Holy
- For raids take the 23/0/28 Champion Healer; for 5-mans go deep Holy with Light’s Vigil. Consensus
- That split only works if Champion of the LightChampion of the LightIncreases your spell damage and healing by up to 33% of your Intellect.Requires 25 points in RetributionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. converts 100% of Intellect at rank 3, and only rank 1 has been read. Most of the channel expects it to lose its healing half, and “28 Ret” is not expected to survive a live-service game. Consensus
- The beta opened September 17 at level 20 with the Holy tree unchanged from the demo. Light’s Vigil’s tooltip there costs 1,340 mana, and the 75% refund is only for the enemy version. Confirmed
- Downranking works in the beta: rank 1 and rank 2 heals cost different mana. Holy Light is 40 yards. Confirmed
- Whether the Vigil party heal is credited to you, and so refunds through IlluminationIlluminationAfter getting a critical effect from your Flash of Light, Holy Light, Light's Vigil, or Holy Shock heal spell you have a 40% chance to gain Mana equal to 50% of the base cost of the spell.Requires 15 points in Holy · Requires 3 points in ReverenceMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 2 text., is the new open question. One person
- The datamined Holy tier bonuses (10 Spirit, a shorter Blessing of Protection, 26 healing, a second off Holy ShockHoly Shock160 Mana | Instant | Enemy: 20 yd range | Friendly: 40 yd range | 10 sec cooldownBlasts the target with Holy energy, causing 129 to 139 Holy damage to an enemy, or 110 to 118 healing to an ally.Requires 20 points in HolyAll ranks read from demo footage.) are read as placeholders. One person
- Spell power plate seen so far is mostly Strength and spell power, with little Intellect. Champion Healers should notice. One person
Which build should I use?
- Raids: Champion Healer, 23/0/28. No group heal, 12 dead Ret points, dies to one nerf.
- If Champion of the LightChampion of the LightIncreases your spell damage and healing by up to 33% of your Intellect.Requires 25 points in RetributionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. gets nerfed: Vigil Raid Healer, 31/0/20.
- PvP: Arena Vigil, 31/18/2, for Vigil burst and a shorter bubble cooldown.
- Shockadin from this channel: a 23/0/28 with Divine PrecisionDivine PrecisionIncreases your chance to hit with Holy spells by 6%.Requires 20 points in Holy · Requires 1 point in Holy ShockMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. 2/3 and ReverenceReverenceAllows 30% of your Mana regeneration to continue while casting.Requires 10 points in HolyThis rank read from footage; other ranks estimated., posted as the answer to “how do I fit the hit talent”. It is on the Retribution page with the other Shock builds.
- Two Champion Healer variants exist and both are judged worse than the base build.
All Holy builds with links, verdicts and trees
| Build | Split | Link | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Champion Healer Consensus | 23/0/28 | open | Best raid healing on paper if Champion of the LightChampion of the LightIncreases your spell damage and healing by up to 33% of your Intellect.Requires 25 points in RetributionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. is 100% of Intellect. No group heal, 12 dead Ret points, dies to one nerf. |
| Vigil Raid Healer Consensus | 31/0/20 | open | Full Holy plus BenedictionBenedictionReduces the Mana cost of all instant cast spells and abilities by 10%.This rank read from footage; other ranks estimated. and Sanctified JudgementSanctified JudgementGives your Judgement ability a 100% chance to return 60% of the Mana cost of the judged seal.Requires 10 points in RetributionThis rank read from footage; other ranks estimated.. The hedge if Champion of the LightChampion of the LightIncreases your spell damage and healing by up to 33% of your Intellect.Requires 25 points in RetributionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. gets nerfed, and the only raid build with a group heal. |
| Arena Vigil One person | 31/18/2 | open | PvP: Vigil burst, 30 seconds off the bubble cooldown, 45-second Hammer of Justice, skips IlluminationIlluminationAfter getting a critical effect from your Flash of Light, Holy Light, Light's Vigil, or Holy Shock heal spell you have a 40% chance to gain Mana equal to 50% of the base cost of the spell.Requires 15 points in Holy · Requires 3 points in ReverenceMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 2 text.. |
| Champion Healer, Strike variant One person | 23/0/28 | open | Posted September 15 as “the play for raids”, with deep Holy assumed for 5-mans. The channel’s reply: it looks like a tank-healing spec. Against the base build it trades Voice of TruthVoice of TruthInstant | 3 min cooldownGrants you immunity to Silence and Interrupt effects. Lasts 6 sec.Requires 10 points in HolyAll ranks read from demo footage. and Purifying PowerPurifying PowerReduces the mana cost of your Cleanse and Purify spells by 20% and reduces the cooldown of your Exorcism and Holy Wrath spells by 33%.Requires 10 points in HolyThis rank read from footage; other ranks estimated. for Improved Holy StrikeImproved Holy StrikeReduces the cooldown of your Holy Strike ability by 1 sec.Max rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text., and ConvictionConvictionIncreases your chance to get a critical strike with melee attacks by 1%.Requires 5 points in RetributionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. 