Welcome to Tales of a Priest
This blog pays homage to Derevka and keeps his helpful WOW articles available online for posterity.Welcome Post by Derevka
I’ve always somewhat been the anti-blogger, I’m more of a forum troll myself: Guild forums, mmo-champ forums, Blizzard Realm/Class forums. But after reading a lot of the other blogs out there, I’ve decided to make the leap.
Don’t get me wrong, I really like the content that is put together at a lot of the other priest blogs, but, perhaps, if I focused on only Healing (which is what I do, I don’t raid shadow) I could work on a great Priest Blog. There is always room for more blogs out there.
I think I’d like to apply my write ups with a more live raid healing perspective, provide some insight that may (or may not) be missing out there. I’ll leave the shadow analysis to my DPS brothers and sisters, I’m going to focus on mainly healing.
Background of me: I am a Dwarf Priest and have been playing since January 2005. I’m in my late 20′s. I’ve been in a guild that has gone over the years through the gambit of being a social leveling guild, to raiding, to end game raiding. In classic WoW I’ve raided all of MC, BWL, AQ20, and nearly got C’Thun in AQ40, as well as the early bosses of Naxx 1.0. In TBC (pre 3.0) my guild and I have cleared all of MH, BT, and Kalecgos.
Healing all the way- It’s time for the Shadowpriest discussions to have a ying to their yang. Don’t get me wrong, I love my SPriest brethren. Perhaps the priest community will like my perspective on healing in WotLK, perhaps not. But we’ll see. Close your eyes and jump!
You can find Derevka at the HowToPriest.com website!

Featured Articles
Mists of Pandaria: Initial Impressions
First I am excited to say that my Goal of Hitting Realm First! Priest was completed! That was only one-upped by the fact that I also shared Realm First! 90 as well. My friend, guildmate and hunter, Esoth, was
…Mana Regen vs Throughput – Spirit Stacking in Mists of Pandaria
Mana management is a huge part of our game now in Mists of Pandaria. Gearing, gemming, enchanting, and spec choices will be pivotal in how your longevity impacts these first few raids— particularly since so many of these fights are
…Stay Healthy During Mists of Pandaria – How to care for your body during the release
Yes… I am planning on staying up until I hit 90. I am going for Realm First! Priest with a few of my other guildies going for their realm first classes as well. Being a Bostonian, this means Mists launches
…Chakra and Why You Should Be Concerned
I don’t like writing posts like this – and by that I mean posts where I completely disagree with the direction the development team is going with the priest class. That said, I do believe and trust that Blizzard can
…Update on Heroic Throne of Thunder Raiding – Part 1
I’ve been pretty quiet as of late on the blog, but I hope to do some more visual posting. Firewalls at work have ramped up preventing me from doing ANY editing at the office— but video posts are always more …
Holy Word: Sanctuary – Scaling in Mists of Pandaria
Holy Word: Sanctuary has been a spell that has been in flux since its introduction at the start of Cataclysm… and that continues to happen even on the Beta– HW: Sanc has undergone a few changes in preparation for Mists
…Avalonna Rides Off into the Sunset
This is probably one of the most difficult posts to write. To most of us, World of Warcraft has become a huge part of our life: we talk about it, blog about, we even have get-togethers focused around
…Keep Calm and Keep Healing
Despite having a crazy busy month both in game and out, I’ve spent some time reading at the official forums, the HowToPriest.com forums, Twitter, and a number of emails I have received… and there is a very large negative cloud
…Holy and Disc Best Practices
Inspired by a post by my good friend Vixsin, I’ve decided to do a quick “Best Practices” post. In the interest of full-disclosure, she did toss me an email while I was at a work conference asking for a
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Latest Posts
Tree Recap – Part II: Holy & New Baseline Spells
Part II in my 2-Part series on recapping the Talent Trees, prior to Wrath.
Overview
The main “healing tree”. Priests are unique when compared to Druids, Shaman, and Paladins – we have 2 healing trees, while the
Why Do You Heal?
Workin’ Hard For the Money Cataclysm Profession Analysis
With Cataclysm coming, many folks are preparing to level their existing professions (or perhaps a new profession). It is time to take a good look as to what the bonuses each profession will have…
I know many people believe
…Mists of Pandaria: Official Priest Talent Preview (Take 1)
Well, Blizzard launched their official Mists of Pandaria Talent Calculator today… just in time for Thanksgiving. The question is: will we have anything to be thankful for? Cursory looks suggest that we might be in for an interesting change, based
…Discipline Secondary Stats and Priority
There is a lot of information out there regarding Disc Priest secondary stats and statweights… a lot of information. To make matters worse, all that information is often contradictory to each other. Mastery is king! No, wait! Haste! No, Crit!!!
