I'm a level 41 paladin who's been Holy speccing since I started (mostly because it took me awhile to even notice the "Protection" and "Retribution" tabs in the Talent window. Yeah, I'm a scroob). It's been working for me mostly most of the time, both solo'ing and in dungeons, but as I'm in my 40s now I've been beginning to do dungeons that are more towards the higher levels. Since I'm Holy, I've been assigned to Healing duties...
and I suck at it.
I find that my mana can never keep up.. and after casting Holy Light just a few times I'm out of mana and having to Potion up, meanwhile my partymates start dying. On more than one occasion the Prot-specced pallies and the shamans have had to pick up healing after I lost mana, then asked me what was up after the melee was over. It's embarassing for me. And Flash of Light seems utterly worthless, with a really bad %healing per %mana-and-casttime compared to Holy Light.
I've been on the look out for a while for more armor that has better +intelligence (healing bonuses wouldn't really help.. the amount I heal -per spell- is fine, it's the mana cost that kills me). I'm sure that will help significantly, but until then I have to keep sucking at being Holy specced.
But another thing is that healing is really boring, and not very stimulating. I enjoyed being a healer in Guild Wars, since healing was alot more exciting in that game compared to a Holy pally in WoW. I'm only aware of 3 pally healing spells-- one that's good, one that sucks, and one that's sometimes good and sometimes sucks. That gets repetitive. It's not very satisfying, especially when I get yelled at for running out of mana too easily.
So I was thinking of respeccing.. probably to Prot. It would definitely help my soloing. But I'm unsure.. is respeccing really the solution to my problem? Or do I just need to use better Holy strategies?
- Forums
- World of Warcraft
- Class Discussion
- Should I respec?
Should I respec?Follow
imo if healing is boring for you then respec. If you want to get better at healing you first do need to try a different way to heal. Flash of Light is actually the better way to go until Holy Light is needed, not waiting for Holy Light to be needed, or even using it early and getting overheals. Yes Flash is less healing, but it's very mana efficient and has a shorter cast time. Actual Holy Palys can give you more in-depth advice, but that would be the first thing to do is make Flash of Light your most used healing spell, not Holy Light.
I agree healing is boring, particularly for a Paladin as like you said we only have a few spells to cast, while Shaman, Priests, and Druids all have more spells and more variety. But, healing can get interesting on certain fights, particularly ones that you have to try and heal through area damage/multiple tanks, though I find those "perky moments" few and far between: which is why I am Prot :D
I agree healing is boring, particularly for a Paladin as like you said we only have a few spells to cast, while Shaman, Priests, and Druids all have more spells and more variety. But, healing can get interesting on certain fights, particularly ones that you have to try and heal through area damage/multiple tanks, though I find those "perky moments" few and far between: which is why I am Prot :D
I agree with Maulgak. If you find healing boring, then respec - I don't see much point in playing a game if you're not enjoying it.
That said, we'd be able to help you a lot more if you linked us your character so we could see where you've spent your talent points and what your gear is like. If you're decked out in bog-standard plate, you're going to struggle when healing - pre-TBC plate gear is, quite frankly, complete sh*te for holy pallies. My healing set pre-Outlands had almost no plate in it, because there were items that were far more suitable to healing in the other armour classes.
As for the healing spells, yes, holy pallies have a very limited selection. Flash of Light, Holy Light and Lay on Hands (plus Gift of the Naaru if you're draenei). I gather that you use HL as your main heal - this is a mistake. Even at 70, you will NEVER be able to spam HL without running out of mana. FoL is widely considered to be the most mana-efficient healing spell in the game, and it's a large part of the reason holy pallies can keep on going long after every other healer has gone OOM. Spamming FoL is what you'll be doing the vast majority of your time healing, just using it to keep everyone topped off - HL is there for when you need to deal with large damage spikes.
So if you'd like to keep healing, I'd suggest that first you change your strategy, and if we can't help you find a way around your difficulties, then perhaps a respec is on order. Healing is a demanding task and is definitely not everyone's cup of tea - perhaps you're simply one of those people who'd be better suited to one of the other roles WoW requires, like tanking.
*Edit: Meh, this was supposed to be in the original but I clicked post message instead of preview...
