Shadowguard (priest ability)

Shadowguard
Shadowguard (7 ranks) Level 20 priest ability 270 Mana Instant The caster is surrounded by shadows. When a spell, melee or ranged attack hits the caster, the attacker will be struck for X Shadow damage. Attackers can only be damaged once every few seconds. This damage causes no threat. 3 charges. Lasts 10 min.
Properties
Class	Priest
Race	Troll
School	Shadow
Cooldown	None/Global Cooldown
Other information
Level learned	20
Improvements	[Blackout], [Darkness], [Force of Will], [Mental Agility], [Shadow Focus], [Shadow Weaving], [Shadowform], [Vampiric Embrace]
Related buff
Magic Shadowguard Causes X Shadow damage to attacker on hit. 3 charges. Duration: 10 minutes

Shadowguard was one of the priest racial abilities available only to troll priests. It provides a Shadow-based buff to the priest which does direct damage to a melee or ranged attacker or spellcaster. The spell can only proc every couple of seconds, causes no threat, and has 3 charges.

Rank table

Rank	Level	Casting Cost	Description	Learning Cost
1	20	50 mana	Does 20 damage per charge.	1
2	28	85 mana	Does 35 damage per charge.	20
3	36	120 mana	Does 51 damage per charge.	35
4	44	160 mana	Does 70 damage per charge.	60
5	52	200 mana	Does 90 damage per charge.	95
6	60	250 mana	Does 116 damage per charge.	1 15
7	68	270 mana	Does 130 damage per charge.	58 50

Notes

• Each charge receives approximately 26.7% of spell damage.
• The damage caused is considered direct damage, though it cannot crit.
• Functionally similar to [Lightning Shield], and got a new animation in 2.0.
• Causes no threat and is actually safe to use when grouping.
• Each charge will consume a charge of the  [Zandalarian Hero Charm]'s Unstable Power aura.

Tips and tactics

• This spell should always be active. Due to it being instant it cannot be interrupted. Furthermore, it does good damage, especially with a decent amount of improved spell damage.
• Especially for Shadow Priests, this spell is extremely powerful. In addition to its good damage, it has three chances to proc Blackout, Shadow Weaving, "passive" Vampiric Embrace healing, and spell hit procs, such as the one from [Mark of Defiance].

Patch changes

• Patch 3.0.2 (2008-10-14): Removed.
  
• Patch 2.4.0 (2008-03-25): No longer consumes the charge of [Inner Focus] when triggered.
  
• Patch 2.1.0 (2007-05-22): The rank 7 tooltip is now consistent with all other ranks of Shadowguard.
  
• Patch 1.10.0 (2006-03-28): Now instant cast. Tooltip updated to show reflected damage causes no threat.
  
• Patch 1.8.0 (2005-10-10): Tooltip updated to reflect actual functionality.
  
• Patch 1.1.0 (2004-11-07): Added.
  

External links

Rank 1	Rank 2	Rank 3	Rank4	Rank5	Rank 6	Rank 7
Wowhead WoWDB	Wowhead WoWDB	Wowhead WoWDB	Wowhead WoWDB	Wowhead WoWDB	Wowhead WoWDB	Wowhead WoWDB