[EN][Guide][PvE] BiS Holy priest 7.3.5

[Mind]

BiS Holy priest 7.3.5 PvE Guide



Hello, I’m here to bring you a simple straight to the point guide on playing a holy priest in PvE in 7.3.5. For myself I’ve been playing priest since WOTLK days all through the expansions, today I play a horde blood elf priest named Mind.

Contents

1. Dungeon
   
   
   1. Stat Priority
      
   2. Talents
      
   3. Legendaries
      
   4. Trinket Ranking
   
   
2. Raid
   
   
   1. Stat Priority
      
   2. Talents
      
   3. Legendaries
      
   4. Trinket Ranking
      
   5. Tier sets: 19/20/21
   
   
3. Artifact
   
   
   1. Trait Priority
      
   2. Relics
      
   3. Netherlight Crucible
   
   
4. Spell Usage
   
   
   1. Single target healing
      
   2. Multi-target healing
   
   
5. Consumables, Enchants and Gems
   
   
   1. Consumables
      
   2. Enchants
      
   3. Gems
   
   
6. Notes / Tips / Additional Info
   
   
   1. Abilities & Talents
      
   2. Legendaries
   
   

1. Dungeon

1a. Stat Priority
Intellect > Critical (40-50%) > Haste (20-30%) > Versatility (15-20%) > Mastery (30%)

1b. Talents


Level 15: Trail of Light
Level 30: Angelic Feather
Level 45: Shining Force
Level 60: Light of the Naaru
Level 75: Surge of Light
Level 90: Divinity
Level 100: Apotheosis

1c. Legendaries
1. Prydaz, Xavaric's Magnum Opus (Neck)
2. Muze's Unwavering Will (Wrists)
3. Sephuz's Secret (Ring)
4. Rammal's Ulterior Motive (Hands)
5. Velen's Future Sight (Trinket)
6. X'anshi, Shroud of Archbishop Benedictus (Back)
7. Al'maiesh, the Cord of Hope (Waist)
8. Entrancing Trousers of An'juna (Legs)
9. Insignia of the Grand Army (Ring - high tier traits)
10. Soul of the High Priest (Ring)
11. Celumbra, the Night's Dichotomy (Crafted shoulder)
12. The Alabaster Lady (Head)
13. Norgannon's Foresight (Feet)
14. Phyrix's Embrace (Ring)
15. Insignia of the Grand Army (Ring - low tier traits)

1d. Trinket Ranking
1. Aman'Thul's Vision (Argus the Unmaker - Antorus) (Legendary)
2. Velen's Future Sight (Legendary)
3. Unstable Arcanocrystal (Withered J'im - World boss)
4. Highfather's Machination (Asara, Mother of Night - Antorus)
5. Ishkar's Felshield Emitter (Admiral Svirax - Antorus)
6. Eonar's Compassion (Argus the Unmaker - Antorus)
7. Deceiver's Grand Design (Kil'jaeden - ToS)
8. Garothi Feedback Conduit (Garothi Worldbreaker - Antorus)
9. Brinewater Slime in a Bottle (Critical) (Helya – ToV)
10. Barbaric Mindslaver (Atrigan - ToS)

*Based on HPS output and end-game content
*Assuming all trinkets are the same ilvl

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2. Raid

2a. Stat Priority
Intellect > Mastery (60% (70-75% for progression)) > Critical (40%) > Haste (13-20%) > Versatility (3-5%)

2b. Talents


Level 15: Enlightenment
Level 30: Angelic Feather
Level 45: Afterlife
Level 60: Light of the Naaru
Level 75: Piety (Binding Heal if using tier 21)
Level 90: Divinity
Level 100: Benediction

