Priest – Best PvP & PvE Builds Tree

The priest in World of Warcraft is the only class with two talent trees for healing and only one for spell damage. Fortunately, all three specializations are in demand and play in modern meta in both PvE and PvP. We will graphically present all current builds for each spec in WoW Dragonflight. Healer priests are in demand in most raiding groups due to their strong defensive abilities, ability to heal or shield multiple targets, mass dispersal, and more. On the other hand, Shadow priests are great against clusters of enemies or paired bosses, as well as in situations where damage splitting is required. In addition, healer and range DPS are plentiful in the arena and battlegrounds at almost any rating.

Priest Best PvE Build in WoW Dragonflight 10.2

In this case, we'll take apart the talent trees intended for use only in the PvE segments of the game WoW Dragonflight, whether it's a run on the epochal keys or conquering a raid on any difficulty. 

Shadow Priest PvE Build

In this case, we will start the analysis exactly with the specialization capable of dealing gradual damage to one or more targets. It is called shadow priest and is the only one for this class. It is distinguished by its ability to divide damage between several targets and to deal damage effectively. In addition, the priest can heal allies and doesn't lose any DPS when moving. Critical specialization abilities are Void Eruption, Mind Flay, and some idols like Idol of Y'Shaarj, Idol of C'Thun, Idol of Yogg-Saron, and Idol of N'Zoth. Also important are Mind Sear, Shadow Crash, Vampiric Touch, and Devouring Plague. A common important ability is Power Infusion with Twins of the Sun Priestess. Now to the talents:

Shadow Priest Pluses in WoW Dragonflight 10.2

• Flexibility with cooldown style choice.
• Great cleave damage for council-type encounters and Mythic+.
• Amazing self-healing through Vampiric Touch and Devouring Plague, scaling well with additional targets.
• Access to the best single player external DPS cooldown, Power Infusion. Can now be given away easily with Twins of the Sun Priestess.
• Top tier class utility in Mythic+.

Shadow Priest Minuses

• DoT management can require a lot of focus and can be reliant on Shadow Crash hitting correctly in multi-target.
• Lots of spells and abilities, which could be overwhelming depending on talents.
• Need to plan out movement specifically, cannot just stop casting whenever you want for optimal damage.
• Single target can be lackluster.
• One of the weaker specs when it comes to mitigating damage taken without losing damage.

The pros of SP are flexible play style, massive damage on multiple targets, steep self-healing, and functional raid abilities. The minuses are high demands on the player's attention, a considerable scatter of talents, and depending on resources, you need to think a little ahead.

Discipline Priest PvE Build

Next, pay attention to the specialization that can effectively deal damage at the right moment and simultaneously heal allies. We are talking about the Discipline priest, whose important quality is the ability to use shields and skills that reduce incoming damage to the raid or group. Critical specialization abilities are Atonement, Power Word: Radiance, Power Word: Barrier, Penance, Power Word: Shield, and Power Word: Life. The build looks like this:

Discipline Priest Pluses in WoW Dragonflight 10.2

• High burst healing on a short cooldown.
• Strong cooldowns that increase the effective health of your group (through absorbs or damage reduction).
• Strong at sustained spot healing in a raid setting.
• Provides significant damage with low opportunity cost.
• Moderate mobility, having a decent range of spells able to be cast while moving.

Discipline Priest Minuses

• Reactive, raid-wide, emergency heals are limited compared to other healing specs.
• Mistakes made by the Discipline Priest are far more punishing than on other healers.
• High barrier to entry for raid healing.
• Poor personal mobility options.
• One of only two specializations in the game without access to an interrupt.

The main features of this set of talents are the ability to quickly raise the health of a single target, excellent mass defensive abilities, relatively high mobility, and gameplay flexibility. The disadvantages are weak mass healing spells, high skill for confident play, and severe penalties for mistakes.

Holy Priest PvE Build

The last talent branch will be holy, focusing on solid raid healing without hybrid damage to enemies. It is distinguished by its excellent mass healing, strong cooldowns, and mass dissipation of adverse effects. Critical specialization abilities are Holy Word: Sanctify, Holy Word: Serenity, Prayer of Mending, and Circle of Healing. Divine Hymn, Apotheosis, and Holy Word: Salvation are also important. The talent branch is as follows:

Holy Priest Pluses in WoW Dragonflight 10.2

• Excels at reactive burst and group healing.
• Unique cooldown-based healing style providing regular bursts of healing.
• Powerful group cooldowns with Divine Hymn and the talents Apotheosis and Holy Word: Salvation.
• Group utility with Dispel Magic, Mass Dispel, Mind Soothe, Power Infusion, and Leap of Faith.
• Good single target damage potential, when healing is not required.

Holy Priest Minuses

• Properly utilising the multitude of low-cooldown healing abilities regularly can be difficult to track for new players.
• Reliance on short cooldown abilities can hurt sustained throughput, especially single target.
• Mediocre group healing in situations that force a large spread.
• Poor damage compared to most other healers.
• No interrupt.

