[Guide] Holy Priest PvE 2.4.3 - Field Medic Manual

TBC Holy Priest Guide
Patch 2.4.3
How to be a Field Medic

This old EJ guide was used as a reference point on some subjects.

Index
I. Preface
II. Common Acronyms
III. Consumables & What your bags should look like for raiding
IV. Specs
V. Spells
VI. Stats
VII. Gear choices
VIII. Professions
IX.Races & Racial Abilities/Passives
X. Addons
XI. How to use healbot addon
XII. Item lists & BiS lists
XIII. Other tips


I. Preface
There are many things in WoW that entail being a proper Field Medic. There is much more to it than just gearing your character and setting a talent spec. These things include using very specific ranks of your healing spells, always having on hand the right potions and flasks, and even knowing when you shouldn't heal someone. This guide will cover everything you need to know, and go into depth on everything you need to learn in order to become a properly trained Field Medic.


II. Common Acronyms
mp5 - Mana per 5 seconds - This will read on an item as "Restores X mana per 5 sec."
5SR - "Five second rule"
I5SR - Inside the 5 second mp5 penalty timer
Q: What is the "five second rule"?
A: The five second rule is a reference to the "mp5" mechanic. When you cast a spell, your mana regeneration is reduced for 5 seconds. After 5 seconds, your mana begins regenerating at its full potential again. Keep in mind that the 5-second rule is not applied until you finish a cast. You can cast spells and cancel the cast before it finishes and you will not have the 5-second rule applied to you!

COH - Circle of Healing
POH - Prayer of Healing
POM - Prayer of Mending
MA - Mental Agility
HP - Healing Prayers
SR - Silent Resolve

III. Consumables & What your bags should look like for raiding

Elixir of Draenic Wisdom (+30 spirit and intellect for 1 hour.) - Felweed x1, Terocone x1, Imbued Vial x1
Elixir of Healing Power (+50 bonus healing) - Sansam x1, Dreaming Glory x1, Imbued Vial x1
>These elixirs should be used together instead of using a flask.
Elixir of Mastery (+15 to all stats) - Terocone x3, Felweed x1, Imbued Vial x1
>This elixir can be useful to you when you need to boost your HP some.

Super Mana Potion - Felweed x1, Dreaming Glory x2, Imbued Vial x1
Mana Potion Injector - Fel Iron Bar x4, Knothide Leather x2
>Injectors allow you to have a stack of 20 potions instead of a stack of 5.

Brilliant Mana Oil (+12mp5 and 25 bonus healing) - Large Brilliant Shard x2, Purple Lotus x3, Imbued Vial x1
Superior Mana Oil (+15mp5) - Arcane Dust x3, Netherblood, Imbued Vial

Golden Fish Sticks (+44 bonus healing and 20 spirit) - Golden Darter

Demonic Rune / Dark Rune (Gives mana at the cost of health)
>Shares CD with healthstone.

Rumsey Rum Black Label (15 stamina for 15 min) - Can be bought from Barkeep Keel in the Old Hillsbrad Foothills dungeon.
>Useful for meeting health pool requirements for some boss encounters. Ex. Nightbane

Scroll of Intellect V (+20 intellect for 30min)
Scroll of Spirit V (+30 spirit for 30min)

Light Feather - These are for Levitate. Yes, it is useful! Ex. Works as Water Walking in Serpentshrine Cavern.

Sacred Candle - You need these for your group buffs. Make sure you have plenty of them.

Greater XElement Protection Potion - These will be very important for staying alive. Bring whichever are appropriate for the raid you are doing. Ex. Nature for Lady Vashj
>XElement refers to Arcane, Fire, Frost, Nature and Shadow

Drums of Restoration - Restores 600 health and mana to your party over 15 sec.

Spoiler: Show

http://i.imgur.com/SW1nfzS.png

IV. Specs

IDS, Heroics & Nightbane
https://legacy-wow.com/tbc-talents/p...00000000000000
This build is mainly for heroics and Nightbane. Please keep in mind you will always want to provide IDS if one isn't already available.


COH, 4/5 Mental Agility + 2/2 Healing Prayers
https://legacy-wow.com/tbc-talents/p...00000000000000
Standard Circle of Healing build. This is only advisable to use when another Priest has IDS covered. CoH is particularly good in T6+ content. Do not use T5 set bonus with this build in T6+ content.


These templates are built upon a very similar set of talents. Don't let this fool you, though. There are a lot of talents that are really good and optional that you can choose from.

Improved Power Word: Fortitude - You want at least one Priest to be able to provide this for your raid. You can skip it if another Priest is providing it for you.

Silent Resolve vs. Martyrdom vs. Absolution - These three compete for the same filler point(s). Silent Resolve won't be necessary if your tank(s) knows what they're doing. Martyrdom can sometimes be useful, particularly on add fights where you get aggro for a moment (cough Nightbane). Absolution isn't as situational as the other two talents, but it also brings much less to the table. It is unlikely you will be dispelling often enough to warrant the use of this talent.

Healing Focus - This talent is very useful in the IDS build, but loses much of its potency in the CoH build. The reason for this is that CoH is instant cast, and is the bread&butter spell of that particular build. Also consider that if you need to cast through taking damage, shield yourself and you won't get pushback.

Spell Warding - It is a good talent for obvious reasons, but it is exceptionally good if your tank(s) aren't holding threat off you.

Holy Nova & Blessed Recovery - These talents are about useless in PvE. They should only be used as filler talents, though there are better talents to use for filler. Holy Nova is the better of the two if you must pick between them.

Holy Reach - This talent is situationally useful only in scenarios where your group is spread out enough consistently to warrant the use of the talent. This shouldn't happen too frequently. If it does, then you should consider getting this talent. Otherwise, skip it.

Surge of Light - Unlike in other expansions, this talent does not benefit your healing. This talent only gives you free Smite casts in TBC.

Lightwell - This spell is actually extremely powerful. However, nobody ever clicks the damn thing. Which makes it useless most of the time.

Searing Light & Blessed Resilience - These two are useless. You are not a DPS or a tank.

(IDS) Improved Divine Spirit - This talent is exceptionally good and warrants an entire build around it because it provides both mana regen and increased healing for yourself and all of the healers in your group.

