Cataclysm Classic Holy Paladin Rotation and Cooldowns

If you have not already, we recommend reading the Spells Summary page first. Knowing how each spell and ability works in detail will greatly increase your understanding of the topics discussed on this page.

Holy Paladin is largely known for its single target healing capabilities but thanks to abilities added in Cataclysm like Holy Radiance and Light of Dawn they are now more than capable when it comes to healing multiple targets at once. While significant changes have been made to Beacon of Light the rest of our toolkit has been made much stronger. While playing a Healer you will not be following a rotation but rather constantly trying to determine what the best heal for any given situation is. Highlighted below is an outline of when you should use what abilities.

1. Ensure you have Seal of Insight active at all times;
2. Ensure you have a Beacon of Light active at all times;
3. Judge once a minute to ensure Judgements of the Pure is active;
4. Light of Dawn is an instant, AoE heal in a frontal cone heal that costs zero mana but consumes Holy Power. This should only be used in situations where 4+ Party members are taking damage. Try to only use this when you have three Holy Power;
5. Word of Glory an instant, single target heal that costs zero mana but consumes Holy Power. Try to only use this when you have three Holy Power;
6. Cast Holy Shock on cooldown, this is a quick potent heal that generates Holy Power. Make sure to keep an eye out for Daybreak procs to get additional casts;
7. Cast Holy Radiance if you are confident it will hit 3+ targets, this is especially potent in 25-man raids and when cast on Melee as they are often stacked;
8. Divine Light; is a slow, powerful heal. This is best used in periods of heavy, sustained damage;
9. Holy Light;
10. Flash of Light should be used only in an emergency where the target would not otherwise survive and Holy Shock is on cool down.

Holy Paladin has some of the most potent cooldowns in the game when it comes to raw healing output. It is crucial to properly utilize them to avoid an excessive amount of overhealing while still keeping your group healthy.

1. Divine Favor — increases your Critical Strike Chance and Haste Rating by 20% for 30 seconds (Thanks to Glyph of Divine Favor.) use this in any situation where your group is taking a large amount of sustained incoming damage, do not hesitate to pair this with Avenging Wrath if you find yourself still struggling.
2. Avenging Wrath — increases your Healing and Damage dealt by 20% for 20 seconds. This is a massive increase to your healing output, do not hesitate to pair this with Guardian of Ancient Kings to improve the splash healing or Divine Favor to get more casts off during the 20-second window that the buff is active.
3. Guardian of Ancient Kings — causes your next 5 direct heals to be duplicated and splash for 10% of the Healing done to anyone within melee range of the target of your Heal.
4. Aura Mastery — doubles the effectiveness of your currently active Aura. This is best paired with Resistance Aura to mitigate a ton of incoming Magic damage
5. Hand of Sacrifice — transfers 30% of the damage taken by the target to the Paladin for 12 seconds or until 100% of the Paladin's health has been transferred over in damage taken. This ability is best used on Tanks or a player who is going to be taking a large source of incoming damage and thanks to Protector of the Innocent the damage you personally take is often quickly healed back.
6. Divine Plea — returns 18% of your maximum Mana (Thanks to Glyph of Divine Plea) over the course of 9 seconds but reduces your Healing done by 50% while active. Use this ability to regenerate mana during periods of lower incoming damage but do not hesitate to cancel the buff if you find yourself in a situation where there is too much healing to be done with the 50% penalty active.