Holy is the priest's group and raid healer and is rated A for PvE healing. Prayer of Mending bounces from target to target, Litany of Light rewards you for mixing your heals, and the new Holy Binding talent replaces Binding Heal. Holy has almost no long cooldowns; you win through spell choice and mana.
Talents and builds
The links open the talent calculator with the finished build, including why the points go where they go.
- Leveling: Holy leveling (points 16/35/0). Wand talents first if you mostly play solo, otherwise straight into Holy; Prayer of Mending needs 31 points there and arrives in the early 40s. The calculator shows the point-by-point order below the tree.
- Raid: Holy raid (points 18/33/0). Standard raid-healing build: deep enough in Holy for Holy Nova and Prayer of Mending, plus Inner Focus and Meditation from Discipline; Meditation keeps half your Spirit regeneration running while casting.
- Dungeons: Holy dungeons (Discipline hybrid) (points 21/30/0). Discipline/Holy hybrid for when you are the only healer and the group still needs things dead: Inner Focus and Penance, then Holy healing talents and Holy Nova.
- PvP: Holy PvP (points 34/17/0). Takes Inner Focus and enough Discipline for the key survivability talents, Penance and Power Infusion to buff your team, then finishes with healing talents in Holy.
Where it ranks
| Category | Tier | Range |
|---|---|---|
| PvE healers | A | B–S |
| PvP (battleground/open world) | B | D–A |
| Leveling | D | D–C |
- PvE healers: Very mana efficient (Prayer of Mending, Litany of Light) and strong in group healing. Five lists say S, most of the new ones among them; the simulation has it third. One vote short of S.
- PvP (battleground/open world): Rises from C to B: Prayer of Mending and Fear Ward help, and the new lists mostly rate Holy A or B. With no control of his own he is easy to lock down though; one older list says D.
- Leveling: C and D: like Discipline, too little damage for solo questing. A healer Priest levels faster through dungeons.
The tiers combine several tier lists and level-60 simulations. Raid logs only exist from 9 December, so treat this as a snapshot. Every spec side by side: rankings.
Which heal when
Holy doesn't have a fixed rotation, it has a priority list:
- Prayer of Mending on whoever is about to take damage. 10-second cooldown, heals on the next hit and then jumps up to five times to targets within 20 yards. Only one per priest can be active.
- Renew for steady damage.
- Heal as your efficient main heal. With 5/5 Divine Fury it is 0.5 seconds faster, and so is Greater Heal.
- Flash Heal when there's no time.
- Prayer of Healing for heavy group damage. You can cast it on any player and it heals their party.
- Power Word: Shield to catch the next big hit.
Litany of Light at 2/2 refunds 10% of the base cost when your previous heal was a different spell. So rotate between Heal, Flash Heal, Renew and Prayer of Mending instead of spamming one. Holy Binding heals you for 50% of every Flash Heal you cast on someone else, without threat, which makes Flash Heal the answer when you and the tank are both hurt. Holy Nova is instant and causes no threat, and when Searing Light procs it is free.
Cooldowns
- Inner Focus (3 minutes) on Greater Heal or Prayer of Healing: free and with extra crit chance.
- Spirit of Redemption is passive: after you die you keep healing for free for 15 seconds in Forever, up from 10 in Classic.
- Fade when your heals pull aggro before the tank's first swing.
Stats
Healing power first. Spirit is worth more to Holy than to Discipline: Spiritual Guidance turns 25% of your Spirit into healing, and with Meditation half your regeneration keeps running while you cast. Guides don't agree on the order of Intellect, Spirit and mana per 5 seconds after that. Crit does little for Holy, and hit does nothing.
Common mistakes
- Spamming Flash Heal instead of Heal.
- Casting the same spell twice in a row and giving up the Litany refund.
- Refreshing Renew too early and topping off full targets.
- Dispelling every debuff on reflex.
Leveling
Solo, Holy is the slowest priest. In dungeons or as a duo it works well. Prayer of Mending needs 31 points in Holy, so level 40 at the earliest, and the leveling build gets it in the early 40s. If you mostly play alone, take Wand Specialization first, finish mobs with the wand and drink every one or two fights. For a fast trip to 60, level Discipline or Shadow.
In raids
You heal the raid with Prayer of Mending, Prayer of Healing and Holy Nova, bring Power Word: Fortitude, Divine Spirit and Shadow Protection for everyone, plus Dispel Magic, Abolish Disease and Fear Ward. Inspiration gives the tank extra armor after critical heals. With dual talent specialization you can switch between Holy and Discipline depending on the boss.
Further reading
- Priest class guide: races, new abilities and every build of the class
- The other specs: Discipline Priest, Shadow Priest
- Raid comp planner: put your raid together and see which buffs are still missing
- Priest talent calculator: plan your own build and share it as a link
Frequently asked questions
Is Binding Heal still in the game?
No. Since the launch changes of 2 November, the Holy Binding talent replaces it: a Flash Heal on someone else also heals you for 50% of it, without threat.
