Stay ret or learn holy?

[Noxina]

Wrong, hunter is most popular class.
But anyway, yes too many Paladins/rets. Would be cool if some would reroll so that ret will be buffed due to low numbers (blizz logic).

Just to true.. "Hmm, not many playing rogue - lets buff the shit out of them! Nah, lets give them a legendary aswell, that will for sure bring the class back!"..

[Xs]

Pointers on how to proper learn without grieving others?

Read the guide in this forum, its one of the best Hpally resources on the net atm, make sure you try 5 mans and LFR, then take a look at some of the advice thats been given out in the Fix my Heals thread, then do some WoL/Recount analysis and see where you need to improve. If you need help and have done all of that or at least tried, go ahead and ask for halp

[M2tt]

just play what you enjoy and feel like to play. Any spec has a fair chance to complete the same stages in the game.

[pld]

From my experience, it's always been easier to find a guild as a healer. I really enjoy Holy so give it a try and see if it's something you can see yourself doing full-time. If not, keep looking for a guild as ret! You may want to consider a server transfer if your having difficulties on your current server finding a guild. If it gives you any hope, in 5.1, our 10m raid had 2x Holy Paladins (both with ret off-specs!) and a Ret Paladin.

Healing at lower levels vs. healing at 90 is pretty different, so there's no point in re-leveling another paladin.

I've raided as all 3 paladin specs this expansion and I've personally found Holy to be the most fun. Paladin healing isn't really difficult and once you get some gear (and get used to the spec), you should be able to top LFR meters pretty easily. You can craft 450-463 gear for nearly every slot so if you're a BS or have access to one, it'll be easy to build up a starter set. Run a few heroics to get the hang of it and then jump into LFR and get some gear. The 522 valor gear is pretty decent for holy paladins too, so you can spend your valor on that.

I would suggest checking out some guides on YouTube to get an idea on how to play the class. PreachGaming is pretty good. Also, be prepared to Holy Shock a lot. Bind it to a spammable key.

[Song]

From my experience, it's always been easier to find a guild as a healer. I really enjoy Holy so give it a try and see if it's something you can see yourself doing full-time. If not, keep looking for a guild as ret! You may want to consider a server transfer if your having difficulties on your current server finding a guild. If it gives you any hope, in 5.1, our 10m raid had 2x Holy Paladins (both with ret off-specs!) and a Ret Paladin.

Healing at lower levels vs. healing at 90 is pretty different, so there's no point in re-leveling another paladin.

I've raided as all 3 paladin specs this expansion and I've personally found Holy to be the most fun. Paladin healing isn't really difficult and once you get some gear (and get used to the spec), you should be able to top LFR meters pretty easily. You can craft 450-463 gear for nearly every slot so if you're a BS or have access to one, it'll be easy to build up a starter set. Run a few heroics to get the hang of it and then jump into LFR and get some gear. The 522 valor gear is pretty decent for holy paladins too, so you can spend your valor on that.

I would suggest checking out some guides on YouTube to get an idea on how to play the class. PreachGaming is pretty good. Also, be prepared to Holy Shock a lot. Bind it to a spammable key.

Thank you for this really helpful post! Exactly what I was looking for as a reply. xD I'm going to begin learning holy today, use your advice, and see how it goes. I'll never know unless I give it an honest shot so here goes nothin! Thanks all!

[dennisdkramer]

Why should we bring a sub-par dps class when we instead can bring 5 mages or 5 warlocks?

That and the fact that melee is at a significant disadvantage (in terms of damage taken from fight mechanics, mostly).

If you're good at ret you have nothing to worry about, but I wouldnt take an 80th percentile ret over any ranged class.

[Vash The Stampede]

If not, keep looking for a guild as ret! You may want to consider a server transfer if your having difficulties on your current server finding a guild. If it gives you any hope, in 5.1, our 10m raid had 2x Holy Paladins (both with ret off-specs!) and a Ret Paladin.

The problem is that. The realm I'm on is dead on the alliance side, and putting down $25 to transfer to a high pop server is financial choice you may not want to do. Like a lot of people, you don't want to waste more money then you already do in WoW. I'm lucky cause I raid as Ret, but yea if my guild simply broke apart I would have no place to go.

I especially don't enjoy healing either. Not unless healing as a Paladin meant using my weapon to heal with. Like a healing strike, which would make total sense for the Paladin class. But no, Holy Paladins will sit in the back of the raid and heal.

I've raided as all 3 paladin specs this expansion and I've personally found Holy to be the most fun.

You are by far, too few. I personally enjoy Prot and Ret, but then again I like to melee. Though Prot sucks this expansion, since they do so little damage compared to other tank specs.

[Lethey Alexandros]

I raid as ret and I found that to keep my raid slot I really have to up my game in other areas. Situational awarness, self healing/dispelling (you will become a healers best friend), Aid people with less SA with good use of your second bubble. I keep mine on a focous macro and focous our warlock who usualy struggles with SA. I also keep a macro for a quick tank pick up incase a tank goes down. Mitigate my damage taken and do what i can till the tank is up.

[Deleted]

Read the guide in this forum, its one of the best Hpally resources on the net atm, make sure you try 5 mans and LFR, then take a look at some of the advice thats been given out in the Fix my Heals thread, then do some WoL/Recount analysis and see where you need to improve. If you need help and have done all of that or at least tried, go ahead and ask for halp

Appreciate the input.

I raid as ret and I found that to keep my raid slot I really have to up my game in other areas. Situational awarness, self healing/dispelling (you will become a healers best friend), Aid people with less SA with good use of your second bubble. I keep mine on a focous macro and focous our warlock who usualy struggles with SA. I also keep a macro for a quick tank pick up incase a tank goes down. Mitigate my damage taken and do what i can till the tank is up.

