Summary
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 Warcraftis 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 Jul 05, 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.
12Void Elf
Unlocked By: Speak To Alleria Windrunner At The Stormwind Embassy
TheVoid Elf race is steepedin 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.
11Goblin
How To Unlock: Included In The Cataclysm Expansion
Another race, but a Horde one, which is great for Shadow Priest work, the Goblins are small in stature and thereforehave the right look forfearsome 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 inWorld of Warcraftis 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.
10Blood Elf
How To Unlock: Part Of The Burning Crusade Expansion
Blood Elves are one of the most popular races on the Horde side ofWoW, 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 inThe Burning Crusadeexpansion, 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.
9Pandaren
How To Unlock: Included With The Mists Of Pandaria Expansion
The Pandaren are the first race available inWorld of Warcraftto both the Alliance and the Horde, and they make for great Priests for a number of reasons. Theirneutrality in the great battlebetween 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.
8Lightforged Draenei
How To Unlock: Speak To Turalyon At The Stormwind Embassy
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.
7Troll
How To Unlock: One Of The Original Classic Races
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 thatWorld of Warcrafthas 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.
6Tauren
The Tauren gained the ability to become Priests more recently, following theCataclysmexpansion, 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.
5The Forsaken
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.
4Night Elf
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 sincetheir appearance and lorefit with the style very well.
3Draenei
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.
