I'm back and I'm now 70.
In Outland instances I've found myself feeling slightly embaressed about my dps when grouped with a skilled and well geared mage. One thing that's difficult to make up for is our lack of crit abilites, and I mean in terms of player satisfaction. It feels amazing to see a big yellow 5000 explode over a mob. My crits stay in the 2000-2500 range, although I have a feeling they will get higher in the future. Since the last patch when Bliz fucked up mana gains scrolling I've been feeling slightly gimped. The blue rain is really something and I hope it gets fixed. But while my crits may not be phenominal I have become an unstoppable juggernaught in PvE and, yes, that mob is my bitch. I love that I rarely have to drink.
Having done a few raids, I have also seen holy priests pull off some amazing heals. While leveling as holy is difficult it is possible to level almost purely through instance healing and if you want to get good at your spec that is probably the best way to level. I now have enormous respect for a skilled holy priest.
I can't say much for PvP. As much as I love PvP I find there's usually very little teamwork involved in PuG BGs, while raiding has become a real passion for me. However during the 40-49 and 50-59 brackets I had a lot of fun doing BGs, but that may have been due to the fact that my battle group is much more organized at these levels.
By the time you hit 70 I believe your priest will have been a rewarding class, whether shadow or holy. However, as I've heard many people emphasize, healing is a calling. If you want to heal you will be sacraficing solo survivability and your independence outside of a group enviorment. If you are not interested in sacraficing your dps for other members of your group, roll shadow. Additionally if you are not prepared to commit to maintaining VT during a raid, do not expect to see a lot of endgame. Some players may say "lol don't take this so srsly its just a game man," but most players will find that if they do seriously commit to their class they will have a more rewarding experiance. This does not mean playing for eight hours a day, although you may if you have the time or are addicted (God help you), but it does mean that you know your class and take your job in a group seriously.
But no matter what spec you choose, you will probably take tailoring. I recently capped my tailoring at 375. And believe you me, tailoring sucks.
In Outland instances I've found myself feeling slightly embaressed about my dps when grouped with a skilled and well geared mage. One thing that's difficult to make up for is our lack of crit abilites, and I mean in terms of player satisfaction. It feels amazing to see a big yellow 5000 explode over a mob. My crits stay in the 2000-2500 range, although I have a feeling they will get higher in the future. Since the last patch when Bliz fucked up mana gains scrolling I've been feeling slightly gimped. The blue rain is really something and I hope it gets fixed. But while my crits may not be phenominal I have become an unstoppable juggernaught in PvE and, yes, that mob is my bitch. I love that I rarely have to drink.
Having done a few raids, I have also seen holy priests pull off some amazing heals. While leveling as holy is difficult it is possible to level almost purely through instance healing and if you want to get good at your spec that is probably the best way to level. I now have enormous respect for a skilled holy priest.
I can't say much for PvP. As much as I love PvP I find there's usually very little teamwork involved in PuG BGs, while raiding has become a real passion for me. However during the 40-49 and 50-59 brackets I had a lot of fun doing BGs, but that may have been due to the fact that my battle group is much more organized at these levels.
By the time you hit 70 I believe your priest will have been a rewarding class, whether shadow or holy. However, as I've heard many people emphasize, healing is a calling. If you want to heal you will be sacraficing solo survivability and your independence outside of a group enviorment. If you are not interested in sacraficing your dps for other members of your group, roll shadow. Additionally if you are not prepared to commit to maintaining VT during a raid, do not expect to see a lot of endgame. Some players may say "lol don't take this so srsly its just a game man," but most players will find that if they do seriously commit to their class they will have a more rewarding experiance. This does not mean playing for eight hours a day, although you may if you have the time or are addicted (God help you), but it does mean that you know your class and take your job in a group seriously.
But no matter what spec you choose, you will probably take tailoring. I recently capped my tailoring at 375. And believe you me, tailoring sucks.