Spiritual Guidance: Levels 1-40, page 2
by Dawn Moore 
Jul 18th 2010 at 10:00PM
As I mentioned earlier, my shadowy colleague Fox has been working on a leveling guide for shadow priests and I am doing a disc and holy guide. This, unfortunately, leaves me without a clear path for how to best approach the leveling process since depending on what you're doing, there simply is no best way.
However, I am inclined to give you some sort of a talent guide, even if I'm not particularly thrilled about giving you a generic or specific build when I don't know what you'll be doing. If you have something very specific that you want to do and want help, please feel free to leave a comment and I'm certain the commenters and myself can draft something up for you. Until then, take a look at these builds to get started:
- Discipline: Random Dungeon Healer: The focus behind this build is threat reduction, mana regeneration and spell cost reduction. Improved Power Word: Shield and Twin Disciplines will buff the amount absorbed by Power Word: Shield but it's not anywhere close to the shields you might have seen other priests use at level 80.
- Discipline: Solo questing: Keeping a shield up on yourself as a solo disc priest will help you with interrupts and reducing incoming damage. Like a healing spec, this build does take disc's mana efficient talents like Meditation and Mental Agility (the latter which, by the way, will aid your DoTs as well as your shields and HoTs.) The big difference though is that by taking Reflective Shield, all the talents you put into improving Power Word: Shield will improve how much damage you do back to mobs.
- Holy: Random Dungeon Healer: In the random dungeon finder your focus will be on healing your party and not yourself. You shouldn't need push back reduction, even if the tank's threat is questionable (remember to use Fade!) Inspiration won't necessarily do you a lot of good at low levels because you don't have a lot of critical strike rating, so if you want to swap those talents around a bit, feel free.
- Holy: Solo questing: You may choose to swap out a talent to Surge of Light, since a free Smite is a free Smite. However, like I said about Inspiration about, you won't have much crit to activate the talent to begin with. Also, feel free to stick the talent points in Spell Warding into Improved Renew if you want to HoT yourself up while you Smite spam.
While I am not going to break down all the gear upgrades you could possibly chase down through questing (or professions), I thought I'd go ahead and assemble a list of respectable upgrades acquired from 5-man dungeons. I am under the impression that a priest choosing to level in as a healer would be inclined to run a lot of dungeons, so knowing which dungeons to run for gear seems helpful.
Don't feel like you need to get every item on this list. it's just a loose guide for
Dungeons Upgrades
| Item Name | Slot | Required Level | Source |
| Crystalline Cuffs | Wrists | 13 | Ragefire Chasm (Taragaman the Hungerer) |
| Robe of Evocation | Chest | 13 | Ragefire Chasm (Jergosh the Invoker) |
| Gold-flecked Gloves | Hands | 17 | The Deadmines (Sneed) |
| Corsair's Overshirt | Chest | 19 | The Deadmines (Edwin VanCleef) |
| Robe of the Moccasin | Chest | 17 | Wailing Caverns (Lord Cobrahn) |
| Serpent Gloves | Hands | 18 | Wailing Caverns (Lord Serpentis) |
| Slime-encrusted Pads | Shoulder | 20 | Wailing Caverns (Mutanus the Devourer) |
| Bloody Apron | Chest | 18 | Shadowfang Keep (Razorclaw the Butcher) |
