, Mind Blast, wand. Wand Specialization at 44 is 25% wand damage; wands fire while moving in Forever.
  • Mind Flay at 20, Vampiric Embrace at 30 for free healing, Devouring Plague (trainable for every race now) with Devouring Contagion spreading it on kills.
  • Shadowform at 40. Shadow Word: Death (baseline at 32) finishes targets but costs 30% of your health if it fails to kill: use it only under 20% with Early Demise.
  • Fear Ward and Devouring Plague are trainable at 20 for all races in Forever.

Questions players ask

What should a level 30 Shadow Priest have in its talent trees?
Spirit Tap 5/5, Blackout 5/5, Shadow Focus 1/5, Improved Shadow Word: Pain 2/2, Mind Flay 1/1, Improved Mind Flay 2/2, Shadow Weaving 3/3, Vampiric Embrace 1/1, Dark Inspiration 1/5: 0/0/21 across Discipline/Holy/Shadow. That is every point from 10 to 30 in the order this build replays.
What comes next after level 30?
Silence at 31, Devouring Contagion at 32, Devouring Contagion at 33, Shadow Focus at 34, Darkness at 35. The full order to 60 is on the build page.
Can I open the calculator at this level?
Yes. The link below opens the Priest talent calculator with the level set to 30, so only the first 21 points of the order are shown and you can continue from there.