Holy Priest

The priority

1. Guardian Spirit — before a big hit on the tank
2. Divine Hymn — when the whole group is hurt
3. Holy Word: Serenity — when the tank drops low
4. Flash Heal — when the tank is low and serenity is down
5. Holy Word: Sanctify — when three or more allies are hurt
6. Apotheosis — when both holy words are down and allies are hurt
7. Prayer of Healing — when three or more are hurt and sanctify is down
8. Prayer of Mending — when it is ready
9. Flash Heal — on a hurt ally
10. Holy Fire — when everyone is healthy
11. Smite — when everyone is healthy

Common mistakes

• Forgetting Prayer of Mending.
• Using Holy Word: Serenity on a small hit and not having it for the tank.
• Pressing Guardian Spirit after the big hit.

What’s simplified

• Each turn is one decision (about one global cooldown). Cooldowns and buff durations are converted to turns, so timing is approximate.
• SimulationCraft doesn’t model healing, so these priorities are our own, written from Blizzard’s spell tooltips and long-standing healing practice. Costs, cooldowns and durations come from Blizzard’s spell data. Treat it as a starting point, not a final word.
• The party is five allies. Injuries, a low tank and incoming group damage are scripted moments in each lesson, not a full health model: heals move allies from injured to healthy, and overhealing is not tracked.
• Flash Heal takes 4 turns off Holy Word: Serenity; Prayer of Healing takes 4 off Holy Word: Sanctify. Apotheosis resets both.
• Cooldowns in turns: Prayer of Mending 8, Holy Fire 7, Holy Words 40, Apotheosis 80, Guardian Spirit 120, Divine Hymn 120.

Sources

• SimulationCraft: Spell data dump, build 12.1.5.70391 (Oct 16, 2026)
• Blizzard Entertainment: Spell tooltips and Game Data API (spells) (Oct 13, 2026)
• Warcraft Secrets: Patch 12.1.5 content update notes (class changes) (Oct 13, 2026)

A party heal built on the Holy Words. Halo, Lightwell and hero talent effects are not modeled. Reviewed Oct 20, 2026. A training aid, not a damage simulator.