Åtonement’s WoD Proving Grounds Discipline Priest Guide
This guide is intended to help players to complete the Proving Grounds healing challenges up to and including Gold Healer as a Discipline Priest. In WoD, it is required that players have completed at least Silver Proving grounds of their respective role before they can queue for Heroic Dungeons in Dungeon Finder.
The healing trials: In the healing trials, your job is to heal the party through a number of waves of enemies. You will be tested on your ability to perform basic healing jobs, including tank healing, AoE healing and dispelling, as well as the basic mechanics of any raid or dungeon fight such as not standing in the fire. If any of the 4 NPC party members or yourself reach zero health you will lose and the trial will end.
Why Discipline? The proving grounds can be completed as any healing spec, however some will be easier than others and every spec will have its own advantages and disadvantages. Discipline Priests are a shield based healer, and we have a wide range of absorption spells and damage reduction cooldowns to help us prevent and mitigate damage. Discipline priests also have very powerful tank healing through the level 100 talent “Clarity of Will”, which is important because the proving grounds is primarily tank damage. Due to their heavy reliance on absorbs, a Discipline Priest will struggle to catch up on damage if they let it get too far ahead of them, however provided that they correctly manage the pre-emptive healing/shielding aspect of their class, Discipline can easily complete the proving grounds healing trials.
The NPC Party members:
Oto the Protector: A warrior tank. Also the worst tank in history; he will take insane damage and make you question the education of whoever scripted him. If he reaches low health he will use shield wall if it is not on cooldown and will announce it by saying “I am a wall of iron, but I cannot hold much longer”. If Oto’s shieldwall is not on cooldown, he will automatically use it during a Conqueror’s Enrage.
Ki the Assassin: An Assignation rogue; melee dps. Ki will help dps the enemy mobs down, and frequently help interrupts with Kick. When a wave spawns, Ki will often shadowstep to the mobs and stun one of them.
Kavan the Arcanist: An Arcane mage; ranged dps. Kavan will help dps the enemy mobs down from a distance, and occasionally help interrupts with Counterspell. When there are many enemy mobs present, Kavan will move into melee range to perform AoE damage using Arcane Explosion.
Sooli the Survivalist: A Survival Hunter; ranged dps. Sooli will help dps the enemy mobs down from a distance. Sooli will occasionally stand in fire, which is announced by Ki saying “Sooli, MOVE!”
The Mobs: The proving ground has a number of enemies or ‘mobs’, each presenting different mechanics and challenges. In the proving grounds mobs have different sizes, ranging from small to large. Small mobs have lower health and lower damage, and large mobs have larger health and larger damage.
In the healing challenges you will find the following mobs:
Rippers: Basic melee mobs. Deal melee damage to their target, usually the tank. They have no mechanics.
Hive Stingers: AoE damage mobs. They will deal melee damage to their target, usually the tank, and periodically cast “Sonic Blast” which does physical AoE damage to the whole party. Sonic Blast can be interrupted, and the rogue and mage NPC party members will help to interrupt this.
Flamecallers: Magic damage mobs. They will cast Pyroblasts at the tank and at random party members, requiring you divert some attention away from the tank. When they spawn they will also create puddles of fire all over the ground that you will have to avoid. The NPC’s will occasionally stand in the fire and require extra healing.
Aqualytes: DoT and melee damage. They will periodically cast a DoT on a random party member. This DoT does moderate damage over time and will “explode” on expiration to deal massive AoE damage around the target, requiring you to dispel the DoT before it explodes. Aqualytes also deal very heavy tank damage.
Tunneler: Melee damage and DoT. They will periodically ‘burrow’ underground and then “chomp” a random party member. This will leave a moderate bleed DoT on the target that will only disappear when that target is healed to full health. This mechanic is the hardest element for Disc at the moment.
Conquerors: Heavy Melee Damage. They will deal heavy melee damage to the tank and then ‘enrage’ to deal extreme tank damage for 10 seconds. Large Conquerors always require a cooldown during the enrage.
Discipline Spells and Abilities:
Only spells and abilities relevant to completing the proving ground have been mentioned here.
Single Target Heals:
· Penance
The other iconic discipline spell, Penance is a short duration channel that heals the target for a large amount over 2 seconds or deals moderate damage over 2 seconds. Because of our passive ability ‘Atonement’, damage dealt by Penance will heal low health party member for 100% of the damage done. Penance has a 9 second cooldown.
