WotLK Classic Discipline Priest Stat Priority

1. Haste Rating (until soft cap)
2. Spell Power
3. Critical Strike Rating
4. Haste Rating (past soft cap)
5. Intellect
6. Spirit
7. Mana per 5

In TBC Haste Rating was introduced, and it quickly took over as the best stat for healers. In Wrath of the Lich King, this trend continues and Discipline Priest is no exception. However, unlike other healers, Discipline Priests find themselves reaching the soft Haste cap extremely easily.

As a Discipline Priest, you have a few things to take into consideration when considering how much Haste Rating you need. First is your talents, which we will assume that you are specced into both Borrowed Time and Enlightenment. The second thing to consider is your raid buffs.

In a raiding environment, you will want to have either Swift Retribution or Improved Moonkin Form for a 3% Haste buff. You will also want Wrath of Air Totem for a 5% Haste buff. These 2 raid buffs along with your talents greatly reduce the amount of raw Haste Rating you need from gear.

With only your talents improving your Haste, you will need a total of 434 Haste Rating to reach the soft Haste cap. In a raiding environment, where you will have access to both the 3% and 5% Haste buffs, you will only need to aim for 154 Haste Rating to reach the soft cap.

At Level 80:

• 32.79 Haste Rating = 1% Faster Casting Speed
• No buffs, only talents = 434 Haste Rating needed
• With 3% Haste buff = 325 Haste Rating needed
• With 5% Haste buff= 257 Haste Rating needed
• With 3% & 5% Haste buff = 154 Haste Rating needed

Spell Power is the new combined Healing Power and Spell Damage from previous expansions, now streamlined into a singular stat in Wrath of the Lich King. Spell Power will be the main stat you focus on as a Discipline Priest, as the raw strength of your Power Word: Shield is a key factor to making this build powerful.

Spell Power will be the main stat you are looking at when comparing gear pieces, and typically you will want the gear choice that offers the highest Spell Power bonus on it.

Crit Rating is not a great stat at first glance, seeing as most of your rotation is casting Power Word: Shield back-to-back, which cannot crit. It does however, have quite a few uses. Glyph of Power Word: Shield is a glyph that you never replace, and the heal provided by this glyph CAN critically heal.

You also have good synergy with Crit Rating through Divine Aegis, which is one of your biggest overall healing factors. Lastly, Crit rating helps you apply Inspiration to the tanks, giving them a powerful Physical damage reduction buff. All of these factors combined make Crit Rating a powerful stat to look out for after Spell Power.

At Level 80:

• 45.91 Crit Rating = 1% Crit Chance

After reaching the soft Haste cap shown above, the value of Haste Rating falls off significantly. With higher gear levels, it's nearly possible to avoid additional Haste Rating over the soft cap. While you should have Borrowed Time up nearly 100% of the time, there are some healing intensive situations where you will not have the time to refresh Borrowed Time as the raid or tank requires quick, direct healing instead. This is when additional Haste Rating past the soft cap comes in handy.

Intellect is a powerful stat, increasing your base Mana pool, Spirit-based Mana regeneration, and spell crit chance. Having a higher Mana pool increases your Mana gained from personal and raid buffs such as: Rapture, Shadowfiend, Hymn of Hope, Replenishment, and any other percentage-based maximum Mana spells or talents.

As Discipline Priest, you also gain Mental Strength, further increasing your Intellect by 15%. In addition to that, in a raiding environment, you are very likely to be buffed with Blessing of Kings, granting you even more additional Intellect.

At Level 80:

• 1 Intellect = 15 Mana
• 166.67 Intellect = 1% Spell Crit Chance

Spirit greatly improves your passive Mana regeneration, giving you a high amount of passive Mana return. This passive Mana regeneration is broken up by what is commonly referred to as the "5-second rule".

After casting a spell that costs Mana, your passive Spirit-based Mana regen will be paused for 5 seconds, after which time it will resume, giving you full Mana regeneration again. As a Priest, you have the Meditation talent, allowing 50% of your Spirit-based Mana regeneration to continue at all times, even during the 5-second rule.

Lastly, your Spirit will also be increased by your Enlightenment talent and Blessing of Kings in a raiding environment, further increasing your total Spirit.

Mana per 5 is commonly referred to as Mp5. It is a very simple, straightforward stat, restoring Mana back to you every 2 seconds based on your Mana per 5 recovery. This stat is slightly lower ranked than Spirit, but is still completely fine to have on gear. That being said, it will be easier to obtain gear with Mp5 on it as it is typically less contested by other classes.