Level 26 Disc Priest BiS (Non Grandfathered)

kratos

kratos

Xarbage
Introduction:

Since the patch, many people have been asking what's best in terms of gear. While many people initially leveled straight
to 29, this patch brought something different with the way items scale for lower level characters entering the battlegrounds; and for that point eventually skirmishes as well. Through some testing and research, I have come to the conclusion that for battlegrounds, level 26 is the best level for a discipline priest, due to the abilities available at this level, along with the way certain pieces of gear scale in battlegrounds. An important disclaimer is that this not including any grandfathered items; as a new twink reading this would not have access to those items in the first place.




Why Not 29?

In the patch 6.0.2, scaling was introduced to all X0-X9 brackets, as a way to help balance out lower leveled players.
The way this works is that when a lower level character enters a battleground, they have their base stats scaled up to the highest level possible in that bracket. Along with this, certain items are also given increased values during the battleground. Due to this, the possibility exists that with the right items getting increased values, a level other than the highest level might prove to be more beneficial for specific classes. For priests specifically, I focused my stat priorities around a primary focus of Intellect and Critical Strike, and a secondary focus on Stamina and Haste respectively.

The first question might be, why 26 specifically? The main reason is simple, level 26 is when priests get Purify. Even if having higher
over all stats are a possibility for priests due to scaling, this ability is well worth the loss the stats. Now beyond this, every level following 26 only brings less stats from scaling, and a not as important ability for a disc priest at level 28 Mind Sear. 26 is also the first level at which the item level 35 dungeon rewards are available from Random Classic Dungeons.

Following this, we need to acknowledge what we're losing by staying at level 26; which is mainly items. The following items are unobtainable for a 26 priest that would be available to a level 29 priest; Defiler's Cloth Gridle, Temperature-Sensing Necklace, Scarlet Sandals, Chabal's Favorite Ring, and Beastbinder Ring. While this may seem like enough items to discourage going to level 26, it surprisingly is not.




Comparisons:

I'll be going through each piece of gear and what it scales to for a 26 priest, and place that against the best in slot item for a 29 priest; then record the cumulative difference in stats (These values for @ level 26 are assuming you are inside the BG so scaling is taking place):

HELM
(Very cut and dry here, both would be using the boa helm obviously)
Tattered Dreadmist Mask @ level 29: 9 Intellect, 13 Stamina, 6 Critical Strike, 6 Haste
Tattered Dreadmist Mask @ level 26: 10 Intellect, 15 Stamina, 7 Critical Strike, 7 Haste
Level 26 Tally: +1 Intellect, +2 Stamina, +1 Critical Strike, +1 Haste

NECKLACE
(The one area where 26 does get hurt a bit here, if only because there are no favorable pieces with crit on them that scale well)
Tumultuous Necklace of the Sorcerer @ level 26: 5 Intellect, 5 Stamina, 5 Haste
Temperature-Sensing Necklace @ level 29: 5 Intellect, 7 Stamina, 3 Critical Strike, 3 Haste
Level 26 Tally: +1 Intellect, 0 Stamina, -2 Critical Strike, +3 Haste

SHOULDERS
(Clear gain for level 26 here)
Tattered Dreadmist Mantle @ level 26: 7 Intellect, 11 Stamina, 7 Critical Strike
Tattered Dreadmist Mantle @ level 29: 7 Intellect, 10 Stamina, 7 Critical Strike
Level 26 Tally: +1 Intellect, +1 Stamina, -2 Critical Strike, +3 Haste

BACK
(Another pure stat gain for level 26)
Ancient Bloodmoon Cloak @ level 26: +6 Intellect, +9 Stamina, +4 Critical Strike, +4 Haste
Ancient Bloodmoon Cloak @ level 29: +5 Intellect, +8 Stamina, +4 Critical Strike, +4 Haste
Level 26 Tally: +2 Intellect, +2 Stamina, -2 Critical Strike, +3 Haste

