I've been playing my priest a few months after the start of BC. I love healing, and as many times as I try, I can't take on a DPS/tank class to play on the regular. I've leveled a rogue, but just didn't like it. I've been considering other healing classes, as I want to be more competitive with PvP, specifically arenas. I enjoy Battlegrounds a lot too. I feel I excel in BG much more than arenas, and if I can get some flow going with my healing along with some DPS, that make even a small effort to protect me, I can really rack up healing & kills. Any BG I'm in from the start, that my team isn't getting fully dominated, it's rare that I'm not in the top 2-3 of healing. Keep in mind these are all PUG BGs.
My issue is when I try to play Arenas. Yes, I know there's a lot of teamwork and coordination involved in getting wins. I know I didn't/don't have the best gear, as I played around the 1600 level in BC, and I'm almost maxed out on BG honor points (deadly) gear now, with a couple savage season 5 pieces. Currently I'm playing with a good friend who's a VERY undergeared mage, and we're sitting sub 1400 rating. Even with that said, I just don't feel my survivability is there. I know burst damage is king right now, and if 2 rogues have their way with me (they blind my partner and his trinket is on cooldown), I have no chance at all to even get off a spell of any kind. But I know there ARE disc priests out there that are having success in the current burst world. So right now, I'm accepting that I'm just not good enough as a disc priest to get up to say the 1700 level in arenas. Yes, there are many potential factors that come in to play that I can't break 1650. But I'm trying to target more of the things I can control, and the one I have the most control over is my play and class selection.
Last couple Arena seasons druid healers seemed to be the healer of choice (let's just talk 2v2 for simplicity). I knew the advantages, of the druid healer, but wanted to try and push through with my seemingly underdog healing class. Heck, getting to 1650 (with another disc priest as a partner) was a huge deal for me. What's the healing class that is exceling right now in arenas? With the dispell nerf that is coming, feels to me ONE of the unique/special aspects about a priest is going away. Add to that the new ability to miss with a mass dispell, say on an ice blocked mage, or a bubbled pally, and it may be more mana efficient to last out the bubble and try to heal through it.
What's everyone's take as to the easiest (I'm using the term very loosly here) healer to be competitive in arenas? I'm not looking for a class that's just easy to play to get some wins. I don't mind putting in the time/effort to learn the class, and get the most out of it. My drive to be MORE competitive in arenas has risen above the notion to stay and play the underdog class. My frustration (mostly with myself) has got to me, and I'm wanting a higher level of success (in terms of Arena wins).
Perhaps the best way to phrase the question is what advantages, in ANY area, do disc priests have in PvP over the other healing classes? And do these priest advantages outweigh the cons?