Cipe
Legend
Cipe's 19 Twink Priest Guide!
**Updated to 6.1**
**I DO NOT STACK HASTE**
Table of Contents
I) Introduction
II) Races
III) Specialization
IV) Talents
V) Base Abilities
VI) Professions
VII) Gear
VIII) Enchants
IX) Add-ons
X) Macros
XI) Positioning
I) Introduction:
Hello everyone. I realized that a 19 priest guide had not been created yet and thought it would be a good idea to make one. Everything mentioned below is based on my opinion. If you think that something is incorrect or you want to know my reasoning behind why I said something, don't hesitate to ask. My goal is to share a little of the knowledge I have of this bracket with the community. Hopefully you guys can learn a thing or two or understand why I do what I do in the gulch. Enjoy!
II) Races:
Horde:
Blood Elf: Best for arena type situations where you desperately need to get an interrupt off in order to kill or prevent a key player from being crowd controlled. If you plan on playing offensively this race could be a good fit.
Arcane Torrent
Arcane Resistance
Troll: Best for battleground type situations, the troll racial Berzerking is very effective when you need to output strong burst healing or strong burst damage, whether that be in a team fight or running from/chasing the enemy. I find this race to be the best choice for a horde priest because the racial can be used both offensively and defensively. The 15% increased haste makes for a potent cooldown in a bracket with an absence of them.
Berserking
Da Voodoo Shuffle
Regeneration
Tauren: One of the strongest races in 2v2 or 3v3 skirmishes, the Tauren racial War Stomp brings potent hard CC to a class that has none. Great for inhibiting rogue openers and preventing or facilitating potential killing blows, War stomp is versatile in that it can be used offensively or defensively, making Tauren a very effective choice. Tauren also inherently has increased stamina compared to other races, in addition to Endurance granting 9 stamina, which is one of the strongest passives in the bracket.
War Stomp
Endurance
Nature Resistance
Goblin: A race not typically seen in the gulch, Goblins can be useful for the mobility that the goblin jump provides, although it is situational. This racial can be useful if caught out of position or for jumping away from an opener, though is considered one of the weakest racials in that the strongest racials provide something that directly affects engagements, whether it be a hard CC or a distinct increase in effectiveness. Can also be used for specific jumps within the gulch.
Rocket Jump
Time is Money
Undead: One of the weakest races for priests in Warsong while being roughly third place in 2v2s and 3v3s, the Undead race is best for arena type situations because of the ability “trinket” a fear. Formerly one of the strongest arena races, there are very few warlocks in Arenas currently, in addition to priests' instant fear Psychic Scream being taken from the bracket, making Will of the Forsaken significantly less relevant.
Will of the Forsaken
Cannibalize
Touch of the Grave
Both Factions:
Panda: Primarily an Arena healer, Pandaren's main advantage is Quaking Palm, which is a 3 second disorient that is significantly less powerful if taken into account that it is on the same DR as Sap and Poly, two of the most potent CCs in the 19 bracket, though it gives the Priest a fairly long lasting one of their own. Bouncy is an alright passive, in addition to the fact that Epicurean makes Food buffs more potent. One of the weakest races.
Bouncy
Quaking Palm
Epicurean
Alliance:
Human: A strong choice because of the free trinket which opens up a trinket spot. This means humans can opt to have +6 haste/intellect or, more commonly, +11 stamina from AGM, in addition to getting a passive versatility boost, making Human very balanced race good for both Arenas and Warsong.
Every Man for Himself
The Human Spirit
Night Elf: My personal favorite race for alliance. Shadowmeld is another way to drop threat and allow you to get a cast or two off, or completely 'dodge' a spellcast.This racial has saved me a ridiculous amount of times. Night Elves have so much more survivability and usually it is always available when needed because priests in good position don't get focused often. Additionally, wisp is pretty great at times, such as if one does die and has the opportunity to body rez, they can quickly get back into battle, maximizing uptime.
Quickness
Shadowmeld
Nature Resistance
Wisp Spirit
Draenei: One of the bottom races for a priest. The heal you get isn’t that great and is definitely better for damage dealers who cant off heal. Can be useful to put on your FC if he’s being attacked or even cast on yourself or a teammate in a situation where you shouldn’t stop to heal but need a little sustain.
Gift of the Naaru
Heroic Presence
Gnome: I personally dislike gnome for a priest but with the buffs in WoD they seem better than before. The bonus mana is pretty useless, and Escape Artist isn’t that beneficial for priest. You’ll rarely be in a situation where it’ll come in clutch compared to other racials. For priest, gnome is very situational. The couple upsides I see are the fact they get 1% increased haste along with having better bombs/being able to quickly cast them. They can be used to peel, interrupt and do some damage but they are only useable in battlegrounds. Because of this, gnomes are better in battlegrounds than arenas. Additionally, gnomes are small, making some jumps extremely hard or totally impossible.