· Heal
A priest’s basic heal, slow and mana efficient, heals for a moderate amount. It has a base 2.5 second cast time
· Flash Heal
A priest’s basic emergency heal, quick and mana expensive, heals for the same amount as Heal. It has a base 1.5 second cast time.
AoE Heals:
· Holy Nova
Holy Nova is the efficient AoE heal for Discipline in WoD. It causes an explosion of light 12 yrds around the caster that deals light damage to enemies and heals up to 5 allies for a small amount. Instant cast and almost mana neutral, its main drawback is the positioning requirements caused by its 12 yrd range.
· Prayer of Healing
Prayer of Healing is the main Priest AoE heal. It heals the target and the targets party members within 30yrds for a large amount. Costs a very large amount of mana and has a base 2.5 second cast time.
· Prayer of Mending
Prayer of Mending is a healing spell which is functionally unique to Priests. It leaves a buff on the target that will heal them for a small amount the next time they take damage and then jump to another injured party or raid member, bouncing up to 5 times. It has a base 1.5 second cast time and is mana efficient.
· Level 90 Talents
The level 90 talents, aka T90, are 3 different powerful AoE healing spells: Cascade, Divine Star and Halo.
Cascade sends a bolt of light to the target, healing it for more based on how far it travels. When it hits the target it splits into two, each then bouncing to another target. Cascade bounces a total of 4 times for a total of 31 targets healed. Moderate mana cost and a 25 second cooldown.
Divine Star sends a star of light in a straight line 24 yrds in front of the priest, healing everything for a small amount within 4 yrds either side of its path, then returning to the priest and healing everything in its path again. Costs low mana and has a 15 second cooldown.
Halo creates a ring of light that expands out from the priest, healing everything in its path for a moderate amount and healing targets for a large amount at 25-27 yrds from the center. Costs a moderate amount of mana, 45 second cooldown.
Shield and Absorb Spells:
· Power Word: Shield
Power Word: Shield, aka, PWS is the iconic discipline spell, it’s our basic shield. Instant cast, fairly mana efficient and absorbs a large amount of damage with the next 15 seconds. PWS leaves a debuff called ‘Weakened Soul’ on the target, preventing it from being cast on the same target again for 15 seconds.
· Divine Ageis
The unique Discipline mechanic, Divine Ageis is a passive that turns all of a Discipline Priest’s critical heals into a 100% heal and 100% absorb, instead of a 200% heal.
· Spirit Shell
Spirit Shell is Discipline’s main cooldown. When activated, all healing in the next 10 seconds from Heal, Flash Heal and Prayer of Healing is converted into an absorb that lasts for 15 seconds. Spirit Shell is now a level 75 talent. Spirit Shell has a 1min cooldown.
· Clarity of Will
Clarity of Will, aka CoW, is a level 100 talent for Discipline Priests. It is a large absorb with a low mana cost and a 2.5 second cast time and no cooldown.
Passives and other abilities:
· Atonement
One of Discipline’s more famous abilities, Atonement is a passive that causes all damage done by Smite, Holy Fire and Penance to also heal a nearby friendly target for 100% of the damage done. In WoD, Atonement is much weaker than in the past, since Smite is relatively very weak compared to actual healing spells, and smart heals no longer always heal the most injured target available. In WoD, Atonement is mostly used for periods of low healing requirement to generate Evangelism.
· Evangelism and Archangel
When the Discipline Priest deals damage with Smite, Holy Fire or Penance they generate 1 stack of Evangelism, up to 5 stacks. Evangelism is consumed by Archangel to increase healing by 5% per stack for 18 seconds. Archangel has a 30 second cooldown.
Empowered Archangel is a WoD Perk that causes the next Flash Heal or PoH within 30 seconds after activating archangel to be 100% critical strike.
· Power Word: Barrier
Discipline’s raid cooldown, it creates a hemisphere of light at the target location that reduces damage taken by 25% for all ally targets standing inside and lasts 10 seconds. It has a 3 minute cooldown.
· Pain Suppression
Discipline’s tank cooldown, reduces damage taken by 40% on the target for 8 seconds and can be cast while stunned. It has a 3 minute cooldown.
· Leap of Faith
Also known as “Lifegrip” it pulls the ally target to the Priest’s location. In WoD, Glyph of Restored Faith causes Leap of Faith to instead pull the Priest to the target’s location, which will be also known as “Lifeleap”.
