Hi all. I currently have a level 70 Hunter and I was thinking about leveling a healer alt but I cant decide on either Paladin or Priest. What is the difference between the 2 in respect to healing abilities? I know Paladin can tank with the right gear/spec. I was thinking that Paladin would be better because they can use more armor types so you can easily max int and +healing stats. The main downside I see with Paladin is that they only have like 2 healing spells (according to what I remember from the FAQ).
Thanks,
Torban of Deathwing
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Paladin or Priest?Follow
Come on, there are 2 threads on the first page discussing the pros and cons of different classes for healing.
Honestly as far as paladin healing you really don't even need 2. We could completely get by with nothing but flash of light. We're the best single-target healers in the game, and our mana-efficiency makes most other healers jealous. On top of that, we do have the ability to switch specs and tank and (lawl) dps.
On the other hand, priest have a lot more healing utility. They can single target heal, they can heal multiple people at the same time, they have a magic shield, and a heal-over-time. They also have a dps spec (shadow) which is fun, and also useful in raids as a mana battery. They are very squishy, however. You have extremely little armor, and you generally have less health than a paladin could.
My first every character was a priest, and I disliked it. I now play a paladin and am quite happy at being a raid healing paladin.
On the other hand, priest have a lot more healing utility. They can single target heal, they can heal multiple people at the same time, they have a magic shield, and a heal-over-time. They also have a dps spec (shadow) which is fun, and also useful in raids as a mana battery. They are very squishy, however. You have extremely little armor, and you generally have less health than a paladin could.
My first every character was a priest, and I disliked it. I now play a paladin and am quite happy at being a raid healing paladin.
Cool to hear your rolling a healer. There just doesn't seem to be enough of them around.
I have a Prot Pally and a Shadow Priest (that has bounced between holy and shadow about six times now). I've also speced out my pally to holy ONCE, and came back fast to Prot.
My personal opinion is that if you want to heal be a priest. The funny thing is that I really didn't see much difference between the two (and Holy Pally's can't tank, well they can, but so can mages lol). ALTHOUGH... I guess this is one way to say it... You can use a butter knife instead of a flat head screwdriver to get the job done, but it's better to use the screwdriver.
A. Don't forget that both classes can de-buff, though I think the Priest has the upperhand on that... that being said.
The crits on a holy priest are really phat, the total hpm is better with a holy priest and they heal really well for groups. So when you run an instance you can keep your tank well healed, and the rest of the party above 50% too. Everyone loves the extra Stam with PwF and shield bubbles are a saving grace. Something to think about is that if you build a Holy Priest... that's what they do. Dps is not in the books. To lvl up it's way easier to run shadow till at least lvl 60. At 60 you can run instance like crazy... because everyone loves a healer!!! But most of what I've read says Shadow till lvl 70, then convert. My priest is lvl 50... and I have to say it's going to be hard to convert over... I like playing a shadow priest, and my plan is to go holy at lvl 70.
I've had a Holy Pally with me in a BRD raid while I was tanking. I loved this guy. The extra aura and blessing was cool. And though he really didn't do much for the others, mostly cause I was the tank... and done right a Prot Pally ROCKS as a tank, and the rest of the group DPS'd like mad, killing them FAST, it was a good group... but he did through in a few heals around the board.... a fun couple of runs all and all.... anyway the Holy Pally rocked at keeping me alive. As a tank healer, (a one man focus) I really believe that nothing compares with a Holy Pally as your right hand man. Blessings, Aura, AND healing!?!?!?!?! Where does it go wrong? Throw in the greatness of bubbles and some of that instant holy damage and you have a cool healer. Again, lvling is prot or ret till 60. But at 60 you can go holy and never look back.
So it's really a question of what kind of healing you looking for?
Groups, Raids, and party heals a Holy Priest can keep up with it.
Tank Heals (and support) and a bit of off healing Holy Pally.
Again, just my opinion, and I am still new at all of this. These are my first two toons... I just felt compelled to put in my 2 cents.
I have a Prot Pally and a Shadow Priest (that has bounced between holy and shadow about six times now). I've also speced out my pally to holy ONCE, and came back fast to Prot.
My personal opinion is that if you want to heal be a priest. The funny thing is that I really didn't see much difference between the two (and Holy Pally's can't tank, well they can, but so can mages lol). ALTHOUGH... I guess this is one way to say it... You can use a butter knife instead of a flat head screwdriver to get the job done, but it's better to use the screwdriver.
