Cataclysm Holy Paladin Guide

Some bad news... the nice shiny new module I bought to help with sound recording is... ...broken... after the move home from campus. It was packed away tightly, but something must have gone wrong and I'm going to have to wait until Tuesday to see about fixing it. Even then, as it's most definitely broken, it will still probably be a few weeks before I get a new one, which means I won't be able to do much for a video guide. *sighs*

In response to 2Hit6, I'll see how it's worded in my guide, but I tried to make it known that that enchant slot is really quite open. You're right that the enchant that I recommended isn't a ton of mp5, but even if you cast non-stop during the entire fight (which on many fights isn't the truth) you're still going to get an extra Holy Light from it, and that's worth something. It's really a personal preference. I've never had problems running from Blistering Cold or any other mechanics where you need to "run", so I don't see the value of it for myself. But, if someone else is having trouble with running, then they might certainly consider it, dropping 1 or 2 extra Holy Lights out of their potential for a fight isn't much, especially if they end the fight with more than enough mana anyways (then they've technically lost nothing).

Made the clarification with an Asterisk, 2hit6

"The top 3 recommended Glyphs for Flash of Light are: Glyph of Seal of Light, Glyph of Flash of Light, and then Glyph of Holy Light."

This was posted for glyphing on holy paladins using FoL wouldn't you want to use Glyph of Beacon of Light instead of Glyph of Holy Light, because of the extra 30 seconds on the timer? Yes you use Glyph of Holy Light once and a while to heal but id think Beacon of Light would be more useful.....if I'm wrong please let me know just my wondering.

Thanks,
Magetta

Alright, I made the change, but not in the way you expect. The recommendation was intentionally made for a couple of reasons. First, even in the FoL style of healing, you should still be using Holy Light, on some fights, you'll likely use it quite a bit, and the extra splash healing from the Glyph can be extremely valuable during moments of heavy damage when Flash of Light simply isn't enough. Second, Glyph of Beacon of Light is used more for its mana conservation than anything else, which is something that FoL-style of healing isn't terribly worried about, usually. However, it is useful in that you'll still want to watch your mana, and it, more importantly, helps you to free up more GCDs, which is pretty important if you're firing out those quick, medium heals from the FoL-style. In the end, it comes down to personal play style and needs. I can make recommendations to those who look for them, but players who understand themselves and their wants are going to know what's best for them. To them I can only offer them a pat on the back for being a good Holy Paladin. :)

Wow, very nice guide. Detailed, well thought-out; it must've taken quite a while to write.

I have a question, though. I currently play a Discipline Priest, and I was wondering (if you had played this particular class/spec combo) how similar the healing style is? I know, for example, Paladins have no access to spells that make Priests what they are, for example Power Word: Shield, Prayer of Mending, and Renew, but would you say the jump from Disc Priest to Holy Paladin would be gradual, or a direct change of style?

Thanks,
Dispel.

I have a Disc Priest main and a Holy Pally alt (well, offspec of an alt), sooo:

There are very few parallels between the two classes. I guess both are very spammy healers - Disc Priests spamming bubbles nonstop, Holy Paladins typically are spamming HL on the tanks nonstop. There is no real comparison between Sacred Shield and PW:S though, even though they both are absorbs (and both are fantastic).

Holy Paladins also seem a lot more focused than Disc Priests - Disc you're often told to either watch a group, or help out on all the tanks, or just bubble spam the whole raid, only occasionally am I told to heal a single target. With a Paladin, you're often told to Beacon one tank and heal-bomb the other which is a very different playstyle.

