First post to say hello, and to ask basic questions :)

Hey all guys,

I am a lev 63 BE paladin and I love this site. I turned to protection around lev 50 and I really love it.

I read quite a lot this forum and it gave me a lot of tips and nice advices. Atm I am facing the first outland instance, and I made several runs in ramparts, bf and sp.

At the beginning it has been very hard, some people out there seem to be absolutely unable to be polite with newbyes, and they just make thinks more difficoult. Now my equipment is a lot better (I am around 7000hp wich is not optimal but better than 4000 ) and I am starting mastering pulls and strategies and it is really rewarding from the personal satisfaction point of view.

Now this is me, I hope I will go on improving and I like to point out some general questions. I am sorry if answers are already there in some posts.. I have read quite a lot but not 100%.

Questions:

1) Specced full prot as I am I can play the role of main healer in a 5 man normal (using dedicated equipment ofc)?

2) which + healing +int + spirit targets should I have on that equipment?

3) which reputations should I focus on while exping? (playing a lot of instance I am lev 63 and still on hellfire quests...)

4) is there any specific item 60-70 that is an absolute "must have"?

5 and last) Is possible to get to 70 with enough reputation to get the epic mount?


thanks a lot for your support!!

1. You can, but you're not best optimised for it.
2. Get +int, + healing and +mp5. Spirit's no good, and most paladin healing plate's got spellcrit in place of mp5, which is useless without 20 points in Holy.
3. Keepers of Time and Cenarion Expedition are good reps to get to revered at least as soon as you can after 70.
4. Flesh Beasts Metal Greaves are pretty much the best pre-epic tanking boots. They come from an escort quest in Mana Tombs. Pretty much everything else will be replaceable around 70.
5. Reputation no, gold yes. If you're careful about how you spend it and sell pretty much every saleable thing that drops. My advice is do as much xp/instance grinding as you can after HFP and save all your quests for lvl 70, when the XP rewards they give will be converted into gold instead.
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I don't wish to come across as surly or mean-spirited, but I am, so that's how it comes out.
Armory : Gear Advice

There's too many variables to answer 1. succinctly.

Is your tank well-geared? Is he undergeared? Is he overgeared?
Are your DPS the kind of retards who hit the biggest nuke button 0.1 secs after a pull and then require healing whilst the tank vainly tries to get aggro back?

Basically, with decent healing gear, you'll do an ok job healing. You won't have the talents that put that extra wollop into your heals or give you abilities to get you out of tight corners.
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I don't wish to come across as surly or mean-spirited, but I am, so that's how it comes out.
Armory : Gear Advice

You will be able to quite much to heal any normal with FoL spamming with blessing of light up, but don't bother with heroics
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Proud founder of the 40/21 club

A few thoughts from a Holy Paladin...

1. The only stats you should be looking for on your off-spec healing gear is: Intellect and + Heal, with MP5 being a distant, distant third. Armor type (Plate, Mail, Leather, Cloth) is largely unimportant because you have to be playing the "I never want to be hit" game rather than the "I can heal while being beat on" game and thus the amount of armor you have is largely unimportant. Stamina would be the 4th stat to look for but it is also largely useless because unlike a Holy Paladin, you cannot heal through taking damage. You MUST play the "avoidance" game of never getting aggro instead of the "I can get hit while still healing" game that a Holy Paladin can play.

2. Run with Blessing of Salvation. Period. Without other MP5 gear / talents, what little MP5 that Blessing of Wisdom will deliver will not be enough to keep you from going OOM in a normal fight. You must have enough Mana with your Intellect /Mana Pots in order to finish the pull. Bless of Salvation will help the "never get aggro" game.

2a. Place Blessing of Salvation on all DPS in party. No exceptions. You cannot have them getting aggro and require healing from you. You must focus on the tank and the tank only. If they grab aggro for over-nuking, heal them the first time with a warning (assuming you have a good tank). If they do it again, let them die. If they do it a 3rd time, boot them. You must focus on the tank only.

2c. Place Blessing of Light on the tank. No exceptions.

3. Make sure you bring AT LEAST 4 stacks of you best water (I carry six stacks at all times). As an off-spec healer, you will probably be drinking in between EVERY pull and should never have the tank start a pull without you at full mana.