(CoH) Circle of Healing - This talent gains prevalence later in the end-game where you have another Priest to give you IDS and/or you out-gear the need for the talent. This typically happens during T6 content. Once you are sufficienctly geared, you won't have to rely a ton on the increased healing and mana efficiency. This isn't to say IDS isn't still good, because it is still good. However, once geared up to this point, you will be able to spam CoH, which is a massive boost to the healing output available to your group.



V. Spells

Along with the casting of spells comes the importance of the "5 second rule". Stop casting spells for 5 seconds to allow your mana to begin regenerating at its full capacity. Use this knowledge to boost your mana efficiency.

Shadowfiend - Your main mana regen CD. You should use it when you reach 50-60% mana or lower. From that point on, use it when you reach the 50-60% mana threshold again, or just use it on CD if you are continuously below that threshold. Make sure you try to avoid dropping your Shadowfiend in fire.

Inner Focus - This CD is particularly good when you use it to get a free cast of Prayer of Healing or Greater Heal. Can also be used in OOM emergencies.

Abolish Disease - While it is obvious that this dispels disease debuffs, note that it continues to dispel diseases over the course of 20 seconds. Use this to curb your efficiency.

Mass Dispel - This ability is pretty straight-forward. It's important to remember that you have it. None of the other healer classes have anything that can compare to this ability, and it is extremely useful.

Greater Heal [Rank 2] - This is your go-to "spam heal". Don't actually spam it, but it is the primary heal you will want to use when you're healing a single target that isn't taking massive damage. Keep them steady with Renew, and be consistent with this spell.

Greater Heal [Rank 7] - Try to avoid using this unless you absolutely need to nuke heal someone. This generally only applies to tanks, or healing yourself up high enough to meet an HP check mechanic. Greater Heal becomes more spammable once you have your T5 set bonus.

Heal [Rank 2] - I use this spell to single target heal the tank(s) when I'm not really needed for much else. In proper pre-Kara gear, you can spam this and not lose any mana. This spell can be ditched completely once you are in any sort of raid gear and content.

Heal [Rank 4] - Same as Heal [Rank 2], except it will consume more mana, but also heal for more. Use this when you need to heal a single target for a sizable amount, but don't need to rush. This spell can be ditched completely once you are in any sort of raid gear and content.

Flash Heal - This heal should only be used when you need to heal someone very quickly. You may be tempted to use this spell most of the time, but if you improve upon your reaction times and proper usage of your healing spells, you will find you don't really need this too often.

Prayer of Healing - Useful when you need to do some big group healing. This spell, while very powerful, it is also limited to the group you are in. You cannot cast it on groups you are not currently in.

Renew - It's OP. Use it liberally. It's wonderful at helping to keep people stable.

Prayer of Mending - This is a very nice spell when your group is consistently taking damage. Only use it when you expect your group to take damage, though. It's not very efficient for single-target healing. Use this on CD at any time you won't be healing just a single target.

Binding Heal - This is a good spell for obvious reasons; that it heals both you and your targets. However, it is worth noting that this spell also causes reduced threat!

Fade - This is one of the strongest healer defensive utilities in the PvE part of the game. It has a low CD. If you get threat, use it immediately.

Desperate Prayer - This spell is an extremely powerful personal defensive CD, especially at lower tiers of content. It is an instant cast spell, too. It has a very long CD, though. Try to use it when a boss mechanic particularly calls for it. When that isn't necessary, then you may use it freely as needed. Just don't forget it's there!

Power Word: Shield - This spell is immensely useful. It has two roles. First, you should be using it on people that you know are going to take damage, especially if they are going to be taking a large hit. Second, you can put it on yourself to keep yourself from getting spell pushback. This can be incredibly powerful on some boss encounters. Be careful about putting this on a tank, since it will hinder their mana/rage generation. NEVER put this on a Warrior or Druid tank when they are pulling in a dungeon - they will need rage for threat! (This last pointer does not apply to raids, as it will only mitigate a partial hit from a boss anyway.)

Circle of Healing - If you're specced into this, and you have the gear to support the spec, then you should be using this most of the time over your other spells. Use your other healing spells as the situation demands. Keep in mind that this spell does not heal players that are not in the same group as your target.

VI. Stats

Intellect, Spirit and Stamina are your primary stats.

Intellect - Increases your spell crit rating, allowing you to crit with spells more often. Intellect also gives you more maximum mana.
Spirit - Increases your mana regeneration per 5 seconds by an amount that is a percent of your maximum mana. This means that with more Intellect, your Spirit also becomes stronger. This stat also interacts with the Improved Divine Spirit talent to give you increased healing.
Stamina - Stamina increases your maximum health. This is a stat you can sometimes afford to lose. Not all items have stamina on them. Stamina still is a very important stat, though. One of which you will need a lot of for a variety of boss encounters.

Bonus healing, mp5, crit rating and haste rating are your secondary stats.

Bonus Healing - This stat determines how much extra healing your spells do. Unlike all of the expansions that come after TBC, bonus healing and spell damage are two different stats. You will want to keep an eye on this on items that drop, so you don't accidentally roll on a Caster DPS item.
Mp5 - This stat reflects how much mana you regenerate every 5 seconds. For 5 seconds after you cast, your mana regeneration is reduced by 60%. This penalty can be reduced by a variety of items, set bonuses and talents. An example is the Meditation talent in your Discipline tree.
Crit Rating - Criticals cause your heals to heal for 50% more. Your Renew spell cannot crit. Most of your healing criticals (except Prayer of Mending) work with the Inspiration talent, which gives the target 25% more armor. This makes crit an effective tank-healing stat. At about 14% spell crit, you can expect to have almost a full up-time of Inspiration on your target - most of the time, it will refresh before it wears off.
Haste Rating - This stat makes you cast your spells faster. Faster casts means you can save people more quickly, and you can put more heals on a target over time. But it also means you burn your mana faster. Double-edged sword stat.

