The Egotistical Priest
An irreverent and opinionated discussion of the many classes
in the World of Warcraft gaming universe.
Discipline Healing Spell Rotation
by Vonya
Sorry about Tuesday. Honest… I ran out of gas. I, I had a flat tire. I didn’t have enough money for cab fare. My tux didn’t come back from the cleaners. An old friend came in from out of town. Someone stole my car. There was an earthquake. A terrible flood. Locusts. IT WASN’T MY FAULT, I SWEAR TO GOD.*
But that was then, and this is now. And the topic for NOW is Discipline Healing Spell Rotation!
That’s a little misleading, because it’s for healing. There’s no such thing as a true healing spell rotation. There’s not even a true dps spell rotation anymore – most of the dps classes I can think of all have talent procs and ability ‘tricks’ that make the old ways of mindlessly pushing 1, 2, 2, 3, 1, 2, 2, 3… obsolete.
However, even though I can’t give you a magic combo of spells that will work all the time, I can tell you a little bit about the spells I’ve been using as Discipline.
The Core
I’d say a good 80% of my healing is made up of two spells – Power Word : Shield and Penance.
- Let the tank run in and grab aggro on the mobs and take a little damage.
- Cast Power Word : Shield
- Wait until the tank has taken about 50% of his health bar in damage, then cast Penance. If the Weakened Soul debuff falls off before he takes enough damage, I just toss another Power Word : Shield on him instead. Why 50%? Because Penance heals for a LOT. I’m trying to manage my overheal without…yanno, getting the tank killed just to save my delicate sensibilities.
…that’s it. I’m still trying to teach myself not to pre-bubble. The Discipline priest’s method of preventative healing DOES have an effect on a tank’s rage/mana generation. It’s not a dealbreaker by any means, but the beginning of a fight, before a tank has locked down threat on all the mobs, it’d be nice if they didn’t have to struggle to get their rage. That’s why I typically let them run in and get hit a few times before I bubble, rather than bubbling before the fight.
(At least, that’s the theory. Sometimes my fingers don’t listen to my logic, and they bubble the tank before the pull. I’m trying to rewire that particular habit, but it’s taking time)
Regardless, most of my tank healing is nothing more than juggling cooldowns on Penance and PW:S.
Other Situations
Okay, so that’s the basics. What about the other 20% of my healing?
Binding Heal
Binding Heal, how do I love thee, let me count the ways? I still adore Binding Heal. If I have taken damage, I can probably find someone else who has as well (like, hey! The tank!) and who probably wouldn’t mind a smidge of extra healing themselves. It’s still efficient, still intelligent, still fast, and still low aggro (not that the low aggro part is as important as it used to be). Still, I heal two people for the price (casting time) of one, and I’m all about effiiciency.
Prayer of Mending
On fights that I know have a lot of splash damage, I will use frisbee freely. It has a chance to crit on each jump, which means that the dpsers not only get a heal, they get one of my new round critbubbles to help a little with other incoming damage as well.
Renew
I still use Renew a lot. I’ve heard some Disc priests scoff at it and others still use it a lot. I’m in the “use it a lot” group. I will use it as an insta-cast buffer on DPSers, and I always throw it into my rotation when we’re fighting a boss to help smooth the incoming damage on the tank. Note that for DPSers, I use Renew more in situations where I can only cast insta-cast heals – when I’m on the run, or during Malygos, for example.
Greater Heal
That’s right, my old standby. I no longer rely heavily on Greater Heal, but there are times when the tank can’t keep up with incoming damage with Shield and Penance alone. If Penance still has more than two seconds on cooldown and the tank needs a heal, I whip out my greater heal and go to town. Extra points if I’ve still got the haste buff from shielding someone.
Flash Heal
Glyphed, Flash Heal is no longer the inefficient monster that I despised in Burning Crusade. Even so, I rarely use this spell because I am not typically assigned to raid healing. If I need to help top off the raid, this is typically a better choice than Renew, unless I’m on the move. For the tank, I will very rarely use this in place of Greater Heal – it’s like spitting on a fire instead of using the perfectly good bucket of water sitting at my feet.
Prayer of Healing
I wish this spell was smarter. It’s not, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s my only group heal at the moment. Sometimes the planets align and the people in MY group all need a heal and all happen to be standing somewhat near to me. In those situations, I use Prayer of Healing. In those situations, typically the OTHER group also needs a heal, and a weep bitter, bitter tears at how slowly I can help with bringing them back up (Gluth, ah, so much fun). It is one of many, many times that I thank the nether for the fact that my co-healer is a shaman.
Pain Suppression
I should probably use this spell more. I do use it on Sartharion, and in a few “oh, mother of monkeys!” moments when healing…but I try not to get in those situations in the first place. I rarely want my tank to dip below 50%, and there’s no reason to use Pain Suppression if the tank is above 50%. Our dpsers don’t typically steal aggro from the tank (if they did, this spell would be perfect to zap on them – it lowers damage taken AND their threat on the mob).
