Mists of Pandaria Holy Paladin Guide
Reference: Heavily based on Wowhead.
Source:
1. Characteristics of MoP Holy Paladin
Tank Healer: Strong single target healing via Beacon of Light + Eternal Flame.
Absorb Healer: The only class that can rival a Discipline Priest's shields.
Max MP is fixed by Level: (Common to all classes).
It is no longer affected by Intellect. Spirit becomes crucial for mana management.
2. Changes from Cataclysm
Holy Power: Stacks up to 5 (Max usage is still 3).
Holy Radiance: AoE healing reduced. HoT (Heal over Time) removed.
Light of Dawn: Now heals targets within 30 meters around the caster, not a frontal cone.
Aura Mastery: Changed to Devotion Aura. It is now a Raid Cooldown that reduces all damage taken by 20%.
Divine Plea: No healing reduction penalty; restores mana proportional to Spirit.
Guardian of Ancient Kings: Grants an additional 10% Haste for the duration.
Crusader Strike: Applies a debuff reducing Physical Damage taken by the target by 10%.
Note: Initially thought not to generate Holy Power for Holy spec, but it does generate it!
Turn Evil: Added a 15-second cooldown.
Blessing of Might: Changed to increase Mastery.
Blessing of Kings: Resistance effects removed (The concept of Resistance does not exist in MoP).
Repentance: Changed to a Talent skill.
Crusader Aura: (Mount speed +20%) Changed to a personal passive. (Not an aura anymore, applies only to self).
Divine Protection: Changed to reduce Magic Damage by 40%. (Can be changed to 20% Physical / 20% Magic reduction via Glyph).
Talents: Revamped; effects from the old talent trees are now included in base spell effects.
Blinding Light: (Learned at Lv. 87): Also known as "Flashbang." An AoE Disorient CC.
3. MoP Holy Paladin Stat Priority
1) Intellect
Affects Spell Power and Spell Critical Strike. In Pandaria, Intellect does not affect Max MP. Basic mana regeneration still increases in proportion to the square root of Intellect.
2) Spirit
Since Intellect no longer increases Max MP—nerfing mana sustain—the value of Spirit rises relatively.
If you are running out of mana, it may be necessary to wear gear with high Spirit, even if it means sacrificing some Intellect.
However, once you have enough mana, the value of Spirit drops, so you must find the "appropriate amount."
3) Haste Cap (Breakpoints)
Reduces cast time and GCD (Global Cooldown). Additionally, it reduces the cooldowns of Holy Shock and Judgment. Depending on your Level 45 Talent choice, you need to aim for the following Haste Caps to maximize skill efficiency.
(Assuming Player Lv. 90 + 5% Spell Haste Raid Buff)
3,506: Eternal Flame +1 tick
4,250: Light's Hammer +1 tick
5,335: Sacred Shield +1 tick
7,170: Eternal Flame +2 ticks
8,500: Light's Hammer +2 ticks
10,867: Eternal Flame +3 ticks
4) Mastery (Illuminated Healing)
Due to the powerful shields of Discipline Priests, the effect of Mastery—which allows you to secure "effective healing"—becomes important. Mastery is essential if you want to climb the healing meters.
5) Critical Strike
In Pandaria, where absorbs/shields dominate the meta, Critical Strike often results in high Overhealing, making it a less desirable stat.
4. MoP Holy Paladin Talents (Important)
This system has been massively overhauled and is a crucial factor influencing your healing style. With the introduction of the Specialization system (choosing Holy/Protection/Retribution), the talent tree has been simplified.
All specializations now share the same talent choices.
Most "spell enhancement" effects from the old talent trees have been incorporated into the base effects of the spells.
You choose one of three talents at each Tier, which unlocks every 15 levels.
1) Level 15: Movement Speed
Speed of Light: Used in most cases.
If adding another active skill is burdensome, consider the other options.
2) Level 30: Crowd Control (CC)
Fist of Justice: Raids usually take this (Stun enhancement).
Repentance: Used as needed.
This tier is likely more of a dilemma for PvP players.
3) ★ Level 45 ★: The Most Important Tier for Healing Style
You should not keep this fixed; you must change it according to the raid situation.
Selfless Healer: Stacked Raid AoE Healing
Grants Holy Power on Judgment usage. Enables a cycle of Holy Shock → Judgment → Holy Radiance → Light of Dawn.
Optimized for multi-target healing in stacked groups. Relatively advantageous for mana management.
Usually useful in easy raids where there is no fierce competition for healing (low "healing parse" pressure).
★ Eternal Flame ★: Main Healing Talent for MoP Holy Paladin
Enhances Word of Glory and adds a whopping 30-second HoT (Heal over Time). (Instant heal on target + 30s HoT).
This HoT transfers to the Beacon of Light target!
Spreading Eternal Flame across the raid to cover AoE healing + Tank healing is the core playstyle of MoP Holy Paladin.
