Priest healing tips and build?

Yeah starshards it is, it used to be the most useless racial talent but thank god they fixed it.

And in regards to grinding mobs in holy or shadow, it doesnt matter tbh you get spell damage with healing gear now so its easy for holy priests to grind mobs now.

If you wanna add a little kick to your dmg output just stick two points into searing light for the grind.

Dcully wrote: »

I must say healing 5 mans is a lot more interesting than dps-ing in shadow form.

Amen to that. I Find shadow immensely boring, healing heroics is de_best

If you really want all the priest info you need, then read all of this thread: *snip*

It is very informative, and will tell you all you need to know about Priests

EDIT: rofl im an idiot, you need to be in my guild to get access to it >_<

ok might be alot of pages though:

This is an Excellent read guys.

Random Terms Used
OO5SR : Outside Of 5 Second Rule
I5SR : Inside 5 Second Rule
Pom : Prayer of Mending
PoH : Prayer of Healing
CoH : Circle of Healing
RSTS: Random Secondary Targetting System

Spec
Q: What spec should I be as a holy priest?
A: First priest in the raid should (most of the time) go 23/38/0, with 2/2 Imp DS and then up the Holy tree as you see fit. Every subsequent priest should be 1x/4x/0, up Discipline to Meditation and Inner Focus, and up Holy to CoH, with extra points spent as you see fit.

Q: Is CoH worth it?
A: Depends on your level of content. If you're in T4 content, short answer is no. If you're in SSC/TK, it is situationally powerful. If you're in BT/HS, yes. Absolutely. Additionally, if you are going deep Holy (for 5/5 Emp Healing), you might as well take CoH, as the only other thing you can get is regular Divine Spirit, which someone else in your raid should already have.

Q: Is Lightwell worth a talent point?
A: Most people who use it think that it is, especially post 2.2.2. It heals for around 4500 per click now, providing a partial top-up heal for fights like Naj'entus where the raid takes predictable raid-wide damage. If you chose to not take this talent point, there's not a lot you can take that is better: usually Holy Reach or Holy Specialization is chosen.

Q: Should I take SoR?
A: Yes. Full stop. The 5% spirit is worth it if nothing else.

Q: Should I take inspiration?
A: Yes. There's nothing else worth taking that is raid-centric at the 3rd tier of our holy tree, and it's amazing for tank healing. If you choose not to take it, you should always attempt to *not* heal tanks, since you will be gimped compared to any other holy priest or resto shaman who *does* have the talent.

Q: How good is Holy Concentration?
A: It's decent. 6% proc rate means it goes off at least once a minute, which helps immeasureably in getting those oh-so-sexy OO5SR ticks that make priests so powerful.

Q: Holy Reach - yes/no?
A: If you are going for a CoH build, taking Healing Reach actually gives you a 35 yard diameter CoH, which is useful. It's not critical, but it helps, and the points are there for switching around.

Q: Can you give me a cookie cutter build (a la WoW:Priest Forums).
A: 20/41/0 : http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=bxT0zhxZfVxcc0aVuVo
23/38/0 : http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=bxT0zhxzbZfhtcc0qVuc

Note that for the 20/41/0 build the 5 points in Spell Warding (which some really like) can easily be split into Holy Specialization, Holy Reach, and Healing Prayers, as you see fit (with a minimum of 2 in Holy Specialization).

Q: Healing Prayers vs Mental Agility?
A: Healing Prayers wins almost always. Mental Agility affects Renew, PW:S, PoM, and CoH; Healing Prayers affects PoM and PoH which, if you use PoH at all, is a net win. It's not a critical talent, but it helps with sustainability. Some people argue for the 4% toward CoH versus 20% toward PoH and 16% toward PoM -- it really depends which one you use more.

If you're spamming CoH, then take 5/5 MA. If you're using PoH occasionally, take 2/2 HP, because the amount of mana per cast it saves more than makes up for the 36 mana differential saved on each CoH from 2 points in MA. You'd have to cast 7 CoHs for every PoH to save more mana from taking the last 2/5 points in MA over HP.

