So, you want to be a Holy Paladin in Wrath of the Lich King, huh? Excellent choice! Holy Paladins are fantastic healers, providing incredible burst healing and support to their raid. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know to excel as a Holy Paladin in WotLK.

Talents

The standard Holy Paladin build focuses on maximizing healing output and efficiency. Here’s a common and effective talent setup:

• Holy (57 Points)

  • Divine Intellect (5/5): Increases your total Intellect by 10%. More intellect means more mana, and more mana is always good.
  • Spiritual Focus (5/5): Reduces pushback when healing. Getting interrupted is a healer's worst nightmare, so this is essential.
  • Healing Light (3/3): Increases the amount healed by your Flash of Light, Holy Light, and Holy Shock spells by 12%. More healing? Yes, please!
  • Infusion of Light (2/2): Gives your Holy Shock critical hits a 50% chance to reduce the cast time of your next Holy Light by 1.5 seconds. Speedy heals are crucial in a pinch.
  • Purifying Power (3/3): Reduces the chance that harmful spells will resist your dispel attempts by 30%. Making sure your dispels land is super important for raid utility.
  • Holy Power (5/5): Gives you 5% spell critical strike chance. More crits mean more Infusion of Light procs!.
  • Holy Guidance (5/5): Increases your spell power by 25% of your total intellect. This talent makes intellect a powerful stat for holy paladins.
  • Divine Illumination (1/1): Reduces the mana cost of your healing spells by 20% for 12 seconds. A great mana-saving cooldown..
  • Beacon of Light (1/1): The cornerstone of Holy Paladin healing. Places a beacon on a friendly target that heals them for 50% of the amount of other heals you cast on other raid members. This is what makes Holy Paladins exceptional tank healers..
  • Holy Shock (1/1): An instant cast heal or damage spell. Versatile and a key part of your healing rotation..
  • Aura Mastery (1/1): Doubles the effect of your current aura for a short period. Great for boosting resistance or healing output..
  • Daybreak (3/3): Gives your Holy Shock 75% chance to cause your next Holy Light cast within 10 sec to be instant cast. Stacking Daybreak and Infusion of Light procs can lead to some big burst healing.
  • Divine Favor (1/1): Increases your healing by 20% for 10 seconds. Another potent cooldown to use when you need to pump out the heals.
  • Sacred Cleansing (2/2): Reduces the duration of harmful Magic, Disease, and Poison effects by 15% on targets you cleanse. More efficient cleanses are always welcome..
  • Light's Grace (3/3): Reduces the casting time of your Holy Light spell by 0.5 seconds after you cast Holy Shock, stacking up to 3 times. Faster Holy Lights for quicker and more responsive healing..
  • Holy Light (1/1): Your main, go-to, bread-and-butter heal. Efficient and effective..

• Protection (11 Points)

  • Divine Strength (5/5): Increases your Strength by 10%. A little extra strength never hurt, even for a healer..
  • Guardian's Favor (2/2): Reduces the cooldown of your Hand of Protection and Hand of Salvation by 30%. More frequent use of Hand spells can be a lifesaver..
  • Improved Devotion Aura (3/3): Increases the armor bonus of your Devotion Aura by 15%. More armor for everyone!.
  • Blessing of Kings (1/1): Grants the target Blessing of Kings, increasing their stats. Extra stats for everyone in the raid? Yes, please!.

• Retribution (3 Points)

  • Improved Judgement (2/2): Reduces the cooldown of your Judgement spell by 2 seconds. More frequent Judgements mean more mana back with Judgements of the Wise.
  • Judgements of the Wise (1/1): When you critically hit with a Judgement, you refund 1% of your total mana and provide mana to your raid members. Mana sustain for the raid..

This build gives you the core talents for healing effectively, with some points spent in Protection for utility. Feel free to adjust based on your playstyle and raid needs.

Glyphs

Glyphs enhance your abilities and can significantly impact your healing. Here are some of the best glyphs for a Holy Paladin:

Prime Glyphs

• Glyph of Holy Light: Increases the amount healed by your Holy Light spell by 10%. A straightforward boost to your most used heal.
• Glyph of Holy Shock: Reduces the cooldown of your Holy Shock spell by 1 second. More frequent Holy Shocks mean more healing and more Infusion of Light procs.
• Glyph of Beacon of Light: Increases the duration of your Beacon of Light by 5 seconds. Longer Beacon duration means less time spent recasting it.

Major Glyphs

• Glyph of Divinity: Increases the amount of mana you gain from your Divine Plea spell by 5%. Essential for mana management..
• Glyph of Seal of Light: While Seal of Light is active, the healing received by you is increased by 5%. Nice little boost to your self-sustain.
• Glyph of Lay on Hands: Reduces the cooldown of your Lay on Hands spell by 2 minutes. Lay on Hands is a powerful cooldown, and this makes it available more often.

Minor Glyphs

• Glyph of Blessing of Kings: Reduces the mana cost of your Blessing of Kings spell by 20%. Saves a little mana on buffs..
• Glyph of Blessing of Might: Reduces the mana cost of your Blessing of Might spell by 20%. More mana saved on buffs.
• Glyph of Sense Undead: Increases the range of your Sense Undead spell. Handy for spotting undead enemies from afar..

Stats

Understanding which stats to prioritize is crucial for optimizing your healing output. Here’s a breakdown:

• Intellect: Your primary stat. It increases your mana pool, spell power (through Holy Guidance), and spell crit chance. More intellect means more sustained healing.
• Spell Power: Increases the amount healed by your spells. Stack as much of this as possible after reaching your intellect goals..
• Haste: Reduces the cast time of your spells. Helps you get heals out faster, especially useful for Holy Light..
• Critical Strike: Increases the chance for your spells to critically hit, triggering Infusion of Light. Important for faster Holy Lights and burst healing..
• MP5 (Mana per 5 Seconds): Provides mana regeneration during combat. Helps with mana sustain, especially in longer fights..

Stat Priority:

Intellect > Spell Power > Haste > Crit > MP5

Gems

Gems are another way to boost your stats. Here are some of the best gems for a Holy Paladin:

• Red Sockets: Runed Cardinal Ruby (+23 Spell Power). Straightforward spell power boost.
• Yellow Sockets: Reckless Ametrine (+12 Spell Power and +10 Haste). Balanced gem for spell power and haste.
• Blue Sockets: Sparkling Ocean Sapphire (+12 Spell Power and +10 MP5). Good for adding some MP5 while still getting spell power..
• Meta Socket: Insightful Earthsiege Diamond (+25 Spell Power and Mana return). Helps with mana sustain.

Enchants

Enchants provide significant stat boosts to your gear. Here are some recommended enchants:

• Head: Arcanum of Blissful Deeds (+30 Spell Power and +10 MP5). Reputation reward from the Kirin Tor..
• Shoulders: Greater Inscription of the Crag (+24 Spell Power and +15 MP5). Reward from the Sons of Hodir reputation..
• Cloak: Greater Speed (+23 Haste). More haste for faster casts.
• Chest: Powerful Stats (+10 to all stats). A solid all-around stat boost.
• Bracers: Superior Spellpower (+30 Spell Power). Another straightforward spell power enchant..
• Gloves: Exceptional Spellpower (+28 Spell Power). More spell power!.
• Legs: Sapphire Spellthread (+50 Spell Power and +30 Spirit). Crafted enchant with a significant spell power boost..
• Boots: Greater Spirit (+18 Spirit). Spirit converts to mp5 through talents..
• Weapon: Mighty Spellpower (+63 Spell Power). The best spell power enchant for your weapon.
• Shield: Greater Intellect (+25 Intellect). More intellect for mana and spellpower..

Gameplay and Rotation

Holy Paladin gameplay revolves around efficient mana management and using your cooldowns effectively. Here’s a basic guide:

• Beacon of Light: Always keep Beacon of Light up on the tank. This is your primary tank healing tool.
• Holy Light: Your main healing spell. Use it on targets that need moderate healing.
• Flash of Light: Use Flash of Light for quick, emergency heals. Be mindful of the mana cost.
• Holy Shock: Use Holy Shock on cooldown for instant healing or damage, and to proc Infusion of Light.
• Judgement: Use Judgement on cooldown to proc Judgements of the Wise for mana regeneration.
• Divine Plea: Use Divine Plea when you need mana. Be aware that it reduces your healing output while active.
• Divine Illumination: Use Divine Illumination to reduce the mana cost of your spells during periods of heavy healing.
• Divine Favor: Use Divine Favor when you need to pump out a lot of healing quickly.
• Aura Mastery: Use Aura Mastery to boost your Aura to deal with specific damage profiles. Remember to swap aura based on encounter, such as Shadow Resistance Aura for shadow damage.
• Lay on Hands: Use Lay on Hands in emergencies to save a player from certain death.

Priorities:

1. Maintain Beacon of Light on the tank.
2. Use Holy Shock on cooldown.
3. Use Judgement on cooldown.
4. Heal with Holy Light.
5. Use Flash of Light for emergencies.
6. Use cooldowns as needed.

Professions

Professions can provide additional stats and benefits. Here are some of the best professions for a Holy Paladin:

• Jewelcrafting: Allows you to craft powerful gems, giving you more control over your stat allocation. Also, jewelcrafters get access to unique gems that are better than normal gems.
• Enchanting: Allows you to enchant your own gear and sell enchants to other players. Also, enchanting allows you to enchant your rings for additional stats.
• Alchemy: Provides access to powerful flasks and potions. Alchemy also grants the Mixology bonus when you consume flasks, increasing their duration and effect.
• Inscription: Allows you to craft glyphs and provides unique shoulder enchants. Inscription also has the advantage of the best in slot shoulder enchant.

Macros

Macros can simplify your gameplay and make it more efficient. Here are a few useful macros for Holy Paladins:

• Mouseover Heal:

#showtooltip Holy Light
/cast [@mouseover,help,nodead][@target,help,nodead] Holy Light

This macro casts Holy Light on your mouseover target if it’s friendly and alive; otherwise, it casts it on your selected target.

• Holy Shock Self/Target:

#showtooltip Holy Shock
/cast [@mouseover,help,nodead][@target,help,nodead] Holy Shock

This macro casts Holy Shock on your mouseover target if it’s friendly and alive; otherwise, it casts it on your selected target.

• Stop Casting Macro:

/stopcasting
/cast Holy Light

This macro stops your current cast and starts casting Holy Light. This is very helpful in pvp or if you need to get a heal off fast.

Addons

Addons can enhance your user interface and provide valuable information. Here are some useful addons for Holy Paladins:

• HealBot/VuhDo: Raid healing addons that provide click-to-cast functionality and easy health monitoring.
• Grid/Clique: Customizable raid frame addons.
• WeakAuras: Allows you to track buffs, debuffs, and cooldowns.
• Recount/Details: Damage meters to analyze your healing and performance.
• Omen/Threat Meter: Helps you monitor threat levels.

Conclusion

Being a Holy Paladin in WotLK is a rewarding experience. With the right talents, glyphs, stats, and gameplay, you can be a powerful and valuable asset to your raid. Practice your rotation, manage your mana effectively, and always be ready to adapt to different situations. Good luck, and happy healing!