Which paladin spec is more viable in MoP- Holy or Prot?

[Deleted]

I've always played ret as main spec but usually I end up using my secondary spec just the same if not more than my main.
I've been gone for a year and planning to return but I want to know how are things now.
How are holy paladins doing compared to other healers? Is it true taht you need to be meleeing to get mana to heal? As a healer I would hate it because I need to see whats happening to the raid and manage things. If I have to be meleeing like monks (I hear) that would pretty much decide it for me. However, if not and if your healing is comparable to others I would be playing healer since is different than just meleeing again as tank. When I lelf cata only our shaman was outhealing me.

What is the situation with tanking? In Wrath I like that you could always get enough treat to keep the mobs on you, just because holy damage was high. I know healers are more in demand, but generally I would prefer to tank if tanking is comparable to other classes and if I have to melee in healer mode.

So, what are your observations or its too early to say?

PS: I saw the guild recruitment forum (for guilds) but is there a forum for players seeking guilds?

[Redeam]

Holy Pala seems really fun, also if it's true you have to be meleeing, it wouldn't be the first time .
Honestly I would go with your prefered spec as primary spec, and then go with either holy/prot depending on what your guild is gonna be needing.

[Deleted]

Problem is that I'll be looking for a guild so I don't know what they'll be needing and also I am afraid of promising to play a spec I won't like.

[Ferocity]

Prot feels bad in all aspects in MoP atm. They are currently as broken (if not more) as bear tanks were on start of Cata.

Holy is quite good though, and you don't really need to melee mobs unless you have serious mana issues, and even then it requires just auto-attacking.

[Eleiko]

Holy is in a good spot at the moment, and they don't really have any mana problems once you get a bit of spirit on your gear (for heroic 5 mans atleast).

[Luvina]

I'm leveling my Paladin first this time around, and I'm rather enjoying playing Holy/Ret. I agree that it's in a good spot and mana seems to be holding up rather well in dungeons.

[Karazee]

Problem is that I'll be looking for a guild so I don't know what they'll be needing and also I am afraid of promising to play a spec I won't like.

Then how about you figure out which you like, tanking or healing, and then find a guild that needs that one as an offspec? Why tailor your play to fit a guild instead of finding a guild to fit your play? Seems like you're doing it bass ackwards.

[Deleted]

Then how about you figure out which you like, tanking or healing, and then find a guild that needs that one as an offspec? Why tailor your play to fit a guild instead of finding a guild to fit your play? Seems like you're doing it bass ackwards.

Read my opening post

[Karazee]

I did read your opening post. How about you read your follow up post?

[Drfireburns]

Myself, along with a Feral Druid are our guilds MT, so even if I suddenly couldn't stand being Prot, I'm forced to stay that way... I also get first dibs on our Legendary, so I definitely want to stay Prot.

[LuminousAether]

I've been leveling my paladin as holy / ret and so far, I'm really not that pleased about my holy paladin. I still feel strong enough, I'm not running out of mana and people aren't dying because I can't heal the damage they are taking, but many of my tools were changed, and I would have to say that holy paladin feels like a somewhat unfun version of the Cataclysm holy paladin. For instance, I really liked that little dash ability I would get. I suppose I do have a faster run speed, but that just doesn't feel as fun to me. I could grow into it though, I definitely don't feel underpowered or anything.

[Splatter]

with a couple of bits of gear I am finding holy to be quite good to play and mana reasonably easy to manage. As a healer I am finding prot pallies to be incredibly squishy. I get the occasional one that isn't but most seem far squishier than their warrior/druid/dk counterparts.

[casually]

holy is quite good.

prot is really good too.. im almost fully 463 gear'd on my tank pally and pulling anywhere from 70k-120k aoe dps on mobs.. sometimes up to 180k if its a huge ass mob(ive had 90k+ vengeance) on Thalnos the (first scarlet monastery boss)

im doing around 30k-40k single target dps on some hard hitting fights.. dipping below to 18k on fights with no vengeance (like the jade serpent sha fight at the end)

[Deleted]

How can I decide which I like more, omg I know this sounds like REALLY stupid question but I guess I like them both 50% 50%.
Maybe I should tell you guys what my alts are - a mage and a rogue. I mean when I play WoW I want to experience different things, that's why I chose a ranged and then rogue which I think has the most different gameplay style compared to a pally and a mage.
However, to me a tank and a healer are both very far away from a dps role. But maybe at the moment I am more into holy just because raids need fewer tanks than healers and I would have more opportunity to heal I think...
Please help!

[Deleted]

How can I decide which I like more,...

Try both? Our paladin healer has a prot offspec. With 5 mans and LFR, you can easily keep up two gear sets and see which play style you prefer.

[UnderworldSoup]

Prot feels bad in all aspects in MoP atm.

I don't understand what you're basing this on. Protection isn't bad against the mechanics in Mogu'shan Vaults and it's strengths against physical damage are shown on several of the fights through rends or cleaves.

It's quite balanced in terms of survivability, and their hotfixes issues yesterday addressing the damage output is a step in the right direction.

[Ferocity]

I don't understand what you're basing this on. Protection isn't bad against the mechanics in Mogu'shan Vaults and it's strengths against physical damage are shown on several of the fights through rends or cleaves.

It's quite balanced in terms of survivability, and their hotfixes issues yesterday addressing the damage output is a step in the right direction.

What I see is direct nerf to damage. Survival-wise they are also far from balanced as they rely on too much stats and whole active mitigation concept for them is very clunky.

[Deleted]

It seems, healing paladins are in a better spot right now, but with the buffs to wrath and avengers shield I don't know.
And though I already said up that I would probably get more opportunities to heal, I forgot to mention that I love soloing stuff and watched a video of a pally soloing the lich king and I don't think I would be able to do it in ret or holy spec.
Plus I loved The Avengers so I want to have avengers shield (just joking)
But really still can't decide. I maybe also have to mention that I haven't been tanking from Wrath so probably will suck big time, in the begging at least.

---------- Post added 2012-10-03 at 10:46 PM ----------

And this matters because I am changing guilds and I want to make a good first impression.