My last post has fallen off the first page, so I suppose it's time for the next. Below is a list of 10 mistakes I see Holy Pallies making based on their armory alone. There are things that aren't on this list (bad professions, Hit/Spirit gear, etc), this is just a list composed of the largest mistakes that I see the most often. They are listed in no particular order.
NOTE: There's a good chance I'm going to just start linking people to this thread and quoting numbers instead of repeating myself over and over and over. As such, I'd rather this didn't turn this into one of those hur hur list threads. I really don't want to see someone post a reply like "11) UR progression is suxors" and a bunch of people who feel the need to put up their own numbers after. If there's something glaring that you think is missing from this list, write up a paragraph of discussion about it. Like I said though, this list was not meant to be all inclusive. It's just meant to hit the most major and most often seen mistakes.
As always, anyone who has questions or is seeking personal advice can feel free to message me in game or through these forums.
TEN THINGS WRONG WITH YOUR HOLY PALLY'S ARMORY
1) You're specc'ed into Ret instead of Prot. The main benefit of the Ret tree for a Holy Pally is the massive amount of Crit it gives. However, Crit is one of our worst stats (tied with SP, IMO). On the other hand, even post "nerf", Divine Sac/Guardian is still very strong. And, in some ways, better than it was before. The actual amount absorbed has been reduced (and you can't use the godly Bubble Sac for infinite absorbs), however a clause was added that turns off the damage redirection ability when the Paladin reaches 20% health (the raidwide mini shield wall persists). This means that the ability can be used on its own CD rather than waiting for five minutes on Bubble. Just make sure it's not up during periods of significant simultaneous AoE raid damage. If all the damage is transferred over at the exact same time, you will die.
2) Wrong Shoulder/Helm enchant. SP/MP5 is correct. SP/Crit is not. In any straight comparison, MP5 is much better than Crit. MP5 supplies more than double the mana regen compared to Crit at a cost of throughput from actual crits. Given that regen is what Holy Pallies need most and throughput is what we need least, the choice is obvious.
3) Your trinkets are wrong. There is no excuse whatsoever not to have two very solid trinkets. Talisman of Resurgence is an easy badge purchase and Tears of the Vanquished is an easy farm from 5-man normal ToC. Every Holy Pally should start with these two and move up from there. Running with crap trinkets is completely unacceptable.
4) You are pushing the wrong stats. Either on purpose or through fault of drops, the stats that matter are low and the stats that suck are high. Our stat prioritization is Haste/MP5 > Haste/Crit >>> Crit/MP5 (where each ‘>’ is worth roughly 16 ilevels). This means that most, if not all, of your gear should have Haste. If you are struggling with when to upgrade and to what, read my post here about prioritization vs. ilevel. There is no hard and fast rule, but I have given some guidelines and examples that may be helpful.
5) Your gems are wrong. Insightful Earthsiege Diamond and lots and lots of Brilliant King's Amber. Anything else is wrong. If you can use a Luminious Ametrine and a Dazzling Eye of Zul to meet two socket bonuses, go ahead. Otherwise use a Nightmare Tear. A socket bonus that gives Int is usually worth getting as well. Also, be smart about your gemming. Don't get a +7 SP bonus when you can put that gem in a different spot and get +9 SP.
6) You're spending your badges incorrectly. Right now, this pertains specifically to Frost Badges. Holy Pallies should be purchasing the Tier Helm and the Tier Shoulders ahead of everything else. It doesn't matter that the Badge Cloak may be a bigger upgrade than the Tier Helm. Get the Helm. These two tier pieces will not be replaced until Cataclysm. That cloak, on the other hand, is like sixth in line behind a bunch of incoming Haste Cloaks that are going to be much more obtainable than they have been in the past.
7) Your unbuffed mana is crazy high. Yes, this is a thing that you're doing wrong. Int is great for us. But blindly stacking it is not. If you have 37k or more unbuffed mana, you are probably doing something wrong. Specifically, you are not running with one or more Solace of the Defeated trinkets. If you are able to reach these godly mana levels, you are more than capable of picking up a Solace. The itemization on this trinket is nearly twice what it should be. Meaning that it will provide significantly more mana return than any of the Int trinkets out there. (Please check the date of this post before responding to this point, thanks. For refrence, all that was available in ICC at the time was the first four bosses. -- The Management)
8) Wrong Libram. This can go two ways. If you are undergeared, averagegeared or slightlyoveraveragegeared you should be using Libram of Renewal. Anything else is wrong. If you are omgwtfovergeared, you should consider using Libram of Veracity, especially for easy content. The latter will become less and less true as (hopefully) difficult content is released and then true once again when your guild has ICC on farm.
9) You have not properly coordinated your spec with the rest of your raid. Obviously, I cannot tell if this is the case just by looking at Armory. But I try to point out situations where it may exist. The biggest one I see is Holy Pallies running with 3/3 Imp Devo Aura. The chances of you actually needing this are very slim. Resto Druids and Prot Pallies both provide the same healing bonus and it does not stack. You should also coordinate Imp BoW and Imp Conc Aura with your raid's other Holy Pally, if you have one.
10) You're using the wrong Glyphs. Required Major: Holy Light, Seal of Wisdom. Required Minor: LoH. Options for the third Major include Beacon, LoH, HS and FoL. There isn't really a "wrong" option in those - however, Beacon is probably the best and HS is probably the worst.
We'll round it off with one thing that doesn't matter:
1) Your gearscore. When I review someone's Armory I couldn't care less about the ilevel of the gear they are wearing. I am much more interested in how well they're working with what they've got. If you're doing it right in Naxx gear, you'll get higher marks from me than if you're doing it wrong in Heroic TotGC.