The following specs listed below are intended as a guideline to help you choose a proper spec for 3.3. Some of these specs are optimized to enhance a spell or a form of healing, or balance several options (ie, renew spec crossed with greater heal). The spec you choose will be dependent on your healing style or the task you are trying to accomplish. None of these specs should be seen as better then one other the other. In the following specs there are talents or points that some will want to move around, which is completely fine, but ensure the vital talents are selected.

Most holy specs listed below have many similarities with a few points shifted around to help optimize an ability. Many say that the Holy tree is flexible and from what we will see you may agree that this is a true statement.

The first spec listed here is an ideal renew spec with focus on raid healing (for reference we will call this the Raid-Renew spec). You will notice that any ability that enhances greater heal is not chosen as with this spec your focus will not be to use greater heal. Now I’ve put 4 points into Divine Fury which some prefer to place them into Spell warding (reduce damage taken from spells by 8%) and that is perfectly fine. However there are situations where a greater heal may come in handy. This doesn’t mean we want to modify the spec to enhance our greater heal, but having a quicker greater heal may come in handy. An example of the use would be in ToC on Lord Jaraxxus when a Mistress of Pain spawns and casts Spinning Pain Spike on a raid member (inflicts 50% health damage). Having the ability to dish out a quick greater heal might be the best choice in spells. Without having Divine Fury we could still achieve this but timing would need to be adjusted.

Again, anything that has to do with greater heal has been removed from this spec and instead all of our talent points are placed into talents that will increase our raid healing ability. Aside from the basic raid healing abilities we have also selected Improved Renew & Empowered Renew. Based on my personal experience renew is a great spell and every holy priest should learn to properly use it. Some may argue that renew isn’t worth the talent points and if you are not use to healing with renew that stay clear from it. Based on the talents chosen I would consider this a heavy raid healing spec as non raid healing specs have been excluded.

One thing I did not mention is the reason to choosing Blessed Resilience over Empowered Healing. In the WotLK Healing Compendium 3.3 (point 12) you will find some mathematical reasoning to how the combination of BR & ToF can be stronger then Empowered Healing towards Flash Heal. Aside from this you also need to realize that BR will increase the output of all of your spells and in theory increasing your overall throughput.

The next spec we are looking at is one intended for raid healing but with the ability to use greater heal more frequently (for reference we will call this the Raid-GH spec). This spec is picking any ability that will make our greater heals faster, stronger, and more mana efficient. This spec also includes talents to improve our raid healing abilities and is more ideal for those who do not wish to use renew. With this spec you are more then capable of raid healing and provide sufficient assistance with tank healing. In order to achieve this spec we have taken points from talents such as Blessed Resilience and Empowered Renew, and shifted these points into those greater heal friendly talents. We could also argue about the choice of BR over Test of Faith, 3% overall healing or 12% on targets at or below 50%, but the choice is up to you.

With this spec we are picking up Empowered Healing which could be considered better for Flash heal since we have also picked up Test of Faith, but of course we are loosing talents such as empowered renew and blessed resilience. Overall this is still a strong raid healing spec and gives us the ability to use Greater heal.

Now if your like me and can’t let go of Renew but need greater heal then this may be your choice  (for reference we will call this the GH-ER spec). This spec will pickup both talents to improve Renew and those talents needed to make GH viable. Now in order to do this we must sacrifice a few raid healing talents such as Holy Reach and Healing Prayers, but neither of which are mandatory for raid healing. This would be a spec I’d consider if I needed to pickup GH for a raid such as ICC10 man where only 2 healers are in the group. Having the ability to toss out strong raid heals and strong tank heals will make most encounters easier. Now the good thing about say 10man ICC is that you don’t have a lot of raiders in the group and range shouldn’t be too much of an issue (making it more reasonable to not spec into Holy Reach). Now there are other specs which we could choose from but this spec will give us the benefits to renew and unless your a non renew user then this is a spec to consider.

Finally with this spec (which for reference we will call our GH spec) we are of course grabbing those talents to make our greater heals move viable but we are also taking Blessed Resilience for the 3% additional healing overall. This will make all of our spells stronger but at a cost of Holy Reach & Healing Prayers. Again HR & HP are not mandatory for a holy priest and if you want to have stronger heals then as always a sacrifice needs to be made. Comparing this spec to the previous we simply moved points away from Empowered Renew and place those into Blessed Resilience.

The following spec has been brought to my attention by Zusterke and I can clearly see how this spec could be yet another ideal spec for those who don’t use greater heal and wish to focus more on raid healing. Based on personal experience flash heal is definitely one of our primary spells and having a spec which enhances that spell is not a bad choice at all. The new tier 10 2pc bonus also adds a little punch to the use of our flash heals, making the use of flash heal more beneficial. Below is Zusterke’s comment on this spec:

The allround FHeal spec. The very same WotLK compendium should explain why you’d pick 2/5 EH + 3/3 BR over 5/5 ER. What’s unique about this spec is that it still delivers strong single target healing but has all the goodies for superior AoE healing. The Renew, while not fully talented, is still strong enough to make Renew heavy strategies work, but you can switch to FHeal strategies should the situation call for it. If I would not be taking a Renew heavy spec, this would be my preferred spec. Its weaknesses are slim, and a good mix of Renew and FHeal is all you need to overcome that… something an experienced priest could enjoy

Now if we look at all of the previous specs shown you will see that the majority of them are similar. Some specs place points into a certain ability to help optimize it for a certain situation. As far as Holy Reach is concerned I don’t feel that it’s a mandatory talent to have however this really depends on the types of raids you are doing. If your simply running 5mans then its by no means necessary and could possibly be a loss of points. If your focus is 10mans then you could see it as not mandatory to have but wouldn’t hurt to have. For a 25man raid you now have to realize that there are a lot more raid members in an area and chances are they need to be further spread out. This is where having HR would benefit us if our main purpose is to raid heal. Healing prayers is another story and will depend on how often you cast PoH and PoM and whether you find yourself having mana issues or not. The spec you choose will be dependent on your healing style. Also if you never cast renew then you may consider moving the points I’ve placed into Improved Renew (tier 1) into Healing Focus and you would be left with 1 point to play around with.

