Priest PvE

Rotations & Guide · PvE · PvP · Builds · Abilities · Talent Calculator · Changes vs Classic

Priests are cloth healers and shadow casters. Forever gives them a large new toolkit: Penance for Discipline, Prayer of Mending and Binding Heal for Holy, and baseline Shadow Word: Death for Shadow. Several new spells are racial: Contingency Plan and Confounding Flash (Gnome), Divine Grace (Human), Dark Sacrifice (Undead) and Chastise (Dwarf). The client also has a Litany of Light passive that no trainer teaches yet.

Discipline Priest PvE guide

Discipline heals by preventing damage. At level 20 you keep a group alive with Power Word: Shield, Renew and three direct heals, and the dungeon build adds a stronger shield, less threat from your heals and Meditation's regeneration while you cast. Forever's Penance, a heal that can also hit enemies, arrives at 30.

Your job in a group

You're the group's healer. Shield the tank as each pull starts, keep Renew on them, heal with Heal and cover sudden damage with Flash Heal, and buff everyone with Power Word: Fortitude before the first pull. Silent Resolve lowers the threat of your heals, and Fade hands a monster back to the tank when it turns on you. For crowd control you have Shackle Undead on one undead enemy and Psychic Scream when enemies reach you. Fear Ward protects the tank from the next fear, Dispel Magic removes harmful magic, Cure Disease removes diseases, and Resurrection brings back anyone who dies once the fight is over. You have no interrupt at level 20.

Opener

• Power Word: Fortitude: On every member of the group before the first pull; Improved Power Word: Fortitude makes it stronger for all of them.
• Inner Fire: On yourself, so a monster that breaks loose does less damage to you.
• Power Word: Shield: On the tank as they pull. Rank 3 absorbs 154 damage before Improved Power Word: Shield, and the tank can't be shielded again for 15 sec, so time the next one for the first big hit after that.
• Renew: Right after the shield, so it ticks while the tank builds threat; rank 3 heals 125 over 15 sec.
• Heal: Start it as soon as the tank's health starts to fall: it heals 270 to 312 at rank 1, your biggest heal, but it's also your slowest.

Cooldowns

• Contingency Plan: Gnome only: put it on the tank before a boss or a big pull. The next time damage drops them below 35% health it shields and heals them; the client doesn't include how much.
• Divine Grace: Human only: an instant heal on an ally below 50% health that also removes Weakened Soul, so you can shield them again straight away. It can't target you and has a 10 min cooldown.
• Desperate Prayer: Dwarf only: an instant heal on yourself, 247 to 305 at rank 2, for when a monster hits you hard. 10 min cooldown.
• Dark Sacrifice: Undead only: turns 400 of your health into mana over 15 sec. Use it when you're low on mana and nothing is attacking you; the mana amount isn't in the client, and Blizzard says it scales with Spirit.
• Fade: When your heals pull a monster off the tank: for 10 sec enemies are discouraged from attacking you, so the tank can take it back.
• Psychic Scream: When enemies reach you and there's room for them to run without pulling more: 2 enemies within 8 yards flee for 8 sec at rank 1.

Stats

Healing Power / Spell Power, Intellect, Spirit, Mana per 5 sec, Stamina. Forever raised most priest heal coefficients (Heal rank 1 is 0.857, up from 0.729 in Classic Era, and Lesser Heal rank 3 is 0.714, up from 0.446), so healing on gear adds more to every heal. Intellect is your mana pool. Meditation keeps half your mana regeneration going while you cast, which makes Spirit worth more for this build than for a Holy priest at 20. Mana per 5 sec adds regeneration too, and Stamina matters little while the tank holds the monsters.

Tips

• While Power Word: Shield holds, damage doesn't interrupt the target's casts, so when a monster turns on you, shielding yourself keeps your heals going.
• Blizzard's notes say Power Word: Shield can now always overwrite an existing shield on a target without Weakened Soul. For a Human priest, Divine Grace removes Weakened Soul, so a tank in trouble can get an instant heal and then a fresh shield straight away.
• Heal (270 to 312 for 155 mana at rank 1) heals more per point of mana than Flash Heal (174 to 214 for 125 mana), so Heal is the better deal whenever you can see the damage coming.
• Put Fear Ward on the tank before an enemy that fears. It blocks the next fear and lasts 3 min, the same as its cooldown, so you can keep it up all run.
• Only rank 1 of most Discipline talents is in the client, so the build's reasons say for each talent which ranks have known effects; don't count on the extra ranks doing more until Blizzard shows their numbers.

