Starting a priest If you often lead parties , particularly instance groups , some experience in knowing how to play the priest class can be extremely helpful . Among newer players , however , this class is often enormously undervalued relative to their importance within a group . In a group , a Priest will generally be expected to fill a healer role , or act as a back - up healer if things go wrong . They will also be expected to buff and dispel others . If you ' re considering playing a priest , you ' ll want to ask yourself a few questions first : Being a priest has a number of advantages , including your immense popularity when setting up a group ( this could also be the peak of your popularity , by the way , as if the group wipes you may get the blame ) , and a lot of respect from experienced players if you play your character well . At higher levels , priests can become enormously powerful . A Shadow spec priest with Vampiric Embrace and Vampiric Touch is able to passively regain health and mana for his entire party while he himself deals a lot of damage , making the class an incredibly valuable to any group , while a Holy or Discipline spec priest is an astonishingly powerful healer . Even at early levels , the priest gets abilities like and and become able to resurrect other characters . Races . The following races can play as a priest : As of the Cataclysm expansion all races except Orc s will be able to be priests . Be sure to check each of the racial trait s . Some are very useful to priests , and others less so . However , each race " does " have something useful for you , so don ' t fret too much about it . Early priest leveling . Levels 1 - 3 . Initially , you ' re equipped with a ranged attack , Smite , and a healing spell , Lesser Heal . With money , you can learn your first buff , . Keep this active at all times , and feel free to cast it on others as a friendly gesture . Begin combat at maximum range with Smite , spamming it until you run out of mana or the mob dies . Since Smite does not have a missile graphic , combat begins as soon as Smite is done casting . Your survival is heavily dependent on the amount of mana you have . For now , combat should always start at maximum health and mana . If you run out of mana , use melee attacks , but as soon as you can , get a wand , and then use your Shoot ability . Also , remember that you have the ability to heal yourself and others , both in and out of combat . Keep in mind the amount of mana you have , allocating some for both DPS and healing . When grouped with others , it ' s wise to play to your strengths and focus on keeping everyone healthy , as most other classes can deliver damage more efficiently and easily . As battles become more difficult , it ' s essential that you ' re never hit or under attack , leaving you free to cast much - needed healing spells without interruption . Also stock up on water when you can , as during these early levels you will need to drink after every one or two mobs . Levels 4 - 5 . At level 4 , you can learn your first DoT , . Continue to open combat with Smite . But instead of spamming right away , walk backwards or strafe to create distance between you and the mob . While moving , you can apply the Shadow Word : Pain debuff to the mob . Keep this debuff active on your targets at all times . In unfortunate situations where you are fighting two mobs at the same time , keeping this DoT active on both mobs allows you to efficiently deal damage to both while addressing one mob at a time . After the DoT is successfully applied , you can stop moving and go back to spamming Smite . For extra long battles , always remember to renew the debuff when it wears off . Levels 5 - 7 . At level 6 , you can learn . Use it whenever you are under attack , or cast it upon yourself before combat begins . Either way , the shield should be up as often as possible , to help avoid damage and spell interruption . Visit your class trainer for a quest at level 6 . Levels 8 - 9 . At level 8 , you can learn Renew , a healing over time spell , and Fade , which helps manage aggro . Keep renew on whenever you or someone else is under attack , as it heals over time , sometimes saving you the trouble of casting a bigger heal later on . When working with others , use Fade when you have aggro , to help avoid being hit . Level 10 . At level 10 , you can learn another ranged attack spell , Mind Blast , and Resurrection . Now would be a great time to start deciding what type of Priest you ' ll play . See Leveling builds guide to help you decide where to put your first talent point . Level 12 . At level 12 , you gain Inner Fire that helps A LOT against melee enemies , boosting up your armor against physical attacks , and should be buffed upon yourself at all times . Level 14 . At level 14 , you can purchase Psychic Scream a must spell that will allow you to eliminate pursuit up to 2 mobs ( 5 at level 58 ) . It is also a lifesaver when an add engages you while you ' re attacking a mob ( it makes both of them run away for 8 seconds - enough time to kill one , shield / heal yourself and resume the DPS ) . Note however that the range of the spell is very limited as it will only affect mobs that are within 8 yards from where you ' re standing prior to unleashing the spell , making