Priest - Discipline

Purpose

The Discipline Priest is both a direct healer and a damage mitigator. Must combine unique abilities to mitigate damage and cast quick heals to keep targets topped up. Excels at single target healing, like a Holy Paladin, but can also do group healing with a bit of skill. Strong in both PVE and PVP. Depends strongly on talent synergies to be successful. Less reactive than Holy, anticipating damage and mitigating it before the heal is cast is a critical mechanic, making for a slightly different take on healing that is just as viable.

Talents

Cookie-cutter builds:
57/14/0∞ (without Improved Divine Spirit)
58/13/0∞ (with Improved Divine Spirit)

You don't need Improved Divine Spirit if you're raiding with a Shaman, as certain totems they bring overwrite the Spellpower buff you bring with something equally or potentially more powerful. But if there is no Shaman, spec for it. In the Holy tree, you can spend the five points to get to Inspiration either by splitting between Improved Renew and Divine Fury, or speccing full 5/5 Divine Fury. If you like to use Renew, definitely pick up Improved Renew.

Ability Rotation

1. Keep Weakened Soul debuff up on Main Tank at all times to take advantage of Renewed Hope; to do this, cast Power Word: Shield whenever the debuff wears off;
2. Keep Grace buff up on Main Tank at all times; to do this, cast Penance (or three Flash Heals) on the Main Tank, then at least one healing spell every eight seconds;
3. Opt for small, quick heals whenever possible with Flash Heal (procs Divine Aegis more often over time);
4. For big heals, use Penance first, Greater Heal if Penance is on cool down;
5. For group healing, use Prayer of Mending before the damage is done (just have it up if you don't know when it's coming) and Prayer of Healing after the damage has been done;
6. Use Power Word: Shield liberally with the following caveats: a) always be ready to cast it on Main Tank when necessary, and b) only use it if you think it will absorb damage, as this will return you mana;
7. If someone is about to die, cast: Pain Suppression (or Power Word: Shield if PS is on cooldown), and Penance/Greater Heal to top them off;
8. Because Renew doesn't crit, it won't take advantage of many Discipline benefits (armor buff, damage shield, mana regen). Therefore it is at the bottom of the priority list. Use it situationally, when you anticipate being Silenced or Stunned and can't heal.

Key Cooldowns

• Inner Focus: Use it right before Prayer of Healing.
• Pain Suppression: Reserve it for emergency situations when someone is about to die.
• Penance: Use it in place of Greater Heal whenever possible.
• Power Infusion: Use it on your highest-DPS caster in the group; yourself if no one fits that description.

Stats (In Order of Importance)

There's lots of debate on this at the moment, but for powerful heals that take advantage of the Disc Priest style of play and mana regeneration, you should apply the following priority / stat weights:

1. Intellect (1)
2. Spellpower (0.95)
3. Crit Rating (0.80)
4. Haste Rating (0.50)
5. MP5 (0.40)
6. Spirit (0.20)

The number in parenthesis is how the stat scales in regards to the top stat, Intellect. For example, 2 Haste Rating is roughly as valuable as 1 Intellect: 2 * 0.50 = 1. You can use an add on like Pawn to calculate the value of gear according to such a stat weight scale in-game. Click here∞ for a list of items prioritized with the above stated stat weight scale, grouped by slot. The stat weight scale is modifiable to tweak to your preference.

Always remember that stat weights and priorities only serve as a guideline; all the Spellpower in the world won't mean much if you don't have any Intellect to actually cast spells in the first place.

Recommended Glyphs

Major

The first two are virtually required; for the third glyph, you have some interesting options. If you like to use Renew in your rotation, then Glyph of Renew would be most useful. Otherwise you can buff your group healing with one of two other glyphs. Glyph of Holy Nova is more useful than Glyph of Prayer of Healing in a raid setting but will gimp your ability to AoE farm significantly.

• Glyph of Power Word: Shield (required)
• Glyph of Flash Heal (required)
• Glyph of Renew (optional)
• Glyph of Holy Nova (optional)
• Glyph of Prayer of Healing (optional)

Minor

All are optional; feel free to pick from this list, or any other available. The first two affect your healing experience directly, while the others just enhance your playing experience in general.

• Glyph of Fading (optional)
• Glyph of Shadowfiend (optional)
• Glyph of Fortitude (optional)
• Glyph of Levitate (optional)

Recommended Enchants

Under development.

Recommended Consumables

Consumable lists are in rough order of priority. Battle (or Guardian) Elixirs overwrite each other (that is, you can only have one of each at one time). Flasks generally count as both Battle AND Guardian at the same time, but persist through death.

Flasks

• Flask of Distilled Wisdom
• Flask of Pure Mojo

Potions

• Spellpower Elixir
• Elixir of Mighty Thoughts
• Elixir of Deadly Strikes
• Guru's Elixir
• Elixir of Spirit
• Elixir of Mighty Mageblood
• Runic Mana Potion (one-use in-fight)

Food

• Tender Shoveltusk Steak
• Spiced Wyrm Burger
• Great Feast (either put out by you or by another cook)
• Cuttlesteak
• Mighty Rhino Dogs

Oils

• Removed in Wrath

Additional Tips

• With the Borrowed Time talent, Power Word: Shield will grant you 25% extra spell haste; therefore cast Power Word: Shield right before a long-cast spell like Prayer of Healing or Greater Heal to get maximum benefit from this talent (with my current gear it brings PoH down from 2.6 to 2.0 seconds).
• Be effective with your healing; Rapture will yield zero mana regen on over-heals, so unless you're casting a healing spell to keep the Grace buff up, try not to overheal. (This is directly opposite from Holy, which has talents that grant mana regen on overhealing.)

Sources and Other Resources

Discipline Priest PVE FAQ∞
Disc Priest Usage, Tips and Tricks∞
10 Tips for the New Discipline Priest∞
Making the Switch: Holy to Disc∞
Stat Priority Discussion∞
Healing Priests and Raiding∞