Healer Rotation & Cooldowns

This rotation offers a general priority list for Holy 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 (12.0.1).

Single Target

Focus on maintaining Holy Words and utilizing them effectively.

• Holy Word SerenityView detailsUse on cooldown for single-target healing.
• Flash HealView detailsBuild Lightweaver stacks for stronger Prayer Of Healing.
• Prayer Of HealingView detailsUse with Lightweaver stacks for AoE healing.
• Prayer Of MendingView detailsKeep on cooldown.
• SmiteView detailsUse during downtime to generate Surge Of Light procs.
• Divine HymnView detailsUse for raid-wide healing during heavy damage phases.

Maintain Holy Word Serenity for single-target healing and build Lightweaver stacks with Flash Heal for stronger Prayer Of Healing. Keep Prayer Of Mending on cooldown and use Smite during downtime for procs.

AoE

Prepare Holy Words for incoming AoE damage.

• HaloView detailsUse as damage begins for healing and Surge Of Light procs.
• Prayer Of HealingView detailsUse with Lightweaver stacks for efficient AoE healing.
• Holy Word SanctifyView detailsUse on cooldown for AoE healing.
• Prayer Of MendingView detailsKeep on cooldown, focusing on allies without stacks.
• ApotheosisView detailsReset Holy Word cooldowns and maximize healing output.

For AoE healing, prioritize Halo and Prayer Of Healing with Lightweaver stacks. Use Holy Word Sanctify on cooldown and maintain Prayer Of Mending. Activate Apotheosis for burst healing.

Cooldowns

• Divine HymnView detailsPrimary raid cooldown for heavy damage phases.
• ApotheosisView detailsReset Holy Word cooldowns and maximize healing output.
• Guardian SpiritView detailsUse on tanks or allies in critical situations.
• Desperate PrayerView detailsSelf-healing defensive cooldown.
• FadeView detailsReduce threat or avoid damage.

Use Divine Hymn for raid-wide healing, Apotheosis to reset Holy Words, and Guardian Spirit for critical ally support. Employ Desperate Prayer and Fade for personal survivability.

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.