3 plus Eye for an EyeEye for an EyeAll critical strikes against you cause 5% of the damage taken to the attacker as well. The damage caused by Eye for an Eye will not exceed 50% of the Paladin's total health.Requires 15 points in RetributionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. for Improved JudgementImproved JudgementDecreases the cooldown of your Judgement ability by 2 sec.Requires 5 points in RetributionAll ranks read from demo footage. and VindicationVindicationGives your damaging melee attacks a chance to reduce the target's Attack Power by 42, and increase your Attack Power by 1% for 30 sec.Requires 10 points in RetributionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text.. |
| Hit-Capped Shockadin One person | 23/0/28 | open | Posted September 17 on Wowhead’s calculator as “something like this” for a Ret-leaning Shockadin that wants hit. Divine PrecisionDivine PrecisionIncreases your chance to hit with Holy spells by 6%.Requires 20 points in Holy · Requires 1 point in Holy ShockMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. 2/3, ReverenceReverenceAllows 30% of your Mana regeneration to continue while casting.Requires 10 points in HolyThis rank read from footage; other ranks estimated., Divine FavorDivine Favor37 Mana | Instant | 2 min cooldownWhen activated, gives your next Flash of Light, Holy Light, or Holy Shock spell a 100% critical effect chance.Requires 15 points in HolyAll ranks read from demo footage. and Holy ShockHoly Shock160 Mana | Instant | Enemy: 20 yd range | Friendly: 40 yd range | 10 sec cooldownBlasts the target with Holy energy, causing 129 to 139 Holy damage to an enemy, or 110 to 118 healing to an ally.Requires 20 points in HolyAll ranks read from demo footage.; Ret takes Two-Handed Weapon SpecializationTwo-Handed Weapon SpecializationIncreases the damage you deal with two-handed melee weapons by 3%.Requires 20 points in RetributionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. 2/3 and CrusadeCrusadeIncreases all damage dealt by 1%. Increased by an additional 1% against Demon and Undead targets.Requires 15 points in RetributionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. over VindicationVindicationGives your damaging melee attacks a chance to reduce the target's Attack Power by 42, and increase your Attack Power by 1% for 30 sec.Requires 10 points in RetributionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text.. The reasoning: 9% melee hit and 18% spell hit are the caps, 2/3 covers 12%, gear and weapon skill do the rest, and 3/3 “is bad”. Converted from Wowhead. |
Two variants of the Champion Healer float around: one drops Infusion of LightInfusion of LightYour Holy Shock and Flash of Light critical hits reduce the cast time of your next Holy Light cast within 15 sec by 1.0 sec.Requires 15 points in HolyThis rank read from footage; other ranks estimated. for fear reduction, one maxes Infusion of LightInfusion of LightYour Holy Shock and Flash of Light critical hits reduce the cast time of your next Holy Light cast within 15 sec by 1.0 sec.Requires 15 points in HolyThis rank read from footage; other ranks estimated. but drops Divine FavorDivine Favor37 Mana | Instant | 2 min cooldownWhen activated, gives your next Flash of Light, Holy Light, or Holy Shock spell a 100% critical effect chance.Requires 15 points in HolyAll ranks read from demo footage.. Both are judged worse than the base build. Both are on the builds page as builds 2 and 3.
The working split as of September 17: 23/0/28 for raids, deep Holy for 5-mans. One person’s count: 23/0/28 with Champion of the LightChampion of the LightIncreases your spell damage and healing by up to 33% of your Intellect.Requires 25 points in RetributionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. 3/3, or 24/0/27 with 2/3. “To get Champion of the LightChampion of the LightIncreases your spell damage and healing by up to 33% of your Intellect.Requires 25 points in RetributionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. you’re not really a Holy paladin anymore, you’re 28 points into Ret” got the most agreement of anything said on September 16, and on September 17 “the fact we are even talking about 28 Ret is insane” got the same, with the reply that there is “a very low chance 28 Ret lasts long in a live-service game”. Several add that leveling dungeons will be done as a Ret-leaning Shockadin, so nobody will have Light’s Vigil before 60. A calculator note: wowforevertalents shows IlluminationIlluminationAfter getting a critical effect from your Flash of Light, Holy Light, Light's Vigil, or Holy Shock heal spell you have a 40% chance to gain Mana equal to 50% of the base cost of the spell.Requires 15 points in Holy · Requires 3 points in ReverenceMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 2 text. as a prerequisite for Divine FavorDivine Favor37 Mana | Instant | 2 min cooldownWhen activated, gives your next Flash of Light, Holy Light, or Holy Shock spell a 100% critical effect chance.Requires 15 points in HolyAll ranks read from demo footage. and talentsforever does not; the channel’s advice is to use Wowhead’s calculator, which now has the beta data.