I know this is a core Disc priest talent, but mine gets a bit dusty, and is filed away under “Oh Holy Craaaaaap, the tank is prob’ly DYYYYIIIINGG! This is the boss with the really painful hiiiiiiit.”
…what? You don’t randomly sing modified Christmas carols in your head when you heal? Well, if you have a problem with it, I condemn you to live in that skull for the rest of your life.*
Power Infusion
Power Infusion is a Discipline priest talented buff that reduces spell cast time and cost for a short period of time. Since I don’t really run out of mana or spend a lot of time wishing my spells would go off faster, I give my buff to a nearby guildmate – typically our mage. I could give it to myself easily, but the mage will actually make better use of the buff than I will. I try to remember and toss it out on every cooldown, but that’s another habit I’m having trouble integrating. (Sorry Shandrell!)
Summary
So! In short, Penance and Power Word:Shield are your primary spells, and when in a pinch, use…everything else.
Yeah, some of you may have noticed that my “Other Situations” section included every other priest healing spell available. That was intentional. We are priests. We are the utility knives of the healing world. Even a Discipline priest has an array of useful and powerful heals that should make every other healing class in Warcraft cry…at least a little.
Of course, that also means you don’t get to be lazy. You’ve got all those heals…use them! Your request to slack off and hit a single heal is DENIED, my friends.
* Bonus points for quote recognition. Triple bonus points if you recognize the second one, plus I want you to email me so we can talk about the best books ever written.
January 29th, 2009
I’m with you on Oh Holy Night, though I don’t generally sing to myself in instances
I’m going to have that stuck in my head for a while though, so thanks for that! I can’t help with the second quote, unfortunately.
Still, that’s pretty catchy.
Oh holy craaaaaaaap!
I like it!
January 29th, 2009
Another beautiful thing about Binding Heal (which I know you know, but didn’t mention) is that has TWO chances to proc Holy Concentration. BOOYAH!! 2.2-sec GH anyone? x4???
And…I DO email you…and while we do talk about books, I don’t think (quite yet) they’re the best books ever written.
January 29th, 2009
What is the better spec for priestly healing of a tank on the hard hitters like Patchwerk?
January 29th, 2009
@ Iratio:
“Better Spec” is a mis clamour. Which spec do you prefer playing?
@ Vonya:
I’m using your exact rotation as disc. I use flash a little more than greater. Dunno why. I too keep weakened soul up on the tank, and I pre bubble all the time. Good post!
January 29th, 2009
Sweet. Props for the Blues Brothers reference
Now I’ll read the rest of the post lol
January 29th, 2009
I was under the impression that they changed the mechanics of Power Word: Shield and rage generation such that warriors still generated rage when hit while shielded. It would be interesting to verify that.
January 29th, 2009
If I had to guess, I would say the second quote comes from the Dresden series. Having never read it, it’s hard to tell, but that sounds like the sort of thing he would say to the guy that lives in the skull.
January 29th, 2009
Heheheh I love your Silent Night song.
I too have a song…a cheesy 80’s frommage song I retrofitted for my tank.
Anyone remember Paul Lekakis – Boom Boom? (Penance to me is like a healing canon – boom boom boom)
Hey Tank…I want to talk to you….how bout I heal you with a lil boom boom.
Boom Boom Boom lets go back to the room, and you can tank it all night and I’ll make you feel right….
Anyways as for the AoE healing I have the glyphed Holy Nova and like to use that sometimes too.
January 29th, 2009
honestly baby i love you….i’ll always love you
January 30th, 2009
@Missmedic
Oh, god, I do remember that song…
January 30th, 2009
Crap! Someone got Blues Brothers before me. But still, insta-win for using the quote though.
January 30th, 2009
Great guide, now if only I played a priest.
January 30th, 2009
Good quote! By using it, I no longer have to gank you and your healing leader to restore the honor of my mother, my grandmother, my father, my uncle… *grin* Dresden Files are my guess for the book quote as well.
I prefer the Outhere Brothers song “Boom Boom Boom” for wacky Penance hyjinks.
How are you managing the cooldowns? How much _is_ your Penance healing for now?
January 30th, 2009
I still use Renew quite a lot, but then my healing is all in 5-mans, not raids. I don’t know if it’s peculiar to our server but, at the moment, most of the DPS seems to be melee; Death Knights, Retribution Pallys and Fury Warriors. I use it more as a buffer and chuck it about freely when the DPS starts to take damage. It’s a rare treat when there is some ranged DPS in the group, it usually makes my job less hectic. I had glyphed for Holy Nova, and if the DPS were all close enough, it would be very useful however I’m usually well back from them and find myself putting a bubble on the tank and casting Prayer of Healing a lot. I use it so often I’m thinking of changing my Glyphs to include the PoH one.
