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Priest leveling guide

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A leveling build for Discipline, Holy and Shadow, point by point from level 10 to 60, and what changed for the class.

On this page7 sections

Recommended leveling builds

At a glanceOur pickOpinion, not confirmed by BlizzardOne build per tree, read from the beta talent text.

Our pick is Shadow: Spirit Tap from level 10 keeps Mana coming after each kill, and Mind Flay at 22 and Shadowform later keep adding Shadow damage.

Suggested build
Shadow, 17/0/34 at 60
16-point milestone
Vampiric Embrace, level 27
Last Shadow talent
Shadowform, level 42
Races
6, new: Gnome

Shadow leveling buildSuggested tree

17/0/34 at level 60Vampiric Embrace at level 27

Spirit Tap comes first: it raises Spirit and Mana regeneration after a kill, which keeps a leveling Priest moving. Two points in Wand Specialization at 15 and 16 push the Shadow milestone back by two levels. Mind Flay arrives at 22, and Shadowform at 42 raises Shadow damage and halves the Mana cost of Shadow spells.

Open in the calculatorHow Shadow playsGear for Shadow Share

Key decisions

  • Wand Specialization is in Discipline. Taking it at 15 and 16 delays everything in Shadow by two levels. Leave it out if you rarely use a wand, and Vampiric Embrace comes two levels sooner.
  • Three points of Shadow Focus are a cheap way to open row 3. Mind Flay follows at 22.
  • Vampiric Embrace at 27: Shadowform requires it, and it heals your party for part of your Shadow damage.
  • Darkness fills levels 37 to 41 and is the row that opens Shadowform.

Every point, level by level

  1. 10–14Spirit Tap5/5
  2. 15–16Wand SpecializationDiscipline2/2
  3. 17–18Improved Shadow Word: Pain2/2
  4. 19–21Shadow Focus3/5
  5. 22Mind Flay1/1
  6. 23–26Improved Mind Blast4/5
  7. 27Vampiric EmbraceMilestone1/1
  8. 28–30Shadow Weaving3/3
Show all 51 points · levels 31–60
  1. 31–32Improved Mind Flay2/2
  2. 33Improved Mind Blast5/5
  3. 34–35Shadow Focus5/5
  4. 36Shadow Reach1/2
  5. 37–41Darkness5/5
  6. 42Shadowform1/1
  7. 43–44Devouring Contagion2/2
  8. 45Shadow Reach2/2
  9. 46–48Twin DisciplinesDiscipline3/5
  10. 49–51Improved Power Word: ShieldDiscipline3/3
  11. 52–53MartyrdomDiscipline2/2
  12. 54–56MeditationDiscipline3/3
  13. 57Inner FocusDiscipline1/1
  14. 58Mental AgilityDiscipline1/3
  15. 59Soul WardingDiscipline1/1
  16. 60Mental StrengthDiscipline1/5

Discipline leveling build

33/18/0 at level 60Soul Warding at level 25

A Smite and shield build. Wand Specialization and Improved Power Word: Shield come first, Soul Warding makes the shield cheaper with a shorter cooldown, and Penance arrives at 30. Power in Light adds damage to Smite and Penance against targets with your Holy Fire on them, and Power Infusion comes at 40.

Open in the calculatorHow Discipline playsGear for Discipline Share

Key decisions

  • Improved Power Word: Shield at 15 to 17: Soul Warding needs all 3 points.
  • Meditation at 20 to 22 lets part of your Mana regeneration continue while casting.
  • Four points of Mental Strength reach Penance at 30. The fifth follows at 31.
  • Penance comes before anything else in row 5: Power Infusion requires it.
  • The Holy points go to Holy Specialization and Divine Fury, then Searing Light, which needs all 5 points in Divine Fury.

Every point, level by level

  1. 10–11Wand Specialization2/2
  2. 12–14Twin Disciplines3/5
  3. 15–17Improved Power Word: Shield3/3
  4. 18–19Holy Precision2/3
  5. 20–22Meditation3/3
  6. 23Inner Focus1/1
  7. 24Mental Agility1/3
  8. 25Soul WardingMilestone1/1
Show all 51 points · levels 26–60
  1. 26–29Mental Strength4/5
  2. 30Penance1/1
  3. 31Mental Strength5/5
  4. 32–33Mental Agility3/3
  5. 34–38Power in Light5/5
  6. 39Holy Precision3/3
  7. 40Power Infusion1/1
  8. 41–42Twin Disciplines5/5
  9. 43–47Holy SpecializationHoly5/5
  10. 48–52Divine FuryHoly5/5
  11. 53–55Twilight FocusHoly3/3
  12. 56–57Improved RenewHoly2/3
  13. 58–59Searing LightHoly2/2
  14. 60Holy ReachHoly1/2

Holy leveling build

18/33/0 at level 60Binding Heal at level 25

A healer's build that kills with Smite and Holy Fire. Holy Specialization and Divine Fury come first, and Holy Nova at 20 damages nearby enemies and heals your party. Searing Light and Spiritual Guidance add spell damage, and Prayer of Mending arrives at 40. In our view questing alone is slower than with Shadow.