CHEST
(Most BOAs just give pure gains, as is the growing trend)
Tattered Dreadmist Robe @ level 26: +10 Intellect, +15 Stamina, +10 Critical Strike
Tattered Dreadmist Robe @ level 29: +9 Intellect, +13 Stamina, +9 Critical Strike
Level 26 Tally: +3 Intellect, +4 Stamina, -1 Critical Strike, +3 Haste

WRIST
(The lack of compelling wrist options for 29's make it better for 26 as we use the same item; except we gain more stats)
Masha's Armbands @ level 26: +5 Intellect, +5 Stamina, +5 Critical Strike
Masha's Armbands @ level 29: +4 Intellect, +4 Stamina, +4 Critical Strike
Level 26 Tally: +4 Intellect, +5 Stamina, +0 Critical Strike, +3 Haste

GLOVES
(As the item level 35 dungeon rewards do not scale, and both 29 and 26 priests would be using the Enumerated Handwraps of the Sun, there is no stat difference)

WAIST
(An area where the 26 lower item level comes up incredibly effective)
Girdle of Nobility @ level 26: +8 Intellect, +4 Stamina, +4 Critical Strike
Defiler's Cloth Girdle @ level 29: +8 Intellect, +6 Stamina, +22 Armor
Level 26 Tally: +4 Intellect, +3 Stamina, +4 Critical Strike, +3 Haste, -22 Armor

LEGS
(BOA, 26 is scales better, I think there is a pattern here)
Tattered Dreadmist Leggings @ level 26: +10 Intellect, +15 Stamina, +7 Critical Strike, +7 Haste
Tattered Dreadmist Leggings @ level 29: +9 Intellect, +13 Stamina, +6 Critical Strike, +6 Haste
Level 26 Tally: +5 Intellect, +5 Stamina, +5 Critical Strike, +4 Haste, -22 Armor

BOOTS
(26 Scaling makes it so the difference between boots is a lot closer than it would seem)
Hu'Rala"s Slippers @ level 26: 6+ Intellect, +5 Stamina, + 8 Critical Strike
Scarlet Sandals @ level 29: +6 Intellect, +9 Stamina, +4 Critical Strike, +4 Haste
Level 26 Tally: +5 Intellect, +1 Stamina, +9 Critical Strike, +0 Haste, -22 Armor

RINGS
(This part took me a bit to figure out the best rings, and I was quite pleased with my final choice)
Seal of Argas @ level 26: 7 Intellect, +6 Stamina
Seal of Argas @ level 26: 7 Intellect, + 6 Stamina
Chabal's Favorite Ring @ level 29: +5 Intellect, +7 Stamina
Beastbinder Ring @ level 29: +5 Intellect, +7 Stamina, +3 Critical Strike, +3 Spirit
Level 26 Tally: +9 Intellect, -1 Stamina, +6 Critical Strike, +0 Haste, -22 Armor, -3 Spirit

TRINKETS
(Assuming you are a non-human race, the ideal trinket choice is the same for both levels)
Inherited Insignia of The Horde @ level 26: +9 Resilience
Rune of Perfection @ level 26: +4 Stamina, +11 Critical Strike
Inherited Insignia of The Horde @ level 29: +9 Resilience
Rune of Perfection @ level 29: +4 Stamina, +10 Critical Strike
Level 26 Tally: +9 Intellect, -1 Stamina, +7 Critical Strike, +0 Haste, -22 Armor, -3 Spirit

WEAPON
Now unfortunately, due to Blizzard and their hatred for the Justice Point system, I am currently unable to obtain the Dignified Headmaster's Charge to test
the scaling differences myself. However through deductive reasoning we can assume that since every BOA, albeit the Inherited Insignia of The Horde, proved to be beneficial for the 26 scaling, the weapon too would provide potentially more intellect, stamina, or critical strike. I will be updating this post in the week when I am done with the Argent Crusade Daily's so I can finalize my results with the new weapon.