Arcane Resistance
Escape Artist
Engineering Specialization
Expansive Mind
Nimble Fingers
Dwarf: A solid choice because of Stoneform, giving the user more survivability. Another smaller character making some jumps harder, but not impossible. A solid choice for both arenas and battlegrounds. Also, with the 2% increase racial, which allows for some pretty large crits if stacking versatility/spell power.
Stoneform
Frost Resistance
Might of the Mountain
Worgen: One of the most mobile races due to Darkflight, a worgen priest can quickly break off and get to your flag carrier if needed, not to mention allows one to peel easily along with get to a desired area faster than usual. Not very useful in an arena setting due to the confined space, but could be useful to peel away from damage dealer, though most classes can easily close the gap in Arenas. Furthermore, Worgen have increased crit which is always a useful stat.
Darkflight
Viciousness
Aberration
III) Specialization:
Talent Calculator
Discipline: One of the strongest healers in the 10-19 bracket, Disc is the chosen spec for most priests due to its insane healing, bubbles and damage output. Penance heals tic for about 400 and it damages for about 250, in addition to Holy Fire which does about 200 damage with 4 damage a second, making Discipline priests have some of the highest burst in the 19 bracket. This specialization also gives an extra buff to your bubbles, making them stronger as well as granting the borrowed time buff.
Penance
Holy Fire
Borrowed Time
Holy: This is rarely chosen because it lacks the extra healing/damage output that penance gives, it also lacks the buff to your bubble. On the positive side holy does increase the healing done by flash heal and it does give you an extra crowd control. I have seen chastise put to very good use in the arena as an interrupt to a key spell or a follow up crowd control.
Holy Word: Chastise
Holy Fire
Shadow: This is all around a poor choice. With the loss of mind blast and orbs you can do more damage in discipline. The positives to shadow are the increased damage to shadow word pain and the slow from mind flay.
Mind Flay
IV) Talents:
Spectral Guise - This is the obvious choice when playing a priest. It allows you to drop all threat, gives you the ability to juke the enemy, reposition, dodge cc, and generally escape rough situations on a meager 30 second cooldown. Intelligent use of this ability gives priests the chance to get a heal or two off in a tight position. Upon casting a spell the stealth breaks, but if used correctly it has the ability to be a gamechanger.
Desperate Prayer - An instant heal on a long cooldown.
Angelic Bulwark - A passive spell that activates when you get low on health. A small automatic bubble on a long cooldown.
V) Base Abilities:
Smite
Flash Heal
Power Word: Shield
Shadow Word: Pain
Resurrection
VI) Professions:
The only two viable professions are jewelcrafting and engineering.
Jewelcrafting:
Gives Heavy Stone Statue that heals you over time.
Engineering:
Supplies you with bombs and miscellaneous items such as: Explosive Sheep and Big Bronze Bomb and Minor Recombobulator and Portable Bronze Mortar (only gnomes can get) and Goblin Jumper Cables (only gnomes can get).
VII) Gear:
Best In Slot (Including Grandfathered Items):
Head: Tattered Dreadmist Mask
Necklace: Eternal Horizon Chocker
Shoulders: Tattered Dreadmist Mantle
Cloak: Ancient Bloodmoon Cloak
Chest: Inferno Robe
Bracers: Mindthrust Bracers
Gloves: Jutebraid Gloves
Belt:Enumerated Wrap (of the Sorcerer)
Legs: Tattered Dreadmist Leggings
Boots:Conspirator's Slippers (horde) or Merger Boots (horde) or Spidersilk Boots
Ring 1:Seal of Argas
Ring 2:Seal of Argas (have to faction) or Stillwater's Signet (horde) or Lavishly Jeweled Ring
Trinket 1: Inherited Insignia of the Horde
Trinket 2:Arena Grand Master
Weapon: Devout Aurastone Hammer
Offhand: Musty Tome of the Lost
Best In Slot (NOT Including Grandfathered Items):
Head: Tattered Dreadmist Mask
Necklace: Eternal Horizon Chocker
Shoulders: Tattered Dreadmist Mantle
Cloak: Ancient Bloodmoon Cloak
Chest: Tattered Dreadmist Robe
Bracers: Mindthrust Bracers
Gloves:Magefist Gloves (with +9 stamina) or Serpent Gloves or Gold-Flecked Gloves
Belt:Enumerated Wrap (of the Sorcerer)
Legs: Tattered Dreadmist Leggings
Boots: :Conspirator's Slippers (horde) or Merger Boots (horde) or Spidersilk Boots
Ring 1: Seal of Argas
Ring 2: Seal of Argas (have to faction) or Stillwater's Signet (horde) or Lavishly Jeweled Ring or Ring of Pardons (horde)
Trinket 1: Inherited Insignia of the Horde
Trinket 2:Arena Grand Master
Weapon: Devout Aurastone Hammer
Offhand: Musty Tome of the Lost
Other Options (Not Best in Slot):
Head: Lucky Fishing Hat
Necklace: Voice Amplification Modulator or Thick Bronze Necklace or Eternal Amulet of the Redeemed
Shoulders:Talbar Mantle (GF’d) or Ghostly Mantle (GF’d)