Holy Priest PvE guide

Holy is the throughput healer: more critical heals, a quicker Heal from Divine Fury, a stronger Renew and Holy Nova, an instant heal for party members standing near you. At level 20 you heal dungeons with Renew and Heal and save Flash Heal for sudden damage. Forever's Binding Heal and Penance arrive at 25 and 30.

Your job in a group

You're the group's healer. Keep Renew on the tank, heal with Heal (Divine Fury makes it quicker) and use Flash Heal for sudden damage. Holy Nova heals party members within 10 yards with no threat when the group stacks, and Power Word: Fortitude buffs the whole party. Shackle Undead holds one undead enemy out of a pull, Psychic Scream scatters enemies that reach you, Fear Ward saves the tank from the next fear, Dispel Magic and Cure Disease clean up harmful effects, and Resurrection brings back anyone who dies. You have no interrupt at 20; Fade hands monsters back to the tank if your heals pull them.

Opener

• Power Word: Fortitude: On every member of the group before the first pull.
• Inner Fire: On yourself, in case a monster reaches you.
• Renew: On the tank as they pull: rank 3 heals 125 over 15 sec, and Blizzard's notes say Renew can now land critical hits.
• Heal: Start it as soon as the tank takes damage. Divine Fury shortens the cast, but start it early anyway: it heals 270 to 312 at rank 1.
• Power Word: Shield: On the tank when a pull hits harder than expected; they can't be shielded again for 15 sec.

Cooldowns

• Holy Nova: When the group is stacked: heals party members within 10 yards for 47 to 55 and damages enemies there, with no threat.
• Divine Grace: Human only: an instant heal on an ally below 50% health that also removes Weakened Soul. It can't target you and has a 10 min cooldown.
• Desperate Prayer: Dwarf only: an instant 247 to 305 heal on yourself at rank 2, on a 10 min cooldown.
• Contingency Plan: Gnome only: on the tank before a boss; the next time damage takes them below 35% health they get a shield and a heal over 15 sec. The client doesn't show how much.
• Dark Sacrifice: Undead only: turns 400 of your health into mana over 15 sec, when nothing is attacking you.
• Fade: If your heals pull a monster off the tank: enemies are discouraged from attacking you for 10 sec.

Stats

Healing Power / Spell Power, Intellect, Mana per 5 sec, Spirit, Stamina. Heal's coefficient is 0.857 in Forever (0.729 in Classic Era) and Lesser Heal rank 3's is 0.714, so healing on gear adds a lot to every heal. Intellect is your mana pool. The level 20 build has no Meditation, so Spirit's regeneration works mostly between casts; at 30, Spiritual Guidance turns Spirit into healing and moves it up the list.

Tips

• Twilight Focus gives a 70% chance to avoid interruption from damage on any spell, so a monster hitting you doesn't have to stop your heals. Still, step toward the tank so it gets pulled off you.
• Holy Nova's damage and healing cause no threat, so it's safe to cast during a pull when you're worried about drawing monsters.
• Without Meditation your mana comes back mostly between casts, so drink between pulls instead of starting the next one half empty.
• Lesser Heal rank 3 heals 130 to 152 for 75 mana, a cheap way to top up someone missing a little health.

Shadow Priest PvE guide

Shadow is the priest's damage spec: Mind Blast, Shadow Word: Pain and Mind Flay, with Blackout's chance to stun, Shadow Affinity's lower threat and Shadow Focus's extra hit. At level 20 you're a ranged damage dealer with a shield and heals for emergencies; Vampiric Embrace and Shadow Weaving arrive at 30, and Shadowform needs level 40.

Your job in a group

You deal ranged damage. Put Shadow Word: Pain on the main target and fit Mind Blast in on cooldown once the tank has threat, with Mind Flay in between; Mind Blast causes a lot of threat, and Shadow Affinity lowers it. You're also a backup healer: Power Word: Shield, Renew and Flash Heal can save a pull, and Power Word: Fortitude buffs the group. Shackle Undead holds one undead enemy, Psychic Scream scatters enemies that reach the casters, Fear Ward protects the tank, and Mind Flay's slow keeps a fleeing monster from bringing help. Dispel Magic, Cure Disease and Resurrection round out the kit. You have no interrupt at 20.

