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We begin our look at builds for the Priest with an overview of the three schools available. They are Shadow, Discipline, and Holy. The Shadow line covers the DPS for the Priest, the Holy line covers healing (more specifically group healing), and the Discipline line covers buffs and single target healing. As you put points in any school, it can greatly change your characters potential and play style. So let’s take a closer look at each school and spec, and a few of the Talents that make the build stand out, and you will see how the Priest can truly be played 3 very different and distinct ways.

The Shadow Priest

Shadow Priest Build Example

Let’s start with a look at a Shadow build. If you have ever heard that healing classes can’t do damage in MMOGs, the Shadow Priest is there to prove that wrong. Shadow builds are known for their DPS. If you are looking to solo your way to level 80, or your raid has enough healing, and you want to do some respectable DPS, Shadow is the way to go. With Shadow, you are greatly enhancing most of your damage dealing spells, but do have to sacrifice some of the healing potential that is offered in the other schools. Spells like Mind Blast, Mind Flay and Shadow Word: Pain can have their durations and damage greatly increased by speccing Shadow. It also greatly decreases down time between fights by increasing your mana regeneration after every kill that grants you XP or Honor.

Key Shadow Build Talents

Spirit Tap

Give you a 33%, 66%, 100% chance to gain a 100% bonus to your Spirit after killing a target that yields experience or honor. For the duration, your mana will regenerate at a 83% rate while casting. Lasts 15 sec.

The first Talent you will fall in love with immediately when starting down the Shadow school is Spirit Tap. Before you get this, almost every fight will end with you sitting on your ass, drinking milk, or sparkleberry juice, or some other completely emasculating fruity cocktail, designed to make you feel like the wuss you are. Spirit Tap gives you your honor back, by increasing your Spirit after every kill that grants you XP or Honor. The great thing about Spirit Tap is that it doesn’t follow the 5 second rule. You can get in another fight and continue gaining mana while casting, which greatly reduces your down time. The first point you put into Spirit Tap gives you a 33% chance to increase your spirit by 100% after each kill, and you can continue to regain 50% of your mana even if you are casting. The effect lasts for 15 seconds. The second point put into Spirit Tap increases your chance to 66%, and your third point gives you a 100% chance of it firing off after every kill. You will be rolling from one fight to the next with this Talent and it is easy to see why Shadow Priests love it.

Mind Flay

Assault the target’s mind with Shadow energy, causing 45 Shadow damage over 2.88 sec and slowing their movement speed by 50%.

Shadowform

Assume a Shadowform, increasing your Shadow damage by 15%, reducing all damage done to your by 15% and threat generated by 30%. However, you may not cast Holy spells while in this form except Cure Disease and Abolish Disease. Grants the periodic damage from your Shadow Word: Pain, Devouring Plague, and Vampiric Touch spells the ability to critical hit for 100% increased damage.

As you move down the Shadow Talents and increase your damage output, you will come to one of the best talents in the game for the Priest… Shadow Form. It is available at level 40, and if you haven’t taken enough shadow talents to get it at 40, respec. That’s right; it’s that big of a talent, you need it the second you can take it. Shadow Form increases all of your shadow damage by 15%, reduces all physical damage taken by 15%, and reduces your threat by 30%. The down side to Shadow Form is that you can’t cast any holy spells while in Shadow Form. So you won't be the group healer with this, but if you are running solo, or your group has enough healing without you, you can really push out some damage, and take a bigger beating. This spell is what really makes you a Shadow Priest.

Dispersion

You disperse into pure Shadow energy, reducing all damage taken by 90%. You are unable to attack or cast spells, but you regenerate 6% mana every 1 sec for 6 sec. Dispersion can be cast while stunned, feared or silenced and clears all snare and movement impairing effects when cast, and makes you immune to them while dispersed.

Dispersion is the last talent available in the Shadow school. Since it’s the last and hardest to get in the school designed for DPS, you would expect Dispersion to really lay the smack down on your foes… well umm… it doesn’t. It doesn’t make it any less valuable, but Dispersion does no damage at all. So what does it do you ask? It keeps you alive! It is a last ditch, save your ass when you are about to die talent. Dispersion reduces all damage by 90%, while regenerating your mana by 6% every second for 6 seconds. The great thing about this is that you can use Dispersion while stunned, feared, or silenced. The drawback - you are unable to attack or cast spells during this time. It is almost like a pause and recharge button, but it can save your skin when things turn south.