To quickly summarize lets take a look at all 4 specs listed.

Raid Renew

- Optimal for Raid Healing

- Strong Renew

- No Greater Heal support

Raid-Greater Heal

- Optimal for Raid Healing

- Full GHeal support

- Limited or no use of Renew

Greater Heal w/Empowered Renew

- Full GHeal Support

- Strong Renew

- Shorter range AoE heals

- Less mana efficiency with PoM + PoH

Greater Heal

- Full GHeal Support

- Stronger overall heals (BR)

- Weak Renew

- Shorter range AoE heals

- Less mana efficiency with PoM + PoH

Last but not least the Cookie cutter Disc spec. There isn’t much wiggle room in the discipline tree as there is for holy and trying to move points around may not be a great idea. Some disc specs try to incorporate Improved Healing by removing points from Focused Will, but the crit you gain is vital to proc those bubbles if you don’t have the sufficient gear for it. My best advice is to stick with the spec listed above as it has all the important parts for a disc priest. One thing you could change is the points from Improved Renew and Desperate Prayer into either Spell Warding or Divine Fury.

As far as Glyphs are concerned here are my recommendations (with the Holy choices being a little more flexible then the Disc choices):

Holy

- Glyph of Flash Heal – Reduces mana cost by 10%.

- Glyph of Circle of Healing – Heals an additional target.

- Glyph of Guardian Spirit – Resets the CD on GS if the target does not activate the spirit.

- Glyph of Fading – Reduces mana cost on fade.

- Glyph of Shadowfiend – Receive 5% of max mana if fiend dies.

- Glyph of Levitate (or something else) – Fun Fun Fun

Disc

- Glyph of Flash Heal – Reduces mana cost by 10%.

- Glyph of Penance – Reduces the CD on Penance by 2 secs.

- Glyph of Power Word: Shield – Heals the target for 20% of the absorb amount.

- Glyph of Fading – Reduces mana cost on fade.

- Glyph of Shadowfiend – Receive 5% of max mana if fiend dies.

- Glyph of Levitate (or something else) – Fun Fun Fun x2

Well that is all, if you have any comments/questions leave a comment. If you have your own spec which you feel is better then drop me an email or comment with some reasoning and I’ll include it here. Good luck =)

The following list is intended as a guide line to help you choose which gear is ‘better’. Please note I’ve inserted a -500 value to hit rating in order to exclude +hit gear. The higher the value the better the gear is considered. However if you are lacking on a certain stat then you should gear to fill the stat you are missing. There is also a great application called Rawr that will help you optimize and choose your gear. This list will be updated accordingly as new items are discovered. If you notice an item not on the list please leave a comment and I will insert it into the list. The stat weights used are those provided by BobTurkey, the majority of these were calculated by hand and some filtered using GuildOx LootRank. Finally the following list contains items from mainly ICC 10/25, ToC 10/25, ToGC 10/25.

Head || Neck || Shoulders || Back || Chest || Wrist || Hands || Waist || Legs || Feet || Finger || 2 Hand || Main Hand || Off Hand || Wand

Head

1. 368.33 Corp’rethar Ceremonial Crown Gunship – ICC25 Heroic
2. 365.69 Sanctified Crimson Acolyte Hood Token – ICC25 Heroic
3. 324.29 Sanctified Crimson Acolyte Hood Token – ICC25 or ICC10 Heroic
4. 327.13 Corp’rethar Ceremonial Crown Gunship – ICC25
5. 321.93 Thaumaturge’s Crackling Cowl Saurfang – ICC10 Heroic
6. 307.24 Velen’s Cowl of Triumph Regalia of Triumph – ToGC25
7. 303.28 Cowl of Malefic Repose Queen Lana’thel – ICC10 Heroic
8. 287.86 Crimson Acolyte Hood 95 Emblem of Frost
9. 295.76 Thaumaturge’s Crackling Cowl Saurfang – ICC10
10. 275.74 Helm of Clouded Sight 75 Emblem of Triumph

Back to Top

Neck

1. 209.01 Holiday’s Grace Festergut – ICC25 Heroic
2. 204.61 Bone Sentinel’s Amulet Marrowgar – ICC25 Heroic
3. 193.58 Blood Queen’s Crimson Choker Queen Lana’thel - ICC25 Heroic
4. 186.20 Holiday’s Grace Festergut – ICC25
5. 182.19 Bone Sentinel’s Amulet Marrowgar – ICC25
6. 179.03 Choker of Filthy Diamonds Rotface – ICC10 Heroic
7. 174.95 Soulcleave Pendant Saurfang – ICC10 Heroic
8. 174.29 Blood Queen’s Crimson Choker Queen Lana’thel - ICC25
9. 164.08 Wail of the Val’kyr Twin Val’kyr – ToGC25
10. 159.57 Choker of Filthy Diamonds Rotface – ICC10

Back to Top

Shoulders

1. 276.49 Sanctified Crimson Acolyte ShoulderpadsToken – ICC25 Heroic
2. 253.21 Stiffened Corpse Shoulderpads Trash – ICC25
3. 249.94 Bloodstained Surgeon’s Shoulderguards Festergut – ICC10 Heroic
4. 246.93 Sanctified Crimson Acolyte Shoulderpads Token – ICC25
5. 233.20 Velen’s Shoulderpads of Triumph Token - ToGC25
6. 223.53 Bloodstained Surgeon’s Shoulderguards Festergut – ICC10
7. 219.47 Crimson Acolyte Shoulderpads 60 Emblems of Frost
8. 208.12 Velen’s Shoulderpads of Triumph Token – ToC25 or ToC10 Heroic
9. 202.29 Pauldrons of Revered Mortality 45 Emblems of Triumph
10. 186.03 Velen’s Shoulderpads of Conquest 30 Emblems of Triumph