Conclusion

The scaling for a level 26 priest provides the following stat changes as opposed to a level 29 priest:
Gain: +9 Intellect, +7 Critical Strike
Loss: -1 Stamina, -22 Armor, -3 Spirit
With that being said it seems quite obvious based on the above information that 26 is the superior level for a Discipline Priest in the 20-29 bracket.
I will eventually be adding enchants to this guide as well, but I felt kinda tired tonight after doing this ^.^
If anyone has anything to add to my findings please let me know! If you disagree with something, please don't hesitate to tell me so I can see what I might have missed.

Thanks all! - Kratos/Xar


​
 
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First, I quite enjoy your avatar, big fan of SAO :)

Second, thank you for the stat comparisons! I hope it helps all disc priests in deciding levels and gear and most importantly, helps priests understand the need to check stat scaling :)

I have a question though. You did mention a few times how at 28 you would gain some new spells, and at 29 new gear would be available to you :) But I wanted to say that the majority of that gear, if not all, is also readily available just at lvl 28. So why not compare to level 28 instead, since a tiny bit of scaling happens at that level too? Just out of curiousity.

But definitely cool to see how much crit strike you gain, especially since every +crit is that much more effective the lower level you have. Very nice.
 
Awesome thanks for posting this, a friend of mine is twinking a disc priest and I told him to lvl to 29 (currently 19) and as soon as I read this I sent him a message telling him to turn xp off at 26 and sent him the link to this thread.

I'm also interested in twinking a disc priest now and I have all the looms.

What enchants would you use?
 
it would have been awesome if you done that at lv 28
because most of the gear you show here is available at lv 28(+ the fact you earn nothing at lv 29)
still a nice comparisons guide^^
 
Discipler said:
First, I quite enjoy your avatar, big fan of SAO :)

Second, thank you for the stat comparisons! I hope it helps all disc priests in deciding levels and gear and most importantly, helps priests understand the need to check stat scaling :)

I have a question though. You did mention a few times how at 28 you would gain some new spells, and at 29 new gear would be available to you :) But I wanted to say that the majority of that gear, if not all, is also readily available just at lvl 28. So why not compare to level 28 instead, since a tiny bit of scaling happens at that level too? Just out of curiousity.

But definitely cool to see how much crit strike you gain, especially since every +crit is that much more effective the lower level you have. Very nice.
Click to expand...

SAO has taken over my life in the past few weeks; it's my favorite anime atm :D

I would say the main reason I opted for level 26 over 28 revolves around the fact that as you gain levels, items scale less. So certain items that proved to be very helpful in terms of gaining Critical Strike and Intellect, would not be as good at level 28 as they are at 26. These items are Masha's Armbands, Girdle of Nobility, and Hu'Rala"s Slippers; this is purely speculation however, as I do not currently have a level 28 priest to test this out on. The BOAs should still scale slightly at level 28, which is why I didn't include them here.

Both you and HuntardQC bring up an interesting point though, and it is definitely something I will be trying out over this week with a new twink to see how the scaling works at level 28 as well.

rancidnofx said:
Awesome thanks for posting this, a friend of mine is twinking a disc priest and I told him to lvl to 29 (currently 19) and as soon as I read this I sent him a message telling him to turn xp off at 26 and sent him the link to this thread.

I'm also interested in twinking a disc priest now and I have all the looms.

What enchants would you use?
Click to expand...

Great to see more people taking an interest in making a 26 priest!

I will eventually be including the enchants in this guide, but for the time being if you look at the armory link in my signature and see all the enchants I'm using (Please ignore the horrible weapon, it will be switched soon).
There is a lot of freedom this patch when it comes to choosing enchantments however, so I would recommend going with what you feel most comfortable with; i.e. enchants that focus on a more Spell Power based build, more Stamina for survival etc.

When I do include enchants I will put my reasoning alongside with them, but that's for another time ^.^
 
Cipe said:
x2 Argas > x2 Gnomer ring (eagle)?
Click to expand...
Yup! Eagle Gnomer Rings only have their resistance stats scaled for a level 26; so it's still 5 Stamina and 5 Intellect. Seal of Argas has 6 Intellect and 5 Stamina; but when scaled go up to 7 Intellect and 6 Stamina.
 
kratos said:
Yup! Eagle Gnomer Rings only have their resistance stats scaled for a level 26; so it's still 5 Stamina and 5 Intellect. Seal of Argas has 6 Intellect and 5 Stamina; but when scaled go up to 7 Intellect and 6 Stamina.
Click to expand...

