WoW Shadowlands – Update 9.0.1 Priest Class Changes

World of Warcraft: Shadowlands pre-expansion Update 9.0.1 brings with it a bevy of various class changes, and the Priest was no exception. Many classes will find some of their more popular abilities that were removed many expansions ago returned, and their skill acquisition adjusted due to the massive level squish introduced in this same update.

Not every class received massive adjustments, but Priest certainly saw a healthy amount of class changes (Shadow more so than Discipline and Holy). Below is the full list of class changes to Priest in Shadowlands pre-expansion Update 9.0.1. For the full patch notes, be sure to check out the link here, where additional class changes are listed.

Priest – Shadowlands Update 9.0.1 Class Changes

GENERAL

• Fade now has an additional effect – Fade now reduces the range at which enemies will attack you.
• All Priests can now use the following abilities:
  • Shadow Word: Pain – A word of darkness that causes Shadow damage instantly, and an additional Shadow damage over 12 seconds. Shadow Priests generate 4 Insanity.
  • Shadow Word: Death – A word of dark binding that inflicts Shadow damage to the target. If the target is not killed by Shadow Word: Death, the caster takes damage equal to the damage inflicted upon the target. Damage increased by 175% to targets below 20% health.
• PvP Talent changes:
  • New PvP Talent: Thoughtsteal – Peer into the mind of an enemy, attempting to steal a known spell. If stolen, the victim cannot cast that spell for 20 seconds. Can only be used on Humanoids with mana. If you’re unable to find a spell to steal, the cooldown of Thoughtsteal is reset.

DISCIPLINE

• New Ability: Mind Sear – Corrosive shadow energy radiates from the target, dealing Shadow damage over 4.5 seconds to all enemies within 10 yards of the target.
• New Ability: Mind Blast – Blasts the target’s mind for Shadow damage and has an additional effect: Mind Blast prevents some of the next damage dealt by the enemy.
• Rapture now immediately casts Power Word: Shield on your friendly target when used, if no ally is targeted Power Word: Shield will be cast on yourself and its duration has been reduced to 8 seconds (from 10 seconds).
• Shadow Covenant has been redesigned – Make a shadowy pact, healing the target and 4 other injured allies within 30 yards. For 9 seconds, your Shadow spells deal 25% increased damage and healing, but you cannot cast Holy spells. 30 second cooldown, costs 5% base mana.
• Holy Nova now deals reduced damage if there are more than 5 targets.
• The following Talents have been adjusted:
  • New Talent: Spirit Shell (replaces Luminous Barrier): For 10 seconds, Penance, Power Word: Radiance, and Atonement create absorb shields instead of healing. Replaces Rapture when talented. Spirit Shell does not have a global cooldown.
  • Schism now increases your spell damage to the target by 25% (was 40%).

HOLY

• Circle of Healing is no longer a Talent and learned by all Holy Priests at level 39.
• Holy Fire’s instant damage has been increased by 300%, but now has a 1.5 second cast time.
• Holy Nova now deals reduced damage if there are more than 5 targets.
• The following Talents have been adjusted:
  • New Talent: Renewed Faith (replaces Enduring Renewal) – Your healing is increased by 10% on targets with your Renew.
  • New Talent: Prayer Circle (replaces Circle of Healing) – Using Circle of Healing reduces the cast time of your Prayer of Healing by 25% for 8 seconds.
  • Afterlife now also increases the range of your healing spells while in Spirit of Redemption by 30%.
  • Apotheosis now also resets the cooldowns of your Holy Words when activated.
• PvP Talent changes:
  • New PvP Talent: Cardinal Mending – Prayer of Mending now heals the target for 10% of their maximum health, ignoring any healing reduction effects.
  • New PvP Talent: Divine Ascension – You ascend into the air out of harm’s way. While floating, you are only able to cast Holy spells.
  • Divine Attendant has been removed.

