Disc priest spec

[holmedog]

I've been toying with going Disc for a while now, and I think I am going to. I just wanted to get your input on:
Talent Calculator - World of Warcraft

I know there is still a stigma against shielding tanks. But, I tank, and I don't have a problem with shields. Especially in raids. At any rate, I do plan on going disc, so I would like to talk about the spec linked above instead of the merits of holy/disc.

[Muggs]

I use something similar to that build when I was healing spec. For MT healing that spec will work will work, if they get pouty about shields you can always move the 3 points out of divine aegis. (Remember, you can Shield yourself to get the 20% haste as well, just not the crit bonus to the tanks heals) If you are raid healing imp renew might be a better choice than inspiration since you can renew and go and the raid doesn't need a lot of armor boosts.

Divine Spirit is apparently going baseline in the next patch, so, the 3 points in DS and IDS might be useful elseware, but they are compensating Disc with that AoE Shield (That's going to rock malygos' socks, imo)

[Tenraiel]

The new warrior changes for 3.1 are going to make disc a much more viable spec as well: tanks won't mind being shielded at all. So, you shouldn't encounter much flak about rolling disc to heal anymore.

[Molohk]

I use almost the exact same spec, just removing the 2 pts from imp spirit (the benefit is too small IMO), and placing one into burrowed time, and the other into desperate prayer.

Shields and Grace add to a tanks mitigation, and there's no reason for a tank to complain about additional mitigation. If the additional mitigation causes rage issues, it's just like being overgeared for an encounter, then you can either have the healer slow down on the shields or have the tank switch gear to reduce the mitigation and gain other stats. For most cases, shields shouln't be a problem as long as the priest waits a few seconds for the first PW:S.

[holmedog]

I'm not basing this on 3.1 by the way. I don't forsee it in the near future (ie, next weeks raid) so I'm not planning around that. Just to clarify.


And, I think IDS is worth it when you are giving it to the raid. Assuming you have half melee half casters, that's a +400 spell damage to the raid.

[Runes]

IDS does not stack with flametongue so for me at least its useless. I would move that one point from Enlightment to Borrowed Time since a disc priest is shield most of the time. This should free up 2 points and you can add those to improve renew if you use Renew a lot.

[NewfieDave]

If you're looking to MT heal as Disc, this is the spec you want: Talent Calculator - World of Warcraft

Some tips:
1) Your most used heals will be Penance, FH, PoM, and PW:Shield.
2) FH and PW:Shield glyphs are mandatory. Third glyph is preference (I like Dispel Magic for that slot).
3) Get used to going Shield > Penance > FH or Shield > Penance > PoM > FH to best take advantage of the haste from Borrowed Time. Instant casts do not consume the proc, but still benefit from the haste (Penance counts as an instant cast for these purposes).
4) Make sure you have a UI with aggro notification and put up a Shield on anybody who draws aggro.
5) Keep Weakened Soul on your main target at all times.
6) Make good use of your cooldowns, especially Power Infusion and Pain Suppression. They are great buffs and should be used liberally.
7) Try to limit overhealing. You get less mana back from Rapture when you overheal.
8) MP5 > Spirit

[Bryenne]

MP5 > Spirit

I agree with all that NewfieDave said, especially the talent distribution, with one note to the above: Int > MP5 > Spirit, due to the way replinishment and rapture work (mana gained as a % of total mana, ergo, more mana = higher gains).

IDS does not stack with flametongue so for me at least its useless. I would move that one point from Enlightment to Borrowed Time since a disc priest is shield most of the time. This should free up 2 points and you can add those to improve renew if you use Renew a lot.

Disc priests do not use renew a lot, if at all. IDS is worth talenting if you routinely run instances/raids without a shaman or demo-warlock, with a caster heavy group. If you really want to take IDS, you can take the point out of Desperate Prayer and one from Divine Fury.

