World of Warcraft The Complete Priest Guide: Into Shadow or From the Light (Part 2)

Name	The Complete Priest Guide: Into Shadow or From the Light (Part 2)
Category	Class

Hyacintha here and today I am interviewing the ever lovely Uni the Holy Priestess. She has many great things to tell us about the Priest class in World of Warcraft, and in this issue she will be going over gear!



Hyacintha: Wow, it really sounds like being a Priest can be a challenge. You have so many things to worry about. Before we get started into the Priest specs, Shadow, Discipline, and Holy, can you tell me what sort of gear and weapons Priests should look into getting?

Uni: Of course. Ze Priest is one of the most limited classes in World of Warcraft as far as restricted gear capabilities. As a priest, you will be limited to wearing only Cloth armor. Leather, Mail, and Plate are completely off limits to priests under any circumstance. As far as weapons are concerned, all priests start off with ze ability to use one-handed maces and wands for ranged. Furthermore, they can train daggers and staves. Other than that, you will never see a Priest with any outlandish weapons. It’s pretty straight forward.

Here I have compiled two lists of gear, with several options for each slot. Depending on which is most accessible to you and best for your setup, you should choose between them! Listed next to each item will be where you can find these items.



I will start with the Holy/Discipline Priest set. A proper healing priest will undoubtedly go down the Holy and Discipline trees to maximize group healing, raid healing, and solo healing in one swoop. Although Holy and Discipline are almost never recommend for solo-leveling, it is the most common build for priests in the end content of the game. However, you will almost never have trouble finding raids and groups. As expected, gear with stats of +Healing, +Mana per 5 seconds, Intellect, and Spirit are at the core of this build. Spirit, while nice for out of combat regeneration and PvE, is not as important in level 70 content. Instead, you will want to look for +Mana per 5 seconds, as it is much more useful to sustain healing over a longer period of time.



The following items are things that should be easily accessible without raiding. Heroics may be necessary in some cases. I do however recommend that everyone get their Heroic keys now, as they only take Honored reputation with the needed faction. Having said all of that, let us begin!



For your main hand, you can use one of the following:

° Shockwave Truncheon (Heroic Shadow Labyrinth; Murmur)

° The Ancient Scepter of Sue-Min (High-end instance and raid drop, BOE.)

° Lightsworn Hammer (Normal Shattered Halls; Warchief Kargath Bladefist)

° Hammer of the Penitent (Normal Mechanar; Mechano-Lord Capacitus)

° The Essence Focuser (High-end instance and raid drop, also received in the Shartuul event, BOE)



If you choose to use a one handed weapon, you will want to use an off-hand item as well. I recommend the following:

° Tears of Heaven (Purchased from G’eras in Shattrath City)

° Faol's Signet of Cleansing (Heroic Hellfire Ramparts; Omor the Unscarred)
Windcaller's Orb (Purchased from Fedryen Swiftspear, Cenarion Expedition Quartermaster, in Zangarmarsh)

° Swamplight Lantern (Heroic Slave Pens; Quagmirran)



If you would rather use a staff than a mace or a dagger, the following options are available. Keep in mind that in using a staff, you close off the option of using an off-hand.

° Seer's Cane (Purchased from Quartermaster Enuril [Scryers] in Shattrath City)

° Epoch-Mender (Normal or Heroic Black Morass; Temporus)

° Serpentcrest Life-Staff (Normal or Heroic Steamvault; Mekgineer Steamrigger)

° Staff of the Redeemer (Quest reward for “The Cipher of Damnation”)

° Staff of the Ashtongue Deathsworn (Quest reward for “Akama’s Promise)



As a priest, you can also have a ranged slot. The following wands are fairly easy to get:

° Rejuvenating Scepter (Quest reward for “Ar’kelos the Guardian”)

° Soul-Wand of the Aldor (Normal or Heroic Shadow Labyrinth; Ambassador Hellmaw)

° Calming Spore Reed (Normal Slave Pens; Rokmar the Crackler)

° Ogre Handler's Shooter (Horde Only; Quest reward for “Bleeding Hollow Supply Crates”)



Now getting into armor choices, we’ll start from the top.



