Monday, May 11, 2009

Smite Leveling Build Lvl 70 to 80 [3.1 Edition]

If you are looking for an alternative leveling spec other than shadow to do your Wotlk grind from level 70 to 80, consider the following Smite build:

Discipline & Holy Hybrid: 31/27/3

Discipline (31 points)
5/5 Twin Disciplines damage & healing
3/3 Improved Inner Fire damage & healing via spellpower gained from buff
2/2 Improved Power Word: Fortitude survivability
3/3 Meditation mana conservation
1/1 Inner Focus mana conservation
3/3 Improved Power Word: Shield survivability
3/3 Mental Agility mana conservation
2/2 Reflective Shield damage
5/5 Mental Strength mana conservation
1/1 Soul Warding survivability & mana conservation
2/2 Focused Power damage & healing
1/1 Power Infusion damage & healing

Holy (27 points)
3/3 Improved Renew healing
5/5 Holy Specialization damage & healing
5/5 Divine Fury damage & healing
1/1 Desperate Prayer survivability
1/3 Inspiration filler
3/3 Improved Healing healing
2/2 Searing Light damage
5/5 Spiritual Guidance damage & healing
2/2 Surge of Light damage & healing

Shadow (3 points)
3/3 Spirit Tap mana conservation

With this build, you gain the best of both worlds. You can deal descent damage using your holy offensive spells for solo leveling or dpsing in instances. As well, you still retain your full ability to heal if you wish to take on such role.

As you level up, addition talent points can be placed to improve your leveling experience in the following order:

Level 71: 1/1 Spirit of Redemption
Level 72: 1/3 Enlightenment
Level 73: 2/3 Enlightenment
Level 74: 3/3 Enlightenment
Level 75: 1/3 Focused Will
Level 76: 2/3 Focused Will
Level 77: 3/3 Focused Will
Level 78: 1/2 Aspiration
Level 79: 2/2 Aspiration

If you prefer offensive damage dealing rather than healing, you can choose to max out Focused Will before Enlightenment for the extra critical strike ratings.

At level 79, your build should look like this: 39/28/3

A holy dps hybrid build is about maximizing your attributes and using them to your advantage. Talents are there to increase your intellect, stamina, spirit, and spellpower so that no attribute is wasted. I shall be bold and say that a holy dps hybrid build gives you the mana regeneration of a discipline priest, the healing capability of a holy priest, and damage numbers that can match a shadow priest when it comes to burst.

Typical Spell Rotation for Soloing
PW: Shield -> Holy Fire -> Smite x 2 or 3 -> SW: Death

Use Power Infusion and Inner Focus every cooldown. For Elites, apply Devouring Plague and SW: Pain after PW: Shield but before Holy Fire.

Typical Healing Strategy (Similar to Holy Priests)
  • Keep Renew on tank at all time.
  • Keep Prayer of Mending on bounce.
  • Use Greater Heal for large damage.
  • Use Surge of Light triggered Flash Heal to patch up small damage. Use Renew on Life Taping warlocks or those needing patch up in between pulls.
  • Cast Fade if you pull aggro. Use Binding Heal if your Fade is on cooldown and your PW: Shield broke leaving you with the Weakened Soul effect.
  • Use Desperate Prayer on yourself when you take heavy damage. Keep yourself alive.
  • Use Inner Focus with high mana costing spells such as Greater Heal or Prayer of Healing.
  • For heavy aoe damage, use Power Infusion coupled with Prayer of Healing.
  • Activate Power Infusion when healing heavy spike damage to increase your casting speed.
  • Use PW:Shield on squishy mages or other dps who pulls aggro. Shield tank if you think he is in danger of dying before your Greater Heal lands. Your PW: Shield is cheap enough to be used when you need it but not cheap enough to spam like discipline priests.
Glyphs Choices
Before reaching level 80, you only have two major glyph slots and three minor glyph slots. For your major glyphs, Glyph of Smite is a must, followed by Glyph of Shadow Word: Death is what I personally recommend. For minor glyphs, take Glyph of Levitate (for laughs), Shadowfiend, and Fade.

19 comments:

  1. I've always been interested in a holy DPS priest. I may actually go this route on my up and coming alt. Thanks for all the good info.

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  2. Are the points in reflectove shield really necessary? Most mobs around my level (66) seem to go down fast enough without it. I actually used those 2 points for Improved Spirit Tap for mana conservation on fights that last longer then usual.

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  3. @Slaynn

    Thank you.

    @Ynna

    Reflective shield is useful, but not necessary. I would say it is equally useful if not more than IST. IST and ST do not stack, so the mana you gain from it is limited. RS is just extra damage you get from casting PW:S. You spend the mana/talent points on shield already (better absorption, cheaper cost) so why not 2 more pts that will always benefit you when you solo?

    The problem with IST is that it may not always trigger. You may not benefit from it every kill. It affects shadow spells only: MB and SW:D. Their crit chance is low, because they don't benefit from Holy Specialization. MB is a mana killer and SW:D has backlash.

    In instances, IST might be more useful. But for soloing, I would pick RS. The damage RS can do on a mob for long fights is significant, enough to save you a cast of whatever offensive spell you will otherwise cast, which is equivalent to mana conservation in a sense.

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  4. I respec'd to include RS and leave IST out and I must say you're right. The damage it does is is significant and because of this my mana lasts longer. Thanks for the advice.

