You Were Prepared!

I may of said this in a post a few weeks ago but I plan on getting a server first achievement on my priest. The past two weeks between raiding, Loremaster and work I've been gathering things to prepare for the grind. I've built a pretty nice Shadow leveling spec from 80-85. If you are a reroller I'll post it in a level by level format. Lets get down to it shall we. 




General Info: 

• Set Your Hearthstone to Orgrimmar or Stormwind prior to 4.0.3a but do not log out in the city. Your toon may become stuck in walls, rocks, the ground and buildings. 
• Get your Justice Points to the cap. 4k This will allow you to get a jump start on getting geared for Heroics/Raids.
• Decide which starting zone you are going to hit first. My personal suggestion is Hyjal. The questing flow is slightly better here which is key for powering through. However, Once you've leveled don't skip out on the beauty that is Vashj'ir.
• Clear your bags. We all know questing is the fastest way to to power level if you do it properly. Leave all your healing/pvp gear in the bank. If you don't have full 24 slot bags buy them. They'll save you an extra vendor trip. (If you are on Wyrmrest Accord Horde I'll make you some bags)
• Respec your second spec to an optimized leveling spec. (Check below for my suggested shadow leveling spec.)
• Make or buy buff food. Every little bit helps to speed the process of killing mobs. I suggest pure SP or Haste food. 60-80 should be enough.
• Buy or Make Health/Mana pots. I suggest 80 of each. These will lower downtime and help in a pinch if you grab adds while questing. (The mobs hit a lot harder than they did in Wrath. Think TBC and dying in Hellfire.)
• Use any left over raiding flasks while leveling. These will help speed up the process of killing mobs and they won't be useful @ 85.

Mana Mana

 Now that you have gathered the stuff that will help you along your way while leveling in game it's time to buff your health bar IRL. 

Staying awake:

• Keep cool. Warm closed off rooms will make you sleepy faster. It'll drain your mental energy fast. 
• Drink ice cold water. It'll help you stay alert and if you start to feel the sleep creeping in splash some cold water on your face. 
• Chew gum or breath mints. Anything minty will help you stay awake. 
• Low Carb snacks. Fatty foods will slow you down faster.  Fruit and Veggies will give you the energy you need. 
• Every hour or so stand up and take a stretch. 
• Turn on all the lights in the room. The darker it is the more you'll want to sleep.
• Find a leveling buddy to chat with on vent or pump some upbeat tunes. (Personal fave Techno.) 
• If all the healthy stuff isn't you then stock up on 5hr Energy. However the crash from this stuff will be bad so prepare for that. 

Its bad for you but oh so good.

 

Now for the fun part! Lets build a Shadow Leveling spec. I know you crazy people out there who want to level as holy or disc but lets face it guys Shadow is the fastest way to level. I'm going to break this down per level bracket to help all you rerollers out there and you guys leveling from 80-85. 

Levels 10-19

2/2 Improved Shadow Word: Pain
3/3 Darkness
1/2 Twisted Faith

Levels 20-29

2/2 Twisted Faith (1 point from last level)
3/3 Improved Mind Blast
1/1 Shadowform

Shadowform at level 29 is awesome. It makes lowbie leveling so much faster.

Levels 30-39

2/2 Improved Devouring Plague
2/2 Improved Psychic Scream
1/1 Vampiric Embrace 

The nerf to VE makes this damn near worthless for endgame but while leveling every little bit helps so I decided to take it.

Levels 40-49

1/1 Silence
2/2 Masochism

1/2 Veiled Shadows
1/1 Vampiric Touch

Silence I've added for caster mobs and its needed if you are leveling at higher levels on a pvp server. Silence is a must! Don't forget to purchase Dual Talent Specialization. It's only 100g now and at this level healing instances as shadow becomes troublesome. 

Levels 50-59

1/2 Pain and Suffering
2/2 Harnessed Shadows
2/2 Veiled Shadows (1 point from last time)
1/1 Psychic Horror

Pain and Suffering is just filler for now to help you progress down the tree. It's not very good for leveling at low levels. Psychic Horror is good CC for PVP servers and decent CC in instances. 

Levels 60-69

3/3 Shadowy Apparition
1/2 Phantasm
1/1 Dispersion

Here is where the fun begins. Outlands mobs will die really fast while will allow you to pull more than 4-5 at a time. AoE SW:P and Shadowy Apparitions are fun. 

Levels 70-79

3/3 Twin Disciplines
2/2 Improved Power Word: Shield

At 78 you can travel to the new Cataclysm zones where the mobs hit A LOT harder than they did in Northrend. Imp PW:Shield is a must for lowing downtime.

Levels 80-85

2/2 Evangelism
1/1 Archangel

Yeah, I know its nerfed now but more damage output = faster killing = faster leveling. Use the last two points where ever you see fit. Going back and maxing out Phantasm is what I did. 

Glyphs
This is an easy one. 
Prime: Dispersion, SW:P, and Mindflay
Major: Pyschic Horror, Spirit Tap, Pyschic Scream
I went with the Physhic scream glyph because feared mobs like to bring friends to the party. Faster CD on Horror is nice while leveling.
Minor: Levitate, Fortitude, and Shadow Fiend.  

Well that's it guys. This is the spec I plan on using. Is it perfect? Nah probably not I'm sure there is some crazy numbers guy out there who has a better spec. Stay tuned for my instance guides and how to find them post over the weekend. I probably won't post it until Saturday. I mean a girl has to see the new Harry Potter!