Back to Top

Back

1. 204.61 Greatcloak of the Turned Champio Saurfang – ICC25 Heroic
2. 197.24 Bolvar’s Devotion Tribute Chest - ToGC25
3. 196.37 Frostbinder’s Shredded Cape Valithria – ICC25 Heroic
4. 187.77 Jaina’s Radiance Tribute Chest – ToGC25
5. 187.52 Volde’s Cloak of the Night Sky Emblems of Frost
6. 184.53 Drape of the Violet Tower Emblems of Frost
7. 182.54 Heartsick Mender’s Cape Blood Princess – ICC10 Heroic
8. 174.62 Greatcloak of the Turned Champion Saurfang – ICC25
9. 174.24 Maiden’s Favor Anub’Arak – ToGC25
10. 174.22 Shawl of the Refreshing Winds Northrend Beasts – ToGC25
10. 174.22 Shawl of Fervent Crusader Tribute Chest – ToGC10

Back to Top

Chest

1. 373.69 Sanctified Crimson Acolyte Robe Token – ICC25 Heroic
2. 373.63 Sanguine Silk Robes Blood Princess - ICC25 Heroic
3. 337.04 Ermine Coronation Robes Emblems of Frost
4. 334.16 Sanctified Crimson Acolyte Robe Token – ICC25 or ICC10 H
5. 332.22 Bloodsoul Raiment Blood Princess – ICC10 Heroic
6. 327.18 Sanguine Silk Robes Blood Princess – ICC25
7. 317.20 Meteor Chaser’s Raiment Emblems of Frost
8. 315.10 Flowing Vestments of Ascent Northernd Beasts – ToGC25
9. 314.48 Robes of Azure Downfall Sindragosa – ICC10 Heroic
10. 314.27 Velen’s Robe of Triumph Regalia of Triumph – ToGC25

Back to Top

Wrist

1. 208.83 Death Surgeon’s Sleeves Rotface – ICC25 Heroic
2. 184.27 Bracers of Dark Blessings Deathwhisper – ICC10 Heroic
3. 178.84 Death Surgeon’s Sleeves Rotface - ICC25
4. 172.55 Armbands of the Ashen Saint Anub’Arak – ToGC25
5. 164.05 Bracers of Dark Blessings Deathwhisper – ICC10
6. 156.89 Royal Moonshroud Bracers Crafted
7. 146.59 Grasps of Reason XT-002 – Ulduar Hardmode
8. 146.36 Armbands of the Ashen Saint Anub’Arak – ToC25
9. 146.08 Bejeweled Wizard’s Bracers Crafted
10. 129.40 Unsullied Cuffs Sarth2D – Obsidian Sanctum H

Back to Top

Hands

1. 271.74 San’layn Ritualist Gloves Blood Princess - ICC25 Heroic
2. 269.05 Sanctified Crimson Acolyte Gloves Token – ICC25 Heroic
3. 253.21 Gloves of Ambivalence Emblems of Frost
4. 240.19 Gloves of Broken Fingers Rotface – ICC10 Heroic
5. 240.13 San’layn Ritualist Gloves Blood Princess – ICC25
6. 237.05 Gloves of False Gestures Emblems of Frost
7. 226.69 Velen’s Gloves of Triumph Regalia of Triumph – ToGC25
8. 221.39 Gloves of the Lifeless Touch Anub’Arak – ToGC25
9. 213.58 Gloves of Broken Fingers Rotface – ICC10
10. 213.36 Crimson Acolyte Gloves Emblems of Frost

Back to Top

Waist

1. 282.77 Lingering Illness Festergut – ICC25 Heroic
2. 261.65 Crushing Coldwraith Belt Marrowgar – ICC25 Heroic
3. 253.21 Lingering Illness Festergut - ICC25
4. 243.58 Circle of Ossus Emblems of Frost
5. 241.92 Cord of the Patronizing Practitioner Marrowgar – ICC10 Heroic
6. 236.25 Cauterized Cord Putricide – ICC10 Heroic
7. 234.25 Crushing Coldwraith Belt Marrowgar – ICC25
8. 233.59 Cord of the Tenebrous Mist Northrend Beasts – ToGC25
9. 215.31 Cord of the Patronizing Practitioner Marrowgar – ICC10
10. 210.66 Cauterized Cord Putricide – ICC10

Back to Top

Legs

1. 367.39 Sanctified Crimson Acolyte Leggings Token – ICC25 Heroic
2. 340.53 Lightweave Leggings Crafted
3. 338.70 Leggings of the Refracted Mind Valithria – ICC10 Heroic
4. 333.65 Sanctified Crimson Acolyte Leggings Token – ICC25
5. 319.71 Kilt of Untreated Wounds Festergut – ICC10 Heroic
6. 317.19 Leggings of Woven Death Crafted
7. 313.43 Leggings of the Soothing Touch Jaraxxus – ToGC25
8. 307.66 Velen’s Leggings of Triumph Regalia of Triumph – ToC25
9. 291.59 Crimson Acolyte Leggings Emblems of Frost
10. 285.88 Kilt of Untreated Wounds Festergut – ICC10

Back to Top

Feet

1. 261.65 Plague Scientist’s Boots Festergut – ICC25 Heroic
2. 253.21 Sandals of Consecration Crafted
3. 248.01 Pale Corpse Boots Blood Princess – ICC10 Heroic
4. 242.04 Boots of the Mourning Widow Faction Champs – ToGC25
5. 234.25 Plague Scientist’s Boots Festergut – ICC25
6. 220.55 Pale Corpse Boots Blood Princess – ICC10
7. 205.46 Boots of Fiery Resolution Flame Leviathan – Ulduar Hardmode
8. 202.29 Boots of the Mourning Widow Faction Champs – ToC25
9. 188.57 Starlight Treads Algalon – Ulduar 10
10. 187.18 Treads of the False Oracle Yogg-Saron – Ulduar 25 Hardmode