SHADOW

• New Mastery: Shadow Weaving – Your damage is increased by 4% for each of Shadow Word: Pain, Vampiric Touch and Devouring Plague on the target. During Void Form, all targets receive the maximum effect.
• New Ability: Devouring Plague – Afflicts the target with a disease that instantly cause Shadow damage plus an additional 4 Shadow damage over 6 seconds. Heals you for 300% of damage dealt.
• New Ability: Dark Thoughts (Passive) – For each of your damage over time effects on the target, your Mind Flay and Mind Sear have a 2% chance to instantly add a charge of Mind Blast, causing it to be instantly cast, and allowing it to be cast while channeling Mind Flay or Mind Sear within 6 seconds.
• Voidform has been redesigned – Now has a 90 second cooldown and increases damage by 20% for 15 seconds. Voidform no longer reduces the cooldown of Mind Blast, but now refreshes the cooldown of Mind Blast and you gain 2 charges while in Voidform. You no longer gain Haste every 0.5 seconds while in Void Form.
• Void Eruption cast time reduced by 40% and no longer requires 90 Insanity to cast.
• Shadowy Apparitions has been redesigned – When you use Mind Blast, Devouring Plague or Void Bolt you also create a shadowy version of yourself that floats towards all targets afflicted by your Vampiric Touch dealing Shadow damage. Critical strikes will cause two Apparitions to be created.
• Shadow Word: Death no longer generates Insanity.
• Mind Blasts Insanity generation is now 8 (was 12).
• Vampiric Touch’s Insanity generation is now 5 (was 6).
• Void Bolt’s Insanity generation is now 15 (was 20).
• Mind Sear Insanity generation is now 6 (was 8).
• The following Talents have been adjusted:
  • New Talent: Death and Madness (replaces Shadowy Insight) – If a target dies within 6 seconds after being struck by your Shadow Word: Death, you gain 73 Insanity over 4 seconds and the cooldown of your Shadow Word: Death is reset.
  • New Talent: Unfurling Darkness (replaces Shadow Word: Void) – After casting Vampiric Touch on a target, your next Vampiric Touch within 8 seconds is instant cast and deals Shadow damage immediately. This effect cannot occur more than once every 15 seconds.
  • New Talent: Psychic Link (replaces Shadow Word: Death) – Mind Blast deals 50% of its damage to all targets afflicted by your Vampiric Touch within 40 yards.
  • New Talent: Searing Nightmare (replaces Dark Void) – Instantly deals Shadow damage to enemies around the target and afflicts them with Shadow Word: Pain. If the enemy is already afflicted by your Shadow Word: Pain, Searing Nightmare’s damage is increased by 185%. Only usable while channeling Mind Sear.
  • New Talent: Damnation (replaces Lingering Insanity) – Instantly afflicts the target with Shadow Word: Pain, Vampiric Touch and Devouring Plague free of cost.
  • New Talent: Ancient Madness (replaces Dark Ascension) – Voidform increases your critical strike chance by 30% for 15 seconds, reducing by 2% every second.
  • New Talent: Hungering Void (replaces Legacy of the Void) – Void Bolt causes the target to become vulnerable to the void, increasing damage taken from the Priest for 6 seconds. Void Bolt cast on vulnerable targets will also extend the duration of your Voidform by 1 second, 2 seconds if Void Bolt critically strikes. This effect can only be active on one target at any one time.
  • Shadow Crash has been redesigned – Hurl a bolt of slow-moving, far-reaching Shadow energy at the destination, dealing Shadow damage to all targets within 8 yards. If Shadow Crash hits a lone target, they suffer 25% increased damage from your next Shadow Crash within 15 seconds. Stacks up to 2 and generates 8 Insanity.
  • Void Torrent no longer pauses your Insanity while used, but now applies Devouring Plague and refreshes the duration of all of your Shadow damage over time effects while channeling.
  • Surrender to Madness no longer instantly generates 100 Insanity when used and has a 1.5 minute cooldown (was 3 minutes). Additionally, Surrender to Madness now has a heartbeat sound effect that speeds up as you reach the end of the spells’ duration.
• PvP Talent changes:
  • New PvP Talent: Lasting Plague – Increases the duration of your Devouring Plague by 6 seconds.
  • Driven to Madness has been redesigned – Now reduces the cooldown of your Void Eruption by 3 seconds when you take damage.
  • Shadow Mania has been removed.