Note that this is completely ignoring the 12% gain to efficiency in PoM you gain from going 3/5, 2/2. I find I use PoM a lot over a given raid. If I use it 2x for every CoH I cast (easily a conservative estimate), the argument swings completely in favour of HP. It's not even close.

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=bxT0zhxZfLxccMsVuVo
This is probably the heaviest "efficiency" build I can come up with that still includes CoH, and its net loss compared to a classic 20/41/0 build is 40-50 +heal from Spiritual Guidance. Given that full T5 equates to over 2100 raid-buffed +heal, that's not a huge loss for the efficiency it offers.

Gearing : Spirit vs Mp5
Note that 2.3 basically skews the table almost entirely toward spirit builds. The change to Meditation is huge, and means that the power of spirit starts to outshine Mp5 in almost all circumstances for priests. It also gives a purpose for all the spirit-heavy gear that litters T5 and T6 content.

If you are just starting as a priest, go tailoring. Make the 3-piece Primal Mooncloth set, get the 2-piece Whitemend set made, and stack Royal Nightseyes in everything you can.

Gearing is a fairly easy question to answer beyond this: look on the WoW forums if you need help deciding where to start farming for quick upgrades.

Gear Benchmarks
Q: What level of gear should I be at for <insert progression level here>?
A: To run Karazhan: 1400 +heal, 180 Mp5 *or* 400 spirit. Easily obtained through crafted pieces.
At the end of Karazhan: 1600 +heal, 200 Mp5 *or* 500 spirit.

At the end of T4 content: 1700 +heal, 200 Mp5 *or* 500 spirit (don't gain much from Gruul/Mag)

At the end of T5 content: 2000 +heal, 230 Mp5 *or* 600 spirit.

Note that these numbers change dramatically in 2.3 when the Meditation change goes live. Numbers are raid-buffed (food, oil, flask or two potions).

How does Priest Regeneration work?
Priests gain 1 MpTick (OO5SR) for every 4 points of spirit they have. Mana ticks are computed every 2 seconds for some bizarre reason, so you have to remember to convert Mp5 and ticks to a common time domain. Total regen can thus be calculated:

OO5SR: [(spirit/4)+13]*2.5
II5SR: OO5SR * 0.15 + OO5SR * 0.05 (pre-2.3)
OO5SR * 0.30 + OO5SR * 0.05 (post-2.3) [with Primal Mooncloth set bonus]

OO5SR * 0.15 (pre-2.3)
OO5SR * 0.30 (post-2.3)

Then add whatever Mp5 you have static on your gear plus consumables to reach your regeneration model.

Example: JoePriest has 500 spirit and 135 Mp5 from gearing. His regen is (pre-2.3):
[(500/4)+13]*2.5 + 135 : 480 Mp5 (OO5SR)
345 * 0.15 + 135 : 187 Mp5 (II5SR)

Some theorycraft says it is [(spirit/4)+12.5]*2.5. I'll check this.

Q: How do I take advantage of spirit?
A: This is basically an experience thing, but take the talents Inner Focus and Holy Concentration, and start using /stopcasting macros (more info on the UI forum). Stop your casts anytime the tank does not need your heal, and start another one. Timed properly, this can get you full 5 second ticks OO5SR, which is worth a lot of regen.

Using a Holy concentration proc chained into an Inner Focus together with /stopcasting can easily give 15-20 seconds Oo5SR, while still landing two max-rank GH:7 heals. The third heal will terminate the II5SR time, but actually gives one final tick at full regen because of cast time.

Cheating the 5 Second Rule
Priest regen is all about cheating the 5 second rule. Blizzard's 5 second rule is currently set so that upon completion of a spell which *costs mana* (the critical factor), you enter a 5 second period (II5SR) where you regenerate mana at a reduced rate. This rate is dependent on your talent choices (Meditation = 30% regen II5SR in 2.3.0; 15% in 2.2.2) and upon your gear choices (3-piece Primal Mooncloth = 5% regen II5SR).

