Playing
a Priest in any Player vs Player environment is
extremely challenging, especially for the healing specs of the Priest
(Discipline and Holy). You are far more vulnerable than a Druid,
Paladin or
Shaman as a cloth wearer. A Shadow Priest stands a good chance at
PvPing as
they can be much like a warlock or mage; they will not be expected to
heal
their teammates and won’t always be the first choice target
to kill. Healers
will be the main
focus to kill over the DPS.

I will
focus on the aspects of Arena Player vs. Player as a
Healer rather than as a DPSing Shadow Priest, because when entering an
Arena as
a squishy Holy or Discipline Priest you will be the main focus of any
Arena
Team against you, and the trick is to survive while keeping your
teammates
alive and kicking.

style=""> style="font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">Gear

style="width: 128px; height: 207px;" alt="Arena Armor"
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/72309" align="left">Unlike
the battlegrounds, you wouldn’t want to step into the
Arena for the first time without any PvP gear at all. This is not
recommended
at all! Run lots of Heroics and gather up some Emblems of Heroism and
buy some
Player vs. Player gear from the Emblem of Heroism Merchant in Dalaran.
Partake
in lots of battleground PvPing to get honor points for armor, trinkets
and
accessories to be more prepared to step into an Arena for the first
time. Resilience,
Stamina and Intellect will be your priority stats. Remember Resilience,
it’s
the number one stat for any Player vs. Player environment as it reduces
the
chance of critical strikes and the amount of damage other players do
against
you.

style=""> style="font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">Spec

As
mentioned earlier, I will be focusing on the aspects of
being a healer in an Arena. Many of those talents that you ignore for
PvE
grouping and raiding, such as Martyrdom and Unbreakable Will in the
Discipline
Tree or Spell Warding and Blessed Resilience is the Holy Tree will be
key
talents for Player vs Player battle. style="">  If
you have never bothered to purchase Dual Specialization, you finally
have a
good reason to buy this if you plan to PvE with your guild and PvP on
off days
or when you’re bored and want some heart pounding action in
the PvP
battlegrounds and arenas.

When
speccing for Player vs. Player, going half holy and
half shadow is not something to be afraid of. Being a hybrid is not
uncommon,
and when used properly can give you the options of being able to heal
your
teammates and the ability to DPS when you have the opportunity. This is
can be
very useful with 2v2 or 3v3 arena teams.

style=""> style="font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">Tips to
Surviving in the Arena

Arena
and Battlegrounds are very different from each other.
You still depend on your fellow teammates to save you while you keep
them alive,
but the numbers are much slimmer in an arena. You have 2v2, 3v3 and 5v5
arena
choices. The smaller numbers can make things easier for you to be able
to
actually live longer than you would in a battleground and
won’t have to worry
about 10 of them vs. 1 of you. As a healer and a priest, you will still
be
their first target to kill and use this to your advantage.

Much
of the surviving will mostly depend on your teammates
to be able to kill any attackers trying to kill you before your friends
kill
them and the ability to continuously move while casting. This also
applies to
what classes you are going against as well. There are many combinations
of
arena teams and you will have to learn through time and experience to
be able
to survive through their attacks and win in the end.

If
everyone of the opposing team is headed straight for you,
do not be afraid to take them on a wild goose chase through the arena
while
your friends kill them off one by one as they try to kill you. Use any
line of
sight objects to your advantage as a way to temporarily hide and heal
yourself
up. Use the environment against them so that you will stay alive and
they will
continue to chase you as sometimes they do not want to DPS down your
teammates
while you are alive to heal them. Of course, this isn’t
always so. In 2v2 for
example, if you are going to have 1 against you and 1 against your
teammate,
then your Prayer of Mending will truly shine and you will not want to
run and
hide, you want to stay near your teammate in order to make Prayer of
Mending
bounce as much as possible between the two of you. Keep Renew and Power
Word:
Shield up on yourself and damage over time spells on both your attacker
and
your teammate’s attacker. Be sure to try and move behind your
attacker as much
as possible and put your fear to good use, especially when they are low
on HP
or you yourself are having a hard time keeping healed while being
attacked.

style=""> style="font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">Conclusion

There
is no sure way to survive in any arena battle and no
guarantee that you will win. As with anything PvP it is all about
skills and
the challenge of playing against other skilled players in World of
Warcraft. To
win in PvP, you will need lots of practice, quick thinking and reflexes