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  1. #1

    In-Depth PvE Holy Talents

    This is a post that will hopefully help out priests who are new to PvE holy and cannot decide which talents are better than others, since there seem to be so many asking about it. Granted this is not an end-all spec, but 90% of it is the best way to go for the most effective healing/mana regen.

    http://talent.mmo-champion.com/?prie...h=010516050603

    Here's my explanation of my spec(this is for raiding/heroics):

    Disc:
    Tier 1

    Unbreakable Will: 0/5
    - No need for this in PvE

    Twin Disciplines: 5/5
    - This is a must-have. This will increase healing on almost all your essential spells: Renew, Prayer of Mending, Circle of Healing, and it will also increase the damage your Power Word: Shield absorbs.

    Tier 2

    Silent Resolve: 0/3
    - Assuming your tank doesn't blow monkey balls you will NEVER have a problem with threat, even in 5-mans. Your spells will also not get dispelled so no worries there.

    Improved Inner Fire: 3/3
    - Pretty self-explanatory, additional spell power is always nice. With 3 points this gives you a total of 54 additional spell power. It's also kinda nice for soloing to have the extra charges so you don't have to re-cast it as much.

    Imp. Power Word: Fortitude: 2/2
    - You should make sure at least one priest in your raid has this but there's not really any other talents worth taking so you might as well take it for your 5 mans/soloing too.

    Martyrdom: 0/2
    - This used to be decent back in the day where the effect caused you to suffer no pushback at all. Now it's pretty much worthless in PvE AND PvP.

    Tier 3

    Improved Power Word: Shield: 0/3
    - This is only worth taking if you are speccing deep into discipline where you use all the shield talents. There are many better things to spend your points on as holy. Skip it.

    Inner Focus: 1/1
    - Pretty much a must-have. Using this does NOT put you into the 5 second rule since your spell is free of cost. So, it is good for that on top of saving the mana from the spell. I usually use this for a greater heal, because if it crits it's a huge heal on the tank, plus an inspiration proc, plus a 50% chance to get a free flash heal from Surge of Light.

    Meditation: 3/3
    - No questions asked. Any priest without this talent regardless of spec is not very bright.

    That's all I would take in the Disc tree for speccing holy.


    Holy:
    Tier 1

    Healing Focus: 0/2
    - You have so many instant cast spells and are so rarely taking damage in raids(and usually 5-mans) that this really is not worth taking. It's good for PvP but that's it.

    Improved Renew: 3/3
    - It's silly to not have this. Renew is an extremely powerful hot and 20% of your healing done should come from this. Anything you can do to make it better you should not skip over.

    Holy Specialization: 5/5
    - 5% crit is great. Not only do your spell crits proc Inspiration, but they also can proc Surge of Light and Holy Concentration which all contribute to mana preservation. Take it.

    Tier 2

    Spell Warding: 0/5
    - PvP Talent.

    Divine Fury: 5/5
    - Faster casting Greater Heals is amazing.

    Tier 3

    Desperate Prayer: 0/1
    - More of a PvP spell. Rarely are you the only person dying in a raid or 5-man so it's not that useful.

    Blessed Recovery: 0/3
    - PvP Talent.

    Inspiration: 3/3
    - A great talent, 25% armor is quite a bit when your tank is getting to 25k+ armor. This helps out all of the healers by causing the tank to take less damage.

    Tier 4

    Holy Reach: 2/2
    - Even though CoH is getting nerfed this is still great. You will possibly be using PoH more often now and this also helps that. 20% is quite a bit. If a 4th person is too far away your CoH may only heal 3 targets instead of up to 6(with glyph).

    Improved Healing: 3/3
    - Saving mana is always good, especially on our most efficient heal.

    Searing Light: 0/2
    - DPS Talent.

    Tier 5

    Healing Prayers: 2/2
    - Very good. You should constantly be using Prayer of Mending so saving 20% mana on it is great. This will also help you out even more when you start using Prayer of Healing more after the CoH nerf.

