Thinking of Switching to Priest in WoD

[Fuzzykins]

I was wondering if any of you kind folks could summarize the changes to the class as a whole, and more importantly, how Holy is doing...

I have a number of questions. My main concern is that I've, a number of times, rolled a character at the start of the expansion that I didn't enjoy. I always end up falling back to my Druid.

I have a level 90 priest as of now, and I don't mind the healing. However, what can I expect to see from WoD? I don't really understand a number of the changelog/patch notes.

Also, I imagine I'll have to level as Shadow. Is Shadow alright soloing? Will I be able to farm well? Is it annoying or easy to quest with? (Will I have to press every key on my keyboard or can I dot shit up and move on with my life?)

I realize that these may not be 100% determinable at this point in time, but I would really appreciate it if someone gave me a quick rundown of the class. I've been playing since Vanilla, so I know the game itself. I just want to know more about the class in WoD before committing the initial time to the class.

[Mctriple]

I'm really not sure what you're asking. Nobody can say anything with a shred of certainty on how any of the 3 specs will be doing compared to other specs in WoD, but priest healing will continue to have two very different specs, so it's likely that you'll enjoy one or the other. They're still largely distinguished (in current WoD beta) by proactive healing from disc and reactive healing from holy. If you like doing a lot of aoe healing, holy is awesome. If you prefer to be thinking ahead and preparing for damage you're about to take, then disc should fit your style well. Shadow's just fine at soloing and farming, and historically while leveling it's been able to just spam dots and kill lots of mobs.

I suggest you just play your priest more now while you wait for 6.0 and WoD. Play all 3 specs and see what you think. Things aren't going to feel like a whole new game when WoD hits, so if you liked holy or disc you'll likely still like the same aspects of either spec in WoD. Hope that helps.

[Fuzzykins]

I was really concerned that my questions wouldn't make sense. :<

Basically, since I haven't leveled a priest (I used WoD preorder), I'd like a run down on how Shadow performs when solo questing...

I'd also like a summary of the changes from MoP Holy to WoD Holy. I imagine one has been published somewhere, I just have absolutely no idea where to start looking.

Thank you so much for the reply.

[Castochi]

Shadow has been my favorite spec in the game since Wrath of the Lich King. Sadly, I don't heal in this game, so my priestly knowledge is limited to the Shadow spec. If you want, read through my overview of the spec, I'll make it brief and I hope it helps. Here we go.

Shadow is a DoT & channel spec. What this means is that you basically have to have as close to 100% uptime on your two debuffs (Shadow Word: Pain and Vampiric Touch) as possible, and then fill the remaining time channeling Mind Flay. In between, you will be able to cast Mind Blast when it comes off cooldown. Mind Blast has the added benefit of granting you a Shadow Orb, our secondary resource. That is the basis of the spec, in a nutshell. Further, you can choose to make your rotation more proc'y by making DoT periodic damage trigger instant cast Mind Blasts and Mind Spikes or less proc'y by providing Mind Flay with a buff after having cast Devouring Plague, which is your third and most powerful debuff that can only be cast when you have a Shadow Orb.

The changes coming to the spec in Warlords are reduced healing capabilities, which will open a door for Shadow to do the same damage as other "pure" casters such as Mage and Warlock. Finally no more "you're hybrid, so you can do marginal healing, therefore get less damage than the Mage" bullshit. Also, we will get more flexibility towards making our damage more multi-target or single-target oriented, so we will no longer struggle on pure single-target fights.

Leveling, I never had any trouble with Shadow. You can handle 1-3 mobs easily and even the harder-than-average Rares by yourself without too much trouble. If Warlords leveling is comparable in difficulty to Pandaria leveling, I don't expect this to change. The same for questing or farming. At max level, you can double-dot the entire area and watch everything in it die, as opposed to having to constantly spam spells to kill stuff as Mage/Non-Aff Lock.

Other Pros: NO PETS. Blizzard has the worst Pet AI I have ever had the displeasure of playing with, and believe me, I've played tons of MMORPGs. With Shadow, your only pet is a Cooldown lasting 10 seconds that you never have to control or watch it getting bugged in a ledge and taking the long way around instead of jumping with you, pulling 30 mobs in the process.

