Level obtained = 20
Armor = cloth only
Weapon of choice = Mace/offhand, Wand (at levels 15-20 You will find items that You may hold in your off hand that have stat adds like "branches" and "orbs" and other items. Wands, I believe are broke as of the Open Beta, but I still equipped one for the stat adds
Leveling Difficulty = Medium - Hard(leveling gets allot easier after You get the "inner fire" skill, You can buy the inner fire skill at level 12)
Note: The cost to buy each skill is listed next to its name.
The Priest Leveling 1-15
The Priest Leveling 1-10
So You are ready to play the Priest class, this will definitely be a challenge until You get the "inner fire" skill. The first thing You want to do is open your inventory and right click on the scroll, or other object that will open the quest window on the left side of the screen and give You your first quest, accept the quest and if You look on your minimap You should see a little yellow dot this dot represents the NPC that You talk too to complete your first quest.(You may have to walk a little ways, but just starting off the quest NPC is usually very close to your starting location) For future reference anytime You see a little yellow dot on your minimap this is the location of an NPC that You have completed a quest for. When You get to level 5 You may take a trade skill, which may also show You little yellow dots on the minimap, these will either represent a "mine node" (if You have the skill "mining")that can be mined or a "herb plant"(if You have the skill "herbalism") that can be harvested.
Leveling 1-4
The Priest You will find is a little more difficult to level solo then other classes, although this is not evident early on You will find that at later level it gets to be more of a Challenge. Get any and all quests from any NPC that has a yellow explanation point above its head. The spells you will have at lvl 1-4 are:
Lesser Heal Level 1(free)
Cost = 35 Mana ----- Casting time = 1.5 secs ----- Range = 40 yards.
Heals targeted ally or self for 43 to 53.
Holy Smite Level 1(free)
Cost = 25 Mana ----- Casting time = 1.5 secs ----- Range = 30 yards.
Causes target to take Holy damage of 13 to 17.
Power Word Fortitude Level 1(10 copper)
Cost = 60 Mana ----- Casting time = Instant - Range = 30 yards.
Raises Stamina of the target by 3, increasing their hit points.
Spell lasts 30 min.
Power Word Fortitude should always be "on" as this raises your hit points, this spell can also be cast on group members or other friendly targets. Holy Smite is the spell that you will use to damage your enemies with at these opening levels. Lesser Heal will be your spell you use to lower the down time between pulls, and sometimes right in the middle of combat. Gradually get closer to a mob and watch for the number on your hotbar to go from red to white on your smite skill, when this happens the mob is in range of your Holy Smite spell, right click the target to enter combat mode and click on your Holy Smite spell to cast it. After the spell hits the mob it will approach you to do damage. If you can try to cast as many Holy Smite spells at the target until it gets close enough to whack on then whack on it with your melee weapon.(At the lower levels you will only experience the "melee" type mob's later on you will face mobs that once you cast a spell on them they will start casting spells on you!) In a typical combat at this level, when you cast the Holy Smite spell you will see the "timing bar" start to fill when the bar is fully filled the spell will be casted, IMMEDIATELY click the spell again so that you may start another Holy Smite spell. In most cases you will be able to get off 2-3 spells before the mob actually gets close enough to hit you. If the mob is in melee with you and you try to cast a spell the mob may hit you, if that happens your bar will "jump back" and the spell will attempt to continue casting. A little trick on casting spells... some spells when you get higher level have a "cooldown" time so you cannot keep casting over and over again, however at the lower levels wait until you see the green bar hit the end of the line and click again, do not wait for the bar to fill and disappear, click it as soon as the bar is filled this gives you about a .1 - .2 seconds of advantage over other players that simply wait until the bar disappears. By now you should be getting to level 4.
Leveling 4-6
At level 4 you can buy the following skills:
Lesser Heal Level 2(50 copper)
Cost = 50 Mana ----- Casting time = 2 secs - Range = 40 yards.
Heals targeted ally or self for 71 to 85.
Shadow Word Pain Level 1(50 copper)
Cost = 25 Mana ----- Casting time = Instant ----- Range = 30 yards.
A DOT(Damage Over Time) spell that causes 30 damage over 18 seconds.
