Is Holy Paladin melee heavy in BFA?

[Klaphood]

Hello Paladins,

After a break of about 2 years, I’ve become interested in playing again.

I’m coming from mostly playing Disc and Holy Priest ever since Cata as well as MW Monk in Legion.

Now I’m very interested in playing a Holy Paladin for BFA, but I just can’t figure out how impactful melee healing is for Holy Paladins. I have to note that I don’t like being up close most of the time, so optimally I would prefer never to be melee healing unless farming easy content of course. That’s fine. I was also very happy about the fact that Fistweaving was only niche most of Mistwalkers’ existence. Is it the same for Paladins? They seem to have more than just one talent for it, as well as their mastery (which should also work fine in ranged camps though, since you are very close to a lot of people there).

I am interested in raiding mostly, also in Mythic raiding so I’m definitely aiming for min/maxing and end-content playstyle.

Thanks very much in advance!

[Thestuff1992]

You generally want to be in melee for multiple reasons.

1. You’re considered an actual melee by (most) raid mechanics.

2. Avenging Crusader is usually the optimal talent choice in that row for raids which puts you in melee. There are some cases where taking SW would most likely be better for your raid team as a whole since melee might be too cluttered.

3. Our mastery dictates that we always want to be near the most amount of people possible while also remaining close to all of them and this generally occurs in melee. You’ll get 4-5 people guaranteed in your 10y radius in melee + both tanks whereas in ranged depending on the fight they’ll be pretty spread apart even on non spread fights.

So tldr: yes, we want to be in melee. Our mastery is the main reason for this though, if it were only #1 and #2 we could get away with being anywhere as long as we dip in for 20 seconds when using AC similar to Fistweaving and dealing with potential mechanics.

[capri sunset]

As above mastery is huge, you have to be flexible and stand where the damage is which is most often in or close to melee, if you're at standard mastery levels then expect at least 10% healing loss if you're afking at range. It's pretty much why we're not spectacular numbers wise on mythrax for example.

Playing sanctified wrath suffers even more from playing like that since avenging crusader has no mastery benefit. The first row doesn't actually matter too much though, crusader's might is good for specific timings but not a massive deal.

I guess look at logs replays/kill videos and decide whether that's too much?

[Klaphood]

Alright, thank you guys very much.

Yeah, I almost forgot about the raid mechanics part. (Probably because on Monk you can just roll around like no tomorrow)

I have seen raid fights from mythic Uldir, and I must say in some of them they were standing in melee range, where in a few others they were not. Maybe sometimes it's best to stay like "in the middle" between everyone so you get the least loss of healing on each player? Also, when you're standing right before the boss, how can Light of Dawn hit all players? Do you have to turn around all the time?

On a side note, 'perfect' healer numbers balance is something I don't really care about a lot, since I think most classes already bring enough utility to be worthwhile in groups despite maybe having a little less overall healing, and I certainly do not plan on hardcore progress raiding any time soon. Still, you'll never want to be a total fool in any group, even way before Mythic.

It's just that I really want to experience something different now, because they haven't changed the classes in such a long time now and it gets really boring to me having the same playstyle(s) for the third expansion now. I'm really afraid of the Holy Paladin gameplay consisting of 60% thinking about your positioning for hitboxes and mastery passives though, which is a big turn-off for me. I'd rather concentrate on my abilities and the fight that's going on around me.

I guess I might not find out just by reading about it or even watching videos. But I'll just wait a little while longer.

[Thestuff1992]

Alright, thank you guys very much.

Yeah, I almost forgot about the raid mechanics part. (Probably because on Monk you can just roll around like no tomorrow)

I have seen raid fights from mythic Uldir, and I must say in some of them they were standing in melee range, where in a few others they were not. Maybe sometimes it's best to stay like "in the middle" between everyone so you get the least loss of healing on each player? Also, when you're standing right before the boss, how can Light of Dawn hit all players? Do you have to turn around all the time?

On a side note, 'perfect' healer numbers balance is something I don't really care about a lot, since I think most classes already bring enough utility to be worthwhile in groups despite maybe having a little less overall healing, and I certainly do not plan on hardcore progress raiding any time soon. Still, you'll never want to be a total fool in any group, even way before Mythic.