Cloak:Tumultuous Cloak (of the Sorcerer) or Spidersilk Drape
Chest:Noble's Robe or Mystics Robe
Bracers:Cuffs of Black Elements or Hovel Digger Bands (Alliance)
Gloves:
Belt:Keller's Girdle or Tarantula Silk Sash
Legs:Godfrey's Britches or Sacred Burial Trousers (GF'D)
Boots:
Ring 1:Dread Pirate Ring or Seal of Wrynn (GF'd) or Lorekeeper's Ring
Ring 2:
Trinket 1:Swift Hand of Justice or Discerning Eye of the Beast or Inherited Mark of Tyranny
Trinket 2: Same applies
Weapon:Dignified Headmaster's Charge or Grand Staff of Jordan or The Blessed Hammer of Grace
Offhand:Furbolg Medicine Pouch or Mystic Tome or Eerie Stable Lantern
VIII) Enchants:
I like to run a versatility and spell power build because this is the best way to get the biggest heals. I believe that a priest is meant to be that clutch healer to heal that initial burst in order to let your other healers react fast enough. What I mean by this is by maxing out spell power, you are making your base heal larger, which will make your versatility buff (14% increased healing) more beneficial. Lets say if you build stamina, your base flash of heal (without versatility) does 700 healing. Now lets say if you build spell power, your base heal does 800 healing (without versatility). Now if you factor in versatility to the 700 heal, it only boosts your heal by 98. Compared to the 800 heal, where it would boost it by 112. Stamina should only be “stacked” in arena’s where you know you’ll be targeted. In battlegrounds, I rely on my ability to position correctly. I want to make my bubble absorbs as much as it can because when one of my allies is hard swapped by the enemy team, having an extra 200ish absorb gives my MW, RSham, Hpal or Rdruid extra time to hard cast a heal.
I know a lot of priests like to run haste and don’t get me wrong, haste is very good, but I don’t like the fact that it ooms you extremely fast. With borrowed time and possibly troll racial you’re able to get off a lot of mediocre heals and bubbles extremely fast, but you aren’t helping your other healers by dealing with the initial burst as best as possible. The CD on your bubble is 15 seconds, there are a lot of situations where a massive bubble can last almost the whole time which gives your team a huge advantage.
**** Recently I have tried to run some haste enchants. Currently I'm using Enchant Neck - Gift of Haste and Enchant Cloak - Gift of Haste. This has gotten me down to about 1.22 second flash heals. With just borrowed time, I get down to 1.13 second flash heals. Also, as I am a troll, when I use just my racial, I get down to 1.06 second flash heals. I still have the versatility on my rings which keeps me at a 5.14% increase to healing and a damage reduction of 2.57%. This percentage of haste makes my racial still viable, as anything under a 1.00 second cast is useless due to the global cool down. I will report back with my findings and if I plan on keeping this. ****
Necklace: Enchant Neck - Gift of Versatility
Shoulders: Greater Crane Wing Inscription
Cloak: Enchant Cloak - Gift of Versatility
Chest: Enchant Chest - Peerless Stats
Bracers: Enchant Bracer - Major Intellect or Enchant Bracer - Major Stamina
Gloves: Enchant Gloves - Major Spellpower or Glove Reinforcements (can only be applied to BoE gloves)
Legs: Sapphire Spellthread
Boots: Enchant Boot - Boars Speed
Rings: Enchant Ring - Gift of Versatility
Weapon: Enchant Weapon - Spellpower or Elemental Force
Offhand: Enchant Off-Hand - Major Intellect
IX) Addons
Bartender4 - Makes keybinding easier.
BattlegroundTargets - Lets you see the opposing tems roster. You can click on the names to target the player making switching to a focused target easier.
Capping - Displays the flag carrier's name on the top with health percentage.
Cooldowns - Shows the amount of time left until you can cast your spell once again.
GladiatorlosSA - Says the names of important spells as your enemies cast them.
Interrupt Bar - Keeps track of enemy interrupts.
Juked - Keeps track of enemy interrupts.
RangeDisplay - Shows how far away you are from targets. Can be useful to make sure you’re positioning yourself correctly.
BGResTimers - Displays res timers in battlegrounds.
Castbars - Configurable castbars.
MogIt - Helps you create that BiS transmog you always wanted.
OmniCC - Cooldown count for everything.
SafeQueue - Removes the decline button when you get a pop.
SaySapped - When you get sapped it says "sapped" so your teammates around you know. Also tells you which rogue sapped you.
SpellAlerter - Tracks spells.
SpellFlash - Makes suggestions of what spells you should use.
Recount - Record damage, healing and other miscellaneous information you may want.
PvPSound - Calls out when a flag is taken/dropped/capped/returned, or when a base is being assaulted/taken. Also, calls out your first blood, kill spree, etc for personal fun.
