This is my first time leveling a priest and so far so good . I’m currently leveling as Holy and I’m coming up on 44 , for when I can go full shadow . I watching a lot of You tube videos and getting mixed signals and what spec I should be for leveling . Some say Holy and some say shadow . …I’m confused any thoughts?
Holy for leveling?
Shadow is keeping me with barely any down time and doing some good damage. I still heal dungeons and can solo some groups of adds
2 Likes
there are only the shadows before us…
You can go full shadow at 40 when 31 points get you shadowform. Find some spirit gear and you should not experience much down time. I healed BRD and Stratholme at 60 while still in Shadow spec, because it was easier to do my grinding (Timbermaw, felcloth, etc.), but your group will need to know it will be slow going in any dungeons. You’ll be drinking after every pull.
2 Likes
No way ever level as holy
As of right now I’m 41 and I can go full shadow with shadow form , but according to the calculator I will have to sacrifice 3 points in wands in order to get shadowform . Should I chose to have shadow form and 2 points in wands or go 5 points in wands and Not have shadow ?
Wait til 45 to keep 5 points in wand damage
1 Like
i think the trade off is worth it especially if you have shadow damage wand.
but i would balance the wand and spirit tap a little, as in 3 wand and 4 spirit tap, and decide if you really need that lvl 5 spirit tap earlier or not.
I don’t think there’s a big difference up until 50 or so. Holy can solo pretty well without down time, just as with shadow. You just need those 5 points in spirit tap and 5 in wand spec.
My answer would be to play what’s fun for you. People always say shadow can heal any 5 man dungeon but so can bandaids if you play the game well enough. What it really comes down to is preventing wipes and being more flexible- as a holy/disc spec you’re going to avoid more wipes than a shadow healer with healing gear. Shadow priest may help in certain situations too though so who knows, play what you find fun!
1 Like
You mean Shadoom, well in pvp anyways
I just hit 60 and plan to re-spec from Shadow to Holy. However, I’ve recently had an easier time getting into dungeon groups as DPS rather than a healer. Healers have been over-abundant.
Ironically I feel like re-specing to healing actually hurts my chances of getting into groups. Thoughts? I also feel like Shadow is better at healing than Holy is at DPS, which makes Shadow the flexible spec to cover 2 roles, if that makes sense.
There is an overabundance of healers, and despite all the “meme spec” chatter that states contrary, I did hella DPS in shadow spec. I kept up with the top guys very well, indeed, and locks loved me.
I’m in holy now as my guild enters UBRS and preps for 40-man content, but go shadow, my friend. All day. It’s amazeballs.
that’s easily true.
there’s a thread on this like twice a week. I was 21/5/5 at 40, 21/10/5 at 45, no regrets. Do you want to optimize your solo play or do you want to optimize your healing? That’s really what it comes down to.
Shadowform and Shadow Weaving both will increase the damage of a shadow wand.
So just get a shadow wand and you won’t miss the points at all.
1 Like
Don’t level as Holy, it is painful and slow and unnecessary. If you plan on playing a Priest endgame, and not strictly PVP, you will re-roll as Holy or Disc at that point anyway.
Take 5 points in Wand Spec and 5 points in Spirit Tap and the rest is basically up to you. But at least try the 31 point Shadow spec, it’s really fun and efficient to level and it will not prevent you from being an effective healer.
I played from 1 to about 56 as 31 Shadow and the rest in Disc and then went 31 Disc (actually 33/18 atm…) for endgame healing. You won’t really feel the pinch on healing throughput until BRD, so you can stay shadow at least until then.
I play a holy priest, but what do I know.
Only the Shadow Knows
Man, sucks this forum won’t let me link a build…
45 is the optimal level when it comes to Shadow, with both Wand Spec and Spirit Tap maxed out.
“of the Whale” gear is a meme, but it’s honestly great leveling. It’s dirt cheap, and it allows you to basically kill everything, survive anything, and with Spirit Tap going off every kill you have little downtime.
This is just for pure leveling
You do you.
I’m the sort that feels playing specs you don’t understand (you should understand what every spell/talent does and how it benefits your play style) or roles you don’t enjoy is not only bad for you, but for everyone.
Shadow is largely DPS with some passive healing (VT) and maybe shielding/buffing. Holy is generally healing with some damage (can be good damage if done right). Your heals as Shadow will be less effective than Holy, but you’ll melt more faces.
So decide what you enjoy doing, and go with that. Me, I’m leveling a 30/0/21 Druid so I can deeps and heal reasonably well because I like that flexibility.
I always level as shadow. And you can heal dungeons just fine up until you get into the 50s even as shadow (disc/shadow preferably). There sure are a lot of priests around so knowing shadow at 60 is useful even if it isn’t your primary spec.
I did once. I had a pocket pally.
1 Like