Priest question!

[pipeline]

Im going to play a healer priest when im lvl ~60.
My question is: whats the best talent template from lvl 1-60?
how should i put my talent points lvl by lvl?
is the talent "subtlety" very important when i level?

thx.

[mediocre]

Im going to play a healer priest when im lvl ~60.
My question is: whats the best talent template from lvl 1-60?
how should i put my talent points lvl by lvl?
is the talent "subtlety" very important when i level?

thx.

first, if you are on a pve server subtlety you should get when you go your healer build. If you are on a pvp server, you have a choice: it is wise to you to spend 5 points on a pve only talent. I play on a pvp server and decided not to get subtlety.

As to your talent makeup, are you soloing your way there or in a guild/static group ?

[Envie]

Same thing I tell anyone choosing a priest - choose the template for leveling that suits your playstyle most.

If you solo, duo or full group very rarely, go full shadow, with some holy on the side and maximize your DPS and your pvp survival rate.

If you are in a dedicated 5 man group or a guild that is short on priests/healers, then a hybrid template with a little of two (disc/holy) is usually the preferred leveling build.

Figure out which way you will spend most of your time leveling and build your template to maximize that. The mental roadblock many priests (even myself long ago) run into is this: "Well, I really want shadow so that I can solo well and be good at pvp... but I also want to group sometimes and be an effective healer!"

Answer: (Note, my answer has softened a lot since my more narrow minded beta experiences)

Then go shadow! On a PvP server, it sure keeps you from dying a lot more often, and you're effective enough to solo and duo with damage and healing. Here's the catch though... at some point around level 45-50 you're probably going to want to respec back to Holy/Disc and away from shadow to maximize your instance healing power. I did this route, and at about 45 I started to notice I was straining my mana pool and really not getting the most healing bang for my buck ... and by now I've gotten a very dedicated 5 man group that demands full healing from me because I'm often the ONLY healer in the instance with warrior, rogue, rogue and warlock as my other 4 members.

And so, I made the (regretful at times) decision to respec from shadow back to my original Beta build of Discipline and Holy. I'm one of those strange priests that prefers more Discipline than Holy points, but hey, to each his own on that route too.

Now I feel the bite when out trying to (rarely) solo a quest or travel to some location filled with a lot of alliance who will jump me and kill me much faster now that I don't have all those great shadow tricks. But, on the other hand, I can EASILY solo heal our entire group through Zul'Farak and other 45-50 level instances. I was the solo healer for the above group in the Executioner event of Zul... that swarm of 5 bazillion trolls that come in waves up the steps... and I did great with my heavy emphasis on mana regen and spirit, I did not run out of mana, regained mana throughout the fight, and we finished the encounter at full health with no one getting close to dying except maybe to 20% on the first wave.

Being a powerhouse healer from 50-60 is kind of important unless you have a reliable backup healer in your group most of the time. Since I don't, I decided to put away the shadow and do what I do best, heal well.

I miss shadow a LOT... I mean, it's addicting and an excellent pvp tool (don't take that to mean they are uber... a shadow priest is still by DPS standards, a watered down warlock with no pet).

So, take a good hard look at your playstyle and your game preferences and build your template according to that, then respec' to full healing build at 60 if you prefer. Just be aware that from 45+ you will feel the bite in instances for mana efficiency, at least I did, if you're shadow. You also can't be doing wonky tactics like vampiric embrace and mind flay when you're the primary healer, trust me it just does not work and you will be out of mana.

Good Luck.

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[pipeline]

thx alot.

[pipeline]

Im going to play on a pvp server and with a guild. so im probobly respec my talent at ~45 as you suggested.

The last question is: do i need subtlety at that level? don't i get alot of aggro without it?

thx.

[Envie]

Im going to play on a pvp server and with a guild. so im probobly respec my talent at ~45 as you suggested.

The last question is: do i need subtlety at that level? don't i get alot of aggro without it?

thx.

I did not invest in subtlety and seemed fine, duo'ing with Nox, rogue, and even soloing, where obviously you're going to get aggro anyways. Using subtlety, to me, seems to more of a grouping thing where the priest wants to dish damage but not get as much aggro because mind blast has huge aggro with it... but as you well know, in a group, you'll be doing more healing than you will nuking. Subtlety, to me, seems wasted.

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