Enhanced Leap of Faith is a WoD perk that causes the target of your Leap of Faith to take an additional 50% from the priests next non-periodic heal.
Talents and Glyphs
The following talents and glyphs are recommended and / or required for completing the proving grounds using the methods in this guide.
Talents
· Level 15: Desperate Prayer. Highly Recommended
· Level 30: Any
· Level 45: Power Word: Solace. Non Optional.
· Level 60: Psychic Scream. Highly Recommended
· Level 75: Spirit Shell. Non Optional.
· Level 90: Any – T90 is not particularly useful in Proving Grounds. Divine Star or Cascade would be preferable.
· Level 100: Clarity of Will. Non Optional.
Glyphs
Major
1. Glyph of Weakened Soul. Non Optional.
2. Glyph of Restored Faith. Highly Recommended.
3. Glyph of Penance or Glyph of Prayer of Mending.
Glyph of Penance is going to slightly increase mana consumption, but vastly increases mobility. Glyph of PoM lets PoM be a useful spell for dealing with Chomp.
Minor: All minor glyphs are purely cosmetic.
Glyphs to Avoid
1. Glyph of Power Word: Shield. This is a misleading glyph, it doesn’t add any additional healing, it instead reduces the absorb by 20% and converts it into a heal, which will often become overhealing.
2. Glyph of the Inquisitor: In a raid this glyph can be useful for keeping uptime on Focused Will and has some other uses, but in the proving grounds you don’t need any extra damage to have to heal, and your own damage isn’t important.
Gear:
As of the time of posting, the proving ground in WoD does not scale gear down, although tier set bonuses won't work, so better gear will make the proving grounds easier.
Stat priority is roughly:
Int > Spirit > Crit => Mastery > Multistrike > Versatility => Haste
Without reforging and with the limited availability of gem sockets, stat priority is only as a rough guideline and proving grounds can still be completed with any combination of stats.
I used the methods in this guide to complete the proving grounds with an average item level of 600.
It's worth noting that there is a quest available to complete the bronze proving grounds of any role, and doing so will reward an ilevel 610 rare weapon, which can make silver and gold easier.
The Trials:
Proving grounds has 4 levels of difficulty - Bronze, Silver, Gold and Endless. As of the time of writing, this guide will only cover the first 3 difficulties.
Bronze: Bronze is the easiest of the proving grounds healing trials. It has 5 waves and only basic mobs. The only mechanics are tank healing and AoE healing. Every player should be able to pass Bronze.
The Waves: Bronze has 5 waves to complete
1. 1× Small Ripper
2. 1× Large Ripper
3. 1× Small Ripper, 1× Small Hive Stinger
4. 1× Large Ripper, 1× Large Hive Stinger
5. 2× Large Ripper, Later 2× Small Hive Stinger
Wave 1
Cooldowns: None
Mobs: 1x Small Ripper
A very simple wave. Start by preshielding the tank during the count down with PWS and a few casts of CoW. Once the Ripper spawns, use Atonement until you have 5 stacks of evangelism. You want to use this wave to Build up 5 stack of evangelism for later. Keep using PWS on the tank on cooldown, and use Solace on cooldown to keep evangelism refreshed and regen mana. Atonement if you want to help dps in between, or go back to casting CoW once you have 5 stacks of evangelism. The mob should die with several seconds left before the next wave
Wave 2
Cooldowns: None
Mobs: 1x Large Ripper
Another simple wave, only tank damage again. Preshield the tank again before the mobs spawn, as you did in wave 1. Keep PWS on the tank on cooldown, and some CoW when you can. Use Solace on cooldown to keep evangelism refreshed and regen mana.
Wave 3
Cooldowns: Archangel, Spirit Shell
Mobs: 1x Small Ripper, 1x Small Hivestinger
A slightly harder wave, some light AoE damage. Preshield the tank again as in the previous waves. Keep PWS on the tank on cooldown, and some CoW when you can. When the Hivestinger spawns, the rogue NPC will shadow step and stun it, then interrupt the first Sonic Blast. Once the first Sonic Blast goes off, pop archangel and Spirit Shell and use 1x PoH. Its easiest to position yourself halfway between the melee and ranged and cast PoH on yourself, to ensure it hits all party members. After this, use Holy Nova for any more AoE healing and Penance on the ranged if they’re injured. Keep PWS on the tank and CoW in between. Once the Hivestinger is dead, you can start to use atonement again to rebuild evangelism. Keep using Solace on CD.
