Disc Priest Arena Guide

[Linkn]

Take this as guidelines to adhere to. There is no possible way I could cover every aspect of playing a disc priest and even if I did, it would be many pages.


To start off I'd like to say I am no gladiator, but I have achieved 2400+ on my battlegroup(US-Vindicaiton). I would consider myself knowledgeable in this aspect and would gladly answer any further questions you have.
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Table of Contents:

1. Talents/Glyphs

2. Gearing/gems

3. Comps/teams

4. Macros/Other

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1. Talents - First I'd like to talk about talents. There is literally 30 or so different variations of specs for discipline and they all fall under the categories of defensive or offensive. There are, however, a few talents that I think is a must for playing discipline offensively or defensively.

- Unbreakable Will
- Improved Inner Fire
- Inner Focus
- Improved Power Word: Shield
- Mental Agility
- Mental Strength
- Soul Warding
- Focused Power
- Focused Will
- Power Infusion
- Rapture
- Aspiration
- Pain Suppression
- Borrowed Time
- Penance
- Healing Focus

Focused Will is very common but a few priests don't take it, its preference overall but I feel it helps a ton.


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Offensive - Often called the smite spec, its exactly what you would think. This spec is meant for some more dps and it achieves that by taking talents such as searing light etc. and reducing cast times of smite.

Such as this spec here.

There is many things you could change within that spec... such as taking points out of enlightenment and putting them else were. Its just an example, find out what works for you and your gear.


Defensive - Focused more on living/survival. I run this spec because the extra damage is not needed in my 3v3 team. Again, a few things could change in this spec depending on your play style/gear etc. A good base spec is here.

Again, take that as a reference. Find out what suits you best.


Glyphs - Glyph of Penance and Pain Suppression are a must. The third glyph can be any one your heart desires. Such as Flash Heal, Dispel, Inner Fire, Smite or Power Word: Shield. Minor glyphs don't matter a whole lot. I have Shadowfiend and Levitate currently.

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2. Gearing/Gems - The biggest decision here would be Mooncloth or Satin. Again, this is dependent on your play style. Satin would be for shorter games/ an offensive setup and mooncloth for longer games/ a defensive setup. Mixing pieces is acceptable and does work out very well for the extra resilience set bonus (Ex. 3 Piece mooncloth/2 piece satin).

For offset gear I chose haste(Alacrity) as haste can help in those tight moments getting quick heals off. I would run Alacrity/Salvation respectively. The only piece I would change is the cloak and neck.
An easy way to get hit rating is to grab the Ascendancy version of the cloak and neck(6% hit being the cap). Hit helps with mass dispels and such.

Another stat that can be frustrating to get is spell penetration. Having enough spell pen is very hard until you reach 1800 and can get the offhand and wand. Ideally you want both the haste and spell pen offhand and you switch against teams you don't need it for. The general rule for spell pen is have around 120 - 140. People do run lower but I suggest the above.


Now time to talk about resilience. The general rule for priests is you need a lot of resil. Of course this could differ depending on comps you run etc. But you will find out that you are the focus target 90% of the time vs melee teams. 1200 resil is what I currently run and it works out very well. I have gemmed very little resil and run mooncloth/wrathful offset. To sum it up, 1000 is the minimum I'd have before I push for higher ratings.


Gems is difficult to cover.. There is no one gem per say that is the best. Gem for what you need. If your low on spell pen, throw some spell power/spell pen gems in. Or a +20 spell pen. Under no circumstances should you gem straight resil or stam. Not having enough spell pen could result in missing a crucial physic scream. Also, gem for your play style. An offensive player is not going to gem all spirit. The only exception to this rule would be gemming for haste. Haste is great for both sides of the spectrum. Moving on...

Quickly covering enchants:

- 28 spell power to gloves
- eternal belt buckle(extra gem to belt)
- 50 spell power/ 30 stam leg enchant
- 15stam/minor run speed to boots
- 63 spell power to weapon
- 30 spell power to bracers
- 20 resil to chest
- 35 spell pen/haste/darkglow embroidery to cloak
- 23 spell power/15 resil shoulder glyph(from WG)
- 29 spell power/23 resil head glyph(from WG)


These of course are just guidelines. You can use any of your specific professions interchangeably.


