Hey guys! So, you're looking to dive into the world of healing in Dragonflight as a Holy Paladin, huh? Awesome choice! Holy Paladins are fantastic healers, offering a unique blend of reactive and proactive healing styles, with some serious burst healing potential. In this comprehensive guide, we'll break down everything you need to know to build a successful Holy Paladin in Dragonflight. We'll cover talents, stats, gear, rotations, and even some helpful tips to excel in both PvE and PvP content. Let's get started, shall we?

Understanding the Holy Paladin

Before we jump into the nitty-gritty of the build, let's chat about what makes a Holy Paladin tick. We're a plate-wearing class, which means we can take a hit, but our primary role is to keep our allies alive. We do this through a combination of direct heals, smart use of cooldowns, and a bit of holy magic. Our strengths lie in strong single-target healing, excellent cooldown management, and the ability to buff our allies with blessings. Holy Paladins are also amazing in melee, due to our close proximity healing power. We are generally considered to be one of the best healers in the game, if not the best at some points of the game, due to our ability to do damage while healing, and buffing our allies.

Our core abilities revolve around the Holy Light and Flash of Light spells, our two primary healing spells. We also have abilities such as Holy Shock, a quick-casting direct heal that also applies a damage-over-time (DoT) effect to the target, allowing us to generate Holy Power. Speaking of Holy Power, it's a resource that fuels our more powerful heals, such as Word of Glory, and Light of Dawn, our AoE healing spell. We also have a suite of defensive cooldowns to keep ourselves and our allies alive during tough situations. And, of course, no Paladin is complete without our iconic blessings, which provide powerful buffs to our allies. These blessings are very useful to buff melee, range, tank, etc. They are very powerful buffs to help with any situation. The Holy Paladin is a very versatile class and a great choice for both new and veteran players in World of Warcraft. This guide will help you understand every aspect of the class to get you up and running and top the charts. Holy Paladins are not as difficult as other healers in the game and are a good starting point for new healers. However, they are also a very deep class and there is always something new to learn and improve. Mastering this class will take time and practice, so don't be discouraged if you don't get it right away. This guide will give you a solid foundation to start your journey as a Holy Paladin. Let's start with talents.

Talent Choices in Dragonflight

Alright, let's talk about talents! Dragonflight revamped the talent system, giving us more choices than ever before. This is a good thing! It allows us to customize our playstyle to fit our preferences and the needs of the content we're doing. There is no one size fits all build, but a build that suits your needs. I will share some builds that will get you started.

General Holy Paladin Talents

First, we need to talk about the general class talents. These talents affect all specs of the Paladin class. These talents are important for our overall performance, and we need to choose them wisely. Some talents are better for PvP and others are better for PvE. In the first tier, we have choices such as Improved Blessing of Might and Divine Steed. Improved Blessing of Might is a great choice for PvE, as it helps with the mana efficiency of our Blessing of Might buff. Divine Steed, on the other hand, is a mobility tool that can be used in both PvE and PvP. In the second tier, we have choices such as Crusader's Reprieve and Unbreakable Spirit. Crusader's Reprieve is a mobility option that will help us get around faster. Unbreakable Spirit is a PvP talent that reduces the cooldown of our defensive cooldowns. Both are great options, it just depends on your preferred content. In the third tier, we have choices such as Reclamation and Divine Protection. Reclamation is a talent that reduces the mana cost of our healing spells. Divine Protection is a defensive cooldown that makes us immune to damage for a short period of time. Again, both are great options. In the fourth tier, we have choices such as Glimmer of Light, Divine Resonance, and Tyr's Deliverance. Glimmer of Light is a healing-focused talent that makes our healing spells heal more frequently. Divine Resonance is a damage-focused talent that increases our damage output. Tyr's Deliverance is a healing talent that heals a target and all allies around them. The choices here are mostly dependent on the content that you're doing, the group you are playing with, and your personal preferences.

Holy Specialization Talents

Now, let's dive into the Holy Paladin-specific talents. These talents are what will shape our healing style. There are a variety of builds available, with the main choices being Glimmer, and Beacon. Let's go over some of the core talents you'll want to consider.

• Glimmer of Light: This is a cornerstone talent. It makes our Holy Shock apply a short-duration heal over time effect on up to 5 targets. It's a huge part of our healing output and makes our playstyle very reactive.
• Beacon of Light: A staple ability for Holy Paladins, allowing you to place a beacon on a target, copying a percentage of your healing done to them.
• Infusion of Light: This talent is crucial for mana efficiency. It makes Flash of Light and Holy Light heal for more and cast faster after using Holy Shock.
• Holy Infusion: This talent is a must for the Glimmer of Light build. It increases the healing done by Holy Shock and makes it cost less mana.
• Judicious Eye: This talent extends the range of your Holy Shock and Light of Dawn spells. This will give you the ability to heal from further away, which is useful in both PvE and PvP.
• Divine Purpose: This talent gives us a chance to make our next Holy Shock or Flash of Light free and cast instantly. It's a good way to get some burst healing in.
• Awakening: A talent that grants you an extra charge of Holy Shock.