Champion Healer to Vigil Raid Healer, the respec if Champion of the LightChampion of the LightIncreases your spell damage and healing by up to 33% of your Intellect.Requires 25 points in RetributionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. is nerfed. Each cell shows current points and what they become.
Arena Vigil (PvP)
Champion Healer, Strike variant
Hit-Capped Shockadin
How healing plays
- Flash of Light and Holy ShockHoly Shock160 Mana | Instant | Enemy: 20 yd range | Friendly: 40 yd range | 10 sec cooldownBlasts the target with Holy energy, causing 129 to 139 Holy damage to an enemy, or 110 to 118 healing to an ally.Requires 20 points in HolyAll ranks read from demo footage. fish for crits; a crit makes the next Holy Light faster through Infusion of LightInfusion of LightYour Holy Shock and Flash of Light critical hits reduce the cast time of your next Holy Light cast within 15 sec by 1.0 sec.Requires 15 points in HolyThis rank read from footage; other ranks estimated..
- Divine FavorDivine Favor37 Mana | Instant | 2 min cooldownWhen activated, gives your next Flash of Light, Holy Light, or Holy Shock spell a 100% critical effect chance.Requires 15 points in HolyAll ranks read from demo footage. guarantees the next crit and so the next Infusion of LightInfusion of LightYour Holy Shock and Flash of Light critical hits reduce the cast time of your next Holy Light cast within 15 sec by 1.0 sec.Requires 15 points in HolyThis rank read from footage; other ranks estimated. proc.
- Keep Judgement of Wisdom on the boss; it no longer eats your seal.
- Light’s Vigil goes on an ally, then Holy ShockHoly Shock160 Mana | Instant | Enemy: 20 yd range | Friendly: 40 yd range | 10 sec cooldownBlasts the target with Holy energy, causing 129 to 139 Holy damage to an enemy, or 110 to 118 healing to an ally.Requires 20 points in HolyAll ranks read from demo footage. them to heal their whole party.
- On an enemy, Light’s Vigil makes your Holy ShockHoly Shock160 Mana | Instant | Enemy: 20 yd range | Friendly: 40 yd range | 10 sec cooldownBlasts the target with Holy energy, causing 129 to 139 Holy damage to an enemy, or 110 to 118 healing to an ally.Requires 20 points in HolyAll ranks read from demo footage. refund most of its cost. Read from demo
- Downranking is in: rank 1 and rank 2 of the same heal cost different mana in the beta. Confirmed
The loop in detail, with demo numbers
What the beta added on September 17. The Holy tree is unchanged from the demo at level 10. Holy Light is 40 yards. Ranks exist and cost differently (one screenshot showed 35 and 60 mana for two ranks of a heal), so downranking survives, though one person expects Blizzard to reduce the healing power scaling of downranked spells and another points out paladins never downranked Flash of Light anyway. The Light’s Vigil tooltip from the beta files reads 1,340 mana, against 730 on the demo screenshot; “there’s no way that’s worth 1,300 mana” was the reaction, and “how did they not clean up the wording”. A cooldown manager exists as an option in the default UI. At level 2 the game handed one tester a heal that vanished on relog, which looks like a bug.
- Core loop: Flash of Light and Holy ShockHoly Shock160 Mana | Instant | Enemy: 20 yd range | Friendly: 40 yd range | 10 sec cooldownBlasts the target with Holy energy, causing 129 to 139 Holy damage to an enemy, or 110 to 118 healing to an ally.Requires 20 points in HolyAll ranks read from demo footage. to fish for crits. A crit on either makes the next Holy Light cast faster through Infusion of LightInfusion of LightYour Holy Shock and Flash of Light critical hits reduce the cast time of your next Holy Light cast within 15 sec by 1.0 sec.Requires 15 points in HolyThis rank read from footage; other ranks estimated. (0.5 seconds per rank, up to 1 second). Holy Light is a 2.5-second cast at base, so this is what makes it usable mid-fight.
