Free WoW Guide: Priest build: Pure PVP

Shadow Tree

Blackout
Rank: 5/5
Gives your Shadow damage spells a 10% chance to stun the target for 3 seconds.

Improved Shadow Word Pain
Rank: 2/2
Increases the duration of your Shadow Word: Pain spell by 6 seconds.

Shadow Focus
Rank: 5/5
Reduces your targets chance to resist your Shadow spells by 10%.

Improved Psychic Scream
Rank: 2/2
Reduces the cooldown of Psychic Scream by 4 seconds.

Improved Mind Blast
Rank: 4/5
Reduces the cooldown of your Mind Blast spell by 2 seconds.

Mind Flay
Rank: 1/1
Assault the target's mind with Shadow energy causing 75 damage over 3 seconds and slows the target to 50% of their movement speed.

Shadow Reach
Rank: 3/3
Increases the range of your Shadow damage spells by 20%.

Silence
Rank: 1/1
Silences the target, preventing them from casting spells for 5 seconds.

Shadow Weaving
Rank: 5/5
Shadow damage spells have a 100% chance to cause your target to be vulnerable to Shadow damage.

Vampiric Embrace
Rank: 1/1
Afflicts your target with Shadow energy that causes all party members to be healed for 20% of any Shadow damage you deal for 1 minute.

Darkness
Rank: 5/5
Increases your Shadow spell damage by 10%.

Discipline Tree

Unbreakable Will
Rank: 5/5
Increases your chance to resist Stun, Fear and Silence effects by 15%.

Improved Power Word: Shield
Rank: 3/3
Reduces the duration of Power Holy Word: Shield's Weakened Soul effect by 15 seconds.

Improved Power Word: Fortitude
Rank: 2/2
Increases the effect of your Power Word: Fortitude spell by 30%.

Mental Agility
Rank: 5/5
Reduces the mana cost of your instant cast spells by 10%.

Improved Mana Burn
Rank: 2/2
Reduces the casting time of your Mana Burn spell by 0.5 seconds.

This is an end-game build designed around PvP. This is just a sample build – there are a few options to consider when deciding on the final placement of your 51 talent points. What this build has is Blackout over Spirit Tap. This is due to the strength of stuns in PvP situations. Stuns can change the tide of battle. Blackout is a fairly reliable source, and statistically if you cast 10 damage spells in a fight (which you should) then Blackout should trigger. It is much more useful for dueling than Spirit Tap. One of the main points many will notice about this build is the absence of Shadowform – this is a personal choice, taken to save points to spend in the Discipline tree. I feel that the inability to heal is to big a hindrance to counter Shadowform’s 15% bonus to damage. This is especially the case against Rogues and Mages, who can dish out such high damage in such a short time that healing can barely keep up with it.

One of the main choices to be made here is between Shadow Focus, Improved Mind Blast, and Improved Mana Burn. Without taking Shadowform, one of the above talents should drop one point. For the purposes of this build I chose to drop a point from Improved Mind Blast, over Shadow Focus, due to the fact that I feel that Shadow Resistance potions and items will soon become prevalent, and the reduced risk chance makes dueling well-equipped foes much easier. The reduce cooldown of Mind Blast does little if it is being resisted often. I chose to max Improved Mana Burn because it is the only way to duel another priest. Priest vs priest battles will always result in mana standoffs, who can live burn the other’s mana first. A priest specced in Discipline with Mental Strength and Improved Mana Burn will always beat a priest without. With Improved Mana Burn, you will have an edge over others who chose to spend an extra 2 points in the Shadow Tree.