Disco Learning Curve

any tips, for fresh disc healer? I love the playstyle, I keep struggling in dungeons. Does it just takes time to learn the strategies on how to keep everyone alive? Are there any tips and tricks?

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Don’t be scared of spamming shadowmend. Use your cool downs.

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It’s very proactive compare to other healers and as such it can be harder to catch up when you get behind. Shadowmend spam is often needed, but it can only do so much (compared to other healers). You don’t have an “oh %&#@” button like Tranquility or Divine Hymn- Rapture is your major CD and it can stop a lot of damage, but it won’t heal it back up, so you have to be ready for it in advance.

Dungeon knowledge helps immensely. Knowing which mobs/pulls/boss mechanics are going to be the most dangerous is essential and lets you plan your CDs accordingly.

Also, don’t expect Atonement to heal through major group damage on its own. You will be using it plenty, but when the heavy damage comes in you will need to use a CD/switch to Shadowmend spam.

An old thread I made at the start of the expansion: Shadowlands Disc Priest M+ Tips

Unfortunately I’ve transferred servers since so I couldn’t edit it anymore. That said, it’s pretty much all still relevant. The only things I’d really change are Shadow Covenant being a bit more niche - It’s still good if you want to have some hyper powered Shadowmends. But it’s really only able to be taken by Venthyr otherwise.

On top of that, the covenant info is a bit outdated: Night Fae is a good defensive CD now for Disc. You can basically rotate Rapture, Night Fae damage reduction and Pain supp. It makes it a competitive covenant in M+, but it’s really not a good covenant for any other content. Realistically you should be going Kyrian now for both raid and dungeon.

Start by spamming shadowmend in dungeons instead of worrying about everything else… you can literally spam shadowmend to 15.

focus on keeping atonement on the tank and dps when instake is low.

How fresh are u (If 50 and Under) dont bother in Dungeon cause of the lvl difference Atonement doesnt heal properly

I’m also a beginner. Done LFR, and heroic dungeons on this toon. Keeping in mind when to use Shadowmend vs Shield is good. Like if their hp high and no one needs healing, I use some shields to protect and get atonement. If some goof took damage, I’ll use shadowmend which also gives atonement. It’s easier to apply atonement with Radiance and pop offensive cds then go ham for damage + healing.

I know I underuse Rapture and Barrier.

I’ve found the guides on WoWhead and IcyVeins pretty helpful too.

use your CDs and you’ll eventually learn when best to use. You typically wont need to pop more than 1 major cooldown at a time so. Pain suppression. Barrier. Shadowmend yes. Bind a key to drink or eat mana buns and be ready to drink as soon as you drop aggro between pulls. Have mana pots. Try to keep a dot or two up. I like to dot everything I can before I start shielding etc. Watch a bunch of youtube videos :smiley: Have fun!