Opener

• Power Word: Fortitude: On every member of the group before the first pull.
• Shadow Word: Pain: On the main target once the tank has hit it: 108 Shadow damage over 18 sec at rank 3, and Improved Shadow Word: Pain makes it last longer.
• Mind Blast: After the tank has had a few seconds of threat; 65 to 71 damage at rank 2, but it causes a high amount of threat.
• Starshards: Night Elf only: instant, 300 Arcane damage over 6 sec at rank 2; use it every time it's ready.
• Mind Flay: Your filler between Mind Blasts: 63 Shadow damage over 3 sec, and a 50% slow on anything that tries to run.

Cooldowns

• Devouring Plague: On enemies that will live for the full 24 sec: 128 Shadow damage that heals you. It costs a lot of mana, so skip it on monsters that die fast.
• Fade: When Mind Blast pulls a monster onto you: enemies are discouraged from attacking you for 10 sec.
• Power Word: Shield: On yourself or the tank when a pull goes wrong; the target can't be shielded again for 15 sec.
• Psychic Scream: When enemies reach the casters and there's room for them to run: 2 flee for 8 sec at rank 1.
• Dark Sacrifice: Undead only: turns 400 of your health into mana over 15 sec between pulls or when nothing is attacking you.

Stats

Spell Power / Shadow Damage, Hit, Intellect, Critical Strike, Spirit, Stamina. Forever raised Mind Blast's coefficient to 0.429 and Shadow Word: Pain's to 0.2 (0.364 and 0.154 at the same ranks in Classic Era), so spell and Shadow damage on gear add more than before. Shadow Focus gives 5% hit with Shadow spells; hit on gear still helps against bosses above your level. Intellect keeps you casting. This build has no Meditation, so Spirit's regeneration works mostly between fights.

Tips

• Mind Blast causes a high amount of threat: give the tank a few seconds at the start of each pull before your first one.
• Shadow Focus adds 5% to your chance to hit with Shadow spells, which matters most against bosses above your level.
• With five points in Blackout, each Shadow damage spell has a 10% chance to stun its target for 3 sec. Treat it as a bonus, not something to plan around.
• Wand between Mind Blasts when mana runs low; Devouring Plague rank 1 costs 215 mana, so keep it for long fights.

Checked against WoW Forever beta build 1.60.1.70009.

Priest abilities

• Focused Casting
• Litany of Light
• Lesser Heal (level 1)
• Power Word: Fortitude (level 1)
• Smite (level 1)
• Shadow Word: Pain (level 4)
• Power Word: Shield (level 6)
• Fade (level 8)
• Renew (level 8)
• Confounding Flash (level 10)
• Desperate Prayer (level 10)
• Divine Grace (level 10)
• Hex of Weakness (level 10)
• Mind Blast (level 10)
• Resurrection (level 10)
• Starshards (level 10)
• Touch of Weakness (level 10)
• Inner Fire (level 12)
• Cure Disease (level 14)
• Psychic Scream (level 14)
• Heal (level 16)
• Dispel Magic (level 18)
• Chastise (level 20)
• Contingency Plan (level 20)
• Dark Sacrifice (level 20)
• Devouring Plague (level 20)
• Elune's Grace (level 20)
• Fear Ward (level 20)
• Feedback (level 20)
• Flash Heal (level 20)
• Holy Fire (level 20)
• Mind Soothe (level 20)
• Shackle Undead (level 20)
• Shadowguard (level 20)
• Mind Vision (level 22)
• Mana Burn (level 24)
• Binding Heal (level 25)
• Mind Control (level 30)
• Penance (level 30)
• Prayer of Healing (level 30)
• Shadow Protection (level 30)
• Abolish Disease (level 32)
• Shadow Word: Death (level 32)
• Levitate (level 34)
• Greater Heal (level 40)
• Lightwell Renew (level 40)
• Prayer of Mending (level 40)
• Prayer of Fortitude (level 48)
• Prayer of Shadow Protection (level 56)
• Prayer of Spirit (level 60)