Back to Top

Finger

1. 210.51 Ring of Maddening Whispers Deathwhisper – ICC25 Heroic
2. 207.34 Incarnadine Band of Mending Blood Princess – ICC25 Heroic
3. 206.28 Memory of Malygos Sindragosa – ICC25 Heroic
4. 203.23 Marrowgar’s Frigid Eye Marrowgar – ICC25 Heroic
5. 194.70 Ring of Rapid Ascent Gunship – ICC25 Heroic
6. 189.63 Ashen Band of Endless Wisdom Ashen Verdict Rep - Exalted
7. 184.53 Incarnadine Band of Mending Blood Princess – ICC25
8. 183.86 Memory of Malygos Sindragosa – ICC25
9. 180.98 Marrowgar’s Frigid Eye Marrowgar – ICC25
10. 178.84 Ring of Maddening Whispers Deathwhisper – ICC25

Back to Top

2 Hand

1. 813.12 Dying Light Queen Lana’thel - ICC25 Heroic
2. 714.17 Dying Light Queen Lana’thel – ICC25
3. 708.92 Mag’hari Chieftain’s Staff Saurfang – ICC10 Heroic
4. 683.77 Clemency Tribute Chest – ToGC25
5. 648.03 Nibelung Deathwhisper – ICC25 Heroic
6. 624.82 Mag’hari Chieftain’s Staff Saurfang – ICC10
7. 582.91 Enlightenment Twin Val’kyr – ToGC10
8. 581.22 Cold Convergence Anub’Arak – ToGC10
9. 575.81 Staff of Endless Winter Hodir – Ulduar 25 Hardmode
10. 568.83 Nibelung Deathwhisper – ICC25

Back to Top

Main Hand

1. 636.92 Frozen Bonespike Marrowgar – ICC25 Heroic
2. 564.19 Trauma Rotface – ICC25 Heroic
3. 562.70 Lockjaw Rotface – ICC10 Heroic
4. 557.16 Frozen Bonespike Marrowgar – ICC25
5. 556.68 Midnight Sun Gunship – ICC10 Heroic
6. 516.02 Misery’s End Anub’Arak – ToGC25
7. 491.72 Trauma Rotface – ICC25
8. 488.72 Midnight Sun Gunship – ICC10
9. 488.29 Lockjaw Rotface – ICC10
10. 481.96 Hammer of Purified Flame Quest Reward

Back to Top

Off Hand

1. 197.04 Sundial of Eternal Dusk Sindragosa – ICC25 Heroic
2. 187.13 Shadow Silk Spindle Blood Princess – ICC25 Heroic
3. 174.62 Sundial of Eternal Dusk Sindragosa – ICC25
4. 168.99 Chalice of Searing Light Twin Val’kyr – ToGC25
5. 165.87 Shadow Silk Spindle Blood Princess – ICC25
6. 149.88 Chalice of Searing Light Twin Val’kyr – ToC25
7. 124.69 Antediluvian Cornerstone Grimoire Onyxia – Onyxia Lair 25
8. 122.08 Ironmender Kologarn – Ulduar 25

Back to Top

Wand

1. 120.96 Nightmare Ender Valithria – ICC25 Heroic
2. 114.48 Corpse-Impaling Spike Rotface – ICC25 Heroic
3. 106.57 Lana’thel’s Bloody Nail Queen Lana’thel – ICC10 Heroic
4. 101.21 Nightmare Ender Valithria – ICC25
5. 93.86 Corpse-Impaling Spike Rotface – ICC25
6. 88.39 Lana’thel’s Bloody Nail Queen Lana’thel – ICC10
7. 76.99 Rod of Imprisoned Souls Northrend Beasts – ToGC10
8. 74.19 Scepter of Creation Ignis – Ulduar 25
9. 68.47 Rod of Imprisoned Souls Northrend Beasts – ToC10
10. 67.35 Scepter of Lost Souls Gen Vezax – Ulduar 25

Back to Top

Prayer of Healing Glyph – “Will also heal party members for an additional 20% of its healing over time.” So the question is: is it really worth using? I’ve been asking myself this question for the past few weeks and I’ve come to my own personal conclusion. Before I go any further let me show you some data I’ve pulled from worldoflogs.

Based on the average data PoH is being used for 3.5% of all of my spells, and the average amount of healing going out from the glyph is 8.72%. The glyph says 20% of its healing, but based on this data its closer to 10%. Keep in mind overhealing (74.62% avg) is also being taken into effect, hence 10% effective healing rather then 20% as stated by the glyph. The overhealing % column is just overhealing, effective healing (Glyph Healed for) is its own entity and overhealing has already been deducted. So, looking at the data alone I’m not sure if this glyph is really worth it. Looks like the majority of what its doing is adding to my overhealing. One thing I really hate is overhealing and this is only adding to the already big chunk of overhealing from other major spells like CoH for example.

If I used PoH more often would the numbers change in favor for the glyph? Without the data this is tough to answer and my only speculation is that it may in fact heal for more (Glyph Healed for) and my percent healed would increase. I’m not sure how much exactly, but from what I’ve seen in ToC & ToGC my guess is that the OH % would stay relatively close. I just don’t see people staying low often enough to not overheal. You may also think that PoH + Glyph would shine in a fight like Twin Valks, but unfortunately from experience PoH is just too slow to be beneficial. From looking at wowmeteronline and the top 20 HPS priest on Heroic Twin Valks  it looks like they are all using PoH Glyph and the overheal is anywhere between 40-50% for and the average healing amount compared to PoH is 30%. Keep in mind those numbers are only for that fight, and there are no other fights like it at the moment.

