World of Warcraft
Priest Guide & Strategies
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TIIP SUMMARY:
  • If you are going to play a Horde Priest, go for the Undead race. If you are Alliance, go for the Dwarf priest due to the special abilities they get.  Only the dwarf gets FEAR WARD, an anti-fear spell, extremely useful in PvP
  • Decide if you want to be a traditional "healing and group-oriented" priest, or a formidable opponent who can hold his own.  If the the former, Holy will be your main talent line.  If the latter, Shadow or Discipline is your main line.   I recommend DISCIPLINE- don't listen to what most priests say about Shadow being the only PvP line. (my main is a priest and not even 1 point in Shadow, and I smoke)
  • NO matter what you choose, you should most definitely, and as soon as you can, get  a 3/3 on Improved Power Word: Shield  for your talent points.  This spell is so essential for a priest's survival.
  • Shield + Mind Blast (or Smite) + Pain  + Renew is your main combo for PvE
  • Use the One-Handed + Wand (bug?).  What this means is that you can double-deal a one-handed weapon and wand hit simultaneously by waiting until just before you begin a mace-swing, and then using a wand.  You will hit with the mace and the wand at the same time!  This really enhances your melee power

Basics:
 Preists in WOW are not simply your typical non-combatant.  They are power-players, fully capable of holding their own in 1 on 1 PvE and PvP (depending on who you are against).  Yes, they are weaker in general, but have some powerful capabilities at their disposal if played right.  A priest has the best buffs in the game, and the most powerful heals- a valuable asset in any group.  But a priest also has some very powerful spells designed to kill an opponent as well.  A Priest is always, of course, a very important part of a group.  If you have a desire to be highly 'valued' in a group, be a priest.  You will see that people will go out of their way to protect you.

Best Race:  First of all, play a dwarf if you are Alliance.  You get a Stamina boost and more importantly, a Fear Ward and Desperate Prayer spells later on in the game.  Desperate Prayer costs zero manna, and heals you up to 1500 HP instantly!  Fear ward will make you completely immune to another preist or warlocks FEAR spell, highly used in PvP.  You can guess how handy these could come in a tight squeeze.

Talent Points for the PRIEST:   Most PVP priests put their talent points into Shadow.  I recommend Discipline + Shadow.
I like Discipline, it makes the priest an awesome dueler.  As a priest I can routinely kill in duels every other class.  Yes, *every* class- shamans, pallys, rogues.  Not that I'm 100% on them, as many battles are close, but there is no case where any class will have an easy kill on me.  I can beat them all, else lose by a hair.

Discipline gives you better Shield capability- the most important battle spell for the priest.  It gives you a shortened cast time for Manna Burn- an awesome PvP spell that sucks the manna out of your opponent.  And if you are a Dwarf, you get anti-fear and desperate prayer.  For Horde, make sure you are Undead.   (ALWAYS use Manna Burn when dueling any kind of caster).  Discipline gives you excellent bonuses to Critical Hit and a 45% boost to your inner fire and a 30% boost to your Stamina Buff.  That 20 point stamina buff becomes a 26 point buff, giving you 60 more HP - constantly.

 

   

 

Inner Focus, Force of Will, Focused Casting, and Improved Manna Burn are superb in PvP.  Not to mention PvE.    When inner focus is activated, an additional 25% of a critical hit for your spells (even healing spells can critically heal).  That just plain smokes!  For this reason alone, I would dump putting everything in the shadow and go for the Discipline line.  

The shadow line is important for 3 abilities:  Silence, Increased Shadow Range, and Mind Flay.  In PVP, it is rare that you will be one on one.  These abilities are extremely useful.  Mind Flay is critical in PvP to slow down an enemy that is trying to flee (it cuts their speed to 50%).  Silence is perhaps the #1 most useful PvP spell for the priest, as it instantly stops your enemy from casting (interrupting them in a spell if they are casting one).  Mages that like to charge into groups spamming their AOE are silenced, making them helpless and vulnerable, and in 5 seconds, that is usually enough for your team members to thrash them.    Increased Shadow range (shadow reach) is also important, as it gives you extra distance on MindBlast:  your #1 offensive spell.  Very helpful in any situation.

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