Runepriest Guide

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Runepriests Guide
Noun of Black Mesa (Volkmar)

Updated 10/18/08
v1.3


Runepriests, being the “defensive healer” of Order is capable of dishing out astonishing amounts of healing both to single targets as well as whole groups. Without a mechanic holding back their healing, the Runepriest can heal allies without the fear of maintaining a mechanic to be efficient. One of the biggest strengths to Runepriests is the ability to distribute buffs that fortify stats and resistances, master runes are arguably the strongest group buffs in the game. With smart play and tactics, Runepriests are able to keep themselves as well as their group alive and strong.

Pros

• Most reliable healer on Order
• Does not require mechanic to heal efficiently
• Offers valuable buffs to group members
• Master of maintaining HP of group members/warband
• Capable of a self resurrecting rune at end-game.
• At higher levels able to resurrect whole groups as well as do damage while healing at the same time.

Cons

• Robes offer little defense
• Low damage capabilities
• Often the first target of RvR

Playing as a Runepriest
As a Runepriest the main priority is healing, it’s what we do best and what we do better than any other class on Order. The ideal position to be in as a Runepriest is behind the front line and ahead of the ranged dps, allowing you to be in range of any ally that may need healing. Not only will you have to watch health bars, but what buff each member of your group needs. Being the lifeline of RvR equates to being one of the first targets enemies will look for, being able to act quickly can be the difference between failure and success.

The most important stats to Runepriests are:
1. Willpower – Increases your chance to disrupt attacks and increases healing dealt to allies.
Higher willpower equates to more powerful heals. Willpower will also increase survival because it increases chances of disrupting attacks. At level 32 with 574 willpower I have a 14.8% chance to disrupt spells casted on me.

Willpower / 5 = Increases Healing Per Second.
(Level * 7.5 + 50) / Willpower * .075 * 100 = +% Disrupt spells.​

2. Intelligence – Increases Magic Damage and reduces your opponents chance to block or disrupt attacks.
Even as a healer you’ll occasionally throw out nukes and DoTs (especially Rune of Immolation). A high intelligence not only increases your spell damage but also decreases your target’s chances of disrupting your attack.

Intelligence / 5 = Increases ability damage DPS by result.​

3. Toughness – Reduces damage dealt to you by opponents.
Because Runepriests wear robes that offer little defense, toughness plays an important role. Obviously the higher your toughness is, the less damage will be done to you. At higher levels the Runepriest has really powerful tactics that allow increases in armor level.

Toughness / 5 = Reduces damage by X DPS.​

4. Wounds - Increases the amount of health you have.
The more health a Runepriest has, the harder he is to take down.

Wounds * 10 = Extra Health over default increase per level.​

HoTs and DoTs
• Both Heal over Time and Damage over Time abilities tick every 3 seconds.
• Critical ticks can activate tactics. (i.e. Rune of Nullification)
• Ticks can activate tactics. (i.e. Ancestor's Echo)
• Rune of Binding and Spellbinding tick every second.

Things to Know

Runepriest Mastery Tree Builder
Runepriest Renown Tree Builder
NDA Drop Q/A with Varking (and me )
Varking's Mastery Tree Ability Review

 

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Skills

Healing
Grungni’s Gift
Rank 1
Path of Grungni
30 AP – Instant Cast – 150ft Range – No Cooldown
Heals x to defensive target.

Rune of Regeneration
Rank 3
Core Ability
30 AP – Instant Cast – 150ft Range – No Cooldown
Heals for x life over 15 seconds.

Rune of Shielding
Rank 6
Path of Valaya
35 AP – Instant Cast – 100ft Range – 20s Cooldown
Target absorbs up to x damage over 10 seconds. When the effect fades, the target recovers x health.

Rune of Restoration
Rank 8
Path of Grungni
45 AP – 3s Cast – 150ft Range – No Cooldown
Restores x health. This is a fragile spell and will always be set back by a large amount if you are damaged while casting it.

