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Beta, level cap 30 · data read 13 Oct

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Discipline Priest guide

Healer · our guide of 13 Oct 2026 Recommendation

Talent trees, every tier list's rating and the sim: the Discipline tab.

In short

  • A healer who stops damage before it lands, starting with Power Word: Shield on the tank.
  • No sim result: the sim engine has no healing spells.
  • Penance heals an ally or hits an enemy: it strikes once right away, then every 1 sec for 2 sec. Sourced: Talent database Source pending
  • Weak spot while leveling: wands no longer gain from spell damage since 24 Sep, so wand-leveling is slower. Sourced: Dev notes · 24 Sep

How it plays

Up to level 30. Power Word: Shield on the tank, then Renew, and Flash Heal or Heal when health drops; since 24 Sep a new Power Word: Shield can always replace an existing one on a target without Weakened Soul. Solo, Shadow Word: Pain and your wand, with a shield when something hits you. Wand Specialization and Twin Disciplines come first, then Improved Power Word: Shield, which makes the shield absorb 20% more at 3 of 3. At 30 the build drops Spirit Tap to put 20 points under Penance: Soul Warding makes Power Word: Shield's cooldown 4 sec shorter and its cost 15% lower, then Meditation and Inner Focus, and your 21st point buys Penance. Use Inner Focus before an expensive heal: that spell costs no mana, and a direct spell gets +25% crit chance. Our PvP build takes Martyrdom instead of Mental Strength: when a melee or ranged attack crits you, damage doesn't delay your casts for 6 sec.

Sourced: Dev notes · 24 Sep, Talent database Source pending

At level 60. Theory Power Word: Shield on the tank, Penance on cooldown, Flash Heal or Greater Heal, and Binding Heal when you're hurt too. Renewed Hope gives your direct heals and Penance +10% crit chance on a target with Weakened Soul, and cuts its Weakened Soul by 5 sec. Divine Aegis turns a crit heal into a shield worth 15% of the heal for 12 sec. Power Infusion, which needs Penance, makes a target's spells deal 20% more damage and heal 20% more for 15 sec. Since 1 Oct, Inner Focus no longer gives its crit to periodic effects.

Sourced: Talent database, Dev notes · 1 Oct Source pending

Talents at a glance

  • Level 20: Wand Specialization 2, Twin Disciplines 3, Improved Power Word: Shield 3, Spirit Tap 3

    A 3/3 shield is the difference between surviving a Rogue opener and not.

    Recommendation · See the trees · Open in the calculator

  • Level 30: Wand Specialization 2, Twin Disciplines 5, Improved Power Word: Shield 3, Martyrdom 2, Meditation 3, Inner Focus 1, Soul Warding 1, Mental Agility 3, Penance 1

    Martyrdom (row 2) instead of Mental Strength: in WSG 20–29 you are cast-interrupted constantly and Penance on the move is your burst.

    Recommendation · See the trees · Open in the calculator

  • Level 60: Twin Disciplines 5, Improved Power Word: Shield 3, Martyrdom 2, Mental Agility 3, Inner Focus 1, Meditation 3, Soul Warding 1, Improved Mana Burn 2, Mental Strength 2, Penance 1, Renewed Hope 5, Divine Aegis 2, Power Infusion 1, Improved Renew 3, Holy Specialization 2, Spell Warding 5, Blessed Recovery 3, Inspiration 2, Improved Healing 3, Binding Heal 1, Holy Reach 1

    Shield loop plus Martyrdom and Improved Mana Burn; Holy buys Spell Warding 5/5, Blessed Recovery, Inspiration, Improved Healing and Binding Heal (row 4 at 15 Holy points — met).

    Theory · See the trees · Open in the calculator

Rotation at level 30

Recommendation

Single target

Open with Fortitude, Inner Fire, Fear Ward (baseline).

  1. Power Word: Shield on the tank (overwrites without Weakened Soul since 24 Sep)
  2. Penance (talent, L30) — heal or damage
  3. Renew
  4. Flash Heal
  5. Prayer of Healing (30) for group damage

Groups

  • Prayer of Healing
  • shields on everyone before AoE

Tips

Inner Focus before an expensive heal.

PvP: pre-shield, Penance on the move, Psychic Scream when swarmed.

Stats

Each guide's stat order as it gives it, the sim's stat weights, then ours. Guides dated before the last big tuning are shown but not counted.

Guides agreeSame order on 2 guides for the stats they all name.

WhereStat order
Guide · 4 Oct PvE, level 30 · read 12 OctHealing power › Mana per 5 sec › Spirit › Intellect › Crit
Guide · 1 Oct PvE, level 20 · read 12 OctHealing power › Mana per 5 sec › Spirit › Intellect
Guide · 9 Oct leveling, level 30 · read 12 OctNot ranked
Ours RecommendationSpell and healing power › Intellect › Spirit › Spell crit › Mana per 5 sec › Stamina for PvP

Ours adds Stamina for PvP, which neither guide lists.

Where ours differs: ours puts Intellect before Spirit and Mana per 5 sec, which both guides rank higher; ours puts Spirit before Mana per 5 sec, which both guides rank higher.

Race

Each guide's race picks for Discipline, then our pick for the Priest.

Alliance

Guides agreeGnome on 2 guides.

Horde

Guides agreeUndead on 2 guides.

Professions

Guides differThe guides name different professions.

  • Guide · 4 Oct PvE, level 30 · read 12 OctEngineering, Mining, Herbalism, Alchemy, Tailoring, Enchanting
  • Guide · 1 Oct PvE, level 20 · read 12 OctTailoring, Enchanting, Herbalism, Alchemy
  • Guide · 9 Oct leveling, level 30 · read 12 OctNot given
  • Ours, for the Priest RecommendationTailoring + Enchanting; or Herbalism + Alchemy

What changed for Discipline

  • 8 Oct: Smite ranks 1–4, Lesser Heal ranks 1–3 and Heal ranks 1–2 retuned so each new rank is an upgrade.

    Sourced: Dev notes · 8 Oct

  • Discipline: Penance deals and heals less (it was tuned as a 3 sec channel; it lasts 2 sec). Its mana costs now keep it more efficient than Heal and Greater Heal: rank 1 costs 50% more; ranks 2 and 4 heal more.

    Sourced: Dev notes · 8 Oct

  • 1 Oct: Devouring Plague can crit; Shadow Weaving can no longer fail to apply; Shadow Word: Death respects Early Demise; Discipline's Inner Focus no longer gives its crit to periodic effects.

    Sourced: Dev notes · 1 Oct

  • Wands no longer gain damage from spell damage (global) — slows the wand-leveling route.

    Sourced: Dev notes · 24 Sep

  • Power Word: Shield can always overwrite an existing PW:S on a target without Weakened Soul; Renew can crit.

    Sourced: Dev notes · 24 Sep

  • Gnome: Contingency Plan can crit; Confounding Flash got a Holy cast visual; Eureka! cost discount cut to 10%.

    Sourced: Dev notes · 24 Sep

  • Night Elf: Starshards gets Twilight Focus pushback resistance.

    Sourced: Dev notes · 24 Sep

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