So to be a bis 26 you would have to faction.. Any other bis items on alli?
 
Cipe said:
So to be a bis 26 you would have to faction.. Any other bis items on alli?
Click to expand...
There might be! I'll be leveling a priest to 26 on alli tonight because there are one or two items I would like to see the scaling on; I forget the name of it but there is a green quest reward necklace for alliance that gives 3 Stamina, 3 Intellect, and 3 Critical Strike which has the potential to be better than the dungeon reward neck piece if it scales how I hope it will.

But yes as it stands for BiS you would need to faction to get the second ring, I'll be doing it myself most likely in a week or so.

EDIT: Here's the Necklace I was talking about; Thal'sarah's Pendant :)
 
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Most disc priests at 29 use the STV quest waist, also Glowing Magical Bracers. Other than that very informative

Sent from my LG-D802 using Tapatalk
 
No scaling in arena or world, would not do this unless I plan on doing bgs only. Good guide tho, didn't read it all butI can see that u put alot of time on it. If there is a ccounter to my argument in the textwall I apologize in advance.
 
soskanky said:
Most disc priests at 29 use the STV quest waist, also Glowing Magical Bracers. Other than that very informative

Sent from my LG-D802 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I modeled the 29 gear set with the same focus as the 26 gear with Critical Strike and Intellect being the primary focuses; followed by Stamina and Haste. I do agree though there are many different options at both levels.
For the waist, a 29 using Nesingwary's Sash would result in +1 Intellect and -1 Stamina to the final level 26 tally; assuming the level 26 is still using the Girdle of Nobility.
The wrists are more of a personal preference, but assuming both the level 26 and the 29 were using Glowing Magical Bracelets, the level 26 would gain +1 Stamina off of this because at level 26 the Bracers scale to +3 Intellect and +12 Stamina.

Trollguden said:
No scaling in arena or world, would not do this unless I plan on doing bgs only. Good guide tho, didn't read it all butI can see that u put alot of time on it. If there is a ccounter to my argument in the textwall I apologize in advance.
Click to expand...

https://twitter.com/holinka/status/522063122924703745

The good news is there soon will be scaling in Arena for all characters below level 29! Which makes it a viable option in that regard.
Unfortunately you are correct about outside of Arena's and Battlegrounds, but it's a trade off for the increased stats in Arenas and Battlegrounds.
 
Dang, my computer crashed so this will take a bit longer now lol.

This is level 26 vs level 28 gear scaling for Disc Priest:

Comparisons:

I'll be going through each piece of gear and what it scales to for a 26 priest, and place that against the best in slot item for a 28 priest; then record the cumulative difference in stats (These values for @ level 26 and @ level 28 are assuming you are inside the BG so scaling is taking place):

HELM

Tattered Dreadmist Mask @ level 26: 10 Intellect, 15 Stamina, 7 Critical Strike, 7 Haste
Tattered Dreadmist Mask @ level 28: 9 Intellect, 14 Stamina, 6 Critical Strike, 6 Haste

Level 26 Tally: +1 Intellect, +1 Stamina, +1 Critical Strike, +1 Haste

NECKLACE

Tumultuous Necklace of the Sorcerer @ level 26: 5 Intellect, 5 Stamina, 5 Haste
Temperature-Sensing Necklace @ level 28: 5 Intellect, 7 Stamina, 3 Critical Strike, 3 Haste

Level 26 Tally: +1 Intellect, -1 Stamina, -2 Critical Strike, +3 Haste

SHOULDERS

Tattered Dreadmist Mantle @ level 26: 7 Intellect, 11 Stamina, 7 Critical Strike
Tattered Dreadmist Mantle @ level 28: 7 Intellect, 11 Stamina, 7 Critical Strike