| Belt of Arugal | Waist | 20 | Shadowfang Keep (Archmage Arugal) |
| Robes of Arugal | Chest | 20 | Shadowfang Keep (Archmage Arugal) |
| Feline Mantle | Shoulder | 21 | Shadowfang Keep (Wolf Master Nandos) |
| Ghamoo-ra's Bind | Waist | 20 | Blackfathom Deeps (Ghamoo-ra) |
| Gaze Dreamer Pants | Legs | 23 | Blackfathom Deeps (Twilight Lord Kelris) |
| Leech Pants | Legs | 24 | Blackfathom Deeps (Aku'mai) |
| Death Speaker Mantle | Shoulder | 25 | Razorfen Kraul (Death Speaker Jargba) |
| Death Speaker Robes | Chest | 26 | Razorfen Kraul (Death Speaker Jargba) |
| Batwing Mantle | Shoulder | 27 | Razorfen Kraul (Blind Hunter) |
| Acidic Walkers | Feet | 27 | Gnomeregan (Vicious Fallout) |
| Electromagnetic Gigaflux Reactivator |
Head | 28 | Gnomeregan (Mekgineer Thermaplugg) |
| Spidertank Oilrag | Wrist | 28 | Gnomeregan (Electrocutioner 6000) |
| Embalmed Shroud | Head | 30 | Scarlet Monastery (Fallen Champion) |
| Bloodmage Mantle | Shoulder | 30 | Scarlet Monastery (Bloodmage Thalnos) |
| Blighted Leggings | Leg | 30 | Scarlet Monastery (Azshir the Sleepless) |
| Mantle of Doan | Shoulder | 33 | Scarlet Monastery (Arcanist Doan) |
| Robes of Doan | Chest | 33 | Scarlet Monastery (Arcanist Doan) |
| Inquisitor's Shawl | Shoulder | 36 | Scarlet Monastery (High Inquisitor Fairbanks) |
| Whitemane's Chapeau | Head | 39 | Scarlet Monastery (High Inquisitor Whitemane) |
| Deathmage Sash | Waist | 36 | Razorfen Downs (Mordresh Fire Eye) |
| Robes of the Lich | Chest | 37 | Razorfen Downs (Amnennar the Coldbringer) |
| Revelosh's Gloves | Hands | 35 | Uldaman (Revelosh) |
| Stoneweaver Leggings | Legs | 35 | Uldaman (Ironaya) |
| Flameseer Mantle | Shoulder | 40 | Uldaman (Galgann Firehammer) |
| Grimlok's Tribal Vestments | Chest | 40 | Uldaman (Grimlok) |
| Gemburst Circlet | Head | - | Sunken Temple (Hakkar) |
| Rainstrider Leggings | Legs | - | Sunken Temple (Jammal'an the Prophet) |
PvP Upgrades
If you're hitting up the battlegrounds to level, you can grab some really nice upgrades from the battleground supply officers. To find them you'll have to trek out to your faction's supply officers for each battleground.
| Item Name | Slot | Required Level | Source |
| Defiler's Cloth Boots (Highlander's Cloth Boots) |
Feet | 28 | Arathi Basin Supply Officer (300 honor) |
| Defiler's Cloth Girdle (Highlander's Cloth Girdle) |
Waist | 28 | Arathi Basin Supply Officer (300 honor) |
| Defiler's Cloth Boots (Highlander's Cloth Boots) |
Feet | 38 | Arathi Basin Supply Officer (300 honor) |
| Defiler's Cloth Girdle (Highlander's Cloth Girdle) |
Waist | 38 | Arathi Basin Supply Officer (300 honor) |
| Dryad's Wrist Bindings | Wrists | 40 | Warsong Gulch Supply Officer (500 honor) |
Want to find more great tips for carrying out your priestly duties? Spiritual Guidance has you covered with all there is to know. Check out Holy 101 or Disc 101 for an introduction to healing as a priest; for the party-minded healer, check out a priest's guide to tanks.Filed under: Priest, (Priest) Spiritual Guidance
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
BurgerTea Jul 18th 2010 10:05PM
Nice guide, pro.
Oteo Jul 18th 2010 10:10PM
Do you have a source for the art on the first page? It's pretty cool.
Dawn Moore Jul 18th 2010 10:13PM
Page 1: http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/downloads/wallpapers/dungeoncompanion.html
Page 2: http://www.danscottart.com/
Note that I played with light levels on the first graphic to make it a little more dramatic than the original.
Skarn Jul 18th 2010 11:55PM
I had the same question.
Thanks!
