Pre-Raid Holy Paladin Gear Guide

This guide is on how to gear your fresh faced level 80 Paladin, ready for healing Naxx and beyond (eventually)!

Contents

1. Talents and Glyphs
2. Gear
   • Helm
   • Neck
   • Shoulders
   • Chest
   • Cloak
   • Bracers
   • Gloves
   • Belt
   • Legs
   • Boots
   • Rings
   • Trinkets
   • Weapon
   • Shield
   • Libram
3. Gems
4. Enchants
5. Tips

Talents and Glyphs

I would recommend going for this talent build. The reason for the choices in Protection and Retribution is that 3% more crit is worth more than 3% more healing, also this build allows you to take the greater blessings which are really useful. The talents in the upper end of the holy tree are not set in stone. Some people prefer to take Aura Mastery and Improved Concentration Aura instead of Improved Lay on Hands and Improved Blessing of Wisdom.

Judgements of the Pure is a key talent now because the majority of our heals are not instant cast. I cannot tell you how much fast Holy Lights help. I suggest that you make a Judgement Macro (thanks to fayne selph for this) and bind it to an easy to reach key (i.e. button 1):

#showtooltip Judgement of Light
/cast [target=mouseover,nomodifier,exists] Judgement of Light; [help] Judgement of Light

This will cast Judgement of Light on the target that your mouse is over (or party members target). I would also suggest making another macro (the same one) but for Judgement of Wisdom, this is useful for when people are starting to run low on mana.

Another option for a Judgement macro is this one which I have been using for quite a while now:

#showtooltip Judgement of Light
/cast [harm] [target=targettarget, harm] Judgement of Light
/stopmacro [target=focus,noexists]
/cast !Attack
/cast Attack
/target focus

A bit long winded I know, but it works. It will cast Judgment of Light on your target if it is hostile, if it is not then it will cast it on your targets target (generally the tanks target) and then select the tank again for you to continue healing. This works as long as the tank is set as your focus.

You have a choice when using Judgements of the Pure whether to judge often enough to keep the buff on you, or judge more often to keep the debuff on the monster. For 5 mans I generally just judge often enough to keep the 15% haste, and in 10 and 25 mans judge more often as there is generally small amounts of AOE flying around and this keeps people topped off. However do not judge during a damage spike, this will use up a Global Cooldown and mean you cannot cast a heal during this time.

The Glyphs are shown on the right hand side of the wowhead page, and they mostly come down to personal choice. Especially after the nerf to the Holy Light Glyph (it now cannot crit). However if you are unsure then the ones that I have selected are great ;).

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Gear

So you have just decided you want to help heal the injured and play a vital role in raiding. But which stats to go for? Generally I use the following rule:

Intellect > Spell Power > Critical Strike Rating > Mana per 5 Seconds

Intellect is our best stat, it increases our Spell Power (because of Talents), Mana Pool and our Spell Critical Strike Chance.

Whether the armor is plate, leather, mail or cloth it does not really matter, however the items have been created such that plate is the best choice for you, to be honest who else is plate healing gear made for!

I have tried to give the best 4 options per slot. I have also put a dot by the piece of gear that I think is the best in slot before raiding.

In addition to these items it is also good to go on Vault of Archavon runs as they are not too hard and have a chance to drop really nice tier items.

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Helm

Battlemap Hide Helm which drops from Prince Keleseth in Heroic Utgarde Keep.

• Helm of Purified Thoughts which is reward from becoming Exalted with the Argent Crusade.Helmet of the Constructor which drops from Skarvald the Constructor in Heroic Utgarde Keep.

  Brilliant Titansteel Helm which is made by blacksmiths.

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  Neck

   

  Lattice Choker of Light which costs 25 Emblems of Heroism.

• Titanium Spellshock Necklace which is made by Jewelcrafters.Amulet of the Spell Flinger which drops from Amanitar in Heroic Ahn’kahet.

  Sky Sapphire Amulet which is made by Jewelcrafters.

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  Shoulders

   

  Dark Runic Mantle which can be bought of the Auction House or is a random drop in Halls of Stone.

• Ferocious Pauldrons of the Rhino which drop from Gortok Palehoof in Heroic Utgarde Pinnacle.Mantle of Discarded Ways which drops from King Ymiron in Heroic Utgarde Pinnacle.