Spirit vs. Mp5
4 spirit = 2mp5 IS5R approximately.
Exact equation;
5 * 0.0093271 * Spirit * Square_root ( Intellect )
In patch 2.4, Spirit will never lose to Mp5 on a comparatively similar item level. If you have to choose between the two, it is usually better to go for the spirit item. The exception to this rule is only when you gain a massive amount of bonus healing and the item comes with sockets that allow you to gem for some spirit.
TLDR; Spirit > Mp5

Crit vs. Haste
Due to the importance of mana efficiency in TBC and the strength of the Inspriration talent, it is a general rule to go for Crit first. Haste can be very powerful, but it is only really worth getting at T6+. This may be revised in the future with more theorycrafting and experimentation, but it is unlikely.


VII. Gear Choices

I will start by saying this: The Whitemend set bonus, while a nice bonus, is not worth the investment of buying or crafting it.
The Primal Mooncloth set items, however, are amazingly good. Get those as soon as possible.
Bangle of Endless Blessings and Darkmoon Card: Blue Dragon are also extremely good pre-raid trinkets.
My own personal BIS Pre-Kara gear choices includes both of these trinkets, the entire Primal Mooncloth set, and the following;
Head: Watcher's Cowl (debateable)
Neck: Diamond Prism of Recurrence
Cloak: Avian Cloak of Feathers
Bracers: Bands of the Benevolent
Hands: Hallowed Handwraps
Legs: Hallowed Trousers (debateable)
Boots: Boots of the Pious
Ring1: Band of Sorrow
Ring2: Keeper's Ring of Piety
Weapon: Hand of Eternity
Off-hand: Windcaller's Orb
Wand: Soul-Wand of the Aldor

T5 two-piece set bonus is BIS until Wrath (for IDS build), whenever you get it. For which slots of T5 to use in your T6 and Sunwell gear sets, it depends on what items you have. Try and set them up so that you lose the least possible stats. Especially Spirit.

BiS lists can be found on this page of the guide: http://forum.warmane.com/showthread....=1#post2826839

VIII. Professions

Tailoring and Enchanting will be your best professions upon reaching max level. Tailoring allows you to craft and wear the Primal Mooncloth set (which is amazing). Enchanting just has the best +bonus healing you can get your hands on at a minimal cost.
Tailoring & Enchanting will remain the best professions for T4 & T5 content until Isle of Quel'Danas is released, at which point it becomes Enchanting & Alchemy.
>Primal Mooncloth set & Leg enchants & Ring enchants

After that point,
Leatherworking can replace Enchanting because it will allow you to have a profession stat boost in addition to the ability to craft Drums of Restoration, which are a huge boon to any raid's healer group. This is in addition to the haste drums, which are also a great HPS boost.
>Spell-Damage Resistance armor enchants & Drums of Battle (haste) & Drums of Restoration

Once you are able to replace your entire Primal Mooncloth set (won't happen until T5 at least), you can get Alchemy for the alchemist stone (again, Isle of Quel'Danas required for this) and for the huge convenience of being able to make your own potions.
>Crafting your own pots and elixirs & Alchemist Stone @ Quel'Danas

Enchants;
Helm: Glyph of Renewal (Honor Hold & Thrallmar; revered)
Shoulders: Inscription of Faith (Aldor honored) and Greater Inscription of Faith (Aldor exalted) (Aldor>Scryer)
Cloak: Major Resistance, Greater Arcane Resistance, Greater Shadow Resistance, Greater Nature Resistance (Depends on the raid.)
Chest: Major Spirit
Bracer: Superior Healing
Gloves: Major Healing
Legs: Golden Spellthread (made by Tailoring)
Boots: Boar's Speed
If you move for more than 8 seconds total in a boss encounter, and you move only as much as you need to, then Boar's Speed is a massive boost to your healing up-time. Meanwhile, Vitality is worth less than 1mp5 while casting.
Rings: Healing Power (Enchanting only)
Weapon: Major Healing

Gems;
Meta: Insightful Earthstorm Diamond
Red sockets: Purified Shadowsong Amethyst/Purified Shadow Pearl
Yellow sockets: Luminous Pyrestone/Luminous Noble Topaz or Dazzling Seaspray Emerald/Dazzling Talasite
Blue sockets: "Purified" gems shown above or Sparkling Empyrean Sapphire/Sparkling Star of Elune
It is OK to get socket bonuses if you want them!

Make sure that you do not forget to get cooking and skill it up so that you can make your own Golden Fish Sticks!


IX. Races & Racial Abilities/Passives
Only racial abilities relevant to specifically to the Priest class' game-play are mentioned.
- Alliance -
Human
The Human Spirit - Spirit increased by 10%.
Diplomacy - Reputation gains increased by 10%.
Perception - 3 min CD - Dramatically increases stealth detection for 20 sec.
Priest specific abilities below - Learned at a class trainer.
Feedback - 3 min CD - Any successful spell cast against the priest will burn the attacker's mana, causing 1 shadow damage for each point of mana burned. Lasts 15 sec.
Desperate Prayer - 10 min CD - Instantly heals the caster for a large amount.

Draenei
Gift of the Naaru - 3 min CD - Heals the target for a minor amout over 15 sec.
Inspiring Presence - Increases chance to hit with spells by 1% for you and all party members within 30 yards.
Shadow Resistance - Shadow Resistance increased by 10.
Priest specific abilities below - Learned at a class trainer.
Symbol of Hope - 5 min CD - Give party members a fair amount of mana every 5 sec for 15 sec.
Chastise - Cause holy damage to a target and incapacitate them for 2 sec. Only works against Humanoids.

Dwarf
Stoneform - 3 min CD - Grants immunity to Bleed, Poison and Disease effects. Increases armor by 10%. Lasts 8 sec.
Frost Resistance - Frost resistance increased by 10.
Priest specific abilities below - Learned at a class trainer.
Desperate Prayer - 10 min CD - Instantly heals the caster for a large amount.
Chastise - Cause holy damage to a target and incapacitate them for 2 sec. Only works against Humanoids.

Night Elf
Shadowmeld - 10 sec CD - Activate to slip into the shadows, reducing the chance for enemies to detect your presence. Lasts until cancelled or upon moving. Cannot be used in combat.
Nature Resistance - Nature resistance increased by 10.
Priest specific abilities below - Learned at a class trainer.
Starshards - 30 sec CD - Rains starshards down on the enemy target's head, causing Arcane damage over 15 sec.
Elune's Grace - 3 min CD - Reduce chance to be hit by melee and ranged attacks by 20% for 15 sec.