Here are the best head choices you’ll have:

° Scintillating Headdress of Second Sight (Heroic Auchenai Crypts; Shirrak the Dead Watcher)

° Watcher's Cowl (Purchased from Fedryen Swiftspear, Cenarion Expedition Quartermaster, in Zangarmarsh)

° Collar of Command (Normal Auchenai Crypts; Shirrak the Dead Watcher)

° Hallowed Crown (Normal and Heroic Arcatraz; Harbinger Skyriss)



For your neck:

° Karja's Medallion (Quest reward for “Shutting Down Manaforge Ara”)

° Natasha's Guardian Cord (Quest reward for “The Hound-Master)

° Necklace of Resplendent Hope (Heroic Old Hillsbrad Foothills; Epoch Hunter)

° Swampstone Necklace (Heroic Underbog; Swamplord Musel’ek)



Cloaks or capes are fairly hard to find for healing. Here are the best:

° Light-Touched Stole of Altruism (Heroic Auchenai Crypts; Exarch Maladaar)

° Lifegiving Cloak (Many level 70 instances and raids, BOE)

° White Remedy Cape (Crafted)

° Cloak of Scintillating Auras (Normal and Heroic Arcatraz; Zereketh the Unbound)



Your shoulder pieces come next:

° Primal Mooncloth Shoulders (Crafted)

° Vestia's Pauldrons of Inner Grace (The Mechanar; Cache of the Legion [Chest])

° Hallowed Pauldrons (Normal and Heroic Shadow Labyrinth; Grandmaster Vorpil)

° Pauldrons of Sufferance (Normal and Heroic Old Hillsbrad Foothills; Epoch Hunter)



Next, your chest piece. Your chest piece will always be a very important piece of gear:

° Primal Mooncloth Robe (Crafted)

° Robe of Effervescent Light (Heroic Blood Furnace; Keli’dan the Breaker)

° Shroud of Spiritual Purity (Many high end instances and raids; BOE)

° Watcher's Tunic (Quest reward for “Forge Camp: Annihilated)



Following the line down, we get to the bracers or the wrist slot. Here are a few choices:

° Bindings of the Timewalker (Purchased from Alurmi, Keepers of Time Quartermaster in Tanaris)

° Bands of the Benevolent (Heroic Sethekk Halls; Talon King Ikiss)

° Light Scribe Bands (Normal and Heroic Hellfire Ramparts; Nazan)

° Blackstrike Bracers (Crafted)



For your gloves, the best easy options are these:

° Prismatic Mittens of Mending (Normal and Heroic Botanica; Commander Sarannis)

° Hallowed Handwraps (Normal and Heroic Shattered Halls; Warcheif Kargath Bladefist)

° Gloves of Penitence (Quest reward for “Levixus the Soul Caller”)

° Gloves of Piety (Dropped in high end instances, BOE)



Next, we have rings. There are a lot of good choices here:

° Spiritualist's Mark of the Sha'tar (Quest reward for “Battle of the Crimson Watch”)

° Ring of Fabled Hope (Heroic Underbog; The Black Stalker)

° Ancestral Band (Purchased from Quartermaster Urgronn; Thrallmar Quartermaster in Hellfire Peninsula; Horde Only)

° Ring of Convalescence (Purchased from Logistics Officer Ulrike; Honor Hold Quartermaster in Hellfire Peninsula)

° Celestial Jewel Ring (Quest reward for Hitting the Motherlode)

° Cosmic Lifeband (Normal and Heroic Mechanar; Nethermancer Sepethrea)



Your waist is the next key piece:

° Primal Mooncloth Belt (Crafted)

° Cord of Sanctification (Heroic Old Hillsbrad Foothills; Epoch Hunter)

° Lifeblood Belt (Crafted)

° Black Belt of Knowledge (Crafted)



Your leggings will also be a very key piece as they always add huge bonuses. Here are some of the best:

° Whitemend Pants (Crafted)

° Hallowed Trousers (Normal and Heroic Sethhekk Halls; Talon King Ikiss)

° Pontifex Kilt (Heroic Steamvault; Warlord Kalithresh)

° Pants of the Naaru (Quest reward for “Special Delivery to Shattrath City”)



Your boots will complete the actual armor set. Here are my suggestions:

° Boots of the Pious (Heroic Mechanar; Pathaleon the Calculator)

