Hi all :)
Having played a melee class for a long time (fury warrior) I decided to try a caster class. First I levelled a warlock to 43, but it seemed rather dull, to much like playing a hunter just with spells. And yes I did mass pulls and dots. Then I tried a mage to 33 frost wich was just horrible spamming frostbolts over and over. So i thought why not try a shadowpriest, but a friend tol it was wrong to roll a priest only to dps, and if I wanted that I might as well go with a lock. Its not like ill never heal, ill probably heal once in a while to get into dungeons quicker. better off leveli How many here rolled a priest only to dps ? I see many aspects in it, healing if things go wrong in groups etc, throwing up some sheilds if dps gets to much agro and stuff. But seeing as im interested in dps would it be wrong to level a priest ? ( I know its my account and I can do what I want with it) :)
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Rolling priest only for shadow ?Follow
It is not wrong to roll a priest for any reason. You should have at least three.
Okay but seriously, there are a lot of very excellent shadow priests out there who are shadow priests, period, and do not heal. You don't have to heal as a priest any more than a ret pally has to tank, or than a fire mage needs to be frost sometimes, for that matter.
It's true that you may occasionally be asked if you can heal, or are willing to. The answer is up to you, but you should be prepared for the question. If you want to, it's worth picking up dual spec, although you can heal as Shadow for a lot of levels without a problem. While leveling, you can use the same gear for either role. This is a simplification, but the main difference between healing gear and DPS caster gear is that the former will have regen while the latter will have hit. At the level cap, it's worth picking up at least a few pieces for a healing set.
Okay but seriously, there are a lot of very excellent shadow priests out there who are shadow priests, period, and do not heal. You don't have to heal as a priest any more than a ret pally has to tank, or than a fire mage needs to be frost sometimes, for that matter.
It's true that you may occasionally be asked if you can heal, or are willing to. The answer is up to you, but you should be prepared for the question. If you want to, it's worth picking up dual spec, although you can heal as Shadow for a lot of levels without a problem. While leveling, you can use the same gear for either role. This is a simplification, but the main difference between healing gear and DPS caster gear is that the former will have regen while the latter will have hit. At the level cap, it's worth picking up at least a few pieces for a healing set.
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Having played a melee class for a long time (fury warrior) I decided to try a caster class. First I levelled a warlock to 43, but it seemed rather dull, to much like playing a hunter just with spells. And yes I did mass pulls and dots. Then I tried a mage to 33 frost wich was just horrible spamming frostbolts over and over.
Finding a warlock dull is your own choice, but especially the second bit about the mage tells me you need to try different specs. Part of the excitement of a class is to try out specs and see what works and what doesn't. If you go a frostmage and end up spamming frostbolt and you don't like it, then try fire. Try arcane. Don't just go "oh this one small part of the class I don't like, sod it, I need an entirely new class".
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So i thought why not try a shadowpriest, but a friend tol it was wrong to roll a priest only to dps, and if I wanted that I might as well go with a lock. Its not like ill never heal, ill probably heal once in a while to get into dungeons quicker.
Well, there's nothing "wrong" with playing what you like. If you want to play your priest shadow and only shadow, just do it, it's your 15 bucks a month.
That said, I personally consider it a waste of a priest to roll a character that has two healing trees and then ONLY spec into the DPS tree. That doesn't mean it's per definition a horrible thing to do, though.
14 posts
Okay thanks for the replies. I guess ill pick up dualspec at 40 and see how it goes. I might end up liking healing who knows ? :)
So all priests don't have 2 disc specs?
Weird.
Weird.
Hellbanned
idiggory wrote:
Drinking at home. But I could probably stand to get laid.
Horsemouth wrote:
So all priests don't have 2 disc specs?
Weird.
Weird.
I have 2 Disc specs.
I think it's kind of silly to tell someone that limiting themselves to only one tree isn't a great idea if that's what's fun for them. I like my 2 Disc specs. I don't feel a need for a Shadow spec. So what? I would never play a paladin except as holy. I'm not going to tank just because a paladin can. I would only play a mage to get to light people on fire. Encasing them in ice? Yawnzors.
Shadow priests have similarities to other casting DPSers, warlocks in particular, but they are their own thing. They have their own feel, their own way of playing, their own experience you're not going to get anyplace else. Plus, Shadowform? Hawt. If someone experimenting with various casters lands on a shadow priest and likes it best, who cares if they don't want to play the other two priest specs? Have at it.
My second spec is shadow. It seems like we are getting a few more priests in our guild, and I enjoy something different once in a while. It's also nice that even as shadow, I can throw heals in an emergency.