Open in the calculatorHow Holy plays Share

Key decisions

  • Divine Fury at 15 to 19 shortens Smite and Holy Fire, and Searing Light needs all 5 points in it.
  • Spirit of Redemption at 35: Prayer of Mending requires it.
  • Spiritual Guidance turns Spirit into spell healing and a little spell damage, so it favours gear with Spirit.
  • The last 18 points go into Discipline for Wand Specialization, Meditation and Mental Strength.

Every point, level by level

  1. 10–14Holy Specialization5/5
  2. 15–19Divine Fury5/5
  3. 20Holy Nova1/1
  4. 21–23Twilight Focus3/3
  5. 24Blessed Recovery1/3
  6. 25Binding HealMilestone1/1
  7. 26–27Searing Light2/2
  8. 28–29Holy Reach2/2
Show all 51 points · levels 30–60
  1. 30–34Spiritual Guidance5/5
  2. 35Spirit of Redemption1/1
  3. 36–38Spiritual Healing3/3
  4. 39Improved Healing1/3
  5. 40Prayer of Mending1/1
  6. 41–42Improved Healing3/3
  7. 43–44Wand SpecializationDiscipline2/2
  8. 45–47Twin DisciplinesDiscipline3/5
  9. 48–50Holy PrecisionDiscipline3/3
  10. 51–52Improved Power Word: ShieldDiscipline2/3
  11. 53–55MeditationDiscipline3/3
  12. 56Inner FocusDiscipline1/1
  13. 57Mental AgilityDiscipline1/3
  14. 58–60Mental StrengthDiscipline3/5

Compare the picks

Two builds side by side at level 60, with every talent where they differ.

The 3 Priest trees

Discipline, Holy, Shadow: the one-rank talents and their levels.

The one-rank talents in each tree, and the earliest level you can take them.

What changed for Priests · 8

Changes from Classic, and what the beta showed.

  • Divine Spirit is baseline. It is no longer a talent.

  • Fear Ward is no longer Dwarf-only and Devouring Plague is no longer Undead-only. Community spell lists teach both to every Priest, often at level 20.

  • Shadow Word: Death is named as a new Shadow spell.

  • Each race keeps its own pair of Priest spells. Human: Divine Grace and Feedback. Dwarf: Chastise and Desperate Prayer. Night Elf: Elune's Grace and Starshards. Gnome: Confounding Flash and Contingency Plan. Troll: Hex of Weakness and Shadowguard. Undead: Dark Sacrifice and Touch of Weakness.

  • Wands fire sooner after you stop moving. You still stand still to fire, for much less time than in Classic. Beta

  • Bonus healing also adds bonus damage, at one third.

  • Caster weapons now carry spell damage and healing.

  • A new spell rank may not replace the old one on your action bar. Check your bars after each trainer visit: the spellbook hides lower ranks until you choose show all ranks.

Dungeons and the 1-60 route · 9

Levels 13 to 60, the same for every class.

The same for every class. Run each dungeon once with every quest in your log.

Open the 1-60 route

Changes that apply to every class· 2

  • All 27 talent trees are meant to be viable for all content. They are not equal, and none should be strong enough to stack a raid with.

  • Hit and crit are one stat each for melee, ranged and spells. Hover a stat on the character sheet and it explains itself.

Races that can be a Priest · 6

Gnome Priest is new in Forever and needs no pack.

Gnome Priest is new in Forever and needs no pack.

Alliance

Horde

The race and class table

In the patch digest · 2

Fear Ward and Devouring Plague are no longer race-locked

Keep reading

Sources and what isn't confirmed

Not announced

  • A leveling talent order from Blizzard
  • Dual specialization
  • Respec prices
  • Fear Ward and Devouring Plague: the level you learn them
  • Shadow Word: Death: its damage
  • Racial Priest spells: heal amounts and cooldowns
  • Wand timing: the exact duration
  • Spell ranks on the action bar: which spells are worth keeping at a lower rank
  • Most new quest names
  • Experience amounts for dungeon quests
  • Level ranges for Shen'dralas and Mount Hyjal

Sources

  • Community beta data: Divine Spirit
  • BlizzCon floor notes: Fear Ward and Devouring Plague; Racial Priest spells
  • Class overviews: Shadow Word: Death
  • Wowhead, 21 Sep 2026: Wand timing; Hit and crit
  • Deep Dive: Bonus healing as damage; Caster weapons
  • Wowhead, 22 Sep 2026: Spell ranks on the action bar
  • Tim Jones, Windows Central, 22 Sep 2026: Talent tree balance

Updated . Talent data: beta 1.60.1. Details can change in any later build or patch.