History

As one of the original five classes, Priest has undergone many changes. Priests used to be completely armor-less, had no ability, but could equip two [rings](/wiki/rings). They gained the ability to heal allies in Build 47, and were given [robe armor](/wiki/robes) in Build 97. The style of their ability has changed as well, from spell scrolls like the Wizard's offensive variety to [Tomes](/wiki/tomes). The tomes' healing capabilities and MP costs were reduced in Build 113; the same build changed Priest's graphics slightly so that he no longer held a shield. Their main weapon, the [wand](/wiki/wands), gained the ability to pierce enemies in Release 25.0.0. Nowadays, the Priest can be considered one of the strongest robe classes and one of the best support classes in the game due to his ability to instantly heal himself and his allies from damage. However, as a wand class with low attack and dexterity, he is also the least offensive-oriented class. To unlock the Priest, reach level 5 with the Wizard. See his stat gains, caps, and averages here.

Stats and Equipment

As a robe class, the Priest has a higher MP capacity than non-robe classes. In addition, he has a high wisdom cap of 75, allowing him to quickly regain MP. His high WIS also bolsters the healing capabilities of his tome. A speed cap of 55 makes it slightly easier for Priest to dodge projectiles, catch up to a wounded ally, or run to safety. However, like other robe classes, he is very prone to damage, and with a vitality cap of 40, he is more reliant on his tome to keep his HP topped off. In addition, as a wand class with attack and dexterity capped at 50 and 55, respectively, he is effectively the weakest class in the game in terms of raw damage-per-second. This skillset makes Priest a support-oriented class, a role that Priest can fulfill very effectively. As mentioned earlier, the Priest's weapon is the wand. Wands are medium-damage, long-ranged, piercing weapons which compensate for the relatively limited protection given by the robes they wear. While the wand makes the Priest offensively feeble compared to other classes, it allows for him to engage targets at a very long distance.

The Wand of Recompense is the best tradable tiered wand, granting a range of 9 tiles. The Wand of Evocation and the Wand of Retribution drops from endgame bosses (Void Entity and Oryx 3) and provides a bit more DPS than Recompense but they are rare due to the difficulty obtaining them. The two respective wands are also soulbound, meaning you can only acquire them by fighting the Void Entity, Oryx’s Sanctuary bosses, or Oryx the Mad God 3 himself. The only advantage these wands give compared to UT wands is a slightly higher range (only surpassed by the St. Abraham's Wand), and the ability to pierce enemies as of update 25.0.0.

The Crystal Wand is a rare drop from the [Crystal Prisoner](/wiki/crystal-prisoner). This wand sacrifices some damage and the ability to pierce enemies for a slightly faster rate of fire and the ability to ignore a target's defense. While the rate of fire increase does not even out the reduction in damage, the ability to flatline your damage per second regardless of defense is very useful against enemies such as the [Stone Guardians](/wiki/stone-guardians), the [Avatar of the Forgotten King](/wiki/avatar-of-the-forgotten-king), and especially against enemies found in the [Nightmare Colony](/wiki/nightmare-colony).

The Wand of the Bulwark works completely differently from any other weapon in the game and is rather peculiar. The wand fires a high damage projectile at a slow rate, and the projectiles move slowly in an hourglass pattern, lasting a long time before disappearing. The nature of this wand makes it very difficult if not impossible to aim; you have to create a minefield and attract your prey into it. Each projectile deals 500-600 damage with a good ATT stat, and they can also move through obstacles as well as enemies. If used right, the Bulwark can be used to decimate enemies. The Bulwark requires a lot of experience and practice to use effectively. Maxing out DEX is essential if you want to quickly set up with this wand, because it has a 33% rate of fire modifier. This wand shouldn't be used as a main weapon, but it has its uses and can be very enjoyable. Keep in mind, though, as with all piercing weapons, a single projectile will not hit the same enemy twice.

The [Conducting Wand](/wiki/conducting-wand) is a drop from the [Horrific Creation](/wiki/horrific-creation). This wand gives Priest a higher rate of fire and superior DPS to the Recomp against single targets. In addition, its passive +4 WIS works wonder for his tome, but it has a shorter range of 8 tiles and, like the CWand, lacks the ability to pierce enemies.

The [Wand of the Fallen](/wiki/wand-of-the-fallen) is an untiered wand that drops from [Daichi the Fallen](/wiki/daichi-the-fallen). It possesses a very high DPS compared to most other wands, but it does not pierce, has a slightly lower rate of fire, and has a very short range of 6.6 tiles. This wand performs excellently in single target boss fights and can effectively make the Conducting Wand obsolete, short of its range. On a Priest, the Wand of the Fallen has higher DPS than every other wand until being edged out by the Bulwark at ~30 DEF.

