READ ME: Legion Priest Guides and FAQS

[Djriff]

Key Links:

Transmog
Holy
Discipline
Shadow
Weak Auras/Macros/UI stuff
Legion PoV Videos
Priest Discord

If you have any suggestions on stuff you would like to see or stuff that you've felt has been lacking in the past in regards to guides and readily accessible information please feel free to reply here and I'm sure everyone will do their best to scrap something together.

EDIT: @Atonement wrote up a really great FAQ for disc priests, new and returning so be sure to check it out. You can find it here.

[Zwolfe123]

Awesome to see what you guys are planning and I think those sound like sufficient stickies .

I'm returning after a very long break from game and I would love something dedicated to new players but that could also just be covered in the spec threads so that would be my suggestion.

[Deleted]

We need a class fantasy thread.

[Djriff]

Well we can make one, but honestly not sure if that's worth a sticky on it's own.

[Ndogg]

Are they Holy/Shadow/Disc threads going to combine Guide/Theorycrafting/Fix my DPS/Heals ?

[Yvaelle]

Are they Holy/Shadow/Disc threads going to combine Guide/Theorycrafting/Fix my DPS/Heals ?

Yes, we like to keep guides combined with those discussions - so that they remain living documents for best practices

[Lasombria]

Will there be a new soloing thread?

[Djriff]

Will there be a new soloing thread?

We can make one, but we want to try and keep the number of stickies down, having the 6 we're looking at is a lot for the forum, even if they are all very useful.

[Lasombria]

We can make one, but we want to try and keep the number of stickies down, having the 6 we're looking at is a lot for the forum, even if they are all very useful.

Is that much sense allowed in MMO discussion?

[Djriff]

Is that much sense allowed in MMO discussion?

Probably not, but we'll just let it slide.

[Grumpy Old Man]

So, any tips about stat priorities during the pre-patch only for the 3 specs? I've been reading the threads for every spec but in this regard there is more than one recommendation. Also, it would be nice to have this info handy in one place.

[Djriff]

For shadow it's been brought up a few times, I'm currently not healing on my priest so I don't feel super comfortable giving advice about it.

For shadow: Haste(~25%) > Crit > Mastery

Talents:
Twist of Fate
Body and Soul
Mind Bomb(doesn't matter)
Reaper of Souls (Void Lord could be decent)
Auspicious Spirits
Mindbender
Surrender to Madness (Legacy of the Void could work, but even if you don't pop Surrender to Madness, it's still a better talent).

What will be the determining factor will be when you decide to pop StM in the fight, since a lot of cheese mechanics are now gone (Prismatic Crystal as an example) some of the fights will have to be relearned.

EDIT: I realize the above can be confusing in regards to StM.

Not running StM is almost equivalent to not running a lvl 100 talent. You should always run it even if you never pop it. This is really only true in a raiding environment. In all other types of content, you should talent Legacy of the Void.

[Djriff]

Added links to the different guides and stuff people have started posting.

[Deleted]

Please merge and sticky all the WA threads. There are already too many threads:

http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/...est-Weak-Auras
http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/...ura-for-legion
http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/...dated-7-21-16)
http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/...dow-Weak-Auras
http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/...line-WeakAuras
http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/...rds-Fire-issue
http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/...k-Auras-Legion

[Djriff]

Please merge and sticky all the WA threads. There are already too many threads:

Thanks for that! Was planning on doing that later today.

[Deleted]

Are we allowed to post our own guids in this upcoming Priest Guide Thread? multiple guides about the Shadow Priest, both PvP and PvE are found on MMO-Champion and various other media anyways, so I think it'd be more than just a good idea to have one big hub for them.

[Djriff]

Are we allowed to post our own guids in this upcoming Priest Guide Thread? multiple guides about the Shadow Priest, both PvP and PvE are found on MMO-Champion and various other media anyways, so I think it'd be more than just a good idea to have one big hub for them.

The guide threads are already up (minus holy). If you had inputs for shadow i'll gladly include them and give credit. As for disc, you'd have to talk to Totem about it.

[Jimjam38]

With the enormous changes to Discipline Priests in Legion and the equally large amount of misinformation about it, there have been a lot of questions regarding the spec, it's role and viability. This FAQ aims to hopefully answer some of the more commonly asked questions.

Q: What is Disc's role now? Is Disc a hybrid that is neither a full dps nor a full healer?
A: Put simply, no. For the purpose of dungeons and raiding, disc is still very much a full healer.
The 'hybrid' idea comes from the fact that disc uses damage to heal, but isn't intended to be 50% dps and 50% healer. This is not a very good way to think about it, but if you need to put it in those terms then Disc is a 98% healer, 30% dps. Yeah, op huh. In terms of what kind of healer it is... well it's not really like any others, basically disc is a walking raid cooldown that's available whenever you need it, as long as it has mana.