Rune of Mending
Rank 10
Path of Valaya
55 AP – 1s Cast – 150ft Range – No Cooldown
Restores x health, then continues to restore 441 health over 9 seconds.

Rune of Life
Rank 10
Core Ability
20 AP – 3s Cast – 100ft Range – 6s Cooldown
Resurrect target friendly dead player and restore 20% of their health.

Rune of Serenity
Rank 14
Path of Grimnir
40 AP – 1s Cast – 150ft Range – 10s Cooldown
Heals target for x life over 9 seconds, and will then bounce to and heal other allies within 30 feet of the previous target. Effect will not hit the same taret more than once, and will heal up to 6 people.

Blessing of Valaya
Rank 20
Path of Grimnir
65 AP – 3.0s Cast – 150ft Range – No Cooldown
Heals all group members for x health.

Protection of the Ancestors
Rank 30
Path of Grungni
35 AP – Instant Cast – 100 ft Range – 3m Cooldown
Increases target group member’s Wounds by x for 60 seconds. Heals target for value of HP increase.

Oath Rune of Sanctuary
Rank 40
Core Ability
25 AP – Instant Cast – 100ft Range – 10m Cooldown
Increases targeted group member’s Toughness by x for 1 hour. The rune holder will then be able to resurrect themselves with 20% health if killed within the next 10 minutes. Doing so will remove the Oath Rune.

Blessing
Grimnir's Shield
Core Ability
45 AP - Instant Cast - No Range - 60s Cooldown
You will take 50% less damage and your abilities will cost 25% fewer Action Points for 10 seconds. During this time you generate almost no threat, and cannot be set back while casting.

Buffing
Oath Rune of Power
Rank 4
Path of Grungni
25 AP – Instant Cast – 100ft Range – No Cooldown
Increases target group member’s Strength and Intelligence by x for 1 hour. The rune holder may activate it to inflict x Elemental damage to a target.

Oath Rune of Warding
Rank 9
Path of Grimnir
25 AP – Instant Cast – 100ft Range – No Cooldown
Increases targeted group member’s Resists by x for 1 hour. The rune holder may activate it to inflict x Elemental damage over 9 seconds to all targets within 30 feet.

Oath Rune of Iron
Rank 12
Path of Valaya
25 AP – Instant Cast – 100ft Range – No Cooldown
Increases targeted group member’s Initiative and Willpower by x for 1 hour. The rune holder may activate it to inflict x Elemental damage over 9 seconds.

Debuff
Rune of Preservation
Rank 7
Core Ability
20 AP – Instant Cast – 100ft Range – 15s Cooldown
Detaunts targets attack power by 50% for 15 seconds. If you attack anyone that you have Detaunted, the effect with immediately end.

Rune of Sundering
Rank 25
Core Ability
40 AP – Instant Cast – No Range – 60s Cooldown
Knockbacks targets within 30 feet of you. Monsters will be knocked down.

Damaging
Rune of Striking
Rank 1
Path of Grungni
25 AP – 2s Cast – 100ft Range – No Cooldown
Deals x Elemental damage.

Rune of Immolation
Rank 2
Path of Valaya
30 AP – Instant Cast – 100ft Range – No Cooldown
Deals x Elemental damage over 15 seconds.

Rune of Fire
Rank 5
Path of Grungni
35 AP – Instant Cast – 100ft Range – 5s Cooldown
Deals x Elemental damage.

Rune of Might
Rank 7
Path of Grimnir
45 AP – 2s Cast – No Range – No Cooldown
Deals x Elemental damage to all targets within 30 feet of you.

Rune of Cleansing
Rank 16
Core Ability
25 AP – Instant Cast – 100ft Range – 30s Cooldown
Your rune cleanses an ally, removing one Curse or Ailment.

