Holy Paladins are the unrivaled kings and queens of healing in Wrath of the Lich King. No other class can compete with their raw throughput, and a Paladin’s utility is equally unparalleled. Most 25-man raids will want at least one, if not two Holy Paladins on their healing team. And in 10-man content, a good Holy Paladin can solo heal just about any raid.
Strengths
- Beacon of Light effectively doubles all of the Paladin’s heals, allowing you to keep a constant stream of heals on a tank while also healing the raid (or a second tank).
- Holy Light is the most powerful single-target heal in the game. Glyph of Holy Light allows it to double as a small but very effective AOE heal.
- Paladins offer a wide variety of powerful buffs and cooldowns, from their blessings and hand spells to Divine Guardian and Divine Shield.
Weaknesses
- Holy Paladins have a distinct lack of mobility. Their main healing spells are hard-cast, and they do not have a sprint or similar speed-increasing ability.
- In some fights, the Holy Paladin’s lack of multi-target heals can leave them uselessly over-healing on a single target while another healer blankets the raid with Power Word: Shield, Chain Heal, or Rejuvenation.
Races
Blood Elves have the best racial bonuses overall for Holy Paladins. For Alliance players, Draenei will likely be the most useful race for PVE, while Humans will dominate in PVP.
Blood Elf: The only option for Horde players is luckily a pretty good one. Blood Elves get Arcane Torrent, which gives you an AOE silence and interrupt on a two-minute cooldown, but more importantly, it restores 6% of your mana. Not too shabby. You also get a little extra magic resistance as a Blood Elf.
Draenei: Your group will love you because you bring Heroic Presence, a party-wide 1% hit buff. That doesn’t do much for you as a healer, though. The main boon for you will be Gift of the Naaru, a small heal-over-time on a three-minute cooldown. But it’s a weak heal that doesn’t transfer through Beacon of Light. You also get a Jewelcrafting bonus, which may be useful since it’s one of your best profession options.
Dwarf: Dwarves get some nice defensive bonuses in the form of 2% increased frost resistance and Stoneform, a two-minute cooldown that increases your armor by 10% for eight seconds and removes poison, disease, and bleeds. Mace Specialization may also be marginally useful, but there’s nothing here to help your healing.
Human: The biggest advantages of playing as a Human are in PVP. Their passive Perception ability increases your stealth detection, and Will to Survive gives you a CC break, freeing up one of your trinket slots. In PVE you get a 10% boost to your reputation gains, which is definitely useful, but won’t really help your performance. Neither will the Spirit buff from The Human Spirit, which does nothing for Paladins in combat. Mace and Sword Specialization have a tiny bit of usefulness when you’re in melee trying to get Seal of Wisdom procs.
Professions
Engineering and Jewelcrafting have the best profession bonuses for Holy Paladins looking to maximize their healing output.
Engineering: Nitro Boosts help with your lack of mobility. Hyperspeed Accelerators provide you with a powerful Haste buff on a short one-minute cooldown. Engineering also has lots of other nifty toys that are useful outside of healing.
Jewelcrafting: You get stronger gems for more Intellect or Haste, and a pretty decent trinket, Figurine – Sapphire Owl.
Tailoring: Lightweave Embroidery offers a solid Spell Power buff, and Darkweave Embroidery offers mana, but neither are as strong as the bonuses from Engineering or Jewelcrafting.
Blacksmithing: Extra sockets are nice, but again, Engineering and Jewelcrafting are better.
Enchanting: The ring enchantments are okay, but not particularly strong for Holy Paladins.
Inscription: The shoulder enchants are okay, but not really worth it over other options.
Alchemy: Mercurial Alchemist Stone is nice, but you have much better trinket options, including the one from Jewelcrafting.
Leatherworking: Fur Lining is a downgrade from the Intellect enchantment for Holy Paladins, so there’s nothing useful here.
Skinning: The passive 40 Critical Strike from Master of Anatomy is okay, but there are better options.
Herbalism: The small heal-over-time from Lifeblood isn’t really worth taking.
Mining: There’s nothing here but a Stamina buff.
Talents
Most Holy Paladins will use the build pictured here, putting 51 points into the Holy tree in order to get to Beacon of Light, and the rest into the Protection tree to reach Divine Guardian. There is a little bit of flexibility in where you put the points in between, but most of these talents are must-haves.
If you have another Holy Paladin in the group with Improved Blessing of Wisdom, you can potentially move those points into Improved Lay on Hands, Improved Concentration Aura, and/or Blessed Hands.
Likewise, if another Paladin has Improved Devotion Aura, you can also consider taking Benediction in the Retribution tree, or one of the other talents listed above.
If you feel confident using Righteous Fury, you can put points into Improved Righteous Fury instead of Toughness. Just be aware that any loose mobs will probably make a beeline straight for you.
