Introduction
Hello I’m Joki and I’ve been playing holy paladin since TBC and I’ve been hardcore raiding since BFA (Crucible of Storms) when I joined Honolulu.
Holy paladin is an ever versatile spec with a wide range of utility spells such as stun, interrupt, immunity, freedom and damage reduction, coupled with a powerful reactive healing kit and an emphasis on spot healing.
While classes are buffed and nerfed over time, and metas shift, holy paladins have always endured and carved out a seemingly permanent group spot in all forms of content. The War Within is no different and the spec is in its best state in years. So if you’re considering picking up holy paladin, now is the perfect time to dive in.
Strengths:
- Strong spot healing.
- Brings a raid-wide damage reduction with Devotion Aura that can be empowered with Aura Mastery.
- Game changing utility kit with Blessing of Sacrifice, Blessing of Protection and Blessing
- of Freedom.
- Strong passive damage.
- Good personal defensives with Divine Protection and an immunity Divine Shield.
Weaknesses:
- Poor mobility.
- Melee Healer.
- Lightsmith mechanics are unappealing to many players.
What has changed
Throughout Dragonflight two main issues followed the spec through the whole expansion and even worsened over time. First our raid-cooldowns were underwhelming, with Avenging Wrath going through multiple nerfs. Secondly our holy power spenders were so weak it resulted in a counter-intuitive playstyle that saw most of our holy power go to waste.
In War Within, both of these problems have been effectively addressed. Avenging Wrath now benefits from a significant buff via the new Hero Talent Sun’s Avatar, and our Holy Power spenders have both been markedly strengthened making them a cornerstone of our healing kit again.
Summary of most important changes
- Glimmer has been removed.
- Daybreak has been removed.
- Rising Sunlight Icon Rising Sunlight has been redesigned — After casting Avenging Wrath Icon Avenging Wrath, your next 2 Holy Shocks cast 2 additional times. After casting Divine Toll Icon Divine Toll, your next 2 Holy Shocks cast 2 additional times.
- Glorious Dawn Icon Glorious Dawn has been redesigned — Holy Shock Icon Holy Shock has a 12% chance to refund a charge when cast and its healing is increased by 10%.
- Beacon of Light healing has been nerfed.
- Holy Shock healing has been buffed.
- Word of Glory healing has been buffed.
- Light of Dawn healing has been buffed.
This means we’ve sacrificed a lot of passive healing, but the trade-off is a significantly enhanced healing kit overall, which results in a more engaging and rewarding playstyle.