- Horde -
Blood Elf
Mana Tap - 30 sec CD - Reduces target's mana and charges you with Arcane energy for 10 min. This effect stacks up to 3 times.
Arcane Torrent - 2 min CD - Silence all enemies within 8 yards for 2 sec. In addition, you gain mana for each Mana Tap chrage currently affecting you.
Magic Resistance - All magic resistances increased by 5.
Priest specific abilities below - Learned at a class trainer.
Touch of Weakness - The next melee attack against the caster will cause Shadow damage and reduce the damage caused by the attacker for 2 min.
Consume Magic - 2 min CD - Dispels one beneficial Magic effect from themself and grants them mana. The dispelled effect must be a priest spell.

Undead
Will of the Forsaken - 2 min CD - Provides immunity to Charm, Fear and Sleep while active. May also be used while already afflicted by Charm, Fear or Sleep. Lasts 5 sec.
Shadow Resistance - Shadow resistance increased by 10.
Underwater Breathing - Underwater breath lasts 300% longer than normal.
Priest specific abilities below - Learned at a class trainer.
Touch of Weakness - The next melee attack against the caster will cause Shadow damage and reduce the damage caused by the attacker for 2 min.
Devouring Plague - Afflicts the target with a disease that causes Shadow damage over 24 seconds. Damage caused by the Devouring Plague heals the caster.

Troll
Berserking - 3 min CD - Increases your casting and attack speed by 10% to 30%. At full health the speed increase is 10% with a greater effect up to 30% if you are badly hurt when you activate Berserking. Lasts 10 sec.
Regeneration - Health regeneration rate increased by 10%. 10% of total health regeneration may continue during combat.
Beast Slaying - Damage dealt to Beasts increased by 5%.
Priest specific abilities below - Learned at a class trainer.
Hex of Weakness - Weakens the target enemy, reducing damage caused by X and reduces effectiveness of healing spells by 20% for 2 minutes.
Shadowguard - When a spell, melee or ranged attack hits the caster, the attacker will be struck for Shadow damage. Attackers can only be damaged once every few seconds. This damage causes no threat. 3 charges. Lasts 10 min.

P.S. Please note that Fear Ward is available to all Priest races as patch 2.3.0.

X. Addons

http://forum.warmane.com/showthread.php?p=2807561
This is a wonderful webpage for TBC addons.

Unit Frames: Grid > XPerl > ag_UnitFrames > Pitbull
Shadowed Unit Frames > All

BigWigs or DBM

OmniCC (cooldown timers)

HotCandy (HoT timers) (Shadowed raid frames has Renew built in, don't get HotCandy if you're using it)

RatingBuster - Helps with determining the differences in stats between items.

AtlasLoot


XI. How to use healbot addon

I joke.
Being serious though, the difficulty is all in managing your mana and learning damage patterns of bosses and which of your raid members likes to stand in the fire. Don't spam Flash Heal. This isn't Cataclysm.
Again, 2pc T5 remains BIS until Wrath. You just can't beat the mana gain from it.

XII. Item lists & BiS lists

Please note: Item effects, set bonuses, etc. are not included in the listing of the items themselves. It will be up to you to decide if they are worth going for. Items are listed from best to worst, based on their stats and sockets provided. Remember, these lists are not gospel. Please use the information intelligently to make your own gear decisions. Certain items may be better or worse depending on the rest of your gear. All items provided in the list are based on patch 2.4.x, which includes the available itemization on Warmane's current TBC realms.
Please refer to other parts of the guide, your own play-style and your situation in the game (which raids or encounters you are doing, raid comp, etc.) to decide which sets are worth getting.

Whitemend set: http://tbc.cavernoftime.com/itemset=571
Hallowed Raiment set (Dungeon 3): http://tbc.cavernoftime.com/itemset=662
Tier 4: http://tbc.cavernoftime.com/itemset=663
Tier 5: http://tbc.cavernoftime.com/itemset=665
Tier 6: http://tbc.cavernoftime.com/itemset=675

Item lists

Spoiler: Show

Helms

Spoiler: Show

1. Cowl of Purity's Light
2. Powerheal 9000 Lens
3. Cowl of Absolution
4. Cowl of Benevolence
5. Crown of the Sun
6. Hood of the Third Eye
7. Cowl of the Avatar
8. Light-Collar of the Incarnate
9. Powerheal 4000 Lens
10. Headdress of the High Potentate
11. Hallowed Crown
12. Whitemend Hood
13. Scintillating Headdress of Second Sight
14. Collar of Command
15. Watcher's Cowl

Necklaces

Spoiler: Show

1. Amulet of Flowing Life
2. Brooch of the Highborne
3. Brooch of Nature's Mercy (Is stronger than both above choices, but at the cost of stamina. Beware.)
4. Sin'dorei Pendant of Salvation
5. Lord Sanguinar's Claim
6. Nadina's Pendant of Purity
7. Teeth of Gruul
8. Shining Chain of the Afterworld
9. Swampstone Necklace
10. Choker of Fluid Thought
11. Diamond Prism of Recurrence
12. Necklace of Eternal Hope
13. Karja's Medallion
14. Shattered Sun Pendant of Restoration
15. Living Ruby Pendant (extra HPS on use effect)
16. Sethekk Oracle's Focus
17. Archaic Charm of Presence
18. Natasha's Guardian Cord
19. Medallion of the Lightbearer
20. Heartblood Prayer Beads
21. Ogre Slayer's Pendant
22. Necklace of Resplendent Hope

Shoulders

Spoiler: Show

1. Mantle of Absolution
2. Amice of Brilliant Light
3. Shawl of Wonderment
4. Swiftheal Mantle
5. Light-Mantle of the Incarnate
6. Pauldrons of the Solace-Giver
7. Mantle of the Avatar
8. Hallowed Pauldrons
9. Primal Mooncloth Shoulders
10. Pauldrons of Sufferance
11. Vestia's Pauldrons of Inner Grace

