Q: How do I take advantage of spirit?
A: This is basically an experience thing, but take the talents Inner Focus and Holy Concentration, and start using /stopcasting macros (more info on the UI forum). Stop your casts anytime the tank does not need your heal, and start another one. Timed properly, this can get you full 5 second ticks OO5SR, which is worth a lot of regen.
Using a Holy concentration proc chained into an Inner Focus together with /stopcasting can easily give 15-20 seconds Oo5SR, while still landing two max-rank GH:7 heals. The third heal will terminate the II5SR time, but actually gives one final tick at full regen because of cast time.
Cheating the 5 Second Rule
Priest regen is all about cheating the 5 second rule. Blizzard's 5 second rule is currently set so that upon completion of a spell which *costs mana* (the critical factor), you enter a 5 second period (II5SR) where you regenerate mana at a reduced rate. This rate is dependent on your talent choices (Meditation = 30% regen II5SR in 2.3.0; 15% in 2.2.2) and upon your gear choices (3-piece Primal Mooncloth = 5% regen II5SR).
Given that priests gain so much regeneration from spirit, the typical difference between a regen tick II5SR and OO5SR is approximately 3x. It can range from 2x on the low-end (Mp5-heavy gear) to 4x on the high-end (spirit-heavy gear). In any case, a tick OO5SR is worth 2+ II5SR.
So how to cheat the rule?
Firstly, Inner Focus is a guaranteed way to exit the 5SR, since it makes your next cast "free" of mana, and hence does not trigger the rule. Typical sequence is something like:
- top up your tank target
- wait 2 seconds
- hit Inner Focus
- start /stopcasting GH:7 until heal is actually needed
- start a new heal -- when it lands, you re-enter the 5SR
If the tank is not getting owned, and if you are not the solo healer on that tank, you should be able to get 7-10 seconds OO5SR before the 2nd heal lands.
You can do exactly the same thing with Clearcasting, although it's a little harder to lead up to it, as Clearcasting is a random chance proc.
There are two trinkets in the game which can aid in this method of play. The first is [Bangle of Endless Blessings], an annoying drop from Botanica (I say annoying because in 18 runs, it refused to drop for me, so I hate it). The second is a drop from Lurker Below in SSC, [Earring of Soulful Meditation]. Both have a 2-minute cooldown Use-Effect which increases your spirit by an amount for 15 seconds.
Thus, if your Inner Focus happens to be up at the same time as your trinkets, and you get a Clearcasting Proc, your sequence should be something like:
- wait 2 seconds (to get close to the end of your current 5 seconds)
- hit your trinket Use Effect
- start casting GH:7, use /stopcasting, land it before the Clearcasting Proc falls off
- hit Inner Focus
- repeat GH:7 /stopcasting
- start a mana-costing heal, enter the 5SR as it lands
You can easily get a full 15 seconds of trinketed regen by doing this, which results in approximately (with Earring and 500 spirit raid buffed) 2000 mana. This varies depending on how much Mp5 and spirit you have, but it's worth around the same as the low-end of a mana pot.
Additionally, if you use ItemRack as an addon, you can use a Script to switch in spirit-based weapons while you do this for a little more oomph. This can also be done manually with a bit more work.