O.K. things change now, because you now have Shadow Word Pain which is a DOT(Damage Over Time) spell. The Lesser Heal Rank 1 icon on your hotbar should now be replaced with Lesser Heal Rank 2. You should also open your abilities window and left click on the "Shadow Word Pain" icon to drag it to your hotbar, place this 1 space to the right of your Holy Smite spell. As a Priest you should NEVER buy "food" from a vendor as you can Heal yourself with your healing spells, however you may need to buy "drinks" which will replace your mana allot faster then if you did not drink anything at all.(So remember never throw away drinks or sell them, unless they are too low for your level) Now cast(and keep casting) your Holy Smite spell and when the mob gets within melee range click on the Shadow Word Pain icon, this is an instant spell, so as soon as you click this it is considered "casted", then whack on the mob till it dies. Continue on to level 6, at level 6 you will most likely leave the "noob" town and make your way to another town to get new quests and higher level mobs. Up to now when you see a mob it was most likely yellow which means that these will not attack you if you get too close, however if see a mob that is red then this mob will attack you if you get to close, this is commonly called "agro"
Leveling 6-8
At level 6 you may buy the following skills:
Holy Smite Level 2(1 silver)
Cost = 35 Mana ----- Casting time = 2 secs ----- Range = 30 yards.
Causes target to take Holy damage of 24 to 28.
Power Word Shield Level 1(1 silver)
Cost = 45 Mana ----- Casting time = Instant ----- Range = 40 yards ----- Cooldown = 4 secs.
This spell shields your target, for 44 damage, and lasts for 30 seconds. The shield will break after 30 secs or the shield takes 44 damage whichever occurs first. During the time that you are shielded, you may cast spells without being interrupted. You may not be shielded again for 30 secs.
Again things change a little, replace the spell "Holy Smite 1" on your hotbar with "Holy Smite 2" and add the spell "Power Word Shield" to the hotbar space far right of your spell "Holy Smite 2". Now when you approach a mob, cast your Holy Smite 2 spell 2-3 times and when the mob is in melee range, click on Power word Shield. Power Word Shield is an "instant cast" spell, there is no "spell bar" to fill up, when you click it, it is cast instantly. Power Word Shield will keep you shielded from all damage until the time runs out or the shield breaks.(Power Word Shield at Rank 1 breaks after 44 damage) Be advised that you cannot shield yourself again for 30 seconds EVEN if the shield breaks after taking the 44 damage. By now you should be pretty familiar with the quest system as well as knowing what level mobs you can handle. It has been my playing experience with the Priest that you should only kill mobs your level or 1 level higher as anything else is going to cause a "mana dump" and a possible death, and you will find that the exp is not worth it at all, after you figure in the risk and the downtime needed to recover from the mana dumping. You can heal yourself in the middle of combat with your heal spell but every time you take a hit it will knock the spell bar backwards and the spell will try to continue casting. Also if you are going to take any trade skills get them now, even if you have to take some time to walk to your nearest capitol,(which is pretty close to you now, regardless which race you have chosen) You can get your 2 main tradeskills at lvl 5.
Leveling 8-10
At Level 8 you may buy the following skills:
Renew Level 1(2 silver)
Cost = 35 Mana ----- Casting time = Instant - Range = 40 yards.
Heals the target or self for 45 damage over 15 seconds.(This is an HOT spell - Heal Over Time)
Fade Level 1(2 silver)
Cost = 40 Mana ----- Casting time = Instant ----- Cooldown = 30 secs.
This spell attempts to lower the caster's threat level on enemies by a small amount for 10 seconds.
Finally!!! You get a spell that you can heal yourself with in the middle of combat without it being interrupted. At level 8 you get an instant HOT(Heal Over Time) spell, notice it does have a 30 second timer on it so you can insta cast this in the middle of combat but you cannot cast it again for 30 seconds. By now you should have visited your capitol or have a quest that leads you to your capitol for your race. At level 10-11 you will most likely leave the level 5-10 "area" and be sent on a quest to visit a new location, this is also the level at which you may be introduced to your first "elite" quest. Elite quests are not meant to be done solo and no you cannot solo an "elite" mob that is your same level in most cases. I believe Bliz did this to encourage "grouping" after level 10 if you so desire. You can easily tell an "elite" mob from a normal mob by the word "elite" in the mobs name or the wreath around the mobs pic when you left click it. You can safely left click a mob to get info however if you right click it then you enter combat mode with that mob. Are you paying attention? Here is a little trick for you to double heal yourself and double shield yourself in the middle of combat! When you start to pull a mob that you know is going to deal some damage try this: cast Power Word shield, count to 5 slowly(about 5 secs) pull the mob with Holy Smite, cast Holy Smite again then, Power Word Pain, by this time the mob is whacking on you,(and you should be melee whacking on the mob) as soon as the shield breaks insta cast renew, the 30 second timer on your Power Word Shield should be up soon, cast it again, and if the mob is not dead by the time the second shield breaks insta cast renew again
Until you get the spell "inner fire" at lvl 12 you will have to use this combo allot. As far as fade goes that is really a group spell you use to get agro off of you after you get it by healing someone. This may sound stupid but a few times when I had to run from combat I casted fade but the mob was still chasing me and whacking on me, I know... who else was it suppose to attack? If you do have to run from combat remember you CAN insta cast renew on yourself every 15 secs while running as long as you have the mana to do so, you can insta cast it sooner then 15 secs but it does not stack so you would be wasting your mana.(You also may choose to pick a talent here, see the bottom of this post for a link to a list of the talents available.)Leveling 10-12
At level 10 You may buy the following skills:
Lesser Heal Level 3(3 silver)
Cost = Mana ----- Casting time = 2.5 secs. ----- Range = 40 yards.
