Ghostcrawler's take on smite spec

The priest Q&A has a somewhat famous Ghostcrawler quote that has lurched through the smite priest community like a bad acid trip through a hamster. Here’s the full story.

The first smite-mentioned reaction on the Q&A comments comes from Reiha on Sen’jin:

I am sorely disappointed in the lack of attention to lolsmite.

Which quickly prompted said response from Meia:

That actually did make me another question not covered that I wouldn’t mind answered.

Is it intended for a healing priest to never do about 300 dps on anything, especially since as a healing class with two different trees for different roles, a lot of us are forced to use both dual specs for healing, and none that allow us to farm/quest with any kind of happiness doing so? A lot of quests remain unfinished on this priest because if I had to keep holy fire/smiting I’d have gouged out my eyes. How about some new holy nuke for once, huh?

And while you think that these comments on the third page of responses to the Q&A might’ve prompted a smiting-sort-of conversation, the holy/discipline hybrid spec is not mentioned again until the ninth page of comments. Fortunately, the next to respond, Orcganic of Coilfang, had quite a bit to offer:

The one question that I am sure others would find pointless but is a major interest for myself and a few others is the state of Holy damage. There are a few Smite Priests who would really like to see Blizzard look at the ability for Holy Priests to provide Burst DPS. Shadow Priests are known for their DoT Shadow spells. Some Priests would like to see Holy Burst damage as an alternative option. Why is Healing Focus not Holy Focus? Smite and Holy Fire are very susceptible to knockbacks. Could an interesting Holy damage rotation be added? There have been many suggestions, why were these not addressed?

But not even this was enough to draw attention! Instead, the ultimate results of why smite was not included in the Q&A came from a separate forum post done by a random alt. (Honestly, is it that embarrassing? :]) To which Ghostcrawler sadly replied:

We have no intention of majorly supporting a Smite-centric, Holy-damage-focused priest build.

Smite is there to give you something to hit at low level and give you some ability to do damage in a Holy or Disc build. But we don’t expect it to do competitive dps with a Shadow build. Shadow is your dps spec.

And Thyron couldn’t have replied better:

What a heart-crushing statement.

This isn’t the first time that smite has been branded as “not a real DPS spec” though, large-in-part because it would create a role where a single person could heal semi-efficiently and DPS without dropping forms (not that my shaman goes elemental with Glyph of Thunderstorm and tries to heal or anything >.>).

Priests that are looking for a confirmation that this a real spec won’t find that from Ghostcrawler and won’t find that here. The whole purpose of this blog is just to show how much the “Thall Shall Not DPS” limits can be pushed for the Discipline/Holy hybrid priest.

Ghostcrawler’s been known to root for the underdog specs as well, so I have no qualms with the way smite spec is currently perceived!

Do you use light or lightning?

I compared smite priests to elemental shamans before thanks to Elowyn the Master Bear’s theory crafting. This post is going to look more at the spells and rotations available, similar to the previous healing priest versus restoration shaman article.

If you’re willing to forgo flat numbers—because, as discussed earlier with smite priests and shadow priests, it’s just inevitable these standard DPS specs are going to do more DPS than an underdog spec—the smite priest still has some unique things that the elemental shaman does not.

For starters, let’s say your smite priest is the only priest in the raid. I know this is not as likely as your shaman being the only shaman in the raid, but work with me in a 10-man scenario here. These are some things an elemental shaman will bring to the raid, and then there’s the things the smite priest will bring:

• Heroism versus Power Infusion. Heroism (or Bloodlust) has a 10-minute debuff that makes it useful only once per encounter. Power Infusion, on the other hand, may be used multiple times per boss encounter, and also grants reduction to mana costs in addition to haste. Power Infusion’s drawback is that it does not affect the entire raid–only one lucky individual. (Which, when you’re smiting, is usually you.)
• Priest Buffs versus Totems. Does Divine Spirit, Power Word: Fortitude, Shadow Protection, and Fear Ward stack up to shaman totems, especially in situations like Onyxia where Tremor Totem just seems to crush Fear Ward into the ground? It’s hard to say. Most guilds thrive off the universal benefit of having more Spirit and Stamina throughout a raid, while the totems give the versatility of switch-up fight-to-fight. In terms of resistance, the shaman can cover everything except shadow, which is ironically found in the Shadow Protection of the priest (or in a paladin’s aura.)
• Elemental Oath versus Renewed Hope. It’s a question of whether you want destruction or survival. Renewed Hope is going to reduce the damage the raid is taking by 3%, while Elemental Oath is going to grant 5% spell crit to your casting classes. In a raid that is mostly energy and rage based, it’s obvious which one wins; otherwise, the situation is subjective. A boomkin is also going to neutralize Elemental Oath, while a fellow Discipline priest is going to neutralize Renewed Hope.