Cloak

Spoiler: Show

1. Shroud of Redeemed Souls
2. Sunshower Light Cloak
3. Shroud of Forgiveness
4. Shroud of the Final Stand
5. Shroud of the Highborne
9. Shadowvine Cloak of Infusion
6. Manaweave Cloak
7. Avian Cloak of Feathers
8. Cloak of Scintillating Auras
10. Stainless Cloak of the Pure Hearted
11. Red Riding Hood's Cloak
12. Bishop's Cloak
13. Cloak of Ancient Rituals
14. Lifegiving Cloak
15. Cloak of Healing Rays
16. Light-Touched Stole of Altruism
17. Mantle of Vivification / Vicar's Cloak
18. Cloak of Whispering Shells
19. Apexis Cloak
20. Cloak of Revival
21. Cloak of the Ancient Spirits / Ceremonial Cover
22. Cloak of Swift Mending
23. Cloak of the Everliving
25. White Remedy Cape

Chest

Spoiler: Show

1. Robes of Faltered Light
2. Vestments of Absolution
3. Robe of Eternal Light
4. Robes of Heavenly Purpose
5. Garments of Temperance
6. Vestments of the Avatar
7. Primal Mooncloth Robe
8. Robes of the Incarnate
9. Hallowed Garments
10. Anchorite's Robes
11. Robe of Effervescent Light
12. Raiments of Divine Authority
13. Shroud of Spiritual Purity
14. Watcher's Tunic
15. Masquerade Gown

Wrists

Spoiler: Show

1. Cuffs of Absolution
2. Bracers of Martyrdom
3. Wristbands of Divine Influence
4. Bands of Indwelling
5. Bands of the Benevolent
6. Swiftheal Wraps
7. Light Scribe Bands
8. Wraps of Purification
9. Bracers of Divine Infusion
10. Goldenvine Wraps
11. Bindings of the Timewalker
12. Shattrath Wraps

Hands

Spoiler: Show

1. Hands of Eternal Light
2. Handguards of the Dawn
3. Gloves of Absolution
4. Gloves of Unfailing Faith
5. Gloves of Saintly Blessings
6. Gloves of the Avatar
7. Handwraps of the Incarnate
8. Hallowed Handwraps
9. Bloody Surgeon's Mitts
10. Prismatic Mittens of Mending
11. Gloves of Penitence
12. Gloves of Piety

Belt

Spoiler: Show

1. Belt of Absolution
2. Belt of Divine Guidance
3. Cord of Braided Troll Hair
4. Belt of the Long Road
5. Primal Mooncloth Belt
6. Cord of Reconstruction
7. Cincture of Will
8. Cord of Belief
9. Angelista's Sash
10. Nethershard Girdle
11. Cord of Sanctification

Legs

Spoiler: Show

1. Pantaloons of Calming Strife
2. Leggings of Eternity
3. Breeches of Absolution
4. Breeches of the Avatar
5. Pantaloons of Repentance
6. Star-Soul Breeches
7. Pontifex Kilt
8. Trousers of the Incarnate
9. Pontiff's Pantaloons of Prophecy
10. Gilded Trousers of Benediction
11. Whitemend Pants
12. Hallowed Trousers
13. Haramad's Leg Wraps
14. Kamaei's Cerulean Skirt
15. Lifegiver Britches
16. Pants of the Naaru

Feet

Spoiler: Show

1. Boots of Absolution
2. Boots of the Divine Light
3. Archbishop's Slippers
4. Two-toed Sandals
5. Soul-Strider Boots
6. Boots of the Long Road
7. Boots of the Incorrupt
8. Boots of the Pious
9. Slippers of Serenity
10. Curate's Boots
11. Light-Woven Slippers
12. Jeweled Boots of Sanctification

Rings

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1. Ring of Harmonic Beauty
2. Coral Band of the Revived
3. Ring of Flowing Life
4. Band of the Eternal Restorer
5. Band of Eternity Revered
6. Band of Lucent Beams
7. Band of Eternity Honored
8. Blessed Band of Karabor
9. Sin'dorei Band of Salvation
10. Band of Eternity Friendly
11. Violet Signet of the Grand Restorer
12. Ring of Calming Waves
13. Violet Signet Revered
14. Mender's Heart-Ring
15. Phoenix-Ring of Rebirth
16. Signet of the Quiet Forest
17. Violet Signet Honored
18. Signet of Repose
19. Violet Signet Friendly
20. Band of Halos
21. Ring of Spiritual Precision
22. Keeper's Ring of Piety
23. Kharmaa's Ring of Fate
24. Ring of Fabled Hope
25. Band of Elemental Spirits / Band of Ancestral Spirits
26. Ring of Convalescence / Ancestral Band
27. Band of the Crystalline Void
28. Jade Ring of the Everliving
29. Celestial Jewel Ring
30. Spiritualist's Mark of the Sha'tar
31. Cosmic Lifeband

One-handed Weapons

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1. Hammer of Sanctification
2. Archon's Gavel
3. Crystal Spire of Karabor
4. Lightfathom Scepter
5. Hammer of Atonement
6. Dark Blessing
7. Light's Justice
8. Shard of the Virtuous
9. The Ancient Scepter of Sue-Min
10. Gavel of Pure Light
11. Shockwave Truncheon
12. Hammer of the Penitent
13. Dathrohan's Ceremonial Hammer
14. K'iru's Presage
15. Lightsworn Hammer
16. Battle-mace of the High Priestess
17. The Essence Focuser
18. Runed Dagger of Solace

Off-hands

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1. Scepter of Purification
2. Book of Highborne Hymns
3. Touch of Inspiration
4. Talisman of the Sun King
5. Signet of Unshakable Faith
6. Netherwing Spiritualist's Charm
7. Windcaller's Orb
8. Aran's Soothing Sapphire
9. Lordaeron Medical Guide
10. Swamplight Lantern
11. Lamp of Peaceful Repose
12. Tears of Heaven
13. Faol's Signet of Cleansing
14. Crystal Orb of Enlightenment

Staves (two-handed weapons)

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1. Golden Staff of the Sin'dorei
2. Staff of Immaculate Recovery
3. Apostle of Argus
4. Staff of Dark Mending
5. Rod of the Blazing Light
6. Ethereum Life-Staff
7. Crystalheart Pulse-Staff
8. Nightstaff of the Everliving
9. Exodar Life-Staff
10. Serpentcrest Life-Staff
11. Seer's Cane
12. Epoch-Mender
13. Staff of the Redeemer

Wands

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1. Wand of Cleansing Light
2. Naaru-Blessed Life Rod
3. Blue Diamond Witchwand
4. Luminescent Rod of the Naaru
5. Soul-Wand of the Aldor
6. Calming Spore Reed
7. Cerulean Crystal Rod
8. Rejuvenating Scepter

Trinkets

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Trinkets will not be listed in exact list. Instead will be listed in tiers. S tier, A tier, B tier, C tier.
S tier refers to Superior.
You should change your trinkets based on your needs; Mana regen, more healing throughput, etc.

