Reviewing the Patch 10.2 Changes: Finding Balance in Holy Power, Holy Shock, and Infusion for Holy Paladins

WowCarry Presents: A Comprehensive Review of the Holy Paladin Rework in Patch 10.1.5

Introduction

Holy Paladins underwent a significant rework in patch 10.1.5, and the changes have continued in patch 10.2. These updates aimed to enhance single target healing while reducing mana generation. In this article, our Holy Paladin Writer, HolyClarius, will review the initial rework and shed light on how the recent changes might disrupt the delicate balance of Holy Power, Holy Shock, and Infusion of Light.

This Public Test Realm (PTR) serves as a testing environment for the content coming along with the Dragonflight: Guardians of the Dream update.

Holy Paladins Changes

• All healing reduced by 3%;

• Holy Light healing increased by 40%;

• Flash of Light healing increased by 30%;

• Daybreak now restores 2000 mana per Glimmer consumed at level 70 (previously 3000);

• Reclamation now restores up to 12% of Crusader Strike and Holy Shock's mana cost (was 15%);

• Glimmer of Light healing and damage increased by 4% per target (previously 6%);

• Glimmer of Light damage increased by 10%.

The Holy Paladin Rework in Review

The Holy Paladin received a major rework in patch 10.1.5, which resulted in significant improvements. The spec became quite powerful and had to be nerfed multiple times since then. In Mythic+ content, Holy Paladins continue to dominate. From a gameplay, talent tree design, and performance perspective, the rework has been a resounding success, making Holy Paladin gameplay more enjoyable than ever before.

This article aims to provide feedback on the successful aspects of the rework and identify areas that need improvement. We wanted to observe how things settled down and the direction the spec would take going into patch 10.2.

We are concerned about the future cohesion of the Holy Paladin spec. The balance of Holy Power spenders, Holy Shock, and Infusion of Light is delicate, and any element becoming too strong would disrupt this balance. This precarious "Holy Trinity" of the spec's power must be maintained to ensure a harmonious gameplay experience. However, the recent changes on the 10.2 PTR put this balance at risk.

• What Has Worked Well

The rework has brought about significant improvements and many positive changes. The talent tree, in particular, offers various playstyles and enhances player agency over healing. With the introduction of new synergies between spells and talents, Holy Paladins now have a more well-rounded and complete spec and rotation.

The Talent Tree

The Holy Paladin talent tree underwent tremendous improvement with the rework. Notably, the combination of Daybreak and Rising Sunlight, along with Divine Toll, creates a potent and enjoyable cooldown. Additionally, many obsolete talents have been removed, while boring talents like "Holy Power spenders do 5% more healing" have been replaced. The tree's pathing has become smoother and less punishing, making it envy-worthy for other specs.

Playstyle and Agency

The playstyle of Holy Paladin has become more engaging and intuitive. With the removal of Avenging Crusader, players now have more agency over their healing targets and decisions. The rework has emphasized the importance of Holy Shock and Infusion of Light, while maintaining the fast-paced gameplay that Holy Paladins are accustomed to. The changes to Holy Power spenders and Infusion of Light have increased the flexibility of spell choices, adding more depth to gameplay.

Spell Synergy

The rework introduced several new synergies between spells. The most significant of these include the interactions between Barrier of Faith and Tyr's Deliverance with Holy Shock, making these spells more interesting and viable. Other notable interactions include Daybreak and Rising Sunlight, which synergize with Divine Toll, as well as the increased focus on Glimmer of Light and its interaction with talents like Glorious Dawn, Light's Protection, and Overflowing Light. The design of the spec feels more sensible, and the vision behind it is easier to comprehend.

• What Has Not Worked Well and Issues Heading into Patch 10.2

Despite the overall success of the rework, there are areas that still need improvement. Some of these include a low skill ceiling combined with a high skill floor, button bloat, and the continued reliance on the Holy Power system. While opinions may differ regarding the issues with Holy Power, the WowCarry strongly believes that it poses a problem for an otherwise positive rework. Additionally, weak tuning of Holy Power threatens to undo the progress made by the rework.

Button Bloat

The rework introduced multiple new spells or made previously obsolete spells usable again. Spells like Daybreak, Hand of Divinity, Barrier of Faith, and Tyr's Deliverance required additional keybinds, resulting in button bloat. With the reintroduction of Flash of Light and Holy Light rotations, alongside the many utility spells already available to Holy Paladin, players may struggle to find enough keybinds for all these spells.

