Mind Flay

Mind Flay is a channeled level 10 Shadow priest ability.

Talents

 * Fortress of the Mind

PvP Talents

 * Mind Trauma

Tips and Tactics
Mind Flay is generally the 'filler' in any Shadow priest's rotation. It deals damage fairly slowly and requires the priest to remain stationary while channeling it.

In a standard Shadow priest rotation, Mind Flay should only be used once all DoTs have been applied, and while Mind Blast (and Void Bolt while in Voidform) is on cooldown. Mind Flay is far less effective than any of these abilities, and should be interrupted mid-channel if necessary in order to utilize one of them.

Mind Flay has four main strengths:
 * Its 50% snare effect makes it effective for slowing fleeing targets. This can allow teammates to reach them and finish them, or simply slow a flag-carrier's progress across the field in a battleground. Since Mind Flay has no cooldown, this effect can be channeled continuously as long as the target is within range and in line of sight.
 * As a channeled ability, Mind Flay can be used to continue to deal damage to (and snare) targets even after that target has moved out of the priest's line of sight. When a target is about to move behind an obstacle or similar, priests can use Mind Flay to continue to deal damage to and snare them for a little longer. Mind Flay's effectively instant cast also makes this possible in situations where there would not be time to cast Mind Blast. This also makes Mind Flay very effective when dealing with melee classes such as rogues, who will run closely around the priest while attacking, making it near impossible to cast spells that require line of sight (Vampiric Touch, Mind Blast). Although not the most powerful attack, when casting other spells is difficult at best, Mind Flay can be used to deal constant damage.
 * Mind Flay has no cooldown and can be used in combination with DoTs. This makes it the ideal (and almost only) attack to use when all DoTs have been applied and other abilities such as Mind Blast are on cooldown.
 * Since Mind Flay does not deal damage instantly, it is also possible to use Mind Flay to pull targets from a distance without damaging them. Simply cancel the channel once the target has aggroed, but before the first tick of damage is dealt. This requires precise timing and low latency as Mind Flay deals its first tick of damage less than a second after casting.

Trivia

 * This spell is popularly referred to as the "face melter" due to the ray that usually targets the opponent's face.