S tier
Darkmoon Card: Blue Dragon
Memento of Tyrande
Redeemer's Alchemist Stone

A tier
Glimmering Naaru Sliver
Tome of Diabolic Remedy
Earring of Soulful Meditation
Bangle of Endless Blessings
Vial of the Sunwell

B tier
Eye of Gruul
Pendant of the Violet Eye
Essence of the Martyr
Figurine - Seaspray Albatross
Lower City Prayerbook

C tier
Oshu'gun Relic
Vengeance of the Illidari

BiS Lists

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BiS means "Best in Slot".

These lists are subject to change for the following reasons; Personal preferences on stats (you want more haste, etc.), weaving in tier bonuses when desired, and changes to required stat values (such as stamina-check bosses like Morogrim Tidewalker).

Note on Zul'aman gear: Gear from this raid should be seen as an approximate equivalent to "Tier 5.5". Most of the gear from this raid is superior to Tier 5, and some of it is even equiavlent to Tier 6 and can find its way into BiS lists. If you visit and complete Zul'aman, once it is released, prior to doing Tier 6 content - keep this in mind and review the item listings above to compare items to Tier 5 items.

Pre-Raid BiS

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Helm: Powerheal 4000 Lens (Non-Engineering option: Hallowed Crown)
Neck: Swampstone Necklace
Shoulder: Primal Mooncloth Shoulders (Non-Tailoring option: Hallowed Pauldrons)
Cloak: Manaweave Cloak (Avian Cloak of Feathers is a much easier to get alternative; Manaweave pattern is rare)
Chest: Primal Moonlcoth Robe (Non-Tailoring option: Hallowed Garments)
Wrists: Light Scribe Bands
Hands: Hallowed Handwraps
Belt: Primal Mooncloth Belt (Non-Tailoring option: Cord of Belief; When Magister's Terrace is available, Cord of Reconstruction is better than Cord of Belief)
Legs: Pontifex Kilt (Easier to obtain option: Pontiff's Pantaloons of Prophecy)
Feet: Boots of the Pious (Easier to obtain option: Slippers of Serenity)
Ring 1: Signet of Repose
Ring 2: Band of Halos (Third ring option: Ring of Spiritual Precision)
Weapon: Exodar Life-Staff (Next best is: Gavel of Pure Light & Netherwing Spiritualist's Charm)
Wand: Soul-Wand of the Aldor
Trinket 1: Darkmoon Card: Blue Dragon
Trinket 2: Bangle of Endless Blessings
Other trinket options: Refer to the trinket list in the item list section.

Tier 4 BiS

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Helm: Light-Collar of the Incarnate (Tier 4)
Neck: Teeth of Gruul
Shoulder: Light-Mantle of the Incarnate (Tier 4)
Cloak: Manaweave Cloak (Avian Cloak of Feathers is a much easier to get alternative; Manaweave pattern is rare)
Chest: Primal Mooncloth Robe
Wrists: Bands of Indwelling
Hands: Gloves of Saintly Blessings
Belt: Primal Mooncloth Belt
Legs: Pantaloons of Repentance
Feet: Boots of the Incorrupt
Ring 1: Violet Signet of the Grand Restorer (Violet signet Honored and above fits here)
Ring 2: Mender's Heart-Ring
Weapon: Light's Justice & Signet of Unshakable Faith (This combination is significantly more powerful than any staff you can get from this tier.)
Wand: Blue Diamond Witchwand
Trinkets: Refer to the trinket list in the item list section.

Notes: The Primal Mooncloth set is very powerful and should be considered an option until you are fully Tier 5 geared. It is not required, Tier 4 may be used. The 4-set bonus for Tier 4 is not very good due to the inefficiency of Flash Heal. The 2-set bonus for Tier 4 is nice, however.

Tier 5 BiS

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Helm: Crown of the Sun
Neck: Lord Sanguinar's Claim
Shoulder: Light-Mantle of the Incarnate (Tier 4)
Cloak: Sunshower Light Cloak
Chest: Vestments of the Avatar (Tier 5)
Wrists: Bands of Indwelling
Hands: Gloves of Saintly Blessings
Belt: Belt of the Long Road (SSC/TK crafted BoE)
Legs: Breeches of the Avatar (Tier 5)
Feet: Soul-Strider Boots
Ring 1: Coral Band of the Revived
Ring 2: Violet Signet of the Grand Restorer
Weapon: Lightfathom Scepter & Talisman of the Sun King
Wand: Blue Diamond Witchwand
Trinkets: Refer to the trinket list in the item list section.

Notes: The Primal Mooncloth set is very powerful and should be considered an option until you are fully Tier 5 geared. If you want the Tier 4 2-set bonus, replace the hands in this list with the Tier 4 hands. The Tier 5 4-set bonus is OK, but not super since your use of Renew should be limited in raids to tanks and keeping people stable. If you want the Tier 5 4-set bonus, replace the shoulders and hands in this list with the Tier 5 set items.

Tier 6 BiS

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Helm: Cowl of Absolution (Tier 6)
Neck: Lord Sanguinar's Claim (Brooch of Nature's Mercy is better once Zul'aman is available.)
Shoulder: Mantle of Absolution (Tier 6)
Cloak: Sunshower Light Cloak
Chest: Vestments of Absolution (Tier 6)
Wrists: Bracers of Martyrdom (Wristguards of Tranquil Thought are a decent option from badges [ZA+ content])
Hands: Gloves of Absolution (Tier 6)
Belt: Belt of Divine Guidance
Legs: Leggings of Eternity
Feet: Boots of the Divine Light (Black Temple trash drop)
Ring 1: Coral Band of the Revived
Ring 2: Ring of the Eternal Restorer
Weapon: Staff of Immaculate Recovery (Close 2nd: Crystal Spire of Karabor & Scepter of Purification (Voodoo Shaker is a decent option from badges [ZA+ content]))
Wand: Naaru-Blessed Life Rod
Trinkets: Refer to the trinket list in the item list section.

