Discipline Priest

Talents

Penance is the tier 5 Discipline talent. It needs 20 points in the tree above it, so a level 30 character must put every point in Discipline to take it (ForeverDB).

Wowhead offers a variation for players happy to respec at 20: put early points into Holy's Twilight Focus and Divine Fury instead. With Legacy points it adds Twilight Focus, then Soul Warding or Improved Renew. Wowhead places Mental Strength in row 4; since the 16 October build it sits in row 2 (ForeverDB).

Icy Veins takes a different path. Its 21-point calculator spends 16 points in Discipline and 5 in Shadow's Spirit Tap, around Wand Specialization, Power in Light, Improved Power Word: Shield, Meditation and Inner Focus. That stops short of Penance. Its 26-point Legacy version adds Meditation and Soul Warding.

Healing priorities

ForeverDB's level 30 card gives this order:

1. Power Word: Shield on the tank first. Soul Warding removes its 4 sec cooldown.
2. Penance on cooldown, on the most injured player (12 sec cooldown).
3. Keep Renew on the tank.
4. Heal as the efficient main heal.
5. Flash Heal for sudden damage.

Use Inner Focus about every second or third pull; it has a 3 min cooldown. Gnomes put Contingency Plan on the tank at the pull. Humans keep Divine Grace for emergencies; it also clears Weakened Soul, so the tank can be shielded again at once.

Wowhead and Icy Veins give the same shape: shield, Renew, Heal, and Flash Heal only in emergencies because it costs more mana per point healed. Icy adds Prayer of Healing (level 30) for party-wide damage. It also warns that not every disease or magic debuff is worth the mana to dispel. Wowhead says to wand trash when the group is healthy so mana can return.

Renewed Hope ties the kit together. Heals on a target with Weakened Soul gain 10% critical chance and cut Weakened Soul by 5 sec, so the next shield comes sooner. Wowhead describes this as a way to pour heavy healing into one target with Penance and shields.

WoWSims' healer Priest has no rotation list yet, only options for Prayer of Mending jumps and Holy Nova targets, so there is no simulator order to compare.

Damage and levelling

Solo, both Wowhead and Icy Veins use: buffs, shield, Holy Fire (Smite before level 20), Mind Blast, Shadow Word: Pain, then the wand. Icy opens with Holy Fire because Power in Light makes Smite and Penance hit harder on a burning target. At 30, ForeverDB adds Penance as damage, or as a heal when a fight goes wrong.

Wowhead calls Discipline an acceptable levelling spec once Penance arrives. The first rows feel like a generic Priest, and Wand Specialization is a must.

Gear and consumables

• Stat order: Icy Veins lists healing power, mana per 5, Spirit, Intellect, then critical strike, and calls crit valuable for Renewed Hope. ForeverDB puts Spirit higher for Discipline than Holy because of Meditation.
• WoWSims weights (level 60): single-target healing values healing power 1, crit 0.7, mana per 5 0.4, Intellect 0.2, Spirit and haste 0.15. Raid healing lowers crit to 0.48.
• Hit: Blizzard says Holy Precision exists so healing Priests don't need hit on gear (deep dive).
• Gear to 30: Icy lists the Tailoring Pristine pieces from Merchant's Favor recipes and Orb of Souls from Enchanting. It also lists Death Speaker gear from Razorfen Kraul and Arugal's robes and belt from Shadowfang Keep. Wowhead adds Excavation Site: Wetlands drops such as Glinteye Slippers and Ring of Power Regulation. Icy notes the Healer's Staff quest was bugged in the beta.
• Consumables: Icy suggests water, Briny Seafood Stew, Lesser Cleric's Elixir, Minor Mana Oil and mana potions. WoWSims' level 60 default uses Sunny Tea, Brilliant Mana Oil, Major Mana Potion, Demonic Rune and healing elixirs such as Greater Cleric's Elixir.
• Camping: Icy notes the Tailoring Faction Banner doesn't stack with Divine Spirit, and Alchemy's Mana Well doesn't stack with Blessing of Wisdom.

Where guides disagree or are unsure

• Penance at 30: Wowhead and ForeverDB build into it; Icy Veins' 21-point build does not.
• Shielding Warriors and Druids: Wowhead (6 October) says to skip the shield on rage tanks, because absorbs might starve their rage. The 2 October official fix explicitly says absorbs are ignored for Warrior and Druid Rage. The old prohibition is superseded.
• Cooldowns: Blizzard's deep dive gave Divine Grace and Contingency Plan 5 min cooldowns. The client shows 10 min for both (ForeverDB).
• Devouring Plague: Wowhead's overview still says one minute. Since 16 October it is 24 sec.
• Above 30: Divine Aegis (35) and Power Infusion (40) are untested. Icy expects little Divine Aegis play in the beta.