Priest

Priest
Velen, prophet of the Naaru
Available to	Blood elf  Draenei  Dwarf  Gnome  Goblin  Human  Night elf  Pandaren  Tauren  Troll  Undead  Worgen
Specializations	Discipline (healer) Holy (healer) Shadow (ranged DPS)
Resource(s)	Mana, [Shadow Orbs]
Primary attribute	Intellect
Weapon skills	Staff, Wand, Dagger, One-handed Mace and held in off-hand items excluding shields and weapons
Armor type	Cloth
Signature abilities	[Penance], [Leap of Faith], [Levitate], [Power Word: Shield], [Psychic Scream], [Shadowform]

Classes
Starting a	Death Knight	Druid	Hunter	Mage	Monk	Paladin	Priest	Rogue	Shaman	Warlock	Warrior
Tactics	Death Knight	Druid	Hunter	Mage	Monk	Paladin	Priest	Rogue	Shaman	Warlock	Warrior
Class races	Death Knight	Druid	Hunter	Mage	Monk	Paladin	Priest	Rogue	Shaman	Warlock	Warrior
Quests	Death Knight	Druid	Hunter	Mage	Monk	Paladin	Priest	Rogue	Shaman	Warlock	Warrior
Abilities	Death Knight	Druid	Hunter	Mage	Monk	Paladin	Priest	Rogue	Shaman	Warlock	Warrior
Trainers	Death Knight	Druid	Hunter	Mage	Monk	Paladin	Priest	Rogue	Shaman	Warlock	Warrior
Armor sets	Death Knight	Druid	Hunter	Mage	Monk	Paladin	Priest	Rogue	Shaman	Warlock	Warrior
Useful macros	Death Knight	Druid	Hunter	Mage	Monk	Paladin	Priest	Rogue	Shaman	Warlock	Warrior

"It is faith in ourselves that separates us from others, and with our powers, we will cause great change in all of Azeroth. The weak will come to lean on you. The lepers will call you Lord. And the ignorant will look to you for guidance." -Dark Cleric Duesten

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. While he has a variety of protective and enhancement spells to bolster his allies, the priest can also wreak terrible vengeance on his enemies, using the grand powers of the Holy Light to smite and purge them or the devastating powers of the shadow to decimate their minds. The priest is a diverse and powerful class, highly desirable in any group and capable of fulfilling multiple roles.

Discipline and Holy priests are powerful and versatile healers with a range of tools for supporting their allies, while Shadow priests use dark and sinister magic to deal crippling damage to their foes. Priests' ability to heal and buff allies, avoid aggro, dispel buffs on enemies, dispel debuffs on their allies, and resurrect fallen comrades makes them an important member of any group, whether it's PvP or PvE.

Class overview

Priests are devoted to the spiritual, and express their unwavering faith by serving the people. For millennia they have left behind the confines of their temples and the comfort of their shrines so they can support their allies in war-torn lands. In the midst of terrible conflict, no hero questions the value of the priestly orders. These masters of the healing arts keep their companions fighting far beyond their normal capacities with an array of restorative powers and blessings. The divine forces at the priest’s command can also be turned against foes, smiting them with holy fury.

As light cannot exist without darkness, and darkness without light, some priests tap into shadow to better understand their own abilities, as well as the abilities of those who threaten them.^[1]

Background

This section concerns content exclusive to the Warcraft RPG and is considered non-canon.

Priests practice a complex, organized form of spirituality built around moral philosophy, the worship of a particular deity (such as Elune) in some cases, and/or idol worship, rather than around the reverence of the elements that shamans practice, or the close divine connection with animals and the wilderness that druids maintain. Priests serve not only as influential religious figures in their respective societies, but also as powerful practitioners of divine magic, which they use to heal and protect, or harm and weaken.

Devotion to the faiths of Azeroth leads many priests to the paths of courage and heroism. In dark times, priests carry the Light of faith with them as a reminder of the powerful forces at work beyond the comprehension of the peoples who walk the land. Powerful healers with an intimate connection to the divine, priests are empowered with abilities that aid them in times of dire need.^[2]

Priests comprise quite a varied group in Azeroth. A female priest is called a "priestess". Many are followers, in some manner, of the Holy Light. Some priests choose to be pyremasters or High Priest, while some of the most experienced become epic priests. There are also racial restrictions to some titles, such as witch doctor for trolls and Priestess of the Moon for night elf females.

History

A dwarven priestess.

