WoW Guide: Gearing a Holy priest for Karazhan

[DrownFish]

by Eliah Hecht @ wowinsider



Hello, fellow Holy priests! Are you interested in Karazhan, but have never gone yet? Maybe you want some Badges, maybe you want some nice epics, or maybe you just want to hang out with nine other folks and have some fun. But what to wear? <P>Well, the good news is you don't need amazing gear to start KZ. In fact, healing KZ can be easier than healing many heroics, in my experience, if only because you have another healer or two there to help you out. Of course, the better your gear is, the better your performance will be, but there are many easy-to-reach pieces of gear that will perform fine, and several that will perform amazingly, for Karazhan. Join me as I step through some recommended options.<BR></P><P>Note that priest gearing received a fairly major change in the recent 2.4 patch, for two reasons:</P><UL><LI>Intellect now makes our spirit work better. <LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=14777">Meditation</A> now makes 30% of our spirit work while inside the five-second rule, instead of 15%. </LI></UL><P>The second of these two changes is by far the bigger; the net effect of both of them is to make spirit even more valuable than it was, and to make int. worth a bit as well.</P><P>That said, your primary stats to focus on will be, by far, +healing and spirit, followed by int and mp5, and stamina is also nice to have as well. Spell crit is really not an important priest healing stat - don't shun it, but it will rarely be a reason to choose one piece over another.</P><H2 id=primal_mooncloth>Primal Mooncloth</H2><P>If you are a tailor, and you haven't specialized yet, and you intend to be a healing priest in the long term, <EM>go for Mooncloth tailoring</EM>. I can't stress this enough. And if you are a Mooncloth tailor and you've hit 70, your number one priority should be making the <A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?itemset=554">Primal Mooncloth</A> set. It is an <EM>amazing</EM> bind-on-pickup, Mooncloth-tailor only set of entry-level epics, more than worth the mats you put into it. The only piece that can be beat with Karazhan loot is the shoulders, and even then the set bonus will have you hanging onto PMC for a while yet.</P><P>The set consists of the following three pieces:</P><UL><LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=21875">Primal Mooncloth Robe</A> <LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=21874">Primal Mooncloth Shoulders</A> <LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=21873">Primal Mooncloth Belt</A> </LI></UL><P>These items are tailor-made (so to speak) for priests. Covered in +heal and spirit, and did you see that set bonus? Even more Meditation! Make it, wear it, love it. The total mats are:</P><UL><LI>26 <A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=21845">Primal Mooncloth</A> <LI>16 <A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=21886">Primal Life</A> <LI>12 <A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=22457">Primal Mana</A> <LI>8 <A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=21881">Netherweb Spider Silk</A> </LI></UL><P>Obviously you can get your PMC a bit cheaper by using your own cooldowns (which will get you two pieces for the price of one), but if you're impatient and have the gold you can always just buy more off the AH.</P><P>Primal Mooncloth does have one major weakness: no stamina. To make up for this, carry some high-stam items around and swap them in as needed for particular fights (like Aran).</P><H2 id=whitemend>Whitemend</H2><P>There's one more epic tailored set that's worth mentioning. <A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?itemset=571">Whitemend</A> is composed of two pieces, and is bind-on-equip, which means you don't have to be a tailor to wear it.</P><UL><LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=24264">Whitemend Hood</A> <LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=24261">Whitemend Pants</A> </LI></UL><P>It's also a lot easier to get made for you now that <A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=23572">Primal Nether</A>s are not BoP - you don't have to find a tailor who both knows the pattern and has a Nether they're willing to use. The total mats for Whitemend are:</P><UL><LI>20 Primal Mooncloth <LI>10 <A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=23571">Primal Might</A> <LI>2 Primal Nether </LI></UL><P>Due to the 2.4 changes, this set is not nearly as good as it once was. In fact, overall it's about on par with the relevant Hallowed pieces (see next section) - but that's not counting the set bonus, which is decent if not imba. If you don't already have good items for those slots, and you've got the cash, Whitemend is a good way to fill them, but it's not nearly as high-priority as PMC.