Reaching 60 was a good time with help from guildies, Skypop, Ms. Calli, Flaith, Ms. Sapph, Fox, Mr. Brown, and others that let me hang out with them. As most know I am a close to full shadow spec priest, which is great for soloing mobs. As for healing I find that I do come up short doing a good job. I know some said “hey you’re doing well”, and maybe I do ok. However I feel, I need to be doing better. ::)

Here is an example of a small part of a run. Pal <aka Mr. Brown>, just before he start to pull a mob. I through a shield on him and then I will through a Vampiric Embrace w/Pain on the mob. Then I flash heal or renewal as needed, as I may do on others. Mind Flay a little which heal a little too. If mobs find they need to smack me a bit, I fade. I drink like a fish all the time and Ms Sapph/Fox has a new drinking game cause of it…every time Papaw said “Drinking”, all take a drink of what ever is in their class/bottle…being fully drunk by the end of the raid, if not sooner. So that is mostly how it goes for me. Poor Pal is a cool collected patient warrior that sometimes very calmly said “Heal” and then “Dead” :o . I want to do better, an not become a “Oh its Papaw, do we have a better healer out there”. I am not frustrated just feel I need to do a better job. Thanks to any that can point out my bad habits.

Papaw, your loco drinker. 8)

Papaw... I know nothing about Priesting so I can't help with your questions. BUT I'd like to say that you are fun to play with and that's all that counts in my books. :)

Flash Heals are *extremely* mana-intensive, and if you have all your points in shadow you don't have any of the regen or lower cost talents. This is cool, you just need to practice how to deal with your mana level. Heal is a 3-second cast if you don't have any talents in shortening it, so you'll want to cast it earlier; it takes half as much mana as Flash, though, and heals for just about the same. You will go through mana potions like they're water, especially in boss fights; that's why I finally specced out. XD

This is my Talent chart: http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/classes/priest/talents.html?05003000000000003000000000000005512425100511251

Arolaide, I never have checked to see what mana pool is taken from each spell. Thanks for pointing that out to me. I was going to spec out of Shadow, however I was thinking when BC came out I would be soloing again and need to keep my Shadow Specs. However as much as I like Shadow I am willing to give some of it up. Of all the MMOs that I have played, the healing class was never a good solo class. But these Priest Classes are pretty good. I have a great time playing with all of you. -That I find is whats good- Show me a good Talent chart that I can be a better healer and maybe I can keep people from getting to drunk through a instances. ::)

Thank you Ms Sapph, I away have a good time with you and Fox. ;D

I've never had a shadow spec, so I can't comment too much. But here are some things you may want to look at in your spec:

1) In groups, you really aren't wanding that much. And with a strong shadow spec, I assume there are better ways to do damage than wand. So those talent points may be better spent elsewhere.

2) Shields are nice, but having more health is even better. If I were forced to pick between Improved Fort and Improved Shield, I'd take Fort.

3) While threat reduction isn't a big deal when soloing, it becomes a very big deal in groups. You are squishy and easily digested. So the threat reduction talent in the Disc tree is very useful.

2) Shields are nice, but having more health is even better. If I were forced to pick between Improved Fort and Improved Shield, I'd take Fort.


I understand most what you are saying, Mr.G, just wonder with better Fort would that carry over with the Prayer of Fortitude? As for the Shield thing, I use it a lot as for my short comings with healing. So I need better threat reduction, and and wanding needs to be removed that will give me 5 points to something better....Thank Mr.G

It does carry over to Prayer of Fort.

Shields are handy, but if you toss them during a fight it's like putting a big bullseye on your chest. They create a lot of threat.

It does carry over to Prayer of Fort.

Shields are handy, but if you toss them during a fight it's like putting a big bullseye on your chest. They create a lot of threat.



I try to be careful when I shield. Just before a fight starts and when I am sure the tank has good agro. 2 sunders are in place. What happens sometimes is like when Pal was taking the Baron I would through a shield and it was when those little skelies came into help they came on to me like a fly on shit and my fade is still in cool down mode and poor Pal is saying "Dead". Its sad but true...I get a little potty mouth and say bad words over vent and most say its ok its a hard time that one event. HELL I WANT THAT Baron Rivendare SON OF A POLE CAT DEAD DEAD DEAD!!!!!!..ok I am better now...its just a game ...its just a game...

I just was looking at this instance and it can be done with a 10-man ???
http://pc.gamespy.com/guides/wowat60/alliance/baronrun.html

Wow. I'm gonna have to post my spec you guys have great advice.

It does carry over to Prayer of Fort.

Shields are handy, but if you toss them during a fight it's like putting a big bullseye on your chest. They create a lot of threat.



