I love my new respec as a dwarf Shadow Priest. The last three levels zoomed by and I am now a proud level 35 with my tailoring maxed out at 300 until I hit level 50.
I was able to make myself some great new gear: a Spider Belt and also Robe of Power. The Spider Belt is resistant to immobilizing effects and the cool blue robe gives +12 Intellect and +8 Mana and increases damage and healing done by magical spells and effects by up to 14.
I picked up a Thistlefur Branch of Shadow Wrath for my off-hand too, adding +11 Shadow damage.
I had good luck soloing a pile of quests in Stranglethorn Vale, killing NPCs up to level 38. For a priest this is new territory for me. When I was a combo Holy/Discipline/Shadow priest I could never go more than one level above my own. I think it’s the Vampiric Embrace talent that makes the biggest difference. When I use that, health regenerates every time I cause Shadow damage to the target. I have run out of mana but the only time I’ve run out of health is if I get mobbed (or if some Horde starts beating on me while I’m fighting an NPC).
I start out with Holy Fire to get my target’s attention. This has a long cast so the only time it’s useful is if I initiate the attack. Next is Shadow Word Pain. Then I put on my shield, apply the Vampiric Embrace and by this time the target has caught up to me and has started work on me. If they’re a caster I watch for the glowing hands and use Silence but otherwise I use Mind Flay > Mind Blast > Mind Flay [repeat] until they die. I’ve got these spells attached to number keys to make it easier:
2 = Holy Fire
3 = Pain
4 = Shield
5 = Mind Blast
6 = Mind Flay
Silence and Vampiric Embrace are on my left action bar so I hit those with the mouse with my left hand while the right hand is going through the number keys on my keyboard.
If I’m getting bored or low on mana I use #7 which is my wand. It’s not as powerful since I dropped the wand specialization from the Discipline Talent Tree but it still works, especially if I’m shielded.
Grouping is a bit different because a priest has to keep an eye on the other players’ health and heal accordingly. Vampiric Embrace saves the day again because it heals everyone in the party as long as I’m doing damage but Heal and Renew come in handy too.