[axforu]

i have a disc as my main my suggestion would be take both points off improved divine spirit , and put 1 onto borrowed time to make it 5/5 and the other into holy for desperate prayer ( so handy its instant and very helpful cos it doesnt really interrupt your cycles ) . i wouldnt change anything else on your build
your main glyphs are pw:s and well thats the only real one you have to have the must have flash heal is imo just a fad , i dont flash heal , i prefer renew and greater heal , but there are no glyphs for penance and greater heal (yet) so i loaded dispel magic renew and pw:s , i use renew a lot not only to slow the damage on the tank but also for dps instant cast that is gonna keep healing for another 12 seconds at a decent tick , pom is also a viable aoe solution , dont forget holy nova , and as a last resort prayer of healing , bubble should keep most dps up

your heal cycle on mt ( for optimum ) should be pom shield penance greater heal x2 rinse recycle repeat , this gets most benefit out of your borrowed time as penance does not trigger it and you get the g heal off quickly , in 3.1 tanks that are bubbled will still generate rage for the absorbed damage , if you check your equations penance is by far the most powerful heal spell available to a priest ( based on its relatively low cd and huge burst heal lower mana consumption ) use pain suppression in emergencies or when bosses enrage ,

build yourself a omgitspanictime macro
/w target so you need something for the pain open wide and say AAAARRRRGGGHHH
/cast pain suppression
/target player
/cast power infusion
/target tank
/castsequence power word:shield , penance , innerfocus , greater heal

wait for the /lol from the tank if you pull it off

your mana per heal and your heal per second are 2 critical stats that the game doesnt show , flash heal has bad mph and hps when compared to greater heal ( especially when you have borrowed time ) greater heal is quicker , my main problem with flashheal is altho you get 2 spells off each one crit capable the effect is lessened by casting a weaker spell so inner focus greater heal will get you a larger benefit , if you need crits penance is far better than flash heal . i only use flash heal on dps , when the pom has hit someone not taking damage .

[Bryenne]

On the topic of useful macros, here's a couple I use to great effect:

---Get this PoM off me---
Used when PoM has bounced to you. Targets your tank's target, casts SW: D, switches target back to tank. Effectively, tosses out a bit of dps, hits you for the equal damage, which triggers the PoM to continue on it's merry way. Fun to use if you find you are never running low on mana and have time to spare between heals.
/assist
/cast Shadow Word: Death
/assist

---Power Focus---
Requires you to set one of your group as your focus at the start of the run. I generally set mine to the caster with the lowest dps, to help boost their contribution and not have to worry about them pulling aggro.
/cast [target=focus] Power Infusion

---Hit the Fan---
Obvious reasoning here, everyone just took a ton of damage and needs to get back up in a hurry. Protects the tank, drops a big hasted PoH on the party, tosses a lolrenew out on everyone, and makes sure things are not suddenly running right at you. Just mash the button until the fade occurs and pray the tank can grab everything before it wears off.
/castsequence Power Word: Shield, Inner Focus, Prayer of Healing, Divine Hymn, Fade

[NewfieDave]

flash heal is imo just a fad , i dont flash heal , i prefer renew and greater heal

...

your mana per heal and your heal per second are 2 critical stats that the game doesnt show , flash heal has bad mph and hps when compared to greater heal ( especially when you have borrowed time ) greater heal is quicker , my main problem with flashheal is altho you get 2 spells off each one crit capable the effect is lessened by casting a weaker spell so inner focus greater heal will get you a larger benefit , if you need crits penance is far better than flash heal . i only use flash heal on dps , when the pom has hit someone not taking damage .

If Flash Heal is a fad, it's a fad that works.

Renew is terrible for Disc. It can't crit, procs none of our talents, and reduces the mana returned by Rapture (ex. target takes damage, you queue up a Flash Heal, Renew ticks before the FH finishes causing you to overheal, Rapture doesn't give mana for overhealing). It should only be cast when you need to heal on the run.

Greater Heal has some flaws for Disc. It has better HpM than a FH until you factor in Rapture. Again, GH is more likely to cause overhealing than FH. It also runs into the 2.5% of your mana pool cap on Rapture when it crits, meaning you don't get all the mana back that you "should" from the amount of healing done, even if none of it is overhealing. As fast as GH is with a Borrowed Time proc, FH is always faster. Disc is a very "active" healing style (part of why I like it so much), and the speed at which you can get off heals is your biggest advantage over any other healing class. I don't even put GH on my bars anymore when I'm Disc.