The Clerics of Northshire were human priests who served the kingdom of Stormwind during the First War. The clerics served as healers on the battlefield, but were ill-prepared for the hazards of combat, and thus suffered heavy casualties. This order was largely destroyed, and the Second War saw fragile priests replaced on the battlefield by armored paladins, the Knights of the Silver Hand — established by the clerics' leader Archbishop Alonsus Faol and his apprentice Uther the Lightbringer.

Human priests

Main article: Church of Light

While the draenei were the first known physical race to be associated with the forces of "The Light", humans were the first to discover The Holy Light on Azeroth, and were responsible for passing on the religion to other races, most notably the high elves and dwarves. Humans built mighty churches and cathedrals as places of worship and teaching of the Light. The religion teaches its followers to be virtuous in life, and while the religion is more philosophical than theistic, its practitioners do believe their devotion connects them to a greater and mysterious force in the universe. There is mention in older lore that divine beings known as "hope" guide The Light's worshipers with an unseen hand. Humans have produced great priests who have healed their allies or have used the powers of the Light to purge their enemies.

Forsaken priests

A forsaken priestess.

Forsaken who once followed the tenets of the Holy Light altered their philosophy upon their transformation. Forsaken have abandoned religion, just as they believe it abandoned them. Lost and hurt, these priests founded a new religion based on a self-centered version of their former faith. Dubbed the Forgotten Shadow, this philosophy centers around self-empowerment and a desire to balance life with death. While they can no longer use the Holy Light, and have since learned how to use the shadow; the priests teach that there must be a balance between light and shadow, and members must learn the Light as well, but never forget they were born from the shadow.

Troll priests

Zaduru, a troll priest.

The troll priesthoods are, much like the shamans and the witch doctors of the various troll tribes, spiritual advisers and caretakers. With trolls being naturally superstitious and spiritual, it allows the various troll priests to manipulate the spiritual energy of the world in order to either heal or harm their targets. The various energies that the troll priests draw can come from various sources, be it Loa spirits, voodoo magic or the target itself. Drawing upon these energies, the troll priests either mend or harm, depending on which blessing the spiritual entity bestows. Arguably, in World of Warcraft, troll priests can be considered witch doctors in a cultural perspective, in equal terms with the shamans.

Tauren priests

A draenei priest.

With the arrival of Cataclysm priests are now a playable class for the tauren. These priests are known as "seers" and use the power of An'she, the sun, in their spells just as tauren paladins, named the Sunwalkers, do. This is similar to how night elven priests use the power of the moon through their goddess, Elune, instead of through the Holy Light. There have been tauren seers before the arrival of the Cataclysm, but their path has now either been enhanced with new magic or revitalised by new blood. Tahu Sagewind has become the leading tauren priest.

Gnome priests

This article or section includes speculation, observations or opinions possibly supported by lore or by Blizzard officials. It should not be taken as representing official lore.

The gnomes have had an interest in the Light since they joined the Alliance, but they were so focused on technology and, later, the retaking of Gnomeregan that studying the Light didn't feel necessary to them; the dwarven priests and paladins of Ironforge served as the only connection to the Light they needed. Now that the gnomes have reclaimed a foothold in Gnomeregan and begun rebuilding their culture outside of Ironforge, however, they've recognized the importance of having followers of the Light in their own ranks. In addition, researching new methods of purifying irradiated gnomes has led to radical advances in Light-based technology!^[3]

Notably, following the examples prior to Cataclysm, gnome priests seem to focus heavily on the divine's ability of healing, though more with the intention of practicing medicine rather than sorcery. Their usage of it is actually very similar to first aid, and gnome priests refer to themselves as doctors, medics, and surgeons^[4][5]. As a result, although not confirmed, it is likely that they pay less attention to a priest's capability to control darker powers.

Notable priests

Main article: List of priests

Name	Role	Status	Location
Anduin Wrynn	Prince of Stormwind	Alive	Stormwind Keep,Stormwind City
Archbishop Alonsus Faol	Former Leader of the Church of Light	Deceased	Faol's Rest, Tirisfal Glades
Archbishop Benedictus	Former Leader of the Church of Light	Deceased	Dragon Soul
Zabra Hexx	Priest	Alive	Unknown
Iridi	Priestess	Deceased	Buried in Outland
High Priestess Ishanah	Leader of the Aldor	Alive	Shrine of Unending Light, Shattrath City
Sen'jin	Former leader of the Darkspear tribe	Deceased	Unknown
Velen	Prophet of the Draenei	Alive	Vault of Lights, The Exodar
Tyrande Whisperwind	High priestess of Elune, Co-ruler of the Night Elves	Alive	Temple of the Moon, Darnassus

Overview

Aelthalyste resides in the War Quarter of Undercity ready to train priests of all capabilities.