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  5. Thanks a bunch for this, I've been looking for something like this for quite a while. I leveled my first priest in classic WoW as holy and it was a royal pain, but I never got hooked to shadow, even for leveling. After coming back to my priestess now I refused to level as shadow through Northrend and this spec worked like a charm on all stuff I came across.

    I decided on RS btw, as the only shadow spell I use is SW:D, and it's long cooldown and limited usefullness don't justify 3 talent points, imho.

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  6. This is a great spec (and blog in general). I recently dusted off my level 70 priest as my next project (yay heirloom stuff!), and wasn't particularly looking forward to doing the 70-80 run as Shadow (I already have a warlock). The smite priest seems even *more* mana efficient, and I'm loving all the discipline shield talents. You need to be under a PW:S since you don't have any pushback protection, but this turns your PW:S into a pretty effective (and cheap) DoT. When I'm at the end of the mob (less than 500 HP), I don't even bother wanding, I just stand there and let it kill itself on my shield.

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  7. My sister has 34/37 spec... Just an observation... Reflective sheilds dmging effect can proc SURGE OF LIGHT! In low/no mana situations this makes doing dalies a breeze. She never needs to drink.

    Her priest also has Body and Soul so she can sprint everytime she sheilds. Not sure how seriously viable that is but it sure is fun. I use it often doing dalies to near the next mob. I would highly recommend OP's spec or a variation of it.

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  8. Before I run away -

    To OP: Ever considered taking:
    "focused will" 3/3

    It adds 3% extra critical chance to your spells. (Not including the other BS effects attached to it) It seems rather useful to me. Not sure if the point budget can afford it.
    Anyway AWESOME BUILD! Loves it!


    And before I forget heres a link to my sisters "Lol Bubble Spec"
    http://www.wowhead.com/?talent#bVcbuhhiRcoZcxtzcbqfzG:bumzcM

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  9. Great post in a great blog. I tried some variations but I came to realize you put in great insights into the suggested spec (as well as all of your other posts), so thank you. I find this blog very lighthearted! I hope to see more of your great posts.

    May I note that your link to minor Fade glyph is pointing to a major glyph? :D

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  10. Best post I've seen in awhile. Thanks!

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  11. I hope you didnt abandon the blog Xel. More holy DPS lovins!

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  12. @ Beryllne

    Shadow isn't everyone's thing, I'm glad you enjoy smite ^^

    @EROX

    Bubble ftw when it bites back!

    @Anonymous

    That's a very interesting spec. Rumor has it that Body and Soul is one of the most fun talent featured from 3.1

    @Woofer

    Thank you for the heads up, it's fixed now.

    @Rezzer

    Thank you.

    @Slaynn

    *guilty expression* I had a few things going on in life since summer started (crappy job with horrible boss, driving school etc). I took a break from the game. The theorycrafting drafts I made are collecting dust. Now that you mentioned it, I suppose I should get myself together and finish those heh. I apologize for the hiatus.

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  13. Why doesn't anybody say: just dual spec?? You can't seriously think that money is hard to get in the game. The amount you make by simply just questing you're way through leveling is enormous. The only way you can't afford it, is if you simply destroy all items in your bags and not sell or AH them.
    Of course the theory behind this build is great. And at the lower leveling (until 50-52) this build can be very useful. But you're going to miss "not going fully down in one tree".
    A final note: even though it can be hard at some points, every priest in any spec is/should be able to heal through dungeons while leveling. If not, then start practicing!

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  14. What is the minimum level at which this is a viable levelling spec? Can I start it at 50?

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  15. Of course, just spec 3/3 Spirit Tap and go down the Holy tree until you get Surge of Light, put the remaining points into the Disc tree and get Inner Focus, you are then ready to start smiting.

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  16. In BC content I did a lot of raiding with my smite priest, I was in full t6 minus belt, gemmed haste, and crit. I was on average back in BC pulling about 1.1-1.3k dps on single target,... and with mobbs,... well holy nova ftw!

    With LK out, I leveled my priest smite, and did a similar build as was stated here in the blog. Though right now, Smite doesn't seem to be a viable raiding spec at all anymore. It is great for dailies, and other things, but unfortunately in the content I am in now, being able to only push 4k dps in a 25 man ICC isn't good enough to keep me in there as dps over say a hunter, lock, mage or other dps specific classes.

    What gems are you using to overcome this, if you are. I have thought of using my shadow gear, and gemming haste/crit, and SP, but again I can only get my smite down to 1.5 seconds, and my holy fire/MB down to about 1.22. I think in order to get my smite to a 1.3 sec and my holy fire to a 1 sec or 1.1 I need to be capped at 750 haste, which is unfortunately impossible, or pretty damn near close.

    Enlighten me on how to do this so I can resurect my beloved smite spec, and show people that smite is in fact a kick ass spec again.

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  17. My response post to your comment can be found at

    http://holyfirespec.blogspot.com/2010/03/q-gearing-for-haste-and-1-sec-gcd.html

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  18. So far I have been levelling up using this build(53 atm) with a few minor twists. I glyphed for Holy Nova and put two points in Holy Reach instead of Improved Healing. I find that with the glyphed holy nova, i usually outheal the healer in a 5 man while a dps. The surge of light procs from the aoe are insane and I get plenty of free flash heals to top off the tank as needed. Its esp easy if you make an @focus macro with the tank as focus for heals, and a @focustarget with smite for dps.

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