A. Don't forget that both classes can de-buff, though I think the Priest has the upperhand on that... that being said.
The crits on a holy priest are really phat, the total hpm is better with a holy priest and they heal really well for groups. So when you run an instance you can keep your tank well healed, and the rest of the party above 50% too. Everyone loves the extra Stam with PwF and shield bubbles are a saving grace. Something to think about is that if you build a Holy Priest... that's what they do. Dps is not in the books. To lvl up it's way easier to run shadow till at least lvl 60. At 60 you can run instance like crazy... because everyone loves a healer!!! But most of what I've read says Shadow till lvl 70, then convert. My priest is lvl 50... and I have to say it's going to be hard to convert over... I like playing a shadow priest, and my plan is to go holy at lvl 70.
I've had a Holy Pally with me in a BRD raid while I was tanking. I loved this guy. The extra aura and blessing was cool. And though he really didn't do much for the others, mostly cause I was the tank... and done right a Prot Pally ROCKS as a tank, and the rest of the group DPS'd like mad, killing them FAST, it was a good group... but he did through in a few heals around the board.... a fun couple of runs all and all.... anyway the Holy Pally rocked at keeping me alive. As a tank healer, (a one man focus) I really believe that nothing compares with a Holy Pally as your right hand man. Blessings, Aura, AND healing!?!?!?!?! Where does it go wrong? Throw in the greatness of bubbles and some of that instant holy damage and you have a cool healer. Again, lvling is prot or ret till 60. But at 60 you can go holy and never look back.
So it's really a question of what kind of healing you looking for?
Groups, Raids, and party heals a Holy Priest can keep up with it.
Tank Heals (and support) and a bit of off healing Holy Pally.
Again, just my opinion, and I am still new at all of this. These are my first two toons... I just felt compelled to put in my 2 cents.
I am now dumber for having read that last post.
On another note, I also have a 70 hunter. Lots of fun, awesome utility and ability. I have tried a priest and found it lacking. Maybe i didnt give it enough of a chance. However, I just dinged my Prot Pally 40 today and am totally in love with him. Pallys are the only OTHER class i have played that can take on 3 or 4 equal level mobs and still come out of the fight with about full health and mana. As far as healing goes, when i was specd Holy i was the best healer at my level range. Even when **** hits the fan, as long as you arent a smacktard at playing you will be fine. So try them both, level them both to 20 and see what you like. That is the best way to figure things out.
Hyrdo
On another note, I also have a 70 hunter. Lots of fun, awesome utility and ability. I have tried a priest and found it lacking. Maybe i didnt give it enough of a chance. However, I just dinged my Prot Pally 40 today and am totally in love with him. Pallys are the only OTHER class i have played that can take on 3 or 4 equal level mobs and still come out of the fight with about full health and mana. As far as healing goes, when i was specd Holy i was the best healer at my level range. Even when **** hits the fan, as long as you arent a smacktard at playing you will be fine. So try them both, level them both to 20 and see what you like. That is the best way to figure things out.
Hyrdo
Thanks for the info guys. After reading around I also remembered that Shaman can heal rather good. I think I'm going to level Paladin, Priest, and Shaman to 20 and see how they each do in VC. The one thing I really like about Paladin is that they can easily tank with a gear change in lower levels and respec in the higher levels.
Dont level a Shaman. I levelled a Shaman back when Windfury was good, and since then it has been a long, gruelling series of nerfs and kludge-fixes to intractable class-design problems.
Shamans are great up to lvl40, at which point they go down and down. Every level after 40 is like finding burning ******* on your doorstep. They can become strong healers OR strong melee DPSers with a large amount of epic gear, but neither spec is much good for PvP and both specs are frustratingly easily killed. The recent buffs to Enhance Shamans may yet prove interesting, but if it's a healer you want I wouldnt bother with a Shaman.
A Paladin on the other hand is able to be the most goddamn frustrating opponent in the game; I know a Holy Paladin who is basically unkillable. He is mathematically impossible to kill for over half the classes in the game. He just stands there healing while the nukes rain down, I saw him outheal a TK-geared Fire Mage who swiftly ran out of mana.
Level a Paladin if you want to be able to use the same spec and gear for PvP and PvE; apart from Resilience, a Holy Paladin is a great class to play with, and the new buff to +healing will make them even better.
