[Priest] Holy Raiding Guide (4.3)

[Mazi]

I'm glad I could help you guys! Thanks so much for the feedback. I will be adding in some revisions possibly sometime this weekend

[Deleted]

Very nice guide, thank you Was very helpful to remind me of some things I tend to forget in the heat of the battle (combining mana cooldowns for example).

I haven't read all the comments, so forgive me if I repeat something:

You might want to add something on the importance of proper group setup, at least for 10m (I have no current experience with 25m raids).
I find it makes healing so much easier if the groups are set up correctly for PoH. As there aren't many group-restricted spells left, it is possible to optimize the groups for PoH, especially if the raid is spread out.

In my raid group I always build the groups, which should be possible for most priests, as most other healers don't care about the groups.

[Mazi]

Very nice guide, thank you Was very helpful to remind me of some things I tend to forget in the heat of the battle (combining mana cooldowns for example).

I haven't read all the comments, so forgive me if I repeat something:

You might want to add something on the importance of proper group setup, at least for 10m (I have no current experience with 25m raids).
I find it makes healing so much easier if the groups are set up correctly for PoH. As there aren't many group-restricted spells left, it is possible to optimize the groups for PoH, especially if the raid is spread out.

In my raid group I always build the groups, which should be possible for most priests, as most other healers don't care about the groups.

Indeed it is important, I will add this to my list of changes. I always just bug the RL (can you swap so and so for better group placements) etc. Things like that can go a long long way when it comes to a Holy Priest's effectiveness! Thanks for the reminder.

[Andon]

Awesome guide, thanks for all the breakpoints!

[Deleted]

To reach a cast time of 2.1 seconds:

• Haste Percent: 10.08%
• Haste Rating: 1290

To gain an extra tick on Renew, Hymn of Hope and Divine Hymn:

• Haste Percent: 12.50%
• Haste Rating: 516

So, 12.5% haste requires less haste rating than 10.08% ? :P

Otherwise, great work, love it! Thank you a bunch

[Kelesti]

So, 12.5% haste requires less haste rating than 10.08% ? :P

Otherwise, great work, love it! Thank you a bunch

Well, realistically, that was a shortcut, because people wouldn't recognize what 4.03% haste meant.

[Deleted]

I figured, it just reads out very weird when you compare all the values.

[Mazi]

Might be a typo? Haha, I don't even know. I'll have to go back and look at the source

[Gradywhite]

One of the numbers is with +5% from raid buffs and +3% from Darkness, while the other is not--or at least that's how it looks without doing any math on it =P

To get to 12.5% haste raid buffed + 3/3 Darkness, you only need 4.03% haste from gear.

[Deleted]

I have a question regarding 4T11. How strong is it? Let's say I have 4 T11 359 ilevel. Is it worth using that instead of off pieces that are 372/378 ilevel?

[Mazi]

If you're wearing 359 definitely take the 2pc T12 as soon as you can. The MP5 isn't much less and you also gain other stats.

[Deleted]

If you're wearing 359 definitely take the 2pc T12 as soon as you can. The MP5 isn't much less and you also gain other stats.

Yeah sure. But I am playing shadow ms and have healing off spec. What I am thinking about is grabbing 4T11 instead of using my current shadow gear that is 372/378 items for the extra regen. My question is how strong the set bonus really is.l

[Deleted]

How is the "haste thresholds" for poh usefull? I can understand 12,5% for hoh/dh/renew and such. But 2.101sec cast time is pretty much the same as 2.100sec cast time, so it's hardly a "threshold".

[Mazi]

Yeah sure. But I am playing shadow ms and have healing off spec. What I am thinking about is grabbing 4T11 instead of using my current shadow gear that is 372/378 items for the extra regen. My question is how strong the set bonus really is.l

The 4pc bonus for T11 is a ton of regen, and the 2pc t12 is comparable. If you don't have T12, which I think is the point you're trying to get at, really use it at your own judgement. Are you ending the fight with a ton of mana? Then you don't need the 4pc. Are you ending the fight with little to no mana? You should probably keep it.

How is the "haste thresholds" for poh usefull? I can understand 12,5% for hoh/dh/renew and such. But 2.101sec cast time is pretty much the same as 2.100sec cast time, so it's hardly a "threshold".

You're right, 2.101 is nearly identical to 2.100 and that's why I feel going over any of those "thresholds" is somewhat of a "waste" since you can be putting that stat allocation into Mastery, therefore, as I said, they are guides: "Do your best to hit a 2.1 sec cast" ....if that makes sense?

[Gradywhite]

How is the "haste thresholds" for poh usefull? I can understand 12,5% for hoh/dh/renew and such. But 2.101sec cast time is pretty much the same as 2.100sec cast time, so it's hardly a "threshold".

It's more of a "get to a haste point you're comfortable with" rather than "you need XX% haste to be good." 2.1s casts on PoH are just a generally comfortable position with regards to haste and being able to get them out quick enough for your style of play.

[Deleted]

You're right, 2.101 is nearly identical to 2.100 and that's why I feel going over any of those "thresholds" is somewhat of a "waste" since you can be putting that stat allocation into Mastery, therefore, as I said, they are guides: "Do your best to hit a 2.1 sec cast" ....if that makes sense?

I think you missed the point. There is no waste, that's why there are no thresholds. Going from 2.101 sec cast time to 2.100 sec cast time will result in as much waste as going from 2.100 sec cast time to 2.099 sec cast time.

It's more of a "get to a haste point you're comfortable with" rather than "you need XX% haste to be good." 2.1s casts on PoH are just a generally comfortable position with regards to haste and being able to get them out quick enough for your style of play.

While I agree that is what is the case, the guide says otherwie.

My recommended method for handling a balance of Haste and Mastery would be using the following Haste thresholds. These thresholds will bring you to reduced cast times on your default 2.5 sec. cast spells (Prayer of Healing, Greater Heal, etc).

What I am recommending here is that you strive to reach whichever threshold you think will benefit you the most, and then stack Mastery. For example, if you want a cast time of 2.1 sec. on your PoH you will want to gain 1290 Haste Rating from gear/reforging/gems and no more. Once you reach this rating you will want to stack Mastery in gear/reforging/gems.

[Gradywhite]

That's loosely what the guide says.

[Themos]

The amount of haste required is very subjective, and exact thresholds are more of a placebo effect than any actual true throughput gain. From my experiences with Holy, simply reforge everything to Mastery. You'll still have ample Haste left on gear to make your spells quick enough to prevent deaths due to slow heals.

It's not like we have ample gear choices. If full 378 ilvl gear, there's only one set of gear for holy.

[Arlee]

everyone shoot for 5000 hastes /thread

[Mazi]

The amount of haste required is very subjective, and exact thresholds are more of a placebo effect than any actual true throughput gain. From my experiences with Holy, simply reforge everything to Mastery. You'll still have ample Haste left on gear to make your spells quick enough to prevent deaths due to slow heals.

It's not like we have ample gear choices. If full 378 ilvl gear, there's only one set of gear for holy.

Not everyone "likes" nor "wants" to play with 5% haste. In fact, I've had several people come to me directly about my recommendation of reaching about a 2.1 sec cast since it's easy rating wise and they noticed a considerable difference in their output and raid success. I have no intent whatsoever to modify the haste thresholds section, thank you for your input though.