Level 26 Tally: +1 Intellect, -1 Stamina, -2 Critical Strike, +3 Haste

BACK

Ancient Bloodmoon Cloak @ level 26: +6 Intellect, +9 Stamina, +4 Critical Strike, +4 Haste
Ancient Bloodmoon Cloak @ level 28: +5 Intellect, +8 Stamina, +4 Critical Strike, +4 Haste

Level 26 Tally: +2 Intellect, 0 Stamina, -2 Critical Strike, +3 Haste

CHEST

Tattered Dreadmist Robe @ level 26: +10 Intellect, +15 Stamina, +10 Critical Strike
Tattered Dreadmist Robe @ level 28: +9 Intellect, +14 Stamina, +9 Critical Strike

Level 26 Tally: +3 Intellect, +1 Stamina, -1 Critical Strike, +3 Haste

WRIST
(Excluding Glowing Magicial Bracelets, since that one is BoE and not readily available)

Masha's Armbands @ level 26: +5 Intellect, +5 Stamina, +5 Critical Strike
Masha's Armbands @ level 28: +5 Intellect, +5 Stamina, +5 Critical Strike

Level 26 Tally: +3 Intellect, +1 Stamina, -1 Critical Strike, +3 Haste

GLOVES

** No stat difference with Enumerated Handwraps of the Sun; (+7 Intellect, +7 Stamina, +7 Critical Strike) **

WAIST
(For the sake of the "26 Tally", we will use the AB Belt in comparison to the Girdle of Nobility)

Girdle of Nobility @ level 26: +8 Intellect, +4 Stamina, +4 Critical Strike
Girdle of Nobility @ level 28: +8 Intellect, +3 Stamina, +3 Critical Strike
Defiler's / Highlander's Cloth Girdle @ level 28: +8 Intellect, +6 Stamina, +22 Armor
Nesingwary's Sash, Ghamoo-Ra's Bind @level 28: +7 Intellect, +7 Stamina

Level 26 Tally: +3 Intellect, -1 Stamina, +3 Critical Strike, +3 Haste, -22 Armor

LEGS

Tattered Dreadmist Leggings @ level 26: +10 Intellect, +15 Stamina, +7 Critical Strike, +7 Haste
Tattered Dreadmist Leggings @ level 28: +9 Intellect, +14 Stamina, +6 Critical Strike, +6 Haste

Level 26 Tally: +4 Intellect, 0 Stamina, +4 Critical Strike, +4 Haste, -22 Armor

BOOTS
(For the sake of the "26 Tally", we will use Scarlet Sandals in comparison to Hu'Rala's Slippers)

Hu'Rala"s Slippers @ level 26: +6 Intellect, +5 Stamina, + 8 Critical Strike
Thaalia's Slippers @ level 28: +5 Intellect, +5 Stamina, +7 Critical Strike
Scarlet Sandals @ level 28: +6 Intellect, +9 Stamina, +4 Critical Strike, +4 Haste
Defiler's / Highlanders Cloth Boots @ level 28: +6 Intellect, +8 Stamina, +19 Armor, + Minor Run Speed

Level 26 Tally: +4 Intellect, -4 Stamina, +8 Critical Strike, 0 Haste, -22 Armor

RINGS
(will take 2x Seal of Argas @ level 26 in comparison to Chabal's Favorite Ring @ 29 and Beastbinder Ring @ lvl 28)

Seal of Argas @ level 26: +7 Intellect, +6 Stamina (x2 = +14 Intellect, +12 Stamina)
Seal of Argas @ level 28: +6 Intellect, +5 Stamina
Charged Gear of the Eagle @ level 28: +5 Intellect, +5 Stamina, +3 Resistances
Chabal's Favorite Ring @ level 29: +5 Intellect, +7 Stamina
Beastbinder Ring @ level 28: +5 Intellect, +7 Stamina, +3 Critical Strike, +3 Spirit

Level 26 Tally: +8 Intellect, -6 Stamina, +5 Critical Strike, 0 Haste, -22 Armor, -3 Spirit