Oh, there is a comparison though! Cooldowns. Disc Priests obviously have Pain Suppression, which is AMAZING as we all know. Holy Paladins actually have several defensive cooldowns available - Aura Mastery, Divine Sac/Guardian, Imp Lay on Hands, and Hand of Sacrifice are all extremely useful cooldowns. (See this is what gets me when I see people say "lol Holy Pally is so faceroll" - sure anyone can stand there and spam Holy Light, but to know when to use your cooldowns properly takes a tremendous amount of knowledge and awareness)

Another comparison could be the large mana pools that drain quickly if you don't play smart. Disc Priests have less of an issue, but on some fights you either need to gear for a bit more regen/mana, or just watch your Rapture CD and make sure it pops on several people at once. (Preferably the second solution so you don't sacrifice SP) For Holy Paladins this is a much bigger issue, which is why they all gem intellect (well, the vast majority) so they can be less reliant on Divine Plea.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lulia

In response to 2Hit6, I'll see how it's worded in my guide, but I tried to make it known that that enchant slot is really quite open. You're right that the enchant that I recommended isn't a ton of mp5, but even if you cast non-stop during the entire fight (which on many fights isn't the truth) you're still going to get an extra Holy Light from it, and that's worth something. It's really a personal preference. I've never had problems running from Blistering Cold or any other mechanics where you need to "run", so I don't see the value of it for myself. But, if someone else is having trouble with running, then they might certainly consider it, dropping 1 or 2 extra Holy Lights out of their potential for a fight isn't much, especially if they end the fight with more than enough mana anyways (then they've technically lost nothing).

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Yeah...about that...you're not going to get a HL out of the Greater Vitality at all. Assuming you're Libram of Renewal, your HL will cost 1102 mana, and assuming you're NOT casting at all, it would take 1102/7 * 5 seconds (which is 787 seconds, which equates to just over 13 minutes) to recoup your 1102 mana back, and that's assuming you're NOT casting.

Tuskar's Vitality is also good if your tank happens to run out of range/los, you can get within range/los quicker. I guess it depends on everyone's personal preference I guess, I just prefer to have that extra oomph! for running away :P

I have a lowbie Disc priest which makes for poor comparison at level. I think Harmacy has it mostly spot on, with the exception of Divine Plea. We increase our Intellect because a large mana pool makes Divine Plea even better so we like it even more! But yeah, most any raiding healer right now should have plenty of ease dealing with mana regen whether it be through gear or CDs, and most of them are pretty spammy as well. It's just the nature of the current content. Should change (hopefully) come Cataclysm. I'll be updating this guide when my Holy Paladin is 85 and I intend to make my Holy Paladin my first character to 85 (go go healer leveling!).

My broken part has been sent out to the Manufacturer and, hopefully, they replace it, but it will likely be a week or two regardless. Until then the video is still on hold.

@ 2Hit6 - Can't argue with math. Still, I did change the guide to reflect your suggestion. The foot enchant is certainly something that's a bit more variable and dependent on play style. I simply haven't had issues running to or away from things, but it can be a major issue for a lot of Holy Paladins, in which case they will most certainly want to pick up Tuskarr's Vitality, without a doubt. Thanks for the suggestion. :)

Posted the first Blog in a series I will be running called Bubble Blog

In addition, I've updated the first post with a small Index of the posts in the guide (including the new Bubble Blog post) and may update it further in the future as needed. I will probably go through the guide and make small cosmetic changes shortly.

I anticipate having the Holy Paladin Video Guide (unofficial) up by Wednesday. I'll keep you informed and let you know if anything changes.

Edit: This should be done tomorrow, but the actual posting of it may be delayed.

Edit 2: It's completely done, however, the posting of this is delayed for a bit. I'm not sure how long, but it will be available Soon™

Holy Pally videos up. I really wanted to share these with you guys, so I uploaded them. If Tankspot wishes to pick them up and post them on their own channel, then I'll let you know and I may take these ones down and change the embeds. Either way, no matter what happens, the videos are done and you'll be able to see them.

I guess the foot enchant is personal preference, but in fights like LK where you have to move quickly for defile etc, i don't think many can argue with Tuskarr's vitality.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mr.Winkle

I guess the foot enchant is personal preference, but in fights like LK where you have to move quickly for defile etc, i don't think many can argue with Tuskarr's vitality.