Rune of Cleaving
Rank 18
Path of Grimnir
30 AP – Instant Cast – No Range – 10s Cooldown
Deals x Elemental damage over 9 seconds to targets 65 feet in front of you.

Spellbinding Rune
Rank 35
Path of Valaya
30 AP – 1s Cast – 100ft Range – 30s Cooldown
Silences and wounds target for x Elemental damage over 5 seconds.

Morale
Divine Favor
Rank 8
Core Ability
Rank 1 Morale – Instant Cast – 150ft Range – 60s Cooldown
A strong heal that will restore 1440 health to your target.

Rampaging Siphon
Rank 12
Rank 2 Morale – Instant Cast – No Range – 60s Cooldown
Deals x damage to all enemies within 30 feet and heals your entire group for the full amount of the damage dealt.

Steal Life
Rank 16
Rank 1 Morale – Instant Cast – 100ft Range – 60s Cooldown
Your target suffers x damage over 9 seconds, and you are healed for a half of the damage deal

Focused Mind
Rank 20
Rank 2 Morale – Instant Cast – No Range – 60s Cooldown
For the next 10 seconds, you will remove and ignore any silencing, disarming, rooting, snaring effects and your abilities will build 50% faster and may not be set back.

Divine Protection
Rank 24
Rank 3 Morale – Instant Cast – No Range – 60s Cooldown
Everyone in your group is surrounded by a protective shield, which will absorb a large amount of damage from melee abilities.

Rune of Insanity
Rank 28
Rank 1 Morale – Instant Cast – 100ft Range – 60s Cooldown
Deal x damage to target. Lower target’s AP by 200.

Rune of Rebirth
Rank 36
Rank 3 Morale – Instant Cast – No Range – 60s Cooldown
Self Heal for x then an additional x health over 9 seconds.

Alter Fate
Rank 40
Rank 4 Morale – Instant Cast – No Range – 60s Cooldown
Resurrects all groupmates within 30 feet. Anyone who is brought back from the dead will also be healed for 47 over 5 seconds.

Tactics
Stoutness of Stone
Rank 11
1 Slot Career Tactic
You recover from Stuns and Knockdowns 50% quicker. You will still gain immunity based on the original duration.

Divine Fury
Rank 13
1 Slot Career Tactic
You deal 25% more damage, but all of your healing becomes 20% less effective.

Swift Runes
Rank 15
1 Slot Career Tactic
Cooldown on Oath Rune click abilities are reduced by 30 seconds.

Stubbornness
Rank 17
1 Slot Career Tactic
Increases your Corporeal resistance by x.

Discipline
Rank 19
1 Slot Career Tactic
Increase your Willpower by x.

Cleansing Vitality
Rank 21
1 Slot Career Tactic
Rune of Cleansing will not heal the defensive target for x over x if an effect was successfully removed.

Ancestral Inheritance
Rank 23
1 Slot Career Tactic
Increase your Armor by x.

Subtlety
Rank 25
1 Slot Career Tactic
All of your heals will cause enemy monsters to hate you 25% less than normal.

Regenerative Shielding
Rank 27
1 Slot Career Tactic
Each tick of Rune of Regeneration has 25% chance to increase target’s armor by x for 10 seconds.

Restorative Burst
Rank 29
1 Slot Career Tactic
Any time one of your direct healing effects critically heals an ally, you will regain 40 Action Points over 3 seconds.

Blessing of Grungi
Rank 31
1 Slot Career Tactic
Critical heals will Bless your target for 10 seconds, increasing the power of any heals used on them by 25%

Potent Runes
Rank 33
1 Slot Career Tactic
Rune of Striking and Rune of Immolation are now undefendable.

On Your Feet!
Rank 35
1 Slot Career Tactic
Rune of Life, Rune of Sanctuary and Grimnir’s Fury will heal the target for x health over 5 seconds and will restore 70 AP when the target is resurrected.

Sundering Motion
Rank 37
1 Slot Career Tactic
Rune of Sundering’s cooldown is reduced to 20 seconds and will now apply a 40% movement reduction for 10 seconds to all those hit.