X) Macros
Basic Focus Macro:
[URL=http://www.twinkinfo.com/forums/usertag.php?do=list&action=hash&hash=showtooltip]#showtooltip Spellname[/URL]
/cast [target=focus] Spellname
(Pretty sure these target the closest enemy)
Smite Autotarget:
This macro allows you to always keep a target when you are spamming your Smite key.
#showtooltip /cleartarget [dead][noharm] /targetenemy [noexists] /cast Smite /run UIErrorsFrame:Clear()
Holy Fire Autotarget:
This macro allows you to always keep a target when you are spamming your Holy Fire key.
#showtooltip /cleartarget [dead][noharm] /targetenemy [noexists] /cast Holy Fire /run UIErrorsFrame:Clear()
Shadow Word: Pain Autotarget:
This macro allows you to always keep a target when you are spamming your Shadow Word: Pain key.
#showtooltip /cleartarget [dead][noharm] /targetenemy [noexists] /cast Shadow word: pain /run UIErrorsFrame:Clear()
Penance Autotarget:
This macro will allow you to always keep a target when spamming your Penance key.
#showtooltip /cleartarget [dead][noharm] /targetenemy [noexists] /cast Penance /run UIErrorsFrame:Clear()
To make your own mouseover:
#showtooltip Spell Name
/use [@mouseover,help,nodead][help,nodead][@player] Spell Name
XI) Positioning:
Positioning, positioning, positioning… As a healer, positioning should be one of your main concerns. In team fights you always want to be behind your damage dealers, but in front of your flag carrier. I would say a good range would be 20-30 yards behind your damage dealers and your FC should be about 10-20 yards behind you (depending on how many stealthies they have). Being less than 20 yards away from your damage dealers opens up the opportunity for you to either be swapped to and killed or crowd controlled/interrupted. When team fighting there is usually a 20 yard gap between both teams. Being the safe 20-30 yards away makes the other team have to overextend in order to do anything to you. This allows you the space needed to heal and fall back if your team is being pushed, but it also makes you close enough to push when your team is.
When not in a team fight, you want to always make sure a damage dealer is between you and the enemy players. If you are caught out alone then do your best to try and line of sight the enemy as much as possible while falling back to your team. One of the worst things you can do is stand still and heal yourself, this will only work if you know your team is coming to rescue you. If you know you’re on your own, you want to bubble yourself whenever you can. Try to absorb as much damage so you don’t have to stop running. Once your bubble is down and on cooldown, spectral guise and keep running, DON’T STOP TO HEAL unless you’re under half health. If you need to stop your first heal should be a penance as it has an instant tic. Keep this in mind, because as you’re running away you can always cast a quick penance tic then continue. If you’re being slowed by a hunter or BM monk then you can always use your trinket to get back to normal speed. If you do trinket a slow, make sure you use it right after you get slowed in order to get the most favorable outcome. One thing I like to do is trinket a slow immediately then spectral guise my way out. Worst case scenario, you pop your AGM, but this should only be used if you absolutely need to live.
In a team fight,if your team pushes, you want to be constantly running with them. Your team has an advantage when you’re pushing. Your teammates will be taking less damage while the other team will be taking more damage. The best thing you can do is bubble as many people as possible. When bubbling, your priority should melee first, then ranged, then healers. This will keep you with your team and also make your team push harder.
In a team fight, if your team is being pushed, the last thing you want to happen is for you to be caught by the other team. Of course you want to keep your damage dealers alive, but the main concern is FC (if you have one), then healers (who shouldn’t be taking much damage if positioned right), then damage dealers. Bubble as much as you can so you minimize the amount of times you have to stop and heal. This lets you maintain the necessary gap in order to keep you safe. In addition, maintaining that 20-30 yard gap, gives you the chance to hard cast some heals before you become in range of the enemy.
If you plan on playing offensively as a “battle priest”, you can move up to where your damage dealers are. You only want to be a battle priest if you have 2 other priests on your team or 3 other healers. When playing offensively, you want to run elemental force on your weapon, spread your shadow word pain, and cast your heavy hitter spells (namely holy fire and penance) on whoever is being focused. You should be spreading shadow word pain when holy fire and penance are on cooldown. You want to penance and holy fire whoever your team is focusing. You can figure out whom to attack by having a focus target, being observant and looking at battleground targets. When chasing a target, your best bet is to repeatedly cast shadow word pain when your holy fire is on cooldown. Your shadow word pain hits instantly, along with the pre-existing dot on the enemy player having a chance to do damage. Remember, you are still a healer, so if your healers are getting behind don’t be afraid to throw out some heals or bubbles to keep everyone alive.
Thank you [MENTION=7109]Grizzlefoot[/MENTION] for looking it over and editing all my stupid mistakes. This would not be nearly as good as it is without you.
