Post by Samanosuke
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=bxt0zhxtdZcxtzcbViis the most versatile build for smite. Allows you to pick up all the talents that benefit renew making it bit by bit just as effective as a fully holy spec'd priest. You also have Surge of Light for DPS output. You NEED silent resolve unless you want to be drawing agro every 2 seconds (in a group). Just pick up heal gear and dps gear when you see it and you can do either, or switch out as needed. Main point is to DPS trash and act as a healer for boss fights.
I advise against going as smite for pure DPS, but if you insist...
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=bxx0khxtrxoZcxtMbbVFocused Power is a MUST! Without it you need 202 +spell hit to hit bosses consistently, with it you only need 152 (assuming no other party buffs that give hit). Until you are hit capped, this is the SINGLE MOST stat that increases your dps point by point. Doesnt matter how high your +spelldmg is or how often you crit, if you miss, not only is that ZERO damage, but you also wasted time casting, and mana. The absence of Surge of Light actually gives higher damage output when you take the 1.5 sec. Global Cool Down on all spells after a cast into consideration. Think of it this way. You can spend 1.5 sec recovering from a smite that CAN'T crit or you can spend 2 sec casting a smite that CAN. Inspiration adds to your versatility in that, as a dps priest you will have high crit, so if needed you could throw an inspiration via a rank 1 flash heal to the tank.
Actually, Smite priests will see their heyday in WoTLK.
According to recent posts of WoTLK, they plan on eliminating +healing gear and replacing it with only +spelldmg/heal gear.
"Tom Chilton (Kalgan) : We’re also going to be doing away with spell-damage only type gear. We’ll be moving to a system that, as part of your talents, will let players convert healing into spell-damage and vice-versa as part of their talents. That way they can use the exact same gear, but their talents just adapt what it does.”
Holy DPS priests need to pick up a lot of healing talents just to reach some of the DPS talents. The consolidation of all gear will allow a Holy DPS priest to react quickly to situations where extra healing is necessary. Instead of casting Penance on an enemy for instance, it could be cast on a party member to heal. Holy DPS priests may see the light of day and their utility may be seen as not just a DPS, but a DPS that off heals to keep members alive and to alleviate the the healers of stress. When I DPS as holy, I have a habit of casting out renews to people with low HP. This is something a shadow DPS CANNOT DO (its possible, but at great mana expense). With the change in gear, this will be done with much greater effect.
Think of them as a DPS that can reassign itself to heals mid fight. As a smite priest myself, I never run out of mana (
Sorcerer's Alchemist Stone is a must). If mages and locks actually NEED that extra mana from another shadow priest, something is wrong. They are mismanaging their mana severely or need to pot more often. Only 1 shadowpriest is needed for the shadow and spell debuffs on the enemy.
What is more benificial?.....
Giving a healer mana (which they should be able to manage on their own) or being able to directly heal someone with a spell, thus allowing the healer to focus on others, and not waste a cast/GCD?
This goes against the purist min/max people. However the benefits of this make themselves clear in small groups. In heroics and 10 mans, I as a smite pick up healing when the healer(s) struggle a bit. 1 renew cast in between smites makes the difference between a tank at 20% and a tank that can recover to above 70% hp. And a shield can prevent a wipe by allowing the main healer to catch up to the dmg being done to the tank. WoTLK will have a greater focus on 10 mans (every 25 man will have a 10man version).
Smite priests versatility lay in their support healing ability and buffs like IDS. In WoTLK this will become more evident. Especially when AoE dmg is done, being able to convert a dps to healing effectively adds to the raids recovery ability.