Leveling:shadow, disc or holy?

[Wopper]

I had always thought shadow was the default leveling spec, but recently saw some discussion re: leveling as disc. Is this really viable?

[maxilian]

Yeah is viable to lvl as disc... but i, personally, lvl up as shadow, is way faster but with disc... is really hard for you to die XD

[Skandulous]

I had always thought shadow was the default leveling spec, but recently saw some discussion re: leveling as disc. Is this really viable?

viable but alot slower

[maxilian]

Also... Holy is not really good for lvling... it don't work as well as Disc, and in the end the best for lvling will always be shadow..., i recommend you when you reach lvl 60+ to have holy or disc as second talent to be able to do dungeons a lot faster (healers have almost no queue time)

[Itisamuh]

Assuming you're questing to level, I'd stick with shadow. It's pretty much impossible to die, and the damage is great. Leveling as shadow is much better than it was in Cataclysm, if you haven't tried it since then. Heals are better and more convenient to cast, you don't run out of mana so easy anymore, and you do more damage.

[Wopper]

Assuming you're questing to level, I'd stick with shadow. It's pretty much impossible to die, and the damage is great. Leveling as shadow is much better than it was in Cataclysm, if you haven't tried it since then. Heals are better and more convenient to cast, you don't run out of mana so easy anymore, and you do more damage.

Yes, I have an 85 priest,I haven't played in a while. Thinking of coming back to play, and also trying to think about whether to play as my Druid (also 85)or my priest. I have never really liked shadow, which was why I have played my Druid more in the past.m. Mthe idea of having one spec (disc) to level in, do dailies in, and heal in is very intriguing, but if it doesn't actually work that well, then maybe I stick with the Druid first

[Recursiv]

I had always thought shadow was the default leveling spec, but recently saw some discussion re: leveling as disc. Is this really viable?

Disc is absolute crap in PvP and PvE so don't even bother getting use to it. Go shadow most definitely!

---------- Post added 2012-10-06 at 01:11 PM ----------

Yes, I have an 85 priest,I haven't played in a while. Thinking of coming back to play, and also trying to think about whether to play as my Druid (also 85)or my priest. I have never really liked shadow, which was why I have played my Druid more in the past.m. Mthe idea of having one spec (disc) to level in, do dailies in, and heal in is very intriguing, but if it doesn't actually work that well, then maybe I stick with the Druid first

Do your druid first. Trust me lol

[Akaraia]

Well, At first i leveled Disc until 86 because i seemed quite squishy. But it was taking for ever to finish quests so i decided to go back to shadow. But shadow ended up being way better in the end + it actually seemed more fun.

[Darkener]

Shadow is fastest for leveling, did it on the beta. However, I leveled as Holy on live and it worked very well. If you look at the changes they made to Chakra: Chastise for MoP they clearly wanted to make it viable. You can DPS as Holy all day long and never go oom. The damage output of a Holy Priest is 15% higher than a Disc Priest and only about 5% below a Shadow Priest. Since you have no mana problems at all you can use Inner Fire for 10% more spellpower. The key to leveling as Holy is to actually wear the Tier 13 Shadow 4-piece set up to about 88, then keep the two-piece until 89. 4x SWD finishes mobs off fast. Also, a Holy Priest in DPS Chakra has completely different stats and Talent priorities, you absolutely want to gem and reforge all your gear to Haste & Crit. As you quest be on the lookout for the awesome crit trinket reward and keep that (crit plus crit proc). Reforge all your Spirit and Mastery to Haste and Crit. For talents you want Feather,Tendrils, FDCL, and ToF. Take whatever survival you like. Use Holy Fire and Smite glyphs. At level 85 before the experience unlocked I tested all three specs in my Shadow Haste + Crit gear set on a dummy. Disc had 26.6K DPS, Holy had 35.3K DPS and Shadow had 38.5K DPS. I decided to level as Holy and was level 90 in 2 full days of playing with 7 hours of sleep between day 1 and day 2.

[Demetrion]

Shadow is fastest for leveling, did it on the beta. However, I leveled as Holy on live and it worked very well. If you look at the changes they made to Chakra: Chastise for MoP they clearly wanted to make it viable. You can DPS as Holy all day long and never go oom. The damage output of a Holy Priest is 15% higher than a Disc Priest and only about 5% below a Shadow Priest. Since you have no mana problems at all you can use Inner Fire for 10% more spellpower. The key to leveling as Holy is to actually wear the Tier 13 Shadow 4-piece set up to about 88, then keep the two-piece until 89. 4x SWD finishes mobs off fast. Also, a Holy Priest in DPS Chakra has completely different stats and Talent priorities, you absolutely want to gem and reforge all your gear to Haste & Crit. As you quest be on the lookout for the awesome crit trinket reward and keep that (crit plus crit proc). Reforge all your Spirit and Mastery to Haste and Crit. For talents you want Feather,Tendrils, FDCL, and ToF. Take whatever survival you like. Use Holy Fire and Smite glyphs. At level 85 before the experience unlocked I tested all three specs in my Shadow Haste + Crit gear set on a dummy. Disc had 26.6K DPS, Holy had 35.3K DPS and Shadow had 38.5K DPS. I decided to level as Holy and was level 90 in 2 full days of playing with 7 hours of sleep between day 1 and day 2.

Still, pulling multiple mobs and killing them isn't really the fastest solution.

Also, shadow doesn't have mana issues (at least I didn't have any). VT gives back sufficient mana + dispersion and sfiend are there if needed.