I have compiled the specific advice from this thread that I have decided to apply to my new Dwarf Priest in a kind of summary which I will post here for others like me who are looking for a good example of how to go about leveling their new Priest. I suppose this would be especially useful to those who don't have enough time to go through every post in detail.
Since I'm an inexperienced Priest, this summary could still contain mistakes (even though all the advice is taken directly from people in this thread), so I would greatly appreciate any corrections or additions!
[Stats]
- Prioritize spirit!
- Stack spirit and stamina gear
- All of your spells scale with "increased magic damage" items
- Intellect only increases your mana pool + chance to crit - the int to crit ratio is terrible so it's not worth it
[Speccing]
- Spec until lvl 40:
http://db.vanillagaming.org/?talent#bVZZxMgzcto10-12: spirit tap 3/5
13-17: wand spec 5/5
18-19: spirit tap 5/5
20+: continue down the shadow tree
At 40: respec to full shadow for shadowform (
http://db.vanillagaming.org/?talent#bZZxMGt0tot)
Then from 40-44: put the 5 points back into improved wands
45-60: ?
Mind Flay really becomes good at Rank 3, level 36. Until then, rarely use it.
Don't ever take improved Mind Blast until 60 (for PvP).
[Wands & Staffs]
At level 10 get lesser magic wand (green 11.30 dps)
At level 13 get greater magic wand (green 17.5 dps)
At level 16 get Skyfaller (blue 21 dps)
At level 20 get the WC staff
At level 24 run BFD and get the quest for Gravestone Scepter (
http://db.vanillagaming.org/?item=7001)
[Rotations]
10-20 rotation: (Power Word: Shield, possibly) -> pull with Mind Blast -> dot with Shadow Word: Pain -> Smite once or twice -> Wand to death
At 20 it gets intense. Instead of using smite twice, try and use a Mind Flay
Level 29 rotation: Holy Fire -> Swadow Word: Pain -> Mind Blast > Wand to death
Smite can do more damage than wands, so if you feel like using Smite that's fine,
but balance it between each kill, so you always got mana for the next rotation on the next mob.
[Healing]
// In lower level dungeons (like VC)
1. Lesser heal rank 2 spam (when targets are down at 70%, they'll shoot back up to 100%)
2. Big heals when needed (like when tank is getting chunked hard)
3. (Shield +) Flash Heal for "oh shit he's dying" moments
Priests can heal dungeons perfectly fine as shadow (until around level 50?). As long as the tank is wearing a shield, you shouldn't have problems.
Want to shield the tank on bigger pulls? Possible, but one user stated: "I never use PW:S in dungeons because it's a huge chunk of mana for a small absorb when tanks have 3 or 4 mobs on them, that shield is gone within seconds."
[PvP/honor grinding]
- Trinkets from WSG purchased with honor/marks are totally worth it
[Professions]
- First aid (there is no reason why any level 60 of any class should not have First Aid maxed)
Tailoring? Enchanting? Herbalism?
I'm not sure which are recommended.