Wave 4
Cooldowns: Archangel
Mobs: 1x Large Ripper, 1x Large Hivestinger
Preshield the tank again with PWS/CoW. This wave the tank damage is a bit higher, you will need to use CoW more. Like last time, when the first Sonic Blast goes off, pop Archangel and use 1 PoH again. Afterwards keep using CoW/PWS on the tank, Solace on CD. You might need to use penance on the tank too if he starts to lose a bit of health. When just 1 mob is left, use atonement to quickly get back to 5 stacks of evangelism and use solace on cooldown to keep it refreshed.
Wave 5
Cooldowns: Archangel, Spirit Shell
Mobs: 2x Large Ripper, Later 2x Small Hivestinger
Last wave. At the start, two Large Rippers will spawn. Pre Shield again if you had time. Use Solace on CD to keep evangelism up, don’t let it fall off. The rest of the time use PWS on cd and then spam CoW on the tank. Once the two Small Hivestingers spawn, pop archangel and Spirit Shell and use PoH ×2. Use Holy Nova to top up any more AoE damage if you need to. Penance to top up the mage or hunter if they’re not in range of Holy Nova. Keep using PWS/COW on the tank and you’ve got it.
Silver: Silver is the next trial, which you must complete bronze to unlock. Silver includes all the same mechanics as bronze, as well as the additional challenges of dispelling and dealing with spike damage on party members. Silver also starts to introduce the healer mechanic of mana management, due to its increased number of waves and hence increased duration of combat. Experienced players will have little trouble with Silver, but even less experience players will be able to complete it with practice.
The Waves: Silver has 8 waves to complete.
1. 1× Large Ripper
2. 1× Large Hivestinger, 1× Small Ripper – usually still alive when wave 3 begins
3. 1× Small Ripper, 1× Small Flamecaller
4. 1× Large Ripper, 1× Large Flamecaller
5. 1× Large Ripper, 1x Small Hivestinger
6. 1× Small Aqualyte, 1× Large Ripper
7. 1× Large Aqualyte, 1× Small Flamecaller
8. 1× Small Hivestinger, 1× Small Aqualyte, Later, 2× Small Ripper, 1× Large Flamecaller
Wave 1
Cooldowns: None
Mobs: 1× Large Ripper. Same as bronze wave 1.
Start by preshielding the tank during the count down with PWS and CoW. Once the Ripper spawns, use Atonement until you have 5 stacks of evangelism, but this time use some CoW in between so that you keep on top of tank damage. You want to use this wave to build up 5 stacks of evangelism for later. Keep using PWS on the tank on cooldown, and use Solace on cooldown to keep evangelism refreshed and regen mana. The mob should die with several seconds left before the next wave. Make sure you get off a solace or smite or offensive penance just before the mob dies or your evangelism might fall off before the next wave begins.
Wave 2
Cooldowns: Archangel, Spirit Shell
Mobs: 1× Large Hivestinger, 1× Small Ripper.
Again, start by pre shielding the tank. When the wave spawns, Solace / offensive penance one of the mobs, doesn’t matter which, so that you refresh your evangelism since you don’t want to let it fall off. Keep tank healing for another few seconds with CoW/ PWS, then pop spirit shell and archangel and do 1x PoH, which will absorb the next two Sonic Blasts. By now the tank may have lost some health, so PWS him, followed by CoW and then penance. Keep using Solace for mana and to slowly rebuild your stacks of evangelism. The next wave will usually start while the small ripper is still alive.
Wave 3
Cooldowns: None
Mobs:1 Small Ripper, 1 Small Flamecaller.
Flamecallers are a new mob that you didn’t see in bronze. They cast Pyroblasts at the tank and random party members. This means you not only have to deal with tank damage, but also spike damage on party members. As disc there is an easy way to deal with this though, by making a target of target PWS Macro like the following:
To use this macro, you target the Flamecaller (you’ll need to enable “Target of Target” in the interface options) while you heal the tank with mouseover macros, other target of target macros or raidframe addons like Vuhdo or Grid. When you see the Flamecaller switch target to someone other than the tank, you hit this macro and it will instantly PWS them while the Flamecaller is casting, and the PWS will absorb most of the damage, if not all of it. I personally like to have target of target modifiers built into all of my macros.Code:#showtooltip Power Word: Shield /cast [@targettarget] Power Word: Shield
If the Flamecaller does the same person twice in a row, or you don’t manage to PWS them in time, and they take damage, then simply use penance to top them back up and a Heal if you need too. Keep tank healing with PWS and CoW in between and you’ll finish this wave easily. Don’t forget to keep using Solace as often as possible for mana regen. Once the Flamecaller is dead, focus on tank healing until the wave is finished and then use Heal and Holy Nova to top everyone back up together as you wait for the next wave.