Thick-Skulled
Rank 39
1 Slot Career Tactic
Removes chance to be setback while casting Grungi’s Gift, Rune of Mending, and Rune of Serenity.

 

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Mastery Trees

Path of Grungni
Runic Blast
1 Slot Career Tactic
Increases crit chance of Rune of Fire, Grungni’s Gift, and Rune of Striking by 15%.

Master Rune of Fury
Buff
25 AP – 2s Cast – 100ft Range – 60s Cooldown
Inscribes a master rune into the ground for 60 seconds. Groupmates within the 65 feet of the Rune of Fury have a 20% Chance to gain 50 AP whenever they activate an ability. You may only have one Master rune active at a time.

Ancestor’s Blessing
1 Slot Career Tactic
Healing abilities have a 25% chance to also increase the target’s AP by 50.

Rune of Fortune
Damaging
30 AP – 2S Cast – 100ft Range – No Cooldown
Deals x Elemental damage to your target and heals your Defensive target for the damage dealt.

Rune of Nullification
1 Slot Career Tactic
Critical attacks place a debuff on your target that reduces all incoming healing by 100%

Rune of Binding
Debuff
40 AP – Instant Cast – 100ft Range – 20s Cooldown
Stuns and wounds target for x Elemental damage over 3 seconds.

Rune of Ending
Damaging
Rank 4 Morale – Instant Cast – No Range – 60s Cooldown
Deals x damage to all enemies within 30ft and then heals group members for all damage dealt.

Path of Valaya
Immolating Grasp
1 Slot Career Tactic
Each tick of Rune of Immolation has a 25% chance to drain 30 Action Points from target and snare them by 0% for 5 seconds

Master Rune of Speed
30 AP – 2s Cast – No Range – 60s Cooldown
Inscribes a master rune into the ground for 60 seconds. Groupmates within 65 feet of the Rune of Speed have their buildup times reduced by .25 seconds. You may only have one Master rune active at a time.

Earth’s Shielding
1 Slot Career Tactic
Each attack against an active Rune of Shielding will randomly debuff one of the attacker’s stats by x for 10 seconds.

Rune of Burning
10 AP/sec – Instant Cast – 100ft Range – 11s Cooldown
Channeled. Deals x Elemental damage over 6 seconds. 100% chance to be setback while casting.

Efficient Runecarving
1 Slot Career Tactic
Each tick of Rune of Mending has 20% chance to make next Rune of Immolation free, and each tick of Rune of Immolation has a 20% chance to make Rune of Mending instant cast.

Rune of Fate
30 AP – Instant Cast – 100ft Range – 30s Cooldown
Deals x Elemental damage over 24 seconds and heals your defensive target for the amount of damage dealt.

Valaya’s Shield
Rank 4 Morale – Instant Cast – No Range – 60s Cooldown
Heals groupmembers x health over 15 seconds and gives 375 Action Points over 15 seconds.

Path of Grimnir
Extended Battle
1 Slot Career Tactic
Increases area of effect of Rune of Cleaving and Rune of Battle by 50%.

Master Rune of Adamant
30 AP – 2s Cast – No Range – 60s Cooldown
Inscribes a Master rune into the ground for 60 seconds. Heals Groupmates within 65 feet of the Rune of Adamant for x health every 3 seconds for 60 seconds. You may only have one Master rune active at a time.

Concussive Runes
1 Slot Career Tactic
Attacks in the path of Grimnir have a 25% chance to detaunt your target, reducing their damage towards you by 50% for 15 seconds.

Rune of Battle
50 AP – 2s Cast – 150ft Range – 60s Cooldown
Buffs an ally with a pulsing area of effect that deals x Elemental damage every 3 seconds to all enemies within 20 feet for 15 seconds.

Ancestor’s Echo
1 Slot Career Tactic
Heals have a 25% chance to create a shield on your target that can absorb up to x damage over 10 seconds.