Glyphs
Most Holy Paladins will use the Holy Light, Beacon of Light, and Seal of Wisdom glyphs for their three major glyphs. Divinity can be used in the place of Beacon of Light, turning your Lay on Hands into a modest mana cooldown at the cost of having to recast your Beacon of Light more frequently. Seal of Light can be used in place of Seal of Wisdom if you have no mana concerns. There is also the option to use Flash of Light in place of Holy Light, but it is not recommended. Holy Light is much stronger overall.
For minor glyphs, Lay on Hands is a must-have. Blessing of Wisdom and Wise are useful for keeping yourself buffed. You can also consider Blessing of Kings to make buffing your group cost less mana, or Sense Undead for when you want to do a little damage.
Stat Priority
Intellect gives us (almost) everything we want: Spell Power, Critical Strike, and a nice big mana pool for Holy Light spam. Many mana return abilities and cooldowns work on percentages, so a bigger mana pool also means better mana returns.
Haste comes in second. With Holy Light being so powerful, there isn’t a lot of value in making your heals stronger through Spell Power or Critical Strike – that just winds up going to overhealing. Instead, focus on making your heals faster so you can cast more of them in the same time period, allowing you to heal different targets or to keep up with steady damage. Over time as your gear gets better or your group kills things faster, Haste may become more valuable even than Intellect, as you no longer need the hefty mana pool you once did.
MP5 is third, although like Intellect, it becomes less valuable when your mana is holding up just fine. Paladins have no interest whatsoever in Spirit; MP5 is their only mana regeneration stat.
Spell Power is pretty low on the list. Holy Light doesn’t generally need to be made any stronger, and that’s your main spell. Spell Power is still useful, however, for Sacred Shield and your other, smaller heals.
Critical Strike is last, for the same reason that Spell Power isn’t very useful. Critical hits do give you mana back through your Illumination talent, but at a fairly small rate. It’s not totally useless, just not nearly as good as other stats.
Stamina doesn’t do anything to improve our healing, but it can keep us alive through some hard-hitting mechanics, particularly at low gear levels. As you gear up, the gear you acquire will generally have more Stamina on it, and you won’t need to go looking for it specifically.
Enchants
Head: Arcanum of Blissful Mending (Wyrmrest Accord – Revered) or Arcanum of Burning Mysteries (Kirin Tor – Revered). The difference is marginal; go for Blissful Mending if you need more mana regen, otherwise, get Burning Mysteries.
Shoulder: Greater Inscription of the Crag or Greater Inscription of the Storm (both Sons of Hodir – Revered). Again, choose based on whether you need the mana regen. Inscriptionists get their own versions of each, with a bigger Spell Power bonus.
Back: Enchant Cloak – Greater Speed is going to be the strongest option for most Holy Paladins. Tailors can take Darkglow Embroidery for mana restoration, or Lightweave Embroidery for a hefty Spell Power buff.
Chest: Enchant Chest – Powerful Stats is your best option, as it gives Intellect.
Wrists: Enchant Bracers – Exceptional Intellect will be the go-to choice for most. Blacksmiths also get the option to add a socket to their bracers. Leatherworkers can take Fur Lining – Spell Power if they feel comfortable with their mana pool.
Hands: Hyperspeed Accelerators are the best reason to be an engineer. For non-engineers, there’s Enchant Gloves – Exceptional Spellpower. Blacksmiths also get to add a socket to their gloves.
Waist: Grab an Eternal Belt Buckle from a blacksmith or the auction house to add a socket to your belt.
Legs: Sapphire Spellthread is the best option.
Feet: Nitro Boosts are another good reason to be an engineer. For non-engineers, there’s Tuskar’s Vitality.
Weapon: Enchant Weapon – Major Intellect is the best option for weapons.
Shield: Enchant Shield – Greater Intellect is the best option for shields.
Rings: Enchanters will want to use Enchant Ring – Greater Spellpower on both of their rings. This alone isn’t a good enough reason to take Enchanting over another profession, though.
Gems
Meta: Insightful Earthsiege Diamond is by far the best choice for Holy Paladins.
Red: You will need one red gem to activate your meta gem. For this, you can use a Luminous Monarch Topaz. Try to put it in a red socket with an Intellect bonus.
Blue: Like with red, you will need one blue gem to activate your meta gem. You should use a Dazzling Forest Emerald, preferably in a blue socket with an Intellect bonus.
Yellow: For all of your other sockets, you should ignore socket bonuses and use yellow gems. You will gem for either Intellect or Haste, depending on what your mana needs are. As mentioned in the Stat Priority section, Haste becomes more valuable as your mana pool is less stretched.
- For Intellect, you will use Brilliant Autumn’s Glow (or if you are a jewelcrafter, Brilliant Dragon’s Eye). You may also find yourself with a Brilliant Stormjewel that can be placed into one of your sockets.
- For Haste, you will use Quick Autumn’s Glow (or Quick Dragon’s Eye for jewelcrafters.)
