Leveling a Holy priest Holy spec priests have unique challenges and opportunities for leveling . This section is designed to provide suggestions for leveling priest characters using 5 - man instances as a primary vehicle for leveling . Holy spec priests have somewhat different opportunities and challenges from Discipline or Shadow priests during the leveling process . While a discipline or shadow spec priest can both heal effectively at low levels , a holy spec build is ideally positioned for leveling as a healer . Healers are usually in high demand for 5 - man instances ( along with tanks ) and it is often easy for a holy spec priest to find groups where they can hone their healing skills and level their character at the same time . While shadow spec priests find that effective healing becomes significantly more difficult as leveling progresses into the 30s , Holy spec priests will continually build their healing abilities and become more effective as leveling progresses . The biggest challenge for holy spec priests is solo grinding . While Smite is the spell with the highest base DPS of any priest damage spell , it is not the most efficient in terms of damage per mana ( DPM ) ( see Spell Damage Comparison ) . Furthermore , pure holy spec priests don ' t get the protection survivability benefits of talents from the other trees like Shadowform or Improved Inner Fire . For these reasons , it may be a good idea to take some talents from other trees in addition to holy talents . The mana regeneration of all caster classes has been significantly reduced . The primary talent to address this is Meditation found in the Discipline tree . All priest players should consider taking this talent to significantly increase their available mana . During the leveling process you may want to review your spec occasionally and decide how much time you want to spend as a damage dealer solo or in a group and how much time you want to spend focused on healing and adjust the distribution of your talent points to match your playing style . A particular consideration if you want to make solo leveling easier is to put 3 points into Spirit Tap . It won ' t help with healing at all and very little as a dps in groups but provides very good mana regeneration for solo play . Level 10 - 19 . Instances become available to characters during this level range . Ragefire Chasm for Horde characters becomes available at level 13 and The Deadmines for Alliance becomes available at level 17 . Characters can enter these instances at lower levels even though it does not show up on their list of recommended instances . A significant amount of time during these levels will be spent outside of instances but by the end of this level range , you have the option to make instances a regular part of your character leveling . The talent points spent during the first 5 or 10 levels of any priest spec do not make or break the characters effectiveness . Still , there are talents that can make soloing easier in this level range if the player feels this is an issue . These talents include Improved Inner Fire , Twin Disciplines , and Spirit Tap ( shadow ) . Each of these will ease solo leveling noticeably . The only drawback is that only Twin Disciplines helps you as a healer . If soloing doesn ' t seem to be a problem at early levels you can jump right in and focus on holy talents from the start . Level 20 and up . During leveling , talent issues will come up for your character development . Several of these are : effective healing , buffing , DPS , survivability and mana management . There are talents in the Holy talent tree that address these issues . There is also a lot of synergy between the holy and discipline trees . You should consider taking talents from the discipline tree if they address your issues . Some players also take talents from the shadow tree in combination with holy talents , but the synergy between these trees is not as strong . The lists below include Holy Talents and where applicable Discipline talents that benefit Holy Spec leveling . Discipline talents requiring more than 25 talent points are not included . Healing Talents . Some of the healing enhancement talents from the holy tree include Healing Focus , Improved Renew , Spirit of Redemption , Spiritual Healing , Lightwell , Blessed Resilience , Empowered Healing , Test of Faith , Divine Providence , Guardian Spirit and Circle of Healing . Damage only Talents . Some damage enhancing talents include Searing Light . Discipline Talents include Improved Mana Burn and Reflective Shield . Healing / Damage Synergy Talents . Of special interest while leveling as a holy spec are talents that benefit both healing and solo play . Talents that help healing and holy damage include Holy Specialization , Divine Fury , Surge of Light , Holy Reach , Spiritual Guidance . Discipline talents include Twin Disciplines , Power Infusion , Focused Power , and Enlightenment . Mana Management Talents . Holy talents that enhance mana include Improved Healing , Healing Prayers , Spirit of Redemption . Discipline talents include Meditation , Mental Agility , Enlightenment , Mental Strength , Inner Focus . Survivability Talents . Holy survivability talents include Spell Warding , Blessed Resilience and Blessed Recovery . Discipline talents include Unbreakable Will , Silent Resolve , , , Martyrdom , Improved Inner Fire . Buffing Talents . Buffing is a specialty of the Discipline tree . Still , buffing talents can work effectively into a healing priests repertoire . Holy buffing talents include Inspiration . Discipline talents include : , . Build Samples . Below are a couple of examples of possible progressions for priest characters leveling as holy spec . ( Until someone updates this for 3 . 0 . 2 , there are notes on the talents affected by 3 . 0 . 2 about how they are affected so you can decide how you want to modify them without having to go into each talent . ) Pure Holy Leveling to 40 . This build progression includes holy talents with an emphasis on talents that have the aim to facilitate both healing and solo play . Holy Specialization 5 / 5 or move 2 into Improved Renew Divine Fury 5 / 5 Blessed Recovery 2 / 3 Inspiration 2 / 3 Holy Reach 1 / 2 Searing Light 2 / 2 Improved Healing 2 / 3 Spirit of Redemption 1 / 1 Spiritual Guidance 5 / 5 Spiritual Healing 4 / 5 Lightwell 1 / 1 Transitioning Build to 40 . This build starts out picking up some useful Discipline talents for solo , survival and mana , then switches to holy . This build is probably a stronger choice for starting out since it quickly gets Meditation which provides a large bonus to mana regeneration in all situations . Twin Disciplines or Unbreakable Will ( 5 points total ) Improved Inner Fire 3 / 3 Meditation 3 / 3 Switch to Holy : Improved Renew 3 / 3 Healing Focus , Holy Specialization 5 points total , 0 - 2 pts in Healing Focus the rest in Holy Specialization Divine Fury 5 / 5 Inspiration 2 / 3 Improved Healing 3 / 3 for more healing or move 2 into Searing Light for dps Other . Also note the Holy Leveling Build ( 17 / 51 / 3 ) ( Faradhim of Dawnbringer ) from the main Priest builds page .