- Divine FavorDivine Favor37 Mana | Instant | 2 min cooldownWhen activated, gives your next Flash of Light, Holy Light, or Holy Shock spell a 100% critical effect chance.Requires 15 points in HolyAll ranks read from demo footage. guarantees a crit on the next Flash, Holy Light or Holy ShockHoly Shock160 Mana | Instant | Enemy: 20 yd range | Friendly: 40 yd range | 10 sec cooldownBlasts the target with Holy energy, causing 129 to 139 Holy damage to an enemy, or 110 to 118 healing to an ally.Requires 20 points in HolyAll ranks read from demo footage., which also guarantees an Infusion of LightInfusion of LightYour Holy Shock and Flash of Light critical hits reduce the cast time of your next Holy Light cast within 15 sec by 1.0 sec.Requires 15 points in HolyThis rank read from footage; other ranks estimated. proc.
- Judgement of Wisdom stays up on the boss without consuming your seal. Sanctified JudgementSanctified JudgementGives your Judgement ability a 100% chance to return 60% of the Mana cost of the judged seal.Requires 10 points in RetributionThis rank read from footage; other ranks estimated. in Ret refunds most of the seal’s cost when you judge.
- Holy ShockHoly Shock160 Mana | Instant | Enemy: 20 yd range | Friendly: 40 yd range | 10 sec cooldownBlasts the target with Holy energy, causing 129 to 139 Holy damage to an enemy, or 110 to 118 healing to an ally.Requires 20 points in HolyAll ranks read from demo footage. is a 10-second cooldown, down from 30, and still 20 yards. Read from demo
- Light’s Vigil (31-point capstone): cast on an ally (1.5 seconds, 730 to 750 mana on the demo screenshot, 1,340 on the beta tooltip), then Holy ShockHoly Shock160 Mana | Instant | Enemy: 20 yd range | Friendly: 40 yd range | 10 sec cooldownBlasts the target with Holy energy, causing 129 to 139 Holy damage to an enemy, or 110 to 118 healing to an ally.Requires 20 points in HolyAll ranks read from demo footage. them. The Shock doesn’t trigger its cooldown and the target’s whole party is healed for about 315 to 333 at rank 1. One Vigil per paladin per party, 30-second duration, a 6-second cooldown on applying it. You can pre-load one in each party and chain four Shocks. The application itself heals nothing; the Vigil heal is the party heal, and it can crit. The tooltip as re-read on September 17: “Applies Light’s Vigil to the target for 30 sec. Your next Holy ShockHoly Shock160 Mana | Instant | Enemy: 20 yd range | Friendly: 40 yd range | 10 sec cooldownBlasts the target with Holy energy, causing 129 to 139 Holy damage to an enemy, or 110 to 118 healing to an ally.Requires 20 points in HolyAll ranks read from demo footage. cast on them triggers no cooldown and causes friendly targets to heal their party for 324, or enemy targets to suffer 182 Holy damage and refund 75% of Light’s Vigil’s Mana cost. You may only have 1 Light’s Vigil active per Paladin, per party.”
- Light’s Vigil on an enemy: single-target damage plus a 75% refund of Vigil’s cost when your Holy ShockHoly Shock160 Mana | Instant | Enemy: 20 yd range | Friendly: 40 yd range | 10 sec cooldownBlasts the target with Holy energy, causing 129 to 139 Holy damage to an enemy, or 110 to 118 healing to an ally.Requires 20 points in HolyAll ranks read from demo footage. hits a Vigil’d enemy. The healing is party-wide, the damage is not; that was re-argued and settled the same way on September 17. Nobody has tested it. Read from demo
- Who gets credit for the Vigil heal? “Causes friendly targets to heal their party” reads to some like the target casts it, the way Lifebloom’s bloom and Prayer of Mending count for the target. If so, IlluminationIlluminationAfter getting a critical effect from your Flash of Light, Holy Light, Light's Vigil, or Holy Shock heal spell you have a 40% chance to gain Mana equal to 50% of the base cost of the spell.Requires 15 points in Holy · Requires 3 points in ReverenceMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 2 text. would not refund on Vigil crits. Against that: IlluminationIlluminationAfter getting a critical effect from your Flash of Light, Holy Light, Light's Vigil, or Holy Shock heal spell you have a 40% chance to gain Mana equal to 50% of the base cost of the spell.Requires 15 points in Holy · Requires 3 points in ReverenceMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 2 text.’s tooltip names Light’s Vigil, so the mechanic would be pointless. One person’s split: the refund probably applies to the Shock on the Vigil target, not the party heal, and a 250% refund for five crits was never on the table. The best hope offered is to batch Divine FavorDivine Favor37 Mana | Instant | 2 min cooldownWhen activated, gives your next Flash of Light, Holy Light, or Holy Shock spell a 100% critical effect chance.Requires 15 points in HolyAll ranks read from demo footage., Light’s Vigil and Holy ShockHoly Shock160 Mana | Instant | Enemy: 20 yd range | Friendly: 40 yd range | 10 sec cooldownBlasts the target with Holy energy, causing 129 to 139 Holy damage to an enemy, or 110 to 118 healing to an ally.Requires 20 points in HolyAll ranks read from demo footage. so the guaranteed crit carries into the party heal. One person
