World of Warcraft: How to Play a Priest

When playing a Priest in World of Warcraft, there isn't just one way to do it. How you play the character depends on your spec and what you want to get out of th game. If you want to DPS, Shadow or Discipline will be your best bet. If you're wanting to heal, Holy will get you where you need to be. Let's jump right in with some tips and pointers for each of the raiding specs for a WoW Priest.

Holy Priest Raiding:

When raiding as a Holy Priest, you heal. Keep the other guys alive and you'll nearly always come out the victor and others will appreciate you for it. Here are some pointers on how to do just that when playing your Priest in World of Warcraft.

- Don't always cast heals. If a player is so low on health that it's possible the might die before you can heal them, use Power Word: Shield with your Holy Priest. This will buy you just enough time to heal them up and save their life since it's an instant case spell that absorbs damage.

- Always, Always, Always take care of posions, diseases and debuffs on your raid members before trying to heal through it. Healing through it is not really treating the problem. It's just delaying the effects. Take their ailment away THEN heal them. You'll save mana and time this way.

- Manage your aggro. Do not waste mana on things that are not crucial to the fight just because you're bored or whatever it may be. The more spells you cast, the more aggro you draw. Most of the time, if a raid boss even pulls to you for 2 or 3 seconds you'll die because you wear cloth.

- Invest in mana regneration gear. This will often save you and help you win a fight when fights are longer than expected. If you run out of mana, it's basically the same as a wipe. With no heals, your raid members WILL die. It's your responsibility to make sure you have the mana to last, and endure past what is expected of you.

I know there are going to be a few of you reading this and asking yourselves why I've included these pointers when they seem to be common knowledge and common sense. Also though, ask yourself if you're ever guilty of disobeying these. Odds are that you have and you just overlook it. Try to follow these guidelines and your raiding experience will be more successful and more fun than previous versions.