Monday, December 27, 2010

holy power and procs

Holy Power and Latency

Something I've noticed is that there's a tiny bit of latency involved with Holy Power. Using Holy Shock (on anyone or thing) tends to be a pretty instant bump in my Holy Power bar, but gaining Holy Power through Tower of Radiance takes a little bit longer.

Blizzard has stated it's working as intended, I believe (though I can't seem to find the link). I imagine it's got the same Beacon lag we're already used to working with- the client has to check to make sure the heal lands before it awards the Power.

It used to frustrate me - I want my HP and I want it now!- but after getting used to it, this lag can work in your favor as well. If you've already got two holy power and Holy Shock is on cooldown, you can cast two DL or FoL, immediately spend the 3 HP you have built up, and you'll still have 1 left from the second direct heal (or 3 from an Eternal Glory proc).

However, Holy Shock will not work this way. If you have 3 HP and Shock, then spend your HP, that extra one is "lost".

A side note: Protector of the Innocent can proc Conviction, which is neat because pretty much every heal you cast has a chance to keep up Conviction the whole fight, and will likely get it rolling sooner.

AUGH, FIVE THINGS JUST PROCCED NOW WHAT?!

Between Daybreak, Holy Power, Eternal Glory, and Infusion of Light, we've got a lot to watch out for. I have been looking for a one-size-fits-all answer to how to handle all of these things but the more I play the more I realize that it really does come down to the encounter, the people you play with, and what is happening around you. Which means that Blizzard may have done a fantastic job with "the right spell for the job" after all. No complaints here. :)

Anyways. Here are some general guidelines I try to follow to "boost my HPS" but there will be a lot of times in five mans where it's really not about HPS at all but being aware. So here's my priority (which goes out the window when I need to move):

Holy Power x3 gets spent ASAP
Eternal Glory gets spent ASAP (as soon as I see if it procced or not, so usually I will have one direct heal cast in between Holy Power expenditures)
Infusion of Light
Daybreak

Daybreaks when you need to move are a god-send. However, I have found myself casting those two Shocks in a row and getting two crits (wasting one Infusion). Okay, so it doesn't happen too often but often enough that I'm trying to program myself, when ideal, to Shock > Divine Light the tank (if he needs it), Shock for my Daybreak proc.

I'm sitting at almost 19% critical strike rating, which I believe is over 20% raid buffed (though in this brave new Shattered world I am still a bit shaky on what buffs are available) and gives me a 30% chance to crit with Holy Shock. That gives me an almost 10% chance that both of those Shocks will crit. So as our crit-from-gear goes up, it will become more important to put a Divine Light in between Shocks. A fast Divine Light is a ton of healing.

And again, if I have to move, I use all my instant-cast tricks up as I'm moving and there's definitely nothing wrong with that. Daybeak may be "lowest" on my proc priority but that doesn't mean it's the weakest because it's not, and I use it right away if I have less than three holy power.

Looking Ahead

And I haven't gotten into raiding yet, which may change everything I've ever learned about Holy Paladins. We start next week! My guild is just beginning to spec-check our raiders. I am hoping for a couple more upgrades before I make any declarations that I'm "ready".

Now that other raiders are getting into the raids, I've been grateful to look at WoL parses for some of the first kills to get more of an idea of what we will see. I'm hoping that my post for next week will be me tearing apart my own performance (though I hate making promises because stuff happens. But that's my plan.)

How are you managing your procs?

6 comments:

  1. I generally don't worry about IoL or IG procs - I just watch my HP. If I see 3, I burn em, otherwise I keep casting. I generally blow my double HS from Daybreak as soon as it's up - just because I need the healing in the raid (and to get my HP back up).

    I also don't cast DL, unless my tank is in a serious hole. DPS > 50% don't get anything other than a WoG or a HS. HL is still my go to heal, even after the nerf to Tower.

    If I can get away with it, I just put my BoL on the tank I'm supposed to be healing, since they'll get a good chunk of all my healing from PotI. I've also taken to standing in melee range, and am playing with using Crusader Strike to build HPs when I have a 'free' moment.

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  2. Adgamorix- I keep wondering if using CS for HP is at all worthwhile, but then I always feel like I'm causing so much trouble in melee range.

    I should keep at it, free heals are free heals. :)

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  3. I used to use holy power as you suggest, but after a heroic halls first boss (which I am blanking on the name) wipe, where I was trying to run around the void zones to get back in range of the tank who had run off, I decided to save up a stack of holy power on some fights just in case, and have found it very useful. ...As a WoG while you need to move, or at the end of a DL to recover from a big hit on the tank can be more helpful than the mana savings of using LoD or WoG as soon as possible. I haven't started raids yet, as my guild decided to wait till after holidays, but in heroics having that just in case instant heal for 15k or so is very helpful

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  4. That's true, Anonymous. Sometimes the encounter will dictate how we play (and so will the people we raid with!), and holding holy power when you know a big ability is coming up is an excellent idea. When I wrote this, I was thinking more towards raids were LoD will _more than likely_ get full use. If you know your tank is undergeared or there's a knockback, it's handy to have a trick up your sleeve.

    Thanks for stopping by and sharing.

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  5. This is an absolutely phenominal article on some of our most important class mechanics. The tip of bracing yourself for an almost guaranteed Iol proc between Holy Shocks on Daybreak is pro.

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