Home › Class comparisons › Priest vs Shaman
Priest or Shaman: Which Should You Play in WoW Forever?
Pick the Priest if you want the strongest pure healer and better PvP. Pick the Shaman if you want to heal or deal damage and help your whole group with totems.
Priest vs Shaman verdict
2 Priest 1 Shaman 3 even
The Priest is the better healer for most raid roles and the better PvP class. It levels faster as Shadow and has a wide set of heals and shields.
The Shaman wins dungeons. Totems help every party member, Chain Heal is excellent in groups, and you can switch to melee or caster damage. Solo play, raids and gold are close.
Priest vs Shaman: head-to-head comparison
| Category | Priest | Shaman |
|---|---|---|
| Leveling speed | Winner Shadow kills well and barely drinks; wand early, then Mind Flay everything. | Enhancement is steady with almost no downtime, but Elemental drinks heavily. |
| Solo play | Even Capable but fragile; cloth and mana punish careless pulls. | Even Flexible but not hands-off; totem management never stops. |
| Dungeons | A superb healer, but one of several competing for the slot. | Winner Totems are free stats for the whole party, plus flexible healing and real off-spec damage. |
| Raiding | Even The leaned-on healer for tank emergencies and prevention. | Even Raids usually bring two; Chain Heal, Riptide and totems. |
| PvP | Winner Strong in PvP, and the Shadow side is dangerous. | Weaker in PvP; a support class in a duelist's world. |
| Gold farming | Even Shadow can farm but nothing about the kit is built for it. | Even Enhancement grinds steadily but slowly; neither class is a natural farmer. |
Playing Priest in this matchup
Priests level as Shadow and switch to Holy or Discipline at 60. Your healing kit is wide: Power Word: Shield, Penance, Divine Aegis, Prayer of Mending, Holy Binding and Prayer of Healing.
Shadow is strong in PvP with Psychic Scream, Silence and Devouring Contagion.
Where the Priest falls short
Cloth armor and no self-buffing damage spec beyond Shadow. You bring no party buffs as strong as totems.
Playing Shaman in this matchup
Shamans level as Enhancement with a two-handed weapon, Windfury, Stormstrike and Maelstrom Weapon, healing themselves between fights.
At 60 Restoration heals with Chain Heal, Riptide and Mana Tide Totem, Elemental uses Lightning Mastery and Lightning Overload, and totems buff the party in every spec.
Where the Shaman falls short
Totems need placing every fight, and your single-target healing is weaker than a Priest's.
How WoW Forever's talent changes shift this matchup
Shamans changed on 2 November: Lava Burst was removed, Elemental uses Call of Thunder and Lightning Mastery, Stormstrike hits harder, Riptide became a heal over time only, and Totemic Call brings your totems to you.
Priests changed little: Binding Heal left the Holy tree but is still trainable, and Holy Binding took its slot.
Which should you pick: Priest or Shaman?
- Pure healing is the calling; Holy and Discipline are the best single-target and prevention toolkits in WoW Forever.
- PvP matters; the Shadow side is dangerous and the shaman is weaker in PvP.
- You want the faster leveling; Shadow kills well and barely drinks.
- You prefer a clean, simple kit; totems are powerful but constant chores.
- Your raid needs a dedicated tank healer; nothing beats Holy on a dying tank.
- You want three real roles; Enhancement and Elemental are legitimate DPS specs.
- Totems excite you; free stats and utility for the whole party is unique power.
- You want to be recruited; raid rosters normally carry two of them, which is the closest thing to job security in WoW Forever.
- You play Alliance and want to try one; the Dwarf Shaman is new and breaks the faction wall down.
- Windfury and your other totems are the playstyle; the group-wide highs belong to this class.
Priest and Shaman race options
Priest has 6 race choices and Shaman has 5. Races marked new could not play the class in Classic Era. See the racials guide for what each race brings.
| Faction | Priest | Shaman |
|---|---|---|
| Alliance | Human, Dwarf, Night Elf, GnomeNew | DwarfNew |
| Horde | Undead, Troll | Orc, Tauren, Troll, Skyborne WindshaperNew |
Plan your Priest or Shaman build
Plan your points before paying for a respec. Open the Priest talent calculator or the Shaman talent calculator, or try a starter build for your preferred role. The class picking guide compares all nine classes if you are still undecided.
Priest vs Shaman: common questions
Which healer do raid leaders actually recruit first?
Raids want both. Priests usually fill the tank-healing and shield roles, and Shamans bring Chain Heal and totems for the whole raid.
Totems sound like a chore. Are they worth it?
Yes. You place a few each fight and Totemic Call moves them with you. The party buffs are worth it.
I play Alliance. Does that lock me out of shaman?
No. Dwarf Shamans are available on the Alliance.
Can a shaman actually DPS in raids, or is it heal-only?
Yes. Elemental and Enhancement are both damage specs and both have a place in raids.
Which races can play Priest and Shaman in WoW Forever?
Priest: Human, Dwarf, Night Elf and Gnome on the Alliance; Undead and Troll on the Horde. Shaman: Dwarf on the Alliance; Orc, Tauren, Troll and Skyborne Windshaper on the Horde.
What is the best leveling spec for Priest and Shaman in WoW Forever?
For leveling from 1 to 60, play Shadow Priest or Enhancement Shaman. Both are A tier on our leveling tier list. Each class leveling guide has a talent path from level 10 to 60.