| rdfs:comment | - Paladin mana management works very differently from other healing classes, who mostly depend on spirit. A paladin's best mana return mechanic is [Illumination]. Additionally (and as of patch 3.0.2), most paladins (from level 71 on) rely on [Divine Plea]. These talents make intellect and critical strike rating much more attractive stats to paladin healers than the spirit and MP5 other classes prioritize. The 50% healing reduction caused by Divine Plea makes [Flash of Light] very inefficient (in terms of HPS) while the spell is active, so it is generally better to stick to [Holy Light], and in raid situations, many paladins now use this as their primary heal. Also, paladin healers in raids also frequently use [Lay on Hands] (combined with [Improved Lay on Hands] and ) to restore mana to them
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| abstract | - Paladin mana management works very differently from other healing classes, who mostly depend on spirit. A paladin's best mana return mechanic is [Illumination]. Additionally (and as of patch 3.0.2), most paladins (from level 71 on) rely on [Divine Plea]. These talents make intellect and critical strike rating much more attractive stats to paladin healers than the spirit and MP5 other classes prioritize. The 50% healing reduction caused by Divine Plea makes [Flash of Light] very inefficient (in terms of HPS) while the spell is active, so it is generally better to stick to [Holy Light], and in raid situations, many paladins now use this as their primary heal. Also, paladin healers in raids also frequently use [Lay on Hands] (combined with [Improved Lay on Hands] and ) to restore mana to themselves when they run out. As of patch 4.0.1a, with Illumination removed, paladins rely as much on spirit as other healers. At lower gear levels and without the benefits of raid-wide mana regeneration buffs, your basic healing spell is more likely to be Flash of Light. With adequate gear (and assuming the tank you are probably healing is also adequately geared) for the situation, you can generally spam it in order to keep your target's health topped. In situations like this, Holy Light will generally be reserved for times when the HPS of Flash of Light is not adequate to keep up with damage. Holy Light has a relatively long casting time, so it's important to use it before you fall too far behind, or you may not be able to finish casting it in time. [Beacon of Light], the 51 point Holy tree talent (thus available no earlier than level 60) partially makes up for the fact that paladins have no direct multi-target healing abilities. As it echoes to the Beacon's target any healing done to other party/raid members, it is a very helpful way of ensuring the tank (or often the paladin himself) is kept alive while the paladin is healing other people. [Judgements of the Pure] requires the healing paladin land a judgement on some foe and provides up to a 15% increase in casting haste, significantly reducing the casting time of Holy Light and Flash of Light (to a lesser degree). Thus, a healing paladin is likely to judge the tank's current foe early in the combat. In urgent situations, it may be wise to use a combination of [Divine Favor] and [Holy Shock] to trigger [Infusion of Light], which will give you another instant cast Flash of Light or an increased critical chance on your next Holy Light. This is highly mana inefficient, of course, so it should be reserved only for situations where you do not have enough time to complete a more efficient heal. In dire situations, Lay on Hands will provide a very large, instantaneous burst heal to your target. This can be a potent tool when a battle starts to go downhill. This ability has a fairly long cooldown, so choosing when to use it can be difficult. It is also important to consider your various damage mitigation abilities. [Divine Shield] will prevent you from taking any damage for 12 seconds, allowing you to focus on healing the other members of your party in peace or giving you valuable time to restore your own health. [Sacred Shield] (learned at level 80) can absorb damage for your target while increasing your HPS output and mana regeneration. The amount of damage absorbed will scale with your own spell power, making this a highly effective tool for holy paladins. [Hand of Sacrifice] (learned at level 46) can also be used to transfer damage from your target to yourself. Because paladin healers must use direct healing spells, they cannot always wait to see how much damage their target has taken before deciding which heal to cast. This results in "spamming" (usually of Flash of Light) or chain-casting and in turn, paladin healers are sometimes criticized for "overhealing" (which is essentially wasting mana by healing a target for more than the amount of damage he has taken). Overhealing that doesn't make you run out of mana is fully acceptable. Remember — it is always better to overheal than underheal and suffer wipe after wipe. [Hammer of Justice] is invaluable for lone trash adds that are not immune to stuns. 5 seconds of free time is enough to get some mana back from auto-attacking with [Seal of Wisdom] and/or [Judgement of Wisdom].
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