The [Wand of Geb](/wiki/wand-of-geb) is a ST wand that drops from [Geb](/wiki/geb). It has the same DPS as the [Wand of Shadows](/wiki/wand-of-shadows) while having a reduced range of 7 tiles. Unlike other wands, it has a proc effect that shoots a ring of boomerangs around the user that deal damage and slows enemies, having increased range when using the full ST set, making it a more situational wand. It gives even more utility to the class, being able to slow enemies with a decent range and even having a great burst of damage with the ring of shoots if sitting on top of the target is possible.

The [Soul's Guidance](/wiki/soul-s-guidance) is an untiered wand that drops from both the [Grave Caretaker](/wiki/grave-caretaker) and [Ghost of Skuld](/wiki/ghost-of-skuld). It has the same DPS as the [Wand of Deep Sorcery](/wiki/wand-of-deep-sorcery) but with a wavy shot pattern, making it hard to hit enemies depending on the user's accuracy. However, it has an interesting proc upon firing, creating a blue soul that follows the user dealing damage over its duration and restoring the users HP, potentially dealing up to 1000 damage per soul spawned, and at the end of their duration, the souls charge towards enemies and explode with a curse effect, although with a really small radius. Since the wand has no fire rate penalty, one can amass a solid amount of souls to keep healing it's user and damaging/cursing enemies.

Ability

The Priest is a long ranged healing class. Unlike the Paladin, the heal is instantaneous -- perfect for sticky situations -- but lacks the 25% attack boost of the Paladin. His tome will heal every player within the vicinity of the Priest when cast. Most tiered tomes also provide a lingering healing buff that increases players' HP regeneration beyond the initial healing. The Priest's ability is what makes him such an amazing support class and a long-lasting soloing class, even with robes. His ability can turn the tide of the battle, help out players who are taking large sums of damage, and even prevent them from dying. Although healing others is not necessary, often you'll find that fellow adventurers will appreciate and respect you for doing so. Tomes are also affected by your character's wisdom, so the more wisdom your priest has, the stronger the heal is and the longer the healing lasts.

The [Tome of Holy Guidance](/wiki/tome-of-holy-guidance) is the best tradable tiered toke as it can heals the most HP and provide the longest healing buff duration. The [Tome of Hallowed Language](/wiki/tome-of-hallowed-language) grants a bit more healing per use but it is a soulbound drop from Oryx 3. However they have a fairly high cost of 120-130 MP to cast a heal.

The [Tome of Purification](/wiki/tome-of-purification) has a similar heal as the top-tier tomes with greater range at the cost of 110 MP. Unlike the tiered tomes, it does not grant healing, but does give a useful +10 VIT and +10 WIS, which further increases its healing potential. A Priest with high enough WIS can heal up to 320 HP per cast, making it have one of the best MP per heal ratio of all tomes.

The [Book of Geb](/wiki/book-of-geb) retains the healing effect and is the only tome that grants speedy on use while consting only 100 MP, making it a good choice for rushing dungeons or clearing realms. The added +5 DEF, +3 VIT and +3 WIS also helps when taking damage while rushing.

The Tome of Holy Protection (Prot) is a unique untiered tome that heals the same as the top tier tomes at a cost of 150 MP. But instead of granting the healing status effects, it gives an Armored status to the user for a minimum of 4 seconds. Armored status increases target's defense by 50%, so this tome turns the Priest into a tank potentially stronger than the Warrior/Paladin for the duration, and it heals HP. The Priest can eat walls of shotguns and walk through mobs of enemies with this tome without even much concern. Bringing MP potions or a high level pet only makes things easier. The Priest becomes resistant to almost all forms of damage this way, and using this tome consistently makes taking damage far easier.

The Tome of Pain is the only tome that damages enemies, giving the priest an offensive ability (500 damage) that also heals. However, this tome's healing is less than that of the other tomes, at 80 hp for the cost of 120 MP. The stat bonuses gained from the tome increase the class's offensive and defensive abilities with +4 ATT, +4 SPD +2 DEF, but affect the overal health of a player with penalties of -5 VIT and -20 HP.

Ring

A top choice by many player, the Ring of Unbound Health or the Ring of Decades provides a hefty boost of +180/+190 HP. Pure health rings benefit a priest by allowing them to absorb more damage, before instantly restoring it again with a simple use of a tome.

The Forgotten Crown or the Ring of the Pyramid can be used instead of a pure health ring because along with a health boost, they supply a Priest with a much needed DPS boost. Ring

Although rarely used, the Ring of Unbound Magic (UBMP) is the best tradable tiered ring if playing as a full support Priest. It can provide a massive boost of +180 MP. Priest himself already has a massive MP capacity, but this ring allows him to push his support role to the extreme level. It allows him using tiered tome 5 times before needing to regain MP, which is a godsend when his teammates need constant healing.