Healing isn't the only thing you bring to the table as a pally. There's also your auras and blessings, and things like your bubble and Divine Intervention. Properly selected blessings can be a HUGE asset to a group, improving everyone's performance and allowing things to run that much more smoothly. I can't remember the number of times my Blessing of Protection has saved a clothie's life, whether from overzealous damage dealing or simply by allowing them to AOE their way through bunches of non-elite trash without worrying about dying. And if there's another class who can resurrect in the group, using DI on them when things go pear-shaped can save the group a boring corpse run and you a little gold on your repair bill. It's not something you use all that often, but when you do pull it out, it can really save the day.
Edited, Nov 18th 2007 3:43pm by MetalM
That said, we'd be able to help you a lot more if you linked us your character so we could see where you've spent your talent points and what your gear is like. If you're decked out in bog-standard plate, you're going to struggle when healing - pre-TBC plate gear is, quite frankly, complete sh*te for holy pallies. My healing set pre-Outlands had almost no plate in it, because there were items that were far more suitable to healing in the other armour classes.
As for the healing spells, yes, holy pallies have a very limited selection. Flash of Light, Holy Light and Lay on Hands (plus Gift of the Naaru if you're draenei). I gather that you use HL as your main heal - this is a mistake. Even at 70, you will NEVER be able to spam HL without running out of mana. FoL is widely considered to be the most mana-efficient healing spell in the game, and it's a large part of the reason holy pallies can keep on going long after every other healer has gone OOM. Spamming FoL is what you'll be doing the vast majority of your time healing, just using it to keep everyone topped off - HL is there for when you need to deal with large damage spikes.
So if you'd like to keep healing, I'd suggest that first you change your strategy, and if we can't help you find a way around your difficulties, then perhaps a respec is on order. Healing is a demanding task and is definitely not everyone's cup of tea - perhaps you're simply one of those people who'd be better suited to one of the other roles WoW requires, like tanking.
*Edit: Meh, this was supposed to be in the original but I clicked post message instead of preview...
Healing isn't the only thing you bring to the table as a pally. There's also your auras and blessings, and things like your bubble and Divine Intervention. Properly selected blessings can be a HUGE asset to a group, improving everyone's performance and allowing things to run that much more smoothly. I can't remember the number of times my Blessing of Protection has saved a clothie's life, whether from overzealous damage dealing or simply by allowing them to AOE their way through bunches of non-elite trash without worrying about dying. And if there's another class who can resurrect in the group, using DI on them when things go pear-shaped can save the group a boring corpse run and you a little gold on your repair bill. It's not something you use all that often, but when you do pull it out, it can really save the day.
Edited, Nov 18th 2007 3:43pm by MetalM
Must agree with everyone else, even if you had the BEST gear ever, if you find healing boring, respec, thats it.
If you run out of mana real fast I recommend try getting straight out intel gear, even if it is cloth, of course still keep your plate for soloing, but as far as healing goes, since you are not supposed to get hit, cloth will be okay, IF it has better stats than your plate.
If you run out of mana real fast I recommend try getting straight out intel gear, even if it is cloth, of course still keep your plate for soloing, but as far as healing goes, since you are not supposed to get hit, cloth will be okay, IF it has better stats than your plate.
Holy is the worst possible build for leveling.
Either Ret or Prot will be infinitely better suited to getting to end game. Prot will level very smoothly and also allow you to tank, which is a nice change of pace especially if you have been healing.
Holy is a blast end game, their is gear that makes it rock and they are on of the best healers in the game. Lots of fun to play. However pre-lvl 60, in Vanilla WoW, Holy is bunk and there is no question about it. Yes people have leveled holy, there is a guy who leveled 1-70 with no gear, anything is doable, but it is by far the slowest and most grueling leveling a paladin can do.
Edited, Nov 19th 2007 10:26am by bodhisattva
Either Ret or Prot will be infinitely better suited to getting to end game. Prot will level very smoothly and also allow you to tank, which is a nice change of pace especially if you have been healing.
Holy is a blast end game, their is gear that makes it rock and they are on of the best healers in the game. Lots of fun to play. However pre-lvl 60, in Vanilla WoW, Holy is bunk and there is no question about it. Yes people have leveled holy, there is a guy who leveled 1-70 with no gear, anything is doable, but it is by far the slowest and most grueling leveling a paladin can do.
