What Forever Changes for Priests
- Fear Ward and Devouring Plague are trained by every Priest at level 20, and Divine Spirit at level 30. Race no longer decides what a raid asks of you.
- Shadow Word: Death arrives at level 32: instant Shadow damage on a 15-second cooldown that costs you 10% of your maximum health if the target survives.
- Prayer of Healing heals the party of whoever you target, pets included, so you can top up any group in the raid from where you stand.
- Renew from several Priests now stacks on the same target, and Fade sheds twice as much threat.
- Each tree gains a 16-point milestone: Soul Warding for Discipline, Binding Heal for Holy, and Vampiric Embrace for Shadow.
New and Reworked Priest Abilities
These are the spells the Forever client adds, opens to every race, or hands you without a talent, in the order you learn them. Spells marked with a race are that race’s own.
| Level | Ability | Status | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Confounding FlashGnome only | New in Forever | Confuses up to 5 enemies within 8 yds for 3 sec. Any damage taken will break the effect. |
| 10 | StarshardsNight Elf only | Reworked in Forever | Rains starshards down on the enemy target's head, causing 1800 Arcane damage over 6 sec. |
| 10 | Divine GraceHuman only | New in Forever | Instantly heals a friendly target below 50% Health for 1284 and removes Weakened Soul from that target. Cannot be cast on self. |
| 20 | Contingency PlanGnome only | New in Forever | Place a Holy ward on an ally for 30 sec. The next time this ally takes damage dropping their Health below 35%, they will gain a shield absorbing 926 damage and begin healing for 670 Health over 15 sec. A target may be affected by only one Contingency Plan. |
| 20 | Elune's GraceNight Elf only | Reworked in Forever | Reduces the chance you'll be hit by melee and ranged attacks by 50% for 15 sec or until you are missed 3 times. |
| 20 | ChastiseDwarf only | New in Forever | Chastise the target, causing 272 Holy damage and Immobilizing them for up to 2 sec. Only works against Humanoids. This spell causes very low threat. |
| 20 | Fear Ward | Now for every race | Wards the friendly target against Fear. The next Fear effect used against the target will fail, using up the ward. Lasts 3 min. |
| 20 | Dark SacrificeUndead only | New in Forever | Cannibalize 1600 of your own Health over 15 sec to gain (1600 + 100% of your Spirit) Mana. |
| 20 | Devouring Plague | Now for every race | Afflicts the target with a disease that causes 848 Shadow damage over 24 sec. Damage caused by the Devouring Plague heals the caster. |
| 30 | Divine Spirit | Was a Classic talent | Holy power infuses the target, increasing their Spirit by 40 for 1 hr. |
| 32 | Shadow Word: Death | New in Forever | A word of dark binding that inflicts 444 Shadow damage to the target. If your target is not killed by Shadow Word: Death, you take backlash damage equal to 10% of your maximum health. |
Recommended Builds
Each build lists the order to spend every point from level 10, so you can follow it while you level. Open any step in the talent calculator to see the build at that level.
Healing Beta Start
Levels 10–20, healing dungeons while still questing solo
11 Discipline0 Holy0 Shadow Magic
Wand damage for solo kills, Twin Disciplines on your shields and Renew, then Mental Strength into Improved Power Word: Shield.
Why these talents
- Wand Specialization adds 25% wand damage, and wanding is most of your damage before level 20.
- Twin Disciplines adds 3% to the damage and healing of your instant casts, which covers Renew, Power Word: Shield and Shadow Word: Pain at once.
- Mental Strength raises Intellect by 10% and opens row 3 for Improved Power Word: Shield, which absorbs 7% more damage on your first shield talent point.
Swaps to consider
- Playing Holy instead? Spend the Discipline shield path on Improved Renew and Holy specialization talents once you leave the shared wand opener.
- If Mana is never the problem, put the last point into Meditation instead of the shield.
Shadow Beta Start
Levels 10–20, solo damage with Shadow Word: Pain and a wand
2 Discipline2 Holy7 Shadow Magic
The same wand and Spirit Tap core, with a longer Shadow Word: Pain and pushback protection on top.
Why these talents
- Improved Shadow Word: Pain adds 6 seconds of duration, so one cast covers a whole fight and costs far less Mana per point of damage.
- Wand Specialization adds 25% wand damage; you wand while the damage over time ticks.
- Spirit Tap after every kill is what lets you pull the next target instead of drinking.
Swaps to consider
- In PvP, spend the last two points on Blackout instead of Twilight Focus; Shadow Reach is the pick if range is what keeps failing you.
Talent Tree Changes from Classic
New talents, talents moved in from another tree, and the Classic talents each tree no longer has. Compare them in the talent calculator →
Discipline
7 new · 0 moved in · 4 removed
Shields come back faster. Soul Warding at 16 points cuts the Power Word: Shield cooldown and cost, and Penance at 21 points heals an ally or hits an enemy every second.
New
Power in Light
Twin Disciplines
Holy Precision
Soul Warding
Penance
Renewed Hope
Divine Aegis
No longer in this tree
Divine Spirit (now from the trainer), Force of Will, Improved Power Word: Fortitude, Unbreakable Will
Holy
4 new · 0 moved in · 3 removed
Two new heals. Binding Heal at 16 points heals you and your target with no cooldown, and Prayer of Mending at 31 points jumps through the group as people take damage.
New
Twilight Focus
Binding Heal
Litany of Light
Prayer of Mending
No longer in this tree
Healing Focus, Improved Prayer of Healing, Lightwell
Shadow Magic
4 new · 4 moved in · 3 removed
Shadowform lets you cast every non-healing spell at half the Mana cost, and Shadow Weaving now boosts only your own damage, so a Shadow Priest earns a raid spot with its own numbers.
New
Improved Mind Flay
Dark Inspiration
Devouring Contagion
Early Demise
Moved in
Blackout
Improved Mind Blast
Improved Shadow Word: Pain
Improved Psychic Scream
No longer in this tree
Improved Fade, Improved Vampiric Embrace, Shadow Affinity
Leveling a Priest
Every class follows the same zones and dungeons; your faction decides the route. Start in your race's zone, follow your faction's route, and spend your talents with the Healing Beta Start build above.
- HumanAlliance · Elwynn Forest
- DwarfAlliance · Dun Morogh
- Night ElfAlliance · Teldrassil
- GnomeAlliance · Dun Morogh
- UndeadHorde · Tirisfal Glades
- TrollHorde · Durotar
Playable Race Options
Every Priest race trains two spells of its own, at level 10 and level 20, listed on each card below and in the new abilities above. With Fear Ward and Devouring Plague shared, this pair is what your race decides: Humans and Gnomes add an emergency button for the tank, Dwarves and Night Elves look after themselves, Undead trade health for a longer Mana bar, and Trolls weaken and punish whoever hits them.