</P><H2 id=dungeon_set_3_hallowed>Dungeon Set 3: Hallowed</H2><P>Just like back in original <EM>WoW</EM>, every class has a set of blues obtainable through regular 5-man dungeons that's oriented towards them in particular. For us, it's the <A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?itemset=662">Hallowed Raiment</A>. These are actually pretty good pieces overall, although if you've followed my advice and grabbed the PMC set you won't have room for enough to get the four-piece bonus. Doesn't matter much; the four-piece is just OK, and the two-piece is utter garbage.</P><P>I'll discuss the individual pieces more when I go through the slot-by-slot breakdown, but here's all the items and where they come from:</P><UL><LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=28413">Hallowed Crown</A> - Harbinger Skyriss, Arcatraz <LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=28230">Hallowed Garments</A> - Murmer, Shadow Labyrinth <LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=27536">Hallowed Handwraps</A> - Kargath Bladefist, Shattered Halls <LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=27775">Hallowed Pauldrons</A> - Vorpil, Shadow Labyrinth <LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=27875">Hallowed Trousers</A> - Talon King Ikiss, Sethekk Halls </LI></UL><H2 id=slot_by_slot>Slot-by-slot</H2><P>Now that we've gotten a few sets out of the way, let's get to the heart of this post: for each slot, what are some relatively easy-to-obtain items that will serve you well in Karazhan? I'll list items for each slot in order of preference (unless otherwise noted). This part will cover the first half of the slots, and the rest will be found in part two.<BR></P><P>You'll see that I've listed an enchantment for all relevant slots. <STRONG>Enchant your gear</STRONG>. If you don't, you're really not getting the most out of it. Some of the more expensive enchants can wait until you get a great item, but for things like the <A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=33990#comments">Major Spirit</A> to chest enchant, there's no excuse not to put it on anything half-decent that you have. Gems will be discussed in part two.</P><P>I'm not mentioning most of the high-cost <A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=29434">Badge of Justice</A> gear, since I figure if you're running that many heroics you probably have decent gear already, but there is some really good stuff sold by <A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?npc=25046">Hauthaa</A>, the new Badge vendor. I'm currently saving up for the <A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=34925">Adorned Supernal Legwraps</A> myself.</P><H3 id=head>Head</H3><UL><LI>If you happen to be an engineer, the <A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=32495">Powerheal 4000 Lens</A> (BoP engineering) is pretty great, but most priests just don't seem to be engineers. <LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=28413">Hallowed Crown</A> is a nice, solid item, if you can get it to drop from Skyriss in the Arcatraz (one of my least favorite instances). Either this or Whitemend is your best bet if you're not an engineer. <LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=24264">Whitemend Hood</A> is better than Hallowed Crown if, and only if, you have the Whitemend Pants as well for the set bonus, and you may find it easier to get. </LI></UL><H4 id=enchant>Enchant</H4><P>There's really only one game in town when it comes to an enchantment to put on your headpiece as a priest, and it's the <A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=29189">Glyph of Renewal</A> from Honor Hold/Thrallmar revered. It costs 90g; suck it up and slap it on the first decent headpiece you get.</P><H3 id=neck>Neck</H3><UL><LI>If you're exalted with Aldor/Scryer, go for the <A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=34677">Shattered Sun Pendant of Restoration</A>. Getting exalted with the Shattered Sun Offensive, if you're not already, is pretty darn easy (and profitable, too), and this is a great necklace if you're getting one of the proc benefits. <LI>If you PvP much, the <A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=33922">Vindicator's Pendant of Salvation</A> is nice. <LI>If you don't PvP and you're not exalted with Aldor/Scryer (and you don't want to put in the effort to get there), aim for one of these drops: <UL><LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=27766">Swampstone Necklace</A> (Musel'ek, Underbog) <LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=27440">Diamond Prism of Recurrence</A> (Epoch Hunter, Old Hillsbrad) <LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=28419">Choker of Fluid Thought</A> (Skyriss, Arcatraz) </LI></UL></LI></UL><H3 id=shoulder>Shoulder</H3><UL><LI>Your best bet here really is <A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=21874">Primal Mooncloth Shoulders</A>. <LI>If you're not doing that, though, the <A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=27775">Hallowed Pauldrons</A> (Vorpil, Shadow Labyrinth) are probably the next best. </LI></UL><H4 id=enchant>Enchant</H4><P>Not much choice here; go for the healing inscription from your Aldor/Scryer quartermaster, the major one if you have the rep for it.