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it (read more Discipline Priest PvP Guide Battle for Azeroth (BfA)
Table of Contents
Introduction
This guide will walk you through everything you need to know to play a Discipline Priest in a PvP environment. The guide will cover everything from talent choices, PvP talents, gameplay and rotation, and useful racial bonuses. It is most applicable to Arena content, but most talents and racial bonuses will work in Rated Battlegrounds and skirmishes.
About The Author
This guide has been written by Mysticall, a seasoned PvP player who has repeatedly achieved Arena Master and 2500 rating. You can watch his stream on Twitch, and you can also check out his YouTube channel.
1. Spec Overview / Place in the Current Meta for Discipline Priests
Discipline Priests have the most unique style of all the healers. Not only do they do a large majority of their healing with damage, but they are the only healer with 2 healing schools. This makes them a force to be reckoned with when playing with aggressive classes.
1.1. Strengths of Discipline Priests
Dispel Magic and 
Mass Dispel are crucial- Great defensives versus melee teams
- Multiple crowd control abilities
1.2. Weaknesses of Discipline Priests
- Run out of Mana quickly
- Very little mobility
- Easy to crowd control
2. Talent Choices for Discipline Priests
Regular talents work in both PvP and PvE content (although they may sometimes work differently in the two environments, which is indicated by their tooltips). In other words, they are always active.
On the other hand, Honor talents are inactive outside of a PvP environment.
3. Regular Talents for Discipline Priests
3.1. Tier 1 (Level 15) Talents
Twist of Fate is the best choice in this tier. This will help you
keep your team alive once you leave crowd control or if you are playing against
a team with strong single target damage.
3.2. Tier 2 (Level 30) Talents
Angelic Feather is the best choice in this tier. This will help you
run to or from enemy players. This is crucial for getting a 
Psychic Scream
on an enemy healer. If you find yourself not using Angelic Feather often
or you think the enemy team will focus you, 
Masochism is the better
talent in this tier.
3.3. Tier 3 (Level 45) Talents
Power Word: Solace is the best choice in this tier. This talent
restores a decent amount of Mana and works well with the 
Trinity
PvP talent.
3.3.1. Tier 4 (Level 60) Talents
If the goal for your team is to setup crowd control on the enemy healer,
Psychic Voice is the best choice in this tier. This makes
Psychic Scream a very strong crowd control ability.
If your team is focusing on surviving against a team with two melee on it,
Shining Force could be the better talent. If you take this talent,
you are sacrificing crowd control for survivability.
3.4. Tier 5 (Level 75) Talents
Sins of the Many is the best choice in this tier. This is a flat
increase to your damage, resulting in overall more healing dealt. It is
important to note that it does not decrease damage done when you have
Atonement on yourself. This talent also works great with the
Trinity PvP talent.
3.5. Tier 6 (Level 90) Talents
Purge the Wicked is the best choice in this tier. When using this
talent it is important to use it often to get value from Atonement.
Using 
Penance to spread Purge the Wicked will help you save
Mana.
3.6. Tier 7 (Level 100) Talents
Lenience is the best choice in this tier. This talent is crucial
to keeping your teammates alive. Atonement should be active on all of
your partners and increases your overall healing output.
4. PvP Talents for Discipline Priests
PvP talents are typically only available in PvP content, but War Mode (explained below) allows you to also benefit from them in the open world.
As you will see below, the PvP talents are very flexible. Depending on what classes you are playing with and against, you can adjust your talents to better suit your team's goal. You must choose:
- 1 trinket talent out of 3 possible choices;
- 3 PvP talents out of a pool of about a dozen possible choices.
4.1. War Mode
War Mode is a new PvP system added in Battle for Azeroth. War Mode can be toggled on and off in any major city. When it is enabled, you are able to use your PvP talents in the open world, and because you will be fighting enemies of the other faction, you also get an experience bonus while leveling. Do note that this makes you vulnerable to being killed by players of the other faction.
4.1.1. Bonuses of War Mode
Enabling War Mode provides the following perks.
- The ability to use all PvP talents in the outdoor world. You do not need to be in PvP combat to use them.
- You can earn Conquest Points.
- You gain +10% experience while leveling.
- There are PvP achievements you can earn.
- At maximum level, you get a +10% World Quest reward bonus.
4.1.2. War Mode Bounties
If you kill too many players in a single zone, there will be a bounty put
on you. Everyone in that zone will know your exact location.