2c. Legendaries
1. Velen's Future Sight (Trinket)
2. Aman'Thul's Vision (Argus the Unmaker - Antorus) (Legendary)
3. Prydaz, Xavaric's Magnum Opus (Neck)
4. Al'maiesh, the Cord of Hope (Waist)
5. Entrancing Trousers of An'juna (Legs)
6. X'anshi, Shroud of Archbishop Benedictus (Back)
7. Soul of the High Priest (Ring)
8. Muze's Unwavering Will (Wrists)
9. Rammal's Ulterior Motive (Hands)
10. Sephuz's Secret (Ring)
11. Insignia of the Grand Army (Ring - high tier traits)
12. The Alabaster Lady (Head)
13. Celumbra, the Night's Dichotomy (Crafted shoulder)
14. Norgannon's Foresight (Feet)
15. Insignia of the Grand Army (Ring - low tier traits)
16. Phyrix's Embrace (Ring)


2d. Trinket Ranking
1. Velen's Future Sight (Legendary)
2. Aman'Thul's Vision (Argus the Unmaker - Antorus) (Legendary)
3. Eonar's Compassion (Argus the Unmaker - Antorus)
4. Sea Star of the Depthmother (Mistress Sassz'ine - ToS)
5. Unstable Arcanocrystal (Withered J'im - World boss)
6. Highfather's Machination (Asara, Mother of Night - Antorus)
7. Brinewater Slime in a Bottle (Mastery) (Helya – ToV)
8. Deceiver's Grand Design (Kil'jaeden - ToS)
9. Brinewater Slime in a Bottle (Critical) (Helya – ToV)
10. Dreadstone of Endless Shadows (Mephistroth - CoEN)

Mana Trinkets
1. Fluctuating Energy (Mana Devourer - Karazhan)
2. Carafe of Searing Light (Varimathras - Antorus)
3. Darkmoon Deck: Promises (Created via Promises Deck - Darkmoon Faire)
4. Amalgam's Seventh Spine (Amalgam of Souls - BRH)
5. Ephemeral Paradox (Elisande - NH)

*Based on HPS output and end-game content
*Assuming all trinkets are the same ilvl

2e. Tier sets: 19/20/21

Tier 19
T19 2-set bonus
T19 4-set bonus

Tier 20
T20 2-set bonus
T20 4-set bonus

Tier 21
T21 2-set bonus
T21 4-set bonus

Top priority is tier 20 4-set which can replace higher ilvl level gear and ignore stat change (value + ~45 ilvl).
Second priority is tier 19 2-set which is extremely strong when combined with tier 20 4-set (value + ~30 ilvl).

Optimal: Tier 19 2-set + Tier 20 4-set

Head - Purifier's Gorget
Shoulder - Purifier's Mantle

Back - Shawl of Blind Absolution
Chest - Robes of Blind Absolution
Hands - Gloves of Blind Absolution
Legs - Leggings of Blind Absolution

Tier 21
Isn't recommended. Only replace tier 20 with tier 21 if the difference is higher than 40 ilvl and/or has socket/leech. The playstyle it tries to enforce isn't efficient and will underperform compared to tier 20.

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3. Artifact

3a. Trait priority

1. Light of the Conclave
2. Caress of the Naaru
3. Times and Measures
4. Cosmic Ripple
5. Say Your Prayers
6. Holy Guidance
7. Hallowed Ground
8. Power of the Naaru
9. Words of Healing
10. Holy Hands
11. Reverence
12. Serenity Now
13. Trust in the Light
14. Concordance of the Legionfall

3b. Relics
1. Words of Healing
2. Hallowed Ground
3. Say Your Prayers
4. Holy Guidance

Tier 20
Optimal: 2x Words of Healing and 1x Hallowed Ground

Tier 21
Say Your Prayers becomes top priority.

Optimal: 2x Say Your Prayers and 1x Hallowed Ground

3c. Netherlight Crucible

Tier 1 traits
Standard +5 ilvl for each relic.

Tier 2 traits
1. Master of Shadows (Void)
2. Shocklight (Light)
3. Murderous Intent (Void)
4. Refractive Shell (Light)
5. Infusion of Light (Light)
6. Light Speed (Light)
7. Light's Embrace (Light)
8. Secure in the Light (Light)
9. Chaotic Darkness (Void)
10. Shadowbind (Void)
11. Torment the Weak (Void)
12. Dark Sorrows (Void)

Tier 3 traits
Refer to the Relics section.