</P><H3 id=cloak>Cloak</H3><P>These two are neck-and-neck in my opinion; get whichever comes easiest. I'm currently rocking the Manaweave Cloak since the Avian Cloak just kept refusing to drop for me.</P><UL><LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=27946">Avian Cloak of Feathers</A> (Talon King Ikiss, Sethekk Halls) <LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=24260">Manaweave Cloak</A> (BoE tailoring: 10 <A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=24271">Spellcloth</A>, 12 Primal Mana, 1 Primal Nether) </LI></UL><H4 id=enchant>Enchant</H4><P><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=25084">Subtlety</A>. Pulling aggro is bad; pulling aggro in raids is very bad. It's kind of expensive, but either of the two cloaks above will last you a while.</P><H3 id=chest>Chest</H3><UL><LI>Again, the <A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=21875">Primal Mooncloth Robe</A> is better than anything you can find in Karazhan, let alone before it. <LI>But if you're not doing PMC, go for the <A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=28230">Hallowed Garments</A> (Murmur, Shadow Labyrinth). <LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=29129">Anchorite's Robes</A>, from Aldor honored rep, are also decent. </LI></UL><H4 id=enchant>Enchant</H4><P><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=33990#comments">Major Spirit</A>. Spirit is great, and enchants don't get much cheaper than this. <A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=33991">Restore Mana Prime</A> is inferior with the recent changes.</P><H3 id=wrist>Wrist</H3><UL><LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=33589">Wristguards of Tranquil Thought</A> (35 BoJ). These things are amazing. If you have the badges, you can get yourself a piece that won't be replaced before T5. <LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=29249">Bands of the Benevolent</A> (Talon King Ikiss, Heroic Sethekk Halls) <LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=33901">Vindicator's Mooncloth Cuffs</A> (12k honor, 20 WSG marks) <LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=27452">Light Scribe Bands</A> (Nazan, Heroic Hellfire Ramparts) <LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=34705">Bracers of Divine Infusion</A> (Vexallus, Magister's Terrace) </LI></UL><H4 id=enchant>Enchant</H4><P><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=27911">Superior Healing</A>. This one is a little bit expensive, so if you're feeling strapped for cash you might wait until you get Bands of the Benevolent or Wristguards of Tranquil Thought, or <A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=28511">Bands of Indwelling</A> from KZ.</P>

[DrownFish]

<H3 id=gloves>Gloves</H3><UL><LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=27536">Hallowed Handwraps</A> (Kargath Bladefist, Shattered Halls). You'll want to be running Hellfire instances anyway to get your Honor Hold/Thrallmar rep up for the head glyph. <LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=24393">Blood Surgeon's Mitts</A>. These drop from Broggok on <EM>normal</EM> Blood Furnace, oddly enough, but they're darn nice pre-KZ gloves. <LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=31150">Gloves of Piety</A> (world drop BoE). If you really can't get either of the above items, you might be able to snag these at the AH for cheap. </LI></UL><H4 id=enchant>Enchant</H4><P><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=33999">Major Healing</A>. A bit expensive; personally I might wait till Hallowed if not until a KZ drop (there are two good priest gloves in KZ) to enchant that. But if you have the spare cash/mats, go for it.</P><H3 id=finger>Finger</H3><P>Whatever you have, one of your rings is going to get replaced by your <A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=29289">Violet Signet</A> as soon as you hit Honored with the Violet Eye (which doesn't take long), or quite possibly even at Friendly, depending. But you'll have to wear something before then; here are some good options. Don't worry too much about getting two of these – one of these and a decent quest reward or whatever else you've happened to pick up will do fine until you get your Violet Signet.