Priest
- Roles
- HEALER · DPS
- Races
- DwarfGnomeNEWHumanNight ElfTrollUndead
Overview
Priest has 52 talents in 3 trees (Discipline 18, Holy 17 and Shadow 17). Taking every rank would need 148 points; a level 60 character has 51, enough for 34% of all ranks.
Each tree has up to 7 tiers; a tier opens after 5 points per tier spent in that tree. The last tier (30 points in the tree) holds Power Infusion (Discipline), Prayer of Mending (Holy) and Shadowform (Shadow). 12 talents have a single rank and the rest up to 5; 7 talents require another talent first.
In WoW: Forever the class is playable by 6 races: Dwarf, Gnome, Human, Night Elf, Troll and Undead. In Classic Era (1.15.9.70003) it was 5 races: Dwarf, Human, Night Elf, Troll and Undead. New in Forever: Gnome.
Compared with Classic Era, 51 talent records changed in Forever (build 1.60.1.70938): 19 in Shadow, 12 in Holy and 20 in Discipline. By kind: 11 × moved, 8 × rank values changed, 14 × new talent, 9 × removed talent, 6 × max rank changed, 2 × requirement changed and 1 × renamed.
Talent trees
Open in Talent CalculatorDiscipline
18 talents · 51 points| Tier | Talent | Ranks | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 pts |  Power in Light | 5 | Your Smite and Penance spells deal 10% increased damage to targets afflicted with your Holy Fire or Shadow Word: Pain. |
| 10 pts |  Wand Specialization | 2 | Increases your damage with Wands by 25%. |
| 10 pts |  Twin Disciplines | 5 | Increases the damage and healing of your instant cast spells by 5%. |
| 25 pts |  Silent Resolve | 3 | Reduces the threat generated by your spells by 30% and reduces the duration of Stun, Fear, and Silence effects inflicted on you by 15%. |
| 25 pts |  Holy Precision | 3 | Improves your chance to hit with Holy spells by 18%. |
| 25 pts |  Mental Strength | 5 | Increases your total Intellect by 10%. |
| 25 pts |  Martyrdom | 2 | Gives you a 100% chance to gain Focused Casting for 6 sec after being the victim of a melee or ranged critical strike. The Focused Casting effect prevents you from losing casting time when taking damage and increases your resistance to Interrupt effects by 20%. |
| 310 pts |  Mental Agility | 3 | Reduces the mana cost of your Smite, Holy Fire, and instant cast spells by 10%. |
| 310 pts |  Inner Focus | 1 | When activated, reduces the Mana cost of your next spell by 100% and increases its critical effect chance by 25% if it is a non-periodic spell and capable of a critical effect. |
| 310 pts |  Improved Power Word: Shield | 3 | Increases the damage absorbed by your Power Word: Shield by 20%. |
| 310 pts |  Meditation | 3 | Allows 50% of your Mana regeneration to continue while casting. |
| 415 pts |  Improved Inner Fire | 3 | Increases the Armor bonus of your Inner Fire spell by 45% and increases its total charges by 12. |
| 415 pts |  Improved Mana Burn | 2 | Reduces the casting time of your Mana Burn spell by 1 sec. |
| 415 pts |  Soul WardingRequires Improved Power Word: Shield (3) | 1 | Reduces the cooldown on your Power Word: Shield spell by 4 sec and reduces its mana cost by 15%. |
| 520 pts |  Penance | 1 | Launches a volley of holy light at the target, causing 42 Holy damage to an enemy, or 126 healing to an ally, instantly and every 1 sec for 2 sec. |
| 520 pts |  Renewed HopeRequires Soul Warding (1) | 5 | Your heals from Flash Heal, Lesser Heal, Heal, Greater Heal, and Penance gain 10% increased critical strike chance when cast on targets with Weakened Soul, and reduce the remaining duration of Weakened Soul on their target by 5 sec. |
| 625 pts |  Divine Aegis | 3 | Your non-periodic critical heals create a protective shield on the target, absorbing 15% of the amount healed. Shields up to ${20*$pl} damage and lasts 12 sec. |