Heals your target or self for 135 to 157.
Resurrection Level 1(3 silver)
Cost = 150 Mana ----- Casting time = 10 secs. ----- Range = 40 yards.
Resurrects a dead player with 15% of their health and mana.
Mind Blast Level 1(3 silver)
Cost = 50 Mana ----- Casting time = Instant ----- Cooldown = 8 secs ----- Range = 30 yards.
Slams target with shadow damage for 39 to 43. (Note: this spell causes a high amount of threat)
Shadow Word Pain Level 2(3 silver)
Cost = 50 mana ----- Casting time = Instant ----- Range = 30 yards.
A DOT spell that causes 66 damage over 18 seconds.
At level 10 You get 4 skills this should help out greatly but not as much as inner fire which You get at 12. You may want to replace Lesser Heal Level 2 with Lesser Heal Level 3, but I did not do this as I was not taking that much damage and did not want to spend the extra mana casting a Level 3 spell when I really only needed the Level 2 spell, however if You are in a group use the Level 3 spell as most other classes have more hit points then You The resurrection spell must be cast on another dead player as You cannot cast this on yourself when You are dead.(That may sound silly but there are classes that can rez themselves
The Shadow Word Pain Level 2 should replace the Shadow Word Pain Level 1 on your hotbar and You want to add the spell "MindBlast" on your hotbar in the space to the right of your spell Shadow Word Pain Level 2. Now when You pull You want to pull with your Shadow Word Pain spell, get 1 or 2 Holy Smite spells off and then hit the Mindblast when the mob enters melee with You, after 8 seconds You can insta cast the Minblast again and continue whacking on the mob to kill it. I know You are kind of happy that You got your rez spell now its time for some drive-by rezzing, well... When You rez someone do not stand there waiting to get a warm thank You for doing it, of course if You rez them then they will most likely thank You but if You cast rez on someone that is afk, or not in the game, then You are going to be waiting for that "thank You" for a long time. My advice is if You rez someone not in your party or when You are solo, just keep moving along and doing your business as they know who rezzed them and will send You a thank You tell if they exist. I have rezzed many bodies that were just laying there on the ground but alas they either refused or were not in-game, I would guess that The actual peeps I brought back to life was less then 20% of the people I casted rez on, it takes allot. of mana and time, Bliz should remove the bodies if they are not in game. By now You should understand the basics of playing a Priest, and at the capitol city You should also find your "bank" as this has numerous "slots" to store your items, before storing items see if You can "stack" them by dragging one item over the top of another items of the same type. Stackable items include: potions, food, water, crafting materials, and crafting supplies. Also depending on which type of server You are playing on PvP or PvE You may start to see enemies from the other "realm." From level 10-20 the basics of the game and the mobs start to take You out of the "noobness" and into the full game, expect to fight "caster" mobs, "bow and arrow" mobs and mobs that will give You poison, stuns, or other negative status effects. You may also want to open your "social" window and flag yourself as "looking for a group" if that is a style of play that You desire.Leveling 12-14
At Level 12 You may buy the following skills:
Power Word Fortitude Level 2(8 silver)
Cost = 155 Mana ----- Casting time = Instant ----- Range = 30 yards.
Raises Stamina of the target by 8 Increasing their hit points.
Spell lasts 30 minutes.
.
Power Word Shield Level 2(8 silver)
Cost = 75 Mana ----- Casting time = Instant ----- Range = 40 yards ----- Cooldown = 4 secs.
This spell shields your target, for 88 Damage and lasts for 30 secs. The shield will break after 30 secs or the shield takes 88 damage whichever occurs first. During the time that You are shielded, You may cast spells without being interrupted. You may not be shielded again for 30 secs.