</P><UL><LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=31258">Band of Sorrow</A> (world drop BoE). Looks like it ought to be fairly cheap, and shockingly good for that - there's little better pre-raid. <LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=29322">Keeper's Ring of Piety</A> - a must, given that all you need to do is complete one Black Morass (this is a quest reward). <LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=33918">Vindicator's Band of Salvation</A> (15k honor, 10 AV marks) <LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=29373">Band of Halos</A> (25 BoJ) </LI></UL><H4 id=enchant>Enchant</H4><P>Ring enchants are enchanter-only, so you probably already know what to use if you have the option, but it's <A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=27926">Healing</A>. Not too expensive.</P><H3 id=waist>Waist</H3><UL><LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=21873">Primal Mooncloth Belt</A> <LI>Seriously, I still haven't convinced you to go PMC tailoring? Fine, <A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=24257">Black Belt of Knowledge</A> (tailoring, 6 Bolts of Imbued Netherweave, 14 Primal mana, 1 Primal Nether) is pretty good, even though it has no +healing - the mp5 and spirit make up for it. <LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=34793">Cord of Reconstruction</A> (Kael'thas, Magister's Terrace) is also not bad. </LI></UL><H3 id=legs>Legs</H3><P>This is one slot where the <A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=27875">Hallowed</A> is actually a little deficient, due to spending so much of its budget on int and mp5.</P><UL><LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=24261">Whitemend Pants</A> - these are the best if you're also wearing the hat. <LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=30543">Pontifex Kilt</A> (Kalithresh, Heroic Steam Vault) <LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=28218">Pontiff's Pantaloons of Prophecy</A> (Captain Skarloc, Heroic Old Hillsbrad) <LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=29345">Haramad's Leg Wraps</A> (Mana-Tombs quest). I love these quest rewards - guaranteed drop! </LI></UL><H4 id=enchant>Enchant</H4><P><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=24275">Silver</A>/<A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=24276">Golden Spellthread</A>, made by Aldor tailors. Use the Silver on Haramad's, Golden on anything better.</P><H3 id=feet>Feet</H3><P>There are a few options here that are quite close in terms of quality.</P><UL><LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=29251">Boots of the Pious</A> (Pathaleon, Heroic Mechanar) <LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=27411">Slippers of Serenity</A> (Exarch Maladaar, Auchenai Crypts) <LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=25792">Curate's Boots</A> (Shattered Halls quest reward, alliance-only) </LI></UL><H4 id=enchant>Enchant</H4><P>There aren't any amazing boot enchants for priests; <A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=34008">Boar's Speed</A> is generally recommended for the stamina and helping you get out of AoEs or whatever. I wouldn't bother with this on anything pre-raid.</P><H3 id=weapons>Weapons</H3><P>Typically, a one-handed weapon plus an off-hand tends to be better for a priest than a two-handed weapon. There are some decent staves out there, notable the <A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=27791">Serpentcrest Life-Staff</A>, but any of these 1h weapons paired with any of these off-hands easily do better.</P><UL><LI>One-handed weapons: <UL><LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=23556">Hand of Eternity</A> (Blacksmithing BoE, a bunch of metal plus 8 Primal Might and 4 Primal Nether) <LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=31342">The Ancient Scepter of Sue-Min</A> (world drop BoE) <LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=29175">Gavel of Pure Light</A> (Sha'tar exalted) </LI></UL><LI>Off-hands: <UL><LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=33325">Voodoo Shaker</A> (35 BoJ) <LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=29170">Windcaller's Orb</A> (Cenerion Expedition exalted) <LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=31493">Netherwing Spiritualists' Charm</A> (Shadowmoon Valley quest) </LI></UL></LI></UL><H4 id=enchant>Enchant</H4><P>All caster weapon enchants can be put on either one- or two-handed weapons; there are no off-hand enchants. <A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=34010">Major Healing</A> is probably the best, and I'd say worth putting on any of the above weapons.