Key talents and how the channel values them
- IlluminationIlluminationAfter getting a critical effect from your Flash of Light, Holy Light, Light's Vigil, or Holy Shock heal spell you have a 40% chance to gain Mana equal to 50% of the base cost of the spell.Requires 15 points in Holy · Requires 3 points in ReverenceMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 2 text. now returns 50% of base cost on a crit heal at max rank. Read from demo Half of Classic’s value. Its tooltip lists Light’s Vigil among the spells it applies to (screenshot). A Vigil that heals 5 targets at about 20% crit will almost always refund something, and with Holy PowerHoly PowerIncreases the critical strike chance of your Holy Shock spell by 3%, and all other spells by 1%.Requires 25 points in HolyMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text.’s 15% Holy ShockHoly Shock160 Mana | Instant | Enemy: 20 yd range | Friendly: 40 yd range | 10 sec cooldownBlasts the target with Holy energy, causing 129 to 139 Holy damage to an enemy, or 110 to 118 healing to an ally.Requires 20 points in HolyAll ranks read from demo footage. crit the chance approaches 50% if that crit applies to the Vigil heal. Whether crit is rolled per target, like Circle of Healing with the Eye of Gruul, is unknown. Several want IlluminationIlluminationAfter getting a critical effect from your Flash of Light, Holy Light, Light's Vigil, or Holy Shock heal spell you have a 40% chance to gain Mana equal to 50% of the base cost of the spell.Requires 15 points in Holy · Requires 3 points in ReverenceMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 2 text. back to 100%; one Ret-channel view is that 50 to 60% is fine.
- ReverenceReverenceAllows 30% of your Mana regeneration to continue while casting.Requires 10 points in HolyThis rank read from footage; other ranks estimated.: 30% of mana regen continues while casting, versus about 50% for priests, druids and shamans. Paladin plate has never had Spirit. The most-requested deletion in the channel: several want it replaced with Intellect as mp5.
- Infusion of LightInfusion of LightYour Holy Shock and Flash of Light critical hits reduce the cast time of your next Holy Light cast within 15 sec by 1.0 sec.Requires 15 points in HolyThis rank read from footage; other ranks estimated.: the change everyone likes.
- Holy PowerHoly PowerIncreases the critical strike chance of your Holy Shock spell by 3%, and all other spells by 1%.Requires 25 points in HolyMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text.: +15% Holy ShockHoly Shock160 Mana | Instant | Enemy: 20 yd range | Friendly: 40 yd range | 10 sec cooldownBlasts the target with Holy energy, causing 129 to 139 Holy damage to an enemy, or 110 to 118 healing to an ally.Requires 20 points in HolyAll ranks read from demo footage. crit and +5% for all spells at 5/5. Skipped by the 23/0/28 builds. Matters more if it applies to the Vigil heal.
- Champion of the LightChampion of the LightIncreases your spell damage and healing by up to 33% of your Intellect.Requires 25 points in RetributionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. (Ret, deep): “up to 33% of Intellect” as spell damage and healing at rank 1. Read from demo Whether rank 3 is 100% is the single most important unknown for this spec. The September 16 read across three channels: it is an outlier among every class’s new talents and “definitely getting nerfed to be just damage and not healing” (several). Nobody could answer how removing the healing half would hurt Ret, the tree it lives in. Where it should go: the Holy tree (several), replaced entirely (one), or in place of ReverenceReverenceAllows 30% of your Mana regeneration to continue while casting.Requires 10 points in HolyThis rank read from footage; other ranks estimated. as an mp5 talent (one). Consensus One person ran Era gear through a vanilla sim prioritizing Intellect and spell damage and got 742 spell power, 354 Intellect and 161 from Judgement of the Crusader, or 1,257 holy damage with world buffs off. Another expects a rank 7 Holy Light to hit “a little under 2,000” fully raid buffed with the talent at 3/3, and that to be the go-to rank. Both are napkin math. One person A Shockadin with a video pending says the talent beats Light’s Vigil for damage because Vigil’s cast clips auto attacks. “You can get like 250 holy spell damage at level 30” is the leveling pitch.
