Reroll Character - Holy or Disc?

[Deleted]

I will shortly be starting from scratch and rerolling a priest in a new guild. I have only ever played DPS classes before and although I won't be clearing HC's anytime soon I do want to be a competent healer. I also want to make sure I make the right choice in regards to spec!

I will be printing off some the more in-depth threads on here soon however in a nut shell - is holy healing viable anymore? I don't really like the idea of having to switch chakra's all the time however for some reason I feel drawn towards holy!

The other thing that I have read is that disc healing is overpowered at the moment and I don't want to be jumping on the band wagon as such. Just putting it out there, as a new healer in peoples experience, which is the best spec to learn?

Thanks!

[AlereanJr]

I first started raiding on my priest as holy, and I enjoyed it. But since making a disc spec, I haven't used holy in a very long time. Yes, atonement is OP (in my opinion at least, I don't know any statistics), but its also an extremely enjoyable play style. Tbh I think it really comes down to what you enjoy playing. The difference between holy and discipline is the way in which you heal, reactive vs active (mitigation)...so I would say try both, and see which you enjoy most, since your priority doesn't seem to be about topping meters. I would just add that the times I have played as holy, mana has been much more of an issue when compared to discipline.

[Deleted]

I've got a level 40ish holy healer that I have on another server that i'm probably not going to use again. I'll run a few dungeons as disc on him and have a mess around and see if I can get a bit of a feel for it. I have to say though, i have found holy healing pretty slow and found myself using PW: S quite often....maybe im trying to tell myself something!

In terms of raiding, do the play styles of holy and disc really differ so much, and are disc priests more sought after?

[Shockeye]

If you are a long-time DPS player, Discipline may feel more comfortable for you as the spec does a lot of healing through damage-dealing in form of Atonement.

Currently Disc Priests are the more sought-after as damage mitigation is always better than fixing damage, and on meters Disc always show high. Note that high showing doesn't mean they're better, it's just because of the way meters read the absorb/mitigation functions in terms of HPS.

Holy will seem very slow until your Haste is higher and in that interim Disc may feel quicker because you are using faster spells (Smite, Penance, Flash Heal, PWS). Play styles are very very different. Disc is more aggressive, Holy is a bit more laid-back, at least to my perspective. Disc performs best in anticipating damage and preventing it from happening, Holy repairs damage done - Disc is pro-active, Holy reactive.

Holy is mana-intensive and will punish you for mistakes made, but the spec has a number of mitigation factors that you just need to be smart about using to make your mana last, such as Serendipity, which has very nice synergy with the From Darkness Comes Light talent. PW:S as Holy really doesn't have a place and will just deplete your mana faster (as Disc you want to cast it under Rapture for the mana recovery).

Best recommendation, try both and see what feels the best.

[AlereanJr]

I've got a level 40ish holy healer that I have on another server that i'm probably not going to use again. I'll run a few dungeons as disc on him and have a mess around and see if I can get a bit of a feel for it. I have to say though, i have found holy healing pretty slow and found myself using PW: S quite often....maybe im trying to tell myself something!

In terms of raiding, do the play styles of holy and disc really differ so much, and are disc priests more sought after?

They differ a lot, mainly because of the addition of atonement healing and Archangel...but because one is more reactive healing and one is more active, this makes a big difference. I've always been of the opinion that if you can accurately determine who will take damage and act accordingly, then all the better for it. With holy your only real option is to wait until someone takes damage, and THEN heal, which some people prefer. Discipline priests are more sought after in my experience, but holy can bring a lot to the table as well.

[Vampiirella]

I have played both healing specs lvled as disc in vanilla and then switched to holy during catca. As I am partial holy cause I personally like reactive healing. Changing chakra's isn't a big issue.. I would mostly use sanctuary unless the raid was spread out then I would switch to serenity

Probably the best way is to try both at max lvl and see which one you do better with personally. When I got to 90, I was disc better we went into MSV, but after running a few heroic's I quick switched to holy, as I play better personally. The RL wanted me to be disc and asked me to go disc on raid night, I did as requested and was asked to go back holy after a few attempts

[AlereanJr]

Should probably add that your arsenal of spells is quite different, if you didn't already know that. Disc loses circle of healing to holy (a wild growth like aoe ability), but gains penance, and of course shield mastery which means you replace your HoT with PW: Shield. Disc has a raid cd which is a barrier reducing incoming damage for the raid/group, while holy has a straightforward healing cd, similar to Tranquility.

[Deleted]

Thank's for all the replies, its really helpful! You know when you are just attracted to a spec for some reason? I'm getting that with holy! I think im going to spec into holy as my primary spec but again keep dipping into disc.

