The Ultimate Dragonflight Priest Leveling Guide

If you're a new player to World of Warcraft or just starting a Priest character in the Dragonflight realm, this guide is here to help you navigate through the early levels and progress smoothly toward the endgame content. As a Priest, you have the unique ability to heal your allies, deal damage to your enemies, and even control the battlefield with various crowd control spells.

This guide will provide all the essential information you need to level up your Priest efficiently, including recommended talents, abilities to unlock, professions to choose from, Add-ons, and even the best heirloom items to equip. So let's dive in and start our journey toward becoming a powerful Priest in Dragonflight!

Best Priest Spec

Dragonflight Priests have 3 specializations to choose from in World of Warcraft: Shadow, Discipline, and Holy. Each specialization has a unique playstyle and set of abilities that cater to different situations.

Shadow Priests 

Focus on dealing damage primarily through spells that inflict Shadow damage. They also have access to powerful crowd-control abilities, making them valuable in group settings. Shadow Priests have a variety of abilities that can sustain their own health while dealing damage, making them self-sufficient.

Pros:

• High damage output
• Self-sufficient with multiple self-healing abilities
• Strong crowd control abilities
• Useful in both solo and group settings

Cons:

• Can struggle with sustained damage output over long fights
• Limited utility outside of damage and crowd control

Discipline Priests 

Use a combination of damage-dealing and healing abilities to keep their allies alive while contributing to damage output. They are particularly effective in PvP situations due to their ability to prevent damage and control enemy players. Discipline Priests are versatile and can fill both healing and damage roles effectively.

Pros:

• Versatile with a mix of damage and healing abilities
• Strong PvP capabilities
• Effective in group settings
• Can easily switch between healing and damage dealers

Cons:

• Limited burst healing
• Lower damage output compared to other specializations

Holy Priests

Specialize in healing and have a variety of powerful abilities that can keep their allies alive in even the toughest situations. They excel in group settings and are particularly valuable in dungeons and raids. Holy Priests have a range of powerful single-target and area-of-effect healing spells, making them the go-to specialization for dedicated healers.

Pros:

• Strong single-target and area-of-effect healing abilities
• Valuable in group settings
• Effective in dungeons and raids

Cons:

• Limited damage-dealing abilities
• Less effective at solo questing compared to other specializations

Recommended Spec for Leveling

For players looking to level up quickly and efficiently, the recommended specialization is Shadow. Shadow Priests have a strong mix of damage-dealing and crowd-control abilities, making them effective at solo questing and mob farming. Their ability to self-heal also makes them less reliant on healers or downtime.

Abilities & Rotation

Priests have a variety of abilities available to them, and knowing how to use them effectively is crucial to leveling efficiently. While some abilities are available to all Priests, each specialization also has its own unique abilities.

Abilities

• Smite: This ranged ability is ideal for dealing damage to enemies until you choose a specific specialization.
• Shadow Word: Pain: This damage-over-time spell should be applied to as many mobs as possible.
• Flash Heal: This quick, but costly spell can heal yourself or your allies.
• Power Word: Shield: This Discipline spell rewards predicting when someone will take damage and should be used to prevent damage.
• Mind Blast: This high-damage spell should be used as soon as it's available.
• Power Word: Fortitude: This group buff increases health pools and should be kept up at all times on yourself and allies.
• Psychic Scream: This crowd control ability can be used to fear nearby enemies.
• Desperate Prayer: This self-heal also acts as a small defensive ability.
• Fade: This ability removes all your threat for the next 10 seconds, making it useful for shifting aggro to another player.
• Resurrection: This ability allows you to resurrect a fallen ally after combat.
• Levitate: This spell makes traveling down cliffs easier and safer for quicker movement.
• Mind Vision: This unique spell allows you to see through a target's point of view, which can be helpful for scouting out an area for treasure chests or rare NPCs.
• Focused Will: This passive spell reduces the damage you take from melee attacks by 15% for 8 seconds.
• Mind Soothe: This ability lowers the chance of enemies in the target radius attacking you, making it easier to skip packs of mobs.

