Not /afk...

Just working on some ideas for posts. I've got an equipment post I'd like to work out fully with the badge vendor and SSO loot being available to most Holy Priests now. Over the next couple of weeks I hope to crank out a half dozen posts or so. Til then...I'm off to Gruul and Magtheridon!

Downranking...

...can make sense especially if you're equipped with two pieces of the Tier 5 armor set, which as you can see gives you a return of 100 mana. Spam-casting Rank 1 Greater Heal will cost you around 300 mana if you've got the mana reduction talents and still heal for roughly a big Flash Heal. If your spell fully heals your target you get back 100 mana - a nice little bonus that will help keep raid members up and not burn you out of mana. Consider too that with the new Spirit/Int mana regen, its not unlikely that you'll regen the mana you just spent on that Greater Heal. Downranking might not make too much sense though for a newly minted level 70 Holy Priest - the penalties for downranking spells and the lack of any serious "+ Healing" might make it not worthwhile.

Give it a try and see how you do - playstyles vary of course, but see if you like the addition of a lower rank GH in your spell portfolio.

Intermission...

...as I provide a link to Matt Low's new post on WoWInsider for Spiritual Guidance detailing some Do's and Dont's for raiding Priests. I heartily recommend all Priests out there to read this column!

This is a test...

...In case of emergency you'd be instructed where to turn for help.

What does the Sunwell Offensive mean...

...to Holy Priests? Well, I'd say at the very least it can help push your reputation with Aldor over into Exalted if its not already. Thanks to some drops and one of the Hellfire Penninsula quests you can easily get 5-10 Marks of Sargeras each day. With luck you might even get a Fel Armament! This will be a slow method to get your rep up but in conjunction with regular quests you'll make it there quicker. Exalted Aldor rep will give you the nice healing shoulder enchant which is very desirable. Not only Aldor rep is gained, but SSO reputation is gained - at Exalted with SSO is a very nice and interesting healing necklace. There's some debate on how well it works and perhaps it may even be nerfed at some point, but if you haven't had much luck with decent necklaces or aren't able to raid this is a nice one to get.

Lastly, at a certain point during the Shattered Sun Offensive (Phase 3 Anvil opening at 100%) a vendor will showcase their wares for you, all of which are purchasable via Badges of Justice. There's several methods to gaining Badges and I recommend them all - Heroic instances gain you Badges off boss kills, doing the Heroic Instance daily provides you a couple more Badges as part of your reward for doing what they ask you (usually is a full clear), raid instances now drop Badges off the bosses in fact a full Karazhan clear nets you 22 Badges, and doing the SSO quests in Outlands gives you a SSO bag within which you have a roughly 10% chance of gaining said Badge. Save 'em all as the gear there is equivalent to Tier 6 and the cheapest healing gear starts at 60 Badges (ring) and goes up to 150 (weapon).

If you're not a raiding type of healer, this is an excellent way to get geared up to where the "big boys and girls" are at with their T5/6 gear. No set bonuses but the items are nice especially when gemmed up to take advantage of the socket bonuses. If you like running heroics or are already doing Kara with your guild this is a fine way to plug some equipment holes in your gear.

Future posts...

...coming in the following days and weeks:

1) Soloable dailies for Holy Priests, broken down into the IQD dailies, SSO Outlands dailies, and the factional older dailies (Netherwing, Skettis, and Ogri'la).

2) Mana regen and you.

3) Tier sets and the healing methods they force you into.

4) Professions of note.

5) Farming as a Holy Priest - yes, you too can farm like the professionals!

6) ...and more. Include your own ideas in the comments.

This blog is just starting, its rough-looking, and the lack of pictures is depressing me...but I'm learning and I hope to provide an outlet for one of the more misunderstood class types out there. Holy Priests unite!

How many Priests does it take to...

...heal a raid? If you've got a 10-man venturing into Karazhan I would say at least one priest is definitely needed just for the shackles. Life becomes much easier as the entire instance is crawling with undead. Zul'Aman is another 10-man instance but its not entirely necessary to include a priest. I personally would take one anyway for the Circle of Healing (Holy Priest spec) and Prayer of Mending spells help enormously on most of the boss battles that introduce massive AoE damage. Moving into 25-man raid territory I believe a successful raid needs roughly 7-8 healers, depends on where you're going and if the instance is on farm status or not. Of those healer types at least 2-3 should be Priests, rest a mix of Druids, Shaman, and Paladins. Fortitude and Spirit (post 2.4) are awesome buffs and should not be discounted. Likewise, while the three mentioned healing classes have great healing weapons at their disposal, none can match the Priest in versatility or range of spells.