- BenedictionBenedictionReduces the Mana cost of all instant cast spells and abilities by 10%.This rank read from footage; other ranks estimated. (Ret): 10% off all instants, including Holy ShockHoly Shock160 Mana | Instant | Enemy: 20 yd range | Friendly: 40 yd range | 10 sec cooldownBlasts the target with Holy energy, causing 129 to 139 Holy damage to an enemy, or 110 to 118 healing to an ally.Requires 20 points in HolyAll ranks read from demo footage., Judgement, seals, blessings and Cleanse. The best filler talent for any Holy build that dips Ret.
- Sacred ArbiterSacred ArbiterIncreases the damage of your Holy Strike ability by 10% and causes it to refresh all Judgement effects on the target.Requires 15 points in RetributionAll ranks read from demo footage. (Ret): Holy Strike refreshes your judgements. One person’s worry: Holy paladins end up as “the judgement refresh slave” pressing Holy Strike between heals.
- Lay on Hands: 20-minute cooldown, heals for your max health and restores 250 mana, drains your mana.
Gearing and stats
- Bonus healing now includes one third as much bonus damage. Caster weapons carry spell damage and healing.
- Human is the stat pick on Alliance (+2% spell crit, +5% Spirit). Undead is the only Horde option. One person is leaning Dwarf.
- Expect plate healing gear with Spirit; the channel expects to still want cloth and leather pieces.
- A Champion Healer wears Ret’s Strength and Intellect plate; the Ret channel’s read is that Holy “can just wear Ret Intellect and Strength gear and do everything”. One person who watched the demo closely saw mostly spell power and Strength plate with little Intellect, a small sample, though an epic two-hander with Strength, Intellect and spell power was shown.
- Datamined Holy tier set, Justice Armor: 10 Spirit at two pieces, 30 seconds off Blessing of Protection at three, 26 healing and 9 spell damage at four, one second off Holy ShockHoly Shock160 Mana | Instant | Enemy: 20 yd range | Friendly: 40 yd range | 10 sec cooldownBlasts the target with Holy energy, causing 129 to 139 Holy damage to an enemy, or 110 to 118 healing to an ally.Requires 20 points in HolyAll ranks read from demo footage. at five. “The set bonuses don’t really do much”, which some call sad and some call freedom to wear whatever has the stats. Several expect placeholders. The Wowhead datamine has every set. One person
- Datamined trinkets and librams: a Holy Light trinket that gives 40 healing power when you cast Holy Light in combat, judged about even with Briarwood Reed’s 29 spell power if you keep it up and worse if you do not; a libram that makes Holy ShockHoly Shock160 Mana | Instant | Enemy: 20 yd range | Friendly: 40 yd range | 10 sec cooldownBlasts the target with Holy energy, causing 129 to 139 Holy damage to an enemy, or 110 to 118 healing to an ally.Requires 20 points in HolyAll ranks read from demo footage. shorten your next Holy Light by 0.2 seconds, an Enchanting recipe whose product is BoE, judged not worth it; a libram with 6% Holy ShockHoly Shock160 Mana | Instant | Enemy: 20 yd range | Friendly: 40 yd range | 10 sec cooldownBlasts the target with Holy energy, causing 129 to 139 Holy damage to an enemy, or 110 to 118 healing to an ally.Requires 20 points in HolyAll ranks read from demo footage. crit; and the Enraging Light bonus on a Scarlet mail set, which adds 20 holy damage to melee after taking damage. Links are in Sources.
- New enchanting formulas, blacksmithing plans and cooking recipes tied to the Azeroth Commerce Authority faction were found on demo vendors. The blacksmithing plans include an Intellect and healing plate set; “six golden pearls” per piece is the price of leveling gear. One person read a new Intellect flask and would still use a mana potion over it, and the channel agreed flask plus battle plus guardian elixirs is a TBC rule, not a vanilla one.
- Consumables and the loss of world buffs are expected to change how raids and healers approach fights, “no more semi-hardcore”.
Is Light’s Vigil worth it?
- The channel’s verdict: a burst cooldown you use once or twice a fight, not a rotation.
- It shines in 5-man dungeons, where one Vigil is a full-group heal.
- In raids it has two uses: pre-load several groups before known damage, or cast and Shock one group reactively.
The case for and against, including the September 16 argument
For: it’s efficient in globals. Vigil plus Shock is two globals for a party where Flash of Light takes five; with setup, four groups in four globals. IlluminationIlluminationAfter getting a critical effect from your Flash of Light, Holy Light, Light's Vigil, or Holy Shock heal spell you have a 40% chance to gain Mana equal to 50% of the base cost of the spell.Requires 15 points in Holy · Requires 3 points in ReverenceMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 2 text. applies to the Vigil heal, so it should refund often. It’s the only paladin tool for scripted party damage, and the tank’s party is its natural home. Priests need ten globals to shield two groups; a paladin needs four. Several like that it is “a nice change from chain casting Holy Light”.