January 30th, 2009
i’m 51/20 and don’t have power infusion or whatever the other one is.
between PoM, GHeal, Shield, Penance, Renew, and Flash i didn’t really like the idea of having two more things to remember to use/keep track of.
for glyphs i have dispel (not sure what to replace with), PoH, lev, flash heal, shadow buff
January 30th, 2009
One cmt about FH vs GH: as disc, you really really don’t want to overheal. Rapture procs based on actual amount healed; unlike Serendipity for holy, which procs on overheal. It’s like the Price is Right: get it as close to topped off without going over, and you get the best mana regen possible.
I read a lot of disc priests who say they never use GH. It’s just too good to shelve. But Flash is used far more often, largely because of the Rapture issue, since they now have similar HPS and HPM.
January 30th, 2009
I’ve been making myself use PS as much as I can lately, and I find that it’s totally worth it. Before a boss fight, I’ll ask myself if there are certain points in the fight where PS ought to be used. Does the boss enrage? Does the boss pimp-slap a random DPS? Does the boss make me unable to heal for a certain amount of time? If I can figure out when I ought to use it beforehand, it’s easier for me to use it when that time comes.
Also, I disagree that it should only be used when the target is below 50% health. I don’t disagree about it being an “Oh Crap!” spell, but it shines when it reduces lots of incoming damage, which means having PS active before the “Oh Crap!” moment begins.
January 30th, 2009
I always forget to give away Power Infusion. I guess I save it for the rare ‘oh crap’ moments to throw a bunch of flash heals around.
January 31st, 2009
I’ve never had to worry too much about over heal as disc; I still never go OOM. I generally try not to let my tank dip below 70% (it happens with spike damage or when Penance is on cool down) just to keep him from worrying. And the only fight I’ve managed to go OOM on is Sapph, and I just have to keep healing spells going with him to save the tank from the frequent damage spikes.
My tank actually usually prefers me to shield before the pull, especially on multi-pulls. It helps quite a bit with the damage spike at the beginning of the multi-pull, and lets him establish aggro before I start building general threat. Of course, I generally run with a bear who seem to have drawn the short straw when it comes to multi-pull tanking.
Also, I’ve gotten into the habit of using Pain Suppression preemptively in some situations. If I know there’s going to be a huge damage spike (like when the first boss of HoL goes into Berserker with adds still up) it saves me time healing the tank and lets me focus on some splash damage for a bit (melee just can’t avoid those whirlwinds). It’s especially useful on long fights, where I use it just about every cool down (Loatheb and Sapph in particular).
February 1st, 2009
I behave differently in raids than I do when healing 5 mans. In raids when I have mana spring and replenishment just gushing out of me, I will happily overheal the tank to a ridiculous degree. Usually it is penance anf fheal, because my big big goal in raids is to keep inspiration up at all times, and divine Aegis up as much as possible. I will throw some GHeals into the rotation sometimes (usually right after shield for the speed boost) due to them making bigger aegises….aegie…. soap bubbles. But especially when I was a baby still stacking my crit, two flash heals have twice as much of chance of keeping that precious, precious inspiration going.
February 1st, 2009
Penance and Power Word: Shield are my favored spells… but with both being cool down spells, I love my PoM and Flash Heal (and heck, even good ol’ Prayer of Healing— saves butt on melee groups in Sapphiron and Loatheb… and any time).
Arguably, as stated before, GH and FH both have similar HPS and HPM. I think it kind of depends on what state your tanks and own gear are. I rarely use GH because I don’t find a moment where one FH will do the trick (this is situational though, Sartharion with 3 drakes up hits hard enough where GH has to be there).
And I agree: Binding Heal rocks (especially Sarth 3).
February 3rd, 2009
Is the sequel to Very Bad Things out yet?
February 4th, 2009
About shields: it’s kind of bad for tankadins as their mana regen comes only from amount being healed. They fixed rage generation for druids and warriors, not mana regen for paladins.
When I do 5-mans as disc with pala tank he is often oom thanks to shielding. So lately I’ve fallen back to using regular heals and renew a lot so he wouldn’t run OOM too fast. Though it might also be that he overgears them by a bit as I often end up just casting pom+renew once per trashpack and dps for the rest, on bossfights I reguarly just cast renew/pom when possible and dps the rest of the time. It makes the runs a bit faster when healer can provide 30-50% of average dps’ers damage
February 5th, 2009
Great stuff everyone! I’m going to make the switch this weekend to Disc just from how everyone seems to be having a lot of fun with it and the 3.1 changes seem really nice…
Quick question — you aren’t in a raid/instance and just want to go grind for mats… what’s your damage & facemelting rotation for Disc?
Thanks in advance!
–J
March 2nd, 2009
per grinding/questing: The consensus seems to be stick with holy spells. What I’ve been doing is opening with holy fire, SW:Pain, then penance, smite, smite, penance, and if the mob is at level it’s wanded once or twice to start the 5SR (I’m leveling with spirit tap) and it’s dead. I use about 20% of my mana.
June 2nd, 2009
[...] of Egotistical Priest is on a break, but her site has some great information. Have a look here for discipline healing rotations. Having a quick google, I couldn’t find any obvious [...]