What about the rotation?

Rotation-speaking, both classes can potentially have a “mash” button. As you can see from the Lvl 80 Smite Priest Raiding Guide though, it’s about as smart to mash Smite with a smite priest as it is to mash Lightning Bolt with an elemental shaman. Ideal DPS just doesn’t output from it.

Smite priests also have a harder time getting a grasp on a “rotation” than elemental shamans because they blow their GCD a random whenever Surge of Light procs and gives them a free Smite. This is different from the elemental shaman’s Lightning Overload, which throws the Lightning Bolt out free of charge and free of GCD. The elemental shaman can make a macro, adjusted based on their haste, that rotates through their spells with ease; the smite priest’s macro, on the other hand, is going to be totally squandered by GCD’s being thrown off.

Ultimately though, the only “win button” the smite priest has over the elemental shaman is this: you find yourself in a predicament where your 10-man raid can’t do a boss with two healers, but only needs that third healer on certain phases. Or, alternatively, you’re smiting and a healer dies. Smite priest heals always win over elemental shaman heals, and this is where your place in the raid will shine.

Thanks to wvs’ Creative Commons photography for this post.

Elowyn the Master Bear has done some smite priest theory crafting for all us Wrath of the Lich King smite priest enthusiasts [and antagonists]. Because Johannah the Smite Priest of POWER is being compared to Kourtnie the Shaman NINJA, Elowyn took the time to compare an elemental shaman’s Lightning Bolt to a smite priest’s—err—Smite! Let’s take a look:

Elowyn says: There’s a few things worth noting.  The above doesn’t take into account haste gained by the elemental shaman through totems (largely because it’s highly variable).  It also doesn’t include haste on gear.  All other stats are based on spot checking of several elemental shamans and holy/discipline priests.  Also worth noting is the critical hit percentages.  Numbers taken were based on similar gear and only differences via talents.  More realistic percentages would put the shaman around 50% crit, increasing the Shaman’s total output by about 15%.

Well, I don’t know what elemental shamans you’ve been hanging out with behind Kourtnie the NINJA’s back Master Elowyn, but I can assure you that—oh wait—nevermind, 50% sounds about right.

Elowyn the Master Bear theorycrafts

So keeping in mind the fundamental flaw of this theorycrafting is that the shaman’s gear and the priest’s gear are going to naturally output different stats, it’s interesting nonetheless to see that smite priest actually beat the elemental shaman by a little under 5% DPS; of course, this is an ideal Elowyn the Master Bear Land where Mana Bars haven’t reared their ugly heads at people and smite priests naturally come upon the same stats that an elemental shaman would.

This is why Johannah needs to hit level 80 and deliver a wonderful Smite Priest WotLK performance to you!

Want to know more about Elowyn the Master Bear? Well, here he is!

Elowyn is the guild master for Momentum, the lolSmite priest loving guild that supported Johannah’s exploits back in the days of Gruul. (I have vague memories of Johannah causing a ruckus in Hyjal as well, but I believe I was playing Kourtnie more than less at that point.) Elowyn is quite possibly the only Jewelcrafter in the universe that can cut a Shining Eye of Zul—that’s how much Elowyn loves the smite priest [player]! Elowyn is either on a raid leading rampage, plundering through a heroic, or standing next to the Dalaran mailbox whispering Kalecgos people that submit to Master Bear. Occasionally—and this is when Master Bear is the happiest—you can find him charging through battlegrounds and arenas. If you have a feral druid question or want someone to theory craft and talk about World of Warcraft for the puck (yeah, I said PUCK) of it, he’s your man!

Elowyn has his own blog that he writes for, Spank This Tank, which focuses mainly on feral druid bear-and-cat-glory-ness. Elowyn has experience as a PvE druid tank and feral DPS, as well as experience as a PvP feral druid, so if you have feral druid questions, I’d recommend him as a good resource.