ToyChristopher Jul 18th 2010 10:20PM
Yeah I want a source for the art on the first page!
Also, are you sure about renew? I used it almost exclusively until I hit outland. I know greater heal is more efficient, but it's often too large even for the tank sometimes.
Cetha Jul 18th 2010 10:29PM
Curious what thoughts you or anyone else might have on which tree is good if you want to throw pvp into the mix as you are levelling. I'm currently 26 on my new priest and have been loving low level bg's again. I am currently down into Holy just to divine fury and am now working my way to get mind flay over in the shadow tree. I prefer to heal in bg's but I feel like mind flay would be a useful tool to have.
any other thoughts or suggestions would be helpful. thanks.
zdave Jul 18th 2010 11:39PM
i knew dan scott looked like a familiar name. i've seen his name on plenty of mtg cards! it's strangely exciting when worlds collide like this.
great article dawn. i consider myself a purist in that i don't use heirlooms, so it's great to see lists like that. i'll probably level another priest using 99% dungeon finder (the other 1% is dungeon quests) when cata drops, so this will be bookmarked.
oniryuujin Jul 18th 2010 11:53PM
I would have to disagree with Power Word Shield not being that good until later levels,I've been leveling my priest through RDF and have had many times where one shield lasted 3 mobs smacking away on the tank, honestly I'm level 38 now and rarely do I have to cast anything other than shield or renew unless the tank gets a little overzealous on the pulls or is one of "Those Tanks" who're specced into dps trees and wearing cloth armor =/
Boz Jul 19th 2010 1:31PM
Power Word: Shield generates ZERO threat when applied out of combat. It generates TONS of threat during combat. If you're healing in the LFD, consider applying PW:Shield to the tank prior to pulls. It's like a mini-Last Stand.
Also: PW:Shield no longer affects Rage generation.
Didn't see these listed, but felt they were important to add; excellent guide, otherwise!
catharsis80 Jul 19th 2010 2:40PM
I also am pretty confused as to why PS:S is not further up in priority. It's top priority for my level 30 priest. It's extremely mana efficient, and like the above poster said, it lasts a good while.
Dawn Moore Jul 20th 2010 2:42PM
As I said, I rated my system on mana efficiency, meaning the amount of healing or absorption for the mana you put in. At lower levels PW:S has very poor absorption when compared to a heal, which is a fair comparison in my mind since things like... push back reduction have very little impact on healing a tank. While soloing, of course, it makes sense to shield.
Shielding simply isn't as mana efficient as properly timing heals or greater heals. But the latter requires full attention and a desire to apply a certain amount of skill to what you're doing. That might work great when you first get started - but when you're on your 15th Mara run and your eyes are rolling back in your head - Power Word: Shield will start to look a lot more appealing. Shields do not give you as much heal for your resources, period. But they let you kick back more, so its value to players is probably increased in the sense that "if I use this button I don't have to do as much." There isn't anything wrong with this, but as I said - I rated on mana efficiency, which I deemed very important since I was drinking between every other pull when I was using the RFD a couple months ago.
Take in mind none of you are wrong for prioritizing Power Word: Shield over other heals. I want you all to do something that makes you happy while playing. But you'll have to take in mind, I'm slightly eccentric with my "playing like it's still vanilla" obsession. I do try to explain that though, as I did in the article.
Tom Jul 18th 2010 11:56PM
Get a wand from the Auction House by level 5.
I really can't recommend it enough. Of all the spellcasters, Priests have the most to gain from a wand.
lovedatrollmon Jul 19th 2010 12:09AM
Wands make a huge difference when leveling a lowbie priest (and mage and warlock). The level 5 & 13 wands enchanters can make are better than any other of the same level. Sadly, that isn't the case for the higher level wands crafted by enchanters.
With a wand, a level 5 priest's rotation would look something like:
Smite, SW:P, wand, wand, wand. Dead.
