Everything you need to know about the Priest in WoW Forever

One spellbook, three directions

The episode opens on a Warrior holding a bridge in Darkspear Islands. One 3 second Mind Control later, the Priest walks him into the water. Mind Control, learned at 30, is a good first look at the class: Priests reach into both sides of a fight, with heals and shields for friends, Holy and Shadow damage for enemies, and a third group of spells that targets an enemy's mind, buffs and mana.

Every Priest shares one spellbook. Talents decide what you improve and add a few big spells, but a Priest with every point in Shadow still has Heal, Renew and Power Word: Shield. That lets a damage build heal a leveling dungeon, though healing talents and gear count for more in harder content. From 40, dual specialization keeps a healing and a damage setup on one character.

The price is movement. There is no class sprint, blink or travel form, and cast-time heals, Mind Blast and every channel need you to stand still. Shield, Renew, Shadow Word: Pain and Devouring Plague are instant. When a fight turns, a Priest is better at lasting through it than getting away.

Sources: Blizzard class deep dive: Priest and Warrior, September 30 · Talents Forever, CC BY 4.0: client data export for build 70425, generated October 16

What Forever changed

Two famous race spells now belong to everyone. Fear Ward used to be Dwarf-only and Devouring Plague Undead-only; in Forever every Priest learns both at 20. Devouring Plague heals you for the damage it deals, and its 24 second cooldown matches its duration. Divine Spirit, once a Discipline talent, is baseline at 30. Shadow Word: Death is new at 32: an instant Shadow hit on an 18 second cooldown that damages you for 10% of your maximum health if the target survives.

Blizzard also states that Rage from taking damage ignores absorbs, so Power Word: Shield no longer costs a Warrior tank Rage. Lightwell is gone from Holy. Players from modern World of Warcraft should note that Penance exists but Atonement does not, and there is no Voidform, Insanity or Vampiric Touch.

Early levels are calm: spending mana pauses Spirit regeneration for 5 seconds, so a low level Priest casts a few spells and lets the wand finish. Each tree handles mana in its own way. At 60 you have 51 talent points, and Penance (21 points into Discipline) plus Prayer of Mending (31 into Holy) would need 52.

Sources: Blizzard class deep dive: Priest and Warrior, September 30 · Development notes for the October 15 update (post 6), re-checked October 17 · Talents Forever, CC BY 4.0: client data export for build 70425, generated October 16 · EU copy of the October 15 development notes

Discipline: protection before the damage

Power Word: Shield is baseline. While it holds, absorbed hits do not push back the target's casting. Weakened Soul then stops any Priest shielding that target for 15 seconds, separate from the shield's own 4 second cooldown. At 16 points, Soul Warding removes the cooldown and makes the shield 15% cheaper, so you can shield several people in a row, but Weakened Soul still lands on each. Renewed Hope works on the debuff: direct heals such as Flash Heal, Lesser Heal, Heal, Greater Heal and Penance gain 10% crit chance on a Weakened Soul target and take 5 seconds off it.

Divine Aegis, 26 points in, turns critical direct heals into a shield worth up to 15% of the heal for 12 seconds; heal-over-time crits do not count. Penance, at 21 points, fires 3 bolts over 2 seconds on a 12 second cooldown, healing an ally or damaging an enemy, so you choose a side each time. Power Infusion, at 31 points, gives a target 20% more spell damage and healing for 15 seconds on a 3 minute cooldown; it does not speed up casting.

The top rows are what other builds borrow: Meditation keeps half your mana regeneration running while casting, and Inner Focus makes the next spell free. Power in Light and Holy Precision give Discipline its own way to deal Holy damage while leveling. Discipline is the only tree that can take all 51 points alone.

Sources: Talents Forever, CC BY 4.0: client data export for build 70425, generated October 16 · Blizzard class deep dive: Priest and Warrior, September 30 · Development notes for the October 15 update (post 6), re-checked October 17 · Reviewed October 30 class reference — Talents Forever (CC BY 4.0), checked October 31

Holy: the right heal for each kind of damage

Holy covers one target or the party, you or someone else, damage already taken or about to land. Divine Fury takes half a second off Smite, Holy Fire, Heal and Greater Heal, and Twilight Focus gives a 70% chance to avoid pushback on any spell. Holy Nova, at 11 points, is an instant burst that damages enemies and heals party members within 10 yards with no threat. Binding Heal is now trained from level 25 rather than learned from its old talent. The new Holy Binding talent instead heals you for 50% of the healing from Flash Heal cast on someone else, without generating threat.