Thank you [MENTION=16519]Laurenti[/MENTION] for helping me with the color scheme and links. You saved me so much time
**Updated to 6.1**
**I DO NOT STACK HASTE**
Table of Contents
I) Introduction
II) Races
III) Specialization
IV) Talents
V) Base Abilities
VI) Professions
VII) Gear
VIII) Enchants
IX) Add-ons
X) Macros
XI) Positioning
I) Introduction:
Hello everyone. I realized that a 19 priest guide had not been created yet and thought it would be a good idea to make one. Everything mentioned below is based on my opinion. If you think that something is incorrect or you want to know my reasoning behind why I said something, don't hesitate to ask. My goal is to share a little of the knowledge I have of this bracket with the community. Hopefully you guys can learn a thing or two or understand why I do what I do in the gulch. Enjoy!
II) Races:
Horde:
Blood Elf: Best for arena type situations where you desperately need to get an interrupt off in order to kill or prevent a key player from being crowd controlled. If you plan on playing offensively this race could be a good fit.
Arcane Torrent
Arcane Resistance
Troll: Best for battleground type situations, the troll racial Berzerking is very effective when you need to output strong burst healing or strong burst damage, whether that be in a team fight or running from/chasing the enemy. I find this race to be the best choice for a horde priest because the racial can be used both offensively and defensively. The 15% increased haste makes for a potent cooldown in a bracket with an absence of them.
Berserking
Da Voodoo Shuffle
Regeneration
Tauren: One of the strongest races in 2v2 or 3v3 skirmishes, the Tauren racial War Stomp brings potent hard CC to a class that has none. Great for inhibiting rogue openers and preventing or facilitating potential killing blows, War stomp is versatile in that it can be used offensively or defensively, making Tauren a very effective choice. Tauren also inherently has increased stamina compared to other races, in addition to Endurance granting 9 stamina, which is one of the strongest passives in the bracket.
War Stomp
Endurance
Nature Resistance
Goblin: A race not typically seen in the gulch, Goblins can be useful for the mobility that the goblin jump provides, although it is situational. This racial can be useful if caught out of position or for jumping away from an opener, though is considered one of the weakest racials in that the strongest racials provide something that directly affects engagements, whether it be a hard CC or a distinct increase in effectiveness. Can also be used for specific jumps within the gulch.
Rocket Jump
Time is Money
Undead: One of the weakest races for priests in Warsong while being roughly third place in 2v2s and 3v3s, the Undead race is best for arena type situations because of the ability “trinket” a fear. Formerly one of the strongest arena races, there are very few warlocks in Arenas currently, in addition to priests' instant fear Psychic Scream being taken from the bracket, making Will of the Forsaken significantly less relevant.
Will of the Forsaken
Cannibalize
Touch of the Grave
Both Factions:
Panda: Primarily an Arena healer, Pandaren's main advantage is Quaking Palm, which is a 3 second disorient that is significantly less powerful if taken into account that it is on the same DR as Sap and Poly, two of the most potent CCs in the 19 bracket, though it gives the Priest a fairly long lasting one of their own. Bouncy is an alright passive, in addition to the fact that Epicurean makes Food buffs more potent. One of the weakest races.
Bouncy
Quaking Palm
Epicurean
Alliance:
Human: A strong choice because of the free trinket which opens up a trinket spot. This means humans can opt to have +6 haste/intellect or, more commonly, +11 stamina from AGM, in addition to getting a passive versatility boost, making Human very balanced race good for both Arenas and Warsong.
Every Man for Himself
The Human Spirit
Night Elf: My personal favorite race for alliance. Shadowmeld is another way to drop threat and allow you to get a cast or two off, or completely 'dodge' a spellcast.This racial has saved me a ridiculous amount of times. Night Elves have so much more survivability and usually it is always available when needed because priests in good position don't get focused often. Additionally, wisp is pretty great at times, such as if one does die and has the opportunity to body rez, they can quickly get back into battle, maximizing uptime.
Quickness
Shadowmeld
Nature Resistance
Wisp Spirit
Draenei: One of the bottom races for a priest. The heal you get isn’t that great and is definitely better for damage dealers who cant off heal. Can be useful to put on your FC if he’s being attacked or even cast on yourself or a teammate in a situation where you shouldn’t stop to heal but need a little sustain.
Gift of the Naaru
Heroic Presence
Gnome: I personally dislike gnome for a priest but with the buffs in WoD they seem better than before. The bonus mana is pretty useless, and Escape Artist isn’t that beneficial for priest. You’ll rarely be in a situation where it’ll come in clutch compared to other racials. For priest, gnome is very situational. The couple upsides I see are the fact they get 1% increased haste along with having better bombs/being able to quickly cast them. They can be used to peel, interrupt and do some damage but they are only useable in battlegrounds. Because of this, gnomes are better in battlegrounds than arenas. Additionally, gnomes are small, making some jumps extremely hard or totally impossible.