~sins
Shamans are great up to lvl40, at which point they go down and down. Every level after 40 is like finding burning ******* on your doorstep. They can become strong healers OR strong melee DPSers with a large amount of epic gear, but neither spec is much good for PvP and both specs are frustratingly easily killed. The recent buffs to Enhance Shamans may yet prove interesting, but if it's a healer you want I wouldnt bother with a Shaman.
A Paladin on the other hand is able to be the most goddamn frustrating opponent in the game; I know a Holy Paladin who is basically unkillable. He is mathematically impossible to kill for over half the classes in the game. He just stands there healing while the nukes rain down, I saw him outheal a TK-geared Fire Mage who swiftly ran out of mana.
Level a Paladin if you want to be able to use the same spec and gear for PvP and PvE; apart from Resilience, a Holy Paladin is a great class to play with, and the new buff to +healing will make them even better.
~sins
Well I leveled Paladin to level 15 last night and the only thing that completely put me off was the total lack of pulling abilities. Even with bubble I dont know if I want to take on more then 2 mobs at a time.
I think tonight I will level a priest to 15 and go from there. I'll try to stick both of them out until level 20 to get a few VC runs in.
I think tonight I will level a priest to 15 and go from there. I'll try to stick both of them out until level 20 to get a few VC runs in.
Pallys can get pulling abilities at lvl 40 through talents. Also, you can get ranged attack items so you can pull from a distance at the lower levels. So don't let that bother you. Also, why pull when you can run in and take out all the mobs? :)
As for the OP - Priest vs. Pally...that is a complete preference question.
Priest is a very powerful healer, but they are fragile and you'll really need a VERY GOOD tank (preferably a Prot Pally...heh heh).
Holy Pallys are also great healers, but not so good when party takes AoE damage. However, the Pally is much more resilient, and doesn't have to run around like a headless chicken if a mob starts attacking them. I can usually sit there and take all the hits while I continue healing. Eventually, someone will come get the aggro (or I'll run to tank if I'm worried about dying - but not usually). Running = no healing, so I usually stand still as much as I can.
As for the OP - Priest vs. Pally...that is a complete preference question.
Priest is a very powerful healer, but they are fragile and you'll really need a VERY GOOD tank (preferably a Prot Pally...heh heh).
Holy Pallys are also great healers, but not so good when party takes AoE damage. However, the Pally is much more resilient, and doesn't have to run around like a headless chicken if a mob starts attacking them. I can usually sit there and take all the hits while I continue healing. Eventually, someone will come get the aggro (or I'll run to tank if I'm worried about dying - but not usually). Running = no healing, so I usually stand still as much as I can.
like has been said, pallys are great single target healers and probably the most mana efficient. some are saying that if the group gets hit by aoe a pally is limited, but when you've kept everyone at 100% its not hard to quickly recover from an aoe attack, as long as you're paying attention and stayng proactive.
also, for instance healing priests tend to draw a lot of aggro w/ their large heals and having 1/2 threat from heals. an when they draw aggro the group is in trouble cause the priest can't take much of a beating. pallys don't draw much aggro cause we have more steady small heals and 1/4 threat on our heals. and if after a lucky string of crit heals we do draw aggro, we don't really care too much. with plate armor and a shield we can easily last long enough for someone to realize we're geting beat on and pull them off.
lastly, a priest has more ranged attacks, but a holy pally (and prot pallies) can get a ranged attack from talents. holy shock for holy pallies is a great spell for solo'ing but useless when healing. if the healer needs to pull or add to the dps the group is in trouble anyway.
i know this is slightly biased. pallies are definitely my favorite.
also, for instance healing priests tend to draw a lot of aggro w/ their large heals and having 1/2 threat from heals. an when they draw aggro the group is in trouble cause the priest can't take much of a beating. pallys don't draw much aggro cause we have more steady small heals and 1/4 threat on our heals. and if after a lucky string of crit heals we do draw aggro, we don't really care too much. with plate armor and a shield we can easily last long enough for someone to realize we're geting beat on and pull them off.
lastly, a priest has more ranged attacks, but a holy pally (and prot pallies) can get a ranged attack from talents. holy shock for holy pallies is a great spell for solo'ing but useless when healing. if the healer needs to pull or add to the dps the group is in trouble anyway.
i know this is slightly biased. pallies are definitely my favorite.
That Pally toughness is nice, a lot of times when I’m in a group and get attacked I’ll just ignore the mob and move toward the tank allowing him to take said mob off of me.