The image above is the closest I was able to find to the average shown in the table above.

In the end it’s really a matter of personal choice and your healing style will be the end factor of your decision in which glyph to take. However to me this Glyph is not worth it and I will be replacing it after I hit post.

Here’s some other useful links in regards to this:

Dwarf Priest.com
MMO Champion Forum
World of Warcraft Forum

Many of us love renew but at times we may overcast it, or maybe use it where it least benefits us. How do we know when Renew is best used? Damage over time. This is exactly what renew and hots for the most part are best at. However keep in mind that druids and other priests will probably have hots up as well, so unless its more then a few targets you should consider something other then renew. Keep in mind that the more people taking damage over time the higher chances your renew has to tick. Depending on the number of healers and targets your renew may never get a tick off, hence leading to over-healing. Also don’t be scared to try different things out (as long as it doesn’t cause a wipe) and keep Recount running to gauge the performance gain/loss.

Twin Valk’s in ToC/ToGC was a trial and error fight for me. I started by using a CoH/Flash Heal/PoH/PoM strategy, but I always found that PoH was getting off too late and mainly over-healing. I tried just spamming CoH/PoH/PoM and that was worse. Eventually I decided to simply spam renew and it worked like a charm. Of course after a few ‘trials’ I ended up with a small cast sequence (still tweaking it every time we fight this boss) which looks something like: PoM, CoH, Renew x4, rinse & repeat. With my current haste (~550) PoM is off CD after the 4th renew and hence the cycle repeats. I also do my best to keep PoM in melee range and cast renew’s on those further away from the center group. Again I’m still tweaking this rotation to achieve a higher HPS and it looks like I will be implementing Holy Nova into the rotation.

Back to renew. What other encounters in ToC/ToGC does Renew shine in?

The Northern Beasts – Right before a massive crash. If you time it just right you should be able to get out anywhere between 5–8 renews that will continue healing while everyone is stunned momentarily. PoM isn’t a bad idea but give renew the priority.

Lord Jaraxxus – Placing renew on Legion Flame targets isn’t a bad idea, however it is only casted on 1 person at a time and chances are other healers will also have their hots rolling.

Twin Val’kyr – Renew/Hot friendly encounter. Be generous and spam away =)

Anub’Arak – Penetrating Cold & Acid Drenched Mandibles are the two main dots used on raid members during this encounter that benefit from renew. Depending on your strategy you may also consider renew for phase3.

Who ever said that Priests can’t be druids? Well we cant, sorry. However as time has passed I’ve grown to love Renew so much that I couldn’t live with out. I know there are some specs out there that lean away from buffing renew, but it can be so powerful that not using them (or even renew itself) can hurt you. There are some situations where renew is simply not worth using, but at least in ToC I’ve found that using renew really bumps our HPS. There are plenty of situations where there is a constant damage over time and renew serves great. Yeah, druids will learn to hate renew because it snatches some of the healing away from them but who cares? I sure don’t. Well maybe I do if it means killing a boss for the first time, but after that all is fair.

As most of you may know Renew is a great buffer that gives us that split second we need to get the bigger heal out or simply provide some assistance to MT healers. But using renew wisely can mean more then just that. It’s great seeing how using renew can mean the difference between being in the bottom three or top three on meters. By now you’ve noticed that I’m talking about being a meter whore, and in some fights renew will give us the advantage.

Take the Twins for example (ToC or ToGC). There is always a constant damage going out over time and your first assumption may be to use PoH. It heals an entire group for 4–6k and if glyphed will leave a small hot. Works great you may think, but the problem is that it takes too long to cast. Serendipity x3 will fix the issue or at least temporarily buff PoH. Having to constantly use Flash heals to buff PoH is not worth it. Renew on the other hand (if spec’d into ER) will heal for say 2k on the initial tick (with my gear has critted up to 4.5k) and heal that person over 15 seconds, 2k per tick (3k crit). On this fight I’ve been able to push up to a constant 8–9k hps (peeked at 10k hps) using a renew strategy compared to an avg of 6-7k hps with flash/PoH strat. So you be the judge.

I’d like to thank BobTurkey for the great effort he’s put into his recent posts on priest theory crafting found on his blog. He has taken the time to rework DwarfPriests stat weights to coincide with the recent 3.1 patch and allow us to come up with a list of BiS gear for us to choose from. With the changes to the discipline tree it seems that everyone had made the change from holy to disc and has been having too much fun to crunch some numbers (like myself ). Anyhow the following list of gear uses BobTurkey’s stat weights and lootrank to obtain the rankings. Please note I’ve inserted a -500 value to hit rating in order to exclude +hit gear. Keep in mind the following list is gear from Ulduar 10&25, Sarth 10&25, Malygos 10&25, Naxx 10&25, and 5man heroics. The higher the value the better the gear is considered. However if you are lacking on a certain stat then you should gear to fill the stat you are missing. There is also a great application called Rawr that will help you optimize your gear. Originally it was meant for druid tanks but they have expanded the application to include the majority of classes and specs. Will be updated with MMO-Champions Ulduar Hardmode items.