    Spirit of Redemption: 1/1
    - 5% spirit is sexy. Adds to mana regen and spell power if you take the next talent. Plus, sometimes being able to add those heals after you are dead can save the day. Too bad we won't be able to spam free CoH in our form anymore though.

    Spiritual Guidance: 5/5
    - A must-have talent. This way, you essentially get "free" additional spell power on items with spirit, meaning you aren't paying item points for it.

    Tier 6

    Surge of Light: 2/2
    - Great talent. Not only does this proc give you a free flash heal(or smite if there is no one to heal) but it will not put you in the 5SR.

    Spiritual Healing: 5/5
    - A must-have holy talent. 10% on all heals is fantastic.

    Tier 7

    Holy Concentration: 3/3
    - Amazing talent. Free Greater Heals are always welcome. And, again, this does not put you into the 5SR.

    Lightwell: 0/1
    - I don't want to waste a talent point on this stupid spell. It's up to you. This is VERY situational, and causes people to have to stop dpsing/healing to go find the lightwell and click on it. Not worth it imo.

    Blessed Resilience: 0/3
    - PvP Talent.

    Tier 8

    Empowered Healing: 5/5
    - No reason to not have this. Pretty self-explanatory.

    Serendipity: 3/3
    - Since you can no longer down-rank this is very useful. I like to try to use my greater heals so that they will overheal the tank but only slightly, i.e. 100-500 overheal. This way you get more than the mana worth out of the spell. NOTE: You do not get mana back from spells cast with Inner Focus, Surge of Light, or Holy Concentration.

    Tier 9

    Improved Holy Concentration: 3/3
    - An additional 15% chance of getting a free spell is almost worth it right there, but on top of that the BASE cast time is reduced by 30%, i.e. your flash heal would be reduced to a 1.05 sec cast or your Greater Heal would be reduced to 1.75 sec cast and THEN your spell haste would be factored in, thus essentially giving you 2 flash Greater Heals with one of them being free.

    Circle of Healing: 1/1
    - Duh. And no, it will not be worthless after the nerf. You just can't sit there and spam it like a baddie. It's still more than worth having, especially with the glyph.

    Test of Faith: 0/3
    - This is a decent talent, I just decided to put value into others over this. It is not a talent you can rely on, and in most cases your targets will not often be below 50%. It is still good though considering the addtional 6% crit could proc SoL/HC and give you a free heal and/or faster cast rates. If you never have mana problems you might want to consider taking this over Serendipity.

    Divine Providence: 5/5
    - Duh again. Lots of healing on spells increased here plus turning your PoM into a 7 second cooldown. That means you can cast an additional PoM for every 3 you could normally cast. You might say that your charges never run out in 7 seconds anyway but there are many situations where they do. Patchwerk is a biggie, and any fight where everyone is constantly taking damage(Sapphiron, KT, Malygos, Heigan if they are baddies). With the extra charge from the 2pc T7 bonus it is superb.

    Guardian Spirit: 1/1
    - This isn't necessarily a must-have, but it's a spell I will always have. It could save your entire raid from a wipe if your tank were about to die - it increases ALL healing received by 40%(and I wonder if anyone can tell me whether or not hots that were already on the target are increased by this) and a 50% total health heal is freakin nice. Not only that, but you can cast it on yourself in screenshots!

    Glyphs

    Major:

    Glyph of Circle of Healing - Still excellent even after the nerf. In fact it might be MORE useful after the nerf because you will want to heal as many people as possible whenever that 6 sec cooldown is up.

    Glyph of Flash Heal - Pretty much a must-have, especially since you will find yourself using it more after the CoH nerf.

    Glyph of Renew - Arguable. You actually end up healing for the same amount but in a shorter time. I like it because it makes it less likely for it to get over healed by paladins and shaman.

    Glyph of Spirit of Redemption - It's not best to rely on something increasing the healing you can put out when you're dead, but whatever floats your boat.

