There are two main path for a priest build: Holy and Shadow Priest. Both path have very different talent build and role in the game. In this guide, the main focus is the Holy Priest path, so I will describe the talent build for that path.

Basically, there are two big ‘major’ for those who play priest: the “Holy Priest”, which is your typical healing-support priest and “Shadow Priest” which is focus on killing skills. Note that while I can provide you with the talent build, the best ways to cover the other aspects of the game such as fast leveling and gold making is still by using a guide. Why? See the answer at World of Warcraft Strategy Guide.

Priest Talent Builds
First, you will want to invest on Healing Focus and Improved Renew. Put two points in Healing Focus and 3 in Improved Renew; it is important that you can heal more without interruption.

Your next tasks is get Spell Warding and Divine Fury to maximum level to raise your survivability. Add one point to Desperate Player, it will heal you instantly,  also another skill to prolong your life.

Maxing Holy Reach will give you 20% extra range for six different spells, keep you in safe distance while maintaining the survivability of your group members. Improved Healing is need to be maxed as well since it will reduce the mana cost for five different spells.

Conserve your mana with Healing Prayers; at max, you can get 20% mana cost reduction for two spells. As for Spirit of Redemption, you don’t want to use this often since it will make you die, but one point in this talent can save your group from a chaotic situation, so take this one as a reserve.

No one in your group will expect you to contribute significant damage, but 5 points in Spiritual Guidance can comes in handy when the situation demands.

Different Priest Leveling Guide suggest different approach for Surge of Light; if you are planning to use Smite and Flash Heal a lot at higher level, take this talent, otherwise just leave it. As for Spiritual Healing, you definitely want this as a Holy Priest since it will increase your healing spells by 10%.

Having a Lightwell is an extra advantage for your group during a raid; they can click it for heal, so it will make your job easier. The healing will takes time, but it is good to preserve your mana and time.

Spend five points: two in Empowered Healing as it will make your greater healing better and three for Serendipity as this one will cut your next spell mana cost; by doing so you have opened the next talents.

These next three talents are very important for a Holy Priest; I suggest that you maxed all of them. Empowered Renew will make your Renew heal the target instantly; Circle of Healing allowing you to heal up to five friendly party or raid members within range; Test of Faith increase healing rate on a party members whose health below 50%, increase the probability to save him/her.

There are many different opinions regarding the last two talents: Divine Providence and Guardian Spirit; other priest guides may suggest you to leave it and dump your remaining points in the Discipline tree, but recommend that you take both of them. Three points in Divine Providence will give you 6% power up for some healing spells and open your path to the next talents. The last in the holy tree, Guardian Spirit, can make your tank even harder, thus make it easier for you to keep him/her alive during unpredictable situation.

As a Holy Priest, you will want to spend the last 20 points on the Discipline Tree to increase your survivability. Keeping yourself alive comes first before maintain the others health and a group will be in a very disadvantage when their healer dies, so these are how to spend the rest of your points:

1. Unbreakable Will; reduce the duration of various side effects, enable you to back into battle faster.
2. Silent Resolve; reduce the chance to dispell your helpful spells and damage over time spells.
3. Improved Power Word: Fortitude; increase Fortitude and Prayer Fortitude by 30%.
4. Martyrdom; gain Focused Casting effect for six seconds after getting hit by critical range or melee attack.
5. Meditation; when you casting spells (which probably something that you will do at all time in battle), you still have 50% of your mana regeneration continues.
6. Inner Focus; cut down the mana cost for your next spell by 100% and raising its critical rate by 25%.
7. Improved Power Word: Shield; increase Shield word by 15%.

This priest leveling guide is focus on priest talent builds; as for leveling places you can visit instances dungeon with your group or leveling through quests. Doing quests is more recommended since it will earn you proper gear so you don’t have to bought it and it is faster to reach level 80. Check the easy ways to do this at world of warcraft leveling guide.

Note: if healing and support is your favorite role, you may interested to play a Holy Paladin in PvP arena. This class has tremendous impact on the tide of the battle in the right hand. Check the build at Paladin PvP Guide.