WoW Forever Priest Racial Spells

Priests are the one class in WoW Forever whose race decides part of the spellbook. Every Priest race learns two spells of its own, one at level 10 and one at level 20, on top of the normal racial traits. Forever reworked this system rather than copying Classic: Fear Ward and Devouring Plague are no longer locked to Dwarves and Undead, four races got brand-new spells, and Starshards and Elune's Grace were redesigned. Below, we go through every Priest racial spell race by race, compare the six races for leveling, PvE and PvP, and share the small tricks that make each spell worth pressing.

How Priest Racial Spells Work in WoW Forever

Each of the six Priest races gets a pair of exclusive spells. The first one becomes available at level 10 and the second at level 20, and both work like any other Priest spell: they sit in your spellbook, cost Mana or a cooldown, and scale as you level. No other race can learn them, so the choice is locked in at character creation.

The biggest change from Classic is what is no longer racial. Fear Ward used to be exclusive to Dwarves and Devouring Plague to Undead. In Forever every Priest gets both at level 20, so no raid needs a Dwarf Priest just for Fear Ward anymore. Fear Ward also changed: it now lasts 3 minutes and has a 3-minute cooldown.

Six races can be Priests: Human, Dwarf, Night Elf and Gnome for the Alliance, Undead and Troll for the Horde. Gnome Priest is one of the new race and class combinations in Forever. The Skyborne cannot be Priests.

All Priest Racial Spells at a Glance

The table lists both spells of every race and the level you learn them. The sections below explain what each one does and when it pays off.

Cooldowns and values below are from the WoW Forever beta and may still change before launch on November 4.

Human Priest Racials: Divine Grace and Feedback

Divine Grace is a new emergency heal. It is instant, costs no Mana, reaches 40 yards and only works on an ally below 50% Health. On top of the heal it removes Weakened Soul, so the target can take a second Power Word: Shield right away. It cannot be cast on yourself and has a 10-minute cooldown.

Feedback is unchanged from Classic. For 15 seconds, every spell that hits you burns Mana from the caster and deals Shadow damage for each point burned. It has a 3-minute cooldown and is a pure anti-caster tool: it does nothing against Warriors or Rogues.

Humans also keep Will to Survive to break stuns and The Human Spirit for 5% more Spirit, which matters for a Mana-hungry healer.

Dwarf Priest Racials: Desperate Prayer and Chastise

Desperate Prayer is the same instant self-heal as in Classic, with a 10-minute cooldown and no Mana cost. It doesn't pull a Shadow Priest out of Shadowform, which makes it the only big heal a Shadow Priest can press without dropping the form.

Chastise is new for Dwarves in Forever. It deals a little Holy damage and roots the target for up to 2 seconds, works only on Humanoids, costs 50 Mana and has a 2-minute cooldown. The damage is negligible: Chastise is a kiting tool for PvP and for running away from a humanoid pull while leveling.

The base racial that carries Dwarves is Stoneform. It removes and blocks Bleed, Poison and Disease effects and reduces Physical damage taken, and since Blind is a poison it also answers a Rogue's best opener.

Night Elf Priest Racials: Starshards and Elune's Grace

Starshards was reworked: it hits much harder than in Classic but now has a 30-second cooldown. It channels Arcane damage over 6 seconds for 50 Mana. Because it deals Arcane damage, Shadow talents and Shadowform don't boost it, so it is strongest while leveling as a Holy or Discipline Priest and loses value once your Shadow talents pile up.

Elune's Grace now cuts the chance that melee and ranged attacks hit you by 50% for 15 seconds, but it fades after 3 misses. It costs 3% of base Mana and has a 5-minute cooldown. In Classic it reduced ranged damage instead.

Night Elves also bring Shadowmeld, which in Forever can be used in combat, and Elune's Light for a short burst of Critical Strike chance.

Gnome Priest Racials: Confounding Flash and Contingency Plan

Gnome Priest is new in WoW Forever, and both of its spells are new too.

