New to Disc Healing!

[Deleted]

OK, the thread title is a lie.. I am pretty new to healing all together.

My guild has lost 1.5 healers over the last 2 weeks so I am taking it upon myself to start running LFR's as Disc to get as familiar with the spec as I can. I have a pretty decent gear level of 488 with just under 10k Spirit. My guild is currently 4/6 HoF.

I have been doing a lot of reading on Disc, but I don't think I am fully understanding when to use which cooldown.

When do you use Power Infusion? To get Spirit Shell on players faster? To build Evangelism for AA?

Spirit Shell turns certain heals into shields producing 0 overheal. Correct? Is this cooldown almost always used with either Greater Heal on a tank or Prayer of Healing on a raid? I know that it stacks to 60% of the Priests health, so on average how many casts of PoH are required to cap it? And is it then useless to cast after that cap, as it doesn't heal and it no longer adds any more absorb effects?

Example: Rain of Blades on Wind-Lord Mel'jarak. Ideally, I want to have 5 Evangelism stacks ready for this ability so I can AA, Spirit Shell and PoH the raid. Would this be considered as the perfect "rotation" in dealing with this ability and other similar effects - Garalon: Crush, Blade Master: Unseen Strike, etc?

Inner Focus. Should this be used in the same way as Spirit Shell? GH on tanks and PoH on raid?

Are we spamming PW:S? If yes, then why is everyone raving on about the CD of Rapture? Is the CD of Rapture important because every 12 secs you should cast it on someone who will take the full damage of your PW:S?

First time poster, long term reader here so thank you all in advance for any replies.

[Goundin]

For a list of what spells and cooldowns to use, I recommend taking a look here http://www.noxxic.com/wow/pve/priest...-and-cooldowns

I've used this for different things and it has helped. Haven't tried it with Discipline yet since I currently do not have a priest.

Hope this helps!

[blargh312]

When do you use Power Infusion? To get Spirit Shell on players faster? To build Evangelism for AA?

Any time you need to heal faster. If you're using SS before damage goes out in 10 man there's no need to use PI since it'll cap in 15 seconds anyway. If you're using SS during a constant damage period then it's fine.

Spirit Shell turns certain heals into shields producing 0 overheal. Correct?

Well, not really. If SS expires without the absorb being used up, that's still overhealing.

Is this cooldown almost always used with either Greater Heal on a tank or Prayer of Healing on a raid? I know that it stacks to 60% of the Priests health, so on average how many casts of PoH are required to cap it? And is it then useless to cast after that cap, as it doesn't heal and it no longer adds any more absorb effects?

The answers to these will vary based on the situation, but basically yes, you'll only be using it with GHeal or PoH. Average casts to cap depends on gear but I've noticed usually 3 per group. If there's no raid damage going out then yes it's useless to keep casting if everyone is capped, if damage is going out obviously those people won't be capped so you should keep casting.

Are we spamming PW:S? If yes, then why is everyone raving on about the CD of Rapture? Is the CD of Rapture important because every 12 secs you should cast it on someone who will take the full damage of your PW:S?

I personally am not spamming PW:S, but I've noticed other priests using it a lot more than 5.0-5.1. Even with the reduced mana cost, covering the raid in shields is still prohibitively expensive, so spamming it isn't really an option. I mainly use PW:S for rapture on tanks but it's great on the move or if you know specific people will be taking big damage.

[HPLathus]

Check my signature for a guide I made on 5.2 disc healing Leave feedback and enjoy!

[Deleted]

Thank you, Blargh312 and HolyLathusDisc. Very helpful indeed.

After finally running LFR last night I have a few concerns. Firstly, I think LFR is actually making me a poorly equipped healer for normals. On ToES first encounter Protectors of the Endless, for a whole 60 seconds at the beginning of the fight I could have swore my grid raid frames weren't working as NO-ONE was taking damage. Not even tanks. I am basically using Atonement 90% of the time on 90% of fights. Everyone's health is so high that popping AA and manually casting heals is a waste of time. Is this a LFR thing, or are there parts in normals where damage is so low?

On fights where I actually use more than Smite, Solace and Penance I am building 5 stacks of Evangelism, popping AA and PoH/casting heal. I often find that I have 5 stacks of Evang for long periods of the fight, rarely popping AA at all. LFR?

I see a lot of comments on forums from Disc Priests who "blanket the raid" with Spirit Shell shields prior to large AOE raid damage. Assuming players are at full HP, isn't this a complete waste of the actual heal part of PoH? Is this lazy, and should we really be aiming for the heal to hit just after the damage with the Spirit Shell Shield being a bonus/buffer?

Thanks again!

[HPLathus]

LFR does have pretty simplified mechanics... even the new LFR i was surprised to find I haven't had any issues clearing it yet.

Try to get into some 5.1 pugs if possible, MSV is a great starting point. I find theres a good mix of mobility/pure damage and mechanics for you to practice and sharpen your skills.


Healing is about practice, it's going to take some time to get comfortable with it. Managing cooldowns, triage healing etc.


Keep it up and look to forums for advice