    Glyph of Prayer of Healing - Decent. A nice additional hot that you don't have to worry about. Unfortunately you can only use this spell on your group so it's more useful in 5 mans.

    Minor

    Glyph of Shadowfiend - This is the only must-have minor glyph for any priest spec. There are many times where your fiend dies prematurely out of your control so it's very nice to have.

    The rest of the minor glyphs are all up to you, and none of them are really NEEDED so you can skip them if you want.

  2. #2

    Re: In-Depth PvE Holy Talents

    Well, was this any help at all to anyone or should I just remove it?

  3. #3

    Re: In-Depth PvE Holy Talents

    Thanks, leveling a priest as we speak. This will come in handy for sure!

  4. #4

    Re: In-Depth PvE Holy Talents

    good descriptions but the link doesn't match what you wrote

  5. #5

  6. #6

    Re: In-Depth PvE Holy Talents

    http://talent.mmo-champion.com/?prie...h=010506050203

    I fixed your link for you :P

    Anyway, this is a good spec, and I'll still be this spec after the CoH nerf.
    I took Lightwell awhile back and most of my guildies use it when they are able to, but it's extremely situational.
    Test of Faith as well, has some very specific situations I can think of where it would be useful (Gluth, Patchwerk offtanks).

    Overall the linked/described spec is really the basic/best holy priest spec.

  7. #7

    Re: In-Depth PvE Holy Talents

    there is still the mistake with the glyphs.

    can't imagine you like glyph of holy nova XD


    think this specc is best, when you want to be deep holy

  8. #8

    Re: In-Depth PvE Holy Talents

    Nice post. This confirmed my thoughts as this being the best deep holy PvE spec.
    Quote Originally Posted by Zenarius
    You sir, is a retard.

  9. #9

    Re: In-Depth PvE Holy Talents

    I have a couple points to disagree with, sorry Devia, and one to clarify.
    Quote Originally Posted by Devia
    Holy:
    Tier 1

    Healing Focus: 0/2
    - You have so many instant cast spells and are so rarely taking damage in raids(and usually 5-mans) that this really is not worth taking. It's good for PvP but that's it.
    [color=teal]The reason this is not required (correct on your part, but not why you think), is this: AoE damage exists. It's going to hit you while you're casting PoH, Greater Heal, Flash, Binding, whatever, and spellpushback will happen. However, the mechanic-changes to spell pushback as of 3.0.2 (not changing in 3.0.8) make this alot more bearable. Also: 55% is provided from a Holy Paladin's Imp Concentration Aura, and as far as I am led to believe, they don't stack so 15% for two talent points is kinda... meh.
    Quote Originally Posted by Devia
    Tier 3
    Desperate Prayer: 0/1
    - More of a PvP spell. Rarely are you the only person dying in a raid or 5-man so it's not that useful.
    Not quite. It's a little expensive, yes, but you do take damage. It's not that you're dying, it's that "Oh crap, I'm low health and there's a vortex inc!" It'll save your life more often than you'd like to think.

    Quote Originally Posted by Devia
    Tier 4

    Holy Reach: 2/2
    - Even though CoH is getting nerfed this is still great. You will possibly be using PoH more often now and this also helps that. 20% is quite a bit. If a 4th person is too far away your CoH may only heal 3 targets instead of up to 6(with glyph).
    True, but one talent point often is enough to snag what you need, and only if you haven't picked up Desperate Prayer.

    Quote Originally Posted by Devia
    Tier 5

    Healing Prayers: 2/2
    - Very good. You should constantly be using Prayer of Mending so saving 20% mana on it is great. This will also help you out even more when you start using Prayer of Healing more after the CoH nerf.
    True, you'll be using PoH, but not enough to spam it. And mending's cheap and efficient enough as it is.