Grimnir’s Fury
40 AP – 5s Cast – No Range – 3m Cooldown
Ressurects groupmembers within radius. Heals them to 50% health and increases damage of resurrected friendlies by 20% for 10 seconds.

Rune of Skewering
Rank 4 Morale – Instant Cast – No Range – 60s Cooldown
Deals x damage to all targets 65 feet in front of you.

 

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PvE

Soloing
Soloing as a Runepriest is generally slow, probably the slowest out of all the classes in the game. We give up damage for survivability. Early on in levels it will probably be hard, but once you get Ancestral Inheritance a lot of damage is mitigated by pure armor levels. The single best tactic when it comes to soloing as a Runepriest is Divine Fury (25% more damage for 20% less healing efficiency), not only will your spells do more damage but critical damage will increase by a substantial amount. Oath Rune of Power should be on you at all times, it increases intelligence thus giving your spells more damage; it can also be activated to cause damage to a single target. The three spells you’ll be using most when it comes to soloing is Rune of Striking, Rune of Immolation, and Rune of Fire.

Generally I open up with Rune of Striking and immediately follow up with Immolation and Fire. I’ll start to spam Striking until Fire is off cooldown and keep Immolation up as necessary. If I find that the mobs are hitting me hard I’ll throw on Rune of Regeneration so that I won’t have to heal myself after every fight.

If you plan on soloing a lot, I would look into Rune of Burning (Path of Valaya). Offers amazing dps for an offensive Runepriest skill, only downside to it is that it’s channeling. As of this patch the setback was not working properly and allowed continuous casting. I’m not sure how valuable this will be in the future when setback if fixed.

Grouping
Not much changes for the Runepriest in terms of damage capabilities here. Your dps is going to stay pretty much the same, but the good thing is you’re not going to be expected to dish out amazing damage. Unless the group is AoEing or fighting mobs a lot higher than everyone’s level, healing is going to be minimal, but still needed. The tactics I use when grouping are Ancestral Inheritance, Regenerative Shielding, Discipline and Subtlety. If I find that tanks are keeping mobs off me but more healing is needed I’ll swap Ancestral Inheritance for Blessing of Grungi or another healing specific tactic if specced into the tree.

An ideal group will consist of a tank, and off-tank, a main healer, a secondary healer, and two dps. Give the main and off-tank Oath Rune of Warding, Melee/Magic Ranged dps Oath Rune of Power, other Runepriests should receive Oath Rune of Iron and ask Archmages and Warrior Priests their preference; I give ranged dps (non-magical) the choice between Oath Power and Oath Warding (strength and intelligence don’t affect their ranged damage). Throw a Rune of Shielding onto the tank right before they pull monster(s), follow it up with a Rune of Regeneration and keep an eye on the rest of the group’s hp. If more than one person starts to get damaged, cast Rune of Serenity and then Rune of Regeneration on whoever has aggro. Rune of Regeneration is an instant cast with no cooldown and it’s safe to throw it on multiple people if necessary. Runepriests generally fill the role of the main healer in a group because they don’t have to deal damage to heal effectively, let your focus be more healing and less damaging. Use judgment to decide between using Grungni’s Gift, Rune of Mending, and Rune of Restoration to recover health. Grungni’s is best used for quick and small heals, while Rune of Mending can bring someone out of any immediate danger. Rune of Restoration can be used to bring someone’s HP back from “the dead”, but be careful of the 3s cast time—make sure that your secondary healer is doing their job of relieving some of the pressure off of you before you even think of casting this.

