Discipline Priest Frequently Asked Questions in Battle for Azeroth (BfA) 8.0.1

Table of Contents

• +Introduction
  • 1. Class Overview
  • 2. Patch 8.0.1 Changes for Discipline Priests
  • 3. Discipline Priest's Strengths and Weaknesses
    • 3.1. Discipline Priest Strengths
    • 3.2. Discipline Priest Weaknesses
  • 4. Discipline Priest's Viability in the Current Patch
  • 5. Contents
  • 6. Changelog
• +Easy Mode
  • 1. Foreword
  • 2. The Basics of Discipline Priests
  • 3. Talent Choice for Discipline Priests
    • 3.1. Dungeons
    • 3.2. Raids
  • 4. Stat Choice for Discipline Priests
  • 5. Basic Playstyle for Discipline Priests
    • 5.1. Atonement Rotation (DPS Priority)
    • 5.2. Raid Healing
    • 5.3. Dungeon Healing
    • 5.4. Atonement Applicators
  • 6. Cooldown Usage for Discipline Priests
  • 7. Azerite Traits for Discipline Priests
  • 8. Changelog
• +Spell Summary
  • 1. Introduction
  • 2. Main Resource of Discipline Priests
  • 3. Basic Abilities for Discipline Priests
    • 3.1. Atonement
    • 3.2. Healing Spells
    • 3.3. Utility for Discipline Priests
  • 4. Cooldowns for Discipline Priests
  • 5. Changelog
• +Builds and Talents
  • 1. Talent Choices for Discipline Priest
  • 2. Talent Cheat Sheet for Discipline Priests
    • 2.1. Raids
    • 2.2. Dungeons
  • 3. Tier 1 (Level 15) Talents for Discipline Priests
  • 4. Tier 2 (Level 30) Talents for Discipline Priests
  • 5. Tier 3 (Level 45) Talents for Discipline Priests
  • 6. Tier 4 (Level 60) Talents for Discipline Priests
  • 7. Tier 5 (Level 75) Talents for Discipline Priests
  • 8. Tier 6 (Level 90) Talents for Discipline Priests
  • 9. Tier 7 (Level 100) Talents for Discipline Priests
  • 10. PvP Talents (War Mode)
    • 10.1. Discipline Priest War Mode Talents
      • 10.1.1. General PvP Talents
      • 10.1.2. Discipline Priest PvP Talents
  • 11. Changelog
• +Azerite Traits and Armor
  • 1. Disclaimer
  • 2. Recommended Traits
    • 2.1. Dungeons and Mythic+
    • 2.2. Raids
  • 3. Recommended Uldir Azerite Gear
  • 4. Outer Ring Traits for Discipline Priest
  • 5. Middle Ring Traits for Discipline Priest
  • 6. Inner Ring Traits for Discipline Priest
  • 7. Azerite Traits Details and Rotation Changes for Discipline Priest
    • 7.1. Azerite Traits Rotation Changes
  • 8. Find Azerite Armor By Trait/Power
  • 9. Changelog
• +Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities
  • 1. Rotation for Discipline Priests
    • 1.1. DPS Rotation / Atonement
    • 1.2. Raid Healing
    • 1.3. Dungeon Healing
    • 1.4. Atonement Applicators
  • 2. Cooldown Usage for Discipline Priests
  • 3. Optional Read: Mastering Your Discipline Priest
    • 3.1. Atonement
    • 3.2. Absorption Effects
    • 3.3. Penance
    • 3.4. More on Cooldowns
      • 3.4.1. Tier 1 Talents
      • 3.4.2. Tier 4 Talents
      • 3.4.3. Tier 5 Talents
      • 3.4.4. Tier 6 Talents
      • 3.4.5. Tier 7 Talents
  • 4. Changelog
• +Mythic+ Tips
  • 1. Discipline Priest in Mythic+