I recommend leaving out a few talents such as Improved Shadow Form and Improved Psychic Scream. These points can be much better spent in other areas, like Meditation and Improved Power Word: Fortitude which are far and away better talents. There are several talents that are great for Player vs. Player action, such as Improved Shadow Form, using Fade to remove any of those pesky movement impairing effects on you. Silence and Psychic Terror are also great for Player vs. Player action, if you plan on PvPing, but for Raiding or PvE, these talents are pretty useless.

The Holy Priest

Holy Build Example

The Holy Priest is the classic Healer of MMOGs. They excel at keeping the group fighting with great AoE heals. If you want a Priest that can go on raids and help keep the entire raid going, the Holy Priest is the way to go. If you go Holy, groups are your friend. I won’t say that a Holy Priest can’t solo, but they sure don’t shine on their own. With the increases in duration and amounts healed from your spells like Renew and Greater Heal, while reducing the mana cost of casting your healing spells, the Holy Priest really shines in larger groups. When most Raids are looking for a Priest, it’s usually a Holy Priest they want.

Key Holy Build Talents

Improved Renew

Increases the amount healed by your Renew spell by 5, 10, 15%.

Improved Renew is one of the first Talents you pick up in the Holy school. It is a simple, subtle, but powerful talent for the Holy Priest. The first point you spend on the talent increases the amount healed by Renew by 5%. The second point increases by 10%, and the third by 15%. It is simple and straight forward, and a huge mana saver. At lower levels you won’t notice much difference between your normal Renew and your Renew after taking this talent, but at higher levels it is very noticeable. When you have a 10 man raid running, and you are trying to keep everyone standing, while not drawing too much aggro, Renew will be one of your best friends. You will be casting this a lot, and the fact that you will have to cast it 15% less often is great. This equals less time sitting around drinking foo foo juice (or whatever they are calling it now) and more time pushing into combat for the group. This talent can work well with Empowered Renew farther down the talent tree. Renew will gain an extra 5, 10, 15% of your bonus healing effects and instantly heals the target for 5, 10, 15% of the total periodic effect. Some priests will argue this can be a waste of 3 talent points, others will say it’s a godsend.

Improved Healing

Reduces the mana cost of your Lesser Heal, Heal, Greater Heal, Divine Hymn and Penance spells by 5%, 10%, 15%.

Improved Healing is another simple Talent that allows a Holy Priest to keep doing what they are designed to do, with little down town. For each point spent in Improved Healing the mana cost of your Lesser Heal, Heal, Greater Heal, Divine Hymn, and Penance are reduced by 5%. These are the majority of your healing spells, and with the ability to put 3 points into the talent, the savings are huge. Any Priest can cast these spells but with this Talent a Holy Priest can cast a lot more of them without stopping.

Circle of Healing

Heals up to 5 friendly party or raid members within 15 yards of the target for 343 to 379.

Circle of Healing will be one of your raid’s best friends. It is one of the Holy Priests biggest and flashiest talents. Circle of Healing is an instant cast AoE healing spell that heals up to 5 members of your raid within 15 yards of your target. When your group is getting battered by multiple mobs, and you don’t have time to cast Prayer of Healing, this talent can really help prevent a total party wipe, as well as give some of the other healers in the group some breathing room during a fight.

Guardian Spirit

Calls upon a guardian spirit to watch over the friendly target. The spirit increases the healing received by the target by 40%, and also prevents the target from dying by sacrificing itself. This sacrifice terminates the effect but heals the target of 50% of their maximum health. Lasts 10 sec.

Guardian Spirit is what sets the Holy Priest apart from any other healer. Although the time it lasts for is not very long and the Cooldown is long, this spell is the biggest lifesaver for your raid. And far better than Spirit of Redemption, though I am glad for that talent, Guardian Spirit is a way to save your targets life without having to sacrifice yourself to get in some free heals.

