Blizzard recently announced changes for multiple specs and classes that will arrive with the weekly reset on March 25th/26th. Among them are some major buffs for Holy Priest, and we talked to our Holy Priest guide writer Niphyr for his insight on the impact of these Holy Priest changes!
March 25th Holy Priest Changes
- Holy
- Developers’ notes: Our aim with this Holy Priest tuning is to increase healing from weaker spells and talents. We’re also tuning up Oracle to improve its viability.
- Prayer of Healing healing increased by 25%.
- Prayer of Mending healing increased by 20%.
- Renew healing increased by 60%.
- Lightwell healing increased by 30%.
- Divine Image healing increased by 20%.
- Divine Image damage increased by 20%.
- Holy Fire damage increased by 20%.
- Renewed Faith now increases healing done to allies with Renew by 10% (was 6%).
- Renews from Empowered Renew now heal for 120% more than a normal Renew (was 60%).
- Oracle: Preemptive Care now increases the duration of Renew by 40% (was 25%).
- Oracle: Preventive Measures now increases the healing of Prayer of Mending by 40% (was 25%).
- Oracle: Preventive Measures now increases the damage of Smite, Holy Fire, and Holy Nova by 40% (was 25%).
Niphyr’s Thoughts on the Holy Priest Changes
“Overall these changes are all positive. While we still expect Archon to remain the primary Hero talent tree choice in Raid, these changes will help Oracle become more attractive in Mythic+. The buffs result in around 5-7% more healing in a raiding environment and they further reward good play for those who prioritize their most efficient spells. There are no major changes expected to our stats, talents or playstyle from this upcoming Holy Priest tuning.
The increases to 
Prayer of Mending and 
Empowered Renew ensure that these talents have a high priority in your healing rotation, whereas previously they could not be worth casting without specific talents to support them. The buffs to 
Lightwell and 
Renew make Lightwell the obvious talent choice in raids, instead of placing a point in 
Light of the Naaru like we did before. The increase to 
Divine Image solidifies it as a must-have talent in both Raid and Mythic+.
Despite the buff to Renew, the ability is not worth spamming. It does however make it a practical and efficient spell to cast if you have to move for a long period of time and have no other instant cast available. It also increases the value of other Renew-related talents, which were some of the weaker ones before this tuning. Unfortunately the buff to 
Prayer of Healing, while welcome, doesn’t solve the problem that using the spell as a primary filler ability costs too much mana, and we still do not end up using it as part of our healing rotation. The 
Holy Fire damage buff will be welcome in Mythic+, but in a raiding environment you are still too heavily penalized when casting it instead of 
Smite while trying to maximize your healing output.”