Priest soloing startFollow

How can I begin to effectively solo with a priest, beginning at level 1? Any suggestions for race choices? Thanks.

Mazra's recommendations are all good, but I'd put in a word for undead as welll if you're considering Horde. Devouring Plague, the racial spell, is really wonderful, especially at lower levels (before you have some of the other tricks up your sleeve). It's my 3-minute button for either hard mobs or too many adds, and I've been able to kill red/elite mobs I wouldn't have been able to without it. And Will of the Forsaken is a great racial for PVP, so I hear.

In the end though, none of the racials trump playing what you like best. You'll be looking at this character for a long time. Do not, I repeat, do not, pick a race you don't like just because you think the racial is better.

Although you can level with any spec, you say "effectively solo" and putting equal emphasis on both words I'd endorse a Shadow spec. It's very efficient and unlike some other classes that have to wait a long time for some of their key abilities, having those first 5 points go into Spirit Tap really makes things easier right out of the gate. I despise soloing with my holy priests, but I lovelovelove soloing with my shadow priest.

Both Mazra and Teacake offer sound suggestions. Listen to Mazra for advice on Ally priests, as I'm a Horde-devotee.

I will vouch for the fact that I, like so many others, appreciate Undead racial abilities better than any other. My first priest to 70 was a Blood Elf (rolled it on the day of TBC launch to test-drive the new race). I later decided to level an Undead to 70, mainly for the racials. WotF is very, very nice for PvP. Devouring Plague is also a very nice DPS boost, especially when combined with the Inner Focus talent that makes this very expensive spell mana-free. Cannibalize is also nice, but you will use it less as your First Aid skill is increased.

Despite the differences in racial abilities, I would still advise you to (as so many others have said in the past) to go with the race that is most aesthetically pleasing to you. The only racial for which I would now reroll a character is Undead's Will of the Forsaken, and that would only be if I wanted a PvP-only toon.

Racials simply do not factor in that much. Be different from the mainstream, if that is what you want; this is why troll priests get extra style points ;-)

My "main" is a Draenei and I definately agree that the Symbol of Hope is amazing, and it is great even while soloing. While I use it most often in group play, it has proven to be useful time and time again in solo play as well. Draenei also get a racial spell "Gift of the Naaru" which is a mana free heal over time. While not something I would jump for joy over, I will say that spell has come in mighty handy for me on occasion even if it annoyingly shifts me out of shadowform to cast it. While the other races all make very good priests, my favorite is Draenei.

Mazra covered Night Elves and Starshard (and shadowmeld) so I am going to just put in a few words about the other Alliance races. Dwarves tend to be overlooked by many players, but they still make a fine choice for priests. They have an ability called Stoneform:



While I am not much into the PvP part of the game, I think this could be quite a good thing while battling rogues or warriors. Dwarves also get a treasure tracking ability which is kind of "meh" in my opinion, but not really so bad. There is also a hidden bonus when creating a female Dwarf....the twirling pigtails while spellcasting. And they say girl Dorfs aren't cute! ;)



Human priests have increased spirit, and spirit is a nice thing to have when you're a priest. Humans also have increased reputation gain which can save quite a bit of rep grinding.

For Horde, I think teacake makes some good points. My Forsaken priest is only level 15 so she hasn't gotten the "Devouring Plague" spell, but I have heard so many great things about it. To me, when I think of a shadow priest, the first race that comes to mind is Undead, but of course that is just my personal opinion and based on my (very) limited knowledge of WoW lore...





Indeed. While many folks are very into crunching numbers and choosing this or that race/class combo, there is nothing wrong with a more relaxed point of view. There is no sense choosing a race for their bonuses if otherwise the character is going to be unappealing to you, ultimately that is going to be a character that sits on the shelf or gets deleted.



Trolls have, IMHO, the best hair styles and dances. Their hidden racial is plus 10 to cool.

Well, I believe I have rambled on enough. It's rather late here at the moment so I will use exhaustion as an excuse for my long and overly chatty post. Have fun, and good luck with your priest. Remember, any class can solo and priests are quite good at both damage dealing and healing.

*edit for late night forgetfulness*

This list of spells is taken from the official WoW site, but I think the information regarding getting them from quests is outdated. I did not learn any of my Draenei specific spells via quest, but directly from a trainer. Anyways...the list:



http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/classes/priest/spells.html

If I remember correctly, "Touch of Weakness" is also available to Blood Elves as well as Undead, but I haven't logged onto my Blood Elf priest in quite some time.








Edited, May 27th 2008 2:06am by Miskreant

What do you guys think of Dwarf Priests? I like Desperate Prayer and Stoneform but haven't found Chastise as useful as I thought I would (although I haven't PVP'd much yet).

Why yes, yes it can.

<grabs guitar>
<Sing> Staaand by your main. </sing>

Sorry. Had to. Couldn't be helped.