Head || Neck || Shoulders || Back || Chest || Wrist || Hands || Waist || Legs Feet || Finger || 2 Hand || Main Hand || Off Hand || Wand

Head

1. 247.04 Conqueror’s Cowl of Sanctification Thorim – Ulduar (Heroic)
2. 240.95 Cowl of Dark Whispers Yogg-Saron – Ulduar (Heroic)
3. 237.76 Hood of Rationality Malygos – Eye of Eternity (Heroic)
4. 230.82 Valorous Cowl of Sanctification Thorim – Ulduar
5. 221.07 Conqueror’s Circlet of Sanctification Yogg-Saron – Ulduar (Heroic)
6. 218.59 Enamored Cowl Sartharion2D – Obsidian Sanctum
7. 216.19 Lifespark Visage Flame Leviathan – Ulduar
8. 216.07 Valorous Circlet of Faith Kel’Thuzad – Naxxaramas (Heroic)
9. 213.99 Valorous Crown of Faith Kel’Thuzad – Naxxaramas (Heroic)
10. 213.98 Cowl of Vanity Grobbulus – Naxxaramas (Heroic)

Back to Top

Neck

1. 149.63 Sapphire Amulet of Renewal Iron Council – Ulduar (Heroic Hardmode)
2. 140.68 Charm of Meticulous Timing XT-002 – Ulduar (Heroic Hardmode)
3. 130.90 Watchful Eye Iron Council – Ulduar (Hardmode)
4. 130.43 Unblinking Eye Iron Council – Ulduar (Heroic)
5. 128.24 Evoker’s Charm 19 Emblems of Conquest
6. 127.64 Life-Binder’s Locket Sapphiron – Naxxaramas (Heroic quest item)
7. 123.95 Pendant of the Shallow Grave Thorim – Ulduar (Hardmode)
8. 121.59 Frozen Tear of Elune 19 Emblems of Conquest
9. 118.54 Freya’s Choker of Warding Flame Leviathan – Ulduar (Heroic)
10. 115.78 Ousted Bead Necklace Sapphiron – Naxxaramas (quest item)

Back to Top

Shoulders

1. 182.29 Conqueror’s Mantle of Sanctification Yogg-Saron – Ulduar (Heroic)
2. 180.54 Mantle of the Unknowing General Vezax – Ulduar (Heroic)
3. 175.21 Conqueror’s Shoulderpads of Sanctification Yogg-Saron – Ulduar (Heroic)
4. 174.57 Mantle of Dissemination Malygos – Eye of Eternity (Heroic)
5. 172.74 Mantle of Wavering Calm XT-002 – Ulduar (Heroic)
6. 169.55 Valorous Mantle of Sanctification Yogg-Saron – Ulduar
7. 167.87 Underworld Mantle Gen. Vezax – Ulduar
8. 162.36 Iceshear Mantle Trash – Ulduar
9. 161.89 Valorous Shoulderpads of Faith Loatheb – Naxxaramas (Heroic)
10. 161.88 Valorous Shoulderpads of Sanctification Yogg-Saron – Ulduar

Back to Top

Back

1. 132.90 Shawl of Haunted Memories Yogg-Saron – Ulduar (Heroic)
2. 132.16 Cape of the Unworthy Wizard Kel’Thuzad – Naxxaramas (Heroic)
3. 130.32 Asimov’s Drape Mimiron – Ulduar (Heroic)
4. 123.35 Pennant Cloak Sartharion 2D – Obsidian Sanctum (Heroic)
5. 119.26 Shroud of Alteration Ulduar Trash – Ulduar (Heroic)
6. 118.39 Shawl of the Old Maid Multi-boss – Naxxaramas (Heroic)
7. 113.23 Disguise of the Kumiho 25 Emblems of Valor
8. 109.46 Cloak of the Dying Kel’Thuzad – Naxxaramas
9. 109.17 Cloak of Averted Crisis Multi-boss – Naxxaramas (Heroic)
10. 107.51 Shawl of the Caretaker Ignis the Furnace Master – Ulduar

Back to Top

Chest

1. 248.36 Conqueror’s Robe of Sanctification Hodir – Ulduar (Heroic)
2. 232.72 Valorous Robe of Sanctification Hodir – Ulduar
3. 231.60 Raiments of the Iron Council Iron Council – Ulduar (Heroic)
4. 222.93 Vestments of the Piercing Light Thorim – Ulduar
5. 220.42 Robes of Mutation Noth the Plaguebringer – Naxxaramas (Heroic)
6. 220.11 Valorous Robe of Faith 4 Horseman – Naxxaramas (Heroic)
7. 218.37 Sympathy Sapphiron – Naxxaramas (Heroic)
8. 217.05 Blanketing Robes of Snow Malygos – Eye of Eternity (Heroic)
9. 216.14 Robes of the Umbral Brute Kologarn – Ulduar (Heroic)
10. 209.15 The Sanctum’s Flowing Vestments Sartharion – Obsidian Sanctum (Heroic)

Back to Top

Wrist

1. 134.83 Unsullied Cuffs Sartharion 2D – Obsidian Sanctum (Heroic)
2. 132.16 Shackles of the Odalisque Razorscale – Ulduar (Heroic)
3. 121.59 Bands of Impurity Noth the Plaguebringer – Naxxaramas (Heroic)
4. 119.07 Runetouch Handwraps Iron Council – Ulduar
5. 116.43 Punctilious Bindings Grand Widow Faerlina
6. 107.79 Bindings of Yearning Gothik the Harvester – Naxxaramas (Heroic)
7. 106.78 Cuffs of the Shadow Ascendant 60 Emblems of Valor
8. 101.79 Cuffs of Winged Levitation Eregos – The Oculus (Heroic)
9. 101.14 Resurgent Phantom Bindings Gothik the Harvester – Naxxaramas
10. 98.80Deadly Gladiator’s Cuffs of Salvation Arena Vendor

Back to Top

Hands

1. 220.37 Handwraps of the Vigilant General Vezax – Ulduar (Heroic Hardmode)
2. 179.86 Conqueror’s Gloves of Sanctification Mimiron – Ulduar (Heroic)
3. 176.10 Constructor’s Handwraps Flame Leviathan – Ulduar (Heroic)
4. 173.33 Handwraps of Plentiful Recovery Kologarn – Ulduar (Heroic)
5. 172.85 Touch of the Occult 28 Emblems of Conquest 6
6. 169.55 Handwraps of Resonance Thorim – Ulduar
7. 169.38 Valorous Gloves of Sanctification Mimiron – Ulduar
8. 153.89 Gloves of Token Respect Faerlina – Naxxaramas (Heroic)
9. 153.02 Valorous Gloves of Faith Sartharion – Obsidian Sanctum (Heroic)
10. 145.27 Wraps of the Persecuted Thaddius – Naxxaramas (Heroic)