4. Spell Usage

4a. Single target healing

1. Holy Word: Serenity
2. Flash Heal
3. Light of T’uure
4. Heal

4b. Multi-target healing

1. Holy Word: Sanctify
2. Prayer of Mending
3. Prayer of Healing

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5. Consumables, Enchants and Gems

5a. Consumables
Flask – Flask of the Whispered Pact (Intellect)
Potion - Ancient Mana Potion / Leytorrent Potion (Mana), Potion of Prolonged Power (prepot) (Stats)
Food - Nightborne Delicacy Platter (Mastery), The Hungry Magister (Critical)
Augment Rune - Defiled Augment Rune / Lightforged Augment Rune (Stats)

5b. Enchants
Neck - Raiding: Mark of the Trained Soldier (Mastery), Mythic+: Mark of the Claw (Critical + Haste proc)
Ring - Binding of Mastery (Mastery), Binding of Critical Strike (Critical)
Cloak - Binding of Intellect (Intellect)

5c. Gems
Saber's Eye of Intellect (+200 Intellect) > Masterful Argulite (+200 Mastery) > Deadly Deep Chemirine (+200 Critical)

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6. Notes / Tips / Additional Info

6a. Abilities & Talents
Abilities
Holy Nova - Use on 2+ ads *Mythic+
Renew - Typically only used when no other instant spell is available while moving
Desperate prayer - Can be used as a defensive for temporary +HP%.
Heal - Becomes mana positive with Enlightenment (regens more mana then it costs while casting), use for mana efficiency and reducing Holy Word: Serenity's cooldown.
Prayer of Mending - Precast before pull, you can have 20-25 PoM's out before the fight even starts. Use between pulls and when there's not high damage happening. *mythic+
Divine Hymn – Key factors to keep into consideration; Invoke the Naaru, Renew the Faith, Blessing of T’uure, Holy Mending and Velen’s Future Sight. Overall prepare Prayer of Mending’s, Heal/Flash Heal for Blessing of T’uure proc, Holy Word: Serenity / Sanctify for Divinity proc and Invoke the Naaru proc, and/or use Velen's Future Sight before even casting Divine Hymn. Divine Hymn has to potential to be one of the strongest healing CD’s but also the weakest depending on preparation.

Talents
Trail of Light - Can be taken in short fights where mana isn’t an issue.
Divine Star - Have Divine Star If u don’t need +15% healing from Divinity (talent) as it brings healing as well as damage *Mythic+
Shining Force - Can be useful for the tank when running keys with Necrotic affix *Mythic+
Body and Mind - Useful for poor mobility players, provides a guaranteed movement increase. Use when Angelic Feather placement is difficult.
Surge of Light - Save Surge of Light procs if u can for high mobility phases. Use on single target fights.
Apotheosis - This acts as an increase in both DPS and HPS, make sure you’re using it for both (not just for healing). Can be taken on high burst damage fights. A great cooldown but most of the time around 10-20 sec of it will be wasted in raid so benediction is better and lower maintenance.
Perseverance - Good for some mythic+ where the damage can straight one shot you without defensives
Holy Word: Chastise - If you take the Censure talent you will mostly focus on stunning an NPC and may opt toSmite to reset the cooldown if it's a priority NPC, priority over Holy Nova for more damage.
Symbol of Hope - Can be taken for long and hard progression fights where the extra mana is almost a must have. Not recommended, very situational.
Piety - Forces you to use Prayer of Healing and/or Flash Heal which results in more mana usage on longer fights. Use on low constant AoE and burst damage fights.
Binding Heal - Provides a stable constant spam ability, used on medium-high constant AoE fights with small burst windows and on long and extremely mana intense fights. Synergies very well with tier 20 4-set and Al'maiesh, the Cord of Hope due to holy words being off cooldown more frequently and not always using them off cooldown which results in legendary stacks.