We have a resto shaman and a holy paladin in terms of healing at the moment though, if im raiding with these 2 im getting the feeling nthat disc would be better though?

[Deleted]

If you're planning on raiding current content (SoO normal/heroic) I would suggest you learn to play both specs. As a competent priest healer you will have to be able to switch specs depending on the boss, because on some fights disc is better, and on some holy is better.

That said the first spec I would learn would be disc though, seeing as you can pretty much heal all the SoO normal fights (thok might be a bit troublesome, but doable for sure) as disc without much problems. Disc is also considered slightly op at the moment, especially in 25mans.

[Fenixdown]

If you like being a bad DPS with lots of absorbs, go disc. If you like actually healing people, go holy.

As straightforward as I can put it.

[Shockeye]

Straightforward, but completely wrong.

[Outofmana]

I'd only go Holy in a 25man guild if you don't want to Chakra switch, or you don't want to feel seriously limited at times. When I tried Holy in 10man at the start of MoP I didn't enjoy it at all (And I've been enjoying hpriest for 8 years), went back to a 25man guild right away. In 25man you're basicly always in AoE Chakra and you will have a great time being a pure healer.

[Nightstorm]

I'd only go Holy in a 25man guild if you don't want to Chakra switch, or you don't want to feel seriously limited at times. When I tried Holy in 10man at the start of MoP I didn't enjoy it at all (And I've been enjoying hpriest for 8 years), went back to a 25man guild right away. In 25man you're basicly always in AoE Chakra and you will have a great time being a pure healer.

Holy is actually really strong in 10m right now and weak in 25m due to the range issue with PoH.

[Vampiirella]

Holy is actually really strong in 10m right now and weak in 25m due to the range issue with PoH.

I wouldn't consider holy to be weak in 25m, we have a holy and disc priest in our 25 man and holy is very strong in our case

[muto]

If you like being a bad DPS with lots of absorbs, go disc. If you like actually healing people, go holy.

As straightforward as I can put it.

More like overhealing people.

[Dierdre]

If you like being a bad DPS with lots of absorbs, go disc. If you like actually healing people, go holy.

If you like bitching about your heals getting sniped by someone who also contributes with some damage, go holy.

Seriously now, both specs are good, and their performance depends more on each specific encounter and the composition of your raid group's healer line-up.

[Blachshma]

Disc:

Pros: Has tons of absorbs, healing through dps, and a very proactive state of mind. Its great for both single target and AoE and mana-wise its a very forgiving spec, great sniper.

Cons: When your group is down, disc has the toughest time getting it up.

Holy:

Pros: Fantastic toolkit, largest in the game, reactive style of healing, great single target healing and great AoE healing, when your group needs sustained reliable healing, nobody can do it as well as a holy priest.

Cons: Chakra limitng playstyle, mana is more of an issue, prone to sniping and overhealing perhaps more than any other healer.

As always - head says disc, heart says holy.

[Deleted]

Well I hit lvl 35 today and haven't dual specced yet and i'm getting the hang of the way Holy is working (at this level!). I haven't got any of the AoE spells yet but struggled originally to get the heal/greater heal working and avoided flash heal like the plague! I found the normal heals really slow and panic hit flash heal and although i've carried the group through there have still been a couple of wipes that were my fault (this is my first healing character).

However, i've spent some time with my Vudho and weak aura's addons (I still need to work out how to do the timer bars, like how much time left for serendipity) and i've seem to hit my stride now. Instead of my heals feeling slow I now know when I should be casting them and it feels like its working now! I'm looking forward to getting some of the AoE spells and working towards 90 but if anyone has any more help, hints, tips or advice for a new healer please post here, its all appreciated!

[sozo]

I think going holy is a good choice. You learn to be a real healer by first learning holy then switching to disco as a 2nd spec. Not to slam anyone but I run across more bad disc priests than good ones, too many people just spam 3 buttons but dont know how to really heal when it comes time. In shadow im always doing 2nd healing when im w/ a disc. A good disc priest is impressive and great to run w/ but I feel more secure w/ a holy priest. It just takes a lot more to play a good holy vs the simple disc spec.

Thank's for all the replies, its really helpful! You know when you are just attracted to a spec for some reason? I'm getting that with holy! I think im going to spec into holy as my primary spec but again keep dipping into disc.

We have a resto shaman and a holy paladin in terms of healing at the moment though, if im raiding with these 2 im getting the feeling nthat disc would be better though?

[Blachshma]

Holy is a very fun spec with tons of issues.

Disc is less fun for me, but more solid overall.

If you're just going for normal modes, it really doesn't matter which spec to choose. For HC mode disc is currently the dominant spec, as it has been for the whole expansion, but Holy is very solid as well (A holy priest solo healed Garrosh HC on 10m). Play what you enjoy.