Leveling disc priests should have a proving grounds of sorts to queue for dungeons.

[Raugnaut]

I haven't personally touched Disc at low levels in quite a while, you make me want to try it.
Similar to your plight seems to be leveling Brew master Monks, and most Prot Paladins even into end game.
Maybe it's just me, but I've yet to run with a single Prot Pally since Tomb that didn't feel like a wet napkin to heal.

They're the rarest of all tanks in my M+ PuGs, but they may have better representation in dedicated teams, I haven't checked the rankings.

I'll be honest I didn't read the entire OP, but Disc never seemed that hard to me, even when compared to other leveling healers.
Yes you can't play it the same and sometimes it's hard to come back once you fall behind, but it just promotes a more aggressive and pro-active style in my experience.

Nah, Prot Paladins are wet napkins. Shield of the Righteousness is no longer a miniature Shield-Wall that's also effective against magic damage. Now, it's basically the defensive equivalent of 2 stacks of Iron Fur - Except that Guardian Druids has 2 stacks of Ironfur up ALL the time, often going to 3-5 stacks. On top of higher baseline armor, health, healing received, AND self-sustain.

Prot Paladin's only "strength" is that they have a few more CDs then the other tanks. Not to mention that their active mitigation is on a longer CD, passive mitigation is now weaker. Block chance is low. Azerite traits are comparitively bad compared to other tanks. All in all, it's not been a good expansion for Prot Paladins. Decent utility though.

[FAILoZOFF]

2) Give them a fully supported, switch-flipping talent or two that gives them a fully viable "you just heal the party" playstyle. I'm sure some big-dicked hardcore superhero can make the current iteration sing, but there needs to be an approachable on-ramp to the class. I've tried it, it's too much.

its here and its called holy

[LedZeppelin]

Disco was always about ramp/pre shield, power infusion and painsup and im glad that blizz dont lissen to giga casualys like you and op in their decisions, if youre to bad dont touch disco play shaman and hit your head against the keyboard.

great argument

[Sliske]

What level range is this? Disc is absolutely broken from 1-40, then as with every other healer and tank, there is a huge spike in damage taken from about 43 and it stops at around 75-80, then its a joke again all the way to max level. I'm guessing you're in this 43-75 level bracket?

I recently leveled a disc priest and the only difference i felt from other healers i played was that disc had ridiculous amounts of damage. If you're speaking at max level, i'll agree with you - disc is definitely weak as fuck in many affixes, like grievous, quaking, bursting and so on.

[Piplupzero]

Its fine that disc are hard. If you want a pure healer you are literally one button press away from holy spec on any priest. There isnt even a respec cost these days.

[Metrox]

In the grand scheme of wow, how big a deal is this really? So every once in a while you have a bad experience in a leveling dungeon... ok.

Something along the lines of the above. Proving Grounds to enter a dungeon as Disc? Why should I have to "prove" my ability to your satisfaction to play this game? Your satisfaction being a test of minimum (determined by you and developers) skill. Along those lines I should have to prove my ability on every spec of every class not just disc. Oh wait......maybe just disc? Is that until you become hurt at some other spec that you feel let you down? That rogue missed an interrupt and wiped you? Make all rogues show kick skills in a proving ground. Mad at some other player because they don't play to your established skill level, well then how about you just vote kick them? If they get kicked enough then maybe they will improve to your level of expectation. How about that new player of unknown age.....disability.....etc..... Let's make them stay doing solo world quests until they graduate your WoW Spec Skill Class! Not happening...... Stay safe and have fun.

[Nuba]

Disco was always about ramp/pre shield, power infusion and painsup and im glad that blizz dont lissen to giga casualys like you and op in their decisions, if youre to bad dont touch disco play shaman and hit your head against the keyboard.

I think by "ramp" he means like this:

Other healers learning+gearing curve:


Disc learning+gearing curve:


That is, obviously, considering something like PvP where a really good and well geared disc will perform as good as other classes. in M+ even if youre the best of the best you'll still be miles behind any other healer at all times

[h4rr0d]

What's so bad about having specs that are hard to learn, hard to master? Most sane people try out a spec, and then decided that they want to invest the time to master it, or abandon it because it's just not their style, or too complicated. That's not really a problem of disc priest, most roles have at least one of those specs that's just harder than others. For example, I've heard that fire mage is a spec which is very punishing should you make mistakes, but also quite rewarding if played (nearly) perfectly. IMO, it's okay that something like this exists, since people who don't want to deal with a punishing spec can just play frost.

The issue with disc is not only that it is hard to learn and even harder to master. The issue is, that the spec requires everyone to play around the fact they are there for them to be able to do what other healer specs just do naturally. You can be the best disc priest in the world, but if your group doesn't cooperate with you, you will never do as well as other healers.

As for the leveling priests, Im not sure what exactly it is, but Im pretty sure they don't get a key talent or something until pretty late, and especially new players have no way of knowing this, while the prospect of guy healing through dealing damage is super cool. Not having access to mastery for quite a bit also doesn't help.

[Feral Druid ist Op]

Your mom must be real proud of your achievements in video games, I bet you've told her about your epic raids and how skilled you are at the game.

I guess i struck a nerve, i know the truth hurts but there are shamans and holy priest for bads like you 3/12M raider. If you cant play class A cuz of a skill lacking (and wow dont require mutch compered to other games) play class B its that simple, but dont try to dumb down the game even more.

[Aleksej89]

First entertaining post i read on mmo champ since MOP, thanks!

Discipline priests in random dungeons (where players were most likely inexperienced with the class) were always a pain in my rear as a tank.
Honestly never even understood the appeal of the spec but it was always way too janky for new players.

[Marrilaife]

Honestly never even understood the appeal of the spec but it was always way too janky for new players.

The appeal is probably "why choose between healing and damage when I can do both" plus it makes the spec pretty noob friendly to level, the fact shadow is slow af esp. at low lvl doesn't help.

The biggest downside is people don't realize that jack of all trades is master of none, and this is true about disc in dungeons.