Season of Discovery Holy Paladin Healer Leveling

Paladin is one of three classes that can play every role, with Holy being their healing specialization. Holy Paladin is an incredible companion for any kind of group content, be that duo leveling or 5-man dungeon grinding. Paladin provides unique buffs in the form of auras and blessings that help maximize efficiency in a group setting while also providing some of the best single target healing and consistent AoE damage via Consecration. If you intend on solo leveling, it is recommended that you consider playing Retribution which is much faster.

The talent build recommended above focusing on maximizing your personal survivability and Healing output as most people planning to level in a Healing specialization are often grouped with another player. The talent build above will enable you and your partner(s) to pull more mobs due to the emphasis on bonus healing and powerful tools to regenerate mana and limit down time. If you do find yourself solo leveling as Holy, consider putting a point into Consecration to add some AoE damage to your relatively limited damage arsenal.

Healing does not necessarily have a rotation, but rather a constantly changing list of priorities. As such you must be always ready to handle different situations as they occur. Holy Paladin has two primary healing abilities, Holy Light and Flash of Light.

Holy Light is a bigger, slower heal that costs considerably more Mana, while Flash of Light is a smaller, faster heal that is relatively inexpensive. Which ability you use depends largely on the situation at hand, but you will primarily be casting Flash of Light. In a situation where you need a large single-target heal or are just topping someone off out of combat you should use Holy Light.

Once you have reached level 40 you can talent into Holy Shock, an instant cast that either heals an ally or deals damage to an enemy. This is incredibly inefficient, but in an emergency or on the move this should be used.

• Chest — Divine Storm
• Hands — Crusader Strike
• Legs — Exorcist
• Waist — Sheath of Light
• Feet — Sacred Shield
• Helm — Light's Grace
• Wrist — Purifying Power

Divine Storm is a great way to deal damage to multiple targets while providing a small amount of healing as well, though your primary focus is Healing. Most of the content available while leveling does so little damage that you will find yourself with the opportunity to weave in some damaging abilities.

Crusader Strike, much like Divine Storm, should be used if you find yourself with downtime to deal some additional damage. Crusader Strike deals damage and returns 5% of your maximum Mana when used.

Exorcist allows you to cast Exorcism on any kind of enemy, adding another damaging button. Most of the Runes found in the leg slot are very specific niche situation utility, whereas this is another button you will be able to consistently use.

Sheath of Light increases the potency of both your damaging abilities and heals in exchange for melee attacking once a minute.

Sacred Shield provides a small amount of mitigation and synergizes incredibly well with Flash of Light which will likely be your most frequently cast healing spell.

Light's Grace is the default choice as it reduces the cast time of your Holy Light ability. If you find yourself talented into Consecration and have time to cast it, Wrath will allow you to deal even more damage.

Purifying Power reduces the cooldown of your Exorcism ability by 50%, greatly increasing your possible damage output and allowing you to use your Holy Wrath ability against all mob types.

If you are unsure where to find these Runes or are just curious what other options may be available, feel free to check out our Paladin Rune guide listed included below to get a better idea of how to plan this all out in your leveling journey.

Gear while leveling as a Holy Paladin is largely focused on maximizing your Holy Damage and minimizing your downtime. Holy Paladin damage is very low, and as such we are not particularly focused on trying to lower kill speeds, but more so maximizing uptime. You won't have many items that increase just your Holy damage, so keep an eye out for items that increase spell damage.

1. Holy Damage;
2. Spirit;
3. Intellect;
4. Stamina;
5. Strength.

Leveling Professions while leveling can slow down your time if you are in a rush to max level however, working towards leveling them while you are out in the level appropriate zone will generally save you more time in the long run if you level as you go, this is especially true with Gathering professions such as Herbalism, Skinning and Mining. These can be used both to create supplies for the crafting profession of your choosing or simply to supplement your income by selling the material on the Auction House to help pay for things like new abilities and even a mount at level 40.

First Aid is incredible even as a class that can self heal the fact that you can quickly heal yourself at no mana cost can sometimes be the difference between surviving an encounter or dying.