The Healbot

[savaughn]

Now go take care of your party, healbots.  :)  Comments welcome, including the "this is stupid, my build is better" variety!
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I'm personally in the "if I didn't want to heal, I wouldn't have picked a priest" camp, so I definitely agree. That said, I'm coming to feel like there's a lifecycle for a priest. Call me crazy, but I've ended up playing mine this way and I don't think I'm alone:

Early levels (up to low 40's): Shadow heavy. Play often dominated by soloing. Best talent assortment: get Mind Flay and Imp. PW:S, the rest is your call.

Mid levels: Mixed play. Players are now spending substantial portions of their time doing instances instead of following solo quests. Some players will hit this as soon as they get to their early 20's and spend almost all of their 30's doing instances. Once you get to your 40's though, the need for a priest in instances increases. It's a snap to zerg Deadmines, Stockades, BFD, etc. As players turn towards SM, though, having a healer is no longer negotiable. Everyone starts wanting you to come join their parties. A mixed build is great through this. Keep Mind Flay, and IPW:S, pick up Subtlety.

Top levels: Almost pure instance. At this point, the only reason you're not in an instance is because you don't feel like it. Everyone wants you, everyone needs you. Instance runs start getting scheduled around priest availability. Be a healbot, be proud of it, and keep your people alive. Feel free to respec and drop Mind Flay, if there's something out there you can't live without.