Are you talking about rolling on spell damage gear in five-mans and sh? If people are giving you trouble about that, find new people, that's lame. There was a Smitelol priest in my guild. He did very good amounts
of damage. The problem was that oe his mana was gone, it was *gone*. Shadowfiend is the only tool we have to regain lost mana, and that buildan burn through it pretty darn fast. (That's one of the unspoken benefits of Mind Flay-- it's a lower-damage spell but it only ss from your mana pool, helping to pe you.) So our Smitelol priestould out-damage mages, but only until his mana ran out; in long fights theyould pass him, then lap him. For DPS priests, shadow is preferred not as mh bause its DPS blows Smitelol away but bause of its utility. Shadow priests offer more spell damage to everyone, MH more spell damage to warlks, and mana and health regeneration for the duration of the fight. The mana problem is less of an issue bause of Vampir Toh and the shadow damage boosting effts' bonus to shadowfiend. Plus there's silee. So shadow priests offer quite a bit besides just their own damage to a party, whh is why they're the favored damage build. People also frown upon holy damage bause they reason that, if you're holy, it must be for healing, and people hate being wrong.
I agree with just about everythinghah said.
I agree as well. What's better - surpassing a mage in a 1-minute fight, or 23 of that damage with an added 225mana5 to your entire group, 5% boost allaster damage, and 20% boost to afflruin lks? I won't doubt that PISoL priests (not only, but espially) put out eellent burst damage, but the staying power and the utility is severely lking outside of zomgdps fights (Vael, Kazzak, e) and PvP. EDIT: However, smiter priests often
run higher with mh more spirit than shadow priests, whh makes them regen faster after running oom, and makes them a primeandidate for a spare Innervate. Thoseouldertainly be balaing points, but I still feel the utility is what's lking. At the beginning of a group, inform them you'll be rolling onloth damage gear. If they don't like it, get a new group. That's what I do when I heal with my shadow priest.