Quick guide on hybrid holy/disc leveling

Heya,

This build is for those priests that don't like wanding, drinking and dowtime. There are many hybrid specs, I'm not bragging that this is my own spec, I'm sure that others thougt of it and use it as well.

Advantages :

- at low level it beats shadow hand down in term of leveling speed and downtime
- you'll be wanding less
- you won't rely that much on long term dots like sw:pain, devouring plague which use lots of mana.
- you'll have great and dps and healing power in your levels
- later in the game you become an aoe grinding machine, taking down 3-4 mobs at a time without any pain mp wise.
- imba healing power with mp sustainability in leveling instances

Disadvantages :

- you won't have much survivability in pvp
- your aoe grinding is not as fast as a mage or prot pala
- you're not shadow which becomes a bit easier and faster after a certain level
- you won't top the dps charts


Talent build

At level 20 : http://www.wowhead.com/talent#bZ0xhZh
At level 40 : http://www.wowhead.com/talent#bZfxt0bbqbZh
At level 70 : http://www.wowhead.com/talent#bVcbuhhi0hZfxt0bbqbZh
At level 76 : http://www.wowhead.com/talent#bVcbuhhiMIoZfxt0bbqbZh

Please see below a point by point explanation for the talents
As for glyphs, best are Glyph of Smite (extra 20% dmg while your target takes damage from Holy Fire) and Glyph of Holy Nova(20% extra dmg and healing), feel free to use whatever you want in your 3rd slot, I'm using Glyph of Inner fire for the extra armor.
For minor only glyph of shadowfiend is a must for the extra mana regen in case that your pet dies.
Important stats

If your crit rating <18-20%

Spirit > Crit Rating > Int > SP > Haste > Spell Pen

If your crit rating is 18-20% or higher then

Spirit > Int> SP > Haste > Spell Pen

Why not stamina?

You simply don't need it that much, you'll get some from the items anyways and you shield should hold while you're in combat and you can recast it every 15 seconds. Also the amount absorbed by your shield is dependent on your SP, so the higher your SP, the higher your dps AND the better your defenses. Also exceeding 20% crit rating is pretty much unnecessary , you're better of with SP and spirit.
Your rotation

For single pulls Holy Fire > Smite > Smite > Smite
For Aoe pulls > Holy Fire > Smite> Spam Holy Nova till you get the surge of light effect, Smite the hardest hitting mob> holy nova

Before pulling make sure you just shielded. If you Holy Fire > Shield > Smite you lost yourself precious seconds from the Holy Fire dot when you should have smited for the extra damage.

If at the end of an aoe pull your mp is lower than 75%, don't worry, your life tap will get you to 100% mana in a few seconds only. If it doesn't then you haven't stacked enough spirit.
When you are chain aoe pulling , after 7-8 pulls when you reach 50% mp use your shadowfiend to regen faster while fighting. Notice that in order to use your pet most efficient, you should cast it on e melee that hits you so the SF won't need to travel before the first hit. Your mana regens per SF's every hit, so help him hit faster. Also reflective shield is bugged on Bloodcraft, so if you're using on your SF or another player, they will reflect damage.

Talents, point by point explanation

Spirit Tap 3/3 - this is one of the few talents that keep the priest sober. Every time you'll be killing a mob your spirit will double and your SP will boost thanks to a later talent.

Holy specialization 5/5 - you need the crit rating for Surge of Light procs which means free instant nukes or heals

Divine Fury 5/5 - faster smites and faster holy fire, great dps talent for holy and helps in healing as well

Desperate prayer 1/1 - an instant heal, not necessary I just grab it for the situational pvp here and there. Never had to use it in pve so skip it if you must.

Improved renew 3/3 - better hot, scales great with SP which you have.

Healing Focus 2/2 - not necessary , I just use it as a filler. It may be useful if you find yourself casting w/o shield.

Holy Reach 2/2 - increase range for smite/holy fire and nova aoe. A must!!

Searing Light 2/2 - extra damage from your main damagin spells. This coupled with the 20% extra damage to smite from glyph of smite will make you a hard hitting bitch.

Spirit of redemption 1/1 - I take this only for the 5% spirit bonus. The angel is a bonus, he has his uses in group pve/pvp but it's useless in solo pve/pvp.

Spiritual Guidance 5/5 - this means spirit = mp regen AND damage, this is what makes spirit so strong for this hybrid build.

Surge of light 2/2 - instant smites or flash heals after critical spells, free damage or heal = less mana consumption

Twin Disciplines 5/5 - extra dmg and healing

Improved Inner Fire 3/3 - this talent buffs your armor and your SP after lvl 71. You need armor for aoe grinding because your shield absorbs damage after reduction so it will hold longer. Ofc against casters it's useless but the SP bonus is still nice.

Improved pw:fortitude - extra stamina and better stamina buff, your friends will love you for this one. It is mostly a filler cause the other talents here are for pvp only.

Inner Focus - a free spell every 3 minutes with increased crit chance.

Meditation - mana regen goes on while you re casting even w/o soul tap. High spirit anyone?

Mental agility - your instants like renew, pw: shield, buffs and others are cheaper.

Imp pw : shield - better shield = better aoe grinding

Mental Strenght 5/5 - extra int, good for your mana pool and crit chance.

Reflective shield 2/2 - 45% of the damage taken is reflected at the enemy while your shield is up. This is a key talent in your aoe grinding. Your shield is better as your SP gets higher, so high spirit and high SP = imba shield

Enlightenment - 3/3 - extra spirit and haste, grab it

Focused power - 2/2 - extra dmg and extra healing. The faster mass dispel is the cherry on the cake. If you didn't know, mass dispel can dispel bubbles and the mage immunity stuff (don't remember the name atm).

Focused will 3/3 - extra crit chance and if you're getting hit by a critical when your shield is down, you take less damage. This is a great pvp talent, we take it cause of the extra crit chance only.

Power Infusion 1/1 - 20% extra haste and 20% less mana cost for all spells. Need I say more?

Feel free to place your last 4 points anywhere you like, I went for Rapture and Renewed Hope.

Imo at 80 you should really change this spec for more group oriented business, like raiding, arenas or bgs. This spec will work great at 80 thou if you plan just to aoe grind.

Hope you enjoyed my guide,
Diez

Thanks Bro Im Not Into Priests But I Might Give It A Try