Hey all, I haven’t played priest since start of S1. I have two questions (kind of the same) about VW disc viability for those who know the spec better than me. For clarity, my goal is 3k each season on my main and I don’t plan to push past it.
Is VW viable (I know it’s not meta) for M+ to 3k or am I severely gimping myself if I play it to the point I’d be griefing my group?
A theoretical question: Based on the changes so far for 11.2 and the tier sets (I know both are likely to change), do you think VW will be really good (even if not meta) for S3? The 2 set looks insanely good.
Any opinions are appreciated; thank you in advance.
Yup. VW is also in a really good spot right now and more than viable for 3k.
Hard to tell. I think the Oracle 4 set gives it the edge because it means more shields and that means more effective health to survive unavoidable one shots at those really high keys. ( and more padding in lower pugs where people might make mistakes or are still learning ).
Id say both will still be very viable though either way. Part of me is expecting a nerf to Oracle or the 4 set if it is too strong. Hopefully not but you never know.
Right now Id say pick whatever theme or playstyle you like better tbh, if that is VW that is okay. Both specs are in a VERY good spot right now for all content.
VW is viable and in fact very strong right now.
The perception you might have that it is not is because it competes against Oracle Disc, which is the current top healer in the meta. But don’t be fooled- Oracle’s strength is particular to how it functions in title-level keys - +19, +20, etcs. At that level, many unavoidable mob attacks begin to one shot, and Oracle Disc’s strong shields are the only thing that can save people. The most brokenly powerful Atonement heal still cannot heal off a 100% hit to the health bar.
But again, that is extreme high key levels. 3k is easily within reach of a competent Void Weaver, and you will still have access to many of the tools that make Oracle Disc a strong healer.
Oracle is technically the better spec for healing, and as you’re reaching title keys, the extra padding becomes necessary which is why people want to run it. Similar to other seasons when Pally has been insanely strong because it also is able to plop out strong mitigation.
Voidweaver is good, though. You’re not likely to notice why it’s weaker than Oracle til you’re pushing for title (which you’ve said you aren’t).
In 11.2:
Meta is never really set in stone until a couple weeks into a patch (because usually that’s the most hard-hitting balance patch of each tier). But it’s certainly not known right now, because there’s ALWAYS balance changes before the actual patch hits while on PTR.
If we’re looking at only the CURRENT changes, Voidweaver is coming into the patch with a very, very strong tier set. Oracle’s full tier set is better (but I honestly see Oracle getting nerfs). But Voidweaver’s 2 set is better than Oracle’s.
Preservation is probably gonna see a surge in popularity too since there’s less super spread out fights in M+ and they’re getting quite a lot of changes.
If you’re just looking for 3k, I hit it on Holy and Disc on both hero specs for both this season without much trouble and before the last mid-patch where everyone’s gear scaled even higher and corruptions showed up.
VW is great if there are huge amounts of burst in certain windows that you need to counter and you have rift available.
That being said, Oracle will likely perform better overall if you’re able to handle those big windows. While VW can pump a lot in certain windows, a lot of that quickly turns into overhealing which isn’t really useful to any heal spec but especially disc (since Holy at least has Echo). Meanwhile, Oracle has Prem: Piety which allows overhealing to be directed to injured targets.