priest specs advice

[denisbeaudoin22 1]

sorry in advance if this was posted else where, as I checked and didn't find the answer... just hit above 30 on my disc priest, and wondering if I should put dual spec as holy, (if there is enough reason to need both heals) or if I should start learning shadow as my off spec? also what is best way to associate either disc or holy heals, like which is better for what type of heals and what is more useful in avg situations? thanks for the advice :)

[Peelyon 411]

It all depends on personal preference but levelling up as shadow will get you through quests etc that much faster.  You are still extremely hard to kill from general quest mobs etc and having your disc spec ready to heal a dungeon here and there to mix it up again should prove really useful for queue times!

 

When you get towards end game its again about personal preference and the needs of your group.  I have never played shadow in a raid capacity but thats because I was always needed as a (bad :P) healer.

 

In terms of disc / holy i would stick with discipline, especially while levelling up. It means you can still do average dps while healing (through atonement) to keep you interested in dungeons that you would otherwise get bored having nothing to heal!

 

So a mix of shadow / disc to level up and then perhaps see what your plan is end game.  If you fall in love with healing then perhaps try a holy / disc option which will make you more versatile depending on the encounter, or have shadow if you are required to fill in to dps here and there.

 

Hope that helps!

[Maltress 1]

Definitely take shadow for your off spec, it's amazing for questing and is high burst.

For holy and disc it's mostly preference. Some bosses can make more use of one (Tortos and Disc comes to mind) but it still doesn't matter that much.

Mainly what it comes down to is this:

Disc is the best spec at negating damage and can help prepare for big spikes in damage. More mana-conservative than holy you can last longer in raids but you don't actually supply much in terms of "Healing"

Holy is really good at pumping out heals non-stop.

Debatably the most mana-hungry heal spec in the game, you need lots of spirit to keep going but you feel very powerful above 500ilv (that's where I am)

 

You usually don't want more than one disc priest in any kind of raid.

Edited September 2, 2013 by Maltress

[w00t 0]

[...]

You usually don't want more than one disc priest in any kind of raid.

 

Can you elaborate on that, please?

[Crocky 0]

Can you elaborate on that, please?

Disc priests get mana return from having Power Word: Shield fully consumed through Rapture, so having more than one disc priest makes it harder to shield someone taking enough damage to consume it. 

And there are other reasons, such as suboptimal burst raid healing or something like that.

Edited September 7, 2013 by Crocky

[w00t 0]

Disc priests get mana return from having Power Word: Shield fully consumed through Rapture, so having more than one disc priest makes it harder to shield someone taking enough damage to consume it. 

And there are other reasons, such as suboptimal burst raid healing or something like that.

 

Thanks. I have seen a multitude of disc priests in lfr and we are usually two in our guild, and I was really not aware of that I should have had problems with that . I very rarely have mana issues and some 60% of my mana gain comes from Mindbender rather than rapture. As for consumed shields, well... I find people generally take enough damage by not moving out of crap on the floor

 

I am still not convinced that more that one disc priest in a raid would constitute a problem that cannot be overcome by communication, observation, and adaptation of playstyle/spellcasting.

[Peelyon 411]

If you have two priests and one is holy one is disc it can provide your group with a wider range of healing in general rather than say having two disc priests etc.

 

Its not a HUGE problem really but its not going to be optimal for your group as you will possibly want to PW:Shield the same targets etc (if like me you are very reactionary to your healing etc).

[w00t 0]

If you have two priests and one is holy one is disc it can provide your group with a wider range of healing in general rather than say having two disc priests etc.

 

Its not a HUGE problem really but its not going to be optimal for your group as you will possibly want to PW:Shield the same targets etc (if like me you are very reactionary to your healing etc).

 

Yes, I can appreciate that it can sometimes be a problem. I am just not sold to the generalizing statements (not you ) that were made above on multiple disc priests and e.g. on the following.

 

A statement like this: "Disc is the best spec at negating damage and can help prepare for big spikes in damage. More mana-conservative than holy you can last longer in raids but you don't actually supply much in terms of "Healing"", in my view, is a little misleasing in the implicit conclusion even if each fact may be correct. The disc priest provides quite adequate amounts of "healing" through Atonement and PoM for example. And while you could view the difference between "healing" and mitigating damage as semantic it can well impact the raid's survival possibly making it not a trivial difference.

 

I have played Holy for several years, but admittedly Disc only during the last half-year or so, and I have much to learn. To generalize myself I think that the input that is most valuable to onelself, is the one to which you do not agree and I will continue to read comments with interest.

 

Thanks.

[Peelyon 411]

I think the key thing is to do what is best for you.  I am by no means an expert at either holy or disc, but like you I've played holy a lot more.  I've only really got to grips with disc over the past few weeks (came back after a break and thought to give it a try).

 

It is similar to what is being discussed in the general forums about healing classes.  IMO (which is limited at best!) it is better to play a class or a spec that you are 100% comfortable with and enjoy than playing a spec or a class that you dont.  If that means that you would prefer 2 disc priests in the raid then maybe that is what is better for your raid group as a whole.

 

There were a number of fights since the beginning of MoP that I would have probably benefited the raid more by switching to disc, but my own inexperience and lack of knowledge of the spec always put me off from trying.  Part of me wishes I would have played disc a lot sooner, as its always better to have the option to change according the the fight and the situation.

 

Seeing as you are already comfortable with holy I would be tempted to see how the encounters you are on differ between having two disc priest or one disc one holy. 

 

But ultimately like I've said its what works best for you as an individual and your group as a whole.  When I was RL / guild master of my old guild my philosophy was that we pay to play the game to enjoy it.  If you end up taking a role or playing a class or spec that you dont enjoy, then it pretty much defies the objective!

[w00t 0]

Seeing as you are already comfortable with holy I would be tempted to see how the encounters you are on differ between having two disc priest or one disc one holy. 

 

In ToT it has been an advantage for us that I switched disc during progression I would like to think. The benefits being increased throughput (disc is very powerful atm) and Atonement healing that almost brings us another "half dps". Other than that, I am sure holy would have been as good. I spent quite some time trying to understand this, but eventually gave up on the fact that I could do a better job with disc that was new to me, than with holy that I thought I knew something about.

 

I have not found that very much differs when you are two disc priests, other than one would like to be aware of which targets have weakened soul so as not to waste time trying to shield such a target. Again, communication and awareness, out loud or by understanding each other e.g. by not shielding the other priest so as so let him/her decide when to draw benefit from Body and Soul etc etc.

 

I fully agree to that one would be most useful playing what one enjoys the most. I think I like healing as a role really, so I will use whatever spec or class that does the job best in the expansion/patch at hand.