TRINKETS

Inherited Insignia of The Horde / Alliance @ level 26: +9 Resilience
Rune of Perfection @ level 26: +4 Stamina, +11 Critical Strike
Inherited Insignia of The Horde / Alliance @ level 28: +9 Resilience
Rune of Perfection @ level 28: +4 Stamina, +10 Critical Strike

Level 26 Tally: +8 Intellect, -6 Stamina, +6 Critical Strike, 0 Haste, -22 Armor, -3 Spirit

WEAPON

Devout Aurastone Hammer @ level 28: +6 Intellect, +4 Stamina, +2 Critical Strike, +56 Spellpower
Musty Tome of the Lost @ level 28: +5 Intellect, +8 Stamina, +5 Haste
Dignified Headmaster's Charge @ level 28: +11 Intellect, +13 Stamina, +9 Critical Strike, +54 Spellpower


Conclusion

Without including Weapons (since there was no data here for stat scaling @ level 26)...

AND if you are picking these specific gear @ level 26 and @ level 28...

The scaling for a level 26 priest provides the following stat changes as opposed to a level 28 priest:

Gain: +8 Intellect, +6 Critical Strike
Loss: -6 Stamina, -22 Armor, -3 Spirit

*********************

Discussion

I personally use different gear than what is used in this comparison. For example, I use the Enumerated Wrap of the Sun (+5 Intellect, +5 Stamina, +5 Critical Strike), among others.


But in general, it would appear that by twinking at level 26 instead of 28 or 29, you gain a significant amount of intellect (spell power) and critical strike, but in exchange you lose a significant amount of stamina, and less armor and spirit (armor only important for shadow).

With the way that Blizzard has currently nerfed down the total spellpower for casters with the pre-patch, I can legitimately see an argument for twinking at level 26, since enchants can make up for the loss of stamina while still netting you a significant amount of spellpower and crit over a 28 or 29. However, if Blizz decides to buff up spellpower back to the way it was by the release of the expansion, then twinking at 26 would be less appealing to me, as stamina would become more important, since the overall playerbase would be hitting for much higher.

Great information though, and I hope this helps others!
 
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Wow thank you so much for doing this Discipler! Excellent information here (And saved me time and effort by not having to level up another priest :cool:)
Few quick things to make note of though:
Discipler said:
RINGS
(will take 2x Seal of Argas @ level 26 in comparison to Chabal's Favorite Ring @ 29 (since I don't have it atm, don't know if you can even get it at 28), and Beastbinder Ring @ lvl 28)
Click to expand...

Chabal's Favorite Ring does require level 29 to obtain, just FYI.

Discipler said:
Further, level 26 secondary stats, like critical strike and haste, give a slightly higher % versus a 28 or 29.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, this little bit is untrue. While outside of scaling a level 26 would benefit more from a single point of Critical Strike or Haste than a 29 would, inside of the BG the base stats of each character are raised to 29; which includes the percent of Critical Strike and Haste received from all sources.
 
kratos said:
Wow thank you so much for doing this Discipler! Excellent information here (And saved me time and effort by not having to level up another priest :cool:)
Few quick things to make note of though:


Chabal's Favorite Ring does require level 29 to obtain, just FYI.



Unfortunately, this little bit is untrue. While outside of scaling a level 26 would benefit more from a single point of Critical Strike or Haste than a 29 would, inside of the BG the base stats of each character are raised to 29; which includes the percent of Critical Strike and Haste received from all sources.
Click to expand...

Ahh, okay. Will remove that info then and update the list :)
 
kratos said:
https://twitter.com/holinka/status/522063122924703745

The good news is there soon will be scaling in Arena for all characters below level 29! Which makes it a viable option in that regard.
Unfortunately you are correct about outside of Arena's and Battlegrounds, but it's a trade off for the increased stats in Arenas and Battlegrounds.
Click to expand...
That is amazing news, I hope it will scale good enough to make every arena battle viable. Can't wait for this to be activated. :)
 
Anyone know how Robes of Koegler scale @ level 28 in a BG? I keep running the instance but can never get them to drop, or if they do drop, they get snatched up by some leveling player. Bleh!
 
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