I am starting to get into instance runs and find that I am not always sure what ot do. I am usually told to heal but sometimes, when we have a priest I spend more time whacking away at the mobs. When I do heal, though, I am not always sure how to do it effectively with the greatest mana effiency. I don't want to get blacklisted because I am not perfect. If any of you Pallys out there can offer some tips, I would greatly appreciate it. BTW, I am 17 Holy and 34 Retribution.
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How to play a Paladin - teach me!
Submitted by Phlaton on January 20, 2007 - 9:56am.
» tags: Class Discussions
Check out these links to the WOW forums. These two posts are a tad bit outdated but I believe that they still convey basic principals well. So keep in mind that talents have changed and talents have been added since the date of these posts.
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Does this tabard make my ass look fat?
Gratz on joining the ranks of pallies, the most survivable class in the game. Now get ready for a long-winded post on a subject that is dear to me.
I have always believed that the paladin serves 2 main functions:
1. To keep the business of instance running moving smoothly. That means marking targets, keeping mobs off the clothies, filling in heals, stopping mobs from running, etc.
2. To make sure you don't wipe. For this vital function I have a couple of tricks: I use a "DI" macro that targets the main healer and casts Divine Intervention. I have it hotkeyed, so I can cast it at the last second in combat. I also know when to run. I will run toward the instance entrance shrieking like a schoolgirl, casting my bubble when I'm at 15% health, then Lay on Hands. Whatever it takes to get back in and rez quickly.
You may have noticed that "Doing a ton of damage" isn't in that short list of pally functions. That's because pallies aren't a DPS class. In fact, they are the lowest DPS class in the game. Get used to it. The longer you labor under the delusion that our beloved class is somehow going to damage like a rogue, the longer you'll miss out on your real strengths.
Now the boring technical part:
I am a 40 Holy/12 Protection build currently. I made it to be mana efficient because in Pallyland mana=life. I have a TON of +healing gear and my flash of light 6 spell does right around 600. I believe that flash of light is the best way to heal because it barely uses any mana, and it's tougher to massively overheal and draw agro off the MT. If I am called on to heal, I almost always spam flash of light.
I usually judge wisdom on mobs, then seal either wisdom or righteousness. if the mob is inclined to run, I judge righteousness at 30% and let the MT move to the next target. The wisdom judgement is VERY popular with priests. Since the priest is a major factor in the success of the run, I want to make him/her happy.
More to the point, though, the wisdom judgement means that my own mana stays high. That lets me consecrate often, fill in heals, excorcise with impunity, etc. I am usually the last guy out of mana. I use a quick-ish weapon so my recharge rate is high and my judgements almost never burn out.
I ALWAYS bless wisdom on me and my fellow pallies. Again, mana=life to a pally.
The way that you build your pally will, ultimately, be determined by your play style and the group you regularly run with. Take our advice for what it's worth, but realize that every party is different. Fortuantely, the dynamic paladin has the skills to round out any group.
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Here's the link to my build at 60. My intention is to continue down the protection tree.
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play to your strengths
Submitted by PallasAthena on January 20, 2007 - 11:53am.
First, you have to see what your personal strengths are. For example, in other games like Diablo 2, FF11, etc... I always played the mage best. I was a good ranged DPS player. I came into this game thinking the same. I tried playing a priest and absolutely hated it, and it showed. Then I created a warlock which was a new way to play but it just wasn’t right. When I started playing a paladin, that’s when everything made sense. I was able to outlast almost any other class.
Second, once you realize what your personal preferences are, you have to play your pally to what talents you picked. If you are mostly ret build, then you are there for damage more than anything else. sure a palely that is ret based may heal a bit and you more than other because you have a few points invested in holy, but a main healer you are not. These are points to consider how to use your palely.
The only other general rule I can think of that would apply to palsies across the board is using your seals and judgments. These are a palsies specialty other than blessings. Take Neubauten for example, he wills (most of the time) cast judgment of wisdom on monsters so that casters can shoot their wands and regain mana. I personally like to cast judgment of light on monsters when I see that we are caster light, or our casters can handle their own mana situations, then the rogue / warrior will have an assist with life to make things easier on me (if I am healing) or the priest. If we are caster heavy then I follow along with Neubauten's tactic. If you find that monsters are falling too quickly for this kind of tactic then since you are ret based you should focus on using appropriate seals such as judgment of the crusader / hammer of justice / judgment of command (the judgment of the crusader will increase holy damage, the hammer will stun the monster, and then judgment of command will deal holy damage which will get a bonus because the monster is stunned and because the crusader will increase holy damage.) most other times, I suppose you can use seal of the crusader which gives you a bonus to speed and attack power. Basically, these are just a couple of tips on seals and judgments, you can try out different combos to see what you can do.
I hope this helps Phlaton, if I can think of more stuff, I’ll put it up. The other palsies in the guild are much better suited to give better advice. Neubauten, Darras etc… I believe are much better palsies than I am. So hit them up for tips.
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Does this tabard make my ass look fat?