Litany of Light refunds 10% of a heal's base cost when it differs from your previous heal. Spiritual Guidance adds up to 25% of your Spirit to healing, and Spirit of Redemption lets you keep healing for 15 seconds after death. Prayer of Mending, at 31 points, heals a target when they take damage or receive a direct heal, then jumps to another party or raid member within 20 yards; you can have one active on a 10 second cooldown. Prayer of Healing, learned at 30, now heals the party of whoever you target, pets included. A deep Holy build leaves Penance out of reach.

Sources: Talents Forever, CC BY 4.0: client data export for build 70425, generated October 16 · Blizzard class deep dive: Priest and Warrior, September 30 · Reviewed October 30 class reference — Talents Forever (CC BY 4.0), checked October 31

Shadow: pressure over time, and Shadowform's cost

Shadow wears enemies down. Shadow Word: Pain and Devouring Plague keep working while you move, Mind Blast hits hard on a cooldown, and Mind Flay is a 3 second channel that slows by 50%. Mind Flay reaches 20 yards while other Shadow damage spells reach 30; Shadow Reach extends them by 20%. Improved Mind Flay makes each tick 20% stronger than the last, resetting every cast.

Spirit Tap doubles your Spirit for 15 seconds after a non-trivial kill and keeps half your regeneration running while casting; in a group, a target dying with your Vampiric Embrace on it also counts. Vampiric Embrace, at 16 points, heals your party for 20% of your Shadow spell damage for 30 seconds, and Dark Inspiration raises party Spirit by 15% for 10 seconds after a Mind Blast or full Mind Flay. Silence, at 21 points, interrupts and silences for 5 seconds on a 45 second cooldown. Shadow Weaving no longer boosts Warlock damage.

Shadowform, at 31 points, adds 10% Shadow damage, halves Shadow spell costs, makes Shadow crits hit much harder and reduces physical damage taken by 15%, but you cannot cast healing spells in it. You can leave to heal a teammate; returning costs 40% of base mana.

Sources: Talents Forever, CC BY 4.0: client data export for build 70425, generated October 16 · Development notes for the October 15 update (post 6), re-checked October 17

Utility, groups and PvP

Mind Control has a 20 yard range and lasts while you channel, up to a minute, on humanoids up to a level cap per rank; your Priest can do nothing else meanwhile. Mind Vision shows a target's view, from its second rank at any range on the same continent. Mind Soothe, at 20, cuts a humanoid's aggro radius by 10 yards for 15 seconds. Shackle Undead holds one undead creature and breaks on damage; a Forsaken player does not count. Levitate, at 34, also walks on water. Dispel Magic, at 18, removes harmful magic from friends or helpful magic from enemies, and Mana Burn, at 24, drains mana and deals half of it as Shadow damage.

Solo, a Priest outlasts trouble with shields, Psychic Scream and heals over time. With a partner, the same heals keep a melee friend fighting through elites. In dungeons, Discipline shields several players quickly, Holy heals groups taking damage together, and Shadow adds damage with Vampiric Embrace healing; every Priest brings Fear Ward, Shackle and Dispel Magic. In PvP, having both Holy and Shadow spells helps when one school is locked by an interrupt. At 60, the trees point to familiar raid jobs, but no raid numbers exist yet.

Sources: Talents Forever, CC BY 4.0: client data export for build 70425, generated October 16 · Blizzard class deep dive: Priest and Warrior, September 30

Six races and the verdict

Six races can be Priests: Human, Dwarf, Night Elf and Gnome for the Alliance, Undead and Troll for the Horde. Each Priest gets the race's normal racials plus 2 race-only Priest spells, learned at 10 and 20. Humans get Divine Grace and Feedback; Dwarves Desperate Prayer and Chastise; Night Elves Starshards and Elune's Grace; Gnomes, new to the class, Confounding Flash and Contingency Plan; Undead Dark Sacrifice and Touch of Weakness; Trolls Hex of Weakness and Shadowguard.

The episode's verdict is a fit for players who want a hand in every part of a fight. Discipline suits planners, Holy suits players who read damage and answer it, and Shadow suits a dark caster who still has a heal. The host's own hesitation is mobility: in the open world, a Priest jumped by two players has fewer ways to escape.

Sources: Talents Forever, CC BY 4.0: client data export for build 70425, generated October 16 · Blizzard class deep dive: Priest and Warrior, September 30 · Development notes for the October 15 update (post 6), re-checked October 17