Priest Horde leveling guide 1-60
Example route: undead priest (Horde). Create your character to get your own route.
Leveling route
Estimated time from level 1 to 60: ~117 hours played, following the example route.
Horde leveling routeZones by levelSee the full step-by-step example guide
Leveling talents
Guide buildShadow then Discipline
The guide's build: Shadow damage (31 points up to Shadowform at level 40), then Discipline for mana and the shield.
Discipline: 20 points · Holy: 0 points · Shadow: 31 points
First talent points
- Level 10: Spirit Tap 1/5
- Level 11: Spirit Tap 2/5
- Level 12: Spirit Tap 3/5
- Level 13: Spirit Tap 4/5
- Level 14: Spirit Tap 5/5
Recommended professions
Recommended for Priest:
The priest is a cloth caster who can heal and deal Shadow damage. In WoW Forever, from level 1 to 60, it levels alone as a Shadow priest and stays welcome in any dungeon group. However generates a full priest route for your race: quests, trainers, racial spells, talents and gear, step by step.
Strengths and weaknesses
- Power Word: Shield and quick heals keep you alive through most fights.
- Damage over time and the wand let you kill without taking hits.
- Shadowform, at level 40, increases Shadow damage and reduces physical damage taken.
- Cloth armor and a small mana pool make the first levels slow.
- Mana is your real limit: plan your pulls around it.
Talents and weapons
The guide uses the build Shadow then Discipline: 31 points in Shadow up to Shadowform at level 40 (Spirit Tap, Mind Flay, Improved Mind Blast, Shadow Weaving), then 20 points in Discipline (Wand Specialization, Meditation, Improved Power Word: Shield). The talent calculator also shows a Holy build for priests who level in dungeon groups; it is slower alone.
The wand is your main weapon: use it as soon as mana runs low. Vendors sell no wand before level 15. Carry a staff or a mace for its stats. Look for intellect, spirit, stamina and spell damage.
Mana and the usual fight
Cast Power Word: Shield before the fight, then Shadow Word: Pain and Mind Blast. Finish with Mind Flay, a Shadow talent from level 20, or with the wand. The shield cannot be cast again on the same target right away, so do not wait until you are in trouble. Before level 40, the guide only buys the essential ranks and skips spells like Holy Fire, Heal or Mind Control, to save gold for your mount.
Common mistakes
- Casting Smite at every level instead of using damage over time and the wand.
- Pulling a second monster before your mana has come back.
- Staying in Shadowform when you need to heal: healing spells are blocked in that form.
- Skipping the racial spell quests at levels 10 and 20.
What your priest guide contains
Your guide adds the robe quest at level 4, the racial spell quests, a trainer visit every two levels from level 4, one talent point per level from 10, a gear plan for the weapon and the wand, macros and PvP advice. Create your priest or try the priest talent calculator.
The reference Horde priest is an undead. Trolls can also play a priest. Each race learns its own racial spells through class quests.
- Undead start in Tirisfal Glades. In Brill, Dark Cleric Beryl gives the level 4 robe quest: heal a guard, then give him Power Word: Fortitude.
- Trolls start in Durotar. Tai'jin, in Razor Hill, gives the same kind of quest.
- Undead learn Touch of Weakness at level 10 and, in Forever, Dark Sacrifice at level 20, in Undercity.
- Trolls learn Hex of Weakness at level 10 and Shadowguard at level 20, in Orgrimmar.
- The level 50 class chain ends with a group quest, so the guide leaves it out.
The route then joins Silverpine Forest. Read the shared Horde route for the next zones.
Frequently asked questions
- Shadow or Holy for leveling a priest in WoW Forever?
- The guide levels as Shadow, then Discipline: it kills faster alone and Shadowform arrives at level 40. A Holy build exists in the talent calculator for priests who mostly level in dungeon groups.
- Why is the wand so important for a priest?
- The wand costs no mana. Once your spells have done their work, the wand finishes the monster while your mana comes back, so you rest less between fights.
- Which racial spells does my priest get?
- It depends on your race. Your guide places the racial spell quests at levels 10 and 20 and buys the later ranks of your own racial spells, never those of other races.
- Can a priest heal dungeons while leveling?
- Yes. The Shadow build still has its healing spells, as long as you leave Shadowform to cast them. Dungeons are one-and-done in Forever, so their quests are worth doing once.
- Which spells can a leveling priest skip?
- The guide skips spells that do little alone, such as Resurrection, Prayer of Healing, Mind Control or Mana Burn, and keeps the gold for the essential ranks and your mount.