Disc priest pre-raid gear and stats.

[Elessa]

Hello! This is my freshly dinged Disc priest: http://eu.wowarmory.com/character-sh...ider&cn=Kululu

I want to get the best pre-raid gear possible, excluding 264 craftables because I can't afford them after gearing my also pretty freshly dinged Druid with them.

Stats: I'm thinking I should gear myself focusing on the stats in this order:
Spellpower > Haste > Intellect > Crit > MP5 > Spirit > Stamina

Spellpower to boost my shields and heals abviously, and haste not very far behind, because how often does your raidmembers die because your heal isn't big enough? Most of the time it's because you're out of mana or that the heal didn't land fast enough.

I made this Wowhead profile to keep track of what I need to get before raiding. This is (what I think) is pre-raid BiS.
http://www.wowhead.com/profile=21538885
I couldn't find a second ring, a head, a main hand a wand with haste. Quite dissappointed there.
If you have any suggestions to make this better, please do so.

I tend to use Greater Heal quite alot (almost on every Borrowed Time buff), so haste seems very nice for me. I've also noticed that if you use Penance or Mind Sear on a Borrowed Time buff you get the 25% haste for your spell, but it doesn't remove the buff. So when the tank is low I usually cast a Power Word: Shield on him, followed by Penance and Greater Heal.

At what point should I stop stacking haste? How much haste do I need to get a 1 second GCD?

At what level of haste does the following spells reach 1 sec?

Great Heal
Greater Heal with Borrowed Time buff
Penance
Penance with Borrowed Time buff
Flash Heal
Flash Heal with Borrowed Time buff
Prayer of Healing
Prayer of Healing with Borrowed Time buff

[Madam]

Take a look at the sticky written by Bigstick for gemming, short answer, gem spellpower. You are at soft cap for haste already, do some reading here and on EJ.

As far as the gear you picked out seems OK, but regen trinkets are not the best for Disc, rapture will/should give you the mana you need. Take a look at Spark of Life, Forge Ember, Winged Talisman, and from the new ICC 5 mans, Never melting Ice, and Snowflake. Don't forget the PvP 264 neck, really nice stats. As far as wands go, the emblem w/ hit is really all you can get, ToC has a few but low drop rates and upgrades in ICC are deep inside. Not sure if you would call Ony a true raid, but if you can get in she drops a great helm for Disc, the 245 (25 man) beats out most in both crit and haste. (unless you can get your hands on 245 T9 set) Also if you can't find a 25 man group, the 10 man helm would save you some emblems. Both Merlin's robe and the crafted cuffs will take you into raiding ICC, so you are on track, good luck.

Oh, and don't forget to switch out you fishing rod! *)

[Bigslick]

SP is your most beneficial stat, point for point, at any level. Crit and Haste are both valuable, and more so than MP5 / Spirit, but be careful about pushing haste too far at this point. It takes very little haste to get your GCD to 1 second (between 154 and 434 depending on available raid haste buffs), and you still are at a point where you should be more actively managing and gearing for mana longevity. Haste is like a pipeline for your mana: the more you have, the faster you can funnel it away towards being OOM. Haste in larger amounts only becomes something you need to actively prioritize vs crit if you are expecting to be a tank healer, which is not generally the optimal utilization of a disc priest's abilities. In general, just look for gear that has haste and crit as the two itemized stats wherever possible. For gemming, check here.

If you are tank healing, you should not be waiting to shield the tank, but rather keeping it up all times for the synergy that the weakened soul debuff has with your talents. Also, you don't want to cast GH just because you have BT available; it is relatively inefficient, and until you are able to manage the mana cost and have sufficient haste to support it at a high cast speed (both of which really benefit more from a dedicated tank-healing spec and the assumption that you are so assigned) you're better off primarily using Penance and FH as filler - with the exception of landing a GH to recover from a predictable large spike.

I didn't take but a moment to look at your pre-raid BIS assembly, but from that would suggest the wrathful pvp cloak over the Kumiho cloak.

