Shadow Priest is one of the best classes to have: strong DPS, fantastic off-healing, incredible utility, and thrives in short-term encounters with numerous targets.

Best Races

Horde

Undead: The Undead race is the first selectable race for the Priest class, and it offers various intriguing racials. Although it is well renowned for its potent PvP racials, it may also be employed in PvE battles. The Undead race employs the following racials: Cannibalize, which lets you to feast on the remains of your slaughtered foes to recover your health, Shadow Resistance, which is the only genuine racial with PvE content applicability, and Underwater Breathing, which can help you live for a very long period underwater. As you can see, most racials have greater advantages in PvP circumstances, which is why the Undead race is frequently chosen for PvP.

Troll: Another potential Priest class option, the Troll race is sometimes regarded as the strongest race for the Shadow Priest specialty owing to its extremely powerful racials. The first race we’ll discuss is the Berserking race. It provides a “mini-bloodlust” effect that enhances your attack and casting speed by 20% for 10 seconds. Due to the nature of our class’s haste, this effect will do massive damage when paired with other haste effects like Bloodlust/Heroism. Other important racials include Regeneration, which improves your base regeneration factor by 10% and lets 10% of your regeneration to continue during battle, and Da Voodoo Shuffle, which provides a 15% decrease to mobility limiting effects.

The Troll race also offers racials such as Beast Slaying, which improves your damage against monsters by 5%, Bow Specialization, which boosts your critical damage with bows, and Throwing Specialization, although the other two racials do not help the Priest class.

Blood Elf: The final race of The Horde to be able to choose the Priest class, Blood Elves do not have strong “buff” types of racials, but they do provide magical resistance in the form of Magic Resistance, which reduces the chance of being hit by spells by 2%, and Arcane Torrent, which is a spell with both Pve and PvP applicability, it can help you interrupt certain mob or boss mechanics with its silencing effect while also Arcane Affinity, which enhances your initial Enchanting points by 10, also favors the Blood Elf race.

Shadow Priests have been using less than 30% of their mana since TBC. By far the greatest race for any spec of priest in PvE is troll.

Alliance

Human: The Human race is the first possible option for the Priest class, and it is frequently regarded as the greatest race for the Priest class because to The Human Spirit racial, which synergizes incredibly well with Twisted Faith. Apart from The Human Spirit, the Human race offers several other interesting racials such as Diplomacy, which increases the rate at which you gain reputation by 10%, providing a significant boost to your reputation grind, and Every Man for Himself, which is a racial that can be used in both PvE and PvP scenarios, providing a very strong escape tool from any effect that causes you to lose control of your character. Another notable racial is the Perception racial, which improves your stealth detection.

Dwarf: The Dwarf race is another possible option for the Priest class; this race has various fascinating racials for PvE content that provide a more defensive component. Stoneform is a defensive cooldown that enhances your armor by 10% and eliminates any poison, bleed, or sickness effect that has been applied to you. Frost Resistance reduces your probability of being affected by any frost spell by 2%, a racial that is particularly useful owing to the nature of the Wrath of the Lich King expansion. In confrontations against Forgemaster Garfrost or Lady Deathwhisper, as well as numerous dungeon mob engagements, you will frequently be attacked with frost spells.

The Dwarf race also has racials like Find Treasure that can help you in scenarios other than dungeons and raids. Who wouldn’t want a map with treasure boxes marked on it?

Night Elf: The noble race of Night Elves offers fascinating racials that add a new dimension to the game. Shadowmeld is one of the racials that may be employed to bestow immediate invisibility. Shadowmeld may be used to make any mob or boss that targets you lose its target, similar to the Rogue’s Vanish ability.

Another distinct racial is the Wisp Spirit, which grants improved movement speed by 75% upon death, making it a racial that shines in the event of a wipe or a much-needed quick resurrection. The Night Elf race also provides Quickness, which decreases your probability of being struck by melee and ranged attacks by 2%, Nature Resistance, which reduces your risk of being hit by nature spells by 2%, and Elusiveness, which reduces your chance of being found when shadowmelded or stealthed.

Draenei: The Draenei race is the final eligible race for the Priest class, and it gives particularly powerful PvE racials. The first racial is Heroic Presence, which grants a 1% bonus in hit rating to all party members within a 30-yard radius. This racial has a high potential for min-maxing, since it eliminates the need to cap hit rating in favor of other metrics. The Gift of the Naaru is another beneficial racial for the Draenei race, with this racial providing a potent heal-over-time effect that is influenced by your spell power. Consider it a second Renew. Other beneficial racials include Gemcutting, which boosts your beginning Jewelcrafting points by 5, and Shadow Resistance, which decreases your probability of being affected by Shadow spells by 2%.

Human is the finest race for Shadow Priest in the Alliance since they can turn spirit into pure Spell Power with Twisted Faith.

Best Professions

Engineering: For all DPS classes who want to max up their stats for end-game stuff, engineering is almost a need. Because the Shadow Priest, like the Affliction Warlock, benefits from abusing the haste stat, Hyperspeed Accelerators will be a valuable addition to your armory, providing a large 340 haste increase for 12 seconds. Aside from Hyperspeed Accelerators, engineering provides a plethora of additional technologies that might be quite beneficial. Nitro Boosts is one such gadget; it provides you with an extremely powerful escape tool, which can be used to either sprint away from monsters or to completely negate a raid mechanic.

Mining: will provide you with an excellent source of cash while also providing you with enough raw materials to level up professions such as engineering or jewelry making. Most people underestimate mining’s profitability, but be certain that it will go you far. It will not only give you with a consistent supply of income, but it will also provide you with a unique passive that will boost your PvP potency, Toughness, which will improve your stamina by 60 at full rank.

Jewelcrafting: is one of the professions that may provide you with a lot of gold while also adding to the game’s min-maxing component. A Jewelcrafter can manufacture unique gems like the Quick Dragon’s Eye, which can help you improve your stats more than conventional gems.

Alchemy may be a fascinating job. When paired with Herbalism, it is unquestionably profitable. It provides two-hour flasks, transmutations, and access to several helpful potions. Because raiding necessitates a large number of consumables, you should combine Alchemy and Herbalism to optimize the profession’s potential income.

Enchanting: This is one of the professions that casters generally select with Tailoring; it’s a classic bread and butter career combo that may help you enhance your character with strong enchantments to improve your stats or the stats of other players. Enchanting on your own grants you access to specific enchantments for your rings as well as the ability to disenchant items found in the world in order to produce high-value materials for those enchantments.

Tailoring: is a profession that allows you to make clothing for your character from of clothes found all around the world. It is commonly coupled with Enchanting since you may disenchant anything you make with Tailoring. It is an extremely valuable profession because of the gear you may make on your leveling adventure or high-end content while also earning a consistent amount of gold, especially when combined with enchanting. One example of a Tailoring-only enchantment that helps the Shadow Priest specialty is Lightweave Embroidery, which provides a proc of 295 spell power for 15 seconds. Skinning will supply you with a consistent quantity of gold throughout your journeys, allowing you to add practically any pelt to your collection. It not only offers a consistent amount of gold, but it also grants the Master of Anatomy perk, which boosts your critical strike rating by 40.

Tailoring is required for all casters because to the amount of Spell Power gained, and Engineering is second best due to how vital movement speed may be in some critical situations, combined with the haste increase.