Healer Rotation & Cooldowns

This rotation offers a general priority list for Discipline Priest abilities, along with key cooldowns at the bottom. It's based on a standard build and is here to help while we work on a smarter, build-aware system. If you are very new to the game or this class, we added info on the new assisted rotation features at the bottom of this guide. Updated for the latest patch in World of Warcraft: Midnight Pre-Patch (12.0.1).

Single Target

Ensure Atonement is applied to the group before engaging.

• PenanceView detailsUse frequently for healing via Atonement or direct ally healing.
• Power Word ShieldView detailsApply to allies for Atonement and shielding.
• Flash HealView detailsUse for single-target healing or Atonement application.
• SmiteView detailsCast to deal damage and heal through Atonement.

Maintain Atonement on allies and use Penance and Power Word Shield for healing. Use Flash Heal for emergencies and Smite to sustain healing through damage.

AoE

Apply Atonement to as many allies as possible before AoE damage.

• Power Word RadianceView detailsApply Atonement to multiple allies.
• PenanceView detailsUse offensively to heal via Atonement.
• Mind BlastView detailsCast to trigger Entropic Rift for AoE healing.
• SmiteView detailsUse to sustain healing through Atonement.

For AoE healing, prioritize Power Word Radiance to spread Atonement, followed by Penance and Mind Blast for burst healing. Use Smite to maintain healing output.

Cooldowns

• EvangelismView detailsExtend Atonement duration and enable instant Power Word Radiance.
• Ultimate PenitenceView detailsUse offensively for burst healing or defensively for single-target healing.
• Power Word BarrierView detailsPlace to reduce damage for grouped allies.
• Pain SuppressionView detailsApply to reduce damage taken by a single ally.

Use Evangelism to extend Atonement and enable mobility. Ultimate Penitence is versatile for burst or emergency healing. Power Word Barrier and Pain Suppression mitigate damage during high-pressure moments.

New to Class? Try Assisted Rotation

Patch 11.1.7 introduced new features that make it eaiser to pick and play new characters. These new settings can be enabled from settings » gameplay enhancements:

• Single-Button Assistant
• Assisted Highlight
• Cooldown Manager

If you are new to World of Warcraft or a certain class, enabling Assisted Highlight and Cooldown Manager can help you learn which abilities to prioritize and use.

While the Single-Button Assistant can be a much easier and more accessible way to play the game, it does come with a slight performance hit due to a small GCD penalty, as you will have to wait 25% longer in between spells and abilities.

To see which specs are best with the Single-Button Assistant feature, you can check out our DPS Rankings which uses SimC to sim every class using this feature.