Edited, Nov 19th 2007 10:26am by bodhisattva
Bode - 100 Holy Paladin - Lightbringer
1st LoL at "Vanilla WoW'
2nd did the guy with no gear even have a weapon, and was he a Paladin? I honestly don't know how people can have that kind of patience just to prove a point.
I know a guy who played through the Final Fantasys and beat it all at level 1 or the equivelant, like playing through FFX without touching the sphere grid or getting better equipment.
2nd did the guy with no gear even have a weapon, and was he a Paladin? I honestly don't know how people can have that kind of patience just to prove a point.
I know a guy who played through the Final Fantasys and beat it all at level 1 or the equivelant, like playing through FFX without touching the sphere grid or getting better equipment.
Leveling as Holy is a choice. As others said - if you don't like healing, then change specs. If you want to learn healing, then take the advice of previous people.
Gear - get "of the Eagle" stuff. I had full Eagle plate sets, and did not have issues with mana. Never had to wear cloth.
Personally, I love healing. You basically save the group over and over and over - if you do your job right. I've had Pally healers wait until the tanks life was lower, and then start spamming Holy Light. This will not work. You go oom, and usually people die since you don't get that spell done in time.
Keep people topped off with Flash of Light, and only use Holy Light if their health drops too low. Also, make sure to keep Cleanse going as necessary (I don't kow why, but lots of healers seem to forget this part). There are a lot of debuffs that are DoT, and if you don't dispell them, then it is more for you to heal.
Also, don't forget to use Divine Favor and Divine Illumination. These are mana savers in longer fights, and the cooldowns are not very long.
I've healed all instances throughout leveling to 60, and the only times I had oom issues is when the group falls apart (i.e. clothie tries to tank, tank forgets to tank, bad pulls, patrols, etc... - PUG stuff). In those situations, I use a pot - or 2 pots if I have to.
Healing, for me, is fun. Probably because I've had so many bad healers in groups... :) I really like the fact when the group survives the whole instance, and knowing that I did my part.
Of course, I also have a mage and warrior alt - so I can play DPS or tank if I get the craving :)
Edited, Nov 19th 2007 12:44pm by YJMark
Gear - get "of the Eagle" stuff. I had full Eagle plate sets, and did not have issues with mana. Never had to wear cloth.
Personally, I love healing. You basically save the group over and over and over - if you do your job right. I've had Pally healers wait until the tanks life was lower, and then start spamming Holy Light. This will not work. You go oom, and usually people die since you don't get that spell done in time.
Keep people topped off with Flash of Light, and only use Holy Light if their health drops too low. Also, make sure to keep Cleanse going as necessary (I don't kow why, but lots of healers seem to forget this part). There are a lot of debuffs that are DoT, and if you don't dispell them, then it is more for you to heal.
Also, don't forget to use Divine Favor and Divine Illumination. These are mana savers in longer fights, and the cooldowns are not very long.
I've healed all instances throughout leveling to 60, and the only times I had oom issues is when the group falls apart (i.e. clothie tries to tank, tank forgets to tank, bad pulls, patrols, etc... - PUG stuff). In those situations, I use a pot - or 2 pots if I have to.
Healing, for me, is fun. Probably because I've had so many bad healers in groups... :) I really like the fact when the group survives the whole instance, and knowing that I did my part.
Of course, I also have a mage and warrior alt - so I can play DPS or tank if I get the craving :)
Edited, Nov 19th 2007 12:44pm by YJMark
Cevlakohn wrote:
I find that my mana can never keep up.. and after casting Holy Light just a few times I'm out of mana and having to Potion up, meanwhile my partymates start dying. On more than one occasion the Prot-specced pallies and the shamans have had to pick up healing after I lost mana, then asked me what was up after the melee was over. It's embarassing for me. And Flash of Light seems utterly worthless, with a really bad %healing per %mana-and-casttime compared to Holy Light.
Bolded the important part. You're using the wrong healing spell (Holy Light as opposed to Flash of Light). Flash of Light is your main healing spell.
In terms of a respec ... it's really up to you. A link to your armory profile might help posters give more useful advice though.
14 posts
It seems I never gave FoL the credit it's due... I'll try using that more often, then see how that goes. Thanks for the correction, and the advice.
Just to 2nd and 3rd a few of the points above...
