First and foremost, I need to apologize to my readers. Recently my life has been crowded with so much to do. I recently celebrated my birthday, however it wasn’t a good one, as a family issue came up. One thing after another seems to take me away from the things I love to do. However things are starting to calm down, and the holidays are almost over. Which means that I will soon be able to continue posting on my blog.

Once things start to calm down, I plan on making my own priest UI. It will be a simplistic but incredibly functional priest UI. So I ask you: the readers, what do you think this priest UI should contain?

Current Suggestions:

What can I say about the new Priest Tier 10? (Other than the fact it looks really, really cool) The new tier 10 I believe truly embodies the spirit of a priest. Red and purple is a very regal/ceremonial color, especially for those of extreme importance. The gold embroidering and magic glow do well to represent the holy specialty of a priest. We all know that priests are people of extreme importance right? Of course, that is a bit self-conceded, but that’s okay. I completely analyzed the crap out of the new tier, and I hope you find it an enjoyable read.

Hood/Shoulders

The hood of the regalia is very similar to that of many other priest models, such as priest Tier 5 and 6. The shoulders follows previously used concept of shoulders. They follow the favorite Tier 1, 2 and 5 concept of shoulders modified to fit the regal theme they seem to be going for. The gold magic does well to represent the spirit and holiness that a priest would have.

The Robe

The robe is well decorated with multiple gold embroideries and red cloth overlapping the regal purple presented as the robe fabric.The silver lining of the purple and red fabric is subtle but does well to pull the whole outfit together. The gold of course is there and in my opinion, fully completes the outfit of a priest.

The Psychic Reader

The tier 10 matches what a priest should look like, especially in WoTLK. I would also like to point out that reader Erinys totally called the look of the new tier. I think it was a good guess. Here was his post.

As for graphics, I’m expecting something dark, possibly purple.

So, I would like to hear from the readers. What do you think about the new priest tier 10?

Well, I hate to admit it, but I inadvertently lied when I said “Tomorrow” in my previous post. Due to things on the home front and then my computer having to be reformated, I haven’t had much time to do anything but eat, sleep, and study. However, I was recently tagged by Ophelie of The Bossy Pally and the Giant Spoon to participate in a rather interesting survey hosted by Miss Medicina. Reading all these posts served quite interesting for me, and I hope that my answers will serve interesting to you.

What is the name, class, and spec of your primary healer?

Andracon, Holy Priest (80)

What is your primary group healing environment?

Typically 5 mans, and when my guild can 10 mans. I have occasionally participated in a 25 man.

What is your favorite healing spell for your class and why?

I honestly love Prayer of Mending. It an instant cast that will heal on the next hit, essentially giving me time to get a bigger heal out or to assist in keeping people topped off.

What healing spell do you use least for your class and why?

This is bad, but I typically don’t use binding heal. I can’t seem to find a spot on my bar to place it where it is accessible, or even bindable!

What do you feel is the biggest strength of your healing class and why?

Our class’s biggest strength is easily the fact that we have such a large assortment of healing spells and utilities. This can essentially have a priest serve any role in a raid, whether it be healing the main tank or healing the raid. Versatility is key.

What do you feel is the biggest weakness of your healing class and why?

I definitely had to think about this one. Honestly, we lack the ability to burst heal. We don’t have anything that is instant and a large heal in our arsenal. Every other base is covered.

In a 25 man raiding environment, what do you feel, in general, is the best healing assignment for you?

Raid Healing. I typically function better with multiple targets taking damage and making a quick and decisive decision. I find myself sitting there and healing the raid while I wait for the tank to take damage. I’m really bad at healing assignments.

What healing class do you enjoy healing with most and why?

Definitely Paladin. My guild as you may know is relatively small. We only have one other healer, and he is a Paladin. We work great together in every instance/raid. However that isn’t the only reason. Paladins have large heals and can concentrate on the tank, while I can focus on my specialty, raid healing.

What healing class do you enjoy healing with least and why?

Druids. I don’t have my grid setup to see druid HoTs, and thus I don’t realize one of their heals are on a target. I will then follow up with healing said target and either A) overheal the target or B) cause the Druid HoTs to overheal the target.

What is your worst habit as a healer?

Using Circle of Healing on one or two targets.

What is your biggest pet peeve in a group environment while healing?

When people tell me how to do my job. This can include but not limited to: Telling me to buff someone only 30 seconds after they have revived, telling me to heal so and so, and telling me to use a certain spell in place of another.

Do you feel that your class/spec is well balanced with other healers for PvE healing?

Most definitely. Priests can compete with any other class in PvE healing due to our versatility and utility. This is only proven by the lack of  priest updates in the recent patches.

What tools do you use to evaluate your own performance as a healer?

Well, first I look at everyone’s health during every fight. If it is still there, then I am doing good. Normally after a fight I will ask my group “How are the heals? Anything that should be improved on?”. Hopefully they tell me honestly and openly. I take a look at my stats on a regular basis and make sure everything is where it should be. I use Recount to show what spells I used the most and how much overhealing I did.

What do you think is the biggest misconception people have about your healing class?

Most people typically think that unless you are a discipline priest you are unable to heal the main tank or off tank of a raid. This isn’t true in most cases. While discipline priests are better at damage mitigation, thus healing the tanks, holy priests are quite competent at healing any tank in almost any situation. The difference is, you will see a noticeable change in how much damage a tank will take. Since holy priests lack damage mitigation, the tank will take more damage, but will be compensated by the size of the heal.

What do you feel is the most difficult thing for new healers of your class to learn?

New healers typically don’t use their full arsenal of abilities. Priests have quite a few different heals to use and if you only use one or two (such as Flash Heal or Greater Heal) you are limiting the healing output you are capable of.

If someone were to try to evaluate your performance as a healer via recount, what sort of patterns would they see (i.e. lots of overhealing, low healing output, etc)?

First I have to say this: using Recount’s healing meters to evaluate yours or other healer’s performance is very bad, as a healer can be quite good, but show small healing output on Recount. Now that we have clarified that point, my pattern is typically lots of overhealing. It is a really bad habit, but I manage my mana accordingly and keep my raid and/or tanks up. I tend to fall behind Paladins and Druids, but on par with everyone else.

Haste or Crit and why?

I personally prefer crit. I like the chance to heal for a large amount when someone needs it rather than actually cast a larger heal quicker. This is just personal opinion and how you play your class.

What healing class do you feel you understand least?

Druids. I find it difficult to concentrate on multiple people and where your HoTs are. I honestly don’t get why you have to turn into a tree either, is it really that necessary?

What add-ons or macros do you use, if any, to aid you in healing?

I honestly could not live without Grid. Bartender has also assisted me quite a bit via their nifty Key Binding setting they have implemented. Pitbull and Quartz are nice addons to have if you are interested in healing. Pitbull for their overheal meter and Quartz for a sleek, easily readable cast bar.

Do you strive primarily for balance between your healing stats, or do you stack some much higher than others, and why?

I like a balance between healing stats. A balance is good and will give you a good MP5 rate, Mana pool, and spell power for a nice healing output.

Now is the time where I must tag a few other healing bloggers out there on the blogosphere to also fill out the above questions!

Firewood over on Tree Haelz – This is a blog I have taken a keen interest in. It has just started and I believe it has great potential to become something great.

and

Soonti who writes Casual Healin’ – A fun and informative blog to read that I tend to frequent.

Stay tuned for my (already announced) review of the new Priest Tier 10 model. Yes, I am procrastinating until the official release. Perhaps it will be tommorow, perhaps not..