    • 1.1. Discipline Priest Mythic+ Rotation
    • 1.2. Discipline Priest Utility
  • 2. Mythic+ Talents for Discipline Priests
  • 3. Trinkets
  • 4. Mythic+ Affixes
    • 4.1. Tier One Affixes
    • 4.2. Tier Two Affixes
    • 4.3. Tier Three Affixes
    • 4.4. Seasonal Affix
  • 5. Mythic+ Azerite Traits
  • 6. Changelog
• +Common and Worst Mistakes
  • 1. Common Mistakes as a Discipline Priest
    • 1.1. Mana: Casting Power Word: Shield Too Much
    • 1.2. Mana: Casting Shadow Mend Too Much
    • 1.3. Performance: Not Managing Atonements Properly
    • 1.4. Performance: Not Timing Cooldowns Properly
  • 2. Changelog
• ×Frequently Asked Questions
  • 1. Battle for Azeroth Discipline Changes
    • 1.1. What Changed for Discipline Priest in BfA?
    • 1.2. How Does the New Mastery: Grace Work?
    • 1.3. No More Power Word: Shield Cooldown; Back to Spamming?
    • 1.4. When Am I Going to Use Contrition?
    • 1.5. Is Schism Any Good Now?
    • 1.6. Luminous Barrier Seems Pretty Good; Is It?
  • 2. Talent Builds
    • 2.1. What Talents Do I Use in Dungeons?
    • 2.2. What Talents Do I Use in Raids?
  • 3. Trinkets and Azerite
    • 3.1. Should I Equip DPS trinkets in BfA?
    • 3.2. What Trinkets Am I Looking to Get for Raiding in BfA?
  • 4. Gear and Stats
    • 4.1. My Stats are X/Y/Z. Are These Any Good?
  • 5. Gameplay
    • 5.1. How Does the New Mastery: Grace Affect my Gameplay?
    • 5.2. How Do I Use Rapture Now?
    • 5.3. Should I Use Halo or Divine Star over Purge the Wicked Now?
    • 5.4. I See We Still Have Shadow Covenant; Should I Use It?
• +Boss by Boss Strategies
  • 1. Discipline Priest Boss Advice: Uldir, Halls of Control
    • 1.1. Talent Cheatsheet for Discipline Priest
  • 2. Taloc
  • 3. M.O.T.H.E.R.
  • 4. Fetid Devourer
  • 5. Zek'voz, Herald of N'Zoth
  • 6. Vectis
  • 7. Zul, Reborn
  • 8. Mythrax the Unraveler
  • 9. G'huun
  • 10. Changelog
• +Stat Priority
  • 1. The Basics of Stats for Discipline Priest
  • 2. Getting a Better Understanding of Discipline Priest Stats
  • 3. Changelog
• +Gems, Enchants, and Consumables
  • 1. Gems for Discipline Priests
  • 2. Enchants for Discipline Priests
  • 3. Consumables for Discipline Priests
  • 4. Changelog
• +Macros and Addons
  • 1. Macros
    • 1.1. Generic Macros for Priests
      • 1.1.1. Leap of Faith Mouseover Macro
    • 1.2. Specific Macros for Discipline Priests
      • 1.2.1. Shadow Word: Pain Macro
  • 2. Addons
    • 2.1. Generic Addons for Priests
      • 2.1.1. ElvUI
      • 2.1.2. Boss Mods: Deadly Boss Mods or Bigwigs
      • 2.1.3. GTFO
      • 2.1.4. Parrot or Mik's Scrolling Battle Text
      • 2.1.5. Weak Auras
      • 2.1.6. Recount / Skada / Details!
    • 2.2. Specific Addons for Discipline Priests
• +Gear and Best in Slot
  • 1. Trinkets for Discipline Priests
    • 1.1. S Tier
    • 1.2. A Tier
    • 1.3. B Tier
    • 1.4. C Tier
  • 2. Best in Slot List for Discipline Priests in Uldir
  • 3. Changelog