It's just that I really want to experience something different now, because they haven't changed the classes in such a long time now and it gets really boring to me having the same playstyle(s) for the third expansion now. I'm really afraid of the Holy Paladin gameplay consisting of 60% thinking about your positioning for hitboxes and mastery passives though, which is a big turn-off for me. I'd rather concentrate on my abilities and the fight that's going on around me.

I guess I might not find out just by reading about it or even watching videos. But I'll just wait a little while longer.

Nah that’s not correct realistically. You don’t worry about your positioning that much. You shove yourself in melee and that’s it. You can stand at range if you want to and you really won’t lose much hps but you won’t be Min/maxing either if that’s something you care about.

You focus on your abilities, mechanics and keeping people alive. That’s basically it. You usually just set and forget yourself in melee but as I said the benefit isn’t really that big. On fights like fetid/mythrax (pre nerf) a lot of Paladins took SW for prog and stood in the ranged camp.

What I’m trying to say is you’re overthinking it. Standing in melee is min/maxing but that’s really it. You won’t lose too much unless you stand in literal Africa. A lot of important fights in uldir took us out of melee especially for those with melee heavy comps (fetid/mythrax/ghuun) or they forced us to spread which reduces mastery effectiveness which you can’t do anything about.

So, TLDR: Stand in melee to get the most out of your spells but it’s not a huge deal. Don’t overthink it. You don’t need to think about where you’re standing, just plant your feet somewhere in melee. If you can’t be in melee due to fight restrictions then don’t be. Outside of that just focus on your abilities and playing correctly. Simple as that.

[Klaphood]

Nah that’s not correct realistically. You don’t worry about your positioning that much. You shove yourself in melee and that’s it. You can stand at range if you want to and you really won’t lose much hps but you won’t be Min/maxing either if that’s something you care about.

You focus on your abilities, mechanics and keeping people alive. That’s basically it. You usually just set and forget yourself in melee but as I said the benefit isn’t really that big. On fights like fetid/mythrax (pre nerf) a lot of Paladins took SW for prog and stood in the ranged camp.

What I’m trying to say is you’re overthinking it. Standing in melee is min/maxing but that’s really it. You won’t lose too much unless you stand in literal Africa.

Thank you so much! This is exactly what I wanted to hear =D

I was always of those guys ruining all his fun just because I'd THINK it would get me that much more effectiveness, when in the end I actually spent so much time thinking about rather less important stuff like aforementioned positioning, that I will neglect other things where a lot more concentration and focus should be spent on. (Like smarter usage of skills)

[saltynuhts]

Yes, paladins are definitely melee if you are min/maxing. In order to contribute DPS with crusader strike, white swings, and consecration.. you need to be in melee. Furthermore, if you play Crusader's Might, it's required.

On some fights this is easier than others. Mythic Fetid or G'huun can be a pita if your group is already melee heavy.

[xintoc]

Hello Paladins,

After a break of about 2 years, I’ve become interested in playing again.

I’m coming from mostly playing Disc and Holy Priest ever since Cata as well as MW Monk in Legion.

Now I’m very interested in playing a Holy Paladin for BFA, but I just can’t figure out how impactful melee healing is for Holy Paladins. I have to note that I don’t like being up close most of the time, so optimally I would prefer never to be melee healing unless farming easy content of course. That’s fine. I was also very happy about the fact that Fistweaving was only niche most of Mistwalkers’ existence. Is it the same for Paladins? They seem to have more than just one talent for it, as well as their mastery (which should also work fine in ranged camps though, since you are very close to a lot of people there).

I am interested in raiding mostly, also in Mythic raiding so I’m definitely aiming for min/maxing and end-content playstyle.

Thanks very much in advance!

Holy is quite reactive type of healing. While no one is taking damage there is nothing much to do. Although not the most interesting healer i am always compelled to level one. The lack of complexity let's you focus more on the game. Although no combat res or ankh, having an immunity is nice for progression.