Holy Paladin Healing in Patch 3.2
Most of the tips in my previous guide to Holy Paladin healing and my comments about paladin versatility will still apply in Patch 3.2. However, if all of the Patch 3.2 changes do go through, there are a few changes that will need to be made to most Holy Paladin’s healing strategy. I’ll go over those changes below.
1. No more solo tank healing (at least in a 25-man raid). Although I don’t usually recommend solo tank healing even in Patch 3.1, it is even more obvious in Patch 3.2 Due to the mana regeneration nerfs, a Holy Paladin will probably not be able to keep a tank up by himself for the entire fight, using Beacon or otherwise. Healadins will need to use Flash of Light much more often or risk running out of mana. Because of this, we probably won’t be able to keep up with all the damage the tank is taking using Flash of Light alone. This means we’ll need help from at least some of the following on the tank as well:
- Druid HoTs
- Priest shields
- Shaman’s Chain Heal
- Other AoE Heals
- Our own Flash of Light HoT
- Direct heals from other healers
This should be fine. Since we’ll be doing more raid healing with Beacon, the other raid healers will be able to help out more with the tank healing. This means that healing on the tank will be less bursty and the tank’s health should stay more stable. With other healers also on the tank, one mistake by the paladin (including needing to move out of damage) won’t necessarily mean a wipe.
2. Only heal the tank every 11-12 seconds to keep up the HoT. Besides one Flash of Light every 12 seconds, we should never directly heal the tank in Patch 3.2. Because overheals get transfered to the Beaconed target, if we wanted to, we could spam the rogue next to the tank who has full health instead of healing the tank directly (more realistically, we would heal the off-tank). Even if everyone in the raid has full health, there’s no reason not to hit someone with a heal who has full health instead of the tank, just in case that person does happen to take damage before the cast goes off. Its a little counter-intuitive to heal someone with full health when the tank gets hit, but good paladin healers will need to get used to doing that.
3. Use Holy Shock (and Holy Light) less. Currently, I use Holy Shock a lot. I use it about every cooldown. I have to admit that its often unnecessary. Holy Shock and instant Flash of Lights every 6 seconds allows me to pump out a ton of heals in a short time, top the healing meters and keep people alive, but is it really necessary? There are times when a Flash of Light would have done just fine. There are times when a heal wasn’t really needed at all. Maybe a druid HoT would have done the same thing in 6 seconds instead of 1 or 2. With the mana regeneration changes, so much use of Holy Shock might not only be unnecessary, it might lead to an early empty mana pool. All the same principles can be applied to Holy Light.
These changes mean we’ll need to be more careful about which heals we use instead of spamming the quickest or biggest heals in the shortest amount of time. I don’t think the mana changes are so drastic that we’ll have to completely eliminate Holy Shock and Holy Light from our arsenal. But we will need to think more about when and when not to use them. Maybe we only use Holy Shock when someone is at 20% health. Maybe we only use Holy Light every 4th heal instead of every heal.
Patch 3.2 will be a big change for many Holy Paladins. Holy Light spam on the tank might still be possible, but it will certainly be less effective. Blizzard is pushing us towards a more balanced mix of stats and a more balanced healing strategy that requires every healer to help out with both raid and tank healing. Holy Paladins typically do a large amount of overhealing, and transferring all of that onto the tank should raise every paladins effective healing by a large amount. Meanwhile, the mana regeration changes will make healing require much more skill and thought. Overall, healing in Patch 3.2 as a Holy Paladin should be more diverse, more engaging, and… at least for many… more fun.
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I’m currently packing a Forethought Talisman. With these new changes, will it be possible to pop 2 HoTs at the same time if both proc (if the target has SS & I cast FoL) or will one overwrite the other?
I’m sure that both HoTs will be on the target at the same time, just like they are currently when druids and priests use that trinket.
Well, wouldn’t the viability of having a Paladin healer just plummet again? If we’re going to lose our one thing that we were good at, and I use that phrase loosely, because I’ve never seen the viability of spamming Holy Light, just saying in general, and you give us this almost nothing buff that won’t even effect the beacon if its already topped off, getting us to have at most 7k hps, wouldn’t the raid rather have a Priest healer or a Druid or even a Shaman in 3.2 considering the buff they got?
Druids and priests are getting nerfs in 3.2 too. And I disagree that we’re only good at one thing, especially after 3.2. Lastly, I wouldn’t call the Beacon buff nothing. Tanks take so much damage that they’re rarely topped off unless you have someone spamming Holy Light on them (which you won’t in 3.2). I don’t think it will be hard at all to maintain over 7 or 8k effective hps in 3.2 for the entire fight, with bursts of much higher than that. Our maintanable effective hps is probably going to be less than in 3.1, but I don’t think its going to be worse than the other healers.
I would very much like to see where druids are receiving nerfs in 3.2
No other classes is being gutted like the Holy paladin.
well there are many newbs that when they got pwned by some palas whine that we are OP and thats we are getting nerf its ok we ned to be nerfed too but why to cut holy’s with this i dunno what to stack shall i keep stacking intellect shall i put haste/sp gems int/mp5 dunno what to do :S
It’s been a good couple weeks in 3.2 and i have no problems keeping up raid and mt and i top healing charts now with the beacon cause i can heal others unless theirs a druid then i loose. You just have to know how to manage your mana like stack more mp5 and carry mana pots with you and you will do fine
Hey, I love 3.2. I can’t see where holy pallies have been nerfed. I still keep more then 1/2 my mana fights in 25 mans. Love the new BoL.