| 730 pts |  Power InfusionRequires Penance (1) | 1 | Infuses the target with power, increasing their spell damage and healing done by 20% for 15 sec. |
Holy
17 talents · 48 points| Tier | Talent | Ranks | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 pts |  Twilight Focus | 3 | Gives your spells a 70% chance to not lose casting time when you take damage. |
| 10 pts |  Improved Renew | 3 | Increases the amount healed by your Renew spell by 15%. |
| 10 pts |  Holy Specialization | 5 | Increases the critical effect chance of your Holy spells by 5%. |
| 25 pts |  Spell Warding | 5 | Reduces all spell damage taken by 10%. |
| 25 pts |  Divine Fury | 5 | Reduces the casting time of your Smite, Holy Fire, Heal, and Greater Heal spells by 0.5 sec. |
| 310 pts |  Holy Nova | 1 | Causes an explosion of holy light around the caster, causing 27 Holy damage to all enemy targets within $a1 yards and healing all party members within $23455a1 yards for 51. These effects cause no threat. |
| 310 pts |  Blessed Recovery | 3 | After being struck by a melee or ranged critical hit, or suffering more than 30% of your maximum Health from a single attack, heal 25% of the damage taken over 6 sec. Refreshing this effect carries over any remaining healing. |
| 310 pts |  Inspiration | 3 | Your non-periodic critical heals increase your target's Armor by 25% for 15 sec. |
| 415 pts |  Holy Reach | 2 | Increases the range of your Smite and Holy Fire spells and the radius of your Prayer of Healing and Holy Nova spells by 20%. |
| 415 pts |  Improved Healing | 3 | Reduces the Mana cost of your Lesser Heal, Heal, Greater Heal, Penance, and Prayer of Mending spells by 15%. |
| 415 pts |  Searing LightRequires Divine Fury (5) | 2 | Increases your Holy damage done by 5%, and gives a 10% chance each time your Holy Fire spell deals periodic damage for your next Holy Nova to cost no Mana. |
| 415 pts |  Holy Binding | 1 | Each time you heal a target other than yourself with Flash Heal, you are healed for 50% as much. This healing generates no threat. |
| 520 pts |  Litany of Light | 2 | When you cast a healing spell, gain Mana equal to 10% of the base cost of the spell if your previous heal was a different spell. |
| 520 pts |  Spirit of Redemption | 1 | Upon death, the priest becomes the Spirit of Redemption for 15 sec. The Spirit of Redemption cannot move, attack, be attacked or targeted by any spells or effects. While in this form the priest can cast any healing spell free of cost. When the effect ends, the priest dies. |
| 520 pts |  Spiritual Guidance | 5 | Increases your spell healing by up to 25% of your total Spirit and your spell damage by up to 8% of your total Spirit. |
| 625 pts |  Spiritual Healing | 3 | Increases the amount healed by your spells by 10%. |
| 730 pts |  Prayer of MendingRequires Spirit of Redemption (1) | 1 | Places a spell on the target that heals them for ${(172+($bh*$bc))*$<mult>} the next time they take damage or receive non-periodic healing. When the heal occurs, Prayer of Mending jumps to a party or raid member within $401880a1 yards. Jumps up to 5 times and lasts 30 sec after each jump. This spell can only be placed on one target at a time per caster. |
Shadow
17 talents · 49 points| Tier | Talent | Ranks | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 pts |  Shadow Focus | 5 | Improves your chance to hit with Shadow spells by 5%. |
| 10 pts |  Blackout | 5 | Gives your Shadow damage spells a 10% chance to stun the target for 3 sec. |
| 10 pts |  Spirit Tap | 5 | Gives you a 100% chance to increase your Spirit by 100% for 15 sec after killing a non-trivial target or when an enemy afflicted by your Vampiric Embrace dies. For the duration, 50% of your Mana regeneration will continue while casting. |
| 25 pts |  Improved Mind Blast | 5 | Reduces the cooldown of your Mind Blast spell by 2.5 sec. |
| 25 pts |  Improved Shadow Word: Pain | 2 | Increases the duration of your Shadow Word: Pain spell by 6 sec. |
| 25 pts |  Shadow Reach | 2 | Increases the range of your offensive Shadow spells by 20%. |
| 310 pts |  Improved Psychic ScreamRequires Blackout (5) | 2 | Reduces the cooldown of your Psychic Scream spell by 4 sec. |
| 310 pts |  Mind Flay | 1 | Assault the target's mind with Shadow energy, causing 63 Shadow damage over 3 sec and slowing their movement speed by 50%. |
| 310 pts |  Improved Mind Flay | 2 | Each instance of damage of Mind Flay deals 20% more damage than its previous instance of damage. |
| 415 pts |  Dark Inspiration | 5 | Your Mind Blast and fully channeled Mind Flay causes Dark Inspiration, increasing yours and your party's Spirit by 15% for 10 sec. |
| 415 pts |  Vampiric Embrace | 1 | Afflicts your target with Shadow energy that causes all party members to be healed for 20% of any Shadow spell damage you deal for 30 sec. |
| 415 pts |  Shadow Weaving | 3 | Your Shadow damage spells have a 100% chance to increase the Shadow damage the target takes from you by 2% for 15 sec, stacking up to 5 times. |
| 520 pts |  Silence | 1 | Silences the target, preventing them from casting spells for 5 sec and interrupting their spellcasts for 3 sec. |
| 520 pts |  Devouring Contagion | 2 | Reduces the mana cost of your Devouring Plague by 50%. Targets that die while Devouring Plague is active spreads it, jumping to 2 nearby enemies within 10 yds for the remaining duration. |
| 625 pts |  Early Demise | 2 | Increases Shadow Word: Death's critical strike chance on targets at or below 20% health by 30%. |
| 625 pts |  Darkness | 5 | Increases your Shadow damage done by 10%. |
| 730 pts |  ShadowformRequires Vampiric Embrace (1) | 1 | Assume Shadowform, increasing your Shadow damage by 10%, reducing the Mana cost of all Shadow spells by 50%, increasing the critical strike damage bonus of your Shadow spells by 100%, and reducing Physical damage taken by you by 15%. However, you may not cast healing spells while in this form. |
What's new in Forever
Open in Talent CalculatorNew talents 14
- Dark InspirationNEWShadow
- Devouring ContagionNEWShadow
- Divine AegisNEWDiscipline
- Early DemiseNEWShadow
- Holy BindingNEWHoly
- Holy PrecisionNEWDiscipline
- Improved Mind FlayNEWShadow
- Litany of LightNEWHoly
- PenanceNEWDiscipline
- Power in LightNEWDiscipline
- Prayer of MendingNEWHoly
- Renewed HopeNEWDiscipline
- Soul WardingNEWDiscipline
- Twin DisciplinesNEWDiscipline
Changed talents 28
- BlackoutShadowMoved from tier 1 column 3 to tier 1 column 2
- Blessed RecoveryHolyRank values changedClassic Era: After being struck by a melee or ranged critical hit, heal 25% of the damage taken over 6 sec.Forever: After being struck by a melee or ranged critical hit, or suffering more than 30% of your maximum Health from a single attack, heal 25% of the damage taken over 6 sec. Refreshing this effect carries over any remaining healing.
- Holy NovaHolyRank values changedClassic Era: Causes an explosion of holy light around the caster, causing 28 Holy damage to all enemy targets within $a1 yards and healing all party members within $23455a1 yards for 52. These effects cause no threat.Forever: Causes an explosion of holy light around the caster, causing 27 Holy damage to all enemy targets within $a1 yards and healing all party members within $23455a1 yards for 51. These effects cause no threat.
- Improved Inner FireDisciplineRank values changedClassic Era: Increases the Armor bonus of your Inner Fire spell by 30%.Forever: Increases the Armor bonus of your Inner Fire spell by 45% and increases its total charges by 12.
- Improved Mana BurnDisciplineMoved from tier 4 column 4 to tier 4 column 2Rank values changedClassic Era: Reduces the casting time of your Mana Burn spell by 0.5 sec.Forever: Reduces the casting time of your Mana Burn spell by 1 sec.
- Improved Mind BlastShadowMoved from tier 3 column 2 to tier 2 column 1
- Improved Power Word: ShieldDisciplineMoved from tier 2 column 3 to tier 3 column 3Rank values changedClassic Era: Increases the damage absorbed by your Power Word: Shield by 15%.Forever: Increases the damage absorbed by your Power Word: Shield by 20%.
- Improved Psychic ScreamShadowMoved from tier 3 column 1 to tier 3 column 2Requirement changed: none → Blackout
- Improved Shadow Word: PainShadowMoved from tier 2 column 2 to tier 2 column 3
- MeditationDisciplineMoved from tier 3 column 3 to tier 3 column 4Rank values changedClassic Era: Allows 15% of your Mana regeneration to continue while casting.Forever: Allows 50% of your Mana regeneration to continue while casting.
- Mental AgilityDisciplineMax rank 5 → 3Moved from tier 4 column 2 to tier 3 column 1
- Mental StrengthDisciplineMoved from tier 5 column 2 to tier 2 column 3
- Mind FlayShadowRank values changedClassic Era: Assault the target's mind with Shadow energy, causing 75 Shadow damage over 3 sec$?A1226557[.][ and slowing their movement speed by 50%.]Forever: Assault the target's mind with Shadow energy, causing 63 Shadow damage over 3 sec and slowing their movement speed by 50%.
- Power InfusionDisciplineRequirement changed: Mental Strength → Penance
- Searing LightHolyRank values changedClassic Era: Increases the damage of your Smite and Holy Fire spells by 10%.Forever: Increases your Holy damage done by 5%, and gives a 10% chance each time your Holy Fire spell deals periodic damage for your next Holy Nova to cost no Mana.
- Shadow FocusShadowMoved from tier 2 column 3 to tier 1 column 1Rank values changedClassic Era: Reduces your target's chance to resist your Shadow spells by 10%.Forever: Improves your chance to hit with Shadow spells by 5%.
- ShadowformShadowRank values changedClassic Era: Assume a Shadowform, increasing your Shadow damage by 15% and reducing Physical damage done to you by 15%. However, you may not cast Holy spells while in this form.Forever: Assume Shadowform, increasing your Shadow damage by 10%, reducing the Mana cost of all Shadow spells by 50%, increasing the critical strike damage bonus of your Shadow spells by 100%, and reducing Physical damage taken by you by 15%. However, you may not cast healing spells while in this form.
- Shadow ReachShadowMax rank 3 → 2Moved from tier 4 column 3 to tier 2 column 4
- Shadow WeavingShadowMax rank 5 → 3Moved from tier 4 column 4 to tier 4 column 3Rank values changedClassic Era: Your Shadow damage spells have a 100% chance to cause your target to be vulnerable to Shadow damage. This vulnerability increases the Shadow damage dealt to your target by 3% and lasts 15 sec. Stacks up to 5 times.Forever: Your Shadow damage spells have a 100% chance to increase the Shadow damage the target takes from you by 2% for 15 sec, stacking up to 5 times.
- SilenceShadowRequirement changed: Improved Psychic Scream → noneRank values changedClassic Era: Silences the target, preventing them from casting spells for 5 sec.Forever: Silences the target, preventing them from casting spells for 5 sec and interrupting their spellcasts for 3 sec.
- Silent ResolveDisciplineMax rank 5 → 3Rank values changedClassic Era: Reduces the threat generated by your spells by 20%.Forever: Reduces the threat generated by your spells by 30% and reduces the duration of Stun, Fear, and Silence effects inflicted on you by 15%.
- Spirit of RedemptionHolyRank values changedClassic Era: Upon death, the priest becomes the Spirit of Redemption for 10 sec. The Spirit of Redemption cannot move, attack, be attacked or targeted by any spells or effects. While in this form the priest can cast any healing spell free of cost. When the effect ends, the priest dies.Forever: Upon death, the priest becomes the Spirit of Redemption for 15 sec. The Spirit of Redemption cannot move, attack, be attacked or targeted by any spells or effects. While in this form the priest can cast any healing spell free of cost. When the effect ends, the priest dies.
- Spirit TapShadowMoved from tier 1 column 2 to tier 1 column 3Rank values changedClassic Era: Gives you a 100% chance to gain a 100% bonus to your Spirit after killing a target that yields experience. For the duration, your Mana will regenerate at a 50% rate while casting. Lasts 15 sec.Forever: Gives you a 100% chance to increase your Spirit by 100% for 15 sec after killing a non-trivial target or when an enemy afflicted by your Vampiric Embrace dies. For the duration, 50% of your Mana regeneration will continue while casting.
- Spiritual GuidanceHolyRank values changedClassic Era: Increases spell damage and healing by up to 25% of your total Spirit.Forever: Increases your spell healing by up to 25% of your total Spirit and your spell damage by up to 8% of your total Spirit.
- Spiritual HealingHolyMax rank 5 → 3
- Twilight FocusHolyRenamed from Healing FocusMax rank 2 → 3
- Vampiric EmbraceShadowMoved from tier 5 column 2 to tier 4 column 2Rank values changedClassic Era: Afflicts your target with Shadow energy that causes all party members to be healed for 20% of any Shadow spell damage you deal for 1 min$?a440247[. You take 100% more healing from this effect][].Forever: Afflicts your target with Shadow energy that causes all party members to be healed for 20% of any Shadow spell damage you deal for 30 sec.
- Wand SpecializationDisciplineMax rank 5 → 2Moved from tier 1 column 3 to tier 1 column 2
Removed talents 9
- Divine SpiritDiscipline
- Force of WillDiscipline
- Improved FadeShadow
- Improved Power Word: FortitudeDiscipline
- Improved Prayer of HealingHoly
- Improved Vampiric EmbraceShadow
- LightwellHoly
- Shadow AffinityShadow
- Unbreakable WillDiscipline
Official patch notes
All patch notesNov 3, 2026WoW: Forever update — November 2, 2026
- Power Word: Shield can now correctly be replaced by a Power Word: Shield of equal or greater rank.
- Shadow Word: Death now causes 30% of maximum Health damage to the Priest if it fails to kill the target, up from 10%. Shadow Word: Death will no longer damage the Priest when the spell misses.
- Fixed an issue causing Undead Priest’s Dark Sacrifice to still break crowd control effects.
- Holy
- Binding Heal removed.
- New talent in Binding Heal’s slot: Holy Binding. When the Priest heals a target other than themselves with Flash Heal, 50% of the healing done by the Flash Heal is also done to the Priest. This healing generates no threat.
- Shadow
- Devouring Contagion no longer spreads Devouring Plague if it is spreading from a critter.
- Vampiric Embrace Healing can no longer roll a critical effect.
- Fixed an issue where Cure Disease and Abolish Disease would take the Priest out of Shadowform.
Oct 16, 2026WoW: Forever update — October 15, 2026
- Fixed an issue where high ranks of Renew were preventing other Priests from applying Renew to the target.
- Fixed an issue causing Holy Fire Rank 5 periodic damage to be higher than Rank 6.
- Power Word: Shield will now correctly tell the player they can’t replace a Power Word: Shield on a target if the Power Word: Shield they have is stronger.
- Fixed an issue where casting Power Word: Shield would say SHIELDED twice in your scrolling combat text.
- Devouring Plague cooldown reduced to 24 seconds (was 1 minute).
- Shadow Word: Death cooldown increased to 18 seconds (was 12 seconds).