  Ornate Saronite Pauldrons which are made by Blacksmiths

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  Chest

   

  Revenant’s Breastplate which is made by Leatherworkers.

  Arcane Flame Altar-Garb which drops from Gal’darah in Heroic Gundrak

• Patina-Coated Breastplate which can be bought of the Auction House or is a random drop in Halls of Stone.Scaled Amor of Drakos which drops from Drakos the Interrogator in Heroic Oculus.

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  Cloak

   

• Wispcloak which is made by Tailors.Deathchill Cloak which is also made by Tailors.

  Shroud of Moorabi which drops from Moorabi in Heroic Gundrak.

  Reanimator’s Cloak which can be bought of the Auction House, or is a zone drop in Drak’Tharon Keep.

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  Bracers

   

• Flamebeard’s Bracers which drop from Anub’arak in Heroic Azjol Nerub.Bone-Framed Bracers which can be bought off the Auction House (or they drop off Noth or Gluth in Naxxramas 10).

  Bindings of Yearning which again can be bought off the Auction House.

  Catalytic Bands which drop off of Mage-Lord Urom in Heroic Oculus.

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  Gloves

   

  Gauntlets of Shattered Pride which cost 10 Champion’s Seal from the Argent Tournament in Icecrown.

• Grips of Sculptured Icicles which drop from Commander Kolurg in Heroic Nexus.Cracked Epoch Grasps which drop from Chrono-Lord Epoch in Heroic Culling of Stratholme.

  Fiery Obelisk Handguards which drop from Herald Volazj in Heroic Ahn’kahet.

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  Belt

   

  Ghostflicker Waistband which is a reward from becoming Exalted with the Kirin Tor.

• Magroth’s Meditative Cincture which costs 40 Emblems of Heroism.Girdle of the Warrior Magi which is a reward from becoming Revered with the Kirin Tor.

  Girdle of Ice which drops from Ormorok the Tree-Shaper in Heroic Nexus.

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  Legs

   

• Leggings of Protective Auras which drops from the chest after defeating Ley-Guardian Eregos in Heroic Oculus.Standard Issue Legguards which are a reward from becoming Honored with the Argent Crusade.

  Legs of Physical Regeneration which drop from Trollgore in Heroic Drak’Tharon Keep.

  Crenelation Leggings which drop from Skadi the Ruthless in Heroic Utgarde Pinnacle.

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  Boots

   

• Poignant Sabatons which drops in Naxxramas, but can be bought of the Auction House.Brilliant Titansteel Treads which are made by Blacksmiths.

  Titan-forged Greaves of Salvation which are a reward from Wintergrasp, which cost 15 Wintergrasp Mark of Honor.

  Mojo Frenzy Greaves which drops from Moorabi in Heroic Gundrak.

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  Rings

   

• Titanium Spellshock Ring which is made by Jewelcrafters.
• Signet of Hopeful Light which is a reward from becoming Exalted with the Argent Crusade.Annhylde’s Ring which drops from Ingvar the Plunderer in Heroic Utgarde Keep.

  Band of Guile which drops in the chest that appears after defeating Mal’ganis in Heroic Culling of Stratholme.

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  Trinkets

   

• Je’Tze’s Bell which is a random world drop, and can be bought off the Auction House.Darkmoon Card: Illusion which is made from the Darkmoon Prisms Deck which can be bought off the Auction House.
• The Egg of Mortal Essence which can be bought for 40 Emblems of Heroism.Forge Ember which drops off of Sjonnir The Ironshaper in Heroic Halls of Stone.

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  Weapon

   

• War Mace of Unrequited Love which drops off of Keristraza in Heroic Nexus.Titansteel Guardian which is made by Blacksmiths.

  Gavel of the Brewing Storm which is a reward from becoming Revered with the Wyrmrest Accord.

  Jeweled Coronation Sword which drops from King Ymiron in Utgarde Pinnacle.

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  Shield

   

• Protective Barricade of the Light which costs 35 Emblems of Heroism.Tor’s Crest which drops from King Ymiron in Utgarde Pinnacle.

  Facade Shield of Glyphs which drops from Krik’thir the Gatewatcher in Heroic Azjol-Nerub.

  Tharon’ja’s Aegis which drops from The Prophet Tharon’ja in Drak’Tharon Keep.