Notes: If you are constantly topping off your targets with your Greater Heals and could use a mana efficiency boost, use the Tier 5 2-set bonus. To get this set bonus, replace the legs and hands in this list with Tier 5 set items.
About the weapons, if you find you are consistently healing targets sub-50% health, use the 1h/oh combo instead of the staff.

Sunwell Plateau BiS

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Helm: Cowl of Purity's Light
Neck: Amulet of Flowing Life
Shoulder: Mantle of Absolution (Tier 6)
Cloak: Shroud of Redeemed Souls
Chest: Robes of Faltered Light
Wrists: Cuffs of Absolution (Tier 6)
Hands: Hands of Eternal Light (Sunwell crafted BoE)
Belt: Belt of Absolution (Tier 6)
Legs: Pantaloons of Calming Strife
Feet: Boots of Absolution (Tier 6)
Ring 1: Ring of Harmonic Beauty (Trash drop, is not unique)
Ring 2: Ring of Harmonic Beauty
Weapon: Golden Staff of the Sin'dorei
Wand: Wand of Cleansing Light (Trash drop)
Trinkets: Refer to the trinket list in the item list section.

Notes: If you are constantly topping off your targets with your Greater Heals and could use a mana efficiency boost, use the Tier 5 2-set bonus. To get this set bonus, replace the legs and hands in this list with Tier 5 set items.
One-hand+off-hand just does not compete with the staff from this tier.

XIII. Other tips

How to cheat the 5-second-rule!
- There are two very important parts to this. First, is that your mana will regenerate at full capacity if you do not cast for 5 seconds or more. This means if you are able to put out heals and healing over time effects (Renew for example) that can keep your friends alive for a few seconds, you can use that time to get your mana to regenerate at full capacity.

- Second, and most definitely not least, is that any effect that would cause your heals not to cost any mana will cause the healing spell to not trigger the 5-second-rule penalty. This means, talents such as Inner Focus and Holy Concentration can allow you to cast a very strong heal at no mana cost, and thus allowing you to continue to regenerate your mana at full capacity. When casting with either of these buffs active, it is important that you use the strongest heal you have that benefits from the buff, this way you get the most healing you can for FREE!
When using these, it is advisable to wait a few seconds after your previous cast before you start casting again with either of these buffs. You can generally expect to get about as much mana back from this as you would from a Super Mana Potion, or more.

- Keep in mind that the 5-second rule is not applied until you finish a cast. You can cast spells and cancel the cast before it finishes and you will not have the 5-second rule applied to you!

- It is also important to note that there are some items and talents that further help you deal with the 5-second-rule penalty. The talent "Meditation" is one of these. Others include the Primal Mooncloth set bonus and trinkets like Bangle of Endless Blessings.

Prayer of Mending threat generation
It is very important to note that Prayer of Mending's healing threat generation is granted to whoever it heals. If you put Prayer of Mending on your tank before they pull, and follow up with another Prayer of Mending on them, you can give them some burst threat like this! This is very strong in any situation! Take advantage of it!

Fade
The threat you lose when you use Fade, you will get all of that threat back when Fade ends. Also be aware that you continue to build threat while Fade is active. Lastly, be aware that Fade only drops your threat by a flat value. This flat value can be overcome if you are not careful about your healing output and your tank's threat generation. This flat reduction also means you can be put at a negative threat value, which can allow you to get very close to mobs and cast things like Shackle Undead without having to worry about them turning and smacking you, so long as they are chasing after someone else.

Shadowfiend
It is usually best to send your Shadowfiend after a boss target. Boss movements are usually predictable or they are just static. This should allow you to get the most regeneration out of your Shadowfiend, and you not have to worry about it chasing some poor mob and not getting any hits in. If it doesn't land hits, you don't get mana. It's also possible to macro in a command into your Shadowfiend to make it attack your current target, or any target of preference, so that you can guarantee it hits something. Remember that your Shadowfiend is very fragile. Try to avoid placing it in fire.

Down-ranking spells
Q: What is down-ranking spells?
A: This refers to using a lower rank of a spell than the maximum rank you have access to.

Q: Why would I down-rank a spell?
A: While down-ranked spells are less powerful, they also cost less mana, and sometimes have shorter cast times.

Q: How should I use down-ranked spells?
A: The answer to this is simple, but not necessarily straightforward. You should use down-ranked healing spells when your weaker ranked healing spells can keep up with the needed healing, and thus allowing you to be more mana efficienct by spending less mana. Which ranks you should use and for which spells, I can only make recommendations. You are more than welcome to experiment and see what down-ranked spells work for you.

Q: What down-ranked spells do you recommend for use?
A: For healing, don't bother down-ranking Lesser Heal at all. Down-ranking Heal can be very effective while leveling though. For max level, dungeons and raiding; Greater Heal R1 is recommended for lesser geared Priests. You can advance to Greater Heal R2 as your spam heal once you get better gear (T5+ usually). Down-ranking Flash Heal is generally not recommended, as it is an inefficient heal to begin with - it is meant to be a quick "oh shieeet" heal. I don't down-rank Prayer of Healing since I generally use it as an group-wide nuke anyway, and I also see little point in down-ranking Renew as it is very efficient and you don't spam it.

Playing Holy Priest in a raid environment
It is very important to note that a Holy Priest is capable of filling any of the healer niches to some degree. Those niches are "tank healer", "group healer" and "damage prevention". Tank healing is usually assigned to a Holy Paladin, and Group healing will be assigned to a Restoration Druid. A Restoration Shaman is versatile in the way that they are capable of covering multiple of these niches as necessary too, but not quite to the degree that a Holy Priest is versatile. Because of this, your role may change depending on your raid's composition, or even in the middle of a boss encounter depending on the needs of the group.
So which niche does the Priest excel at the most? Honestly, all of them. Group healing more than anything, and HotS duty less than any of the others, but the Priest can do well in most situations.