Inner Fire Level 1(8 silver)
Cost = 20 Mana ----- Casting time = Instant
This spell Increases the caster attack power by 20 and armor by 210.
Spell lasts 3 minutes
Finally Inner fire! Up until now it has been more difficult to level up solo compared to other classes, but with inner fire that all changes. Make sure You remove You older Power Word Shield and Power Word Fortitude spells and replace them with the new ones as these are much more stronger, notice the Level 1 Power Word shield only shielded for 44 damage this new one shields for 88. Always before pulling or entering combat cast inner fire as this spell makes combat a whole lot easier. Also note that the cost of inner fire is extremely small, only 20 mana. If You are on the horde side and You are a Tauren, Orc or troll You should be at the crossroads(that's a town), if You are Undead then You should be at the sepulcher. Here You will start to find that You are not in the lobie noob zones anymore. The majority of the mobs are aggressive(red con) and if You pull them and they have buddies nearby they will come also. You will also find mobs that "call" other mobs if they get hurt and are close to death, so if there are other mobs close by that are of the same type do not be surprised if they agro You when You have the mob You are working on almost dead. The best way to see this is to mouse over your chat window, go to the tab that says "combat" left click and hold and drag it to the right side of your screen to separate it from the chat window, now You can review all the damage and other combat related actions taken by You and the mob You were in combat with, as well as seeing any new chat messages in the chat window. At this level You really need to be paying full attention to your surroundings. If You are Undead and hanging around the sepulcher. Doing quests You may run into a unique mob named "son of aragul" this mob will agro You from far away, and will kill You in one to 2 hits, if You see him run, do not investigate unless You need a free trip to the graveyard... If You are Orc, troll or Tauren stay away from the "dinosaur looking" lizards south of the crossroads as they are melee and casters, and will zap You with lightning damage. Needless to say, now is a good time to get in a group. Also at the crossroads I am 99.9% sure You will experience your first PvP encounter... If You are Undead and want to go to the crossroads simply go to the "airport" a little north of the Undercity, look up and You might see one of the airships flying in to dock. Climb the stairs to the tower and take the "west" airship this will take You right outside of Orgrimar the Orc main city, after You get off the city id to the west about a 1 minute run. The trip in Open Beta was free, as You just walk onto the airship. Do not take the "east" airship as this takes You down close to Booty Bay and trust me You are not ready for that yet...
Leveling 14-15
At Level 14 You may buy the following skills:
Holy Smite Level 3(9 silver)
Cost = 65 Mana ----- Casting time = 2 secs ----- Range = 30 yards.
Causes target to take Holy damage of 54 to 62
Cure Disease(There is no Level to this spell)(9 silver)
Cost = 60 Mana ----- Casting time = Instant ----- Range = 30 yards.
Removes 1 disease status from a friendly target or self.
Renew Level 2(9 silver)
Requires: None 55 Mana
Instant cast
40 yard range
Heals the target or self for 85 damage over 15 secs. (This is a HOT spell - Heal Over Time)
Psychic Scream Level 1(9 silver)
Cost = 100 Mana ----- Casting time = Instant ----- Cooldown = 30 secs.
The caster screams causing up to 2 targets close to the caster to run away in fear for up to 8 secs.
At level 14 You should already know to replace your weaker versions of spells with the newer and stronger ones You just bought. You have 2 new spells here "Cure Disease" and "pyschic Scream". Cure Disease I have not found a use for at this level, so I am sure You will need it later on, I have been poisoned but this does not seem to work on that status effect. Psychic Scream is an "emergency" spell, Insta casted but big mana cost (100) sometimes though this will get resisted so be prepared. The Priest at this level is pretty versatile solo, You should always cast inner fire before combat but depending on which mob You are fighting and how hard it is You may not need to cast Power Word Shield or Renew in the middle of combat, but for mobs at your level You will probably need to cast one of them. As a general note on playing this heavy healing class, do not be surprised if a group 3-4 levels above You, asks You if You would like to be in their group, as heavy healing classes are not in great abundance in MMORPG's, and from what I saw in Open Beta WOW will not be an exception. You should by all means jump at these opportunities as they present themselves as they will yield far superior exp points compared to what You would be getting if You were soloing. As far as what to do if You see someone getting whacked on and You know they are going to die unless You heal them, well that is your choice, if they ask by all means give them a heal but if they don't ask and You heal them, do not be surprised if You get yelled at, yes You healing them did not cause them to lose any exp or anything but in other MMORPG's that WOULD have cost them to lose it, hey we are all noobs when we first start playing a new game right?