World Of Warcraft: Best Races For Priests

Summary

• Priests excel in healing and DPS roles, with Holy and Shadow options that are PvP favorites.
• Void Elves make great Shadow Priests due to their racial abilities, enhancing damage and mobility.
• Night Elves offer great traits for Priests, including Shadowmeld and passive bonuses to movement speed and dodge.

For those who play RPGs, like healing or DPS characters, and want to have considerable power in each category, the Priest class is an ideal choice. World of Warcraft is one of the gaming worlds’ most accessible MMORPGs, and filled with an impressive variety of races that players can use to start building this popular class.

Priests that use Holy magic or are tasked with healing allies and even raising their fallen friends after death, and Shadow Priests are known as “face melters” for the savage amount of damage they do. Both are PvP favorites, and healers get priority when it comes to looking for a group.

Updated on January 16, 2025, by Kristy Ambrose: World of Warcraft is filled with history, lore, and various choices when it comes to character customization. Priests are already important for leveling, PvE, PvP, dungeons, and endgame raids, and with all of the races now available in retail, only the Dracthyr is excluded from the class. Debates will continue over which races make for the best priests, and which races players can choose will depend on what version of World of Warcraft they happen to be playing.

12

Void Elf

Unlocked By: Speak To Alleria Windrunner At The Stormwind Embassy

• Special Abilities: Preternatural Calm, Entropic Embrace, Spatial Rift

The Void Elf race is steeped in magical energy, and so any magical-based class such as Priest will find them a strong contender simply for the lore and look. But their racial abilities also generally make an impact when considering the type of role that a Priest will play in any party.

Void Elves make for great Shadow Priests in particular, due to their Preternatural Calm, which means they don’t suffer push-back from spells that can interrupt their casting. Entropic Embrace is another ability that is hugely influential for this role as it gives a damage boost that works well under the types of damage Priests will normally do. Finally, they have a Spatial Rift to help get themselves out of immediate danger and move quickly to help allies.

11

Goblin

How To Unlock: Included In The Cataclysm Expansion

• Special Abilities: Rocket Jump, Time Is Money

Another race, but a Horde one, which is great for Shadow Priest work, the Goblins are small in stature and therefore have the right look for fearsome creatures who operate best in the background on the battlefield. Goblins are uncommon for front-line warriors that get up close with the enemy, but as backup characters that can help heal and use magic on enemies, they are highly effective.

One of the best things about Goblins in World of Warcraft is their ability to reposition with Rocket Jump, helping the lack of Priestly mobility immensely. They also have a small, but important passive in Time is Money, which gives a boost to haste that Priests will make great use of with their rotations.

10

Blood Elf

How To Unlock: Part Of The Burning Crusade Expansion

• Special Abilities: Arcane Torrent, Arcane Resistance, Arcane Acuity

Blood Elves are one of the most popular races on the Horde side of WoW, and not only because of their long history or unique aesthetic. This race can be a variety of classes. It introduced Paladins to the Horde in The Burning Crusade expansion, with only the Druid and Evoker unavailable to them.

This handsome race makes the best casters because of certain handy racial abilities. Arcane Torrent silences nearby enemies and interrupts their spellcasting, which is nice for any class, but especially ideal for squishy classes like Priests that need more defensive abilities. They have an increased resistance to Arcane magic, and Arcane Acuity improves the critical hit chance of their spells, and that applies to both healing and DPS.

9

Pandaren

How To Unlock: Included With The Mists Of Pandaria Expansion

• Special Abilities: Quaking Palm, Inner Peace, Epicurean

The Pandaren are the first race available in World of Warcraft to both the Alliance and the Horde, and they make for great Priests for a number of reasons. Their neutrality in the great battle between Humans and Orcs helps to make them feel like a race whose lore and personality are built for players to create Priest-like characters who heal the sick as opposed to wantonly murdering their way through Azeroth.

The active racial for Pandaren, Quaking Palm, allows Pandaren to incapacitate targets just long enough to back away from combat. Inner Peace gives a leveling buff and Epicurean gives the Pandarian Priest extra power from buff foods. All of this together with the abilities a Priest can gain makes a Pandaren the ultimate defensive and buffing tool for any party.

8

Lightforged Draenei

How To Unlock: Speak To Turalyon At The Stormwind Embassy

• Special Abilities: Holy Resistance, Light’s Judgement, Light’s Reckoning

Ever since the Draenei first landed on Azeroth, they’ve been known as Paladins and Priests, dedicated to the fight against the demons that dominated their homeworld. The Lightforged Dreanei have dedicated themselves to the service of the Holy Light, and undergo a ritual to make this powerful magic a part of their bodies.

This made the Lightforged Draeani powerful enough to purge the demonic presence from Argus, and the lore states that they moved on to Azeroth after achieving victory at home. They have extra resistance to Holy damage, Light’s Judgement is an extra AoE ability, and Light’s Reckoning causes the Lightforged Dreanei to erupt into an explosion of Holy light that damages enemies and heals allies.