Given that priests gain so much regeneration from spirit, the typical difference between a regen tick II5SR and OO5SR is approximately 3x. It can range from 2x on the low-end (Mp5-heavy gear) to 4x on the high-end (spirit-heavy gear). In any case, a tick OO5SR is worth 2+ II5SR.

So how to cheat the rule?

Firstly, Inner Focus is a guaranteed way to exit the 5SR, since it makes your next cast "free" of mana, and hence does not trigger the rule. Typical sequence is something like:
- top up your tank target
- wait 2 seconds
- hit Inner Focus
- start /stopcasting GH:7 until heal is actually needed
- start a new heal -- when it lands, you re-enter the 5SR

If the tank is not getting owned, and if you are not the solo healer on that tank, you should be able to get 7-10 seconds OO5SR before the 2nd heal lands.

You can do exactly the same thing with Clearcasting, although it's a little harder to lead up to it, as Clearcasting is a random chance proc.

There are two trinkets in the game which can aid in this method of play. The first is [Bangle of Endless Blessings], an annoying drop from Botanica (I say annoying because in 18 runs, it refused to drop for me, so I hate it). The second is a drop from Lurker Below in SSC, [Earring of Soulful Meditation]. Both have a 2-minute cooldown Use-Effect which increases your spirit by an amount for 15 seconds.

Thus, if your Inner Focus happens to be up at the same time as your trinkets, and you get a Clearcasting Proc, your sequence should be something like:
- wait 2 seconds (to get close to the end of your current 5 seconds)
- hit your trinket Use Effect
- start casting GH:7, use /stopcasting, land it before the Clearcasting Proc falls off
- hit Inner Focus
- repeat GH:7 /stopcasting
- start a mana-costing heal, enter the 5SR as it lands

You can easily get a full 15 seconds of trinketed regen by doing this, which results in approximately (with Earring and 500 spirit raid buffed) 2000 mana. This varies depending on how much Mp5 and spirit you have, but it's worth around the same as the low-end of a mana pot.

Additionally, if you use ItemRack as an addon, you can use a Script to switch in spirit-based weapons while you do this for a little more oomph. This can also be done manually with a bit more work.

I have a macro which goes something like:

/script EquipSet("Regen");
/use Earring of Soulful Meditation

hich equips [Nightstaff of the Everliving] and [Soul-Wand of the Aldor] (with a +20 spirit enchant on Nightstaff), putting me over 800 raid-buffed spirit with trinket Use effect. It makes for a very nice 15 seconds of regen.

Threat Mechanics and You
There are two things you need to know about threat as a priest, and they are spells: Fade, and Prayer of Mending.

Fade: Fade out, discouraging enemies from attacking you for 10 sec. . Note that the threat lost from Fade is regained in full once the 10 second duration finishes, and that you continue accruing threat while Fade is up. It is extremely useful in some situations, and completely useless in others. Make sure you have it keybound or located in a convenient click spot; it can save your butt in numerous situations.

Also be aware that Fade acts as a straight subtractive threat modifier, which actually (used intelligently) can put you below body aggro threat levels on a mob. This can be extremely useful in places like Hyjal Summit when you are trying to shackle something without getting 4 shadowbolts to the face. If you wait until the wave initially aggro's on something (like a shaman's totem) and begin running into your raid, hit fade, and then run forward, you can reliably shackle without getting owned. Anyone in combat with the mobs will have 1 more threat than you do (until you use an ability), which means you won't get ripped apart. Just make sure other people are in combat first ... or you rapidly become a greasy smear.

Prayer of Mending: when Prayer of Mending procs (i.e. dmg taken, PoM charge gets used up), the threat from the healing done is attributed directly to the person being healed. This is incredibly useful for tank threat, as you can put PoM and a PW:S up on a tank just before the pull, and instantly refresh the PoM when the first charge is used up for an easy 2k+ threat for your tank. This is enough to land a 4k heal without pulling aggro: very useful for heroics where you have no salv and no CC.

