Atonement | |
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Requirements | |
Class | Priest |
Tree | Discipline |
Points required | 10 |
Properties | |
Affects | [Smite], [Holy Fire] |
Atonement is a Tier 3 Discipline Priest talent that causes all damage from [Smite] and [Holy Fire] to heal a friendly target within 15 yards from the enemy for 50/100% of the damage dealt. The returning heal from Atonement is also affected by buffs/debuffs that affect healing.
Using this talent efficiently will conserve mana, and allow the priest to dps while healing, leading to faster kills.
Notes
When combined with [Evangelism] and [Archangel] (see below), Atonement healing is one of the most mana efficient healing options for a Discipline priest. Although [Penance] and procs from [Rapture] offer a superior efficiency, the additional damage generated through Holy Fire and Smite, as well as Archangel's 15% healing buff, mean that Atonement healing is often the preferred option when damage is not too heavy. Alternating Atonement healing with more powerful healing options can allow the priest to conserve their mana while contributing significantly to the group's dps.
- Crits from Atonement healing will proc [Divine Aegis].
- Atonement healing is the only form of healing available to priests that requires a hostile target, and as such is the only form of healing not available between encounters. This also means the priest must be within range of the chosen hostile target in order to heal in this way. In some encounters this can require the priest to move closer to the hostile target (especially bosses) than they would normally choose to, especially as Smite and Holy Fire have only a 30-yard range. Conversely, it is not necessary for the priest to be within range of the friendly target in order to heal them.
- Only friendly targets within 15 yards of the hostile target will be healed by Atonement. Although this is usually convenient for tank healing, attacking distant targets (such as ranged types) may cause the healing to be wasted.
- Atonement healing also requires the priest to be facing the hostile target in order to cast Smite or Holy Fire, but does not require the priest to be facing any friendly targets in order for them to receive healing. However, when using macros to attack a friendly target's target, the unpredictable nature of the hostile target's location can prove confusing, and can briefly interrupt the priest's healing.
- Because Atonement healing automatically selects the target to heal, it is possible to repeatedly cast Smite and Holy Fire at a single hostile target, while healing several different friendly targets. This removes the need to select each target, and because Smite's Atonement heals are fairly small, reduces the chance of overheal.
- Conversely, because Atonement heals are distributed automatically, the choice of target may not always align with the priest's priorities.
- The DoT component of Holy Fire will also proc Atonement, effectively providing a small HoT.
Tips
- Atonement is often chosen in combination with [Evangelism] and [Archangel]. These talents complement each other, significantly reducing the mana cost of Holy Fire and Smite and increasing their damage, thereby increasing the amount of healing generated through Atonement. In addition, Archangel can be used to grant a 15% buff to all healing.
- [Penance] is one of the few abilities that outstrips the efficiency of Smite's Atonement healing, even when combined with Evangelism and Archangel. However as it cannot proc Evangelism, Holy Fire and Smite are generally a more efficient option, generating Evangelism stacks and therefore improving the efficiency of future Atonement casts, as well as enabling Archangel. In addition, as healing with Penance does not contribute to damage, even when Evangelism and Archangel have been maximised, Atonement priests may prefer to continue to heal using Holy Fire and Smite in order to contribute to dps, incidentally reducing the total amount of healing required.
- Atonement macros can be very useful. They can be used to allow the priest to continue targeting the tank while Smiting enemies, or even to automate the whole sequence into one button.
Improvements
- [Divine Fury] is very useful for Atonement builds, reducing the cast time of Holy Fire and Smite by up to .5 seconds.
- [Glyph of Divine Accuracy] can be useful in conjunction with this talent, especially as healing gear doesn't have any hit on it. Even without any other sources of hit rating, this glyph ensures you have a 100% hit chance with [Holy Fire] and [Smite], even against raid bosses.
- [Glyph of Smite] can also be useful for dedicated Atonement priests, granting Smite an extra 20% damage against targets afflicted with Holy Fire. In ideal circumstances, this can grant an extra 15% healing and damage from an Atonement rotation.
Patch changes
- Patch 4.1.0 (2011-04-26): Now works with Holy Fire in addition to Smite.
- Hotfix (2011-01-05): The heal from Atonement is now capped at 30% of the priest's health before any modifiers such as healing percentage bonus effects/talents.
- Hotfix (2010-12-21): The healing effect from Atonement is now being affected by healing modifiers correctly.
- Patch 4.0.1 (2010-10-12): Added.
External links
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