The following compares the current state of Arms Warriors to Shadow Priests using the latest SimulationCraft data for end-game PvE in World of Warcraft The War Within patch 11.0.2.
Comparison
Category
Winner
Arms Warrior
+7.31%
When simulating boss fight encounters, Arms Warriors averaged 7.31% more DPS than Shadow Priests (+111K DPS).
Arms Warrior
+29.72%
When simulating AoE DPS, Arms Warriors averaged 29.72% more DPS than Shadow Priests (+365K DPS).
Arms Warrior
+30.59%
Arms Warriors have higher spike damage potential, achieving +2.2M more DPS than Shadow Priests.
Spike damage is the peak DPS achieved in any given moment and is not sustained DPS.
Arms Warrior
+0.25%
When upgrading the gear for both specs by +44 ilvl, Arms Warrior DPS improved the most, +0.25% more than Shadow Priest. In total, Arms Warriors DPS increased by 67.12% and Shadow Priests by 66.87%.
Shadow Priest
+3.23%
+ Movement and latency lowered the DPS by 4.96% for Shadow Priests.
+ Movement and latency lowered the DPS by 8.19% for Arms Warriors.
When introducing occasional movement and real-world latency, Shadow Priests performed better, as Arms Warriors suffered a +3.23% DPS loss.
Arms Warrior
When evaluating abilities used during boss encounters, Arms Warriors had fewer damaging abilities in total, indicating a potentially less complex rotation.
The comparisons above highlight some of the key differences between Arms Warrior and Shadow Priest in the current meta, which can hopefully help you determine which spec to play or group up with.
Arms Warrior
Shadow Priest