Ah, the mainstay of all RPGs, classic and modern. The pious healer, the augmenter, the spiritual and faithful defender of all that is good, in the name of God(s) and Heaven.

The Priest has a bonus to the "Divine" spellbook, can heal from the very first level, and gains only more and more powerful protection and healing spells as the game progresses. With a quick mouse on Continuous Combat, or good planning in Phased, your Priest will keep everybody in the party alive, period (unless of course that death is cheesy, like from Death Wish or Quicksand. But even then, Magic Screen and Soul Shield, both Priest spells, will keep many instant death spells from happening most of the time).

In addition to being able to Turn Undead, causing damage and paralysis to any evil beings not of this world, Priests can also Pray in combat, granting the party certain random favors, like healing, augmentation spells, money and experience.

They, along with the Bishop, are also the best outfitted pure caster class in the game in terms of equipment, which is in addition to having above average amounts of hit points, and makes them viable for the front lines if necessary.

Priests are the undisputed masters of Divine magic, which includes many various types of healing and defense magic, as well as some attack magic, and share the title of master of Water magic, which has a lot of healing and cleansing spells, with the Alchemist and the Mage.

This is an excellent class for the beginner, and a great one for any player who wants their party to survive with a helpful ease not given by any other class.

Priest sub-classes

- Servant of God

The Servant can heal quicker and better than any other build in the game. Start with 3 points in Intelligence and Speed a level, then follow with 3 points in Piety and Senses.

Why would you put Speed and Senses on a caster? The alternative to doing so is a painful one. All spells come with a huge limiter to Initiative before they are cast, and any class that has no added points in the Initiative boosting stats (Speed and Senses) will almost always cast their spells at the end of the round.

This gets extremely annoying by endgame when the enemy hits you very hard and you NEED that heal spell to go off, but your caster is too slow to do anything about their dying friends... so please heed my advice and boost Initiative in your caster classes. Your other party members will thank you.

- Battle Priest

I don't recommend using your Priest as a melee fighter, as putting points into fighting statistics like Strength and Dexterity takes away from the Priest's awesome healing ability, which needs Intelligence and Piety to cast well and Speed to cast quick. If you want a fighter/healer hybrid, I recommend going for a Lord or a Valkyrie.

If you insist on bringing the Priest into the fray, I still don't recommend putting points in fighting stats, because if you raise their Strength or Dexterity, their healing skills can become so lax as to become laughable. Use other characters to boost their stats (Superman spells, Haste spells, etc...) if you want them to fight, but innately boost those casting skills! Your Battle Priest will cast as well as a normal Priest, but will also have a little extra utility for when you need some extra manpower on the front lines.