Inner Fire: An Introduction to Priests...
WoW Blogs - Inner Fire Priest Blog
Hello, all you wonderful, spiritualistic Priestly beings! Welcome to the first Priest article on crusaderscoliseum.com. For those of you who don’t know me, or haven’t been informed of the recent addition to the CC team, I also write the Focus Magic columns for the Mage class. So, check them out when you get a chance. Moving on to the main reason we’re here… Priests!
This being the first article about Priests, I feel it is suitable to dedicate this article to an introduction, outline and the general brilliance of Priests. In further articles, mirroring the Focus Magic layouts, we’ll cover the different aspects involved in Discipline, Holy and (not being bias here…bah, ok, maybe a little bit…) my favourite spec of all, and probably the best thing to happen to Priests since Sliced Bread… Shadow! Needless to say, I will still do my best to give all 3 specs equal attention and time. Although Shadow being my Main and Off Spec, I can’t make any Promises. Although I’m sure I can spare a few gold to play the other specs and attempt to master them within a week and somehow pick up enough information to form an article out of it. I guess we’ll see how that one turns out…
Ok, so, what exactly is a Priest? The Priest is the master of healing and preservation restoring his wounded allies, shielding them in battle and even resurrecting his fallen comrades from death. They specialize in Healing, and are one of the best classes to heal with in World of Warcraft. Despite being incredibly fun, they have a wide range of spells with which they are able to act, perform, cope and conquer almost any situation thrown upon them. They also have the ability to deal damage in the form of Shadow, however being a hybrid Healer/DPS class, they tend to fall 5-10% behind in terms of damage behind an equivalently geared/skilled pure DPS class, these being; Mage, Warlock, Hunter & Rogue.
However, if you look at the Healing aspect of a Priest, they defiantly don’t fall behind. A range of Instant, AoE, and Over Time heals make the Priest very versatile in any situation. With added Absorbsion effects and charged heals (Such as Prayer of Mending) the Priest can make a great group, tank or even both, healer.
Check out the video below, as Tankspot kindly present to us why one of their core members plays a Priest.
Diving into the world of PvP as opposed to raiding and general PvE, Priests are also extremely powerful here. Still armed with their heals, they can make great use out of DoT’s and situation spells such as Mind Control. Ever tried Mind Controlling that irritating little Gnome in the middle of Eye of the Storm, only to send him jumping off the edge? Try it. It’s fun.
Many people ask me why I play a Priest. Apart from having 9 level 80’s (Sorry Warlocks, you just don’t cut it for me!), and playing pretty much everything there is, I enjoy the wide range and uniqueness of Priests and their spells. Then people ask me which spells in Particular…so, what are my 3 favourite Universal Priest abilities?
Power Word: Shield – Probably one on all Priests favourite lists. Even with the 15 second debuff to prevent you from recasting PW:S on the same player, it can be cast on multiple targets, absorbs quite a fair amount of damage and has an instant cast! It is trained at an early level, and can really help the levelling process. When glyphed or talented, PW:S has incredible potential, being able to give the target an instant heal, reflect some of the damage absorbsion and the base absorbsion effect still stands.
Mind Control – A great spell to help out Priests in dire situations. Although only functional on a humanoid equal to your level +2, Mind Control can help your Priest with those tougher pulls, and when used correctly in PvP, Mind Control can be deadly. Disclaimer: Mind Control is best used nearer a cliff, mountain, or other height, and especially on Gnomes.
Renew – A basic, Heal over Time spell. Castable on Multiple targets with no Cooldown and a low mana cost, Renew will grow to be a very good friend of yours. Levelling, raiding or PvP, Renew always has it’s uses and will make itself at home on your action bars.
So we’ve brushed over the outline of Priests and now it’s time to explore the hidden powers of Priests. However, everything good has something subsequently bad. Much like the introductory article to Focus Magic, here’s a quick table outlining the good and bad points of each spec:
|
|
Pros |
Cons |
|
Discipline |
- Empowered Absorbsion effects - Great single target healing - More buffs than the standard Priest (Power Infusion, Pain Suppression) can get you out of tricky situations - High survivability in PvP |
- Can struggle with AoE healing - Unable to deal sufficient amounts of damage in a raid environment |
|
Holy |
- Great AoE Healing - With cooldowns such as Spirit of Redemption & Guardian Spirit, Holy Priests can be lifesavers - A wide range of extra heals (Lightwell, Circle of Healing) |
- Can struggle with Single target healing - Similar to Discipline Priest’s, Holy Priest’s lack damage - Can have lower than average PvP survivability |
|
Shadow |
- High Damage in the form of DoTs - With cooldowns such as Dispersion, Shadow Priests can prove very tough to kill - Able to heal the raid/group with Vamparic Embrace - Good mana management |
- Unable to cast Holy spells whilst in Shadowform - Struggle with Burst Damage - DPS can be hindered if rotation is slightly mis-timed |
Ok, so looking at that table, does any particular spec take your fancy? Maybe another spec is drawing you in? Whatever spec you play, let me and everyone else here at crusaderscoliseum know why! What do you gain from playing that spec? What made you play that spec? And most important of all, what made you choose to play a Priest?! You can contact me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or via the Kuurg Contact Page (Yes, to recap, I write these articles under the name of Thaesha, but I also write the Focus Magic articles).
Hopefully you enjoyed the opening article to Inner Fire! Next week we’ll be exploring one of the 3 Priest specs (Although I’m not sure which one yet), analysing Glyphs, talents and Priest potential in different areas. Until then, HoT, DoT and run away!
Last Updated on Sunday, 15 August 2010 18:12 Written by Thaesha Saturday, 14 August 2010 12:52