OPENING THE CODEX
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Gathering the requested field notes.
OPENING THE CODEX
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Gathering the requested field notes.
WORLD OF WARCRAFT: FOREVER / CLASS GUIDE
Protect allies, restore health, or commit to Shadow.
Priest is a good starting point if you want to compare several kinds of support with a dedicated damage path. The current trees give Discipline shields and Holy spell interactions, Holy a varied healing toolkit, and Shadow a Mana-based damage identity with an explicit restriction on healing in Shadowform.
Reviewed

Blizzard’s general World of Warcraft Priest artwork.
GET TO KNOW YOUR CLASS
THREE WAYS TO BUILD YOUR CLASS
Compare the three trees and a few of their defining talents. Names, ranks, and descriptions below come from the attributed beta snapshot; the summaries are editorial guidance.
Datamined · source build 1.60.1.69876 [5]
Healing and Holy damage · Shields and spell links
Discipline brings together proactive protection, Mana support, and Holy damage. The supplied descriptions support both defensive and offensive interactions without defining an automatic damage-to-healing system.
A volley that heals a friendly target or damages an enemy, creating a direct choice about how to use the cast.
100 Mana | 40 yd range | Channeled | 12 sec cooldown
Launches a volley of holy light at the target, causing 81 Holy damage to an enemy, or 184 healing to an ally, instantly and every 1 sec for 2 sec.
Critical heals create a temporary absorb shield based on the amount healed.
Your critical heals create a protective shield on the target, absorbing 5% of the amount healed. Lasts 12 sec.
Your critical heals create a protective shield on the target, absorbing 10% of the amount healed. Lasts 12 sec.
Your critical heals create a protective shield on the target, absorbing 15% of the amount healed. Lasts 12 sec.
Specified healing spells gain critical chance on targets with Weakened Soul and reduce that debuff's remaining duration.
Your heals from Flash Heal, Binding Heal, Lesser Heal, Heal, Greater Heal, and Penance gain 2% increased critical strike chance when cast on targets with Weakened Soul, and reduce the remaining duration of Weakened Soul on their target by 1 sec.
Your heals from Flash Heal, Binding Heal, Lesser Heal, Heal, Greater Heal, and Penance gain 4% increased critical strike chance when cast on targets with Weakened Soul, and reduce the remaining duration of Weakened Soul on their target by 2 sec.
Your heals from Flash Heal, Binding Heal, Lesser Heal, Heal, Greater Heal, and Penance gain 6% increased critical strike chance when cast on targets with Weakened Soul, and reduce the remaining duration of Weakened Soul on their target by 3 sec.
Your heals from Flash Heal, Binding Heal, Lesser Heal, Heal, Greater Heal, and Penance gain 8% increased critical strike chance when cast on targets with Weakened Soul, and reduce the remaining duration of Weakened Soul on their target by 4 sec.
Your heals from Flash Heal, Binding Heal, Lesser Heal, Heal, Greater Heal, and Penance gain 10% increased critical strike chance when cast on targets with Weakened Soul, and reduce the remaining duration of Weakened Soul on their target by 5 sec.
Source-reported prerequisite: Soul Warding. Required rank: unknown.
Healing · Flexible responses and Mana recovery
Holy provides tools for different damage patterns, from healing yourself alongside an ally to passing a reactive heal around a group. Its Mana-return talent encourages deliberate variety in healing casts.
Heals both the caster and a friendly target, with a low-threat description.
155 Mana | 40 yd range | 1.5 sec cast
Heals a friendly target and the caster for 236 to 284. Low threat.
Returns a portion of a healing spell's base Mana cost when the preceding heal was a different spell.
When you cast a healing spell, gain Mana equal to 5% of the base cost of the spell if your previous heal was a different spell.
When you cast a healing spell, gain Mana equal to 10% of the base cost of the spell if your previous heal was a different spell.
A reactive heal that jumps within the group after damage or non-periodic healing triggers it.