4. You CANNOT gain aggro and heal effectively, unlike a Holy Paladin. I can heal with Concentration Aura up and have a 100% chance to not get "push-back" on a healing spell when being hit in combat. You only have a 35% chance to not get "push-back" and that is not enough to keep anyone alive. If you draw aggro, you must get if off you. Use DS or BoP if available. Make a Macro that yells into party chat "Help the Pally Healer, my face it getting eaten" to have someone get aggro off you. If possible, have one of the ranged DPS classes (Hunter, Frost Mage, Elemental Shaman preferred) stand right next to you and take a break from DPSing the main target to draw mobs aggro off of you if you get it until the tank can pick the mob up.

5. If possible, get the Hypotist's Watch trinket from the quest Voidwalkers Gone Wild in HFP. It is a weak version of a Priest's Fade spell on a 5 min CD but can help out if you gain aggro and your bubbles are on CD.

6. Intellect and + Heal is everything to an off-spec Pally healer. Stack it everywhere you can. Get the Potions of Healing Power for a + 50 Heal. Get enchants on good pieces of healing gear even though they are expensive. Gem your gear. You must get as much + Heal and Intellect as you can.

7. As a rule of thumb, + 400 Healing is good for level 60 Outland instances, + 600 at level 64, + 800 at level 66, + 1000 at level 68 and + 1200 at level 70 for off spec. Mana pool needs to be large enough that you can spam Flash of Light for about 40 seconds levels 60-64, around 60 seconds for levels 64-68 and for at least 90 seconds for levels 68 and up.

8. Make a hot bar that has these spells on it: Flash of Light, Holy Light, Cleanse, Blessing of Protection, Blessing of Freedom, Divine Shield and Hammer of Justice on it. Cast NO other spells while acting as main healer during combat.

8a. On a boss fight/single mob pull, Hammer of Justice is an 6 sec "heal spell." Stunned single mob = no incoming damage = longer endurance for the healer. Use it every time it is off of CD.

9. Place your Holy Light button FAR away from you Flash of Light button so you do not mix them up. You FoL button should be mashed every 1.5 seconds after the tank grabs intial aggro. You HL button is your "oh shoot" button and should be cast with GREAT reluctance. You will go OOM quickly if you have to "spam" HL ("spam" being 5 casts in a row and then OOM). BoP and DS are for use on you and you alone to drop aggro. BoF is for use on the tank alone in order to have him be able to follow the kill mob.

10. Let the DPS classes know that their healing will be thin and that they need to use bandages or pots to keep their health up. Make sure everyone in the party knows you are off-spec and they should not be expecting you to keep every health bar full green all the time.

11. Make 2 macros. One says "the Pally healer is almost out of Mana, Prepare to use consumables" and hit it when you are at 10% mana and on mana potion cooldown. The 2nd one says "the Pally healer is OOM, use consumables.' Make sure you had enough mana to activate Seal of Wisdom and go wail on the mob until you get enough mana back to cast a FoL or two on the tank or until you mana potions are off CD.

12. That is largely it. Intellect, + Heal, Bless of Light, Bless of Salvation, lots of water, macros and focused FoL healing on the tank.

Good luck.

Cheers,
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Thad, Current Toon = Blood Elf Pally Bloodprince on Altar of Storms

I actually have cleanse on my tanking bar. Too many memories of being the only Cleanser on Prince attempts.
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I don't wish to come across as surly or mean-spirited, but I am, so that's how it comes out.
Armory : Gear Advice

I'm with the above. I've got cleanse macro'd on shift 4, but I never run decursive. Most of the time, when I'm main tanking, I'm running it as close to the wall as I can, so if I took the time to cleanse someone, the harm well outweighs the benefit.

That being said, I do have it bound to a mouse-over macro for doing 5-mans.

My "G" key is a macro that cleanses myself, and my Tilde (~) is a mouse-over cleanse.
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Stormreaver US

Modus | Governor

My tilde is ALT+126 so i can't bind it.

Cleanse is on my 4, mouseover macro tho. Whatever i do i got no time to click anything.
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Proud founder of the 40/21 club

ctrl+mouse 4 on mouse over

clique mod ftw.
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Thanks all for great replies and information

yesterday I tried underbog, a little bit too much for my 7k HP and second boss killed me 3 times (maybe we didnt have best possible healer too )

not a single problem with trashes and the first boss though

at 64 I will farm that place

ps how ofted does the signature update? My ench is still 160 and I am 260 now )
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You can force-update it by changing a detail.
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Proud founder of the 40/21 club