While I was playing, I was main spec shadow 90% of the time I was raiding. After I learned to heal (rather well, at that), I used that to increase my utility to the raid in the event we were down healers one night. But, with my raid group, I was always valued as DPS (partly because I knew how to not get myself killed). Decent caster survivability, hit debuffs, and standard priest buffs (Fort, Divine Spirit, etc) & 0h-sh*t spells (Hymn of hope, Divine Prayer) make us valuable members of a raid.
That said, don't be afraid to give healing a try, it makes getting random dungeons an east task and knowing how to spot-heal in shadow spec can make you a live-saver. (First time successfully doing Ony-10 I finished healing the last couple of minutes of the fight when everyone but 2 bear druids and myself were left. It was a good feeling.)
That said, don't be afraid to give healing a try, it makes getting random dungeons an east task and knowing how to spot-heal in shadow spec can make you a live-saver. (First time successfully doing Ony-10 I finished healing the last couple of minutes of the fight when everyone but 2 bear druids and myself were left. It was a good feeling.)
7 posts
I leveled my priest almost entirely as a healer through the LFG system. It wasn't until late in Northrend that I tried out shadow. Now, I have better gear as holy, and my guild values me as their raid healer, but I have a lot more fun when I run shadow. Melting faces, FTW.
6 posts
I leveled my priest solely to be shadow. And i would have gotten away with it to if hadn't been for my meddling guild leader. Admittedly, this was on a realm that was short on healers and i was an officer, so i supoose he sort of expected me to chip in. fortunatly a healer was found just in time so i got to respec back and go to Naxx. (Long story short i was the only clothie in the raid and outgeared most of the other dps for quite some time. And then we started 25 mans D:)
Where was i going with this... Oh yeah, being a shadow priest is fun, you don't have to heal but offspeccing healing does make you look good. (Unless you're really really bad at it, then you may look worse)
Where was i going with this... Oh yeah, being a shadow priest is fun, you don't have to heal but offspeccing healing does make you look good. (Unless you're really really bad at it, then you may look worse)
I have a question about some of the comments in this thread.
My main(s) is/are Hunter, but I've been leveling a priest on the side (just hit 70 yesterday).
Obviously (I don't know.. it SEEMS obvious to me, but anyway) I chose Shadow.
info: I dual-box, I don't raid/instance, mostly just PvE.
Anyway, so...
I notice a lot of questions about dual speccing "so you can heal, as well".
But as a dual-boxer, I find that so many of my S.Priest's DPS spells ALSO heal.
so there's the question: is having a DPSing S.Priest in a group not a good thing to have along with an actual devoted healing class? Since most of the S.Priest's damage ends up healing party/raid in some form or other?
P.S. I always feel guilty about wanding a mob... it feels almost like cheating, that I'm not efficiently utilizing the class's abilities. So I should stop feeling guilty about running out of mana? As a dual-boxer, (S.Priest and BM.Hunter) I can usually get through two or three mob fights (generally mobs a few levels higher than my duo) before needing rest or a drink (SUCH an alci!).
My main(s) is/are Hunter, but I've been leveling a priest on the side (just hit 70 yesterday).
Obviously (I don't know.. it SEEMS obvious to me, but anyway) I chose Shadow.
info: I dual-box, I don't raid/instance, mostly just PvE.
Anyway, so...
I notice a lot of questions about dual speccing "so you can heal, as well".
But as a dual-boxer, I find that so many of my S.Priest's DPS spells ALSO heal.
so there's the question: is having a DPSing S.Priest in a group not a good thing to have along with an actual devoted healing class? Since most of the S.Priest's damage ends up healing party/raid in some form or other?
P.S. I always feel guilty about wanding a mob... it feels almost like cheating, that I'm not efficiently utilizing the class's abilities. So I should stop feeling guilty about running out of mana? As a dual-boxer, (S.Priest and BM.Hunter) I can usually get through two or three mob fights (generally mobs a few levels higher than my duo) before needing rest or a drink (SUCH an alci!).
capcanuk wrote:
Anyway, so...
I notice a lot of questions about dual speccing "so you can heal, as well".
But as a dual-boxer, I find that so many of my S.Priest's DPS spells ALSO heal.
I notice a lot of questions about dual speccing "so you can heal, as well".
But as a dual-boxer, I find that so many of my S.Priest's DPS spells ALSO heal.
