What is maximum-DPS level 80 PvE Shadow Priest spell priority as of patch 4.0.1?

Question

That was then

Prior to the 4.0.1 patch, I would start boss fights like so:

1. Vampiric Touch
2. Devouring Plague
3. Mind Blast
4. Mind Flay
5. Shadow Word: Pain

This would "charge up" stacks of buffs for my Shadow Word: Pain to have maximum damage output for the rest of the fight (Shadow Word: Pain stays up whenever you cast Mind Flay).

Assuming the boss was a boring Sit There And Shoot At It fight, the rest of the fight involved spell priorities as follows:

1. Keep up Vampiric Touch
2. Keep up Devouring Plague
3. Mind Blast when it's available
4. Mind Flay for filler

---

This is now

With the 4.0.1 patch, all of this appears to have totally changed. I no longer seem to have to "charge up" my Shadow Word: Pain buff stacks, and new Shadow Orbs are flying all over the place. It's craziness!

How do I make most effective use of these new talents and mechanics?

Answer 1

Thanks to @tzenes for an ElitistJerks link, which has some great info. Of note is that Shadow Word: Death is much better than it used to be.

Summary:

1. No specific information on how to start the fight
2. Keep up Vampiric Touch, Devouring Plague, and Shadow Word: Pain
3. Shadow Word: Death when available
4. Mind Blast when available
5. Mind Flay for filler

One important note is that (with a Glyph) Shadow Word: Death has an instant cooldown when the boss is below 25%. This means you'll need relatively little Mind Flay filler past the 25% mark. Just don't kill yourself.

I am going to suspect that Mind Blast could eventually outperform Shadow Word: Death later on, especially with Mastery points making it more effective and Mind Spike synergy. But according to Elitist Jerks, Mastery is pretty terrible at the moment.