You’ll find that Archmages and Warrior Priests take over the job of applying HoTs very effectively. What I’ve noticed is that the HP of the group will generally be at a standstill, but it’s still nice to have Rune of Regeneration on the tank and whoever is taking damage because of Regenerative Shielding (25% chance to increase armor on each tick). I’ll throw Rune of Serenity into the mix every chance I get. Because PQ contribution gets competitive in groups, you’re usually going to have a hard time finding someone to heal before their HP is maxed through HoTs. Patch 3.3 changed Grungni’s Gift from a 1s cast to an instant and it allows for heals before HoT ticks, phenomenal if you’re trying to get contribution.

If I’m still having trouble with PQ contribution I’ll switch my focus to a dps role. The group will still look to you for the brunt of the healing so it’s a good idea to keep an eye on the HP meters. The trend of groups usually shifts to pulling multiple mobs at the same time, allowing for use of Rune of Might. Rune of Might does pretty good dps and it has a cast time but no cooldown; it hits everything within a 30 foot radius. Use Rune of Cleaving, make sure that it hits every mob in the AoE radius. Instead of using Oath Rune of Iron, switch it out for Warding (can be activated for AoE DoT) and activate it whenever a pull is made. The Rank 2 Morale ability Rampaging Siphon is also very useful as it deals AoE damage in a 30 foot radius and heals your group for all damage dealt, use it wisely as it can save your group if need be.

 

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RvR

Buffs
First rule of thumb: keep your group buffed at all times; tanks with either Oath Rune of Power or Warding, melee and magic dps should have Oath Rune of Power, other Runepriests should be buffed with Iron, WP and AM the choice between Power and Iron, and ranged dps (that do not use magic) whatever their preference is. Your favorite tactics will most likely be Ancestral Inheritance, Regenerative Shielding, and Discipline; these tactics give you survivability, and most importantly, healing power.

Master Runes are amazing AoE group buffs, they are all indestructible and have a 2s cast time. I try to drop a master rune before every fight, and if I’m capable I’ll cast one in the middle of battle making sure that the rune is within range of my groupmembers. Each of the three Master Runes is useful in their own way. Master Rune of Fury recovers AP, Speed decreases buildup times (cast time), and Adamant has an AoE group heal every three seconds.

Healing
As a Runepriest your main job is healing, everything comes second. As with PvE, use judgment when it comes to deciding which heal to use. Your best friend will be Rune of Regeneration, I cast this every chance I get; if someone is losing HP, has lost HP, or is about to lose HP, I cast Rune of Regeneration. Another useful skill is Rune of Serenity; it covers a lot of ground jumping from one ally to another. While Serenity doesn’t heal much, not everyone is going to be getting hit at the same time for similar amounts of damage. The combination of Regeneration and Serenity is effective, especially with the Regenerative Shielding tactic.

You’ll find the Rune of Mending is the best method of direct healing, being a mixture of Grungni’s Gift, Rune of Regeneration, and Rune of Restoration, this rune is more valuable than gold. Use it to heal whatever you can: if they are coming out of battle the HoT attached to the spell will help phenomenally, if they are in battle it will keep them alive. Grungni’s Gift is a lot more useful now that it’s an instant cast, quick heals here and there are always needed. I find myself spamming Grungni’s and an occasional Mending when someone is about to die, hoping that the quick heals and critical heals will keep them up long enough for backup or another healer to come into play.

Rune of Restoration is very tricky in RvR, it has the highest setback out of the Runepriests’ spells and enemy players are unpredictable. The 3s cast time is an eternity in RvR, the dps of Witch Elves and Sorcerers as well as tanks is incredibly fast and often too much for one healer to handle. Be positive that you’re not being targeted while casting Restoration and never cast it with a group of Destruction running towards you; you’ll find that they will be giving you wedgies as soon as the you’re done casting. Before using this skill, I usually check the ally’s buff bar to see if I have another healer giving me time to cast. Often Rune of Restoration seems like it’s doing absolutely nothing because the time it takes to cast allows the enemy to do more damage than it heals, keeps them up but leaves you with no time to do anything else. If used at the right moment and with backup heals, it can bring someone hanging onto life to near full HP.

