Decisions, decisions
I am in a quandry. I have decided to level up a new alt, but I really do not know which one to go for first! I am torn between two options – Pewts, the level 11 mage (with a very rudimentary learning of enchanting and tailoring under her belt), or Eleyth, the level 22 priest (who has excellent alchemy skills thanks to Hermia levelling herbalism but not alchemy). Both classes hold appeal for different reasons, but there are also different reasons why I do not want to level them.
Pewts:
- She is adorable, which is a plus.
- I do enjoy the whole ‘sheeping’ aspect of the class… but I guess it could wear thin
- I already planned out her professions and talents gosh darn it – so I plan a little in advance, shush
- I already have a warlock, do I need another pewpew caster class?
Eleyth:
- Is already 11 levels ahead
- has prettier gear because she is 11 levels ahead
- I would like to have a healer to round out my trifecta
- has great professions
- I have no idea how I want to level her though! Shadow seems so unappealing for some reason.
Heeeeeeeelp!!
Destructive Reach 
Well, as someone who has leveled four priests past 60 and currently have three priests on Feathermoon, I might be a little biased when I say that I would level the priest! As painful as it is leveling as a healer, it’s nowhere near as bad as it used to be, thanks to some nifty talent shifts, spells changes, and game changes. I can say, however, that if you choose to level a priest as a healer you can be pretty successful; I managed to level my Disicpline priest to 62 solo and that’s with her doing many of the group quests by herself (I like the challenge!).
You might want to consider picking up a lot of non-healing talents specific to leveling if you do pick the priest. The first thing you’ll want to consider is Spirit Tap; that’ll vastly improve your downtime. Wand Specialization will give you a lot of damage at lower levels and when soloing, though you’ll probably drop it when you hit the Outland. You might also want to snag Improved Power Word: Shield for added survivability before heading over to the Holy tree.
Holy tree talents to consider? Hol Specialization for Holy spell crit. Divine Fury will let you cast spells quicker. Even Holy Nova can be awesome at lower levels, though it tends to lose its benefit as you get much further into the game.
As a mage, I’m leveling Fire. It has slightly less survivability, but it’s letting me kill things quickly and I do have two leveling partners that can help keep me alive either by tanking or healing. I’m looking at 10/48/3 for the time being, though I’ll probably respec once I hit Outland and start grouping more for instances.
Personally, I’m all about sharing the love – I have Priest and Tankadin alts that I play regularly and love the fact that I have the dps/heals/tanky trio. My first big alt was a Mage that gets no love any more; when dps time comes around I want the canon, not the cap gun – that may have something to do with my spec tho *shrug*.
Oh, and I seriously suggest leveling your priest as shadow if you end up going that way – leveling as holy is one of those things you do just to prove a point, not as something to enjoy. There are some great guides around about how to level your priest, its no where near as painful as most seem to think – the one that’s a sticky on the official priests forums is as good as any
Sometimes it’s time to try something new. If you don’t want to level another pewpew caster, go with your priest. Since she’s already ahead anyway, it will let see have more fun instead of feeling like grinding. But when you do get tired of her and want to pewpew some more, go to your mage! Don’t go to your main right away otherwise you’ll immediately lose interest in the mage. =)
Hehe, it’s funny that you mention your priest has prettier gear – I joke with my male WoW friends all the time about the only thing mattering in this game is how pretty your clothes are.
I would level the priest as well. And I’m not biased at all, nope, not me. ^_^ Even though I’m not playing my priest as much any more, I had a ton of fun with her, especially in the earlier levels. Plus, and ignore me if I’m wrong, it kinda sounds to me like you’re already leaning towards the priest over the mage. Give in! /peerpressure!
And just as a side note, I do have to disagree with TeePee. I had a blast leveling my priest as holy. It was something I genuinely enjoyed, but of course I understand it’s not for everyone. =) Leveling shadow never appealed much to me either.