The Eternal Flame HoT scales with Mastery!
Haste Soft Caps (Lv 90, 5% Raid Haste): 3,506 (+1 tick), 7,170 (+2 ticks).
Sacred Shield: Adds an extra Shield!
The Sacred Shield from the Lich King era returns.
Holy Paladins can maintain this shield on up to 3 targets. Useful when there are multiple active tanks.
Haste Soft Cap (Lv 90, 5% Raid Haste): 5,335.
(Detailed explanation provided below in the stats section)
4) Level 60: Utility Enhancement
Clemency: Primarily used. Allows Hand of Sacrifice to be used twice consecutively.
Other talents may be used in specific situations.
5) ★ Level 75 ★: Healing Cooldown Enhancement
High synergy with Level 45 talents. Choices may vary depending on the boss.
★ Holy Avenger ★: Best choice in most cases.
A powerful talent usually selected.
It is valuable simply because it adds another major cooldown.
Rotation: Holy Avenger (2m CD) → Divine Favor (3m CD) → Avenging Wrath (3m CD) → Guardian of Ancient Kings (3m CD).
Used when significant burst healing is required.
Sanctified Wrath: Enhances Avenging Wrath.
Used by Retribution and Protection. Not really for Holy.
Divine Purpose: Free Word of Glory / Light of Dawn
Used if adding another active skill (Holy Avenger) is too burdensome.
Helps with consistent throughput increase but is heavily reliant on RNG (Luck).
Proc chance varies based on the number of Holy Power spent. No need to spam 1-HP finishers unnecessarily.
Also helpful for mana management.
6) ★ Level 90 ★: New Healing Spells
Choose between Holy Prism and Light's Hammer based on raid size or positioning (Stacked vs. Spread). Execution Sentence is used in specific situations like the Tsulong encounter.
Holy Prism: Small scale raids or Spread formation.
Target Enemy: Deals damage to target and shoots healing beams to 5 allies within 15 yards (approx. 20m in text).
Target Ally: Heals target and shoots damage beams to 5 enemies within 15 yards.
Primarily used by targeting the Boss to heal 5 allies.
Short cooldown makes it very efficient if used on timing.
Useful for bosses with constant AoE damage or heavy spread situations.
Light's Hammer: Stacked formation.
Place a hammer on the ground to heal allies within the area.
High efficiency in stacked formations and against AoE damage.
Great for AoE pulls in 5-man dungeons or 25-man stacked strategies.
5. Glyphs
Major Glyphs: Glyph of Hand of Sacrifice, Glyph of Divinity (Mana on Lay on Hands), Glyph of Beacon of Light.
Minor Glyphs: Glyph of Righteous Retreat (Faster Hearthstone), Glyph of Bladed Judgment (Visual), Glyph of Winged Vengeance (Visual).
6. Healing Rotation
Compared to Cataclysm, there aren't many major changes to healing skills. The only significant difference is that the multi-target healing amount of Holy Radiance has been cut in half.
The Basic Healing Cycle is as follows:
Maintain Seal of Insight.
Keep Beacon of Light on the target taking the most damage (Main Tank).
When you have 3~5 Holy Power (or 3 if Holy Avenger is active), use Eternal Flame, Light of Dawn, or Word of Glory.
Use Holy Shock on cooldown. (If using Selfless Healer, use Judgment on cooldown as well).
Depending on the situation, use Holy Radiance (AoE), Divine Light, Flash of Light, or Holy Light.
This cycle varies depending on your Level 45, 75, and 90 Talents.
Level 45 Talents: Changes in Healing Style
Selfless Healer: Good for stacked raid AoE healing. Advantageous for parses (healing meters) due to absorb amounts.
Eternal Flame: Performs well for both Tank healing and Raid multi-target healing. This is the standard playstyle for MoP Holy Paladins.
Sacred Shield: Adds a tank shielding skill. Easy to control, but performance is slightly lacking.
Level 75 Talents: Changes in Cooldown Management
Holy Avenger: Adds a 2-minute healing amplifier. Can significantly increase throughput depending on usage.
Divine Purpose: Passive, so it's easy to use. Has great synergy with Eternal Flame.
Level 90 Talents: Utilizing New Active Skills
Holy Prism: Especially advantageous in 5-10 man groups, or 25-man raids with Spread positioning.
Light's Hammer: Advantageous in 25-man raids, especially with Stacked positioning.
1) ★ Eternal Flame ★: The Standard MoP Holy Paladin Style
Select Eternal Flame at Level 45. Word of Glory is replaced by Eternal Flame.
Playstyle: Generate Holy Power and blanket raid members evenly with the 30-second Eternal Flame HoT (Heal over Time).
Mechanism: Since the Eternal Flame HoT transfers to the Beacon of Light target, this provides a constant stream of base healing to the Tank.
Important: You MUST add the "Eternal Flame" HoT to your Raid Frames!
WeakAura for tracking Eternal Flame duration on Raid Frames:
