If you’re aiming to support your group with powerful healing and utility, building a healing Priest in Warmane is one of the most rewarding paths in the game. Whether you’re playing on Icecrown, Lordaeron, or Frostmourne, a well-built Holy or Discipline Priest can be the backbone of any dungeon run, raid, or battleground.
In this guide, I’ll walk you through the essential steps to building a Healing Priest in Warmane, based on my own experience running 25-man Icecrown Citadel raids and Heroic dungeons. I’ll also show you how I efficiently manage my resources—including how I use Warmane Gold to gear up quickly and keep my Priest raid-ready.
1. Choose Your Spec: Holy vs. Discipline
Both specs are viable in Warmane’s Wrath of the Lich King environment, but they serve different purposes.
- Discipline Priest: Strong single-target and tank healing. Focuses on damage mitigation with Power Word: Shield, Penance, and Pain Suppression. Highly effective in raid healing due to Rapture and Grace.
- Holy Priest: Exceptional group healing. Uses spells like Circle of Healing, Prayer of Healing, and Renew. Works best in multi-target healing situations like ICC trash or festergut-type fights.
My Experience:
I started with Holy for dungeon healing but swapped to Discipline once I started raiding regularly. The utility of Pain Suppression and Power Infusion makes Discipline more desirable in progression content, and it’s much easier to manage mana during longer fights.
2. Essential Talents and Glyphs
For Discipline:
Key Talents: Penance, Rapture, Borrowed Time, Divine Aegis
Glyphs:
- Glyph of Penance (must-have)
- Glyph of Power Word: Shield
- Glyph of Flash Heal
For Holy:
Key Talents: Circle of Healing, Serendipity, Guardian Spirit
Glyphs:
- Glyph of Circle of Healing
- Glyph of Renew
- Glyph of Prayer of Healing
3. Stat Priority
Understanding stat priority is crucial for optimizing your healing output.
- Spell Power: Increases overall healing. Always useful.
- Spirit: Important for Holy Priest mana regen.
- MP5 (Mana per 5 seconds): More useful for Disc builds.
- Haste Rating: Allows faster casts; especially important for Holy.
- Crit Rating: Benefits both specs but is especially good for Disc due to Divine Aegis.
Tip: Discipline Priests benefit from gear with high Crit + Haste, while Holy Priests should look for Spirit + Haste gear.
4. Gear and How to Get It
Getting pre-raid BIS (Best in Slot) gear will make your healing far more effective. Here are some suggestions:
- Heroic Dungeon Gear: Farm Trial of the Champion and Heroic ICC dungeons.
- Reputation Rewards: Get Exalted with Kirin Tor, Wyrmrest Accord, and Argent Crusade for powerful healing gear.
- Raid Gear: Join VOA, Naxxramas, Ulduar, and ICC pugs.
5. Using Warmane Gold Effectively
Warmane Gold is essential for speeding up your Priest’s progression. Here’s how I personally use gold to support my healing build:
- Buy Enchants & Gems: Max out your gear with the best spellpower enchants and epic-quality gems. This gives a significant performance boost.
- Purchase BOEs (Bind on Equip): Some of the best pre-raid items can be found on the Auction House. I bought [Bejeweled Wizard’s Bracers] early with gold and used them all the way until ICC.
- Flasks, Potions, and Food: Always keep a stock of Flask of the Frost Wyrm and Fish Feast when raiding.
Pro Tip: Farming gold as a healer is slow. I created a secondary farming alt for gathering and dailies, then transferred gold to my Priest. Alternatively, purchasing Warmane Gold from trusted sources saved me hours and helped me stay raid-ready.
6. Macros and Addons
- Addons:
- HealBot, VuhDo, or Grid + Clique for easier healing management
- OmniCC for cooldown tracking
- Quartz for cast bars
- Macros:
- Mouseover macros for all healing spells
- Panic button macro for Power Word: Shield + Pain Suppression on tank
7. Healing Tips from My Raiding Experience
- Always pre-shield tanks as a Discipline Priest before big damage phases.
- Time your Prayer of Healing with Serendipity stacks for maximum group healing as Holy.
- Use Hymn of Hope strategically during mana droughts, and coordinate it with other mana cooldowns.
- Don’t forget Fade—it saves your life in boss fights more than you’d expect.
Building a Healing Priest in Warmane is a fulfilling journey—one that rewards attention to detail, awareness, and the ability to adapt in high-pressure situations. Whether you choose Holy or Discipline, your role is vital, and the group will rely on your skill.
Using Warmane Gold wisely can drastically reduce your gearing time and let you focus more on gameplay and less on grinding. With preparation and the right mindset, you’ll become a core member of any raid team and a lifesaver in every dungeon.