For more defensive or support based priests, one may choose a more wisdom/mana based ring. The Twilight Gemstone is a rare and very useful ring for the priest, supplying one with +110 MP, along with a DEF and SPD boost of +6 each. The Ring of the Sphinx is similar to the Twilight Gemstone, giving +100 MP, and +4 to both DEX and WIS. Geb's Ring of Wisdom supplies a hefty boost of wisdom (+10), which matches Ring of Unbound Wisdom. The catch is, it also gives +25 to both HP and MP, and +5 VIT. The Ring of the Covetous Heart gives the priest a damage boost with its +5 ATT, and supplies the priest with +8 WIS. It also gives +15 HP and +50 MP, creating a balanced ring for offensive play and support.

Some priests that want to have a balanced approach may want to consider the Bracer of the Guardian (Bracer), Ring of the Nile (Nile), or the Experimental Ring (Expo). Each of these rings provide a balanced +60 to both HP and MP. The Bracer also gives +6 to DEF and ATT, suitable for balanced gameplay. The Nile allows for a faster paced support, giving +4 to both SPD and DEX. The Expo gives a priest increased survivability with its +4 to DEF and VIT.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Some of the strengths of the Priest is that he is an essential class for fighting event bosses in groups and he can solo many event bosses when maxed out pretty easily. His ability can be considered to be one of the best in the game and is what turns him from a frail robe class to a class with a lot of survivability. One of the Priest's biggest weaknesses is that his MP is much more crucial to his function than any other class, which makes the Quiet status from specific enemies more feared. Another weakness of the Priest is having the lowest DPS of all classes due to his low offensive stats and the generally low DPS of wands compared to other weapons. Another weakness is that the Priest is much more prone to shotguns than most other classes. Tomes work best when the Priest takes small amounts of damage multiple times or so, not taking large amounts of damage at the same time, especially considering the Priest's low defense and robes. This is why the Priest needs to fight from a distance. Instantaneous heals, status effect removal, and armored all need to be used carefully -- a mistimed heal or buff can mean a very quick death! Because of his long range and healing abilities, Priest is debatably the safest class in the game, and is a very suitable class for new players or players committed to a new player experience. A freshly leveled Priest already has a good deal of survivability and utility that will only increase as he consumes stat potions. His abilities allow him to safely farm the godlands for stat potions. As with any class, a good rule of thumb is to prioritize maxing SPD, DEX, and DEF, but they do not need to be maxed in any particular order. In the hands of a skilled player, Priest's high survivability makes him capable of soloing most common dungeons, providing him with a persistent, if time-consuming, way to max his stats. Having a good deal of patience and time is very beneficial to playing a fresh Priest.

Group Role

With the ability to instantly heal himself and his allies, the Priest is probably the most ideal support class in the game. While the Priest is not obligated to heal teammates, any good Priest will generously heal others during event and dungeon bosses because it helps prolong the group's survivability and thus helps take down bosses faster. The Priest is a catalyst to speeding up the progress of farming the godlands, taking down bosses, or anything else because his ability makes things easier for others all around.

Event and Dungeon Bosses

Priests are very useful in event and dungeon bosses. They play mostly as a support class but can also become a strong solo class. Wands sacrifice DPS for longer range and piercing, which means that a lot of time and patience is necessary when using a priest to solo bosses. As a robe class, they need to be wary so they don't wind up tanking too much damage before they are able to react to it. The priest isn't typically used for getting soulbound damage since he has the lowest dps in the game. However, once maxed, they can become one of the most resilient solo classes in the game and can still manage to attain soulbound in smaller groups.

Strategies

There are two main strategies that can be used with the priest: offensive and defensive. -Offensive: The priest can use his ability to absorb a lot of damage and then heal back his HP. Using this strategy, the priest tanks damage and stands within attack range of the boss to ensure soulbound, healing repetitively every time his health drops below half. Many players find this strategy more exciting, but it doesn't make a whole lot of difference in terms of getting soulbound damage as long as you have good aim. It is recommended to not tank high damage shots unless you have at least maxed def. A Prot is very useful with this strategy. It can also be used to rush relatively well, especially with a speedy granting tome. -Defensive: This is the safer and more commonly used strategy for the priest. It involves staying far from enemies and using your long range to your advantage. It is safer and easier, but it might not get you soulbound as easily. Because you are shooting far from the enemy you are fighting, it may be difficult to hit them because most wands are capable of hitting enemies off-screen, even with an off-center camera. You will not have to heal as often using this strategy, so be prepared to heal someone if you are in a group. It is recommended to use this strategy if you are a new player, not maxed, or simply afraid of dying. These are only suggestions though; get out there and play the Priest however it best suits you!

Summary

The Priest excels as a support class. Even though he has the worst DPS in the game, he is capable of almost anything on his own and can do things that other classes can't do (like walking towards a huge wall of gods or lava-walking). Used for supporting or attacking, the Priest is almost unbeatable with the correct use of the tome and wand, and almost invincible once maxed. Just watch out for those quiet shots! If you want a very safe class that can attack at long range and effectively support a group, the Priest is for you!

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