Introduction for Priests

[Istalkeri]

A Priest is the pull your butt out of the fire and keep it cool class in the World of Warcraft. The Priest is a specialized healer, and the primary healing class for both the Alliance and the Horde. The Priest is a support class that makes the players around him or her last longer and absorb more damage.

Priests in the World of Warcraft can come in two main flavours and hence the name of the guide " Many Priests. One Guide". The most common role, and one shared with most other MMO's is that of the main healer in a group. The other role of a Priest in WoW is to "Melt Faces!". That's correct, as well as being the best healer in the game, Priests in WoW can be some of the most deadly PvP players in the form of Shadow Priests. While Holy Priests specialize in talents that control the power of life over death, Shadow Priests specialize in the reverse, the death of all things living. This Guide will look at both aspects of a Priest in WoW, that of life and death.

What is the Priest class?

The first thing to do is consider, is the Priest class right for you? There is a lot of great things about the Priest class but as with any class it’s not for everyone. To get a better idea of what the Priest class stands for, we’ve compiled a list that describes what the class is. If that’s what you are looking for, then a Priest may be for you. If you’re not sure, then try one out! The low levels don’t showcase everything about a class, but it’s a good way to get a basic idea of how a class will work.

* Priests are primarily healers and as such are a support class.
* Priests have some of the best heals in the game.
* Priests can somewhat manage their threat generation with the fade ability.
* Priest can specialize in healing or doing damage (Shadow spec)
* Healing Priests are always in demand in groups and you will never go long without a group for something
* Priests can only wear cloth and therefor take lots of damage in combat when hit, be prepared to try to spend as much time at a distance as you can.
* Priests can be good DPS casters if they spec Shadow, however do not expect to find groups easily as they will likely be thinking of Priests as healers.
* Shadow Priests can be a deadly PvP sub-class.
* Priests have excellent group and raid buffs in the form of Fortitude and Spirit buffs.
* Shadow Priests have some very good debuffs in the form of extra spell and shadow damage, and mana and health regeneration.
* Priests can resurrect other players.
* Priests can play both ways (healing and DPS) however to be truly effective you will need to specialize your talents and gear to that one thing, giving up much of your flexibility.

So in summary, the Priest class is mainly a healer however can specilize to cause damage. While specialized to heal you will always be wanted in PvE groups and raids. In Shadow form you can level quickly and PvP well, but will have a difficult time getting a group for instances and raids.

Race Selection

Does my choice of race really matter? Yes it does! I bet you didn't expect that answer. Priests can be part of the Alliance (Good guys in the traditional sense) or Horde (Bad guys in the traditional sense). Alliance priests can be Humans, Dwarves, Draenei or Night Elves. Horde priests can be Undead. Blood Elves or Trolls. They are allowed to be Druids and Shaman.. Your choice of Alliance or Horde will dictate which zones you start in, who your comrades will be, and who you fight against in Player versus Player encounters. More importantly each of the different races also has different Priest Racial Abilities unlike other classes where no matter what race you all get the same abilities. Priests get the following abilities based on race:

Humans
Feedback (Priest's weapon has a chance to "proc" and drain 35 mana from the target each time it hits) and Desperate Prayer (Instant Heal)

Dwarves
Fear Ward and Desperate Prayer (Instant Heal)

Draenei
Symbol of Hope (Instant cast that gives part members 33 mana every 5 seconds for 15 seconds, with a 5 minute cooldown) and Fear Ward.

Nightelves
Starshards (Instant Cast - Damage over Time - 5 Seconds) and Elune's Grace (Reduces Ranged Damage Taken for Three Minutes)

Undead
Devouring Plague (Damage over Time spell that also heals the caster) and Touch of Weakness ( The caster's next damaging melee attack will cause additional Shadow damage and reduce the damage caused by that target for 2 min.)

Trolls
Hex of Weakness (Weakens the target enemy, reducing damage caused for two minutes) and Shadowguard (The caster is surrounded by shadows. When a melee or ranged attacker hits the caster, the attacker will be struck with Shadow damage. Attackers can only be damaged once every few seconds. Three charges. Lasts 10 minutes)

Blood Elves
Consume Magic (dispels one buff from you and gives you mana based on your level. It scales from 120 – 154 up to 455 – 488 at level 70. It is an instant cast spell with a 2 minute cooldown) and Touch of Weakness ( The caster's next damaging melee attack will cause additional Shadow damage and reduce the damage caused by that target for 2 min.)

In the end due to racial traits and racial spells that you gain access to, if you are Alliance you should be a Dwarf and if you are Horde you should be Undead. Dwarf priests are critical to end game content due to their fear ward ability, and Undead priests abilities are far better than that of the Trolls. The other races can be ok, however in the end game you really need to be the best possible. If you are looking to play a PvP priest then your best choice is an Undead priest so that you have one additional damage spell.
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