Arcane Resistance
Escape Artist
Engineering Specialization
Expansive Mind
Nimble Fingers
Dwarf: A solid choice because of Stoneform, giving the user more survivability. Another smaller character making some jumps harder, but not impossible. A solid choice for both arenas and battlegrounds. Also, with the 2% increase racial, which allows for some pretty large crits if stacking versatility/spell power.
Stoneform
Frost Resistance
Might of the Mountain
Worgen: One of the most mobile races due to Darkflight, a worgen priest can quickly break off and get to your flag carrier if needed, not to mention allows one to peel easily along with get to a desired area faster than usual. Not very useful in an arena setting due to the confined space, but could be useful to peel away from damage dealer, though most classes can easily close the gap in Arenas. Furthermore, Worgen have increased crit which is always a useful stat.
Darkflight
Viciousness
Aberration
III) Specialization:
Talent Calculator
Discipline: One of the strongest healers in the 10-19 bracket, Disc is the chosen spec for most priests due to its insane healing, bubbles and damage output. Penance heals tic for about 400 and it damages for about 250, in addition to Holy Fire which does about 200 damage with 4 damage a second, making Discipline priests have some of the highest burst in the 19 bracket. This specialization also gives an extra buff to your bubbles, making them stronger as well as granting the borrowed time buff.
Penance
Holy Fire
Borrowed Time
Holy: This is rarely chosen because it lacks the extra healing/damage output that penance gives, it also lacks the buff to your bubble. On the positive side holy does increase the healing done by flash heal and it does give you an extra crowd control. I have seen chastise put to very good use in the arena as an interrupt to a key spell or a follow up crowd control.
Holy Word: Chastise
Holy Fire
Shadow: This is all around a poor choice. With the loss of mind blast and orbs you can do more damage in discipline. The positives to shadow are the increased damage to shadow word pain and the slow from mind flay.
Mind Flay
IV) Talents:
Spectral Guise - This is the obvious choice when playing a priest. It allows you to drop all threat, gives you the ability to juke the enemy, reposition, dodge cc, and generally escape rough situations on a meager 30 second cooldown. Intelligent use of this ability gives priests the chance to get a heal or two off in a tight position. Upon casting a spell the stealth breaks, but if used correctly it has the ability to be a gamechanger.
Desperate Prayer - An instant heal on a long cooldown.
Angelic Bulwark - A passive spell that activates when you get low on health. A small automatic bubble on a long cooldown.
V) Base Abilities:
Smite
Flash Heal
Power Word: Shield
Shadow Word: Pain
Resurrection
VI) Professions:
The only two viable professions are jewelcrafting and engineering.
Jewelcrafting:
Gives Heavy Stone Statue that heals you over time.
Engineering:
Supplies you with bombs and miscellaneous items such as: Explosive Sheep and Big Bronze Bomb and Minor Recombobulator and Portable Bronze Mortar (only gnomes can get) and Goblin Jumper Cables (only gnomes can get).
VII) Gear:
Best In Slot (Including Grandfathered Items):
Head: Tattered Dreadmist Mask
Necklace: Eternal Horizon Chocker
Shoulders: Tattered Dreadmist Mantle
Cloak: Ancient Bloodmoon Cloak
Chest: Inferno Robe
Bracers: Mindthrust Bracers
Gloves: Jutebraid Gloves
Belt:Enumerated Wrap (of the Sorcerer)
Legs: Tattered Dreadmist Leggings
Boots:Conspirator's Slippers (horde) or Merger Boots (horde) or Spidersilk Boots
Ring 1:Seal of Argas
Ring 2:Seal of Argas (have to faction) or Stillwater's Signet (horde) or Lavishly Jeweled Ring
Trinket 1: Inherited Insignia of the Horde
Trinket 2:Arena Grand Master
Weapon: Devout Aurastone Hammer
Offhand: Musty Tome of the Lost
Best In Slot (NOT Including Grandfathered Items):
Head: Tattered Dreadmist Mask
Necklace: Eternal Horizon Chocker
Shoulders: Tattered Dreadmist Mantle
Cloak: Ancient Bloodmoon Cloak
Chest: Tattered Dreadmist Robe
Bracers: Mindthrust Bracers
Gloves:Magefist Gloves (with +9 stamina) or Serpent Gloves or Gold-Flecked Gloves
Belt:Enumerated Wrap (of the Sorcerer)
Legs: Tattered Dreadmist Leggings
Boots: :Conspirator's Slippers (horde) or Merger Boots (horde) or Spidersilk Boots
Ring 1: Seal of Argas
Ring 2: Seal of Argas (have to faction) or Stillwater's Signet (horde) or Lavishly Jeweled Ring or Ring of Pardons (horde)
Trinket 1: Inherited Insignia of the Horde
Trinket 2:Arena Grand Master
Weapon: Devout Aurastone Hammer
Offhand: Musty Tome of the Lost
Other Options (Not Best in Slot):
Head: Lucky Fishing Hat
Necklace: Voice Amplification Modulator or Thick Bronze Necklace or Eternal Amulet of the Redeemed
Shoulders:Talbar Mantle (GF’d) or Ghostly Mantle (GF’d)