Against: it’s a cast, it has a setup cooldown, it rolls its own crit so Holy PowerHoly PowerIncreases the critical strike chance of your Holy Shock spell by 3%, and all other spells by 1%.Requires 25 points in HolyMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. may not help it, Healing LightHealing LightIncreases the amount healed by your Holy Light, Flash of Light, and Holy Shock spells by 12%.Requires 5 points in HolyThis rank read from footage; other ranks estimated. doesn’t buff it, and at demo costs the four-party chain drains most of a mana bar. Pre-loading it on several groups is only worth it when you know damage is coming; on fights where AoE damage comes from failed mechanics you cannot plan it, so “there are very few valid scenarios to precast it”. Reactively, a Wild Growth is often already on the group, so you either snipe it or waste your window. Holding Holy ShockHoly Shock160 Mana | Instant | Enemy: 20 yd range | Friendly: 40 yd range | 10 sec cooldownBlasts the target with Holy energy, causing 129 to 139 Holy damage to an enemy, or 110 to 118 healing to an ally.Requires 20 points in HolyAll ranks read from demo footage. to pop a Vigil “feels very bad”. Several would rather it were its own spell with its own trigger; one Shockadin adds that its 1.5-second cast costs auto-attack damage.
Comparison the channel drew: Prayer of Healing is a 3-second cast with no cooldown, Chain Heal 2.5 seconds with no cooldown, Light’s Vigil 1.5 seconds plus a 6-second cooldown, Wild Growth instant on a 6-second cooldown with a 1-second druid global. Wild Growth does most of its healing in about 1.5 seconds, so it wins any race to a group.
Where the channel landed: two uses, pre-planned for known windows or reactive for one group, and a burst cooldown rather than a rotation. Good in 5-man dungeons where one Vigil is a full-group heal. Several expect it to gain a second interaction (librams, or an effect if it expires unconsumed) because as written the reactive case is weak. One person
September 17 additions. The beta tooltip’s 1,340 mana cost made the mana argument worse: one healer’s fear is being too scared to refresh a Vigil before it runs out, watching the mana go to waste, then scrambling to recast it when group damage arrives and ending up out of mana, “back to TBC spamming rank 1 Flash of Light”. A cheaper recast on a target that already has Vigil was the fix asked for. “It is a capstone talent with 0 effect on cast, bad design” got a reply that Beacon of Light was the same, and the Beacon argument started again. Nobody can test any of it in a 30-cap beta; one person notes 35 with Legacy points would be enough, and several want to say so in feedback. The idea that items could modify Vigil (say, half your Holy Light also lands on the Vigil target while it is up) came back as the way to give it texture without copying Beacon.
Vigil for damage. A Shockadin theorycrafter with a video recorded says Light’s Vigil loses to Champion of the LightChampion of the LightIncreases your spell damage and healing by up to 33% of your Intellect.Requires 25 points in RetributionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. for damage: the second Shock and the Vigil damage can make up for the lost spell power on paper, but the 1.5-second cast clips auto attacks and seal procs, and only hitting five or more targets covers that. The tooltip has no target cap on the heal, so a premade of Holy paladins all Vigiling an Arathi Basin flag fight is the cheese someone expects. Whether the damage part hits more than one target was argued again; the tooltip says single target.
Open questions
- Rank 3 of Champion of the LightChampion of the LightIncreases your spell damage and healing by up to 33% of your Intellect.Requires 25 points in RetributionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text., and whether it keeps healing.
- Whether the Vigil party heal is credited to the paladin at all, and so whether IlluminationIlluminationAfter getting a critical effect from your Flash of Light, Holy Light, Light's Vigil, or Holy Shock heal spell you have a 40% chance to gain Mana equal to 50% of the base cost of the spell.Requires 15 points in Holy · Requires 3 points in ReverenceMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 2 text. refunds on it, per crit target or per cast.
- Whether Holy PowerHoly PowerIncreases the critical strike chance of your Holy Shock spell by 3%, and all other spells by 1%.Requires 25 points in HolyMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text.’s Holy ShockHoly Shock160 Mana | Instant | Enemy: 20 yd range | Friendly: 40 yd range | 10 sec cooldownBlasts the target with Holy energy, causing 129 to 139 Holy damage to an enemy, or 110 to 118 healing to an ally.Requires 20 points in HolyAll ranks read from demo footage. crit applies to the Vigil heal.