Confounding Flash confuses up to 5 enemies within 8 yards for 3 seconds. It has a 0.5-second cast, costs 3% of base Mana, has a 2-minute cooldown, and any damage breaks it. That gives the Priest a short window to run, reposition or finish a cast without being hit.

Contingency Plan places a Holy ward on an ally for 30 seconds. The next time that ally drops below 35% Health, they get an absorb shield and a heal over time for 15 seconds. It is instant, costs no Mana, works on yourself too, has a 10-minute cooldown, and the effects stack with Power Word: Shield.

Gnomes also get Eureka!, which makes the next 3 non-periodic damaging or healing spells cost 10% less Mana and hit 10% harder on a 2-minute cooldown, plus Escape Artist and Expansive Mind for a bigger Mana pool.

Undead Priest Racials: Touch of Weakness and Dark Sacrifice

Touch of Weakness is unchanged. It is a 10-minute buff: the next melee attack against you deals Shadow damage to the attacker and lowers their melee Attack Power for 2 minutes.

Dark Sacrifice is new. You give up Health over 15 seconds and gain the same amount of Mana plus a bonus equal to your Spirit. It is instant, costs no Mana and has a 10-minute cooldown, so it works as an extra Mana potion that shares no cooldown with real potions.

Undead keep Will of the Forsaken against Charm, Fear and Sleep, and Cannibalize restores Health between pulls while leveling.

Troll Priest Racials: Hex of Weakness and Shadowguard

Hex of Weakness is unchanged. From 30 yards it lowers the target's melee Attack Power and cuts all healing it receives by 20% for 2 minutes, with no cooldown. In PvP that 20% is a small Mortal Strike effect on an enemy healer's target.

Shadowguard works like a Shaman's Lightning Shield. It lasts 10 minutes and holds 3 charges: each time a spell, melee or ranged attack hits you, the attacker takes Shadow damage. It causes no threat, and each attacker can only be hit by it once every few seconds.

Trolls also bring Berserking for extra casting speed and Beast Slaying for more damage against Beasts.

Best Priest Race in WoW Forever

No racial makes or breaks a Priest, but the best pick changes with what you plan to do. The table sums up where each race lands in the early beta tier lists from experienced Priest players. Treat it as a starting point: tuning before launch can still move a race up or down.

For a side-by-side look at every race across all classes, read our WoW Forever race tier list.

Tips for Using Priest Racial Spells

Most racials sit on long cooldowns, so the difference between a useful spell and a forgotten one is knowing the moment to press it.

• Pre-place Contingency Plan. It triggers on its own, so put it on the tank, or on yourself before a big pull, instead of saving it for an emergency you might react to too late.
• Time Elune's Grace against a burst. It fades after 3 misses, so popping it at random wastes it on auto-attacks. Use it when a Rogue or Warrior starts their burst.
• Pair Dark Sacrifice with Vampiric Embrace. As Shadow, use it while Vampiric Embrace is up to heal back the Health it costs. More Spirit on your gear means more Mana from the same spell.
• Fish for Blackout procs as a Troll or Undead. Shadowguard and Touch of Weakness deal Shadow damage when you are hit, which can proc the Blackout stun. Shadowguard has 3 charges, so a Rogue opener gives it several chances.
• Use Confounding Flash on casters in dungeons. It can stop up to 5 casting mobs at once. In PvP, cast it out of interrupt range: if it gets kicked, the lockout hits your Holy spells.
• Keep Desperate Prayer and Divine Grace for the five-second rule. Neither costs Mana, so neither stops your Spirit regeneration.

Racials are only part of the class. Every Discipline, Holy and Shadow change is in our WoW Forever Priest talents guide, and the fastest route to 60 is in our WoW Forever Priest leveling guide.

WoW Forever Priest Racials FAQ

More WoW Forever Priest Guides

These guides cover the rest of the Priest class in WoW Forever.