As a priest, you can choose whether to go with the Holy path or the Shadow path. Each path offer different talent build and playing sytle. This guide will talking mainly about Holy priest talent build.

Basically, there are two big ‘major’ for those who play priest: the “Holy Priest”, which is your typical healing-support priest and “Shadow Priest” which is focus on killing skills. Note that while I can provide you with the talent build, the best ways to cover the other aspects of the game such as fast leveling and gold making is still by using a guide. Why? See the answer at World of Warcraft Strategy Guide.

Priest Talent Builds
First, you will want to invest on Healing Focus and Improved Renew. Put two points in Healing Focus and 3 in Improved Renew; it is important that you can heal more without interruption.

The next things to do is maxed Spell Warding and Divine Fury to prolong your life. Add one point to Desperate Player, it will heal you instantly,  also another skill to prolong your life.

Maxing Holy Reach will give you 20% extra range for six different spells, keep you in safe distance while maintaining the survivability of your group members. Improved Healing is need to be maxed as well since it will reduce the mana cost for five different spells.

Conserve your mana with Healing Prayers; at max, you can get 20% mana cost reduction for two spells. Spirit of Redemption will only useful if you die, which is the worst scenario for any group during battle, but by having this one you can save your group from total annihilation; so definitely invest one point here.

Obviously, you will not be the damage dealer when you are in a group, but adding 5 points to Spiritual Guidance is not a bad idea since it will give you fighting ability for unpredictable situations.

Different Priest Leveling Guide suggest different approach for Surge of Light; if you are planning to use Smite and Flash Heal a lot at higher level, take this talent, otherwise just leave it. As for Spiritual Healing, you definitely want this as a Holy Priest since it will increase your healing spells by 10%.

Having a Lightwell is an extra advantage for your group during a raid; they can click it for heal, so it will make your job easier. It is not instant healing, but it is a good way to keep your mana for more demanding situation.

Spend five points: two in Empowered Healing as it will make your greater healing better and three for Serendipity as this one will cut your next spell mana cost; by doing so you have opened the next talents.

The next three talents are crucial for a Holy Priest and you need to max them all. Empowered Renew will make your Renew heal the target instantly; Circle of Healing allowing you to heal up to five friendly party or raid members within range; Test of Faith increase healing rate on a party members whose health below 50%, increase the probability to save him/her.

There are many different opinions regarding the last two talents: Divine Providence and Guardian Spirit; other priest guides may suggest you to leave it and dump your remaining points in the Discipline tree, but recommend that you take both of them. Put three points in Divine Providence to gain access to the next talent; three points will give you 6% boost in some healing spells. As for the last talent, Guardian Spirit; it will increase your tank’s survivability and make it easier for you to keep him/her alive during chaotic situation.

Being a Holy Priest, you need to have better survival rate yourself, so put the last 20 points in the Discipline tree. Keeping yourself alive comes first before maintain the others health and a group will be in a very disadvantage when their healer dies, so these are how to spend the rest of your points:

  1. Unbreakable Will; reduce the duration of various side effects, enable you to back into battle faster.
  2. Silent Resolve; reduce the chance to dispell your helpful spells and damage over time spells.
  3. Improved Power Word: Fortitude; increase Fortitude and Prayer Fortitude by 30%.
  4. Martyrdom; gain Focused Casting effect for six seconds after getting hit by critical range or melee attack.
  5. Meditation; allow your 50% of your mana regeneration continue even as you casting spells.
  6. Inner Focus; cut down the mana cost for your next spell by 100% and raising its critical rate by 25%.
  7. Improved Power Word: Shield; boost Shield word by 15%.

This priest guide is mainly about holy priest talent build; for leveling method, you can find a group to visit instances dungeon or doing quests all the way to level 80. Doing quests is more recommended since it will earn you proper gear so you don’t have to bought it and it is faster to reach level 80. Check the easy ways to do this at world of warcraft leveling guide.

Note: if healing and support is your favorite role, you may interested to play a Holy Paladin in PvP arena. This class has tremendous impact on the tide of the battle in the right hand. Check the build at Paladin PvP Guide.