Some people will try to tell you that pre-shielding a tank on a pull results in less threat, or a rage-starved tank. Unless you're running something with a fully kitted out mitigation-gear T6 tank (basically passive-crush-immune gear), this is patently false. Every mob of significance in end-game raiding hits for 3k+, and a PW:S+PoM will basically eliminate the first attack from the table, without causing *any* threat to you, as a healer. It is far better to keep the tank alive through the first 2-3 attacks than to worry about how much rage he is getting from those attacks. Realistically, almost every boss is pulled with Misdirect + Earth Shield + PoM + trinketed Shield Slam (warriors) anyway, so rage isn't really an issue when the boss is locked onto the tank and will be beating the crap out of him Very Soon Now. If your tanks really suck and need that rage to build threat ... then you're probably going to pull it off them on the first heal anyway, which negates the argument.

Q: What gems do priest use?
A: [Royal Nightseye].
[Dazzling Talasite] if you want a set bonus and need a yellow gem.
(or [Luminous Noble Topaz])
[Teardrop Living Ruby] for red sockets if you like stacking +heal.

If you are spirit-focused:
[Purified Shadow Pearl] replaces [Royal Nightseye], although 4 spirit will never beat 2 Mp5, even post-2.3, unless you guarantee an innervate to yourself.

To prove this: 4 spirit = 2.5 Mp5 with 100% OO5SR. Assume SoR and Kings, so actually, 4.62 spirit = 2.89 Mp5. Assuming (post-2.5) 30% regen II5SR, and assuming a 50-50 split (generous; most of us run 65+% II5SR), this gives the average gain from 4 points of spirit as 1.88 Mp5, versus 2.0 Mp5 from a [Royal Nightseye]. Assuming you get one innervate per fight, you gain 46 mana from the 4 spirit, versus 8 mana from the 2 Mp5 (in the same period).

10 minute fight, 264 mana gained from [Purified Shadow Pearl]; 240 mana gained from [Royal Nightseye], *assuming* you gained an innervate. Thus, if you can guarantee an innervate, the Pearl > Royal, even ignoring the 1.6+heal benefits (very small, but it slowly adds up).

What about [Lustrous Empyrean Sapphire] vs [Sparkling Empyrean Sapphire]
[Sparkling Empyrean Sapphire] = 11.55 spirit raid-buffed => 7.22 Mp5 OO5SR
[Lustrous Empyrean Sapphire] = 4 Mp5 OO5SR

10 minute fight, gain 544 mana + 115.5 from Innervate from 10 spirit gem. (50/50 OO5SR)
10 minute fight, gain 480 mana from 4 Mp5 gem.

The cutoff in favour of the 4 Mp5 gem is actually at 83% II5SR, with innervate. If you assume no innervate, the cutoff becomes 64% II5SR.

So, assuming you manage to stay OO5SR at least 36% of the time, the 10 spirit gem will provide more innate regen (and give some scaling +heal) than the 4 Mp5 gem.

Metagems
[Insightful Earthstorm Diamond]: the most useful, and easiest to equip, metagem. The proc goes off quite often, and typically restores 4000+ mana over a 10 minute fight. Very useful, and the intellect also helps.
[Bracing Earthstorm Diamond]: useful metagem, but extremely difficult to equip given priest gem setups. Having Yellow>Red>Blue basically screws over our use of [Royal Nightseye], and given that Yellow gems are the most worthless, is really not worth equipping. Leave this one to a paladin who stacks crit gems.
[Mystical Skyfire Diamond]: easy to equip, but only really useful if you are spamming on a single target. The haste proc is powerful, and can be a significant part of your play style if you mess around with it and learn how to use it.

Stopcasting
Q: Should I use stopcasting?
A: pre-2.3, absolutely. Don't jump out of spells. Train yourself out of the habit (as most of us have had to). It's inefficient and actually wastes partial seconds in between casts. We still haven't figured out how crap Blizzard's implementation of server-side spell queues are, so we don't know what we'll have to do post-2.3.

Overhealing and You
Some people pre-TBC would claim that anything over 20% overheal was a lack of skill, and clearly showed that you were a poor healer. There remain some who seem to think that overhealing is somehow bad.