I try to be careful when I shield. Just before a fight starts and when I am sure the tank has good agro. 2 sunders are in place. What happens sometimes is like when Pal was taking the Baron I would through a shield and it was when those little skelies came into help they came on to me like a fly on shit and my fade is still in cool down mode and poor Pal is saying "Dead". Its sad but true...I get a little potty mouth and say bad words over vent and most say its ok its a hard time that one event. HELL I WANT THAT Baron Rivendare SON OF A POLE CAT DEAD DEAD DEAD!!!!!!..ok I am better now...its just a game ...its just a game...

I just was looking at this instance and it can be done with a 10-man ???
http://pc.gamespy.com/guides/wowat60/alliance/baronrun.html


Not anymore. That changed back in March.

Using a shield during the Baron fight is actually a GREAT idea. You want those skellies to come to you. But instead of shielding Pal, you should shield yourself when the skellies appear. Then they'll all run to you, and the Mage or Warlock next to you can cast a few AoE spells to kill the skellies.

The Baron fight is one of the few places you never want to cast fade. If you fade, the skellies run to the Baron & heal him. That is a bad thing.

I did not know that and I must listen better to Fox about that part. I wish I had a AOE spell to help kill them. Only AOE thing I have is FEAR (Psychic Scream) and that just don't work on the Dead..and is bad in some places to use.

You could take Holy Nova, but it's not that effective in the Baron fight. In that fight you really have to rely on your group. All you worry about is healing the tank and you let the Mage/Lock handle the skellies.

It's a tough fight. The toughest 5-man boss in the game, really. And back in March when we started working on Strath, it took us several runs to get it down. The Baron kicked my ass more times that I can count.

If you want to stay shadow, but you also want to be a great healer, I suggest this:

http://tinyurl.com/yhffq6

If I were not addicted to Inner Focus and Power Infusion, I would totally go back this way; I might still, since I've got all this regen gear now. Those two points in Healing Focus are possibly the most important two points you can ever spend. Seriously, Improved VE with Darkness and Shadow Weaving makes you a great healer; having Healing Focus means you are 70% more likely to get that heal spell off in time.

Honestly, it just takes practice. Being a group priest and being a solo or pvp priest are very, very different.

I want to thank you all for the help. I will try the Talent chart that Arolaide as place in my view.
It looks good to me and I still have some toys left form my shadow personalty.

Thanks again, Your new hope I can do better Priest

For what it's worth, Papaw, I'll chip in as a holy priest. I've never played a high level shadow priest -- I have a low-level shadow priest, but not high enough to really gauge the difference.

I actually do a lot of damage as holy, and I've soloed the vast majority of my way to 55. I shield, then holy fire and shadow word, and mind blast while the mob's running to me. Once he hits me, I renew, and my renewal does +192 a tick when I've got all my proper gear on. Shield back up, re-shadow word, and switch to wand -- I do most of my damage with my wand, and as of yesterday I have a wand that does 64 dps. At that point it's just a matter of mana management: shadow word, shield, and renew, with wand as my primary weapon. If I get adds I can usually handle it; I rarely die unless I get cocky and start fighting more than I can take when I'm way low on mana.

In groups, I'm primarily a healer and buffer, but I still do my share of damage -- I stick a renew on everybody who needs it, and then I'm shadow wording or smiting away. Low-mana, high damage. Because my heals do a lot of healing per cast, I can get away with using Heal as my primary spell rather than Greater Heal, which I resort to only if a tank's in big trouble. Healing, for me, is usually a matter of shield-renew-heal, so I buy the target a little time, giving him a little healing during my 2.5-sec heal cast time. Again, I'm focusing on mana management; my downtime is usually minimal.

Shadow's great for big damage. But don't limit yourself by thinking that if you go holy you won't be able to solo or you'll need a group to have any fun at all. If you're frustrated and feeling hampered in groups because you want to both heal and damage, holy spec isn't a bad choice.

Thank you Stranger, that was some good info. I have respec to the talent chart that Aro. has up above. Went out last night with Pal, Sky, Ms Calli and Amonsul. I feel I did a better job and my Vampiric and more control of just using heal instead of flash heal all the time kept my mana in check. Hell, I think, I only called out "drinking" 6 times...however I can go back the old ways (using fay a lot more) to keep the drinking game in play.

Thanks again, Papaw- drinking less then mages now Priest

You do(did) a great job!

It's always tough for the healer who is in my group. If you can keep me alive, you can keep anyone alive!

Thanks Pal that means a lot coming from you,,<I pay you later> I just hope I keep learning to be a better healer. 8)

You may benefit from +intel/+spirit enchants if it hasn't already been mentioned.

Thanks Ms Lux, I being a low, low, Level enchan <which I haven't learn all the ends and outs of that profession> I have a few mats in my vault. However I have no clue or the mula to get the right enchans. I should look this stuff up and study it better. :-\

I have found that as a healer (shadow spec, too) that the spirit really does help...I have run out of mana more than once in a fight and have still managed to throw some extra heals and keep people alive as my mana regens. Also keeping some plus-healing-spells gear in my bags gives me a small sense of "okay I'm shadow but I can heal this party" security.