7

Troll

How To Unlock: One Of The Original Classic Races

• Special Abilities: Berserking, Da Voodoo Shuffle, Regeneration

The Troll race doesn’t pray to the Holy Light. Instead, they worship their own Loa Spirits, who give them powers similar to those of the Light. They are considered the closest thing that World of Warcraft has to voodoo Priests and they dress accordingly.

While Trolls don’t come with as many abilities specifically geared to help them as Priests as some other races, their lore and appearance alone convince many players to take them on. They do have extra health regeneration, which allows them to stay in battle for longer helping their allies. One of their racial, Da Voodoo Shuffle, reduces movement-impairing effects, making it harder for enemies to stop them from escaping.

6

Tauren

How To Unlock: One Of The Original Classic Races

• Special Abilities: War Stomp, Brawn, Nature Resistance

The Tauren gained the ability to become Priests more recently, following the Cataclysm expansion, and seem to draw power from the same place as Tauren Paladins. The idea of a huge Tauren as a Priest is quite unusual, but the lore of the Tauren race and their appearance makes it hugely fun to put a character like this together.

The shamanistic roots of the Tauren make for a fascinating bit of lore that can be built around a Tauren Priest. Their racial abilities include a buff that adds 2% to healing, and they naturally come with heightened stamina that can help them stay out of the thick of the fight. Brawn increases critical hit chance, which also applies to spells. All of this makes Tauren useful as Priests whether healing or dealing damage.

5

The Forsaken

How To Unlock: One Of The Original Classic Races

• Special Abilities: Will Of The Forsaken, Shadow Resistance, Touch of the Grave

Probably the best of the Horde options when it comes to becoming a Priest, the Forsaken seem like a strange choice to be the ones healing the sick and regenerating the dead. However, an undead Shadow Priest makes a lot of sense.

Their Will of the Forsaken ability stops them from being caught by effects such as charms and fears. This means they are less likely to be interrupted in providing vital healing and other positive effects for their party in combat.

The Undead also come with useful passive abilities such as Shadow Resistance and Touch of the Grave, which can help reduce the shadow damage the player takes while also dealing some out to enemies. In addition to the great lore of the Undead faction, and the wonderful look that an Undead Priest gets, all of this makes them highly suitable for a place as Priests.

4

Night Elf

How To Unlock: One Of The Original Classic Races

• Special Abilities: Shadowmeld, Touch of Elune, Quickness

The Night Elves are an Alliance race who have several particularly great traits and abilities for taking on the role of Priests. Their active racial Shadowmeld makes them immune to powerful attacks and large numbers of opponents. Night Elves are incredibly useful in all magical roles and classes, and their passive abilities can also be hugely significant to Priestly duties.

Shadowmeld also allows players to escape combat to replenish their mana. Meanwhile, the Quickness ability gives extra movement speed and dodge chance, so players can stay near the combat without putting themselves in as much danger as normal.

Touch of Elune is a passive ability that increases haste during the day and critical strike during the night. All of this makes a Night Elf a great choice for a Priest class, especially since their appearance and lore fit with the style very well.

3

Draenei

How To Unlock: Part Of The Burning Crusade Expansion

• Special Abilities: Gift Of The Naaru, Heroic Presence, Shadow Resistance

A Draenei Priest would naturally be skilled in the Holy Light. Their lore is filled with legends of their struggle against the Burning Legion, and this is a solemn race that brought elephant mounts to Azeroth and the Shaman class to the Alliance. A Shadow Priest of the Dreanei would be less likely, but an ambitious player with some creative role-playing ideas could make it work.

Gift of the Naaru is a racial healing ability that a Draenei Priest can use in addition to their usual healing spells, making them natural healers. Heroic Presence increases the stats of Strength, Intellect, and Agility and improved Shadow Resistance is great for any class.

2

Nightborne

How To Unlock: Speak To Lady Liadrin At The Orgrimmar Embassy

• Special Abilities: Magical Affinity, Arcane Pulse, Arcane Resistance, Ancient History

The Nightborne were one of the races who were isolated from the rest of Azeroth for thousands of years, protected by a magical barrier created by the source of their existence, the Nightwell. Their homeland, Surimar, is one of World of Warcraft’s more scenic zones, so it’s worth a visit for players who like exploring.

This race is ideal for any spellcasting class because of their connection to the Arcane, but those players who are building Priests get even better utility from their racial abilities. Magical Affinity increases all magical damage dealt, Arcane Pulse is an AoE ability that ensnares and damages nearby enemies. Should this Priest choose Inscription as their profession, Ancient History increases their skill.

1

Human

How To Unlock: One Of The Original Classic Races

• Abilities: Will To Survive, The Human Spirit

It is difficult, with the slight level of difference between most factions in any class, to discount Human as a great racial option for almost anything. Humans have the active racial Will to Survive, which allows them to break stuns regularly. The Human Spirit passive trait increases all of their secondary stats by a small percentage.

Both of these traits, along with the great designs for humans, the wonderful lore that is built around them in-universe. The beautifully designed areas of Azeroth that fall under the human domain, make them a great choice for Priest duties.