…Mists of Pandaria: Resources
5.0.4 is upon us! Soon we’ll be scrambling to do the starter quests and taking our first steps into Pandaria on the live servers. I, for one, am excited. I really am pleased with the level of polish the game
…Healer’s Addendum – Healing Hagara the Stormbinder (Heroic)
This is my first real foray into voice-over videos, so I am really hoping to get some solid feedback on this. There are some great tutorial videos that focus on the overall strategy and do a great job at it.
…PTR 3.1 Notes – Holy
Yesterday we discussed the Discipline changes, today we will go over the Holy Changes that are currently up on the PTR. I did make some edits to my post from yesterday regarding Rapture (forgot to mention that Aegis doesn’t return
…Mt. Dew Game Fuel Pet Now Available
You can get the Battle Bot Pet Today! Visit http://www.mountaindewgamefuel.com/index.php register, and you can pick up your Battle Bot Pet, provided you have a merged Battle.net account.
They will fight provided you have Fuel for them, which from the
…A Quick PowerAuras Update for ICC
I’m really slacking in my posts lately & I do apologize. Work has the unfortunate consequence of getting in the way of my personal shit, and Derevka is making me look bad because all he does is sit in his
…Introduction to the Priest in World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft (WoW), the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) by Blizzard Entertainment, provides an expansive universe in which players can choose to be warriors, mages, rogues, and more. Among these choices is the noble and spiritually attuned Priest class. This article will delve into the intricacies of playing a Priest, covering everything from understanding the class’s fundamental mechanics to strategies for success.
Understanding the Priest Class
Priests in WoW are masters of healing and preservation. Known for their powerful healing abilities, Priests also possess impressive offensive spells. They are a versatile class, capable of adapting to various roles on the battlefield. They channel divine powers to restore their allies, shield them from harm, and even resurrect them from death.
Choosing Your Race
The first step in creating a Priest is selecting a race. In WoW, your character’s race can affect your performance due to unique racial abilities. For Priests, races like Draenei, who have an innate healing boost, and Humans, with their versatile racial abilities, are commonly chosen in the Alliance. On the Horde side, Trolls with their Berserking racial and Undead with their ability to remove fear, sleep, and charm effects can be solid choices. However, remember that the best race is the one that you enjoy playing the most!
Picking Your Specialization
Priests have three specializations: Discipline, Holy, and Shadow. Discipline Priests balance damage and healing, using Atonement to heal allies by dealing damage to enemies. Holy Priests are traditional healers with a broad range of healing spells, and they excel in reactive, burst healing. Shadow Priests forgo the healing aspect and focus solely on dealing damage, using potent shadow magic to afflict and erode their enemies. Each specialization offers a unique playstyle, and your choice will significantly affect your gameplay.
Gameplay Tips
As a Priest, your positioning is crucial. In a PvE scenario, standing too far forward might lead to unwanted enemy attention, while staying too far back could put you out of range for crucial heals. In PvP, clever use of line-of-sight and range can make you a difficult target.
Remember to use your entire toolkit. Priests have many utilities outside of their healing spells. Abilities like Psychic Scream can disrupt enemies, while Power Word: Shield can prevent incoming damage. Mastering the use of these abilities is key to becoming a successful Priest.
Finally, communication is key, particularly in group content. As a healer, you’ll need to coordinate with your group to manage healing cooldowns, control crowd, and generally ensure everyone stays alive.
Playing a Priest in World of Warcraft is a rewarding experience. Their powerful healing abilities and array of utilities make them invaluable in both PvE and PvP content. Whether you’re shielding your allies as a Discipline Priest, restoring health as a Holy Priest, or eroding your enemies’ sanity as a Shadow Priest, the Priest class offers a depth of gameplay that is as challenging as it is satisfying. With proper understanding and strategy, you’ll lead your team to triumph in the toughest of Azeroth’s challenges.
Check out these cool fantasy and gaming sites:
World of Warcraft main website
DnDAdventure.com – free D&D adventure and resources
http://www.mydracula.com – true history and stories
Sangraal.com – Holy Grail mythology