Wow... I suck. Pointers?Follow

About a week or two ago I decided to roll a priest since I was getting a bit bored with my main, a 70 hunter. She's up to level 26 now, and I decided to take her for a spin in AB just for the heck of it.

Here's the problem: I've been leveling solo just fine and finding it pretty easy, but trying to keep the BG healed was insane. My strategy going in to it was to target the enemy players and cast PW:S on their target, then any heals necessary on top of that. It didn't seem to work as well as I hoped - usually by the time I got in range of the fight my teammate was dead and suddenly I'm the target. I died a lot (didn't take long for the other team to realize there was a level 26 squishy running around either). :)

So basically I'm just wondering what everyone else does to try to keep people in their battle group alive and ticking. I haven't even really been part of any groups yet (got a BFD run planned for Thursday) and I think that will help get me some experience healing my party, but it's still worlds different than BGs. Typically in an instance (at least during guild runs, not so much in PUGs) you're focus is on healing the main tank, and keeping an eye on the DPSers to make sure they're not taking hits (right?). I can keep tabs on my whole group by looking at my party UI, and most likely they're going to be in range of me (if I'm doing my job right anyways) In a BG it's so much more chaotic...

I've never played a healer class like this in any game - I think it will be a fun challenge, but the BG totally knocked the wind out of me, and I'm wondering now if I'm up to the task.

Also, I know there are mods out there like Healbot that help a lot, but I'd really like to kind of learn on my own before I start relying on those kind of tools. I feel like I need to know what's actually going on before I have something else doing it for me, in order to be the best priest I can be.

So... that was a long post to basically ask, "How can I be a better priest?"

Thanks. :)

I can't remember when exactly you get some spells, but the basic premises of being a priest in a BG is as follows:
- DISPELDISPELDISPELDISPELDISPELDISPELDISPELDISPELDISPELDISPELDISPELDISPEL
- Lots of flash heals and shield
- Run with any flag carriers, keep renew, shield and once you have it PoM on them at all times.
- Dispel a bit more
- Drink at every free opportunity

I use Grid to see easily who's in range of heals, and then just kind of keep a lookout for people just out of range who are getting hit. Prioritize rogues, hunters, and warriors for heals. First priority is always the flag runner. Use fear to break deadlocks and give a second to heal, or keep guys off the flagrunner.

Dispel a few more times for good measure.

I know you said you wanted to learn without using an Add-on, but I have to agree with a few of the above posters - Using Healbot or Grid is a tool that you don't really want to be without. The difference between a one-click heal and target+heal, especially in BGs, is usally the difference between life and death for the recipient of your would-be heal. Once I got serious about BG healing with my paladin, I broke down a got healbot, and honestly the difference is like night and day.

Although it probably doesn't make a huge difference at that level, I'd like to see your spec. Typically a leveling spec doesn't add up to a great PvP spec. Obviously being at the max level for your bracket will aid your survivablility and heal potential as well.

Either way, don't get discouraged. Our inherent weakness as a priest is obviously our squishiness. The real lesson might be that you don't enjoy BG healing - or that you don't enjoy BG healing as a priest. If this is just your getaway toon, you might consider leveling another healer class to 29, which should take to long. All-in-all, just do what's fun... That's what games are for, right?

Here's my current build. I'm aware that it's definitely a leveling build, but at this level I don't know that I would gain a lot by dumping all my points in to Holy. However, as I level I'll be focusing on the Holy tree, and leaving shadow and balance trees alone. I plan on re-examining my build at 40, and again at 70.



This had occurred to me.

Also, you're right, I don't mind dying and I am having fun, I just was kind of surprised how ineffective I was and how few heals I was getting off before some random rogue tore right through my PW:S and inner fire.

Thanks for all the advice, everyone. It's given me several ideas. I'm still going to put off addons at least for a little while... though something like Grid will probably find its way on to my computer before too long.

Edited, May 7th 2008 2:13pm by OrionsByte

My experience healing in BGs is limited, but one thing I have trouble with is remembering to keep mobile. I'm rather used to PvE where mobility isn't a primary concern and that doesn't really cut it in a fast paced BG.

Personally, I think Renew is your friend a lot of the times in these situations as it is instant and thusly can be cast on the move. This isn't to suggest that you ignore your bigger heals but I think you are onto a good idea with your points into Improved Renew.

In my opinion, at level 26 re-specing just for BGs isn't a good idea. You can heal just fine without being full holy at this level, but of course if you plan on leveling to 29 and spending a good chunk of time doing PvP, you may find re-specing to be beneficial to you. Just a thought, not trying to be presumptious by any means.

I'm sure you know this already, but try to get as much gear with added stamina as you can. Items "Of the Eagle" are good, but I found items "Of the Whale" to work just as well for me at lower levels. The added benefit is the whale stuff is usually quite a bit cheaper.

Best of luck! :)