As to required haste to get those spells to the 1 second GCD, between 154 and 434 (depending on raid buffs) for spells with a 1.5 second cast time. You won't generally be able to get any longer casts down to a 1 second cast time without heroism/bloodlust.

[Smoopie]

Never gem haste as a disc priest, never. Unless you share gear with holy and have to go holy often.

Never cast GH, it is a complete waste. Keep PoM on cd, keep weaken soul on as many people as possible, save penance for spike damage flash the tank if you have to.

You can use a hasted PoH on some fights but I find that pw:s is better in 25s. I think the gcd is like 158? or something, idk it is so low for disc that you get it if you have superior achivemnt.

[Madam]

Keeping weakened soul up on everyone is the fastest way to run out of mana, play it smart, learn fights and only pre shield as needed. Remember a player with weakened soul can not be reshielded until the buff wears off. Your tank is the only one you want to keep weakened soul on for Renewed Hope and Grace.

[Elessa]

Thanks for the posts. I'm currently reading EJ, totally forgot about them - foolish of me.

Forgot to add in the OP: I'm going to be running 10 mans, with the occasional 4 bosses ICC 25 PuG and I am aiming to be a "tank support" that you call it.

Oh, and don't forget to switch out you fishing rod! *)

I'm using Surgeon's Needle and Faces of Doom normally.

Iyou don't want to cast GH just because you have BT available; it is relatively inefficient

I am not doing this. I only cast it when I know most of it is not going to be overheal.

And until you are able to manage the mana cost and have sufficient haste to support it at a high cast speed (both of which really benefit more from a dedicated tank-healing spec and the assumption that you are so assigned)

At what haste and mana/regen level is "sufficent"?

You're better off primarily using Penance and FH as filler - with the exception of landing a GH to recover from a predictable large spike.

Do you mean I should be casting Greater Heal (even with Borrowed Time), except for "pre casting" it when I know that the tank is going to take damage? This question is kind of the same as the next one.

Never cast GH, it is a complete waste.

Why is GH a waste? For tank healing it beats FH in my* experience, especially when used with Borrowed Time.
*My highest experience at the moment is ToC 25 and Halls of Reflection, so what I think here can be irrelevant in ICC.

[Samurai]

With the ICC buff now at 30% GH is pointless. 1 flash will be hitting for huge amounts, and GH will just overheal.

Also Prayer of Healing > PW:S when more then 3 people in range within the 1 group take damage.

[Bigslick]

I'm going to be running 10 mans, with the occasional 4 bosses ICC 25 PuG and I am aiming to be a "tank support" that you call it.

In 10-man raids, you'll typically only have 1 healer really focusing on tanks, with the other focusing more on the raid. If you are 3-healing, you'd probably still want to tweak your role to be more supportive of the raid than tank healing.

At what haste and mana/regen level is "sufficent"?

Regen level is the point where you aren't running OOM after availing yourself of all mana CD's (HoH, SF, pot). Haste is more a matter of preference. I currently run at about 800 simply because I've been fortunate enough to be able to forego a lot of the spirit and mp5 itemization, and frankly would consider itemizing for more if I were to pursue a role in dedicated tank-support healing.

Are you planning on your 10-mans running with 2 healers or 3? What class / spec will the other healer(s) be? This plays a big role in terms of how you play, and therefore gear, in order to best mesh with their healing capabilites.

Do you mean I should be casting Greater Heal (even with Borrowed Time), except for "pre casting" it when I know that the tank is going to take damage?

GH can be appropriate with or without BT, depending on the situation. As an example from raiding you've seen, landing a GH immediately after the tank holding Steelbreaker in the IC fight in Ulduar. Or on the tank for Mimiron in P1.

[Deleted]

the enchant on your boots (crit) is not so good,

i would take:
- the +endu+speed because moving quickly enough can save you on a lot of fights
- the rocket boots (+crit well AND the boots speed every 3min)
- there is a spirit enchant on boots if 'im not wrong

[Samurai]

There is a spirit enchant, as well as MP5. But both are terrible. Getting a speed enchant, either tuskars or rocket boots, is the way to go

[Elessa]

Thanks for your answers Bigslick, you've been great help!

