I’m really wanting to get into the Priest. The duality is fascinating and being able to wield the very fabric of the cosmos of Warcraft seems just too cool to pass up. However, it seems many races have pre-conceived notions and culturally identify with either the Light or Void more heavily.
I’d like to play a race that is more open to using both, in lieu of emphasizing one or the other. Human and dwarf - on alliance - and blood elf - on horde - seem more “open”.
Why humans? Well, even though they do have the Church of the Holy Light, the shadow priest lore from Legion was based around a human priest. (Humans in general seem to have a more “blank canvas” when it comes to cultural identity then, say, a Draenei or Night Elf).
What races do you feel lend themselves to approaching the Priest class more as a wielder of Light and Shadow - of matter and anti-matter / electrons and positrons (ok maybe I’m getting to cosmological!) - and less of simply a conduit of their culture’s faith?
True for shadow priest. But can they wield the powers of the Light without damaging themselves?
And thank you for the response, Bujee
Edit: the more I think about your response, the more it seems as though ren’dorei are merely going to express themselves as priest via shadow - in other words, how I would define “an extension of their culture”. Much like. Light forged Draenei priest would practice/wield the Light.
Like I mentioned in my opening post: Are there any races that do not emphasize one or the other (eg they don’t emphasize shadow over light and vice versa; more pragmatic and simply wield those?)
(If void elves do, then I need an example of where they wield the light just as “fluently” as they wield shadow/void)
I think void elves fit what you want and how I play mine with title Starcaller. I think lore wise their is yet to clarify if it hurts them, but the way I play my void elf, especially when healing in DISC is that he gets shocked when the light spells heals a friend instead of doing dmg. Being that they are in space, he looks at his powers over Void and Light as Stars and Black-holes.
I guess blood elf too, but i think that may very. I play my blood elf priest as a pure holy nut.
but as the saying goes, the brightest light creates the darkest shadow.
See this is what I like! The character that accepts that void and light are nothing more than elements of the cosmos. I would think a priest (as I view them) approach Light and shadow thusly:
They understand that light is but another element, however that the properties of Light intrinsically lend themselves to mending and healing - ie energy.
They approach shadow as entropy, anti-matter and more volatile.
Neither is inherently benign or evil, they simply “exist” and can be wielded as such.
Shadow/void doesn’t provide as much healing power as Light simply because that’s not part of its elemental structure (like looking at the Ph of different liquids, maybe)
totally. I think void elves fit this a lot because they come from the sunwell background and then wanted to study the void, that to me sounds more analytical than faith base. But what I like about priest you can also play as a crazy light/void lunatic.
I think other races are more faith base in general. Even the Night Elves who have it as the dark side of the moon, i think it is still base on Elune faith. I think gnomes may also see things more analytical as they like to invent/study things.
But even the races that use faith I think you can play as the outcast, or someone using a different type of study. Like in lore Trolls mainly use shadow, but within the LOA light and void and be used. Not the spacey type of belief behind them, but still a way to play light and void together.
Thanks again for this insight. I agree with this post. I’ll keep messing around with my priest - currently human female - but might entertain a void elf priest for those reasons here.
Though an unpopular race, there are gnome priests. I imagine they seek to map the spiritual, to refine faith and miracles into a science. Same for the void. A gnome disc priest would view the pragmatic applications of such spellcraft and apply it to obtain efficiency. Why limit your study to one or the other when both light and dark offer practical uses that serve different purposes.
Pandaren are pretty interpritive when it comes to their interaction with the Light and Shadow.
A Dark Iron Dwarf may also fit the theme you are looking for.
If you want to Roleplay the ‘phases of the moon’ as a divine calling you can pull off a Night Elven Priest/Priestess of Elune, just call the Light (holy/disc) the caring/light/life part of Elune and Shadow the harsh/cold/damaging part of Elune. If you want to main Shaow as a spec I’d suggest getting the ‘Dark Eyes’ from completing the Darkshore quests as a Night Elf.
The only other race I can tink of that has a ‘balanced’ approach to the whole Light and Void thing would be Humans becuase they can RP most anything.
Thank you for both of your perspectives. I agree with gnome: they seem very pragmatic in their approach to both magic and mundane.
I am quite ignorant to Pandaren, so thank you Oath, for the insight. DIDwarves…hasn’t thought about them, but they also don’t seem tethered to a dogmatic, Faith-based interpretation of Light and Void. Like gnomes, almost a Magocractic approach.