Cloak:Tumultuous Cloak (of the Sorcerer) or Spidersilk Drape
Chest:Noble's Robe or Mystics Robe
Bracers:Cuffs of Black Elements or Hovel Digger Bands (Alliance)
Gloves:
Belt:Keller's Girdle or Tarantula Silk Sash
Legs:Godfrey's Britches or Sacred Burial Trousers (GF'D)
Boots:
Ring 1:Dread Pirate Ring or Seal of Wrynn (GF'd) or Lorekeeper's Ring
Ring 2:
Trinket 1:Swift Hand of Justice or Discerning Eye of the Beast or Inherited Mark of Tyranny
Trinket 2: Same applies
Weapon:Dignified Headmaster's Charge or Grand Staff of Jordan or The Blessed Hammer of Grace
Offhand:Furbolg Medicine Pouch or Mystic Tome or Eerie Stable Lantern
VIII) Enchants:
I like to run a versatility and spell power build because this is the best way to get the biggest heals. I believe that a priest is meant to be that clutch healer to heal that initial burst in order to let your other healers react fast enough. What I mean by this is by maxing out spell power, you are making your base heal larger, which will make your versatility buff (14% increased healing) more beneficial. Lets say if you build stamina, your base flash of heal (without versatility) does 700 healing. Now lets say if you build spell power, your base heal does 800 healing (without versatility). Now if you factor in versatility to the 700 heal, it only boosts your heal by 98. Compared to the 800 heal, where it would boost it by 112. Stamina should only be “stacked” in arena’s where you know you’ll be targeted. In battlegrounds, I rely on my ability to position correctly. I want to make my bubble absorbs as much as it can because when one of my allies is hard swapped by the enemy team, having an extra 200ish absorb gives my MW, RSham, Hpal or Rdruid extra time to hard cast a heal.
I know a lot of priests like to run haste and don’t get me wrong, haste is very good, but I don’t like the fact that it ooms you extremely fast. With borrowed time and possibly troll racial you’re able to get off a lot of mediocre heals and bubbles extremely fast, but you aren’t helping your other healers by dealing with the initial burst as best as possible. The CD on your bubble is 15 seconds, there are a lot of situations where a massive bubble can last almost the whole time which gives your team a huge advantage.
**** Recently I have tried to run some haste enchants. Currently I'm using Enchant Neck - Gift of Haste and Enchant Cloak - Gift of Haste. This has gotten me down to about 1.22 second flash heals. With just borrowed time, I get down to 1.13 second flash heals. Also, as I am a troll, when I use just my racial, I get down to 1.06 second flash heals. I still have the versatility on my rings which keeps me at a 5.14% increase to healing and a damage reduction of 2.57%. This percentage of haste makes my racial still viable, as anything under a 1.00 second cast is useless due to the global cool down. I will report back with my findings and if I plan on keeping this. ****
Necklace: Enchant Neck - Gift of Versatility
Shoulders: Greater Crane Wing Inscription
Cloak: Enchant Cloak - Gift of Versatility
Chest: Enchant Chest - Peerless Stats
Bracers: Enchant Bracer - Major Intellect or Enchant Bracer - Major Stamina
Gloves: Enchant Gloves - Major Spellpower or Glove Reinforcements (can only be applied to BoE gloves)
Legs: Sapphire Spellthread
Boots: Enchant Boot - Boars Speed
Rings: Enchant Ring - Gift of Versatility
Weapon: Enchant Weapon - Spellpower or Elemental Force
Offhand: Enchant Off-Hand - Major Intellect
IX) Addons
Bartender4 - Makes keybinding easier.
BattlegroundTargets - Lets you see the opposing tems roster. You can click on the names to target the player making switching to a focused target easier.
Capping - Displays the flag carrier's name on the top with health percentage.
Cooldowns - Shows the amount of time left until you can cast your spell once again.
GladiatorlosSA - Says the names of important spells as your enemies cast them.
Interrupt Bar - Keeps track of enemy interrupts.
Juked - Keeps track of enemy interrupts.
RangeDisplay - Shows how far away you are from targets. Can be useful to make sure you’re positioning yourself correctly.
BGResTimers - Displays res timers in battlegrounds.
Castbars - Configurable castbars.
MogIt - Helps you create that BiS transmog you always wanted.
OmniCC - Cooldown count for everything.
SafeQueue - Removes the decline button when you get a pop.
SaySapped - When you get sapped it says "sapped" so your teammates around you know. Also tells you which rogue sapped you.
SpellAlerter - Tracks spells.
SpellFlash - Makes suggestions of what spells you should use.
Recount - Record damage, healing and other miscellaneous information you may want.
PvPSound - Calls out when a flag is taken/dropped/capped/returned, or when a base is being assaulted/taken. Also, calls out your first blood, kill spree, etc for personal fun.