    Quote Originally Posted by Devia
    Tier 9
    Test of Faith: 0/3
    - This is a decent talent, I just decided to put value into others over this. It is not a talent you can rely on, and in most cases your targets will not often be below 50%. It is still good though considering the addtional 6% crit could proc SoL/HC and give you a free heal and/or faster cast rates. If you never have mana problems you might want to consider taking this over Serendipity.
    Or if you follow my suggestions for trimming, you get both. It's not just the 6% crit (which is nice) but the increased healing as well, meaning that when (not if) targets fall low on HP, you're going to notice the impact, and it will save people.
    ~Former Priest/Guild Wars 2 Moderator~
    Now TESTING: ArcheAge (Alpha)
    Now PLAYING: MonoRed Burn (MtG Standard)
    Twitter: @KelestiMMO come say hi!
    ~When you speak, I hear silence. Every word a defiance~

  10. #10

    Re: In-Depth PvE Holy Talents

    I apologize for running late and not posting my build on this thread earlier. I was heading out of town, but anyways, here it is:
    Holy 14/57
    ~Former Priest/Guild Wars 2 Moderator~
    Now TESTING: ArcheAge (Alpha)
    Now PLAYING: MonoRed Burn (MtG Standard)
    Twitter: @KelestiMMO come say hi!
    ~When you speak, I hear silence. Every word a defiance~

  11. #11

    Re: In-Depth PvE Holy Talents

    Quote Originally Posted by Kelesti
    [color=teal]The reason this is not required (correct on your part, but not why you think), is this: AoE damage exists. It's going to hit you while you're casting PoH, Greater Heal, Flash, Binding, whatever, and spellpushback will happen. However, the mechanic-changes to spell pushback as of 3.0.2 (not changing in 3.0.8) make this alot more bearable. Also: 55% is provided from a Holy Paladin's Imp Concentration Aura, and as far as I am led to believe, they don't stack so 15% for two talent points is kinda... meh.
    They actually stack the same way they used to before. Also, most paladins stack their remaining points to Retribution instead of Protection, that means you are rarely going to get that aura. So, if you are ever sent to heal the tank you must have the talent. Otherwise it's your choice, but with the CoH nerf the talent is becoming even more important.
    R5 5600X | Thermalright Silver Arrow IB-E Extreme | MSI MAG B550 Tomahawk | 16GB Crucial Ballistix DDR4-3600/CL16 | MSI GTX 1070 Gaming X | Corsair RM650x | Cooler Master HAF X | Logitech G400s | DREVO Excalibur 84 | Kingston HyperX Cloud II | BenQ XL2411T + LG 24MK430H-B

  12. #12

    Re: In-Depth PvE Holy Talents

    Improved Inner Fire: 3/3
    - Pretty self-explanatory, additional spell power is always nice.
    Add how much it gives, so people get the point.

    (120 * 1.45) - 120 = +54 bonus damage.

    Healing Focus: 0/2
    - You have so many instant cast spells and are so rarely taking damage in raids(and usually 5-mans) that this really is not worth taking. It's good for PvP but that's it.
    Iknow that it's true,for now, during WotLK entry content, but had you said something similiar in a Black Temple raid, I'd had you kicked.

    Personally, I don't want a priest healer in my raid without 2 points in Healing Focus. There will be pushback, Sapphiron, Kel'thuzad, Malygos P2 is just a few examples.

    Spell Warding: 0/5
    - PvP Talent.
    If Vortex actually did as much damage as say, the AoE on Eredar Twins or Kil'jaeden, you would have taken this talent.

    It's godly for PvE progress when it suddenly gets hard and everybody take alot of damage.

    I would absolutely recomend it for Sartharion with Two or Tree drakes up.

    Holy Reach: 2/2
    - Even though CoH is getting nerfed this is still great. You will possibly be using PoH more often now and this also helps that. 20% is quite a bit.
    Disagree, if people aren't close enough for CoH, you're better off using the GCD on another spell.

    Lightwell: 0/1
    - I don't want to waste a talent point on this stupid spell. It's up to you.
    It's pretty decent, depending on your raid group. Spend your last point there, if nowhere else.