Abilities

Priests bring a wide range of abilities to any party. Depending on their spec, priests may specialize in healing and protecting their allies, or dealing powerful shadow damage to their enemies. However, a priest's capabilities extend far beyond these roles. Priests can buff their allies' stamina, ward against fear, restore mana to their party and even dispel magical debuffs and diseases from their allies. They can terrify, silence and horrify enemies, and remove some of their most powerful buffs and immunities. They can defer aggro, grant substantial speed buffs to their allies and even pull heedless teammates out of the fire. Priests' innate power in manipulating others can allow them to see through the eyes of a distant target, or even dominate an opponent's mind, turning a foe into a friend, or sending them to their death at the bottom of a precipice.

Healing

Priests have a range of healing abilities. Discipline and Holy priests are natural masters of healing and protection, and have additional capabilities in these areas, with spells ranging from direct heals and heal over time effects to AoE abilities and on-damage procs. [Atonement] also allows Discipline priests to heal through dealing damage, with the added bonus of generating [Evangelism] stacks for use with [Archangel]. While Shadow priests excel at wreaking havoc, they can still provide significant healing should the need arise, with  [Glyph of Dark Binding] providing a loophole from their shadowy division from the Light, and can contribute passive healing to their group through [Vampiric Embrace].

Damage mitigation

As well as an array of healing options, priests can choose to shield their allies from damage. This pre-emptive approach to damage prevention allows for rapid and lifesaving intervention, but can require skill to correctly anticipate incoming damage. [Power Word: Shield] is the priest's signature shield, absorbing attacks directed at the target and preventing pushback. While all priests are capable of shielding themselves and their allies, Discipline priests are the masters of damage absorption, gaining mana and haste from shielding through [Rapture] and Borrowed Time. Discipline priests can also protect their allies with [Power Word: Barrier] and [Spirit Shell], as well as effortlessly generating shields through [Divine Aegis]. Each spec also has a powerful damage-reduction cooldown, from the direct avoidance of [Pain Suppression] and [Dispersion] to the self-sacrifing grace of [Guardian Spirit]. [Glyph of Fade] and [Inner Fire] also offer limited mitigation for the priest.

Damage dealing

Remba, Abbess of Ash, a dwarf shadow-priest.

Priests have access to two schools of magic - Holy and Shadow - and can deal substantial amounts of damage from either. Priests have a number of direct damage options, as well as a few DoTs and specialties. Shadow priests are without doubt the most damage-oriented of priests, but Discipline priests with [Atonement] come a respectable second. Even healing priests can contribute some damage by summoning their temporary pet - the [Shadowfiend] or [Mindbender] - to attack enemies. Priests with [Glyph of Reflective Shield] can also use [Power Word: Shield] to reflect damage back upon their attackers.

Utility

As well as their obvious capabilities in healing and dealing damage, priests also have access to a range of utility spells, many of which are unique to the priest class. Abilities such as [Levitate], [Mind Vision] and [Dominate Mind] can make the priest class fun to play, but are also capable of providing game-changing advantages if used correctly. Priests can also restore mana to their allies with [Hymn of Hope] and evade aggro with [Fade], as well as buffing their allies with [Power Word: Fortitude] and providing limited fear protection with [Fear Ward]. Priests can also cast [Leap of Faith] to pull other players to the priest and possibly save them from death.

Dispels

Priests are significantly capable dispellers. They can strip magical buffs and even immunities from their enemies with [Dispel Magic] and [Mass Dispel], while Discipline and Holy priests can also [Purify] their allies of magic and disease effects. Discipline and Holy priests can generally consider dispelling to be their most important duty after healing, while Shadow priests are also capable of contributing if necessary.

Crowd control and mobility

Priests have a range of abilities to aid in escaping and incapacitating their attackers. [Body and Soul], [Angelic Feather] and [Glyph of Levitate] provide speed boosts for the priest or their allies, while [Psychic Scream] and [Psyfiend] provide excellent fear effects. [Phantasm] and Shadow priests' [Dispersion] can be used to slip out of roots and snares, while [Spectral Guise] allows for a different type of evasion, and [Void Tendrils] can keep opponents distracted for long enough for the priest to slip away or finish the job.