Discrepancy in Performance Between Mythic+ and Raids

While Holy Paladins continue to dominate in Mythic+ content even after multiple rounds of nerfs, the impact of these nerfs is felt more prominently in raids. The nerfs resulted in a 20% reduction in direct healing per second, bringing Holy Paladins' performance in raids to a more reasonable level. The dominance of Holy Paladins in Mythic+ can be attributed not only to their impressive numbers but also to their unmatched toolkit, including healing cooldowns, utility, damage reductions, immunities, and externals.

Currently, Blizzard has primarily focused on nerfing throughput without adjusting the toolkit of Holy Paladins. This approach is understandable, considering the recent rework. However, these nerfs disproportionately affect raid performance compared to Mythic+ performance. To address the issue of Holy Paladin domination in Mythic+, Blizzard must either provide other healers with similar powerful tools or reduce the number of tools available to Holy Paladins. Focusing solely on throughput nerfs will continue to impact raid performance more severely than Mythic+ performance.

Lack of Possible Skill Expression

Compared to other healers, Holy Paladin has a relatively straightforward and less intricate playstyle. However, the current version of Holy Paladin feels lacking in depth. The introduction of 2 charges for Holy Shock has made it easier to avoid wasted casts. Furthermore, the weakening of Holy Power spenders means players are less punished for overcapping Holy Power. In many cases, players are forced to overcap due to the abundance of resources and the resetting nature of Holy Shock. The rework also weakened healing cooldowns, allowing players to save their mistakes using other cooldowns due to the surplus available. Other healers, on the other hand, might not have any cooldowns available for subsequent damage events, resulting in wipes.

While there is no magical solution to this issue, nor is it necessary to completely solve it, it is worth noting that Holy Paladin lacks the depth and intricacy of other healers, which further strengthens their meta dominance.

The Shaky Balance of Holy Power, Holy Shock, and Infusion of Light

As mentioned earlier, the Holy Paladin spec relies on the balance of Holy Power, Holy Shock, and Infusion of Light. If one element becomes too strong, it will overshadow the others and break the balance. This is a problem because the cohesion of the spec depends on maintaining this balance.

For instance, if Holy Shock becomes too powerful, players would prioritize maximizing Holy Shock casts by consuming as much Infusion of Light as possible. To facilitate this, Holy Power spenders would take a backseat, and players would disregard overcapping Holy Power as long as it resulted in more Holy Shock casts. Even before the rework went live, theorycrafters noted that the strength of Infusion of Light spenders and, to some extent, Holy Shock, posed a threat to this balance. This led to speculation about ignoring Holy Power and focusing instead on tracking Blessing of Dawn stacks, only casting spenders at 2 stacks. While the difference between these methods was minimal, players are starting to adopt the latter method and perform well in live servers.

In patch 10.2, the increased focus on spot healing across all healers poses a challenge. Blizzard has chosen to buff Flash of Light and Holy Light while neglecting Word of Glory. Consequently, Holy Power spenders are even weaker than before. If this does not change, players will have to intentionally ignore Holy Power and only cast spenders at 2 Blessing of Dawn stacks. This situation may feel like déjà vu for players who experienced the removal of Holy Power in Legion, prompted by a similar issue. It is hoped that history does not repeat itself.

One major problem with maintaining the balance of this Holy Trinity is that it greatly limits the design possibilities for future tier sets. If Blizzard wishes to create a tier set that enhances one aspect of the Trinity while making others weaker, sacrifices must be made. Currently, the toolkit of Holy Paladin relies on Holy Power, Infusion of Light procs, and the timely usage of Holy Shock. Ignoring parts of this toolkit, whether intentionally or due to overcapping resources, feels counterintuitive and limits gameplay possibilities.

While it may be possible to resolve the issue by buffing Word of Glory, it would upset the balance further. Buffing Word of Glory without addressing Light of Dawn would create an imbalance and contradict the increased focus on spot healing. Additionally, buffing spenders would disproportionately affect Holy Paladin performance across the board, throwing off overall healer balance.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the rework has significantly improved the Holy Paladin spec, and it will continue to excel in raids and Mythic+ content. The gameplay is better than ever, offering a fast-paced and fun experience with increased player agency. However, there are areas that require attention to maintain the balance between different aspects of the spec.

If you made it through this extensive article, congratulations! Your dedication is truly commendable!