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  Libram

   

• Libram of Renewal which costs 15 Emblems of Heroism.Venture Co. Libram of Mostly Holy Deeds from Dailys in Grizzly Hills.

  Unfortunatly all of the other Librams either require PvPing or Raiding to obtain.

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  Gems

  For all yellow slots, and all other in which the set bonus is not worth getting put Brilliant Autumn’s Glow, this is because Intellect is the best stat for us as explained above.

  If you have a red slot with a good set bonus, then put a Runed Scarlet Ruby in there.

  Again, if you have a blue slot with a set bonus worth getting, or you need it to make your Meta Gem work, then put a Dazzling Forest Emerald in, as this is just about the best you can do with that slot.

  If you need a Meta Gem then I would recommend that you go for Insightful Earthsiege Diamond, I am not sure of the maths, but some guys over at Elitist Jerks calculate that it is the best for us. A slightly cheaper alternative, and not that much worse is Ember Skyflare Diamond.

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  Enchants

  These are in order; the best one if at the top, and the ‘worst’ at the bottom. I would advise enchanting all of your gear with at least the ‘worst’ enchant you can get, this works in two ways:

  Makes it seem as though you put some effort into your gear.
  Improves your performance (every little helps 😉 )

  Generally the best enchant will cost the most, it’s a case of you get what you pay for, however it is worth it.

  The enchants that are from Enchanters can either be obtained by buying a scroll off the Auction House, or by getting the materials to an enchanter and having them enchant it directly. Generally it is cheaper if you get the materials to the enchanter because people pay a premium for the ease of buying a scroll. If this is not the case then I will mention where to get it from.

  Of course if you are an enchanter/leatherworker/inscriber then you should be using your proffessions special armor modifiers: Enchant Ring – Greater Spellpower, Fur Lining – Spell Power or Master’s Inscription of the Storm.

  Head

  Arcanum of Burning Mysteries from Revered with the Kirin Tor.
  Arcanum of Blissful Mending from Revered with Wyrmrest Accord.
  Arcanum of Dominance which costs 40 Stone Keeper’s Shards from Wintergrasp.

  Shoulder

  Greater Inscription of the Storm from Exalted with the Sons of Hodir.
  Lesser Inscription of the Storm from Honored with the Sons of Hodir.
  Inscription of Dominance which costs 30 Stone Keeper’s Shards from Wintergrasp.

  Chest

  Powerful Stats
  Super Stats
  Exceptional Mana

  Cloak

  Greater Speed
  Speed

  Bracers

  Superior Spellpower
  Exceptional Intellect
  Greater Spellpower

  (although Exceptional Intellect and Greater Spellpower pretty much equivilent).

  Gloves

  Exceptional Spellpower
  Greater Blasting
  Major Spellpower

  Legs

  Sapphire Spellthread
  Azure Spellthread (it is only above the ones below because it it’s materials are slightly more easy to come by these days)
  Runic Spellthread/Golden Spellthread

  Feet

  Greater Vitality
  Icewalker (for the Critical Strike Rating)

  Weapon

  Mighty Spellpower
  Exceptional Spellpower

  Shield

  Greater Intellect

  (I’m afraid there aren’t any real alternatives to this)

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  Tips

  • Start healing the easier heroics/normals first to get the hang of it (and more gear) before moving on to the harder ones.
  • Make friends with good tanks, they are like diamonds; rare and worth keeping track of!
  • If you are going to be raid healing download an addon such as Healbot or Grid (healbot is easier to set up and use intially but Grid has more functionality), these will make healing a lot easier. If you do not then use F1, F2, F3 etc. to target your party members and either click heals or keybind them, this will make your healing much faster and better.
  • Download Pally Power, it will make your life a lot easier when buffing (it means you can rebuff a whole class with just one click in a little window).
  • Do the daily heroics when you can, it is not only easier to find members, but you will gain more Emblems of Heroism.
  • Think up some healing priorities on group members, i.e. tank is first priority, then you, then the dps (usually in order of DPS or Crowd Control abilities). If one of the dps dies it may not wipe you, however if the tank dies you almost certainly will!
  • Use the Beacon of Light on the tank when there is damage flying around, hitting you or the dps. If there is a dps or offtank that is taking ‘Cleave’-esque damage then put it on them so you do not have to worry about keeping them up.
  • Have fun!

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  And that concludes my guide, good luck!