Shadow priests are valued in a party for DPS, utility, and how extremely cool they look in Shadowform. But the secondary heals you get from DPSing aren't going to be enough to keep a tank alive, or anyone taking damage from a boss. The "so you can heal" dual spec advice is so that you can enter a dungeon as the (main) healer.
capcanuk wrote:
P.S. I always feel guilty about wanding a mob... it feels almost like cheating, that I'm not efficiently utilizing the class's abilities. So I should stop feeling guilty about running out of mana? As a dual-boxer, (S.Priest and BM.Hunter) I can usually get through two or three mob fights (generally mobs a few levels higher than my duo) before needing rest or a drink (SUCH an alci!).
Priests use wands while leveling. It is efficient use of the class, at least for the time being while the five second rule still exists. Wanding at the end of a fight gets you out of the FSR and you get more benefit from Spirit Tap. The reason you're needing to drink occasionally in your duo is that your priest is probably not getting the killing blow often enough for Spirit Tap to handle all your mana needs. Solo priests don't really need to carry water while leveling.
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Shadow priests are valued in a party for DPS, utility, and how extremely cool they look in Shadowform.
Pff, if you consider grapes 'extremely cool', perhaps.
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Priests use wands while leveling. It is efficient use of the class, at least for the time being while the five second rule still exists. Wanding at the end of a fight gets you out of the FSR and you get more benefit from Spirit Tap. The reason you're needing to drink occasionally in your duo is that your priest is probably not getting the killing blow often enough for Spirit Tap to handle all your mana needs. Solo priests don't really need to carry water while leveling.
I haven't levelled a priest in ages, so feel free to take this with a grain of salt, but... It wouldn't surprise me if wanding was less needed nowadays than it used to be. Between all the cooldowns we get for mana, even while grinding mobs there shouldn't be a huge need to wand anymore. And even if there is, it will probably be all gone in Cataclysm, when specs, quests, gear and mana efficiency will be changed ever so thoroughly.
capcanuk wrote:
I notice a lot of questions about dual speccing "so you can heal, as well".
But as a dual-boxer, I find that so many of my S.Priest's DPS spells ALSO heal.
so there's the question: is having a DPSing S.Priest in a group not a good thing to have along with an actual devoted healing class? Since most of the S.Priest's damage ends up healing party/raid in some form or other?
But as a dual-boxer, I find that so many of my S.Priest's DPS spells ALSO heal.
so there's the question: is having a DPSing S.Priest in a group not a good thing to have along with an actual devoted healing class? Since most of the S.Priest's damage ends up healing party/raid in some form or other?
If anyone ask you if you can heal, they mean can you play the role of a dedicated healer. They aren't asking if your shadow spells have a healing component. Leveling priests can heal many instances as shadow, simply by not being in shadow form, and using their flash heal, etc. Once you approach max level, I'd strongly suggest making a dedicated healing spec, if you plan to do any dedicated healing for a group.
As far as having a shadow priest in a group along with a dedicated healer, I think it's great. I don't know any healers whose ego is so big that they turn down any auxiliary healing you or other classes might do through your damage spells. Heck, throw some mana our way too if you feel like it.
Thank-you all for the insight.
Since I pretty much only PvE and dual-box, I don't really have as much experience with my Priest as others who get to party and do dungeons.
I highly doubt I will EVER decide on my own to go heal an instance. I already get extremely stressed out when friends ask me to join a simple dungeon group as DPS (hunter)... I feel like Tweek on Southpark. TOO MUCH PRESSURE!!!
Since I pretty much only PvE and dual-box, I don't really have as much experience with my Priest as others who get to party and do dungeons.
I highly doubt I will EVER decide on my own to go heal an instance. I already get extremely stressed out when friends ask me to join a simple dungeon group as DPS (hunter)... I feel like Tweek on Southpark. TOO MUCH PRESSURE!!!
capcanuk wrote:
Thank-you all for the insight.
Since I pretty much only PvE and dual-box, I don't really have as much experience with my Priest as others who get to party and do dungeons.
I highly doubt I will EVER decide on my own to go heal an instance. I already get extremely stressed out when friends ask me to join a simple dungeon group as DPS (hunter)... I feel like Tweek on Southpark. TOO MUCH PRESSURE!!!
Since I pretty much only PvE and dual-box, I don't really have as much experience with my Priest as others who get to party and do dungeons.
I highly doubt I will EVER decide on my own to go heal an instance. I already get extremely stressed out when friends ask me to join a simple dungeon group as DPS (hunter)... I feel like Tweek on Southpark. TOO MUCH PRESSURE!!!
I'll be honest, I felt EXACTLY the same way. However, having a healing spec allowed me to get into decent Raids that were just PuGing one or two slots. It takes a bit of practice and learning the limits of what you can and can't do (ie: you can keep the party alive, as long as they're doing their part to reasonably avoid damage).
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