Cons: Your burst depends on Shadow Orbs, and these decay outside of battle, which means most of the time you will start a boss fight with less burst than others, BUT, Blizzard has said they will lower everyone's burst at the beginning of pulls via lowering the potency of stacking trinket-like effects and CDs, so I wouldn't worry about this in WoD. It wasn't that of a problem in Pandaria, and I expect it will be less so in WoD.

[Deleted]

how about leveling as disc?
ive levelled holy all the way to 90 over the various xpacs, but disc seems a bit quicker as i really dont like shadow.

[Fuzzykins]

Shadow has been my favorite spec in the game since Wrath of the Lich King. Sadly, I don't heal in this game, so my priestly knowledge is limited to the Shadow spec. If you want, read through my overview of the spec, I'll make it brief and I hope it helps. Here we go.

-snip-

Holy cow! Thank you so much for the reply. I have a confession, however. I'm not that interested in playing Shadow outside of leveling and using it to solo grind. It's been a spec I've really struggled to grasp since I got my 90 Priest, and it's left a really sour taste in my mouth. I'm honestly not sure why, but I can't seem to pull suitable numbers. (Nor am I interested in pulling suitable numbers, anymore.)

I really appreciate the time and effort you put into your reply, and I'm sorry that I'm not that interested in playing Shadow aside from leveling. :<

how about leveling as disc?
ive levelled holy all the way to 90 over the various xpacs, but disc seems a bit quicker as i really dont like shadow.

I never really considered that an option. I'm concerned that by choosing a spec like Discipline or Holy to level, I won't enjoy the healing aspect of that spec because I've spent so much time playing a gimped version of that. Additionally, I'd like to level quickly, and I feel Shadow is the best tailored to that goal.

[Deleted]

It´s hard to say really, from the little i see all 3 specs will undergo quite a bit of changes in wod.
Atm disc is the overpowered healing class while holy feels decent enough, but in beta atm holy is way better then disc as it feels too lacking in heal and absorb numbers. Shadow will get more orbs and a new mastery so they will change in playstyle aswell. Ofcourse alot might also change with new changes/fixes, on live and gear again.

You might like/dislike a spec now but dislike/like it in wod.

[Fuzzykins]

It´s hard to say really, from the little i see all 3 specs will undergo quite a bit of changes in wod.
Atm disc is the overpowered healing class while holy feels decent enough, but in beta atm holy is way better then disc as it feels too lacking in heal and absorb numbers. Shadow will get more orbs and a new mastery so they will change in playstyle aswell. Ofcourse alot might also change with new changes/fixes, on live and gear again.

You might like/dislike a spec now but dislike/like it in wod.

I mean-- I've played both specs, Disc and Holy, pre WoD. I think I liked Holy more, just because I could see the direct impact of my heals on people. (It's the little things.) I guess it's reassuring to hear that Holy is in a pretty good spot now. I just want it to be viable because on live, Holy, like you said, is mediocre. I'm still not sure as to specifically what's changing for the class, but I'll sit down with some resolve and try to decipher the changelogs. Thanks a lot guys!

[Jimjam38]

Shadow's new mastery in WoD will be a big QoL improvement for leveling to say the least. Mindspike x2 into instant glyphed mindblast should take care of most mobs with a bit of mastery, dots are there when you need.

Holy is looking very promising for WoD, its throughput is very strong and the WoD healing style seems to favor hots and throughput much more than MoP has. Disc is still very uncertain, mechanically its looking very bad, but numbers tuning is starting to at least make it seem viable.

Shadow has had some major reworking in talents and such due to the new mastery and 100 talents, and looks to now offer a number of very different play styles. It should be much more viable in single target than it currently is in MoP, but that's still only speculation.

Keep in mind, Resto druids are currently very, very strong on the Beta. Very strong.

[xhisors]

Leveling, I never had any trouble with Shadow. You can handle 1-3 mobs easily and even the harder-than-average Rares by yourself without too much trouble. If Warlords leveling is comparable in difficulty to Pandaria leveling, I don't expect this to change. The same for questing or farming. At max level, you can double-dot the entire area and watch everything in it die, as opposed to having to constantly spam spells to kill stuff as Mage/Non-Aff Lock.

You must not of leveled as shadow back in the day. :P But leveling as shadow now is a cake walk.