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It's certainly a contentious point for some, and the guide makes it pretty clear that you can go either way with it. I wanted to leave such decisions open to the individual, rather than telling them one thing or another should be chosen, when possible. And feet enchants are a pretty good example of a place where they are given that option. The other foot enchants aren't really terribly powerful, and so many go with the Tuskarr's enchant for survival, but it truly is an optional thing and I wouldn't say it was "better" by any means. I happen to have it for myself.

It's been edited slightly in hope of making sure that the alternatives are seen clearly as equals to the throughput choices that I have offered. Hopefully that will help.

Have to say, ive seen the light and gone the holy light build. I can still spam my way through 10mans with flash of light, but spamming holylights is like spamming lay on hands :) Just have to get used to the mana regen/cd's etc etc

Like spamming Lay on Hands? Man I wish I could spam that spell :P

haha, well it tops up pretty much any dps in 1 cast, and at a 1.2second cast, tanks are at full health very quickly.(obviously with the 25% buff)

Yes, Holy Light is a very attractive spell, which is why it's the most widely accepted setup in the current environment. In Cataclysm, Blizzard maintains that it will still be our go-to spell, but it will become more of a "medium" heal than a "big heal".

Firstly, thank you so much for this post. It has been incredibly helpful. I have a Level 80 Tankadin (reasonably well geared) and have chosen to Off-Spec Holy so when I find myself a guild I can hope to bring some options to any Raid Teams being setup.

Now as I have been trawling through the Heroic 5-mans to gear up my Pally tank I have picked up some decent (I think) Pally healer gear on an OS roll - don't worry, I always ask if anyone objects to an OS roll... And to be honest the Pally healer gear seems pretty obsolete to any other class than another Pally...

Anyway, I digress. I am currently kitted out in my Healadin kit/spec here: http://www.wowhead.com/profile=eu.saurfang.darkkpal

I should point out I have never Raided so all gear/emblems have come from Heroic 5-mans so for me, when I say decent gear I am refering to drops from ICC 5 man content and Triumph emblem gear (although my Tankadin has a couple of frosts from saving up).

With that in mind, and having read this thread I am a little confused as to which spec/stats/play-style to go for.

While my gear is not low, my skill in using my Pally to heal is having only run 10-20 norm 5-mans and 6 or 7 HC 5man. I have been using Heroic Nexus, Violet Hold to practice and have done ok (no wipes yet but a few fatalities). And will be going up a dungeon each time to try my healing out on harder content (I know its not really "hard" can tank it all a breeze but I'm new to healing so.... Hard! ;) )

This thread seems to point to "beginner" pally tanks (fresh 80s) going for Holy/Ret - which I am - but also to go the Holy Light build (int int int)... Have I understood correctly? I always thought the Holy/Ret was for FoL build from other reading material so this seems to contradict to me... Anyway, therefore I have gemmed (where I can) with Int - HOWEVER... I seem to be inclined to FoL as my main filler (seems more comfortable) which to me indicates that I should really go SP. As you can see... Confused :confused:

After all that I guess my real question is this: For someone with my level gear running almost exclusively Heroic 5-mans what would be considered the optimal spec (Holy/Ret or Holy/Prot) and therefore which "play-style" i.e. FoL (SP) or HL (Int)?

Thanks for any help anyone can give :D

Hi Darkkpal!

Crit is to a certain degree manareg for holydins and due to the low mana pool you have in your current gear it is more desireable than utility from the prot tree.

It's not like HL paladins don't cast FoL. We just do it to conserve mana when no damage is there or anticipated. HL gets cast at least once every 10 seconds to keep the haste buff up nevertheless.

What you can easily do improve from a HL point of view is exchange your libram for the ilvl200 badge one that reduces the cost of HL.

Did I mention that I would advice you to get comfortable with HL style healing? =)

Anyway don't get yourself cornered to much. If HL healing just is not for you then try FoL which is working out also. Come Cata come change whatever you choose.

Cheers!
skaggi