- Whether Light’s Vigil really costs 1,340 mana at 60, and whether downranked heals keep full healing power scaling.
- Actual coefficients and costs at level 60. Demo paladins had about 47 spell power at most.
- Light’s Vigil cannot be tested in beta at all with the level 30 cap; several asked for 35 or 40.
What people are arguing about
- Beacon of Light: several want it back, most mock the idea, and it came back for a second day. The name “Wherebeacon” is taken.
- Whether Champion of the LightChampion of the LightIncreases your spell damage and healing by up to 33% of your Intellect.Requires 25 points in RetributionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. should lose its healing half, or whether the Holy tree is what needs fixing. Consensus
- Whether set bonuses should change how you play or just make you stronger. The datamined ones do neither.
- Whether the raid and 5-man split is right; it is an assumption, not a measured result.
- Whether Holy paladins will be wanted in raids at all next to priests, druids and shamans.
The arguments in full
- Beacon of Light. A few people want it as the capstone or a trainer spell at 40; most say it does not belong in this version, it would go to every spec if trained, and Blizzard is not adding it. Alternatives floated: Eternal Flame, Word of Glory, “Sunlight the sword” style horizontal items. One person’s framing: Light’s Vigil leaves more room for librams and horizontal progression than a single defining spell would. One person The channel’s own summary: “we have played the beacon game already.”
- Should Champion of the LightChampion of the LightIncreases your spell damage and healing by up to 33% of your Intellect.Requires 25 points in RetributionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. lose its healing half? Now the majority expectation. The counter remains that if Holy players feel forced into 28 Ret points, the Holy tree is what is broken.
- Raid versus 5-man split. 23/0/28 for raid tank healing, deep Holy with Light’s Vigil for dungeons is the working assumption, not a measured result. Consensus
- Raid spots. “Holy paladin seems sad compared to the others so far” (several); people will take resto shamans, priests and druids first. Counter: single-target tank healing is every fight, Blizzard said Holy is meant to be the best at it, and if it isn’t they will buff it. A related worry: if Prot or Ret turn out to be better additions, an optimized raid brings few Holy paladins.
- Design dissonance. Blizzard wants paladins to be the worst group healer, then gave them a group-heal capstone. Some call that fixing a hole in the toolkit; others call it a capstone for the thing you are supposed to be bad at.
- Ret refugees. Several Ret players say they would rather go Holy ShockHoly Shock160 Mana | Instant | Enemy: 20 yd range | Friendly: 40 yd range | 10 sec cooldownBlasts the target with Holy energy, causing 129 to 139 Holy damage to an enemy, or 110 to 118 healing to an ally.Requires 20 points in HolyAll ranks read from demo footage. than use Twist of LightTwist of LightWhen you replace your Seal of Command, Seal of Righteousness, Seal of Fury, or Seal of Justice with a different Seal, gain an Echo. Your next melee attack applies the replaced Seal's effects, consuming the Echo.Requires 30 points in Retribution · Requires Level 40All ranks read from demo footage.. The Holy channel’s view of Shockadin: it is a damage spec, not a healing spec, and “all Ret tree enjoyers have their own channel”. One Shockadin claims Champion of the LightChampion of the LightIncreases your spell damage and healing by up to 33% of your Intellect.Requires 25 points in RetributionMax rank not read from footage; showing rank 1 text. gives “fat +healing” without healing gear, which was met with vomiting emoji. On September 17 “Shockadin or bust” and “anyone going Shockadin here?” got a few takers, one of them planning a one-hander and shield with spell damage.
- Set bonuses. “Set bonuses should amplify the playstyle, not change it” (one) versus “interesting bonuses that change how I play, yes; bonuses that just make me stronger, no” (another). A third says glyph-style shoulder enchants, as in Season of Discovery, are the right place for playstyle changes. Everyone agrees the datamined ones are dull and probably placeholders.
- Feel versus numbers. “The tuning of specs and spells doesn’t matter at all, all that matters is how the class feels and plays” got four agreements; the reply is that you cannot give feedback on a level 40 talent in a level 30 beta.
- Are we still single-target tank healers? Asked by a returning TBC player. The answer was yes, with more buttons than Flash of Light, a group splash to be determined, and Holy Light expected to take some of Flash’s share because of Infusion of LightInfusion of LightYour Holy Shock and Flash of Light critical hits reduce the cast time of your next Holy Light cast within 15 sec by 1.0 sec.Requires 15 points in HolyThis rank read from footage; other ranks estimated.. “So it’s Resto Shaman for me” was one response.