World of Warcraft: Forever · class guide
Discipline Priest
Healer, or Smite damage
Shields first, then 
Penance and direct heals. Blizzard: the stronger shields and the better spec for keeping one target alive. Can also play as Smite damage.
Discipline prevents damage before it lands. Power Word: Shield goes on whoever is about to be hit; Soul Warding takes its 4-second cooldown away, and Renewed Hope (from 30) makes your direct heals crit more on a shielded target and lets you shield again sooner. Penance, at exactly 30, is a channelled heal or nuke on a 12-second cooldown. Meditation keeps half your regeneration going while you cast, and Inner Focus gives a free, likelier-to-crit heal. From 35 Divine Aegis turns crits into extra shields, and Power Infusion at 40 gives a caster +20% spell damage and healing for 15 seconds. The same tree can deal damage with Holy Fire, Smite and Penance, but Smite now does about half its Classic base damage.
Strengths and weaknesses
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| Power Word: Shield prevents damage, and Soul Warding removes its cooldown | No interrupt and no curse or poison removal |
| Stronger shields and better at keeping one target alive | Smite does about half its Classic base damage, so damage builds are weak at low spell power |
| Penance is a channelled heal or nuke on a 12-second cooldown | Downranking pays off less than before, so rank choice needs care |
| Meditation keeps half of regeneration going while casting | Penance only arrives at 30, and Divine Aegis at 35 |
| Power Infusion at 40 gives a caster +20% spell damage and healing |
Stat priority
- Healing power
- Intellect
- MP5
- Spirit
- Critical strike
- Stamina
Healing Power > Intellect > MP5 > Spirit > Crit. Alternatively, rank MP5 and Spirit above Intellect; crit is excellent with Renewed Hope. At level 30 the healing list is healing and spell power, then Intellect and Spirit. Healing gear adds a third of its value as spell damage. A Smite build wants spell power and Intellect; Holy Precision covers hit.
Do this
- Shield before damage, not after: the shield also stops pushback on your own casts.
- With Soul Warding there is no shield cooldown; Weakened Soul (15 s) is the only limit, and Renewed Hope shortens it.
- Spend Inner Focus on Penance, Heal or Prayer of Healing, never on Renew.
- Penance reaches 36 yards, not 40: step in if it won't cast.
Watch out for
- Shielding a Warrior no longer costs it rage (Blizzard), so Classic advice to skip shields on rage tanks no longer applies. A bear's rage hasn't been tested.
- Downranking costs spell power and procs; don't copy Classic downranking tables.
- No interrupt and no curse or poison removal: your partner covers them.
- Smite at low spell power is weak (about half its Classic base damage); the wand often does more.