Rotation for Leveling

Until you choose a specialization, your rotation will consist of using Smite as your primary filler spell, keeping up Shadow Word: Pain, and using Mind Blast on cooldown. Once you choose a specialization, your rotation will change accordingly, but these abilities will still be the core of your damage output.

In general, you'll want to pull mobs with Smite, apply Shadow Word: Pain, and then follow up with Mind Blast. Use Flash Heal or Power Word: Shield as needed to keep yourself or allies alive, and use Desperate Prayer if you need a quick self-heal.

Recommended Add-ons

Add-ons can be incredibly useful tools for World of Warcraft players, and this is especially true for Priest players looking to level up efficiently in Dragonflight. Add-ons can provide helpful information, streamline gameplay, and enhance the overall experience. They can provide information about the status of the group, track important cooldowns, and help with mana management. Additionally, add-ons can help with targeting, healing, and casting spells, making the leveling experience smoother and more efficient.

• Questie - This add-on provides a detailed map of quests in each area, helping Priests keep track of where they need to go and what they need to do. Questie also offers helpful tooltips for each quest, making it easier to understand objectives and rewards.
• Deadly Boss Mods - This add-on is essential for Priests who plan on doing dungeons while leveling. Deadly Boss Mods provides alerts and timers for boss abilities, helping Priests stay aware of important mechanics and avoid potential wipes.
• OmniCC - This add-on displays the cooldown of each spell and ability on the action bar, making it easier to time spell casts and manage mana more effectively.
• HealBot - This add-on allows Priests to heal more efficiently by providing a customizable interface for healing spells. It can assign different spells to different mouse buttons, making healing quick and easy.
• Bartender4 - This add-on allows Priests to customize the layout and appearance of their action bars. It can be helpful for organizing spells and abilities in a way that is easy to navigate and use.

Heirloom Items

Heirlooms are items in World of Warcraft that can be passed down from a higher-level character to a lower-level character. These items scale with the level of the character, providing a consistent boost to stats and leveling speed. 

When it comes to leveling a Priest in Dragonflight, there are a few heirloom items that are particularly useful. These items are:

• Dignified Headmaster's Charge (Staff): This staff provides a bonus to spell power and intellect, making it an ideal weapon for Priests. It also provides a bonus to experience gained from killing monsters.
• Preened Ironfeather Shoulders (Shoulders): These shoulders provide a bonus to agility and stamina, making them useful for Priests who want to level quickly and efficiently.
• Eternal Horizon Choker (Neck): It provides a bonus to intellect and haste, making it an ideal piece of gear for Priests who want to focus on casting spells quickly.
• Pristine Lightforge Spaulders (Shoulders): These shoulders provide a bonus to strength, stamina, and intellect, making them useful for Priests who want to be well-rounded and able to handle different situations.
• Tattered Dreadmist Mantle (Shoulders): These shoulders provide a bonus to intellect and critical strike rating, making them ideal for Priests who want to deal a lot of damage with their spells.

Leveling Tips

Leveling a Priest in Dragonflight can be a daunting task, but with the right tips and strategies, it can be done efficiently. Here are some tips for leveling your Priest in Dragonflight:

• Questing: Questing is one of the most efficient ways to level your Priest. It is recommended that you stick to a specific zone until you complete all the quests in that area. This way, you will gain the maximum amount of experience points for that zone.
• Dungeons: Dungeons are a great way to gain experience points quickly. However, it is important to note that you should only do dungeons that are within your level range. Doing dungeons that are too high level may result in a slow leveling process.
• Rested Experience: Rested experience is a bonus to experience points gained when you log out of the game in an inn or a capital city. It is recommended that you take advantage of the rested experience whenever possible.
• Professions: Professions can be a great way to level your Priest. Some professions such as Herbalism and Mining provide experience points when you gather resources.
• Avoid Distractions: It is important to avoid distractions while leveling. It means turning off chat windows, ignoring other players' messages, and focusing on the task at hand.
• Gear Upgrades: Upgrading your gear is essential to efficient leveling. It is recommended that you purchase or craft gear upgrades whenever possible.
• Restocking Supplies: It is important to restock your supplies such as food, water, and ammunition when you are in a city. This will ensure that you are always prepared for your next adventure.