</P><H3 id=wands>Wands</H3><UL><LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=33192">Carved Witch Doctor's Stick</A> (25 BoJ). As a bonus, this item is also pretty great for shadow priests, and/or for your soloing set. A good value for the badges. <LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=27885">Soul-Wand of the Aldor</A> (Hellmaw, Shadow Labyrinth) <LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=24380">Calming Spore Reed</A> (Rokmar, Slave Pens) </LI></UL><H3 id=trinkets>Trinkets</H3><UL><LI>If you're an alchemist, congratulations: you now have access to the best healing trinket in the game (thanks, Matthew G): <A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=35750">Reedeemer's Alchemist Stone</A>. A mere 6 Primal Life and 2 <A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=30183">Nether Vortices</A>, on top of your <A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=13503">Alchemist's Stone</A>, will get you a trinket you will not take off until <SPAN style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Wrath</SPAN> (or until you respec Shadow). Like the Blue Dragon below, this one is great because it's passive; you can't forget to activate it. And getting a little extra out of those mana pots is nothing to sneeze at. <LI>If you happen to be a jewelcrafter, <A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=35703">Figurine - Seaspray Albatross</A> is <EM>awesome</EM>. But you probably know that already. <LI><P><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=19288">Darkmoon Card: Blue Dragon</A>. Probably the second-best investment I ever made as a healing priest (the first being getting tailoring to 375 and making my PMC set). This is obtained by turning a full <A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=19228">Beasts Deck</A> (Ace through Eight) in to the Darkmoon Faire. It can be hard to find the <A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=19227">Ace of Beasts</A> these days, since it drops only from <A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?npc=10430">the Beast</A> in UBRS, and that's not a terribly popular instance right now. But keep checking the AH and the trade channel, or con your guildies into three-manning the place with you if you can. The other cards should not be very hard to grab off the AH.</P><P>Once you do get the trinket, you will notice that it procs on anything. Making bolts of cloth, spending talent points, buffing, and so on. It's really a great trinket, all the more so because it's fairly passive - you don't have to remember to activate it on purpose. You wouldn't think something from pre-<EM>BC</EM> would be so competitive, but this thing is fantastic.</P><LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=29376">Essence of the Martyr</A> (41 BoJ) <LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=28370">Bangle of Endless Blessings</A> (Warp Splinter, Botanica). One of the few things left on my shopping list for 5-mans, this thing is another hard-to-replace-before-25-mans item. Many priests hate Botanica simply because they ran it so much to get this to drop. It is, however, a great instance for fast badges, and the Bangle drops on normal or heroic. <LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=30841">Lower City Prayerbook</A> (Lower City revered). For such an easily obtainable trinket, this thing is quite nice. Remember to use it whenever it's up and you're about to cast; a one-minute cooldown goes fast. Like most trinkets, it doesn't trigger the global cooldown, so you can slam your trinket button and immediately start casting. It's also possible to macro the trinket with a healing spell so it gets used automatically whenever it's ready; see <A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=30841#comments:id=32437">this Wowhead comment thread</A> for details. </LI></UL><H2 id=gems>Gems</H2><P>The first rule of gems is: ignore the socket bonus. 95% of the time, matching gem colors, unless you were going to do it anyway, is not worth getting the +2 int or whatever. There aren't really any great gems to match yellow sockets; the best ones are probably the <A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?items=3&amp;filter=na=luminous">"luminous" series</A>.</P><P>The best priest gems, by a considerable margin, are the "purified" series:</P><UL><LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=32833">Purified Jaggal Pearl</A> <LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=32836">Purified Shadow Pearl</A> <LI><A href="http://www.wowhead.com/?item=37503">Purified Shadowsong Amethyst</A> </LI></UL><P>These are purple gems, so they match both red and blue sockets. I'd say go ahead and toss these in all your slots unless the set bonus makes it worth going to yellow gems.</P><P>As for what quality to buy, that's between you and your bank, but obviously don't put green-quality gems in gear that will last you a while - the difference may seem small, but that extra 2 healing and 1 spirit per gem really adds up. Purified Shadow Pearls are relatively cheap as blue-quality gems go. Most JCs will be willing to do the recipe for a small tip; it's taught by the gem trainer, so every JC should have it.</P><H2 id=conclusion>Conclusion</H2><P>And there you have it! If you're wearing all or mostly items from the above list, you should be ready to make your way through the halls of Karazhan and have a blast. Your stats should probably be something like +1400 healing, 400 spirit, fully buffed.</P>