Wave 4
Cooldowns: None
Mobs: 1 Large Ripper, 1 Large Flamecaller.
Exactly the same as the previous wave, except this time it’s a bit more damage. Make sure you keep on top of the tank damage with CoW while you’re using the target of target macro on the flamecaller and penance to top up anyone who gets too many Pyroblasts in a row.
Wave 5
Cooldowns: Archangel, Spirit Shell
Mobs: 1 Large Ripper, 1 Small Hivestinger.
Pre shield the tank again if you have time, and start with a few casts of CoW, then Pop archangel and spirit shell and use 1x PoH to absorb any Sonic Blasts that don’t get interrupted. After this just tank heal and try to build up your stacks of evangelism again. Keep using Solace for mana regen as always.
Wave 6
Cooldowns: None
Mobs: 1 Small Aqualyte, 1 Large Ripper.
Pre shield the tank before it begins, and keep up the CoW. Aqualytes do heavy tank damage, even small ones, so you need to keep on top of that. When the Aqualyte casts its DoT, dispel it straight away. You may choose to Silence the Aqualyte to prevent it casting the first DoT. Just keep on top of tank damage with PWS and CoW and dispel quickly and you’ll get this round easily. Remember to keep using solace for mana and evangelism stacks.
Wave 7
Cooldowns: Power Word: Barrier (optional).
Mobs: 1 Large Aqualyte, 1 Small Flamecaller.
Preshield as always, keep up CoW as much as you can, the tank damage can surprise you here. Use the target of target macro on the flamecaller. Keep on top of dispels and use the PWS Target of Target macro to PWS the Pyroblast targets. The rest of the time you need to tank heal but don’t forget to keep your evangelism refreshed with Solace. You can place Power Word: Barrier on the tank after the initial preshields get used up, it’s not required but it makes it easier. If tank damage gets too heavy, as a last resort you can use the Empowered Lifeleap trick that is outlined in the Tips and Tricks section.
Wave 8
Cooldowns: Archangel, Spirit Shell, Pain Suppression(optional).
Mobs: 1 Small Hivestinger, 1 Small Aqualyte, later 2 Small Rippers, 1 Large Flamecaller.
This is the final wave and it can get chaotic towards the end, but if you keep on top of it all you’ll get through. As always, start with preshielding the tank before the wave begins. When the mobs spawn, open with offensive penance on the Hivestinger and then Solace. Cast another CoW on the tank and PWS if it’s available, then pop Archangel and Spirit Shell and do 2x PoH, then go back to tank healing. Don’t forget to dispel the Aqualyte’s dot. The Large Flamecaller and 2 Small Rippers will spawn around the time that the Hivestinger dies. The tank damage will be pretty heavy now, so you can use Pain Suppression on the tank, but use it earlier rather than later. As always, target the Flamecaller and use the Target of Target macro to PWS any Pyroblasts it casts. Keep up the tank healing with PWS and CoW. If you’ve been good with your Solace usage you should still have plenty of mana so use Flash Heal if you need. Keep up the tank healing and don’t forget to dispel and you’ve got silver.
Gold: Gold is the last trial in the healing proving grounds which a person is able to truly complete. Gold includes all the mechanics of Silver and Bronze, as well as the additional mechanics of short periods of extreme tank damage and a bleed mechanic that requires the target to be fully healed in order to remove. It will also require careful mana management to prevent yourself running out of mana, since there are more waves than in Silver or Bronze. Gold will test your ability and awareness as a healer and can get very chaotic as times. Even experienced players will find elements of Gold challenging, but most players will be able to complete gold with enough practice.