Q: Is Disc viable for PvE
A: Short answer, Yes. Long answer: Yes. It is.
Like any spec it depends on the skill of the person playing it. Disc is now just much more extreme in this regard than most other specs. In the hands of a good player who knows how to play it properly, Disc is an extremely valuable spec to have in a raid or dungeon, providing good hps, tank level (single target) dps, and solid utility. Played by a bad player or someone who just doesn't know how it's meant to be played, it will be truly terrible, far more than other healing specs.

Q: Is Disc viable for Mythic+ Dungeons? (Updated 7.1)
A: As above, it depends on the player. As a spec, not taking player skill into it, historically (patch 7.0) disc has been considered a weaker (but definitely still viable) spec in 5mans and mythic+. However this has proven to be incorrect and by now (7.1) the main thought is that disc, when played correctly, is extremely good in mythic+, largely due to it's ability to absorb and reduce damage (meaning it can deal with mechanics that would otherwise 1shot players on the higher levels of mythic+), and the strength of Twist of Fate as a cooldown that is always available when it's needed most. Disc priests cleared 15+ before some of the other healing specs. Disc priests in mythic+ run a Int>haste>crit>vers>>mastery stat priority.

Q: I've just watched the Method healer comparison video on youtube (or some other crap), and Disc was placed last! If a world-first guild doesn't want a piece of Disc, doesn't that mean it's just bad?
A: That video is old - Method ended up using a disc priest for EN anyway. UPDATE: Kek, serenity have now recruited a disc priest, and many of the top 20 guilds are switching their holy priests to disc for the ToV race... Cop that all the disc haters.

Q: I've already decided that I don't think Disc is viable and I would like to argue with you.
A: Firstly, that's not a question, that's a statement. Secondly, I've made this FAQ because I'm sick of people derailing the Disc Priest discussion for pages on end with irrelevant arguments about whether disc is viable (edit: it actually got shut down because you damn pests wouldn't stop derailing it. Thanks. Jerks). Thirdly you're wrong, go look at mythic WCL statisics. Forth, I don't care, don't bring it up here, make a new thread for it.

Q: Is Disc viable for PvP?
A: Disc is very good in PvP at the moment, because the PvP honor talents unlocked at 110 provide huge buffs to disc's spot healing, and disc is very hard to shut down as it can heal with two different spell schools (so needs to be interrupted twice), as well as providing some decent damage. There were Disc comps used in the arena championship qualifiers in october, so the spec is definitely viable for high end 3's, and it's disgustingly strong in 2's.

Q: How hard is disc to play now?
A: Blizzard themselves have stated that Disc is going to be the hardest healer to play in Legion. This is largely due to the added complexity of managing DPS gameplay aspects, such as dots, damaging spells and targeting enemies, in addition to standard healer gameplay, as well as the added layer of managing the new Atonement buff system which demands a proactive healing approach, all resulting in a very demanding spec with a relatively high skillcap. That's not to say that the complexity and skillcap of the new disc are prohibitively high, but the real problem and drawback is that the punishment for poor gameplay is severe.
Compared to Discipline in WoD, Disc in Legion is orders of magnitude more complex. Consider why you chose to play Disc in WoD, and if the simplicity of PWS spam gameplay is something that attracted you to the spec, then consider rerolling Holy or another more traditional healer for Legion. If, like me, the PWS spam gameplay is something that drove you to reroll a more complex healer during WoD, then you may want to consider looking at Disc again in legion.

Q: With talents like The Penitent, Grace and Clarity of Will, doesn't that mean I can still play Disc without Atonement healing, like I did in WoD?
A: No.
Q: But...
A: NO. JUST NO. Trying to do that is what makes people think disc is not viable. Atonement healing is the foundation of the spec and it is not viable to play without it, as the initial base heal of all our spells are tuned for the additional healing that Atonement provides. It is simply not viable or acceptable to play disc without Atonement healing.
If, for whatever reason, as a healer you do not want to have to manage dots, damaging spells and targeting enemies in addition to all the things healer's already manage, then DO NOT PLAY A DISC PRIEST. It's that simple, there's no pathway, nor is there intended to be one, for playing disc like you could in WoD.
Grace is intended to help disc's single target healing (read: Shadowmend spam) in 5man content or PvP.
Penitant is good for PvP, but only because it gives them a strong heal on a separate spell school to shadowmend - in PvE where getting interrupted and locked out of Shadowmend isn't an issue, there is zero reason to use it.
UPDATED 7.1: CoW received a buff, reducing it's cast time slightly. In it's current state, it's now viable in high level mythic+ dungeons as a counter to mechanics that could otherwise 1shot players (e.g., the first Shadow bolt Volley in BRH, before the party receives the buffs from Ravencrest). It is also viable in PvP, for the same reasons as The Penitent is.