° Jeweled Boots of Sanctification (Normal and Heroic Shattered Halls; Warbringer O’mrogg)

° Curate's Boots (Quest reward for “Fel Embers”)

° Light-Woven Slippers (Normal and Heroic Sethekk Halls; Darkweaver Syth)



The last thing you will need are two trinkets of course. There are several really good trinkets:

° Scarab of the Infinite Cycle (Normal and Heroic Black Morass; Aeonus)

° Bangle of Endless Blessings (Normal and Heroic Botanica; Warp Splinter)

° Warp-Scarab Brooch (Heroic Mana-Tombs; Nexus-Prince Shaffar)

° Scryer's Bloodgem (Purchased from Quartermaster Enuril, Shattrath City, Scryers)

° Lower City Prayerbook (Purchased from Nakodu; Lower City Quartermaster in Shattrath City)



Now, the next important thing when you are gearing yourself, is gems. The following gems are good for priests that are specialized in healing.



° Bracing Earthstorm Diamond, +26 Healing Spells & 2% Reduced Threat, Requires more Yellow gems than Blue gems, Requires more Red gems than Blue gems, "Only fits in a meta gem slot."

° Brilliant Dawnstone, +8 Intellect, "Matches a Yellow Socket."

° Brilliant Golden Draenite, +6 Intellect, "Matches a Yellow Socket."

° Dazzling Deep Peridot, +1 Mana every 5 Sec and 3 Intellect, "Matches a Yellow or Blue Socket."

° Dazzling Talasite, +4 Intellect and +2 Mana every 5 seconds, "Matches a Yellow or Blue Socket."

° Insightful Earthstorm Diamond, +12 Intellect & Chance to restore mana on spellcast, Requires at least 5 Red gems, Requires at least 5 Yellow gems ,Requires at least 5 Blue gems, "Only fits in a meta gem slot."

° Luminous Flame Spessarite, +7 Healing Spells and +3 Intellect, "Matches a Yellow or Red Socket."

° Luminous Noble Topaz, +9 Healing Spells and +4 Intellect, "Matches a Red or Yellow Socket."

° Lustrous Azure Moonstone, +2 Mana every 5 seconds, "Matches a Blue Socket."

° Lustrous Star of Elune, +3 Mana every 5 seconds, "Matches a Blue Socket."

° Mystical Skyfire Diamond, 5% on spellcast - next spell cast in half time, Requires more Blue gems than Yellow gems, "Only fits in a meta gem slot."

° Royal Nightseye, +9 Healing Spells and +2 Mana every 5 seconds, "Matches a Red or Blue Socket."

° Royal Shadow Draenite, +7 Healing Spells & +1 Mana per 5 Seconds, "Matches a Red or Blue Socket."

° Sparkling Azure Moonstone, +6 Spirit, "Matches a Blue Socket."

° Sparkling Star of Elune, +8 Spirit, "Matches a Blue Socket."

° Teardrop Blood Garnet, +13 Healing, "Matches a Red Socket."

° Teardrop Living Ruby, +18 Healing, "Matches a Red Socket."



Next, I shall go over the gear for being a Shadow Priest. An appropriately talented Priest can be an unexpectedly unyielding offensive caster, especially Shadow due to its effect of scaling party damage. The solo and PvP setup of choice, this build focuses on gear with +Spellpower, +Spell Critcal, +Spell Hit, Intellect, and Stamina.



For a Main-hand, you can choose from:

° Bleeding Hollow Warhammer (Heroic Slave Pens; Quagmirran)

° Starlight Dagger (Heroic Slave Pens; Mennu the Betrayer)

° Runesong Dagger (Normal and Heroic Shattered Halls; Warbringer O’mrogg)

° Sky Breaker (Heroic Auchenai Crypts; Avatar of the Martyred)

° Gavel of Unearthed Secrets (Purchased from Nakodu; Lower City Quartermaster in Shattrath City)



Those main-hands can be used with the following off-hands:

° Khadgar's Knapsack (Purchased from G’eras in Shattrath City)

° Manual of the Nethermancer (Normal and Heroic Mechanar; Nethermancer Sepethrea)

° Lamp of Peaceful Radiance (Normal and Heroic Arcatraz; Harbinger Skyriss)

° The Saga of Terokk (Quest reward for “Terokk’s Legacy)



