Illumination Nerf is Fine, L2P

Seriously, I'm getting kind of tired of hearing people bitch about how worthless everything related to paladin healing is, just because one ability had it's effectiveness cut in half. Guess what? Paladins are not suddenly second-rate healers just because we have to use some mana management now. And while many paladins (such as myself) can currently top healing charts with minimal to no mana potion usage, others apparently cannot.

So, what follows are 5 quick and easy tips on how to compensate for the illumination nerf that don't involve "lolz lern2pot newb!". I should note that it is assumed you will be using standard consumables in a raid or difficult heroic dungeon scenario. (mageblood and an adept's/healing power elixir, and a mana oil. You can also be a cheapskate and opt for a flask of mighty restoration over the elixirs, but a dual elixir combo will deliver the best performance) If you are not using them when needed, then start doing so. Elixirs can be pricey, but they're usually cheaper than a series of wipes.

1. Spec for (and learn how to properly use) Divine Illumination. I am constantly amazed at how under-rated this talent is. It's like having your own mini-innervate, with half the cooldown. Need to drop a big bomb heal on the tank? DI+DF and it's free, and your next few heals are half off as well. In a situation where you have to spam alot of heals (such as after a shatter on Gruul, during the phase 2 -> phase 3 transition on Magtheridon, or when you hit a %-based enrage and can't afford to take the chance of canceling a heal to conserve mana), pop DI and you'll save a shitload of mana. This one talent can stretch your mana pool a long way.

2. Stop stacking spell crit at the expense of MP/5. Yeah, a lot pally gear has spell crit but no MP/5. There is also a good chunk of priest/druid gear that has spirit but no MP/5 either. The moral? not every piece will be exactly what you want it to be, that is why there are socket gems, enchants, and all of the other gear slots: so you can customize your gear as you see fit. It can be tough to find healing plate with MP/5, but there is some out there, and most of your other slots will be fairly easy to to find MP/5 on, since it is a universally desired stat for healing. You can also resort to *gag* wearing shaman gear, but make sure you don't steal it from any shammies. Its rude, and shaman don't exactly have many other good options for healing gear.

And hey, guess what? Crit heals still restore mana! If you're smart and have been maintaining a balanced ratio of spell crit and MP/5, you will still have pretty good endurance.

I will take an aside here to say that I agree that blizzard should re-evaluate their itemization of healadin gear, perhaps replacing some of the spell crit with MP/5, but please stop suggesting asinine things like removing all of our spell crit, and replacing it with MP/5, or even spirit (WTF? Are you some dumbass priest re-roll or something? Paladins get almost zero benefits from spirit)

3. Learn how to be a bomb healer. If you don't know what I mean, watch a priest/druid/shaman heal. If you figure out how to use downranking to your advantage (pro tip: rank 7 HL is your friend), and how to anticipate when a tank will need healing, as well as having the reflexes to cancel your heal if the tank is at full health (i.e. he parried/dodged or another healer got him back to full before you did), you can save a ton of mana over just spamming heals. This also leaves time in between heals for you to do the fourth thing:

4. Melee using SoW and JoW. *Gasp* play like a paladin instead of a priest? I know, it might sound like a frightening concept, but the front lines are (with a few exceptions) an ideal place for a paladin to be. The extra mana regen you get from SoW and JoW, combined with the mana saved from constantly re-casting your judgment, can really add up fast. And should you go OOM with a pot timer down, you're already doing something to actively regenerate your mana! Obviously, this is not advisable on mobs that have heavy PBAoE damage, or where there are strict positioning requirements that limit the amount of people in melee range (think Phase 1 C'thun, or Hydros), but on the other 90% of encounters, get up there where you belong!

So how do you do this amazing feat, deemed impossible by many? Simple. Target a mob (usually the boss, but you should use your judgment (god I am so funny) as to which mob to melee). Then, seal up with wisdom, judge wisdom (or let another paladin judge wisdom if you're supposed to be doing another judgment), and auto-swing until somebody needs heals. The next part is where it gets really complex. If you use a click-casting mod, you simply heal as normal, but if you don't, here's how it works: Press the button for the heal you want to cast, then click on the raid frame of the person you want to cast it on. Tough, I know, but with a little practice you'll get the hang of it. After that, re-seal whenever you get a lull in the healing, wash, rinse, and repeat until its time to pass out loot.

5. If you still have problems, look for a shadow priest or a shaman (preferably one with mana tide, but if you're doing a 5-man and don't want another healer, then just find an elemental shaman to DPS, and make sure he drops mana spring). Right now, these are a luxury, but post-patch, if your gear is lacking, don't be afraid to tell your group or raid leader that you need a bit of a boost to get the job done.


Your ezmode healing is gone, get over it and start making a conscious effort like every other healer. Yeah, having to pay attention is tough, but if you want a class where you can watch TV and still play at high efficiency, then a paladin is not for you. Go play a hunter or something.