Maybe in a dungeon, but I doubt you can do that sort of boss tanking in a raid. Most raid-used paladin abilities are: LoH, BoP, HoSac followed by Devotion Aura and Divine Shield.

[Ragma117]

In the end its a game play what you enjoy.

[Ater]

If you're good at ret you have nothing to worry about, but I wouldnt take an 80th percentile ret over any ranged class.

Number of rets in Methods Ra-den kill: 0
Number of rets in Methods Lei Shen kill: 0
Number of rets in Paragons Lei Shen kill: 0
Number of rets in Blood Legions Lei Shen kill: 0

Where are all does rets you said had nothing to worry about?

[TEHPALLYTANK]

Get holy as an offspec, it is entirely unnecessary to level a char from 1 to learn how to play a healer.

[pld]

The problem is that. The realm I'm on is dead on the alliance side, and putting down $25 to transfer to a high pop server is financial choice you may not want to do. Like a lot of people, you don't want to waste more money then you already do in WoW. I'm lucky cause I raid as Ret, but yea if my guild simply broke apart I would have no place to go.

I especially don't enjoy healing either. Not unless healing as a Paladin meant using my weapon to heal with. Like a healing strike, which would make total sense for the Paladin class. But no, Holy Paladins will sit in the back of the raid and heal.

You are by far, too few. I personally enjoy Prot and Ret, but then again I like to melee. Though Prot sucks this expansion, since they do so little damage compared to other tank specs.

I totally understand the hesitation someone might have to pour more money into their WoW hobby, but if raiding as ret is a priority, I think the $25 could be well worth it. This really depends on OP's financial situation/desire to raid/other factors so YMMV, but it's an option that's out there.

Holy Paladins have been one of the strongest healers through every expansion, so it's nice to have that consistency. Sure, we may not be able to heal via dps (a la fist/zealweaver monks), but I don't necessarily mind "sitting in the back" and healing. Topping healing meters is still fun.

Not sure why you feel like Prot paladins aren't doing well in dps. I was actually surprised at how well I was doing on the meters. I outgear my DK-tank, so this may be why, but I've found that we are usually within a few %s of each other on any given fight. I always assumed DK tanks were on the higher end of the tank dps spectrum since they get a 2H so I don't think our DPS is necessarily low. On average, I pull somewhere in the neighborhood of 50-70k dps on most fights. Plus, when you consider how much utility prot gets (BoP/Freedom/Sac/Bubble/etc) AND our insane raid heals...I would say prot paladins are one of the top tank classes.

[Xs]

You are by far, too few. I personally enjoy Prot and Ret, but then again I like to melee. Though Prot sucks this expansion, since they do so little damage compared to other tank specs.

Prot is in a great state this expansion, and has some of the best performance on bosses, can do the most DPS + raid utility of the tanks while being extremely tough vs melee, even more so than Warriors, you should read up on how to play Prot properly if you're finding it lacking

[Zenathx]

Stick with what YOU want to play in my opinion I have been playing a Ret paladin since TBC as well and it has had its downsides like the start of Cata when we were nerfed, you will I'm sure find a guild eventually, it seems to be only 25's looking for rets though but if you're good enough it shouldn't matter! Also Prot right now is great for tens, in 25's I find it a bit odd to gem but that's alright.

[Rennegadelawlz]

GC said himself if you dont have a ret paladin your raid group then you have the wrong raid composition. Stay ret and find a guild that would take you. But like any class if you dont have flashy credentials they will take the FOTM DPS over you.

[Deleted]

GC said himself if you dont have a ret paladin your raid group then you have the wrong raid composition. Stay ret and find a guild that would take you. But like any class if you dont have flashy credentials they will take the FOTM DPS over you.

It's not like GC isn't used to making a fool out of himself. Poor ole World Firsts, little do they know they had a wrong raid composition by not having a ret paladin.. :/

[Chrispotter]

If you really are a good ret paladin you will find a guild. It is always good to learn an offspec tho. (My personal opinion is if you play a class, but only learn to play 1 of the 3 specs, you are seriously wasting alot of potential!)

[schwank05]

I agree. However, be very cautious about your offspec since most of the times guild lack healers and tanks (hurrdurr). It wouldn't be the first time when you show your "flexibility" and tadah, that's your mainspec till the goddamn end x)

Yup be careful of this it happened to me last 2 xpac's. I used to main Resto Druid, I went Feral Tank for 1 raid and bam stuck tanking through the expansion. Then all of a sudden its Mop I come in on my Ret pally, go prot 1 raid and bam stuck prot until last week when we found another tank.

Dont waste time leveling another pally, you can pretty much master or at the very least get the basics of a class/ spec in about 10 mins of research online with sites like elitistjerks.com or noxxic.com

---------- Post added 2013-04-12 at 12:28 PM ----------

also another nice thing is Ret gear= Prot gear this expansion since Haste is prot's best stat.

[nightfalls]

Yup be careful of this it happened to me last 2 xpac's. I used to main Resto Druid, I went Feral Tank for 1 raid and bam stuck tanking through the expansion. Then all of a sudden its Mop I come in on my Ret pally, go prot 1 raid and bam stuck prot until last week when we found another tank.

Right but if you really didn't want to go Prot until you found a new tank, you could do the alternative which is what you would be doing anyway if you didn't go Prot: Find a new guild where you could just play Ret.

At least your guild was accepting that you didn't want to play Prot so they found a new tank, instead of telling you that you were the new tank.