If you do not wish to use two pieces, try these staves:

° Terokk's Shadowstaff (Heroic Sethekk Halls; Talon King Ikiss)

° Grand Scepter of the Nexus-Kings (Heroic Mana-Tombs; Nexus-Prince Shaffar)

° Bloodfire Greatstaff (Normal and Heroic Black Morass; Aeonus)

° Warpstaff of Arcanum (Normal and Heroic Botanica; Warp Splinter)

° The Bringer of Death (Many high-end raids and instances; BOE)



For your wand, you have the following excellent items:

° The Black Stalk (Heroic Underbog; The Black Stalker)

° Nesingwary Safari Stick (Quest reward for “The Ultimate Bloodsport”)

° Rod of Dire Shadows (Quest reward for “The Will of the Warchief”, Horde only)

° Nexus Torch (Normal and Heroic Shattered Halls; Warchief Kargath Bladefist)



Moving on to armor, we start from the top yet again.



Your head piece can be chosen from the following:

° Spellstrike Hood (Crafted)

° Mag'hari Ritualist's Horns (Quest reward from “Hero of the Mag’har”, Horde only)

° Mage-Collar of the Firestorm (Heroic Blood Furnace; The Maker)

° Evoker's Helmet of Second Sight (Quest chain Horde; “A Haunted History”, Quest chain Alliance “A Ghost in the Machine”)



Next comes the necklace:

° Brooch of Heightened Potential (Normal and Heroic Shadow Labyrinth; Blackheart the Inciter)

° Manasurge Pendant (Purchased from G’eras in Shattrath City)

° Warp Engineer's Prismatic Chain (Normal and Heroic Mechanar; Mechano-Lord Capacitus)



Shoulders are always important. Here are the highest ranking ones:

° Spaulders of the Torn-heart (Quest reward for “The Cipher of Damnation – The Third Fragment Recovered)

° Mindrage Pauldrons (Heroic Mana-Tombs; Pandemonius)

° Mantle of Three Terrors (Normal and Heroic Black Morass; Chrono Lord Deja)

° Mana-Etched Spaulders (Heroic Slave Pens; Quagmirran)



Your cloak or cape can be one of the following:

° Shawl of Shifting Probabilities (Purchased from G’eras in Shattrath City)

° Baba's Cloak of Arcanistry (Normal and Heroic Mechanar; Pathaleon the Calculator)

° Cloak of Woven Energy (Quest reward for “Hitting the Motherlode”)



The best chest pieces for damage right off the bat are:

° Bloodfyre Robes of Annihilation (Normal and Heroic Mechanar; Cache of the Legion [Chest])

° Robe of the Crimson Order (Dropped from many high end instances and raids; BOE)

° Robe of the Great Dark Beyond (Heroic Mana-Tombs; Tavarok)

° Kirin Tor Apprentice's Robes (Quest reward for “Destroy Naberius!”)





Our next step down is the wrists or bracers. Here we have:

° Energized Wristwraps (Quest reward from “Ride the Lightning”, Alliance only)

° Arcanium Signet Bands (Heroic Underbog; Hungarfen)

° Bands of Rarefied Magic (Heroic Shattered Halls; Warchief Kargath Bladefist)

° Bands of Negation (Heroic Mana-Tombs; Nexus Prince Shaffar)



These gloves or hand slot items are the most easily obtained:

° Energis Armwraps (Normal and Heroic Botanica; High Botanist Freywinn)

° Gloves of the High Magus (Quest reward for “News of Victory”)

° Gloves of Pandemonium (Dropped from many high end instances or raids; BOE)

° Gloves of the Deadwatcher (Heroic Auchenai Crypts; Shirrak the Dead Watcher)



Several good rings to choose two from are:

° Seer's Signet (Purchased from Quartermaster Enuril; Shattrath City, Scyers)

° Cobalt Band of Tyrigosa (Heroic Mana-Tombs; Nexus-Prince Shaffar)

° Sparking Arcanite Ring (Heroic Old Hillsbrad Foothills; Epoch Hunter)

° Ring of Cryptic Dreams (Purchased from G’eras in Shattrath City)

° Ryngo's Band of Ingenuity (Normal and Heroic Arcatraz; Wrath-Scryer Soccothrates)

