Priest Leveling Talent Builds

Talents:

This the section I think I should start on first. There are some basic things most leveling priests should know, in my opinion.

1. You can heal as a shadowpriest, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise, I stayed shadow from 10-70 and I can heal every instance up to shadow labs(the easiest 70 instance) and maybe 1-2 others as a shadowpriest with meager healing gear I have picked up here and there.

2. You will level fastest as a shadowpriest. This is a fact, I’m not saying you can’t level efficiently as a holy/disc priest or that shadow owns/holy/disc sucks, but the simple fact remains that you WILL level faster as a shadowpriest than any other specc(unless you mess it up badly). There are certain talents that make this the ultimate soloing specc for priests, including 4 spells that increase your spelldmg(as a shadow priest), 1 that increases you regeneration and 1 that decreases the cost of certain shadow spells.

3. There are certain talents that will differ, person to person, no matter, really. These include(but are not limited to) pvp/pve aimed talents(for example Imp. PS, Shadow Affinity).

4. Holy/disc is a very fun build and I recommend everyone try it if they can be arsed to spend the time/money respeccing and trying it out. That said, I’ll get right down to business.

To begin with I’m gonna show you how my specc looked when I hit 70 and explain it a bit to you:
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=rVMhzhZfzZxGMdMtRhtVo

Now, going through my build when I hit lvl 70 I was up for optimum grinding but also ready for instances and PvP, which was what I was aiming at, you can easily modify this to suit you, if you want.

The main path to follow is:

• 10-14 Wand Specialization
• 15-19: Spirit tap
• 20-21: Improved SW:P
• 22-24: Optional, I’d choose Blackout, probably at this point. Though Healing Focus is definitely a viable option.
• 25: Mind Flay
• 26-27: Improved Mind Blast
• 28-29: Can get Imp. PS if you like PvP or another point in Blackout/1(only one) other point in Imp. MB
• 30-34: Shadow Weaving
• 35-37: Focused Mind
• 38-39: VE+1 point in Imp. VE
• 40: Respecc time: Respecc something like this:
  http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=rZZxGMdzxoht
• 41-44: This is where it gets a bit optional, I recommend getting the rest of your points in shadow for Misery(don’t get Shadow Power/Shadow Resilience), but some people will want Wand Specialization right away(and even Healing Focus, if you like healing).
• 45-49: Misery if you went with my recommendation about clearing shadow, otherwise I recommend using this to get to Misery.
• 50: Vampiric Touch
• 51-52: This is where I decided I should get Healing Focus, because I’m on a PvP server with a low population of healers(useful in both), but you can wait with this until you hit 60 if you like(but I recommend having it in Outland instances if you plan on healing at all).
• 53-57: Wand Specialization
• 58-62: PW: S+PW: F, doesn’t really matter which comes first though I do recommend PW: S first.
• 63-65: Meditation
• 66: Inner Focus
• 67+: Nothing really good for killing mobs and staying alive now, you can get Imp. Renew, which is a good spell in alot of situations, as I did, or you can get something else, like Imp. Mana Burn/Imp. Inner Fire, max out Blackout, just something you like, really(Shadow Focus might actually be a good idea as it is not rare that your mobs resist spells anymore here in Outlands, especially in instances).

Discipline

Wand Specialization, this is a very underrated talent, it does wonders, really, especially with my later comment on killing mobs.
Imp. PW: F, Imp. PW: S, these are really just fillers, do not mistake me here, though, they are great talents, that extra 30% of your stamina buff and those 15% from your Fortitude can really save lives(be that yours or your members’). PW: S is also great to have when you’re killing a heavy dps mob and you’re close to loosing your shield before you finish of that cast.
Meditation, this is an awesome skill, combine this with lots of spirit and you have your mp5 almost set. This will keep you going and going and going and going and going.
Inner Focus, some people say this is a situational skill, don’t be fooled, it often is, but it is use in the direst of situations, such as when you go oom at exactly the wrong time when healing, or just need that little extra mana to finish that mob off before he kills you. But what it was most useful for me was when I was soloing, oh yes, use this every 3 minutes the CD is off, use it on the spell that costs most mana of the spells you’re casting and you have a couple of seconds longer out of FSR and a free spell.