These are just some of the key talents you'll be choosing from. The best talents for you will depend on the content you're doing and your playstyle. I encourage you to experiment and find what works best for you. I will share some general builds below to help you get started.

Stat Priority and Gear

Okay, now let's talk about stats and gear. Stats are super important, as they directly impact how effective your healing is. The goal is to find the balance between survivability and healing.

Stat Priority

For Holy Paladins, the stat priority is generally as follows:

1. Intellect: This is our primary stat. Intellect increases our spell power, which directly increases the amount we heal. Stack as much intellect as you can! It is the most important stat.
2. Haste: Haste reduces the cast time of our spells and the global cooldown, allowing us to cast more spells in a shorter amount of time. Haste is also important for increasing the frequency of our Holy Shock casts, which is a major part of our healing rotation.
3. Critical Strike: Critical Strike increases the chance that our heals will critically hit, resulting in a larger heal. It is also good for our overall healing and can lead to increased mana efficiency.
4. Mastery: Mastery increases the effectiveness of our heals on targets below 35% health. This is useful for those situations where the health pools are low.
5. Versatility: Versatility increases all damage and healing done, while also reducing the damage taken. It is the most rounded stat, increasing both damage and healing.

Gear

Gear is essential for keeping up in the current content. As a healer, you'll primarily want to focus on gear with intellect, haste, critical strike, and mastery. Raid gear will generally provide the best stats, but you can also get some great gear from dungeons, world quests, and PvP. Focus on getting the highest item level gear possible, as this will increase your stats overall. Make sure you are also gemming, enchanting, and using consumables to maximize your healing output.

Rotation and Gameplay

Alright, let's get into the fun part: the actual gameplay! The Holy Paladin has a dynamic and engaging playstyle, so let's break down how to heal efficiently and effectively. We will cover two different builds to get you started.

Glimmer Build

This build focuses on keeping up the Glimmer of Light effect on multiple targets, allowing for very reactive and quick healing. The core of this build is to cast Holy Shock on cooldown. The goal is to spread Glimmer of Light on as many targets as possible. You should use Flash of Light on targets that need more healing and your mana is fine, or Holy Light on targets with low health, or with Beacon of Light on them. Try to use your Word of Glory on cooldown as well.

Beacon Build

This is a more straightforward build that focuses on the Beacon of Light. The idea is to keep your beacon up on the tank. The core of this build is to cast Flash of Light on the beacon target. You should use Holy Shock on cooldown. You can use Holy Light on the beacon target to keep them alive. You should also weave in Word of Glory when you have Holy Power.

General Gameplay Tips

• Keep Holy Shock on Cooldown: This is the most important part of any Holy Paladin build. It's your main generator of Holy Power and applies the Glimmer effect.
• Manage your Holy Power: Spend your Holy Power on Word of Glory or Light of Dawn.
• Use your Cooldowns: Aura Mastery, Avenging Wrath, Divine Toll and Blessing of Sacrifice are powerful tools. Don't be afraid to use them to keep the group alive during critical moments.
• Positioning is Key: Try to stay close to your group. This will make it easier to heal. Keep an eye on your teammates' health bars and pre-cast heals when necessary.
• Use Your Blessings: Don't forget about your blessings! They can provide valuable buffs for your group.
• Be Aware of Your Surroundings: Pay attention to mechanics in both PvE and PvP. Knowing when to move and when to stand still is key to survival.

PvE vs. PvP

While the core concepts of Holy Paladin healing remain the same in both PvE and PvP, there are some key differences to keep in mind. Let's take a quick look.

PvE

In PvE, your primary focus will be on keeping the raid or group alive while dealing with various boss mechanics. You'll want to focus on maximizing your healing output and utilizing your cooldowns effectively. Knowing the fight mechanics and predicting damage is essential.

PvP

In PvP, you'll face different challenges. The focus shifts to quick reactions, survivability, and supporting your team. You'll need to be aware of enemy burst windows and use your cooldowns defensively to survive. Focus on kiting, healing, and dispelling while staying alive. The use of PvP talents and gear is a must to keep up. Focus on high priority targets and helping the team. It is very useful to focus on the healer, as that will allow you to get the advantage in any situation.

Conclusion

Alright, guys, that's a wrap! We've covered the core aspects of building a successful Holy Paladin in Dragonflight. Remember to experiment with different talents and builds to find what suits your playstyle best. Keep practicing, learn from your mistakes, and most importantly, have fun! Holy Paladins are a blast to play, and with a little effort, you'll be dominating the healing game in no time. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask. Happy healing!