° Scintillating Coral Band (Normal and Heroic Steamvault; Hydromancer Thespia)



For your waist slot item, the following are recommended:

° Girdle of Ruination (Crafted)

° Sash of Arcane Visions (Heroic Auchnai Crypts; Exarch Maladaar)

° Sash of Sealed Fate (Drops from many outdoor mobs in Outland and some instances; BOE)

° A'dal's Gift (Quest reward for “How to Break Into the Arcatraz”)



High damage legs are always important as well. Here are some good ones:

° Spellstrike Pants (Crafted)

° Breeches of the Occultist (Heroic Black Morass; Aeonus)

° Leggings of Concentrated Darkness (Drops in many high end instances and raids; BOE)

° Khadgar's Kilt of Abjuration (Normal and Heroic Black Morass; Temporus)



Last but not least for your armor, you will need some boots.

° Abyss Walker's Boots (Drops from many high end instances or outdoor bosses; BOE)

° Boots of Blasphemy (Heroic Slave Pens; Quagmirran)

° Silent Slippers of Meditation (Normal and Heroic Shadow Labyrinth; Murmur)

° Boots of Ethereal Manipulation (Heroic Botanica; Warp Splinter)



Finally, you will need two trinkets. Here are some of the best:

° Icon of the Silver Crescent (Purchased from G’eras in Shattrath City)

° Arcanist's Stone (Heroic Old Hillsbrad Foothills; Epoch Hunter)

° Shiffar's Nexus-Horn (Normal and Heroic Arcatraz; Harbinger Skyriss)

° Scryer's Bloodgem (Purchased from Quatermaster Enuril; Shattrath City, Scryers)

° Quagmirran's Eye (Heroic Slave Pens; Quagmirran)

° Oculus of the Hidden Eye (Normal Auchenai Crypts; Shirrak the Dead Watcher)



Next, of course, are the gems. The following gems are easily accessible on your everyday auction and are plenty good enough to start you off.



° Destructive Skyfire Diamond, +14 Spell Crit Rating and 1% Spell Reflect, Requires at least 2 Red gems, Requires at least 2 Blue gems, Requires at least 2 Yellow gems, "Only fits in a meta gem slot."

° Gleaming Dawnstone, +8 Spell Critical Rating, "Matches a Yellow Socket."

° Gleaming Golden Draenite, +6 Spell Critical Rating, "Matches a Yellow Socket."

° Glowing Nightseye, +5 Spell Damage and +6 Stamina, "Matches a Red or Blue Socket."

° Glowing Shadow Draenite, +4 Spell Damage and +4 Stamina, "Matches a Red or Blue Socket."

° Mystical Skyfire Diamond, 5% on spellcast - next spell cast in half time, Requires more Blue gems than Yellow gems, "Only fits in a meta gem slot."

° Notched Deep Peridot, Binds when picked up, Unique, +3 Stamina, +4 Spell Critical Strike Rating, "Matches a Yellow or Blue Socket."

° Potent Flame Spessarite, +3 Spell Critical Rating and +4 Spell Damage, "Matches a Yellow or Red Socket."

° Potent Noble Topaz, +4 Spell Critical Rating and +5 Spell Damage, "Matches a Red or Yellow Socket."

° Radiant Talasite, +4 Spell Critical Rating and +5 Spell Penetration, "Matches a Blue or Yellow Socket."

° Runed Blood Garnet, +7 Spell Damage, "Matches a Red Socket."

° Runed Living Ruby, +9 Spell Damage, "Matches a Red Socket."

° Stark Blood Garnet, Binds when picked up, Unique, +8 Spell Damage, "Matches a Red Socket."

° Stormy Star of Elune, +10 Spell Penetration, "Matches a Blue Socket."

° Swift Starfire Diamond, Binds when picked up, Unique, +12 Spell Damage and Minor Run Speed Increase, Requires at least 2 Yellow gems, Requires at least 1 Red gem, "Only fits in a meta gem slot."

° Insightful Earthstorm Diamond, +12 Intellect & Chance to restore mana on spellcast, Requires at least 5 Red gems, Requires at least 5 Yellow gems, Requires at least 5 Blue gems, "Only fits in a meta gem slot."



Hyacintha: So much gear! Thanks for the specifics! Look for the specialization guides in the future!