Blessing of Valaya is also in the same boat as Rune of Restoration, it has the huge 3s cast time. The difference between the two is that Valaya heals your whole group, and I will take more of a risk casting this. It doesn’t heal individuals for huge amounts, so don’t cast it hoping to clear out danger. The best time to cast this is if more than two members of your group are being damaged, it takes a little pressure off allowing you to hop onto anyone who is under immediate attack. The awesome part of Blessing of Valaya is that your group doesn’t have to be in LoS to receive the heal.

Survivability
In general Runepriests have great survivability, high armor through tactics and the ability to heal ourselves with a powerful detaunt and an AoE knockback makes us an annoying target. Despite all of that, we’re often the first target and we have to rely on other classes to keep us alive. I always try to keep Rune of Preservation on someone at all times, usually Witch Elves or Marauders but I’m quick to change detaunt targets onto anyone who is damaging me. If I find that there are multiple people hitting me at once, I’ll position myself so that Rune of Sundering will knock them all back and run towards the nearest ally. Sundering will be your best friend or your last mistake, make positive that you’re hitting at least one person with the knockback. Rune of Sundering is also one of the best offensive abilities the Runepriest has. As an AoE knockback, you can run into a crowd of Destruction and split their forces allowing your melees to pick them off easier. I’ve been able to time and aim my knockbacks so that enemy players fly off ridges or into lava; it’s a great strategic tool that can create both offensive and defensive opportunities.

If you’re getting targeted, cast Rune of Regeneration on yourself, not only does it heal but if you have Regenerative Shielding on your tactic bar you have a chance of gaining a high bonus to armor. Use Grungni’s Gift as necessary, since it’s instant you can cast it while you run. Take advantage of objects on the battleground, anything that breaks LoS from ranged classes helps dramatically. Don’t run blindly around, if you’re in a pug locate allies and hope they have the logic to throw you a bone. If a group of ally melees are running in to help you, use collision—they will block and slow down anyone who is trying to get to you.

Renown
Farming renown on a healer is pretty easy. As long as you’re doing your job (healing), you’re going to gain a decent amount of renown. It’s important to know that you can’t just sit back and heal anyone and everyone, as a Runepriest you’re meant to be close to the front lines. If you’re healing someone who is not actively in battle or who has not recently been in battle, you won’t always receive renown.

Throw HoTs (Rune of Regeneration and/or Rune of Mending) onto players who are safely running away from the battle; focus your main heals on players who are actually taking damage. Use Rune of Mending and Grungni’s Gift everywhere, save your Rune of Restoration for when it’s really needed but don’t be afraid of casting it. The more healing you do, the more renown you’re going to receive. Depending what you’re specced into you’ll be better as a pure defensive or offensive. Rune of Fate is amazing in the Valaya tree for defense-minded healers whereas Rune of Battle can pump out crazy dps for offensively specced Runepriests.

You will still get renown for dealing damage, and it is viable. Throw out Rune of Immolation and Fire (there are some tactics that can improve both) whenever you can or feel like, they are instant casts and are annoying to heal through. I generally don’t use Rune of Striking in RvR unless I know I have the time to cast and we outnumber Destruction by a large amount. It’s important to know that any other class who is held in the right hands will always be able to outdamage a Runepriest.

No matter what your spec is, the main classes you’ll be supporting are melee dps, they tend to be right up on the offensive line taking huge amounts of burst damage. Because you’ll most likely be closer to the front than the back you won’t be able to see most of your ranged dps all the time. Get used to shifting your camera angle forwards and backward to watch the hp of any ally who might be taking damage. As long as you tag someone with a heal, you’ll get a share of their renown whenever they or their group kills someone. If you’re aiming to be top in renown gained, stick to healing…not only is it necessary but it is actually fun and it benefits the team a lot more than a Runepriest who focuses on dpsing.

