Holy

Current builds

Two variants of the Champion Healer float around: one drops Infusion of Light for fear reduction, one maxes Infusion of Light but drops Divine Favor. Both are judged worse than the base build.

How healing is expected to play

• Core loop: Flash of Light and Holy Shock to fish for crits. A crit on either makes the next Holy Light cast faster through Infusion of Light (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 Favor guarantees a crit on the next Flash, Holy Light or Holy Shock, which also guarantees an Infusion of Light proc.
• Judgement of Wisdom stays up on the boss without consuming your seal. Sanctified Judgement in Ret refunds most of the seal’s cost when you judge.
• Light’s Vigil (31-point capstone): cast on an ally (1.5 seconds, ~730 mana), then Holy Shock 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, but that costs about 3,500 mana.

Key talents and how the channel values them

• Illumination now returns 50% of base cost on a crit heal at max rank (read as 20% and 40% chance at ranks 1 and 2, so probably 100% chance at 5/5). Half of Classic’s value. This is the day-one doom and the reason crit talents lost value.
• Reverence: 30% of mana regen continues while casting, versus about 50% for priests, druids and shamans. Paladin plate has never had Spirit, so its value depends on new itemization.
• Infusion of Light: the change everyone likes.
• Holy Power: +15% Holy Shock crit and +5% for all spells at 5/5. Skipped by the 23/0/28 builds.
• Champion of the Light (Ret, deep): “up to 33% of Intellect” as spell damage and healing at rank 1. Whether rank 3 is 100% is the single most important unknown for this spec.
• Benediction (Ret): 10% off all instants, including Holy Shock, Judgement, seals, blessings and Cleanse. The best filler talent for any Holy build that dips Ret.
• 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.
• Expect plate healing gear with Spirit; the channel expects to still want cloth and leather pieces.

Vigil: the case for and against

For: it’s efficient in globals. Vigil plus Shock is two globals for a party where Flash of Light takes five. Illumination applies to it. It’s the only paladin tool for scripted party damage, and the tank’s party is its natural home.

Against: it’s a cast, it has a setup cooldown, it rolls its own crit so Holy Power doesn’t help it, Healing Light doesn’t buff it, and at demo costs the four-party chain drains most of a mana bar.

Where the channel landed: a burst cooldown you use once or twice a fight, not a rotation. Good in 5-man dungeons where one Vigil is a full-group heal.

Open questions

• Rank 3 of Champion of the Light.
• Whether Illumination refunds per crit target or per Vigil cast.
• Whether Infusion of Light procs off Holy Shock damage crits as well as heal crits.
• Actual coefficients and costs at level 60.