it mediocre at best while fighting 2 + ranged targets . Spells . For detailed info , see Priest spells . Key spells . A priest should always use spell on himself and any friends before engaging in combat . Make sure to keep this buff active . Inner Fire , obtained at level 12 , is a buff that can be cast by the priest on himself , and is useful to keep up , as it increases the amount of armor you have significantly . Usually a priest should pull with a slow casting Direct Damage spell like Smite or Mind Blast at the edge of the spell ' s range . The next spell should usually be the Damage over Time spell , , before the enemy gets within melee combat range . Because it is instant cast , you can be backing up while casting it , to extend the amount of time the mob takes to get to you . Mind Flay , a shadow talent , allows you to further slow your target down and give your DoT spell time to do its work . Early on and throughout the adventures of a priest , can be used in a fight to instantly prevent some amount of damage to a party member . Be careful to watch whether you or a party member still has a Weakened Soul debuff before you try to cast it again . Though it is not the most efficient way of healing , it is extremely useful , as it instantly absorbs damage to you or a party member . One soloing routine involves casting , waiting until the Weakened Soul debuff fades off or is almost faded off , then starting combat . This is so that when the mob finally breaks through your shield , you have the option of re - shielding yourself . With your Shield up , you can think of using another Smite or Mind Blast , but be careful with Mind Blast . Mind Blast generates lots of aggro and in a group environment , may cause the mob to attack you instead of the tank . Shield prevents spell interruption from many forms of damage , and will help you ( or another spellcaster in your party ) when casting spells . You can use Renew ( a Heal over Time spell ) , if you or your party member has more than 75 % health , but probably a Lesser Heal if less than that . Talents . At level 10 , every class begins to accrue what are called ' Talent Points ' . You can apply these points instantly to your character by accessing the ' Talent ' menu , which becomes accessible upon reaching level 10 . See the Leveling builds guide to help decide where to put those first talent points . You can also look at other players ' preferred talent layouts for an idea of how you may want to build your own priest . Of course , you may want to build your priest in your own way , in which case you may still want to look at this to at least help yourself plan things out . Priests receive talents in three different trees : Talent discussion . In the beginning , a priest is a very fragile thing . One add is highly dangerous , two usually mean run away or death . The main problem is that there are very few instant cast priest spells , thus most spells ( especially the mana - efficient ones ) are subject to interruption by damage . Further , a low - level priest has no crowd control ( except the highly dangerous fear ) and no pet . In sum , this leads to frustration , and many promising priest careers end before level 20 . There ' s not much to be done about this problem - low - level solo priests are not fun . The best idea is to find a group . A Holy damage build will actually be the most effective leveling build for a long time . Shadow will eventually overtake it at about level 50 , but many priests continue the path of this " Smite build " all the way to 80 . Useful Professions . Secondary Professions . While these skills contribute very little relative to the other buffs and heals you provide , in the right situation , they are highly effective tools and help in making the impression with your group that you are serious about your role . Mods . Some priests swear by them , others claim to be capable of doing their job without any AddOn s whatsoever . It is a matter of personal preference . Certain add - ons may be required however by High End guilds for raiding . Among the more noteworthy are : Despite its name , Healbot does not automate healing – this is not possible due to limitations imposed on the WoW addon system . What else ? Priests are fragile , yes , but the starting areas are forgiving enough that you can give yourself a huge advantage by keeping yourself reasonably well - geared : If you are between levels 1 and 5 , you will always want to use your damage spell instead of your weapon . In these levels , you will almost always kill an NPC with it before you run out of mana . Regeneration is fast . Try to get a wand at the earliest moment possible though . Especially the arcane wands low level enchanters can create provide an excellent DPS boost helping you to kill mobs without running out of mana . Try to make friends with others and work together . A tank and a healer can be really hard to find , but , if you are friends with a tank you have these already and Random dungeon waits are likely to be short . Playing to your strengths . To maximize your effectiveness , you will want to collect certain equipment bonuses : External links . [ [ Category : Priests | Priest , Starting ] ] [ [ Category : Starting a class series | Priest ] ] [ [ Category : Articles to clean up ] ]