Are you planning on your 10-mans running with 2 healers or 3? What class / spec will the other healer(s) be? This plays a big role in terms of how you play, and therefore gear, in order to best mesh with their healing capabilites.

I don't know this yet. I will start off with pugging a few bosses, then eventually I will run a weekly ICC 10HM run. But I don't know the setup yet. Most likely we will have a Holy Paladin, resto druid + me, or Resto shaman + druid + me. One of them will have a dps offspec.

the enchant on your boots (crit) is not so good,

i would take:
- the rocket boots (+crit well AND the boots speed every 3min)

That crit enchant IS rocket boots... There are no other pure crit enchants.

[zenkai]

Unless you are shadow never focus on haste, as disc always shoot for SP/Crit/Int in that order. Welcome to disc where you can pretty much be a retard and spam PWS on fights and top meters on heavy AE fights.

[Deleted]

the enchant on your boots (crit) is not so good,

i would take:
- the +endu+speed because moving quickly enough can save you on a lot of fights
- the rocket boots (+crit well AND the boots speed every 3min)
- there is a spirit enchant on boots if 'im not wrong

*Facepalm*... Giant one at that.

[Bigslick]

Most likely we will have a Holy Paladin, resto druid + me, or Resto shaman + druid + me. One of them will have a dps offspec.

The ability of a holy pally to easily keep up 2 tanks and splash heals on melee makes them almost unimaginably strong for 10 mans - if you have a good one available, try to make that part of your group. You'll be able to progress to two-healing more fights more quickly 2-heal more fights more quickly with a holy paladin counterpart.

Unless you are shadow never focus on haste, as disc always shoot for SP/Crit/Int in that order. Welcome to disc where you can pretty much be a retard and spam PWS on fights and top meters on heavy AE fights.

Going to have to shoot you down on this one Zenkai... You generally can't choose whether your gear has Int or SP on it or not. Your cloth and accessory budget options (aside from trinkets) are any two of Crit / Haste / MP5 / Spirit / Hit. Of those, you generally want to take it in the order listed (though Crit and Haste are interchangeable based on playstyle and current balance - for 10-man I actually prefer haste over crit, once you have a good 'baseline' crit). The only place you do have the option to insert Int into the mix is for trinkets (where you'll choose Int over Crit because you'd be seeking regen over throughput if not simply taking a SP trinket for throughput) or gemming (where Int > Crit till you no longer need the regen, but even then Haste > Crit, and SP trumps them both). Also, the OP has stated the objective is ICC 10, and later ICC 10H, without any long term aspirations to progress for ICC 25. Haste is extremely valuable for 10-man raiding, especially when running two healers.

And just a caveat to the OP regarding the 'bubble spam' suggestion, there are a number of searchable threads I encourage you to read showing both sides of the argument about the effectiveness of intelligent inclusion of PoH versus primarily bubble spamming in heavy AOE fights. On the plus side, in two-healing 10-man you really don't have the option to blindly bubble/PoM as you'll cap out on WS, which is a good thing - you'll see just how effective PoH can be. Also, remember that at the end of the fight your raid will be happier with you if they're alive than if you always strive to top the meters, and sometimes the two goals are not mutually conducive (not saying primary bubble spam is never, just that is isn't always, the best strategy).

[zenkai]

Going to have to shoot you down, because you will be getting enough haste from T10, picking up haste on other gear I would only do if it was an upgrade but if I had equal gear options I would always chose crit. And int? Again just form gear level alone you should have enough INT where mana is never an issue, in every heroic ICC fight I can pretty much spam spells non stop and I just manage my CDs, I Never have mana issues, but I learned how to play a priest back when mana was an issue and people had to down rank spells. Basically what I am saying is you get enough int/haste from gear, to gem it or anything of sorts is rather dumb. POH can be effective in a 10 man when you are 2 healing and some certain situations in 25 man but you will never EVER focus on getting haste for it, especially since it is so situational for a disc priest, you are better off casting POH added with the haste of borrowed time.

