WotLK Classic Holy Priest Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities

Last updated on Jan 01, 2024 at 13:56 by Abide 1 comment

On this page, you will learn how to optimize the rotation of your Holy Priest Healer, depending on the type of damage your group is receiving while doing PvE content in WotLK Classic. We also have advanced sections about cooldowns, procs, etc. in order to minmax your healing output and your mana efficiency.

If you have not already, please read the Spells Summary page. Knowing how each spell and ability works in detail will greatly increase your understanding of the topics discussed on this page.

1.

Spell Rotation for Holy Priest in Wrath of the Lich King

As a Holy Priest, you will constantly be changing between healing a single person taking high damage, typically a tank, and healing multiple people taking damage from a raid mechanic. Below you will find the different rotations and spell priorities depending on the healing situation you are in.

1.1.

Single-Target Rotation for Holy Priest in Wrath of the Lich King

  1. Renew IconRenew — Remains a powerful heal-over-time. Be sure to keep this on targets you know will be taking constant damage.
  2. Prayer of Mending IconPrayer of Mending — This spell remains extremely powerful, even getting buffed in WotLK. Be sure to use this as much as possible.
  3. Greater Heal IconGreater Heal — A slow, but powerful heal. Use this when a big burst of damage is about to land on a target, or if the target will not die before the longer cast time ends and needs a large heal.
  4. Flash Heal IconFlash Heal — This is your main filler spell, doing moderate healing to a target quickly.
  5. Binding Heal IconBinding Heal — Essentially the same as Flash Heal IconFlash Heal, but heals you as well as the target. Use this instead if you are missing health.

While this is the normal single-target healing rotation, if someone is on the verge of dying you will want to use a more "emergency"-based priority until they are out of the danger zone.

  1. Power Word: Shield IconPower Word: Shield — This is not that great for a Holy Priest, but it is instant-cast, giving you some time to cast a better spell. Use this first if the target does not have the Weakened Soul IconWeakened Soul debuff.
  2. Flash Heal IconFlash Heal — After that you will want to spam this on the target until they are healthy enough for you to return to a regular rotation.
  3. Binding Heal IconBinding Heal — Use this instead of Flash Heal IconFlash Heal if you are also injured.
1.2.

Raid Healing Rotation for Holy Priest in Wrath of the Lich King

  1. Prayer of Mending IconPrayer of Mending — This spell remains extremely powerful, even getting buffed in WotLK. Be sure to use this as much as possible.
  2. Circle of Healing IconCircle of Healing — Use this on cooldown to keep the raid healthy. Despite having a cooldown it remains a great heal.
  3. Prayer of Healing IconPrayer of Healing — Be sure to use this with your Serendipity IconSerendipity stacks to get the heal out quickly. If the raid is taking very high damage you may need to cast this without Serendipity IconSerendipity stacks.
  4. Renew IconRenew — Remains a powerful heal-over-time. Be sure to keep this on targets you know will be taking constant damage.
  5. Flash Heal IconFlash Heal — This is your main filler spell, doing moderate healing to a target quickly.
  6. Binding Heal IconBinding Heal — Essentially the same as Flash Heal IconFlash Heal, but heals you as well as the target. Use this instead if you are missing health.
  7. Divine Hymn IconDivine Hymn — While this is at the bottom of the list, it is technically your strongest AoE heal, but it has an 8-minute cooldown. You will want to use this only in emergencies as you will only get one use in a fight; make it worth it and do not waste it.
2.

Holy Priest Cooldowns in Wrath of the Lich King

Holy Priest gains a handful of powerful cooldowns in WotLK, giving them some much-needed utility. Unlike other classes however, your cooldowns are much more niche and have very limited, specific uses.

  • Desperate Prayer IconDesperate Prayer — 2-minute cooldown. If you chose to take this talent, this is a personal emergency button. Instantly heals you for a very large amount, making this a powerful emergency button if you find yourself about to die.
  • Guardian Spirit IconGuardian Spirit — 3-minute cooldown. If using Glyph of Guardian Spirit Icon Glyph of Guardian Spirit, cooldown is reduced to 1 minute if it does not proc when used. Increases the target's healing received by 40% and acts like a cheat death if the target dies while buffed with this, restoring them to 50% health and removing this buff. This is a great cooldown for tanks as you can easily predict tank deaths to mechanics and use this to keep them alive.
  • Inner Focus IconInner Focus — 3-minute cooldown. You will want to use this with your highest Mana spells such as Prayer of Healing IconPrayer of Healing or Divine Hymn IconDivine Hymn, saving you a large amount of Mana. In addition to the 100% Mana reduction, it also increases the Crit Chance of the spell by 25%, which is great when you are using an AoE healing spell.
  • Shadowfiend IconShadowfiend — 5-minute cooldown. This one is a very simple Mana-restoration cooldown, use this whenever you are running low on Mana. If possible, you will want to pair this together with Hymn of Hope IconHymn of Hope for the temporary 20% increase to maximum Mana since Shadowfiend IconShadowfiend now restores 5% of your maximum Mana per attack.
  • Divine Hymn IconDivine Hymn — 8-minute cooldown. One of the new spells you get in Wrath of the Lich King. This is a major AoE healing cooldown and should only be used when your normal AoE healing rotation cannot keep up. You will almost always want to pair this with Inner Focus IconInner Focus to remove the high Mana cost and get an additional 25% Crit Chance on the Divine Hymn IconDivine Hymn heals.
  • Hymn of Hope IconHymn of Hope — 6-minute cooldown. The other new spell you get in Wrath of the Lich King. This restores Mana to nearby allies with the lowest mana overall and increases their maximum Mana by 20% temporarily. The only downside of this spell is the randomness of the targeting; it is possible that you will not be targeted by any of the ticks. You will want to use this cooldown in conjunction with other Mana-restoring cooldowns, such as Mana Tide Totem IconMana Tide Totem or even other Hymn of Hope IconHymn of Hopes, as the temporary 20% increase to maximum Mana amplifies the effectiveness of abilities that restore a percentage of your Mana pool. Try to coordinate this with your other raid members.
3.

Changelog

  • 01 Jan. 2024: Updated for Phase 5.
  • 09 Oct. 2023: Reviewed for Phase 4.
  • 10 May 2023: Updated rotation priorities for Phase 3.
  • 18 Jan. 2023: Reviewed for Phase 2 release ahead of Ulduar raid release.
  • 02 Sep. 2022: Page added.
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