General Information

On this page, we list all of the frequently asked questions for a Discipline Priest in World of Warcraft Battle for Azeroth 8.0.1.

The other pages of our Discipline Priest guide can be accessed from the table of contents on the right.

About Our Author

This guide is written and maintained by Mend, admin and editor at Focused Will (join them on Discord or read their Blog for healing Priests) and is reviewed by the staff at Focused Will. You can follow Mend on Twitter or Twitch.

1. Battle for Azeroth Discipline Changes

This section will go over several of the most frequently asked questions regarding Discipline Priests in Battle for Azeroth.

1.1. What Changed for Discipline Priest in BfA?

A summary of all changes can be found here.

1.2. How Does the New Mastery: Grace Work?

Mastery: Grace increases all healing done to targets that have Atonement active, which includes Atonement healing itself. Technically, it is like having the old Mastery plus Grace (Legion talent). It does not increase healing of a spell that initially applies Atonement, however.

1.3. No More Power Word: Shield Cooldown; Back to Spamming?

No, the change to the Power Word: Shield cooldown does not affect how we apply single Atonements other than that it replaces Plea, which was removed. Power Word: Shield is too weak and expensive to replace Atonement as our main source of healing.

1.4. When Am I Going to Use Contrition?

Contrition suits two different purposes. One is the ability to yield Atonement healing without an offensive target available. The other is to increase the power of defensively cast Penances. Defensive Penances are much stronger than they used to in Legion, and Contrition improves this further.

1.5. Is Schism Any Good Now?

The cost reduction, spell power buff, and duration increase of Schism finally makes it a very powerful tool. With the loss of Sins of the Many (Legtion Artifact trait) and Light's Wrath (Legion Artifact), this is now what we are looking to talent into in order to empower our burst windows. Note that it does not buff Mindbender or Shadowfiend.

1.6. Luminous Barrier Seems Pretty Good; Is It?

Evangelism will likely keep its spot as a frequently available and very strong cooldown, and the combination of Lenience + Power Word: Barrier is potentially more damage reduction than Luminous Barrier can provide. However, Luminous Barrier suits its purpose very well in large raids, spread-out fights, or dungeons and is generally the most convenient tool in the row.

2. Talent Builds

2.1. What Talents Do I Use in Dungeons?

We generally recommend two different (baseline) Talent builds. Schism + Power Word: Solace + Sins of the Many and Twist of Fate + Mindbender + Contrition. These builds are not exclusive and we recommend reading our upcoming in-depth discussion on dungeon talents (this will be published on the Focused Will Website once it is available). Additionally, there are situational choices to be made between Lenience and Luminous Barrier and whether Halo can be used or not.

2.2. What Talents Do I Use in Raids?

It is yet to be announced, but will be in time for Uldir release. For the pre-patch, play as you used to or try the Schism + Power Word: Solace build. It is a lot of fun (and strong)!

3. Trinkets and Azerite

3.1. Should I Equip DPS trinkets in BfA?

As you might have noticed, DPS trinkets disappeared from the Discipline loot table. This is because damage procs and similar effects do not yield Atonement healing anymore. However, the damage penalty is gone as well (formerly was a 90% damage reduction on DPS trinkets for Discipline only). Equally to all other healers, you can just use them now for additional DPS.

3.2. What Trinkets Am I Looking to Get for Raiding in BfA?

Stat-sticks (trinkets that provide flat secondary stats) are still a solid choice. A list of good Battle for Azeroth dungeon trinkets will be released soon (this will be published on the Focused Will Website once it is available).

4. Gear and Stats

4.1. My Stats are X/Y/Z. Are These Any Good?

Nothing really changed in the stats department other than item level becoming even more important than it used to be. While you still want to try to sustain a higher level of Haste, neglecting item level on anything but jewelry is generally not a good idea. All other stats are relatively equal in value as we can tell right now. We will elaborate on this further with the release of a new stat weight spreadsheet for Battle for Azeroth in the upcoming weeks (this will be published on the Focused Will Website once it is available).

5. Gameplay

5.1. How Does the New Mastery: Grace Affect my Gameplay?

It does not. It does not change what you do in raids. And since Grace (Legion talent) was always an ideal talent to select in dungeons, it has no impact there either.

5.2. How Do I Use Rapture Now?

Rapture will only rarely be used in order to ramp up for burst healing. It should now rather be considered a tool for very strong spot healing to fewer targets. Be careful to not overwrite Rapture-buffed shields with non-buffed shields once Rapture expires.

5.3. Should I Use Halo or Divine Star over Purge the Wicked Now?

Both Halo and Divine Star were buffed compared to Purge the Wicked. Due to its area limitation, Divine Star is still very situational, but Halo should be considered your baseline talent now, while Purge the Wicked is still strong but situational.

5.4. I See We Still Have Shadow Covenant; Should I Use It?

Shadow Covenant was changed to having a cooldown and having its Mana cost halved. Even with these changes, it still suits the same purpose it did before: a quick and bursty heal for an entire group, that should not be used in and encounter with constant damage. Like the other talents on that row, it is only a very minor healing increase and should be considered situational. Do not let yourself get fooled by the healing from it on your healing meters; it still puts a healing absorb on targets which is negative healing.