>For levelling, Holy is a tough spec.
I did it all the way up to 70 the first time, and then through about 35 on my 2nd Pally before deciding I needed to see what I was missing and respeccing Ret. 5 levels into my Ret Levelling spec, things have been going infinately more smoothly. My gear is better simply by virtue of the fact that the itemization in 'Vanilla Wow' is much better for Warriors (which lends itself better to a Ret build) than Pallies. I dont have as much mana and my heals arent as strong... but I need to heal myself less than half as much because the mobs go down so much more quickly.
>Spamming FoL is more efficient than waiting for your bigger, longer casting heal.
I still get hung up on this on my Holy Pally, though (playing primarily in Arenas and 70 BGs) its simplly a matter of my +Healing being somewhat short and burst damage being high. FoL just delays the inevitable. HL usually takes about a tenth of a second longer to cast than my target survives. For PvE, instance bosses, etc, you can (dull though it might be) Bless the tank with Light and FoL, FoL, FoL, FoL, Cleanse, FoL... you'll be surprized at how well your party holds up. Try it. It may still be boring, but somehow plowing through an instance and landing some shinies makes the repetitiveness of healing easier to take.
Getting a bit deeper into the Holy tree will give you a couple more options as well.
>If youre healing in an instance, carry some Cloth/Leather gear with casting stats with you.
Standing back and healing, you shouldnt be taking more than the occasional hit. Basically, if you are, you can alternate between BoW (out of combat) and BoSalvation (in high threat situations) on yourself to avoid grabbing aggro. And, if you ever get in trouble, you have your handy little 'OH S#!%' button (Bubble). If youre still having a problem, someone isnt doing enough off tanking or CC.
Edited, Nov 20th 2007 12:15pm by soobooboo
Edited, Nov 20th 2007 12:17pm by soobooboo
>For levelling, Holy is a tough spec.
I did it all the way up to 70 the first time, and then through about 35 on my 2nd Pally before deciding I needed to see what I was missing and respeccing Ret. 5 levels into my Ret Levelling spec, things have been going infinately more smoothly. My gear is better simply by virtue of the fact that the itemization in 'Vanilla Wow' is much better for Warriors (which lends itself better to a Ret build) than Pallies. I dont have as much mana and my heals arent as strong... but I need to heal myself less than half as much because the mobs go down so much more quickly.
>Spamming FoL is more efficient than waiting for your bigger, longer casting heal.
I still get hung up on this on my Holy Pally, though (playing primarily in Arenas and 70 BGs) its simplly a matter of my +Healing being somewhat short and burst damage being high. FoL just delays the inevitable. HL usually takes about a tenth of a second longer to cast than my target survives. For PvE, instance bosses, etc, you can (dull though it might be) Bless the tank with Light and FoL, FoL, FoL, FoL, Cleanse, FoL... you'll be surprized at how well your party holds up. Try it. It may still be boring, but somehow plowing through an instance and landing some shinies makes the repetitiveness of healing easier to take.
Getting a bit deeper into the Holy tree will give you a couple more options as well.
>If youre healing in an instance, carry some Cloth/Leather gear with casting stats with you.
Standing back and healing, you shouldnt be taking more than the occasional hit. Basically, if you are, you can alternate between BoW (out of combat) and BoSalvation (in high threat situations) on yourself to avoid grabbing aggro. And, if you ever get in trouble, you have your handy little 'OH S#!%' button (Bubble). If youre still having a problem, someone isnt doing enough off tanking or CC.
Edited, Nov 20th 2007 12:15pm by soobooboo
Edited, Nov 20th 2007 12:17pm by soobooboo
Quote:
I still get hung up on this on my Holy Pally, though (playing primarily in Arenas and 70 BGs)
I have to agree with that. I find myself using HL much more often in PvP situations since burst damage cannot always be kept up with using FoL alone. Plus, you get targeted a lot in PvP so you have to run regularly and cannot chain FoL as much as you'd like.
In a PvE context, it's just a brilliant spell. With a good crit rate, spamming it will eventually make it crit enough times to catch up with the damage and maybe let you cast one HL to bring the tank back to full.
Recent Visitors: 104
All times are in CST
Anonymous Guests (104)
- Forums
- World of Warcraft
- Class Discussion
- Should I respec?
© 2024 Fanbyte LLC