 

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Mastery Tree Builds

Defensive Healer
http://www.wardb.com/career.aspx?id=3#0:0:15:8224:8:0:25:1622:1628:716:592::::694:1644:696:697
Ancestral Inheritance
Discipline
Regenerative Shielding
Stoutness of Stone/Sundered Motion

Why max out Valaya? Rune of Mending is probably the skill you'll be using most to recover hp regardless of where their bar is at. Not only does the Valaya tree improve Mending, but it also improves Oath Rune of Iron which increases your Willpower and in doing so increases the healing done by every ability you have. A better Rune of Shielding adds more protection for yourself as well as anyone you're trying to keep alive.

Master Rune of Speed will help your group (mainly RDPS) as well as you by decreasing cast times. Some of you may argue that Master Rune of Adamant will help keep your group up, but I disagree. Not everyone will need healing at the same time, and the healing that Adamant puts out isn't very much. At base, it offers 126 health every 3 seconds--with Rune of Speed you can cast Mending in less than 1 second or Rune of Restoration for over 1k hp in less than 3 seconds.

Going down Valaya also gives you the option of Rune of Fate, which is arguably one of our best skills. It's a DoT and an HoT put together. This allows you to put pressure on whatever is attacking you or your group while doing your job of healing. It provides an extra heal to your Rune of Regeneration and whatever else you may be casting. I chose to skip Valaya's Shielding, the benefits it provides doesn't outweigh the benefits I receive from other abilities I'm likely to use more often. Because it's a Morale ability, it's not always there when you need it.

As a pure defensive support, you're likely to heal more than one person at a time which is why you must go down the Grimnir tree. Currently, Grungni provides bonuses to two heal spells: Rune of Restoration which is a double edged sword at times and Protection of the Ancients which has a long cooldown. On the other hand, the Grimnir tree has Serenity, Blessing of Valaya, and Oath Rune of Warding. If you've read any of this guide and my recent posts you know that I'm a fan of Serenity. Blessing of Valaya is our only group heal and is used somewhat commonly. I usually throw Oath Rune of Warding on my tanks who are more vulnerable to RDPS. The improvements don't stop there, though. Grimnir also improves Rune of Might and Cleaving; I find myself in the middle of a crowd pretty often. Rune of Might does amazing damage for an AoE and combined with Cleaving it offers great DPS, numbers scroll across your screen like mad.

The tactics offer you higher healing and survivability. If you choose to go Stoutness of Stone, tanks will have a harder time beating on you. If you go Sundering Motion it allows you to CC as well as keep any MDPS away. This build is more about improvements to your core abilities rather than gaining mastery tree abilities. I find that I can keep my group and warband up a lot lot longer.

Contribution
A big thank you to Varking for his contribution to the Runepriest community and helping me answer all the questions that have come up!

Garthilk for supplying me stat mechanics and bringing us WarDB!

Change Log
• Updated abilities, specifically AP cost and some wording changes.

Coming Soon

• PvE & RvR specs
• In-depth PvE & RvR strategies (with screenshots and video)
• Influence and quest rewards every Runepriest should have
• Gear guides
• Collaboration with other veteran Runepriests for different playstyles

 

[Varking]

Just wanted to thank you for doing this and I linked this thread over on the QnA thread.

 

[Noun]

Just wanted to thank you for doing this and I linked this thread over on the QnA thread.

I've been itching to do it for a while, no thanks necessary but I appreciate it! There's a lot more to come out of this guide in the future, hoping the Runepriest community will be a big part of it.

 

[fr0matz]

Thanks are in order for this as it will most likely aid in many peoples decisions on whether or not they play, or continue to play a Rune Priest upon release.

So thanks, and good job on compiling this information and presenting it in legible, intellectual manner.

I look forward to testing out a Rune Priest in open beta.

-Fromat

 

[Beergut Oathbeard]

thanks! awesome job.

 

[LuNiX]

would recommend to others.

 

[Firebuck]

Awesome, detailed guide. Thanks!

 

[Papphammar]

Great job