Tank healing: Keep Renew active on your tanks is absolutely necessary. You will be mostly healing with Greater Heal. "Spam" R1 or R2 (depending on your gear) to keep the tank topped off. Use R7 when the tank is taking huge hits. You can ping the tank with Prayer of Mending to help them generate more threat, and you can use Power Word: Shield and Prayer of Mending to help heal the tank while you are moving - these instant heals are part of what makes us really good, make sure you take advantage of them.

Raid healing: Prayer of Healing and Circle of healing are your strongest tools here, and are best effectively used when you are able to predict incoming damage. Keep in mind that even though Circle of Healing can be very efficient, it is beaten in raw throughput by Prayer of Healing. Circle of Healing also at times may not be potent enough to keep up with the group's damage intake. In which case, Prayer of Healing will be your go-to nuke heal. Place Renew on people you expect to be taking constant damage, as it can help keep them stable. When your group/raid can be expected to be taking some sort of constant damage, be sure to use Prayer of Mending as often as possible - keep it bouncing around.

Damage prevention: This particular role only appears in niche situations where this role's duty is to mitigate large hits on the group as much as possible, and to make sure certain members of the raid reach the "minimum health" threshold. This role can only be done by a Priest, and is done through the use of Power Word: shield.

Cross Healing: Cross healing is the term used to refer when a healer needs to fill more than one role at once, or needs to change the role that they fill in the middle of a boss encounter. It is very important in this situation that you handle two problems. The first problem is that you do your best to have the right heal ready for the type of damage the group is having to handle. If the tank is getting rekt, then have a Greater Heal ready for them. If the group is getting merked, then use your Prayer of Healing. The second problem that you have to deal with is that you don't lose control - it is important that you do not frantically try to top everyone off. It is very important you know what types of damage are incoming, how much, and who it is going to hit. This way you know who you need to heal, and for how much. Having this information allows you to keep your raid alive while also not destroying your mana pool.

Flash Heal & Binding Heal
You'll notice these two spells weren't touched upon by the guide much, if at all. The reason for this is that they are very inefficient heals, which means they have niche uses. Flash Heal is usually only useful in situations where you need to cast fast and your mana efficiency isn't too much of a concern. This usually limits Flash Heal to healing trash packs. However, be aware that does not mean you can never use Flash Heal for anything else. Flash Heal can be useful if you absolutely need that -fast- heal in order to keep someone alive, especially if your Power Word: Shield is on cooldown or just won't get the job done.

Binding Heal is different from Flash Heal in the way that it causes reduced threat and it also heals yourself in addition to your target. This means that Binding Heal applies to situations where you need to be extra careful with your healing threat, and when you're taking a ton of damage also, in addition to the situations where Flash Heal is useful.

Power Word: Shield
In addition to preventing damage, this ability also prevents spell push-back when taking damage. You can use this on others to help prevent spell push-back, but most importantly, you can use it on yourself to prevent it as well. If you are taking damage, or expect to be taking damage, and you absolutely need to get a heal out - shield yourself!

Stopcasting macro
Using a stopcasting macro (simply apply /stopcasting to the beginning of any spell cast macro you want, or make a new macro just for it) is useful for "spam" casting on a tank or someone else that you expect other healers are casting on. The macro cancels your cast and starts a new one, if it is macroed with a spell, so that you do not waste mana on a spell cast if your target is at full health. This being particularly useful on targets that you expect can be healed by another healer, and thus save you mana by not casting a wasted heal. This sort of macro is not recommended for someone who has more than 400ms latency.

Mouse-over macro
Use this macro format.
#showtooltip
/cast [target=mouseover,exists,help] Greater Heal(Rank 1); [target=player] Greater Heal(Rank 1)

Playing at high latency
When playing with more than 400ms latency (lag, or whatever you prefer to call it), you should be putting forth extra effort to know when and how someone is going to take damage before they take the damage. This way, you can improve upon your reaction time, as you will have significantly less time to react than other players. The key is to always be prepared, or to do whatever you can to be prepared before everyone else is. It is very much possible to be a decent or good healer even with as much as 800ms, but it requires a lot of practice on reacting quickly, and a lot of knowledge on how boss encounters work. If at first you don't succeed, practice some more.





Thank you for reading! Come back in one piece! And remember! Heroes never die!
Kind regards,
Mercy

Thank you very much Daughter of the light! May Elune be with you!

You are very much welcome! If anyone has any feedback, I'm listening! I still have some things I want to add to the guide, but I'm definitely interested in what some other people may think could be good for the guide too!

I've updated the thread with information about racial abilities and passives available to Priests. This includes the standard racials and Priest-specific racials!

I also plan on adding some tips & tricks (cool spell usage tricks, when are good times to drink during a dungeon, etc.) once I manage to reach level 70 on Outland. Any suggestions, corrections or criticism is welcome! I will listen if it is constructive! Thank you in advance for contributing!

How painful would leveling as holy be? :3

That depends on how often you can get in dungeon groups, to be honest. All Priest specs are rather quite painful for leveling. You can expect to be drinking after every 2-3 mobs after level 20, or even before then, even if you're stacking as much spirit on items as you can manage. If you have people you can group with for quests or dungeons, life becomes significantly easier. Also, whenever you get the opportunity (especially when in a major city before you head out to go questing), ask a Mage for some water and keep yourself stocked on it.

As a newish player to WoW and someone who really wants to be a good Priest player, I thank you on this guide. Even if currently not complete, I will use it when my Drainei is level 70. Could you add locations where to find specific items (Example: I have no idea where to get Light Feather) and how to do some combos for healing? And could you make level-up guide, with zones where to level up and how to level-up (Level-uping with Priest is hard)? Again, I thank you for making this and if I ever don't end up getting kicked out of a dungeon/raid for my play, you will be my lord!

Additional reading:
http://web.archive.org/web/200809131...2_wow-2_4_3_a/

I have a lot of work to do on the guide still, including citing material from EJ (before we lose the material completely) and other suggested content for the guide. However, I really need to finish leveling my priest on Outland so I can put all of my free time attention into the guide.