Holy

Healing focus and Imp. Renew, those spells were useful to me in two places, 1) PvP(both world and BG), but if you don’t do PvP then this does not mean you should skip them, I recommend taking at least Healing Focus as this spell is most useful when healing groups and you will want if you plan on healing in instances. Renew is more optional, I like it because it allows me to cast a renew on people(including me) and know it’ll do alot. It does. I found I healed alot(and I mean alot) in Outland instances with only renew.
Spell warding, last point I used, just something.

Shadow

Spirit tap, one of the best spells you will EVER get, this is a must for any shadowpriest. 200% mana regen when OOC and 100% when in combat(more with Meditation). This is the reason spirit is important when grinding as shadow. This simply makes you regen faster with spirit, gold.
Shadow Affinity, I wanted to realistically be able to dps in instances, I can’t say I did alot of it, my server doesn’t have alot of available tanks/healers so I was mostly healing, but it was great when dps-ing in a group, it’s required in my opinion if you want to dps in groups; shadow priests get alot of threat with certain spells.
Imp. SW: P, this is really good, increases the dmg your SW: P does by quite a bit. It’s not always useful but in PvP, on hard solo mobs and in instances this really shines through.
Imp. PS, “Why?” you might ask, well, I’m on a PvP server and I like to PvP, this is completely optional(I recommend you get Blackout or Shadow Focus for high levels if you don’t want this).
Imp. Mind Blast, well this is, obviously, one of your main spells, it does alot of dmg(and is high threat in instances), but wtf? It’s on 8 second CD! Well, you can decrease that, and alot of people do(me included), “But why only 2 points?” Soom people ask me, “Wouldn’t 5 be better?” The answer is yes, in some cases, such as some PvP situations and perhaps heavy dmg-ing in certain places, but overall? No, this is not worth spending 5 points in, why? Let me explain, if you have reaced lvl 50(just an assumption here) you should have a setup something like this, you pull with VT(dot that returns you mana but takes time to cast, this should always be used to pull), SW: P if you think this will be a hard mob and even VE if it’s especially hard. Then there’s MB time, hit once(1.5 seconds), MF, MF, MB time, this will result in 6.5 seconds in total. If you had the full points it would be 5.5 CD. That is MB, MF… Then what? Wait for a second? “Hey there” you might say, “you only put 2 points in it, that means 7 second CD”, well true, but lets face it, your timing is not gonna be 100% accurate, I consider mine to be pretty good and yet most of the time it had no impact on me, and there were certain points I would rather have than this. It happened sometimes that I had to hit the button twice(with no time between, really), but this was rather rare and it’s not like it matters in most situations. I latter respecced and put 3 points in it for exact timing in raids/high level dungeons but that was just to be certain, and more often than not I find my CD is done 0.5 seconds before I finish casting.
Mind Flay, this will be one of your main spells, it’s channeled so it can be good to keep your shield up some times. Unless you manage to pull with two Mind Flays and the mob still not hitting you. This may not scale well as a spell in high levels due to it having a slowing effect, but this spell is still one of your most valued spells. When you’re in shadowform and your MB is on CD you’re not gonna dot again or go out of shadowform to Smite. You’re gonna Mind Flay, as simple as that. Your options are limited as a shadowpriest but if you figure them right they’re good.
Shadow Reach, some people say this is only a PvP talent, I beg to differ, I couldn’t live without this talent, it actually makes some pulls and places that would be hell otherwise, a child’s play. And when you’re in the position to MF twice without getting hit this will usually be the spell that enables you that. Also allowing you up to 2 spells before the target actually comes in range of Mind Flay(which has a rather short range).
Shadow Weaving, this didn’t appeal to me at first, I thought “Only 3 percent” which it was at the time “and stacks five times? How can that be good? Only 15% more dmg.” It’s good, it gives you alot more dmg, dots will love this spell, so will warlocks if you happen to group with them while dpsing. It also increases your wand damage if you have a wand with shadow dmg(highly recommended as a shadowpriest).
Vampiric Embrace and Imp. VE, love this spell, it’s great, if you need to heal while soloing just cast this on a mob(instant cast, 52 mana) and then keep on dps-ing you’ll get your hp back in no time, also, everyone loves this in groups, half the reason they take shadowpriests with them.
Silence, pure PvP 95% of the time, it’s good in PvP, has a couple of uses in solo but not many, you can skip this for Shadow Focus/Blackout if you wish.
Focused Mind, makes 2 of your most used spells cost less mana, hell yeah! This is great if you don’t wanna be oom all the time.
Darkness, increases your dmg by 10%(face it, you’re not gonna be smiting so yes, it really is always 10%). One of the best talents you’ll be getting.
Shadowform, if you go shadow(which I highly recommend) take this at 40. This is the talent that shadow priests are known for and makes them really worth it. The 15% less physical dmg taken is good but the 15% more dmg you do is simply amazing.
Misery, similar to Shadow Weaving but 5% less and is instant(not stacking), this is good. Does not however make the target get more wand dmg but instead your mage/shaman/destro lock/balance druid/paladin will get the buff too.
Vampiric Touch, the first time I saw this I went “Wtf? Only 5% mana and 600 dmg?” this is good, when you’re fighting mobs with 9k hp(later on) solo you will think how you love getting 400 of that mana back(yes I know, not enough for the spell) + the extra dmg. This is good and will continue to be good, your mobs drop faster and you get some mana too, even though it costs a bit too. Pull with this.