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3. Comps/Teams - Going to break this down into 3 sections, 2v2, 3v3, 5v5.


In 2v2, the most frequently run with partners are:

- Mage
- Rogue
- Feral druid
- Warlock


I have seen disc priests run with DKs and hunters but the above are what you find more often in higher brackets. You can try any class you want and it will work to a degree most likely. The only class I would avoid is warrior. Priest/Warrior does not work well at all.



In 3v3, the most frequent setups are:

Any combination of warlock/shaman/mage/priest(Called Wizard Cleave)
Rogue/Mage/Priest(RMP)
Warrior/Holy Paladin/Priest(Double healer Warrior or Dispel Cleave)
Warrior/Resto Druid/Priest(Double healer Warrior)

Again, this isn't the only comps you can run. Warrior/DK/Priest or Priest/DK/Hunter works to a degree. The thing is with those comps, they are much better with a holy paladin. I will say one thing about the above comps, RMP is by far the hardest comp to run out of the ones I listed. It requires great synergy and communication.


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I haven't played 5v5 at all this season, so I can offer very little in terms of setups for it. I would suggest taking a look at arena junkies 5v5 listings if you are serious about 5s.

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4. Macros/Other - Disc priests have very little macro's. Here are the few I use.

Power Infusion yourself:

/target (YOURNAME HERE)
/cast Power Infusion
/targetlasttarget

Useful for spam heals.

Shackle Gargoyle:

/target Ebon Gargoyle
/cast Shackle Undead
/targetlasttarget

Easy way to rid of those annoying gargoyles.

Desperate Prayer:

/cast Inner Focus
/cast Desperate Prayer

You can add additional things to this macro such as a healthstone or battlemasters trinket. Think of this as your OH SHI- Button.

Divine Hymn:

/cast Inner Focus
/cast Divine Hymn

Useful for a big group heal for little mana. Make sure your out of interrupt range.

Shadow Word: Death

/cast[target=focus]Shadow Word: Death

Set that pesky mage as your focus target and click this right before a polymorph to break it.



Any other additional comments/community suggestions will be posted here.

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In conclusion, I wish everyone the best of luck in arena. Suggestions on how to improve or criticism is welcomed.




Thanks for reading!

[Gotowneds]

nicely written. Good for Arena Starters.

Suggestions: Add some color etc and maybe come with some theory crafting or mats behind some of the talent specs / glyphs etc

[MrPink2100]

Power Infusion yourself:

/target (YOURNAME HERE)
/cast Power Infusion
/targetlasttarget

Orrrrrr

/cast target=player power infusion

[Confucius]

Very nicely written Linkn buddy! I've always wanted to do disc priest but I just fail so hard at them, maybe this will help!

[buddhistgrandma]

One thing to note is that if you stand out in the open, away from LOS(not on RoV), you're telling the other team "I suck, I don't know what I'm doing, please make a hard switch to me and kill me"

I've played with too many bad priests who just stand out in the open, getting beat on, and getting hit with CC.

[[the Sills]]

Well written guide, altho a little bit to much of a "gray wall of text crits for 9k+"
+rep

[VeloXx]

Nice guide for beginners. Like someone else said add some colors
+rep

[Linkn]

nicely written. Good for Arena Starters.

Suggestions: Add some color etc and maybe come with some theory crafting or mats behind some of the talent specs / glyphs etc

I'll try to add some colors when I get free time. Sorry for the lack of them.

Orrrrrr

/cast target=player power infusion

That works as well. Just used this one from the start and haven't changed it.

Very nicely written Linkn buddy! I've always wanted to do disc priest but I just fail so hard at them, maybe this will help!

Why thank you, sir. Disc priests are easy to play, having a partner that is good helps a ton though in the beginning.

One thing to note is that if you stand out in the open, away from LOS(not on RoV), you're telling the other team "I suck, I don't know what I'm doing, please make a hard switch to me and kill me"

I've played with too many bad priests who just stand out in the open, getting beat on, and getting hit with CC.

Well said. I agree completely. Positioning is key and can make or break a fight.

Well written guide, altho a little bit to much of a "gray wall of text crits for 9k+"
+rep

Thanks, I'll fix it up later.

Nice guide for beginners. Like someone else said add some colors
+rep

Again, I'll try and add that later.



Lastly, Happy Easter / Holiday.