Priest Best PvP Build in WoW Dragonflight 10.2 Season 3

In the PvP segment, priests are very much dependent on the personal skill of the gamer himself. The priest becomes very weak and vulnerable in the wrong hands, but in competent hands, he reveals himself as a formidable opponent. The choice of the right build essentially decides the outcome of the battle.

Shadow Priest PvP Build

Priest in PvP is extremely dangerous to opponents, as any specialization can replenish health and damage and remove most of the effects. Discipline and Shadow are the most popular, but Holy is also excellent. Let's start the PvP segment with the shadow priest. It is important to remember that DPS have Dispel Magic, Mass Dispel, and Power Word: Shield skills and use them effectively. The primary skills are Shadow Word: Pain, Vampiric Touch, Mind Blast, and Mind Flay. The talent branch looks like this:

Shadow Priest Pluses in WoW Dragonflight 10.2

• Strong spread damage
• Dispel Magic and Mass Dispel are crucial
• High consistent damage

Shadow Priest Minuses

• No mobility
• Struggle to cast against melee teams
• Rely on teammates to stay alive

From the pluses of this specialization in PvP, we can highlight the vast AoE damage, the ability to dispel most of the effects, and excellent gradual damage. Disadvantages include low mobility, weakness against melee fighters, and weak defense.

Discipline Priest PvP Build 10.2

Next, the ExpCarry team will present a build for perhaps the most popular PvP priest development called Discipline because the build is perfectly versatile and can both perfectly heal a teammate and damage the enemy.  In this case, the essential skills are Purging the Wicked, Penance, Power Words: Shield, Flash Heal, and Pain Suppression. Remembering the Power Word: Radiance, Life, and Rapture are also essential. The branch of talents looks like the following:

Discipline Priest Pluses in WoW Dragonflight 10.2

• Powerful defensive abilities.
• Significant damage.
• Offensive purge.
• Decent utility.

Discipline Priest Minuses

• Very little mobility.
• High Mana consumption when hard-casting heals.
• Reliant on teammates to land CC

The pros of this specialization are the most potent defensive abilities, excellent on-demand damage, and single-target solid healing. Disadvantages are terrible mobility, huge mana cost for healing, and demanding player skill.

Holy Priest PvP Build

The final PvP specialization will be holy, aimed mainly at the strongest healing and saving allies from death. The essential features are the massive healing of one or more teammates and a good mana curve in combat. In this case, the vital skills are Cardinal Mending, Apotheosis, Power Word: Shield, Holy Word: Serenity, and Flash Heal. Also, necessary to remember Guardian Spirit, Power Word: Life, and Power Infusion. The build looks like this:

Holy Priest Pluses in WoW Dragonflight 10.2

• Strong spread healing
• Multiple powerful healing cooldowns
• Very Mana efficient

Holy Priest Minuses

• Struggle against teams with two melee on it
• Have to cast most spells to get value from cooldowns
• Very limited mobility

The holy priest's pluses include healing, solid defensive cooldowns, and the ability to save a partner from death. The disadvantages are weakness against melee teams, limited mobility, and significant roles of valuable skills.

WoW Dragonflight 10.2 Priest Changes

World of Warcraft's Dragonflight 10.2 update brought a series of significant changes and adjustments to the Priest class, affecting gameplay, strategy, and overall dynamics. Whether you're a devout healer or a shadowy damage dealer, these updates have likely impacted your playstyle. In this exploration, we delve into the nuanced alterations made to the Priest class, examining how these changes influence both the Holy, Discipline, and Shadow specializations. From talent modifications to ability refinements, we will dissect the implications of these updates for Priests in various aspects of the game, including PvE, PvP, and solo play. Understanding these changes is key to mastering the Priest class in the evolving landscape of WoW Dragonflight 10.2.

General 10.2 Priest Changes

• Power Infusion Haste reduced to 20% (was 25%) and duration reduced to 15 seconds (was 20 seconds).
• Shadow Word: Death now deals 8% of the Priest's maximum health in damage when it fails to kill a target instead of the backlash damage being based on damage dealt. This backlash damage is now reduced by damage reduction effects.
• Tithe Evasion now reduces Shadow Word: Death damage dealt to the Priest by 50% (was 75%).
• Mass Dispel cooldown is now 2 minutes (was 45 seconds).
• Improved Mass Dispel has been converted into a PvP talent with Mental Agility replacing it in the class talent tree. Mental Agility Reduces the mana cost of Purify, Purify Disease, and Mass Dispel by 50% and Dispel Magic by 10%.
• Power Word: Life is now a 15-second cooldown and can only be used on targets below 35% health.

Shadow Priest 10.2 Changes

• Shadow Crash damage is now reduced beyond 5 targets.
• Surge of Insanity now triggers from every other cast of Devouring Plague instead of every cast of Devouring Plague.
• Mind Flay damage increased by 10%.
• Mind Flay: Insanity damage increased by 30%. Generates 16 Insanity over its duration (was 12).
• Mind Spike: Insanity damage increased by 20%. Generates 8 Insanity (was 6).

We hope that this section was helpful for you and that you found something interesting. The ExpCarry team will periodically add and update new builds to substantially assist gamers. Our guides will help the player level, explain general information, and make the hero more robust and valuable — choose the one you want.