Overall don’t be afraid of using Holy Words as they are not an “oh sh*t heal” they are typically used when off CD. Use Holy Word: Sanctify when grouped up, Holy Word: Serenity when around 50% HP, Holy Word: Chastise on CD or before high damage is going to occur (20% to summon T'uure (artifact proc increases DPS/HPS output))

6b. Legendaries
Sephuz's Secret (Finger) - Time the proc with a dispel (Purify, Mass Dispel) or Holy Word: Censure’s stun (guaranteed proc) for moments where you can DPS freely and/or need additional healing output.
X'anshi, Shroud of Archbishop Benedictus – Can be intentionally proc’d (take a lethal blow for Spirit of Redemption) to allow for free casting heals while being invulnerable to further boss mechanics for the duration. Also, it doesn’t count as a death therefore you keep all beneficial stats (food, buffs etc.) and resets potions CD. Only use if you can proc the back or if you think you'll die, else go for Prydaz, Xavaric's Magnum Opus legendary.
Entrancing Trousers of An'juna - Only use in conjunction with Benediction talent.
Velen's Future Sight - Best used with Divine Hymn, alternatively can do a lot of healing with Holy Word: Sanctify and Prayer of Healing spam.
Al'maiesh, the Cord of Hope - In dungeons performs well since you can plan when to use Holy Word: Serenity so you can get the maximum benefit since its not worth using unless you get at least the 30% buff. In raids where there is burst damage and easy to predict might also be used, but generally isn't used since Holy Words are typically used off cooldown.

In collaboration with Luxanna

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~Mind

[topgun750]

Thats an awesome guide coldplayer, thanks for taking your time to share your experience with the Freakz community! I wonder, how do you feel the Holy Priest stands on the charts right now for PvE healing? I am kind of in the process of creating a healer myself, and am not completely sure whether I want a Holy Priest, a Holy Paladin or a Restoration Shaman, so some input would actually be very nice! ^_^


Regards,
Topgun

[Mind]

Hello Topgun,

I’d thought it’d be best to give you some quick points for each of the classes you’ve mentioned.

Priest

Strength

• Strong constant/sustain AoE healing while also having great single target healing thanks to Holy Word's versatility.
  
• A versatile healer which can fit in any slot in a raid

Weaknesses

• Lacks mobility healing
  
• Lacks defensive abilities
  
• Needs good preparation for Healing CD (Divine Hymn)

Paladin

Strength

• Strong spot single target healing
  
• Tank healer
  
• Strong 5-man healing * mythic+’s

Weaknesses

• Good positioning is essential (mastery)
  
• Lack raid healing without CD’s

Shaman

Strength

• Strong CD’s (Spirit Link Totem, Healing Tide Totem, Ascendance, Ancestral Protection Totem, Bloodlust)
  
• Strong grouped healing
  
• Becomes increasingly stronger the lower HP players are (mastery) *very strong for progression content
  
• Good CC (Earthbind Totem, Hex, Lightning Surge Totem, Wind Shear) *mythic+'s
  
• Flexible in single and AoE healing depending on talents

Weaknesses

• If raid is mostly high hp, makes main stat mastery a lot less effective
  
• Becomes less effective when group is spread

For rankings based on raw HPS in raids

1. Priest
   
2. Shaman
   
3. Paladin

Stacked up fights such as EN Cenarius shaman and paladin will pull ahead.

Rankings based on usefulness / essential

1. Shaman
   
2. Paladin
   
3. Priest

Overall if you want to provide constant healing go with priest, if you want to provide CD’s and have emergency heals go shaman, and if you want to provide spot healing and tank healing go with paladin.
Also on an important note it heavily depends on a player’s skill and knowledge of the class while also knowing the boss mechanics to have great success. All healers are viable when played correctly.

Have fun no matter what you play.

~Mind

[topgun750]

Thats awesome cold, thanks alot for your review of the classes. I think Im going to give Priest a spin, since it's the only class of the three I can see myself playing its DPS counterpart (not the biggest fan of ele/enh shaman, and definitely not a fan of retri paladins).

Thanks again!

Regards,
Topgun

[Amphylein]

Thanks for this helpful Guide

I think this would help many ppls when they play first time holy priest :3

Hey stalker! ♥