You can see the location of players with a bounty by checking your map.
Killing players with a bounty on them rewards Conquest Points and is part of
an achievement called 
Bounty Hunting. Bounty Hunting is part
of a meta achievement called 
Conqueror of Azeroth /
Conqueror of Azeroth that rewards the
title Conqueror of Azeroth.
4.1.3. Air Drops
It is not yet totally clear how Air Drops will work, but we know the following about it from Blizzard.
From time to time, a flying machine will make its way across the sky. The rumble of its engine is a clear indicator that something is afoot. You'll want to keep an eagle eye on the sky and watch for a War Supply Crate to drop somewhere in the zone. Similar to the chest in Gurubashi Arena, players can fight over the crate and claim it for their faction. Once a faction has gained control of the crate, anyone of that faction who is within the area will have a short period to open it and collect a piece of personal loot.
4.2. Trinket Talent
The first PvP talent tier is will give you a choice between
Gladiator's Medallion, 
Relentless, and 
Adaptation.
Gladiator's Medallion is the best choice in this tier. It is great for
removing crowd control on you that your healer cannot dispel.
4.3. PvP Talents
Trinity increases the duration of Atonement and the
healing transferred through Atonement. However, @ Atonement
can now only affect up to 3 targets and can only be applied through
Power Word: Shield. This is by far one of the strongest PvP talents
you can have. This is an overall large increase to your damage, which results
in even more healing.
Ultimate Radiance makes your Power Word: Radiance instant
and increases the healing done by 200%. This, in combination with talents like
Twist of Fate, is crucial to keeping your team alive.
Power Word: Radiance costs a lot of Mana and should only be used when
your team is low on Health.
Purification gives Purify a maximum of 2 charges.
Against teams with crowd control like 
Polymorph or 
Fear,
this is crucial to be able to dispel your teammates. This will help your team
have as much uptime on an enemy as possible without being slowed by crowd
control.
Dark Archangel increases your damage, and the damage of all allies
with your Atonement for 8 seconds. This is a strong talent if your
team is relying on large bursts to kill a target. In this case, you should replace
Purification with this talent.
Premonition heals nearby targets and applies Atonement
to yourself. It also deals damage to yourself for each Atonement you
have active, and increases their duration by 5 seconds. This is a great talent
against teams with multiple crowd control abilities that will be used on you.
Use this ability at the end of the incoming crowd control to break it. In this
case, replace Purification with this talent.
Archangel refreshes the duration of your Atonement
on all allies when cast. It also increases your healing and absorption effects
for 15 seconds. This talent is on a Global Cooldown and it is difficult to find
a useful time to use it. If you are healing a team that will play defensively
and you want to keep them at high health, you can replace Purification
with this talent.
4.4. PvP Gear
Gear is what determines how strong a player is in PvP. The better gear you have, the stronger your abilities are. There are several ways to receive gear from PvP. One important way to get gear is by completing the weekly conquest point cap. You will receive gear at the end of the week based on your rating. For example, if you played and won at Rival in 3v3, you will receive a reward with an item level based on your ranking at the end of the week. It is important to note that if you are rated at a Rival level in 3v3, but only do 2v2 that week, you will not receive a piece of gear unless you won a game in the 3v3 bracket. The following are the names and ratings of all of the brackets:
- Combatant: 1400-1599;
- Challenger: 1600-1799;
- Rival: 1800-2099;
- Duelist: 2100-2399;
- Gladiator: 2400+.
4.4.1. Conquest Points
Every week there will be an empty bar in your PvP queue tab. If you earn enough Conquest Points to fill it, you will receive a piece of gear. When you complete a set, you can receive higher tiers of gear. Conquest points can be earned by doing the following:
- Rated Arenas;
- Rated Battlegrounds;
- Normal Battlegrounds;
- Epic Battlegrounds;
- World PvP.
4.4.2. Obtaining Gear
You will obtain gear by earning Conquest Points. The following are the three ways to receive loot in PvP.
- At the end of an Arena match there is a chance to receive a piece of gear. This gear is based on your Arena Rating.
- After you win a Rated Battleground or win your first Battleground of the day you will get a piece of gear and earn Conquest Points.
- Once you earned enough Conquest Points for the week, you will unlock a new weekly reward. This gear is based on your rating.
It is important to note that the gear you get from capping your conquest points is predetermined in a specific order. There are mechanics for players to get gear quicker if they have no played a character for awhile.