210 Mana | 40 yd range | Instant | 10 sec cooldown
Places a spell on the target that heals them for 172 the next time they take damage or receive non-periodic healing. When the heal occurs, Prayer of Mending jumps to a party or raid member within 20 yards. Jumps up to 5 times and lasts 30 sec after each jump. This spell can only be placed on one target at a time per caster.
Source-reported prerequisite: Spirit of Redemption. Required rank: unknown.
Ranged damage · Shadow spells and damage-based support
Shadow combines periodic damage, direct attacks, and a channel. The supplied tree keeps Mana relevant while offering damage-related party support and a form that changes which actions are available.
A channeled Shadow attack that also slows movement, combining damage with control.
45 Mana | 20 yd range | Channeled
Assault the target's mind with Shadow energy, causing 63 Shadow damage over 3 sec and slowing their movement speed by 50%.
Links Shadow spell damage to party healing; afflicted-enemy deaths can trigger Spirit Tap.
40 Mana | 30 yd range | Instant | 1 min cooldown
Afflicts your target with Shadow energy that causes all party members to be healed for 20% of any Shadow spell damage you deal for 30 sec. Vampiric Embrace also grants a chance for your Spirit Tap talent to trigger when enemies afflicted by it die.
Strengthens and reduces the Mana cost of Shadow spells while improving physical protection. Healing spells cannot be cast in this form.
40% of base mana | Instant | 1.5 sec cooldown
Assume Shadowform, increasing your Shadow damage by 10%, reducing the Mana cost of all Shadow spells by 50%, increasing the critical strike damage bonus of your Shadow spells by 100%, and reducing Physical damage taken by you by 15%. However, you may not cast healing spells while in this form.
Source-reported prerequisite: Vampiric Embrace. Required rank: unknown.
TOOLKIT, CHOICES, AND ANNOUNCED CHANGES
Classic foundation
Classic Priests use Mana, wear cloth, heal allies, and protect them with shields.
Sources [1]
Forever announcement
Blizzard's Classic roster supplies the original choices. Forever adds Gnome Priest; no Skyborne Priest option appears in the announced Skyborne class list.
| Faction | Classic choices | Announced Forever additions |
|---|---|---|
| Alliance | Dwarf, Human, Night Elf | Gnome |
| Horde | Troll, Undead | No additional Priest pairing announced in the reviewed recap |
Beta talent snapshot
Discipline's descriptions connect shields, healing critical strikes, and Holy damage. Penance can target an ally or an enemy. Power in Light rewards casting Smite or Penance into your Holy Fire, while Renewed Hope rewards healing someone with Weakened Soul. That gives the tree more than one kind of interaction to explore.
Holy focuses on matching a spell to the damage pattern. Binding Heal addresses damage to you and another player together. Prayer of Mending moves between group members when its trigger occurs, and Litany of Light refunds Mana when the preceding heal was a different spell.
Shadow is a separate commitment. Its current Shadowform description improves Shadow damage, efficiency, and physical protection while preventing healing spellcasts. Vampiric Embrace supplies healing through damage, but that support should not be confused with freely casting your normal heals in the form.
Sources [5]
Beta talent snapshot
Sources [5]

Shadow magic in Blizzard’s 2015 Priest preview. Historical World of Warcraft screenshot.
Forever announcement
Sources [3]
Playstyle guide
Sources [5]
BETA / REVIEWED SEPTEMBER 23, 2026
The opening beta supports characters through level 20. Blizzard plans to raise the cap to 30 later in testing, so a full tree preview includes talents beyond the opening playable range. [7]
Starshards does not currently benefit from Twilight Focus; Blizzard lists a fix for the next beta build.
Issue update: [6]EXPLORE YOUR BUILD
Browse all 53 talents and 148 rank descriptions across the three trees. Inspect talent icons and pop-up descriptions, add or remove experimental points, and save or share a plan.
The planner uses an editable point budget. Required prerequisite ranks, tier requirements, level-by-level point rules, and Legacy interactions remain unverified, so a saved plan is an experiment to revisit as the beta develops.
READING AND REFERENCES
The guide separates the Classic class foundation, Blizzard’s Forever announcements, and the attributed beta talent snapshot. Editorial playstyle advice explains how those pieces fit together.
Guide reviewed