The Waves: Gold has 10 waves
1. 1× Large Flamecaller, 1× Small Ripper
2. 1× Large Aqualyte, 1× Small Hivestinger
3. 1× Small Hivestinger, 1× Small Ripper, 1x Small Tunneler
4. 1x Large Flamecaller, 1x Large Tunneler, 1x Small Ripper
5. 1x Large Aqualyte, 1x Small Tunneler, Later, 1x Small Hivestinger, 1x Small Flamecaller
6. 1x Large Ripper, 1x Small Conqueror, 1x Small Ripper
7. 1x Large Tunneler, 1x Small Conqueror, 1x Small Hivestinger
8. 1x Large Flamecaler, 1x Small Conqueror
9. 1x Large Conqueror, 1x Small Flamecaller, Later 1x Small Hivestinger, 1x Small Aqualyte
10. 1x Large Conqueror, 1x Small Tunneler, Later 1x Small Flamecaller, 1x Small Aqualyte, Later, 1x Small Conqueror, 1x Small Hivestinger
Wave 1
Cooldowns: None
Mobs: 1 Large Flamecaller, 1 Small Ripper.
Start by peshielding the tank with PWS and CoW while the timer is counting down. When the mobs spawn, offensive penance the Flamecaller and Solace it, then use your Target of Target PWS macro when it switches to random party members but don’t forget to keep tank healing in between. Once the Flamecaller is dead, start weaving in atonement while you top everyone back up. As always, the goal here is to build up your evangelism for later waves. Keep up Atonement and tank healing until the Ripper is dead and then use any extra time to top anyone who’s still injured off. Make sure you preshield before the next wave begins.
Wave 2
Cooldowns: Archangel
Mobs: 1 Large Aqualyte, 1 Small Hivestinger. This is where gold starts to step up from Silver. Make sure the tank has a full CoW on it when the wave spawns, and keep it up for the first few seconds. Keep an eye on the hive stinger and try to Silence it when the NPC’s run out of their own interrupts, the less Sonic Blasts the better. When the first Sonic Blast goes off, pop Archangel and use 1x PoH (no spirit shell). This should top everyone and leave some Divine Ageis to soak the next Sonic Blast. As soon as this is done, go back to tank healing since Large Aqualytes do heavy tank damage, and don’t forget to dispel. When the Hivestinger is dead, try to weave a few Atonement heals in between tank healing, you want to get as many stacks as you can before the next wave without falling behind on tank healing. Just before the next wave begins make sure everyone is topped and then pop Archangel with whatever stacks you have and spirit shell with 2x PoH. The next wave should spawn right as the Large Aqualyte dies.
Wave 3
Cooldowns: Archangel (before the wave begins), Spirit Shell (before the wave begins)
Mobs: 1 Small Hivestinger, 1 Small Ripper, 1 Small Tunneler.
This is the first wave that has the Tunneler. The Tunneler will periodically go underground and then ‘chomp’ a random party member, dealing significant damage and leaving a moderate bleed on them which won’t stop until they’re healed above 90%. Chomp is the most difficult mechanic for Discipline to deal with, and most wipes on gold will be caused by either chomp getting out of control or by the Conqueror’s enrage. Chomp won’t leave its bleed if the target never goes below 90% health, so if you preshield the target you won’t get the bleed at all. However, since you cannot tell who it will target, you need shields on everyone, which is why we used Spirit shell at the end of the last wave.
As soon as the wave spawns the Tunneler will immediately chomp someone. If you did the previous wave correctly, this will be absorbed by spirit shell. The Hivestinger will then get off a Sonic Pulse earlier than usual, and this will be absorbed by the remaining spirit shell. Keep tank healing and using Solace for Mana regen, and if you get another chomp, use PWS > Penance > Flash Heal to get the back to full ASAP. The rest of the wave is easy in comparison. Silence the Hivestinger if you can. Once the Tunneler is dead the rest of business as usual, just try to keep everyone topped off. Throwing out some PoMs during this wave can be very helpful due to all the AoE making it bounce. When just 1 mob is left, try to rebuild some evangelism stacks for archangel. Once everything is dead, Pre shield the tank with CoW and then just before the next wave begins, pop Archangel and 1x PoH for EAA Divine Ageis (since SS is still on cooldown).
Note: If you get chomp on the tank you’re in trouble, since it becomes very hard to top the tank up to 90% to remove it while it’s also tanking all the mobs. Fear any mobs you can and then if Archangel is available pop it, and Lifeleap too if you can, then Penance or Flash Heal if penance is on cooldown and PWS immediately if available, then CoW, then while you have any CoW or PWS shield remaining, Flash Heal a few times. If you can’t remove the bleed before the next chomp happens, you’re probably going to wipe and if you have to Flash Heal too many times you’ll go oom later and probably wipe on the last few waves.