5. Racial Bonuses for Discipline Priests
Racial bonuses can provide interesting PvP benefits. Here are the best races to choose for each faction.
5.1. Horde
The racial gained from being an Undead (
Will of the Forsaken) is
really strong. This gives you an additional way to remove crowd control
abilities on you.
5.2. Alliance
The Human racial bonus (
Every Man for Himself) is a great way to get
out of stuns.
6. Playstyle for Discipline Priests
The main role for a Discipline Priest is to use
both your healing and damaging spells to keep your team alive. The passive
ability, Atonement, allows you to directly heal from your damaging
spells.
6.1. Before Gates Open
Before the gates open you will want to coordinate your crowd control.
Discipline Priests have Psychic Scream, a great way to fear an
entire team. The only weakness about this ability is that you need to be in
melee range to use it. It is important for your teammates to try to stun the
enemy healer before using Psychic Scream so they cannot run away.
Make sure to use 
Power Word: Fortitude on your teammates. It can be
dispelled by abilities like 
Purge or 
Spellsteal, so
be prepared to apply it often
6.2. The Opener
The other team is going to try to force your trinket in the opener so they
have an advantage later in the game. As soon as the gates open you want to use
Power Word: Shield on your teammates to apply Atonement to
them. Then start using Purge the Wicked on enemies. This way, if you
are put into crowd control you will still be healing with Atonement.
6.3. Healing Techniques
6.3.1. Burst Healing
The great thing about Discipline Priests is that they have the multiple ways to keep teammates alive and high on health.
- The first method is best when the enemy team has strong single target
pressure:
- Use
Power Word: Shield to apply 
Atonement. - Make sure to maintain
Purge the Wicked on multiple targets. - If they are very low, use
Pain Suppression. - Use
Penance on an enemy player to spread Purge the Wicked. - Cast
Shadow Mend until your teammate is fine or you get
interrupted. - Use
Power Word: Radiance as soon as you get interrupted on
Shadow Mend.
- Use
- The second method is best used when your team is taking strong spread
pressure:
- Use
Power Word: Barrier if your entire team is stacked. - Use Power Word: Shield to apply Atonement.
- Make sure to maintain Purge the Wicked on multiple targets.
- Use Power Word: Radiance.
- Use
Shadowfiend. - Use Penance on an enemy player to spread Purge the Wicked.
- Use Shadow Mend to heal up lower teammates.
- Use Power Word: Radiance as soon as you get interrupted on
Shadow Mend.
- Use
- You can use
Rapture for either of these situations. It is ideal
to use it after you have been crowd controlled so you do not lose value while
it is active. While it is active, make sure to use and maintain
Power Word: Shield on all teammates. Use Penance to spread
Purge the Wicked.
6.3.2. Sustained Damage Healing
Use this to heal sustained damage throughout the match (damage done when the other team does not have burst cooldowns available).
- Maintain Atonement on all of your teammates. If you are using the
PvP talent,
Trinity (which you should be), use Power Word: Shield
to apply it. - Maintain
Shadow Word: Pain or Purge the Wicked on the enemy
team.- Remember to use Penance to spread the damage of
Purge the Wicked.
- Remember to use
- Use Penance as soon as it is off cooldown.
- Use
Power Word: Solace as soon as it is off cooldown. - Use Shadow Mend if you get interrupted on your Holy abilities.
- Use Power Word: Radiance if you get interrupted on your Shadow
abilities.
- When there is not much damage happening use
Smite when teammates
have Atonement.
6.4. Cooldowns/Defensives
Although Discipline Priests can heal with their damage, sometimes this is not enough to keep teammates alive. Below are the cooldowns that they have to deal with heavy damage.
- Pain Suppression is a strong defensive with a long cooldown.
It will primarily be used while you are stunned, but should be used whenever
a teammate is taking strong single target damage.
- Power Word: Barrier is also a strong defensive with a long cooldown.
It is best used when your teammates are stacked and taking strong spread
pressure. The bonus healing you gain when standing in it will help keep your
teammates alive.
- Rapture is a powerful cooldown that should not be wasted. Use this
when your team is dangerously low and you need a way to recover. This can be
used when your team is taking single target or spread pressure.
- Shadowfiend is best used when your teammates are starting to
take light spread pressure and have Atonement active.
Desperate Prayer increases your health by 25% for 10 seconds,
and instantly heals you for that amount. This is great for when you get
interrupted on Shadow Mend and need an instant heal.