Typical best-case numbers for tank healing in T5/T6 content is 30% overheal (for a priest). more typical numbers are 40%+. The reasons for this are fairly simple. Firstly, tanks are taking more damage than ever. It is not uncommon for a crushing blow to strike a tank for 9500+ when it manages to sneak past Shield Block (especially parry-hasted crushings). Accordingly, any direct healer responsible for tank healing will always have a heal casting, and will be using /stopcasting to interrupt it and start a new one if the tank does not need the heal (dodge, parry, miss).

Unfortunately, we do not play in a zero-lag predictable environment. And if comes down to you landing a complete overheal for 3500, and letting a tank die, you overheal the tank. Many priests' primary "nuke" heal is GH:2, healing for 3500-ish raid-buffed. If the tank still needs any healing when you hit the 1.9 second mark of your heal, just let it land. Yes, maybe the druid HoTs or a paladin will finish topping up the tank in those 0.6 seconds remaining. But maybe not. And if it heals for anything, it's worth spending those 0.6 seconds landing a heal than to interrupt, and be a full 2.5 seconds from landing any healing.

Always *work* on your overhealing, and try to avoid landing 100% overheal hits on a tank during a boss fight. Focus on your /stopcasting and Quartz lag-bar can help a lot with this, as can effective coordination between healers, and, if you have the luxury, use of 2 tree druids as primary tank healers. 2 Lifeblooms, 2 Rejuvs, and 2 Regrowths smooths out tank spikes so effectively that your overheal % will drop tremendously, because you will only have to land a heal if the tank is down enough to truly justify it.

The T5 2-piece Set Bonus
... is sexy. Oh-so sexy. If you are using GH as your primary spell in any fight, put 2-piece T5 on. 100 mana back from every single GH that actually tops up a tank works out to the equivalent of 2 mana pots over a typical 10 minute fight. It also reduces the cost of GH:1 to 214 mana (talented) ... which is less than most priests' Mp5 II5SR. It's amazing. Get it. Use it. Love it.

Consumables
Food: [Blackened Sporefish] or [Golden Fish Sticks]
Oil: [Brilliant Mana Oil] or (easier) [Superior Mana Oil]
Flask: [Flask of Mighty Restoration]
Potions: [Elixir of Major Mageblood] or [Elixir of Draenic Wisdom] *plus* [Elixir of Healing Power]

The best consumable of all:
[Super Mana Potion] (equivalent to 100 Mp5 if chain-used)

Yes i advise you to do some heroics to boost your gear, you can get some decent stuff with the badges. Dont waist the badges on the cloth items as they only provide +healing and + haste, which isnt really what you want. You should be focusing on + healing and mp5. So id spend my badges on the healing trinket first and then pick up the ring and amulet if you havent got anything better by then. Also the off hand (voodoo shaker) is a decent off hand, but dont get that until you pick up one of the healing maces from kara.

However if i were you id just aim at getting the hollowed priest set and get your ass into a decent kara raiding group. Try aim for one that has kara on farm and that are in need of priests for pushing 25man content. You can get geared up in no time in just a few kara runs.

For trinkets i advise you to get revered with the lower city and get the healing trinket there which gives a decent boost to your + healing. You can also get a very nice mp5 trinket from mana tombs heroic.

And one of the bosses in the slave pens i think it is drops a decent healing staff, its real ugly lookin though

You can also get some nice healing gear from the Cenarion quatermaster, i think you can pick up a nice helm/off hand from there..

Also make sure your attuned to kara before applying to a kara raiding guild

Dcully wrote: »

Add that to the cost of drinks etc and im finding specced as holy is a lot more expensive than any class ive played.
Also the usual blame the healer crap going on.

Im finding i totally love holy when a run goes right with nice people but when its bad no matter what happens the healer gets blamed,, its a real turn off from healing tbh

when you log in just hop into an AV and stock up on loads of food from the mages there, should be able to grab enough to last you for a few heroics

generally the only person that should be taking damage in pretty much any of them is the tank, if other people are and are dieing it definitely isn't your fault. bitch them out before they even try blame your healing