And just to go even further I prefer to heal as Holy in 10 man anyway when paired with a pal unless it's LK 10 heroic because holy will be a lot more useful in most ICC 10 situations over disc.

[Bigslick]

Unless you are shadow never focus on haste, as disc always shoot for SP/Crit/Int in that order.

Going to have to shoot you down, because you will be getting enough haste from T10, picking up haste on other gear I would only do if it was an upgrade but if I had equal gear options I would always chose crit. And int? Again just form gear level alone you should have enough INT where mana is never an issue, in every heroic ICC fight I can pretty much spam spells non stop and I just manage my CDs, I Never have mana issues, but I learned how to play a priest back when mana was an issue and people had to down rank spells.

So you're agreeing that once get enough Int from gear (where you really don't 'shoot' for it because it's always there) that you have no need to pursue it elsewhere, but you still value additional Int over Haste? The throughput contribution from Int is only in the Crit it provides, which is minimal, where Haste offers considerably more. Your two posts conflict one another.

And back to the point of the five optional stats: Crit, Haste, MP5, Spirit, and Hit. If you have more than enough regen from whatever combination of Int, Spirit, and MP5 you have on the gear you've assembled, why would you not give absolute preference to seeking Crit and Haste -- which both increase throughput -- over the three regen stats on future upgrades? It's not a Crit or Haste option with most gear. You get 2 stats on each piece, and most slots have items that offer both.

[Kelesti]

And hell, if you're doing 10 mans, or your 25's have you doing more than just bubble-botting, the Shadow Shoulders, head, and chest (277 only, 264 seeks Emblem of Frost chest) are better for you, simply because of the added functionality.

Soaking in more regen gear for the sake of a 5% bonus is nice, when that 5% bonus is the only role you'll ever do. In 10's, or in 25's that don't bring too many healers, that role doesn't exist for you. Just to clear that up, a little.

[Elessa]

And hell, if you're doing 10 mans, or your 25's have you doing more than just bubble-botting, the Shadow Shoulders, head, and chest (277 only, 264 seeks Emblem of Frost chest) are better for you, simply because of the added functionality.

Soaking in more regen gear for the sake of a 5% bonus is nice, when that 5% bonus is the only role you'll ever do. In 10's, or in 25's that don't bring too many healers, that role doesn't exist for you. Just to clear that up, a little.

Yeah, I was questioning myself wheter or not the 4pc was worth it for me. 5% on one spell isn't that much, I'd rather take better itemization.

[mtotho]

I went through this 2 weeks ago. Just dinged 80, now 2-3 weeks later full clear 10/25 icc with 11/8 heroics respectively, let me tell u kinda what I did.

Albeit I did get crafted BOE, I started out gemming sp/int and mostly intellect after that. Until I was at about a starter ICC25 level (about 5100gs assuming I am itemized properly), I gemmed mostly intellect. Basically I wanted to keep my mana pool around 30k buffed.

You should definitely get the badge Intellect trinket ti start out. Good mana return on your shadowfiend, hymn, and replenishment. 100% mp5 doesnt kick in as often as your holy counterpart because you are casting (should be casting) 100% of the time.

Im not pulling this intellect out of thin air, Int has always been good for lower geared healers, and T9 Disc priests used to gem INT.

Again DROP ALL int gems and gem pure SP when you feel comfortable with your mana, I did this around 5200gs

I dont go oom in any fight, using EVERY GCD to cast, 10 mans= everyone always had pws, 25 man= atleast 3 groups always have pws. I absolutely hate it when disc priests are conservative with their shields.. you can get from 10% mana to nearly full mana with Shadowfiend+Hymn of hope, plus if you throw in a mana pot or trinket use (like sliver) then your golden.

Im not the field expert, this is what I did and it has worked out amazingly. Armory in sig.

5% is certainly worth it on pws. in a 25 man setting, shielding is pretty much all your going to be doing, its basically like having 35% icc buff for you while everyone else has 30% buff.