Holy Priest leveling guide
The dungeon healer's tree. Pick this if you level mostly in groups. How the Holy talents play from level 10 to 60.
On this page7 sections
At a glanceOur pickOpinion, not confirmed by BlizzardOur reading of the Holy talent text, not a tested rotation.
- Build at level 60
- 18/33/0 (18 Discipline, 33 Holy)
- 16-point milestone
- Binding Heal, level 25
- Last Holy talent
- Prayer of Mending, level 40
- In a group
- Healing
- Our first choice for leveling a Priest
- Shadow
How Holy plays
- Holy is a healing tree that gives its damage spells just enough. Divine Fury takes 0.5 sec off Smite and Holy Fire as well as Heal and Greater Heal, and Searing Light adds 4% to Holy damage.
- Holy Specialization raises the critical effect chance of Holy spells by 5%, damage and healing alike.
- Holy Nova damages every enemy within 10 yards and heals party members in the same radius, and causes no threat.
- Spiritual Guidance turns Spirit into spell healing, up to 25% of it, and a little spell damage, up to 5%.
- The second half is for groups. Binding Heal heals a friend and you at once, Spirit of Redemption lets you heal for 15 sec after you die, and Prayer of Mending jumps between party members up to 5 times.
What to press first
Most important first. Not a rotation.
- 1
Use Smite and Holy Fire for damage
Divine Fury shortens both casts.
- 2
Keep Holy Fire on the target and watch for a free Holy Nova
Searing Light gives a 10% chance, each time Holy Fire deals periodic damage, for your next Holy Nova to cost no Mana.
- 3
Use Holy Nova when several enemies are on you
Holy Nova hits all enemy targets within 10 yards and heals party members in the same radius.
- 4
Keep casting through hits
Twilight Focus gives a 70% chance to avoid interruption caused by damage, at three points.
- 5
Use Binding Heal when you and a friend are both hurt
Binding Heal heals a friendly target and you with one cast.
- 6
Put Prayer of Mending on whoever is taking damage
Prayer of Mending heals the next time they take damage, then jumps on.
Talents that change how you play · 9
From Holy Specialization at level 10 to Wand Specialization at 43.
The level is when our build first takes the talent.
- Levels 10–14
Holy spells crit more often.
- Levels 15–19
Faster casts, for damage and for heals.
- Level 20
A spell for when enemies are on top of you.
- Levels 21–23
Damage interrupts your casts far less.
- Level 25
Binding Heal16-point milestone
A heal for two people at once.
- Levels 30–34
Spirit starts adding to healing and damage.
- Level 35
Dying in a group no longer stops your healing at once.
- Level 40
A heal that moves around the party by itself.
- Levels 43–44
Wand SpecializationDiscipline
The wand talent, which the other two Priest builds take much earlier.
Gear to look for
What the talents reward on items.
- Spirit: Spiritual Guidance adds a share of it to spell healing and spell damage.
- A wand gets its talent only at level 43 in this order, so it matters less here than in the other two builds.
Groups and dungeons
In a group: healing. New group talents before 4 dungeons.
In a group these talents support healing.
- This is the healing tree, and the build is ordered for it: Binding Heal at level 25, Spirit of Redemption at level 35, Prayer of Mending at level 40.
- Holy Nova causes no threat, so it is a safe heal for a party standing close.
- Spiritual Healing adds 9% to the amount your spells heal at three points.
New group talents by the time each dungeon opens
Strengths and trade-offs
2 strengths, 2 trade-offs.
Strengths
- One set of talents speeds up heals and damage spells together.
- Casts go off under pressure.
Trade-offs
- The damage talents are thin: a faster Smite and Holy Fire, 4% from Searing Light and a small share of Spirit. Alone, expect slower kills than Shadow, in our view.
- Nothing in the Holy tree returns Mana while you quest alone: Litany of Light, the tree's Mana talent, is about healing spells and is not in this build.
Compare this build
Keep reading
Sources and what isn't confirmed
Not announced
- Item names and stat weights
- A leveling talent order from Blizzard
Sources
- Beta 1.60.1 talent data: every claim on this page is read from the Holy talent text. Nothing here is a published guide or a tested rotation
Updated . Talent data: beta 1.60.1. Details can change in any later build or patch.