Shadow priests have the most crowd control abilities, with [Silence] and [Psychic Horror] being particularly useful against casters and melee types, respectively, [Mind Flay] providing a 50% snare, and [Glyph of Mind Blast] offering an on-crit root effect. Priests can also offer sustainable crowd control on undead targets with [Shackle Undead], while Holy priests can disorientate and interrupt opponents with [Holy Word: Chastise]. Priests can also take control of other players or creatures temporarily by using [Dominate Mind].

Stats, weapons, and armor

• The most important stats for a priest are (depending on specialization): intellect, spirit, spell haste, mastery, spell crit and stamina.
• The priest can wield staffs, one-handed maces, wands, and daggers.
• The priest can only wear cloth armor. For details on set items that are useful for priests, see priest sets.

Races

Charkov, another forsaken priest.

Main article: Priest races

All races except Orcs can play as priests. Priests start with the following attributes:

Race		Strength	Agility	Stamina	Intellect	Spirit	Armor	Health
	Draenei	21	17	20	22	25	34	52
	Dwarf	25	16	21	21	22	32	62
	Gnome	15	23	19	25	23	51	51
	Human	20	20	20	22	23	40	52
	Night elf	16	24	20	22	23	48	52
	Worgen	23	22	20	18	22	46	52
/	Pandaren	20	18	21	21	25	37	113
	Blood elf	17	22	20	25	21	44	52
	Undead	19	18	20	20	28	38	52
	Goblin	17	22	20	25	21	33	52
	Tauren	25	15	22	17	25	35	72
	Troll	21	22	20	18	24	44	52

Specializations

For a full list of specialization abilities, see Priest abilities

There are three priest specializations: Discipline, Holy and Shadow. Discipline and Holy priests are powerful healers, with the former specializing in damage mitigation (with a side-line in healing through damage-dealing), and the latter excelling in sheer healing power, as well as a versatile range of healing options. Shadow priests are ranged DPS that assault their opponents' minds with shadowy magic, specializing in sinister damage over time effects and crowd control. While all priests can use [Dispel Magic] and the potent [Mass Dispel], Discipline and Holy priests are especially capable dispellers, with [Purify] allowing them to instantly cleanse an ally of all diseases and magical afflictions.

Discipline

Sister Remba, another dwarf priest.

Uses magic to shield allies from taking damage as well as heal their wounds.

Discipline priests are powerful healers, choosing to focus on absorbing damage with [Power Word: Shield], [Divine Aegis] and [Spirit Shell] - improved by the Discipline mastery [Shield Discipline] - as well as mitigating damage with [Power Word: Barrier] and [Pain Suppression]. As well as preventing and reversing damage, Discipline priests can also heal through dealing damage, thanks to [Atonement]. Discipline also have some useful utilities such as [Archangel], [Inner Focus] and Borrowed Time. The signature Discipline ability is [Penance], launching a volley of Holy Light to heal an ally, damage an enemy, or both (with Atonement).

The combination of strong cooldowns and a focus on preemptive healing tends to make Discipline priests the preferred healing option for PvP. Their [Power Word: Shield] is improved in multiple ways, becoming an efficient and powerful protection option, with effects like [Divine Insight] also making it available more often. Discipline priests anticipating incoming damage can stack protection with effects such as [Divine Aegis], [Spirit Shell] and [Pain Suppression], allowing them to protect their allies even when incapacitated, while [Atonement] offers highly efficient healing, and can be useful when healing is not too critical, conserving mana and contributing to damage-dealing. Discipline priests are capable of healing multiple targets, but excel at keeping single targets alive through the most brutal of onslaughts.

Holy

A dwarf priest using Smite to fend off a Forsaken attacker.

A versatile healer who can reverse damage on individuals or groups and even heal from beyond the grave.

Holy priests are some of the most versatile healers, with a variety of tools to sustain their group. In comparison to the Discipline priest, the Holy priest focuses primarily on reactive healing rather than damage prevention. As well as powerful direct healing, Holy priests also have access heal over time effects such as [Renew] (refreshed by any direct heals while within [Chakra: Serenity]), [Divine Hymn], [Holy Word: Sanctuary] and the Holy mastery [Echo of Light], which grants healed targets a heal over time effect based on the initial heal.

