world of warcraft - help with shadow priest?

Question

i just got powned in pvp for the first time ever. I'm a 40 hunter and this 41 shadow priest owned me so badly that he didnt even lose any life ! I dont think i have ever lost a duel to someone my level or a level or 2 above me. This shocked me so i made a priest but as im leveling it, people are telling me that i will have to be a main healer and not do any damage or anything in instances / raids. that true? o and also, what do you guys think of shadow preists in pvp??? thanks

Answer 1

Haha...that's a hunter for you...great class btw (pff)
but anyways, yes, a priest is very good and fun for an entire WoW experience because of their requirements for different tasks at different times in the game. At first, you are going to want to spec shadow...don't listen to other people. You "will" need to respec to a healing tree when you reach the "end game" material, but because of Burning Crusade being out, the end game content is more difficult to get to and not even really complete yet. But at first undoubtedly spec in shadow until...let's say lvl 52 and then if/when you see you're doing more dungeons and raids rather than soloing and questing, then respec in healing and try to stay that way til 70. Be sure to get in a good guild that does a lot of PvE from 52+ so you'll be in a good place. Also PvP priests do, or atleast did kick a lot of ***, BUT from my rogue persective they aren't that great anymore.

Answer 2

Those people who tell you that you have to be a main healer and not do damage need to lay off. I'm going to defend them in one way...if I had my preference for main healer in a group, I would want a holy spec priest. I would NOT want my healer doing any damage because they will be getting agro from heals already...no need to add more agro by putting a bunch of damage on the critter...nor a need to waste healing mana on putting out damage...nor a need to take their eyes off the party's safety to help kill the critter.

HOWEVER, if a shadow priest joins the group, I would have no problem with them, so long as they are not the main healer. Let a shadow priest be a damage dealer and play to their own style. But if I am counting on someone to be the party healer...a shadow priest would not fit the bill. I'm not saying that a shadow priest who puts out damage will be a lousy healer...it all depends on play style (and some can be very successful...a well-played character trumps a poorly-played one no matter what the skills), but more often than not it isn't a good mix...and that makes me wary.

As for you, if you want to be a shadow priest, you go for it. Personally I wish Blizzard hadn't set them up that way, but they have and it is something I accept, even if I'm not crazy about it. But when someone invites you to a group...let them know beforehand that you are a shadow priest who is more suited as damage dealer than a healer. If you tell them that and they want you to be main healer still, they are taking the risk themselves because you warned them. Or if you really do not want to be healer, tell them no. They may not want you in the party, but at least it won't cause a bad group by some people's expectations being here, yours being there, and no one on the same page. It's all about that lovely "c" word - Communication!

Answer 3

A shadow priest with points in vampiric embrace and points in healing spell threat reduction makes a great dps/backup healer.

The DPS is awesome, though don't be fearing mobs in a raid! And with vampiric embrace all your DPS actually heals your part at the same time. Moreover, if needed, you can shut of shadowform and backup the main healer without generating too much threat.