In the beginning...

What does a budding new face melter need to know when they roll a priest? Or, for that matter, what does any new player need to know when they take the plunge into warcraft? That's the question posed by Evil Sheep over on Blog Azeroth after he intervened with a fledgling hunter to spare the world another huntard.

The truth is, for priests, the tutorial starts before you even roll because of the grave and infuriating matter of priest racial abilities. Priests uniquely gain two spells specific to their race, ranging from the delicious to the downright useless. They are both learned from the trainer; the first at level 10 and the second at level 20.

First, go here and read up about the different spells. Then come back.

Back? Ready? Good.

You see what I mean? A very mixed back of tricks. There are some who think priest racials are rather imbalanced — mostly, it has to be said, those who have the shit ones. If you intend to roll a priest you will have to decide for yourself.

Your choice may be influenced by your intentions for end game — do you want to heal or dps, pvp or pve? You will find some spells stand out for a specific role while others have no imaginable application. Chastise and Elune's grace have very clear pvp uses while symbol of hope could come in very handy in instances. They are definitely worth considering. I rolled a priest before I even knew about them and now I feel a little miffed. But at no time should you feel pressured into choosing a particular race simply for the corresponding racial abilities.

Put simply, they don't matter. Not really. Do I wish I had devouring plague? You betcha. Am I bitter that I was cursed at birth with touch of crapness instead? Hell yeah. Does it stop me enjoying my class and playing it well? Not for one second. I'm far too handsome and stylish to wish I'd rolled undead instead, which just goes to illustrate that WoW is about far more than a couple of underwhelming spells. Racials can be icing on the cake or they can be completely irrelevant. In WoW, as in life, the secret of success is to play the hand you are dealt. Sometimes you will win, sometimes you will loose; always you should have fun playing.

And now I've banged on for a whole post without actually addressing the topic. So that tutorial will have to wait till next time.