X) Macros
Basic Focus Macro:
[URL=http://www.twinkinfo.com/forums/usertag.php?do=list&action=hash&hash=showtooltip]#showtooltip Spellname[/URL]
/cast [target=focus] Spellname
(Pretty sure these target the closest enemy)
Smite Autotarget:
This macro allows you to always keep a target when you are spamming your Smite key.
#showtooltip /cleartarget [dead][noharm] /targetenemy [noexists] /cast Smite /run UIErrorsFrame:Clear()
Holy Fire Autotarget:
This macro allows you to always keep a target when you are spamming your Holy Fire key.
#showtooltip /cleartarget [dead][noharm] /targetenemy [noexists] /cast Holy Fire /run UIErrorsFrame:Clear()
Shadow Word: Pain Autotarget:
This macro allows you to always keep a target when you are spamming your Shadow Word: Pain key.
#showtooltip /cleartarget [dead][noharm] /targetenemy [noexists] /cast Shadow word: pain /run UIErrorsFrame:Clear()
Penance Autotarget:
This macro will allow you to always keep a target when spamming your Penance key.
#showtooltip /cleartarget [dead][noharm] /targetenemy [noexists] /cast Penance /run UIErrorsFrame:Clear()
To make your own mouseover:
#showtooltip Spell Name
/use [@mouseover,help,nodead][help,nodead][@player] Spell Name
XI) Positioning:
Positioning, positioning, positioning… As a healer, positioning should be one of your main concerns. In team fights you always want to be behind your damage dealers, but in front of your flag carrier. I would say a good range would be 20-30 yards behind your damage dealers and your FC should be about 10-20 yards behind you (depending on how many stealthies they have). Being less than 20 yards away from your damage dealers opens up the opportunity for you to either be swapped to and killed or crowd controlled/interrupted. When team fighting there is usually a 20 yard gap between both teams. Being the safe 20-30 yards away makes the other team have to overextend in order to do anything to you. This allows you the space needed to heal and fall back if your team is being pushed, but it also makes you close enough to push when your team is.
When not in a team fight, you want to always make sure a damage dealer is between you and the enemy players. If you are caught out alone then do your best to try and line of sight the enemy as much as possible while falling back to your team. One of the worst things you can do is stand still and heal yourself, this will only work if you know your team is coming to rescue you. If you know you’re on your own, you want to bubble yourself whenever you can. Try to absorb as much damage so you don’t have to stop running. Once your bubble is down and on cooldown, spectral guise and keep running, DON’T STOP TO HEAL unless you’re under half health. If you need to stop your first heal should be a penance as it has an instant tic. Keep this in mind, because as you’re running away you can always cast a quick penance tic then continue. If you’re being slowed by a hunter or BM monk then you can always use your trinket to get back to normal speed. If you do trinket a slow, make sure you use it right after you get slowed in order to get the most favorable outcome. One thing I like to do is trinket a slow immediately then spectral guise my way out. Worst case scenario, you pop your AGM, but this should only be used if you absolutely need to live.
In a team fight,if your team pushes, you want to be constantly running with them. Your team has an advantage when you’re pushing. Your teammates will be taking less damage while the other team will be taking more damage. The best thing you can do is bubble as many people as possible. When bubbling, your priority should melee first, then ranged, then healers. This will keep you with your team and also make your team push harder.
In a team fight, if your team is being pushed, the last thing you want to happen is for you to be caught by the other team. Of course you want to keep your damage dealers alive, but the main concern is FC (if you have one), then healers (who shouldn’t be taking much damage if positioned right), then damage dealers. Bubble as much as you can so you minimize the amount of times you have to stop and heal. This lets you maintain the necessary gap in order to keep you safe. In addition, maintaining that 20-30 yard gap, gives you the chance to hard cast some heals before you become in range of the enemy.
If you plan on playing offensively as a “battle priest”, you can move up to where your damage dealers are. You only want to be a battle priest if you have 2 other priests on your team or 3 other healers. When playing offensively, you want to run elemental force on your weapon, spread your shadow word pain, and cast your heavy hitter spells (namely holy fire and penance) on whoever is being focused. You should be spreading shadow word pain when holy fire and penance are on cooldown. You want to penance and holy fire whoever your team is focusing. You can figure out whom to attack by having a focus target, being observant and looking at battleground targets. When chasing a target, your best bet is to repeatedly cast shadow word pain when your holy fire is on cooldown. Your shadow word pain hits instantly, along with the pre-existing dot on the enemy player having a chance to do damage. Remember, you are still a healer, so if your healers are getting behind don’t be afraid to throw out some heals or bubbles to keep everyone alive.
Thank you [MENTION=7109]Grizzlefoot[/MENTION] for looking it over and editing all my stupid mistakes. This would not be nearly as good as it is without you.
Thank you [MENTION=16519]Laurenti[/MENTION] for helping me with the color scheme and links. You saved me so much time
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