If you get chomp on yourself, use Desperate Prayer and then PWS yourself and follow through with penance or flash heal if needed.All of this also applies to any other waves that involves Tunnelers. They are the most difficult part of Gold, not on their own, but when you have to deal with them at the same time as everything else, it’s easy to let them get out of control.
Wave 4
Cooldowns: Archangel (before the wave begins)
Mobs: 1 Large Flamecaller, 1 Large Tunneler, 1 Small Ripper.
This wave is even harder. If you did the last wave correctly, you should have preshielded the tank and have Divine Ageis on everyone, which should soak the first chomp. Use the target of target PWS macro on the Large Flamecaller as usual. This is particularly important, because if you get chomp and Pyroblast on the same target and didn’t soak at least one of them with PWS, you’re in a world of hurt and just have to hope you have Penance available. Same rules for the tunnelers apply as in the previous wave. Keep tank healing and using Solace for Mana regen and evangelism. When just 1 mob is left, try to rebuild some evangelism stacks for archangel. Once everything is dead, Pre shield the tank with CoW and then just before the next wave begins, pop Spirit Shell (but not archangel) and use 1x PoH
Wave 5
Cooldowns: Archangel, Spirit Shell (before the wave begins)
Mobs: 1 Large Aqualyte, 1 Small Tunneler, Later 1 Small Hivestinger, 1 Small Flamecaller.
You should have preshielded with spirit shell just before the wave begins, which will absorb the first chomp. Keep tank healing with PWS / CoW and Solace to keep evangelism refreshed and regen mana. Quickly top up any more chomps with Penance and Flash Heal. When the Hivestinger and Flamecaller spawn, start using the Target of Target macro to PWS the Pyroblast targets. When the first Sonic Pulse goes off, pop Archangel and do 1x PoH. Keep tank healing and use HN to top up any more AoE if you need. Before the next wave begins, ensure the tank is at full health and is pre-shielded
Wave 6
Cooldowns: Pain Suppression, Archangel.
Mobs: Large Ripper, Small Ripper, Small Conqueror
This wave is purely tank damage, so it’s pretty easy for disc provided you’re ready for it. This is the first wave with a Conqueror. Conqueror’s deal very heavy tank damage, and then enrage for 10 seconds to deal extreme tank damage. Conqueror’s will only enrage once. When the wave begins, just keep tank healing, keep CoW as high as possible by spaming it. Only use Solace if evangelism is about to fall off, the mana isn’t as tank healing right now. About 10 seconds into the wave, pop archangel (just a few seconds before the conqueror enrages) and keep tank healing. As soon as you see the conqueror engage (gets bigger), put Pain Suppression on the tank. Keep tank healing with PWS and CoW and Penance. After you popped Archangel, you’ll have EAA for the next 30 seconds, which is best to use on Flash Heal when you feel necessary. When there’s only 1 mob left, focus on rebuilding evangelism stacks with Atonement healing and Solace for Mana. Just before the next wave begins, preshield the tank with PWS and CoW, pop archangel and Spirit Shell and use 2x PoH.
Wave 7
Cooldowns: Power Word: Barrier, Archangel (before the wave begins), Spirit Shell (before the wave begins).
Mobs: 1 Small Conqueror, 1 Small Hivestinger, 1 Large Tunneler.
You should have preshielded with Spirit Shell before the wave begins. This will soak the first chomp and Sonic Blast. Keep tank healing with CoW / PWS and when the conqueror enrages, put down Power Word: Barrier where the tank is and then keep tank healing. Save Penance for any more Chomp targets. The tank damage is a lot less this time without the Rippers, so keep using Solace on cooldown. As usual, when only 1 mob is left rebuild evangelism. Before the next wave begins, preshield the tank with PWS/CoW.
Wave 8
Cooldowns: Archangel
Mobs: 1 Large Flamecaller, 1 Small Conqueror
This wave is a lot easier, as long as you keep on top of the pyroblasts. When the mobs spawn, target the flamecaller and use the Target of Target macro to PWS the Pyroblast targets. The rest of the time just tank heal and Solace for mana. When the Conqueror enrages, pop archangel and just keep tank healing, using EAA on Flash Heal if needed. If someone takes too many Pyroblasts, use Penance to top them back up. You’ll have a fairly long time after everything is dead before the next wave spawns, so use it to top everyone back up with cheap heals. If Archangel is going to fall off before the next wave begins, pop it just before it expires. Preshield the tank with PWS and CoW, making sure CoW is capped before the next wave spawns.