Q: I'm a raid-leader and I have people who want to play disc, but I've heard its the weakest healer, why should I give one of the healing spots to a Disc Priest? (Updated 7.1)
A: Firstly, don't give a raid spot to a bad disc priest (and you shouldn't be giving a raid spot to a bad anything). But assuming they're a good player, why give Disc priests a raid spot?
When played properly, disc is more than capable of being competitive with other healers. In addition, the healing that Disc provides is largely burst, and Disc Priests can provide extremely high burst AoE healing, easily as strong, or stronger than a Revival, which they can provide almost every minute when cds are managed correctly and innervates are designated towards the disc priest (which they should be).
On top of that, a disc priest should provide single target dps roughly equal to the tanks, contributing usually 2-3% total raid damage, which is generally considered extremely valuable for progression. If they have downtime, other healers should also provide damage, but Disc is the only spec that can reliably do both damage and healing at once.
Disc also provides valuable and unique utility. Firstly, Disc priests have the only remaining reliable EffectiveHP-providing spells left in the game - PWS and (sadly) COW. They also have Rapture, which is a cooldown that removes the cd on PWS for 8 seconds (11 with Artifact traits), which allows minor Blanket-absorbs on a good portion of the raid, or spam absorbs on a single or a few targets.
Power Word: Barrier is the strongest raid damage reduction cd in Legion when the raid can stack for it, and also receives buffs from the Artifact and one of the Disc Legendary items which make it a strong healing cd as well.
Pain Suppression is now by far and away the strongest tank cd in the game at 40% damage reduction, although on a longer cooldown than others (3.3 min with traits).
And like Holy, Disc also still provides Leap of Faith, and Mass Dispel (although the mana cost for Mass Dispel is extremely restrictive).
The drawbacks of a disc priest are its relatively weaker sustained AoE healing on more than 6 targets (Update 7.1: With changes to some of our talents, Disc can now provide more consistent healing), and poor reactive healing (it is still very much a proactive healer, so it will struggle on fights like Ilgynoth norm/heroic where there is no predictable AoE damage).
So, I've told you what a Disc Priest can bring to a raid and what it's weaknesses are, whether it would suit your raid's composition and be worth having is for you to decide (the answer is probably yes).

Q: I've been playing Disc in some 5mans and no matter what I always find myself having to use Shadowmend to catch up on healing. I thought Disc was all about Atonement healing now, what am I doing wrong?
A: Nothing, having to rely on Shadowmend in 5mans is normal and to be expected. Just like Holy Priests have to rely on Flash Heal.
In raids there are other healers, like Holy Paladins, that are much better at tank and spot healing and you can leave that to them while you raid heal with Atonement healing, but in 5mans you're the only healer, and so you'll have to make use of Shadowmend for tank healing and spot healing on party members. It shouldn't completely replace your Atonement healing, but it will become a larger part of your total healing, increasingly so as the 5man difficulty increases (in higher Mythic+ and so on). At the highest levels of Mythic+ you will find yourself using Shadowmend as your main ability, but remember that at those levels of Mythic+, all the other healers will also be forced to spam their 'emergency' heal too (i.e. Flash Heal, Healing Surge, Flash of Light, etc).

Q: How does the new disc priest work?
Q: Is <insert random talent> worth using for Disc?
Q: What is the best Artifact pathway?
Q: What are the best stats for disc?
Q: What Legendary do I want for disc?
A: For all of the above, and other such questions, please refer to [well this is the bit where I used to link you to a guide but it got deleted after the owner got sick of all the turds debating the same crap for pages and pages on end. This is why we can't have nice things. Because of people who insist that Shadow Covenant is viable, or who keep saying disc isn't a real healer, 2 months into the xpac, even after disc priests are beating holy and mistweavers on mythic. Yeah, GG.] That guide can still be found on H2Priest, if you're interested.
Also Mend wrote a new TLDR guide: http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/...ding-Guide-7-1

[Goshko]

Consider adding a note that the majority of your healing in 5mans will come from actual healing spells and not atonement (unless the party overgears the content by a significant margin), and that percent increases the more difficult the content.

The sheer amount of people (former dps mostly) that go OH BOY, OH BOY I CAN'T WAIT TO BE A DPS THAT HEALS and fail miserably when they try do do just that is depressing.

[Zka]

Consider adding a note that the majority of your healing in 5mans will come from actual healing spells and not atonement

I other words: when mobs die in 2-3 gcds, you can't smite shit. I second this, tried disc in a levelup dungeon and it was beyond clunky and poor, mostly because the targets fall too fast.