Xaklo Jul 19th 2010 2:34PM
Really wish Blizz would drop epic wand recipes for enchanters in End Game Raids. Wand drop rates are kinda teh suxorz and clothies are the only ones who don't get a ranged-slot upgrade from frost emblem vendor :[
Dawn Moore Jul 20th 2010 2:47PM
Not until level 10, I'd say. Because of Blizzard's changes to the first 10 levels, your rotation looks like this:
Smite > Smite > Smite > Smite > Smite
And after doing that for so long, you'd think you'd be OOM. But you're not, you haven't even made a dent in your mana bar. There's no reason NOT to keep smiting. At level 10 the initial level buffs taper off though, so a wand might be nice after that. It's always good to have options when you're running low on mana and want to save the last bits of your resources for a heal or shield on yourself.
Thanks =)
Brazak Jul 19th 2010 12:52AM
I'm leveling a new priest and Ive been questing and using the RDF Ive noticed that earlier levels when you need that extra boost to gain a level the RDF can work wonders. At later levels on the other hand, I noticed when leveling my pally that above 50 perhaps, it starts to slow down, but picks up again around 60 then again, slows down dramatically making questing very efficient. So leveling in the 20s and early 30s is made much easier in RDF but questing is also very efficient later on and probably only slightly more efficient then the RDF in the earlier levels. At least thats the way its seemed to me though I could easily be wrong, haven't actually done any math.
logicalfundy Jul 19th 2010 1:11AM
"Mana Burn -- Level 24 -- You won't use this spell too much, but it's there."
Honesty it's just usually a waste, the time spent on mana burn is likely more than the time you'll save just by killing it faster with damage spells.
"Mind Control -- Level 30 -- Like Mana Burn, you won't use this spell much either."
It can be useful as a type of crowd control sometimes, if you're in a group. I'd say this is more a spell for having fun, though, rather than a serious spell.
"Prayer of Healing is an incredible 5-man dungeon spell, but it's quite costly as well."
I could never really pull it off very effectively, though. You have to pick a target in the group you want to heal, and sometimes I just don't get the healing I want on everybody.
. . . and I love Levitate =). Allows you to jump down cliffs (acts like a slow fall - you don't get hurt when you land) and walk on water. You can even mount a flying mount when walking on water! Very useful when soloing. If you're using it to escape a horde by jumping off a cliff, I highly recommend spamming it in case you're still taking damage. And definitely get the glyph so you don't need the reagent. You do need to farm a bit to get it otherwise.
. . . and I wouldn't underestimate Power Word: Shield. It will always absorb some damage, and eventually becomes a pretty powerful shield, especially for a disc priest.
It's an instant cast, so it shouldn't affect healing rotations much. It's an excellent spell to slap on just before a battle begins.
The mana cost has increased in recent patches, though :(. Having it a percentage of your base mana really can kill your mana if you're not careful. I haven't tried it at low levels with the latest patches. That being said - if you are careful about mana, it's a great spell to use.
. . . and you have to remember that Power Word: Shield absorbs damage - it does not really heal, unless you use Glyph of Power Word: Shield. I think it's a bit of a disservice to that spell to compare it directly to other healing spells.
Vanz Jul 19th 2010 4:41AM
"You can even mount a flying mount when walking on water"
Not true, you can't mount with levitate on. It's not like waterwalking/Path of frost. I guess because it does both, give you a slow fall and give you the ability to walk on water it would be OP is you could mount up
Dawn Moore Jul 19th 2010 5:04AM
It does let you mount on water actually. I do it all the time. =) When you're in the water just cast levitate, hop up so you're floating on the surface of the water, then mount up. It's only particularly useful for a flying mount though, as if you mount on a ground mount you just fall back into the water.
logicalfundy Jul 19th 2010 8:11AM
"Not true, you can't mount with levitate on."
I do it all the time. Just make sure you're standing on top of the water rather than swimming in it. If you're swimming in it, jump so that you're on top of it. Yes, Levitate does indeed allow water walking.
If you've got a priest, go ahead and try it. It works.