Wave 9
Cooldowns: Archangel, Spirit Shell, Pain Suppression, Lifeleap (Glyphed Leap of Faith)
Mobs: 1 Large Conqueror, 1 Small Flamecaller, Later 1 Small Hivestinger, 1 Small Aqualyte.
When the first mobs spawn, as always, target the Flamecaller and use your target of target macro to PWS the Pyroblast targets. The rest of the time, keep tank healing with PWS and CoW. When the Conqueror Enrages, put Pain Suppression on the tank and pop archangel and keep tank healing hard. Keep using Solace on cooldown except during the enrage. Use lifeleap + Penance for a big heal on the tank. When the second lot of mobs spawn, pop Spirit Shell and use 1x PoH, then immediately go back to tank healing. Don’t forget to dispel the Aqualyte dot. Before the next wave begins, pop Archangel with any stacks and use 1x PoH for EAA Divine Ageis. The Conqueror will be almost dead when wave 10 begins.
Wave 10
Cooldowns: Archangel, Power Word: Barrier, Lifeleap (Glyphed Leap of Faith)
Mobs: 1 Large Conqueror, 1 Small Tunneler, Later 1 Small Flamecaller, 1 Small Aqualyte, Later 1 Small Conqueror, 1 Small Hivestinger.
By now you’ll be getting low on mana, so make sure you’re using solace on cooldown the whole time. You won’t have had time to preshield, but just keep tank healing with PWS and CoW. The EAA Divine Ageis should soak the first Chomp, and use Penance for any further chomps. When the Conqueror enrages, drop Power Word: Barrier on top of the tank again, and keep keep tank healing with PWS, CoW and Penance. When the second lot of mobs spawn, target the Flamecaller and use the PWS Target of Target macro. Don’t forget the dispel the Aqualytes dot. Keep tank healing the rest of the time. When the last lot of mobs spawn you can usually ignore the Hivestinger AoE. If, AND ONLY IF, you have the mana you can use Spirit Shell and Archangel with 1x PoH. If everyone’s grouped up, which sometimes happens on this wave, you can use HN for AoE healing, if you need to. It’s a very good idea to interrupt the Sonic Blast with Silence, especially if you were conserving mana and didn’t use SS PoH. When the Conqueror enrages, you can use the Lifeleap + Penance trick to help stay on top of damage, but otherwise just keep spaming CoW. Don’t forget to dispel.
By the end, just keep tank healing and top up anyone at risk of dying, and you’ll get the Gold.
Tips and Tricks:
· If you do fall behind on tank damage, you can lifeleap the tank (using glyph of restored faith as outlined in the Talents&Glyphs section at the start) and use penance or flash heal (penance is much better) for a 50% increased heal, which can help to catch up on damage. This is something to do in an emergency though, as it has a 1.5min cooldown. It’s not worth doing on dps though, since their health pool is smaller and a regular penance or flash heal is all that’s necessary. You will lose about 0.5 seconds worth of healing doing this, so its usually a good idea to do it immediately after using PWS so that you don't get an even bigger health deficit.
· If you fall behind on tank damage and Lifegrip is on cooldown then the worst thing you can do is try to use Heal to catch up on damage. Heal is much worse HPS than PWS or CoW, so you'll just get further behind. Flash Heal is ~okay~ but CoW/PWS is still higher HPS. Usually the best option is to keep tank healing with CoW and PWS and use Defensive Penance whenever it's off cooldown.
· If you get chomp on yourself, use Desperate Prayer immediately and you’ll usually remove it in 1 go.
· If someone gets chomped and Penance is on CD, PWS them and then use Penance when it comes off cooldown.
· Glyph of Prayer of Mending can be used for a big heal on a chomp target, but isn’t as useful as it was in MoP.
· If you're really struggling with a particular wave you can use shadowfiend to help kill the mobs a bit faster, which can help.
· You can Silence the Flamecallers, however when silenced they deal a lot of melee damage to the tank, so be careful when you do this.
· Only Hivestingers and Rippers can be feared.
· You can use the Lifegrip trick without the 'leap' glyph, but I find this can interrupt the tanks rotation and result in him taking even more damage. Without the glyph, however, it can also be used to pull the ranged into melee for Holy Nova AoE healing.
· Flask and Food Buffs will work in PG, so make use of them if you're having a hard time.
· Healthstones will also work, and should be used just like Desperate Prayer.
· Remember, the trick to Disc is bring Proactive, not reactive. Preshield whenever you can.