Now I’m gonna explain to you some popular talents I didn’t pick and some disputed ones I did:

Unbreakable Will: This is most use in PvP and Wand Specialization far outweighs it in my opinion. True, there are some mobs in instances that Fear etc. But if we take Fear for an example they will go for the one that wasn’t feared almost all of the times and this can lead to you lying dead on the floor as often as you able to heal/dps more that particular fight.
Blackout: This spell is not something you rely on. You can spend your talent points on better things in alot of cases, unless it’s PvP you are going for, in PvP this is just gold, but outside this doesn’t happen often enough/at the right times for it to be justifiable for other talents. I had this but it simply did not procc that often when soloing for me to keep it for other(better, imo) talents. If I went heavy pvp, though, this would be one of the first talents I’d pick.
Shadow Affinity: Obviously this is only good if you group so if you don’t plan on doing that then don’t bother. This is a requirement, though, if you dps in a group.
Shadow Focus: I considered getting this after I hit Outlands and started getting resisted quite alot more, but the fact is that it’s pretty rare and tbh it isn’t that big of a deal before 70.
Imp. Mind Blast: Explained that earlier but for people’s sake that are to lazy to scroll up: Imp. Mind Blast, well this is, obviously, one of your main spells, it does alot of dmg(and is high threat in instances), but wtf? It’s on 8 second CD! Well, you can decrease that, and alot of people do(me included), “But why only 2 points?” Soom people ask me, “Wouldn’t 5 be better?” The answer is yes, in some cases, such as some PvP situations and perhaps heavy dmg-ing in certain places, but overall? No, this is not worth spending 5 points in, why? Let me explain, if you have reaced lvl 50(just an assumption here) you should have a setup something like this, you pull with VT(dot that returns you mana but takes time to cast, this should always be used to pull), SW: P if you think this will be a hard mob and even VE if it’s especially hard. Then there’s MB time, hit once(1.5 seconds), MF, MF, MB time, this will result in 6.5 seconds in total. If you had the full points it would be 5.5 CD. That is MB, MF… Then what? Wait for a second? “Hey there” you might say, “you only put 2 points in it, that means 7 second CD”, well true, but lets face it, your timing is not gonna be 100% accurate, I consider mine to be pretty good and yet most of the time it had no impact on me, and there were certain points I would rather have than this. It happened sometimes that I had to hit the button twice(with no time between, really), but this was rather rare and it’s not like it matters in most situations. I latter respecced and put 3 points in it for exact timing in raids/high level dungeons but that was just to be certain, and more often than not I find my CD is done 0.5 seconds before I finish casting.
Imp. Fade: Pretty useless, if you’re in the position that you need to use fade twice within a 30 seconds then either A) your tank is sucking, B) you’re sucking.
Shadow Reach: This is not purely PvP people, I love pulling farther than I could usually do, makes some quests/grind places just worth doing.
Shadow Power: There is only one spell you can use that crits in a normal rotation(if you’re shadow), and that’s Mind Blast. Why get +15% for one spell that is cast 1-2 times most roations? Most of the times this is just an overkill and an aweful waste of 5 talent points. If you’re going full PvP then be my guest, get this and put 5 points into Imp. Mind Blast, but until then it’s pretty useless.

Now, I realise that there are alot of people whom this build won’t suite. And I respect that, shadow takes some time getting used to, some people love healing(though that is perfectly possible even with shadow) and others like to be different/test other things out.