Chamual wrote:
From what I understand, Sanctity aura and retribution aura are basically being combined so you will be using retribution aura all the time. Because aura's are now range based rather than group based you will be able to give imp.retri aura to the tanks for threat aswell as the increased DPS to all melee, so yes, go with the improved version of it when WotLK comes round (assuming dungeons\raids are on the agenda).
Although Retridins are apparently OP in the current beta (http://www.wowinsider.com/2008/08/09/hybrid-theory-state-of-pvp-in-the-wrath-beta/), they will probably be brought more inline and take the slot as a frontline support melee dps. The damage a retridin puts out will never be that of a rogue, but you have the ability to send a rogues DPS through the roof, aswell as drop emergany heals (think boomkin style) if in close proximity to them, and I'm sure they will start to love you for it. Raid harmony ftw :)
There are currently posts on the beta forum saying JoJ has been fixed. That was actually a few days ago.
As far as the off heal things.... yeah for once you're right. Sheath of Light is adding spell power from AP. Even in ret gear, you are currently able to pop decent size heals with a free HoT.
Here is one
Ret pally talking about it:
Quote:
The other night I was asked to heal for a Nexus group (still 70) and I was specced ret still for solo grinding. I slapped on my t6 holy suit but decided not to spec holy this time and was fairly surprised with the results...
I was able to heal FAR better while specced ret than I ever could as holy on live. Even more baffling however was the fact that my heals were hitting very close to the same numbers as they were while speccing holy in beta; and while I found this very useful, I think it's a bit much.
There are a few reasons for this:
1) This may scale differently end game at lvl 80, however the 12% bonus healing to HL and FoL received through the Healing Light talent is almost entirely negated by the additional spell power gained by Sheath of Light--and how strange is it that I buff myself with imp Might to heal more effectively?
2) The need for the Illumination talent is Completely negated by virtue of Judgement of the Wise. I only had to judge once every 45 seconds or less to keep my mana more than topped off.
3) with a 30% crit rate and another 5% from the t6 bonus the tank had a HoT uptime of near 50-75% during combat via Sheath of Light. With an average HL crit of 8.5k(without wings), that free 5k HoT over 12 seconds is pretty substantial in my opinion; infact more than my t6 priest can pump out of a renew, and it's damn near always ticking if need be. In this aspect it starts to outshine even full Holy in terms of single target HPS.
4) Increased spell haste via Swift Retribution. With this and some haste gear my HL was down to 2.02. This doesn't completely negate Light's Grace but it sure does close the gap, and makes FoL even more potent.. oh and then I grouped with an elemental shaman with 10% more haste. Insanity, FoL 1.19s and .9 a few times when my trinket procced.
While the new and improved Holy shock / infusion of light definitely adds a whole new dimension to our ability to heal, I've found it completely unecessary with the amount of healing per second I was able to pump out as ret. The instant Holy Lights are awesome and all but you can only garantee one once every two minutes. The rest of the time is a grab bag that never seems to sway in your favor when you Really need it to. And don't even get me started on Beacon of Light :)
Here's where I see the biggest flaw. I've since continued my ret healing spree and quite honestly, it's FAR MORE FUN than holy. Now I can CC while healing, I get large judgement crits and huge mana returns. I can run into the fray with wings while my crit HoTs are ticking and hit divine storm and watch shiny hammers fly out of my ***** and vindicate all the mobs too.
-waldir