If you don’t have any good Intellect sockets to use for your red and blue gems, using one Enchanted Tear can cover both requirements in one socket. Otherwise, the socket bonuses will make it more valuable to use separate gems.
Consumables
Battle Elixir: Guru’s Elixir is your best option for mana, granting 20 Intellect. Elixir of Lightning Speed pulls ahead on fights where mana isn’t a concern, giving 45 Haste.
Guardian Elixir: Elixir of Mighty Thoughts is the strongest option, offering 45 Intellect.
Flask: Flask of Distilled Wisdom remains the best option for Holy Paladins, as none of the newer flasks give Intellect or Haste. It’s preferable to use elixirs, however.
Food: Imperial Manta Steak or Very Burnt Worg both give 40 Haste and Stamina. These are your best options since there isn’t a good option that gives Intellect. Spell Power food or a Fish Feast are also reasonable options.
Potions: Generally you’ll want to use a Runic Mana Potion, or a Runic Mana Injector if you’re an engineer. For fights where mana isn’t a concern, Potion of Speed is usually the best choice. Potion of Wild Magic can also be an option if for some reason you want a few really big heals. You can also pre-pot before a pull with Potion of Haste or Wild Magic to pump out some big heals at the start of a fight and still use another potion before the fight is over.
Other: Dark Runes or Demonic Runes can still be used, but are significantly less powerful than they were in previous expansions. It may be better to save this cooldown for a Healthstone.
Spells
Beacon of Light: This is the centerpiece of Holy Paladin healing. You will absolutely want to keep this up on someone at all times, usually a tank. This spell alone doubles your healing output.
Sacred Shield: Grants a small absorb and buffs to your heals on the target. You will usually want this on a different tank than your Beacon of Light to maximize your healing.
Holy Light: Your bread and butter healing spell. A powerful single-target heal that you’ll be casting pretty much constantly, only stopping to refresh a buff or use a cooldown.
Holy Shock: A strong instant heal on a short cooldown. Less mana efficient than Holy Light, but good for when you need to be moving or when someone may die before you can get a Holy Light off.
Flash of Light: A smaller, cheaper heal than Holy Light. Holy Light is more effective overall, but there may be times when you want those smaller, faster heals.
Cleanse: Removes a disease, poison, and magic effect from the target. Some of these debuffs can be pretty nasty, so cleansing them can at times be more effective than healing the damage they cause.
Seal of Wisdom: You will want to make sure this buff is up at all times, as it significantly improves your mana regeneration.
Seal of Light: When you have no mana concerns, you can use this instead of Seal of Wisdom and combine it with its associated glyph for some extra healing throughput.
Judgment of Light: You will want to cast this at least every minute to keep up your Judgment of the Pure buff. It also grants a nice trickle of healing to anyone who is hitting the boss.
Judgment of Wisdom: Normally a Retribution Paladin will be maintaining this on the boss, but there may be situations when you want to use this to give your group mana regeneration instead of healing.
Divine Plea: A very strong mana cooldown, but it reduces your healing done while it’s active, so use it during periods of low damage or pair it with a cooldown to make up the difference.
Divine Illumination: Another strong mana cooldown that you will want to use every time it’s up. There’s no downside to this one.
Divine Favor: Guarantees that your next heal will be a critical hit. Best paired with Holy Shock since a critical Holy Light is usually all overheal, and because it will trigger Infusion of Light, buffing your next Flash Heal.
Aura Mastery: Buffs your current aura’s effects for six seconds. With Concentration Aura active, it makes your raid immune to silence and interrupt effects, which can be enormously helpful in certain encounters.
Avenging Wrath: Buffs your damage and healing by 20% for 20 seconds. Be careful when you use this because you will not be able to use many of your defensive cooldowns for 30 seconds afterward.
Lay on Hands: A huge, instant heal on a long cooldown. Use it when your tank is going to die if you don’t quickly bring their health up.
Divine Shield: An extremely powerful defensive cooldown that makes you immune to all damage for 12 seconds.
Divine Intervention: You sacrifice yourself to make someone else invulnerable. Since using this spell kills you, you normally will only use it to protect another healer and quickly recover after a wipe.
Divine Protection: Reduces all damage to yourself by 50% for 12 seconds. A mini-Divine Shield.
Divine Sacrifice: The most powerful raid cooldown in the game. You take a huge chunk of incoming damage onto yourself. Best used in combination with Divine Shield or Divine Protection.
Hand of Sacrifice: Like Divine Sacrifice, but for only one target. You may be asked to use this on a tank as part of a cooldown rotation for certain fights.
Hand of Protection: Protects a target from physical damage. Mostly used when a dps pulls threat.
Hand of Freedom: Makes the target immune to movement impairing effects. Situationally useful.
Hammer of Justice: A six-second stun. Helpful for reducing incoming damage, but most bosses are immune.