Back to Top

Waist

1. 185.91 Cord of the White Dawn Crafted
2. 174.52 Embrace of the Leviathan Flame Leviathan – Ulduar (Heroic)
3. 172.91 Sash of Potent Incantations Emblems of Conquest
4. 169.55 Leash of Heedless Magic Malygos – Eye of Eternity (Heroic)
5. 165.00 Conductive Cord XT-002 – Ulduar
6. 161.36 Binding of the Dragon Matriarch Razorscale – Ulduar
7. 157.80 Belt of False Dignity Grand Widow Faerlina – Naxxaramas (Heroic)
8. 157.35 Sash of Solitude Patchwerk – Naxxaramas (Heroic)
9. 144.16 Sash of the Parlor Anub’rekhan – Naxxaramas (Heroic)
10. 143.14 Elegant Temple Gardens’ Girdle 40 Emblems of Heroism

Back to Top

Legs

1. 249.70 Leggings of Profound Darkness Gen. Vezax – Ulduar (Hardmode)
2. 245.37 Legwraps of the Master Conjurer 39 Emblems of Conquest
3. 243.28 Leggings of Lost Love Thorim – Ulduar (Heroic)
4. 241.27 Conqueror’s Leggings of Sanctification Freya – Ulduar (Heroic)
5. 241.21 Leggings of Mortal Arrogance Kel’Thuzad – Naxxaramas (Heroic)
6. 225.11 Valorous Leggings of Sanctification Freya – Ulduar
7. 220.87 Valorous Leggings of Faith Thaddius – Naxxaramas (Heroic)
8. 216.92 Valorous Pants of Faith Thaddius – Naxxaramas (Heroic)
9. 216.63 Leggings of Unstable Discharge Thorim – Ulduar
10. 207.19 Distorted Limbs Maexxna – Naxxaramas (Heroic)

Back to Top

Feet

1. 212.42 Boots of Fiery Resolution Flame Leviathan – Ulduar (Heroic Hardmode)
2. 186.29 Savior’s Slippers Crafted
3. 179.13 Spellslinger’s Slippers Crafted
4. 177.97 Sandals of the Ancient Keeper Auriaya – Ulduar (Heroic)
5. 174.26 Boots of the Servant Freya – Ulduar (Heroic)
6. 169.83 Arcanic Tramplers Malygos – Eye of Eternity (Heroic)
7. 161.30 Treads of the Dragon Council Yogg-Saron – Ulduar
8. 161.24 Boots of Forlorn Wishes Instruction Razuvious – Naxxaramas (Heroic)
9. 161.03 Boots of Persuasion Patchwerk – Naxxaramas (Heroic)
10. 154.52 Slippers of the Holy Light 40 Emblems of Heroism

Back to Top

Finger

1. 133.07 Glowing Ring of Reclamation Flame Leviathan – Ulduar (Heroic)
2. 122.90 Lady Maye’s Sapphire Ring Iron Council – Ulduar
3. 119.96 Ring of the Faithful Servant Auriaya – Ulduar
4. 118.57 Signet of Manifested Pain Kel’Thuzad – Naxxaramas (Heroic)
5. 118.33 Inscribed Signet of the Kirin Tor JC Vendor – 9,750 gold
6. 117.90 Sanity’s Bond Yogg-Saron – Ulduar (Heroic)
7. 116.74 Pyrelight Circle Ignis – Ulduar (Heroic)
8. 115.90 Lost Jewel Multi-boss – Naxxaramas (Heroic)
9. 112.09 Radiant Seal Iron Council – Ulduar (Heroic)
10. 111.69 Band of Channeled Magic 25 Emblems of Valor

Back to Top

2 Hand

1. 590.62 Staff of Endless Winter Hodir – Ulduar (Heroic Hardmode)
2. 550.89 Rapture Iron Council – Ulduar (Heroic)
3. 533.39 The Lifebinder Freya – Ulduar (Heroic)
4. 504.92 Icecore Staff Hodir – Ulduar (Hardmode)
5. 475.05 Pillar of Fortitude Ulduar Trash – Ulduar
6. 473.01 Devotion Yogg-Saron – Ulduar
7. 453.71 Staff of Restraint Sartharion – Obsidian Sanctum (Heroic)
8. 451.74 Damnation Four Horseman – Naxxaramas (Heroic)
9. 422.83 Spire of Sunset Thaddius – Naxxaramas (Heroic)
10. 396.57 Staff of Draconic Combat Eregos – The Oculus (Heroic)

Back to Top

Main Hand

1. 434.75 Val’anyr, Hammer of Ancient Kings Quest Item – Ulduar (Heroic Hardmode)
2. 403.09 Guiding Star Razorscale – Ulduar (Heroic)
3. 402.67 Soulscribe Yogg-Saron – Ulduar (Heroic)
4. 385.53 Torch of Holy Fire Kel’Thuzad – Naxxaramas (Heroic)
5. 375.25 Plasma Foil XT-002 – Ulduar
6. 362.94 Stormtip Iron Council – Ulduar
7. 360.24 Pulse Baton Mimiron – Ulduar
8. 352.55 The Impossible Dream Loatheb – Naxxaramas (Heroic)
9. 346.97 Ice Spire Scepter Malygos – Eye of Eternity
10. 342.20 Hammer of the Astral Plane Kel’Thuzad – Naxxaramas