I recommend leaving out a few talents such as Spell Warding and Blessed Recovery. Again, these points can be much better spent in other areas, like Meditation and Improved Power Word: Fortitude which are far and away better talents. These talents are so good, that every Priest needs them. Like with the shadow talent tree, the holy talent tree has several talents that can be spent to improve performance in the Player vs. Player battlefield. Talents such as Healing Focus and Blessed Resilience can be important when playing against other players.

The Discipline Priest

Discipline Build Example

The Discipline Priest has often been thought of as a support Priest - a Priest that can give good buffs and minor healing, but little more than that. With the recent updates to the game though, it looks like the Discipline Priest can do a lot more than that. It can now be argued (and actually is on our boards) that a Discipline Priest is the best single target healer in the game. While the argument is likely to continue for some time, I can say this, the Discipline Priest is easily the best single target healer out of the Priests, and can hold their own as main tank healer without a second thought. 

Key Discipline Build Talents

Improved Power Word: Fortitude

Increases the effect of your Power Word: Fortitude and Prayer of Fortitude spells by 15%, 30%, and increases your total Stamina by 2%, 4%.

This is one of the key abilities that define a Discipline Priest. Discipline Priests are usually known for their buffs, and Improved Power Word: Fortitude is one of the biggest arguments. It increases your Power Word: Fortitude and Prayer of Fortitude by 15% for the first point you put in, and 30% for the second. Since you cast this buff on everyone in your group, you really increase the group survivability with this talent. Let’s face it, more health equals more hits you can take before dropping, so it’s easy to see why this talent is so great.

Reflective Shield

Causes 22%, 45% of the damage you absorb with Power Word: Shield to reflect back at the attacker. This damage causes no threat.

This talent adds a nice punch to your Power Word: Shield spell by causing 22% to 45% of the damage absorbed by your spell to be reflected back at the attacker for each point spent on the talent. Since you can spend up to 2 points on the talent, it can be very nice watching your foes kill themselves while trying to hit you or your group.

Rapture

When your Power Word: Shield is completely absorbed or dispelled you are instantly energized with 1.5%, 2%, 2.5% of your total mana, and you have a 33%, 66%, 100% chance to energize your shielded target with 2% total mana, 8 rage, 16 energy or 32 runic power. This effect can only occur once every 12 sec.

Penance

Launches a volley of holy light at the target, causing 240 Holy damage to an enemy, or 670 to 756 healing to an ally instantly and every 0.96 sec for 1.92 sec.

The final talent available in the Discipline School, and with this talent a Discipline Priest can really shine as a single target healer. Penance is a channeled spell that does 240 holy damage to an enemy, OR 670 to 756 healing to an ally every second for 2 seconds. On a critical heal with this, the Divine Aegis that is procced, makes this talent truly shine. A Discipline Priest with Penance can easily heal the main tank for any group.

I recommend leaving out a few talents such as Martyrdom and Unbreakable Will. These points can be much better spent in other areas, like Holy Specialization and Divine Fury which are far and away better talents. Knocking off a second or two from a stun is nothing compared to increasing your critical heals by 5%.

Summary

Although leveling as a Shadowpriest is by far the easiest way to get to level 80 is it very possible for other specs of priest to level under that tree. I myself have leveled to 80 as a Holy Priest; though it took me time to kill mobs solo compared to that of a Shadowpriest or Discipline Priest I did a lot of instancing to get myself to level 80. It can be recommended to level as a Shadowpriest and then respec once you have reached the max level, many do this and there is nothing wrong with that. But that does not mean that any of the other classes are not capable of leveling solo under their specific build. Discipline Priests are also fairly good at leveling once you get Reflective Shield and Mental Strength that increases the amount of Intellect you have.

As you can see, the Priest has several viable builds depending on your play style. They are very flexible and can fill many different roles. Don’t get the wrong idea after reading this that each build is pigeon holed into that role. I have seen Shadow Priests heal in 10 man raids, and I have seen Holy Priests running around solo. These builds will help sharpen one area over another, but they are flexible enough to do whatever is needed. The Priest is truly a great all-around class.