[holmedog]

I healed two naxx runs as disc so far. I have to say, I like it more than holy. I do miss CoH, though.

The thing I think is the weirdest is I'm using PoH more. Especially in fights where I can predict party damage. Target self/tank, cast PW:S, Queue up PoH.

My rotation is very lackluster. Pen if it's up, PoM when it's bounced 5/6 times, PW:S if borrowed time is up, and flash heal when needed. Randomly I'll throw in the PoH if my party is taking damage (we put a healer in each part for this run, druid was on the other for his tranq).

[Bryenne]

Glad you're liking the spec, it does prove it's worth in most instances. Not on par with holy for raid healing, but it isn't meant to be, and can be done with smart healing. I haven't started raiding Naxx yet (guild is casual, we're slotted to start end of this month, and I've restrained myself from pugging it), but have you tried using holy nova (glyphed) instead of PoH? Or are the fights just not mana intensive enough where you are okay dropping PoH regularly?

[holmedog]

It's more the predictability of using PoH. I don't use it so much when I need a heal now, but more when I know party damage is coming up in X seconds.

I rarely touch holy nova. PoM + flash heal + penance is what I use for raid healing.

[Cookie]

Max out borrowed time, and remove the points in IDS. Also, healing focus and spellwarding because of raid wide damage is a better choice compared to Divine Fury for a disc priest.

IDS is only good when your gear is bad and you're farming heroics, or you're in a 10-man guild with no elemental shaman. In 25mans, there'll always be an elemental shaman.

[Lizana]

In 25mans, there'll always be an elemental shaman.

Not true at all. In fact i have had several 25 man groups where there was no shaman at all. Until blizzard makes it where once you form a raid group of 24 people the game instantly provides your 25 member as a shaman, its not good to assume those kind of things

[Cookie]

Not true at all. In fact i have had several 25 man groups where there was no shaman at all. Until blizzard makes it where once you form a raid group of 24 people the game instantly provides your 25 member as a shaman, its not good to assume those kind of things

Maybe your guild should recruit one then Even in pugs, I always remember to stack the raid so we have every buff. And if you're in a group where you don't need a shaman, then you certainly won't need the marginal SP offered by IDS either.

[Lizana]

Maybe your guild should recruit one then Even in pugs, I always remember to stack the raid so we have every buff. And if you're in a group where you don't need a shaman, then you certainly won't need the marginal SP offered by IDS either.

There isnt a single fight in the game at level 80 in current content that a shaman is required on. Sometimes a shaman is sick and you have to bring a boomkin instead, or a shadow priest, or another dps class. Yes, if your stacking your raid to always include a shaman you will always have one, but not everyone "stacks" their raids. For some people playing classes they like and bringing friends is more important than "stacking"

[Cookie]

There isnt a single fight in the game at level 80 in current content that a shaman is required on. Sometimes a shaman is sick and you have to bring a boomkin instead, or a shadow priest, or another dps class. Yes, if your stacking your raid to always include a shaman you will always have one, but not everyone "stacks" their raids. For some people playing classes they like and bringing friends is more important than "stacking"

There isn't a single fight that requires IDS either the 2 points are better spent elsewhere, like I said earlier- if you don't need a shaman, you don't need IDS. Think about it, if your raid is fine living without mana spring, flametongue, cleansing totems, and bloodlust (which is unique to shamans), then you can certainly live without minimal spellpower gains, which was my main point- IDS is wasted points, put them somewhere else.

And I assumed the OP was interested in buffing up his raid, unlike you o.O, since he took those 2 points and might not have known Flametongue was better.

[Lizana]

So your argument is if you cant have a shaman give a spell power buff then no one should? If they dont have access to a shaman on a regular basis then the 2 points are far from wasted. My orignal post in the thread was disagreeing with the assumption that every raid will always have a shaman in them. At no point did i say you shouldn't buff the raid group, in fact thats what your arguing...