Key to Holy priests' versatility is their use of different Chakras to focus on the demands of the current situation: [Chakra: Serenity] favours single-target healing, while [Chakra: Sanctuary] benefits multiple target and AoE healing, and [Chakra: Chastise] is very useful for dealing damage. Each Chakra state also grants the priest a new ability: [Holy Word: Serenity] is a powerful instant heal, [Holy Word: Sanctuary] an AoE heal over time effect, and [Holy Word: Chastise] is useful for dealing damage and disorienting targets.

Holy priests also have some of the most interesting and unusual healing options in the game. [Lightwell] offers players a powerful self-service healing option, which can be converted with  [Glyph of Lightspring] to dispense itself. [Circle of Healing] is an instant multi-target smart-heal. [Guardian Spirit] is an extremely powerful buff capable of saving a target from certain death. Holy priests can even heal from beyond the grave with [Spirit of Redemption] - for a limited time.

Shadow

Uses sinister Shadow magic, especially damage-over-time spells, to eradicate enemies.

A Forsaken priest in shadowform.

Shadow priests are born damage-dealers. The signature [Shadowform] increases Shadow priests' damage and increases survivability, while increasing the spell haste of their whole party. Shadow priests tend to focus on afflicting targets with the damage over time effects [Shadow Word: Pain] and [Vampiric Touch], the latter also serving to regenerate the priest's mana. The usual Shadow priest rotation involves a mixture of DoTs and direct damage using the potent [Mind Blast], filling the gaps with their signature "face-melter" [Mind Flay], contributing additional damage and snaring their victims. Shadow priests gain the secondary resource [Shadow Orbs], and once generated can use these to unleash a [Devouring Plague] upon their enemies - dealing damage and healing the priest - or shock their minds with [Psychic Horror]. Shadow Orbs can be generated through [Mind Blast] and [Shadow Word: Death], which Shadow priests are able to use more often than their less shadowy brethren.

Shadow priests also excel at crowd control. As well as the talented [Psychic Scream] and [Psychic Horror], Shadow priests can use [Silence] to interrupt and silence casters. In the hands of a skilled Shadow priest, these abilities can be combined to provide windows of opportunity that can prove fatal to even the most battle-hardened healer. Shadow priests also have a powerful survival and mana regeneration ability in [Dispersion], and can convert their damage into healing through [Vampiric Embrace].

Shadow priests tend to focus on damage over time, improved by the Shadow mastery [Shadowy Recall]. This approach allows them to deal damage simultaneously to multiple targets, and to continue dealing damage even while the priest is incapacitated or hidden out of line of sight. However, in situations where there isn't sufficient time to build a full array of DoTs, Shadow priests can use [Mind Spike] and [Mind Blast] to quickly burn targets down. While dedicated damage dealers, when need be Shadow priests are also capable off-healers, with the unexpected healing or shielding of an attentive Shadow priest potentially saving the day. While healing requires priests to drop out of [Shadowform], [Power Word: Shield] and other Holy spells can still be used to great effect, allowing the priest to regularly shield themselves from attack, and if necessary pull allies out of harm's way without missing a beat.

Note

The priest prestige class was eliminated from the World of Warcraft RPG and replaced with the priest core class.^[6]

Videos

• Official Crash Course: Level 90 Priest (Shadow)
• Shadow Priest: Overview of changes with Mists of Pandaria
• Discipline and Holy Priests: Overview of changes with Mists of Pandaria

See also

• Starting a priest
• Priest tactics
• Useful macros for priests
• Priest quests
• Epic priest (lore)

Patch changes

• Patch 5.0.4 (2012-08-28):
  • [Shadow Orbs] are now a resource for Shadow priests, instead of a passive ability.
  • Chakras are now more similar to warrior stances.
    
• Patch 3.0.2 (2008-10-14): All priest racial abilities have been removed from the game except [Devouring Plague], [Hymn of Hope] and [Desperate Prayer], which have been changed into non-racial abilities.
  
• Patch 2.1.0 (2007-05-22): Entering [Shadowform] now gives a new action bar (like stealth).
  

References

External links

World of Warcraft Official Game Guide - Priest

World of Warcraft Europe Official WoW Forums (EU)

World of Warcraft Community Site Official WoW Forums (US)

HowToPriest.com HowToPriest

The University of Michigan Press My Life as a Night Elf Priest, a book on Warcraft and the priest class.

WowInsider Spiritual Guidance — Priest weekly feature at WoW Insider.

WowInsider Priest guides at WoW Insider.

HealingWoW Healing Priest Class Guides

Icy Veins Discipline, Holy, and Shadow Priest Raiding Guides (Mists of Pandaria)