    This is the only must-have minor glyph for any priest spec.
    You forgot Glyph of Levitate :-)

    My personal Holy Build for PvE raid content: http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=bVcbzhZfxxccMqihVIot

  13. #13

    Re: In-Depth PvE Holy Talents

    Quote Originally Posted by Thunderball
    They actually stack the same way they used to before. Also, most paladins stack their remaining points to Retribution instead of Protection, that means you are rarely going to get that aura. So, if you are ever sent to heal the tank you must have the talent. Otherwise it's your choice, but with the CoH nerf the talent is becoming even more important.
    I'm not so sure about them stacking. Also, the mechanics changes, you take reduced pushback for the first two hits. After that, you take no pushback at all, it's not a "reduce chance of pushback" talent at all.

    And my last point: I think you might be wrong on the "they stack" part if you don't even know that Concentration Aura is now Holy instead of Prot.
    ~Former Priest/Guild Wars 2 Moderator~
    Now TESTING: ArcheAge (Alpha)
    Now PLAYING: MonoRed Burn (MtG Standard)
    Twitter: @KelestiMMO come say hi!
    ~When you speak, I hear silence. Every word a defiance~

  14. #14

    Re: In-Depth PvE Holy Talents

    Quote Originally Posted by Nezoia
    My personal Holy Build for PvE raid content: http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=bVcbzhZfxxccMqihVIot
    Test of Faith (you have 0/3) is what makes your heals bigger when they really really count.
    ~Former Priest/Guild Wars 2 Moderator~
    Now TESTING: ArcheAge (Alpha)
    Now PLAYING: MonoRed Burn (MtG Standard)
    Twitter: @KelestiMMO come say hi!
    ~When you speak, I hear silence. Every word a defiance~

  15. #15

    Re: In-Depth PvE Holy Talents

    Quote Originally Posted by Nezoia
    Iknow that it's true,for now, during WotLK entry content, but had you said something similiar in a Black Temple raid, I'd had you kicked.

    Personally, I don't want a priest healer in my raid without 2 points in Healing Focus. There will be pushback, Sapphiron, Kel'thuzad, Malygos P2 is just a few examples.
    If Vortex actually did as much damage as say, the AoE on Eredar Twins or Kil'jaeden, you would have taken this talent.

    My personal Holy Build for PvE raid content: http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=bVcbzhZfxxccMqihVIot
    Youre killin me. You adjust your talents for the bosses youre facing currently. TBC does not apply anymore. We've all been there. We've all done it. This is a fresh start and your talent build should reflect that. (Looking down on priests who don't take a subpar talent is..well odd) There is no need for Healing Focus right now and if a priest is really suffering from pushback in Naxx or when facing Mal, they are doing something wrong. All healers face that emergency situation where a top dps or even a tank dips below 50%. When that happens, Test of Faith is one of our best talents. I'd take a point out of Healing Prayers (since PoM is so efficient) and all of the points from Healing Focus and put them in Test of Faith. Its a preference but I really believe it will make you a stronger healer.

    <3Friendship

  16. #16

    Re: In-Depth PvE Holy Talents

    http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=bVcbkhxpbZsxxcczqVhMIo

    I actually felt better for my mana regen spending 4/5 in Mental Strenght (wich for the equip I have is around 1700 mana) rather than using 3 more talents in Empowered healing (a.k.a 1k more heal on a GH and 500 more on a FH) and 1 in Healing Prayers.

    Works great

  17. #17

    Re: In-Depth PvE Holy Talents

    Yeah, I agree that the explained spec is the norm now. I play virtually the same spec with the t7 bonus to PoM, making it one of my favorite spells by far (literally clears raid damage in fights like sapph)

    I think it's OPTIMAL to get things like surge of light and the increased crit under 50%, but at this stage in the game, the required healing can be done without running out of mana or tanks dying if everyone does their job.