- Fixed an issue where casting Mind Vision would cause the target to stand up and interrupt drinks.
- Discipline
- Inner Focus will now correctly only be used on a single spell, even if you spell queue another spell into Penance’s channel.
- Added to the tooltip for Divine Aegis explicitly that it is activated by Non-Periodic critical heals.
- Added to the tooltip for Divine Aegis what the maximum value for the shield is.
- Power in Light now increases Smite and Penance if the target is afflicted by Holy Fire or Shadow Word Pain.
- Silence Resolve threat reduction now applies to all spells.
- Mental Strength moved to Row 2 from Row 4 and changed to increase your intellect by 2/4/6/8/10%.
- Improved Power Word: Shield moved to Row 3 from Row 2.
- Twin Disciplines now correctly benefits Shadow Word: Death, Mind Flay, Starshards and Penance.
- Shadow
- Fixed an issue where Shadow Word: Death was not benefitting from Shadowform’s increase to critical strike damage.
- Fixed an issue where Devouring Contagion was causing the bounced Devouring Plague to cost Mana, perform a cast animation, and put the caster’s Devouring Plague back on full cooldown.
- Changed Vampiric Embrace so that it can’t be resisted.
- Vampiric Embrace cooldown reduced to 30 seconds (was 1 minute).
- Improved Fade removed.
- Shadow Infinity removed.
- Improved Mind Blast moved from Row 3 to Row 2.
- New talent (Row 4): Dark Inspiration – Your Mind Blast and fully channeled Mind Flay causes Dark Inspiration, increasing yours and your party’s Spirit by 3/6/9/12/15% for 10 seconds.
- Improved Mind Flay changes to: Each instance of damage of Mind Flay deals 10/20% more damage than its previous instance of damage.
- Devouring Contagion now spreads to 2 targets.
- Fixed an issue with Shadow Weaving’s Tooltip. It now correctly states that it causes the target to take increased damage from you.
Oct 8, 2026WoW: Forever update — October 8, 2026
- Smite: The base points and points per level of ranks 1-4 of this spell have been adjusted to make the growth rate of ranks 1-5 more consistent, and new ranks always an upgrade.
- Lesser Heal and Heal: The base points of ranks 1-3 of Lesser Heal and ranks 1-2 of Heal have been adjusted to make the growth rate of this family of spells up to Heal Rank 3 more consistent, and new ranks always an upgrade.
- Discipline
- Reduced Penance spell damage and healing to resolve a bug where it was being treated like a 3-second channel instead of a 2 -second channel.
- Adjusted Penance mana costs so that it has a consistent advantage in mana efficiency over the Heal/Greater Heal family of spells. Rank 1 mana cost was increased by 50%.
- Healing done by Penance has been increased on Penance ranks 2 and 4.
Oct 1, 2026WoW: Forever update — October 1, 2026
- Devouring Plague can now correctly critically strike.
- Fixed an issue where Shadow Word: Death was always benefitting from the Early Demise talent regardless of the target’s health %.
- Discipline
- Inner Focus no longer applies its Critical Strike increase to Periodic Effects.
- Shadow
- Shadow Weaving can no longer fail to apply.
Sep 24, 2026WoW: Forever update — September 24, 2026
- Corrected an issue and now Renew can land critical hits.
- Power Word: Shield can now always overwrite an existing Power Word: Shield on a target that does not have Weakened Soul.
- Gnome
- Corrected an issue and now Contingency Plan can land critical hits.
- Confounding Flash now has a cast visual. The casting visual is now more Holy oriented than Arcane and the sounds have been updated to match.
- Night Elf
- Starshards now correctly gains resistance to spell pushback from the Twilight Focus talent.
- Undead
- Dark Sacrifice no longer breaks Crowd Control that breaks on damage.
- Dark Sacrifice’s tooltip now correctly displays that the Mana gained from the ability scales with Spirit.
Source: Blizzard, official WoW: Forever development notes (linked from each entry).