7. Best Team Compositions for Discipline Priests
Now that you have the correct talents and understand your damage
rotation, it is time to step into the arena with your team. With spells
like Purge the Wicked, Penance and Psychic Scream,
Discipline Priests play with classes that are very aggressive.
7.1. 2v2 Arena
In 2v2 Arena, you want to deal as much damage as you can when your DPS
partner is using their burst rotation. Maintain Purge the Wicked on all
enemies, including pets. Use Penance as soon as it is off cooldown.
Use Dark Archangel when your partner is using their burst rotation for a
large amount of damage. Have your teammate stun or slow the enemy healer so you
can easily get a Psychic Scream on them. It is important to note that
Discipline Priests are the only healer with multiple casting schools. What this
means, is if you get interrupted while casting 
Shadow Mend, you can
still use Power Word: Radiance or Power Word: Shield.
Here is a list of the best team compositions for 2v2:
- Discipline Priest + Assassination/Subtlety Rogue;
- Discipline Priest + Arms Warrior;
- Discipline Priest + Windwalker Monk;
- Discipline Priest + Frost Mage.
7.2. 3v3 Arena
Your role in 3v3 is similar to 2v2 Arena. You want to always be damaging
to maintain pressure on the enemy team. Discipline Priests struggle when they
fall behind, so you always want to stay ahead. Maintain and refresh your
Purge the Wicked. Try to utilize 
Mind Control. If you are
interrupted while channeling it, you can still cast your Holy spells. Remember
to take advantage of having more than one casting school. There will be some
match ups where you cannot cross the map to use Psychic Scream on the
enemy healer. In those situations, use Psychic Scream on whichever DPS
your team is not targeting.
Here is a list of the best team compositions for 3v3:
- Jungle(Discipline Priest + Feral Druid + Marksmanship Hunter);
- Cupid (Discipline Priest + Retribution Paladin + Marksmanship Hunter);
- RMP (Discipline Priest + Subtlety Rogue + Frost Mage);
- Discipline Priest + Outlaw Rogue + Elemental Shaman.
8. Useful Macros for Discipline Priests
Macros are crucial to be successful in PvP. They allow players to use abilities on enemies without having to target them. This helps increase overall damage/healing and general awareness in the arena. Here are a few macros that all Discipline Priests can benefit from.
8.1. Purge the Wicked 123 Macro
- #showtooltip Purge the Wicked
- /cast [target=arena1] Purge the Wicked
Using this macro will use Purge the Wicked on arena enemy 1.
This makes it easier to damage an enemy while healing your team.
If you want macros for the second and third enemies, simply change the arena1
to arena2 or arena3.
8.2. Penance Target of Target Macro
- #showtooltip Penance
- /cast [harm][@targettarget] Penance
This makes it so you cast Penance on your party member's target.
8.3. Purify Party Macro
- #showtooltip Purify
- /cast [target=party1] Purify
Using this macro will cast Purify on party player 1.
This makes it easier to dispel a teammate while healing the rest of your team.
If you want a macro to dispel the second party member, change the party1 to
party2.
9. Artifact Traits for Discipline Priests
With the arrival of Patch 8.0, Artifact weapons have had their power drained in order to combat the spreading corruption from the sword of Sargeras and are now nothing more than a stat stick. This means that all traits are gone, so artifact paths and trait priority list are no longer required.
10. Relics for Discipline Priests
Relics are now simply a boost to your Artifact weapon's item level.
11. ChangeLog
- 28 Jul. 2018: Updated Guide for patch 8.0.1.
- Updated introduction.
- Updated tier 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 regular talents.
- Added War Mode section.
- Added PvP Talents section.
- Added PvP Gear section.
- Updated Racial Bonuses section.
- Updated Burst Healing and Sustained Healing sections.
- Updated Macros section.
- Removed Gear section.
- Updated Artifact Traits and Relics sections.
- 09 Jun. 2018: Added an Arena Compositions section.
- 12 Apr. 2018: Made several updates to the guide and its structure.
- Added sections for Macros, Strengths, and Weaknesses.
- Moved Gear, Artifact Traits, and Relics sections to the end, since they are not that important.
- Updated recommended Tier 2 honor talent.
- 16 Dec. 2017: No major changes needed for patch 7.3.2.
- 14 Sep. 2017: Updated tier 1 talent discussion slightly.
- 30 Aug. 2017: Removed artifact trait description.
- 08 Jul. 2017: Guide added.
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