  18. #18

    Re: In-Depth PvE Holy Talents

    I found that there is no perfect be all end all spec. Talent points can be and are situational. The thing is if your facing that situation maybe you should switch up your talent tree to accommodate that situation. For example Healing Focus, ya for much of my raiding time I didn’t need that talent then when I came up against a situation I said, you know what, I might want to get it to help me in the progression aspect of learning and dealing with this content. It is often very much a personal choice based on how you play and your raid make up.

    I often get the impression on boards like this, that there is a cookie cutter spec that all must follow or else. Really that isn’t the case. We shouldn’t feel wrong to test out different specs and talents to see how they work, when they work or even if they work. Sometimes the bizarre is just what you need.

    My weird point is in my bubble and I glyphed it. Bubble, flash, renew (and POM when up) works well for me in an oh crap moment or if I need to get back to you cause someone else is in trouble too.

  19. #19

    Re: In-Depth PvE Holy Talents

    Oh my bad guys. Went on Christmas break and just came back. I just noticed that link I have. I think I was looking at someone else's spec, reset it and made my own but forgot to reset the link. That is actually a very bad one imo lol. Here is the one I meant to post along with the glyphs, and I changed it in my original post as well.

    http://talent.mmo-champion.com/?prie...h=010516050603

  20. #20

    Re: In-Depth PvE Holy Talents

    Quote Originally Posted by Nezoia
    Add how much it gives, so people get the point.

    (120 * 1.45) - 120 = +54 bonus damage.
    Thanks, added it.

    Quote Originally Posted by Nezoia
    I know that it's true,for now, during WotLK entry content, but had you said something similiar in a Black Temple raid, I'd had you kicked.
    This is WotLK. My spec is based on doing Naxx/Sarth/Malygos, not BC raids.

    Quote Originally Posted by Nezoia
    Personally, I don't want a priest healer in my raid without 2 points in Healing Focus. There will be pushback, Sapphiron, Kel'thuzad, Malygos P2 is just a few examples.
    I personally haven't witnessed enough problems with spell pushback to make it worth spending two points here. The only fight I can think of is Sapphiron, and the AoE only ticks every 2 seconds so you can easily cast flash heal(or greater heal depending on your spell haste) without much of an issue. Haven't done Malygos yet, but uh...KT isn't really a problem considering his ice bolts are only every 15 sec. And yes, they are only a few examples because them plus maybe razuvious are the ONLY examples at this point...

    Quote Originally Posted by Nezoia
    If Vortex actually did as much damage as say, the AoE on Eredar Twins or Kil'jaeden, you would have taken this talent.

    It's godly for PvE progress when it suddenly gets hard and everybody take alot of damage.

    I would absolutely recomend it for Sartharion with Two or Tree drakes up.
    Again, I am not taking SWP into consideration because we are all in level 80 dungeons now. As someone else pointed out, seems kinda silly to spec into this for only one fight. Maybe if it's the ONLY thing your guild is focusing on and people are really having a hard time with it but otherwise that's pretty lame.

    Quote Originally Posted by Nezoia
    Disagree, if people aren't close enough for CoH, you're better off using the GCD on another spell.
    If your raid needs an AoE heal what other spell do you plan on using?

    Quote Originally Posted by Nezoia
    It's pretty decent, depending on your raid group. Spend your last point there, if nowhere else.
    That's why I said, "It's up to you". You can't argue that it is a very situational spell, and that's why I chose not to take it. My goal is to be the best at any encounter that I can be, so I am personally going to base my talent decisions around that.

    Quote Originally Posted by Nezoia
    You forgot Glyph of Levitate :-)
    I said Shadowfiend is the only NECESSARY minor glyph for raiding. I'm sure we can all agree that Glyph of Levitate is pro, but it doesn't actually help your performance other than having fun.

    Quote Originally Posted by Nezoia
    My personal Holy Build for PvE raid content: http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=bVcbzhZfxxccMqihVIot
    Um...I don't get it. You tell me why all of my choices are bad and why yours are better and the only thing you have different is 2/2 Healing Focus? Wtf...
    [/quote]

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