First let me say that currently all the healing classes are pretty decent, and any end game raiding guild will want to stack a couple healers from each class since they compliment each other, so play the healer that best suites your play style.
Priests
A well played priest is a spectacle to behold, lots of priests out there though that don't get the most out of it. There is a little more depth to the healing, but if you just aren't good at healing you will get frustrated fast. Group heals, hots, direct heals they have it all, mana is always an issue but played well it shouldnt be too bad.
Druids
Resto Druids are an essential part of a raid, innervates and battle rez can save the day. Heal over time tables on tanks, raid heals etc makes them truly impressive. They do have a 20 min timer on rez and their big heals have a slow cast which makes them less than fun in 5 mans but still perfectly workable.
Shammy vs Pally
When it comes to Shammy/Pally it boils down to what side you are on, Horde or Alliance. Big factor in deciding since playing a Pally on Horde or Shammy on Alliance will make a big difference, especially if you plan to break into raiding.
Paladins as mentioned are the best single target healer in the game. They also have insane mana efficiency. Basically a two button healer, but with cleanse and bop as well as other things it can be hectic. Shammies have can heal like a ****, chain heal can be a life saver. Earth Shield is teh awesome as well. Not quite mana efficient.
Myself and a Shammy have leveled together and raided together. Our gear is pretty much equivalent. We go toe to toe on healing meters, though we have different strengths and weaknesses. We actually compliment each other on fights like Curator, where I can single heal the tank through the entire fight and he can chain heal the rest of raid which is taking damage way more effectively than I ever could.
Edited, Nov 14th 2007 12:04pm by bodhisattva
Priests
A well played priest is a spectacle to behold, lots of priests out there though that don't get the most out of it. There is a little more depth to the healing, but if you just aren't good at healing you will get frustrated fast. Group heals, hots, direct heals they have it all, mana is always an issue but played well it shouldnt be too bad.
Druids
Resto Druids are an essential part of a raid, innervates and battle rez can save the day. Heal over time tables on tanks, raid heals etc makes them truly impressive. They do have a 20 min timer on rez and their big heals have a slow cast which makes them less than fun in 5 mans but still perfectly workable.
Shammy vs Pally
When it comes to Shammy/Pally it boils down to what side you are on, Horde or Alliance. Big factor in deciding since playing a Pally on Horde or Shammy on Alliance will make a big difference, especially if you plan to break into raiding.
Paladins as mentioned are the best single target healer in the game. They also have insane mana efficiency. Basically a two button healer, but with cleanse and bop as well as other things it can be hectic. Shammies have can heal like a ****, chain heal can be a life saver. Earth Shield is teh awesome as well. Not quite mana efficient.
Myself and a Shammy have leveled together and raided together. Our gear is pretty much equivalent. We go toe to toe on healing meters, though we have different strengths and weaknesses. We actually compliment each other on fights like Curator, where I can single heal the tank through the entire fight and he can chain heal the rest of raid which is taking damage way more effectively than I ever could.
Edited, Nov 14th 2007 12:04pm by bodhisattva
Bode - 100 Holy Paladin - Lightbringer
YJMark wrote:
Also, you can get ranged attack items so you can pull from a distance at the lower levels. So don't let that bother you. Also, why pull when you can run in and take out all the mobs? :)
iirc the the slot that normally holds range attack is a liberam slot so I thought it was impossible to equip a ranged attack.
bodhisattva: Thanks for that summary. I know it is going to come down to personal preference I just hope I dont get bored half way through leveling.
Bad terminology on my end. I didn't mean "ranged attack", but items that allow you to attack from a distance (like EZ-Thro Dynamite).
Quote:
iirc the the slot that normally holds range attack is a liberam slot so I thought it was impossible to equip a ranged attack.
There are several threads in this forum about how a paladin can get a "ranged attack" to pull with. Some of them are trinkets like Linken's boomerang, some are spells like Holy Shock, some are items like dynamite or bombs, and some don't do any actual damage but do get the mobs attention, like effects which reduce armor. Paladins can pull even at low levels, but they have to be a lot more creative in how they do it.
Quote:
The main downside I see with Paladin is that they only have like 2 healing spells
In response to the OP, we do actually have four, two of which don't get used much (Lay on Hands and Holy Shock (if you're Holy specced)), as well as the Seal/Judgement of Light, which could sort of count as a heal. Not arguing, just tossin them in for completeness.
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