Back to Top

Off Hand

1. 130.15 Ironmender Kologarn – Ulduar (Heroic)
2. 121.57 Igniter Rod Ignis – Ulduar
3. 115.96 Matriarch’s Spawn Maexxna – Naxxaramas (Heroic)
4. 114.72 Accursed Spine Noth the Plaguebringer – Naxxaramas (Heroic)
5. 104.36 Urn of Lost Memories Four Horseman – Naxxaramas (Heroic)
6. 102.88 Handbook of Obscure Remedies 25 Emblems of Heroism
7. 95.33 Scepter of Murmuring Spirits Instructor Razuvious – Naxxaramas

Back to Top

Wands

1. 73.85 Scepter of Creation Ignis – Ulduar (Heroic)
2. 71.53 Nurturing Touch Auriaya – Ulduar
3. 68.89 Scepter of Lost Souls General Vezax – Ulduar (Heroic)
4. 64.13 Plague Igniter Grobbulus – Naxxaramas (Heroic)
5. 63.78 Wand of the Archlich Kel’Thuzad – Naxxaramas
6. 60.20 Fading Glow Loatheb – Naxxaramas (Heroic)
7. 57.33 Touch of Horror Gothik the Harvester – Naxxaramas (Heroic)
8. 56.83Wand of Ahn’kahet Herald Volazj – Ahn’kahet (Heroic)
9. 53.80 Contortion Trash – Naxxramas
10. 49.87 Rod of the Fallen Monarch Anub’arak – Azjol-Nerub (Heroic)

Back to Top

Patch 3.1 is here at last and it’s time to spec & glyph! Keep in mind the specs I am listing below are ideal for PvE Raiding ideally aimed to be used in Ulduar. With the changes to our trees there are a few options to choose from but hopefully after you look over this post you will be more confident to spec & glyph. Also the new glyphs are unfortunately not all available yet, so I will be using an alternative until those new glyphs are available.

Holy Spec (14/57/0) – Your basic CoH & Guardian Spirit spec. This is the CoH Spec pre 3.1 with some of the new changes in the tree.

– Holy Tree –

Blessed Resillience could now be used for a PvE spec since it increases your effective healing by 3% (3/3). However the question is where are you going to take 3 talent points away to pick up this talent? This may be more of a preference talent and you could possibly drop points from Serendipity or Test of Faith. However I will stay away from it since I find Serendipity & Test of Faith to be more effective during raid encounters.
Holy Reach & Healing Prayers – These two talents increase the range of your AoE Healing spells & reduce the mana cost of PoH. PoH is now castable on any group you target, however if you are Holy spec then CoH will still remain your primary AoE Heal. Therefore your points should be spent elsewhere. If you insist on putting points into one of these two talents then you could drop Desperate Prayer but the second talent point will be tough to choose to drop.
Body & Soul – I don’t see the use of this talent in a raid. Seems more of a PvP oriented talent. There may be a fight or two where it could be used for raids (ie. Grobbulus) but to remain an effective healer use your points elsewhere.
Healing Focus – Not needed if you plan to use this spec primarily for raiding. The chances are if you (as a priest) are getting hit by mobs you will be dead before this talent can save you.
Lightwell – I would pick this talent up in a heartbeat if it was actually used. I’ve done my fare share of “training” to my fellow guildies, but no matter how much you push it just doesn’t seem to stick. Very mana efficient if used correctly but its just a waste of mana if no one bothers to click it.

–Disc Tree –

The talents chosen are your basic disc tree talents that enhance your fort, add SP to your inner fire, increase healing, add to your regen, and so forth. It’s pretty self explanatory and you shouldn’t need to ask yourself if there is anything better for healing (there really isn’t with the limited points). The rest of the talents that I did not pick and did not mention above are PvP oriented. If you feel it necessary to grab one of the talents just make sure you know that you may be gimping yourself.

Holy Glyphs – We now have some more choices for our glyphs, but I still feel the pre 3.1 holy glyphs are the most effective for this spec. If you want to try something different (GS maybe?) my first choice to drop would be Renew.

Major: Glyph of Flash Heal, Glyph of Circle of Healing, Glyph of Renew
Minor: Glyph of Fading, Glyph of Shadowfiend, Glyph of Levitate

Disc Spec (57/14/0) – Damage mitigation spec with the ability to single target heal like a god AoE Healing is limited, but with the new Prayer of Healing we are now capable of holding our own. Remember as a Disc priest you need to have a higher crit % then as holy (20-25% unbuffed). Note: Holy tree points readjusted to pick up Healing Focus over Divine Fury. Thank you Alurel for bringing it up.

– Disc Tree –

Enlightenment – I’ve had questions about this talent since it increases our spirit by 6% and as discipline you really don’t go for spirit. However we still get mana regen from spirit and it was required to move down the tree. Also what made it easier to accept the talent was the haste buff of 6%.
Silent Resolve – This talent is to help you reduce aggro from healing, but with the tanks threat generation you shouldn’t require this talent. It is however helpful for PvP but this spec is for raiding so don’t bother with it.
Absolution – The bonus from this talent does not help us in healing. It however reduces the mana cost of our debuff cleansing abilities but I don’t feel its necessary to spend 3 talent points on this to reduce the mana cost by 15% of spells we don’t use as often (in comparison to say Penance).
Reflective Shield – This is more of a PvP talent since it damages those who attack you and you only. Doesn’t really help us in a raid environment.

– Holy Tree –

Healing Focus – As a Disc priest you do not want to rely on Greater Heal and instead use Penance as your greater heal therefore we will not pickup Divine Fury. Disc Glyphs – Unfortunately Glyph of Penance is not available at the moment so I will be picking up Glyph of Prayer of Healing. Glyph of Penance is a must for a disc priest and I can’t wait to get my hands on it.

Major: Glyph of Flash Heal, Glyph of Power Word: Shield, Glyph of Prayer of Healing
Minor: Glyph of Fading, Glyph of Shadowfiend, Glyph of Levitate