With the arrival of Cataclysm, the talent system received a massive overhaul, changing from the 71 talent points system to a more compact 41 points system. As such, many of the old talents were either completely removed or changed, resulting in fewer possible build variations. One key aspect of the new system is that you must use at least 31 points in your main specialization to use the remaining 10 points in a secondary specialization.
Talent Builds
The build pictured and linked above is fairly standard for Holy Paladins in Cataclysm, but there are a few optional talents that can be moved around according to your group and preferences:
- Blessed Life is a good option if you really want to maximize your Holy Power generation.
- Eternal Glory in the Protection tree is good for tank healing or any other situation where you’re going to be using Word of Glory.
- Pursuit of Justice is mostly useful for the movement speed increase and can be dropped if you want one of the healing-oriented talents above.
- Improved Judgement is another option to drop if you don’t need to reach Pursuit of Justice and would like to put the points elsewhere.
Glyphs
Prime Glyphs
- Glyph of Seal of Insight
You will always want to use this glyph. It buffs your healing while your Seal of Insight is active, which should be all the time.
- Glyph of Divine Favor
Another glyph you’ll want to have equipped at all times. Divine Favor is a big buff and this glyph increases its duration by half.
- Glyph of Holy Shock
There isn’t another “mandatory” glyph for the third Prime slot, but this one is a pretty good option. Increasing the crit chance of your Holy Shock is nice, especially since it will trigger Infusion of Light.
- Glyph of Word of Glory
If you’re going to be using Word of Glory a lot, you might opt to use this in place of the glyph above. But for most Holy Paladins it won’t be worth the slot.
Major Glyphs
- Glyph of Divinity
With this glyph, your Lay on Hands ability doubles as a mana cooldown. This glyph absolutely deserves a permanent place in your build. Usually by the time you use this cooldown things are getting a bit hairy and you’ll be very happy to have the extra mana. You can even use the cooldown specifically for the mana in a pinch.
- Glyph of Divine Plea
This glyph is another essential one for your mana. Divine Plea is already a strong mana cooldown, and this makes it even stronger.
- Glyph of Lay on Hands
Your third Major Glyph is less set in stone than the other two, but this option makes a lot of sense alongside your Glyph of Divinity, since it will allow you to get the benefits of Lay on Hands more often.
- Glyph of Divine Protection
Most of the toughest raid damage mechanics will be magic and not physical, so trading the physical protection component of Divine Protection for even more magic protection can be a huge boon to your survival.
- Glyph of Beacon of Light
Your Beacon of Light lasts for five minutes when cast, so you won’t get much mileage out of this glyph unless you need to change your Beacon target frequently.
- Glyph of Cleansing
Another situational glyph that makes your Cleanse cheaper to cast for any fight that requires you to use it a lot.
- Glyph of the Ascetic Crusader
This glyph makes your Crusader Strike cheaper to use, which is nice if you’re able to fit it in for damage or want to generate more Holy Power.
- Glyph of Light of Dawn
This glyph is not good for raid content and probably not even worth it for smaller group content. Light of Dawn is strong specifically because you can hit a lot of people with it.
- Glyph of the Long Word
This glyph gives your Word of Glory a HoT component at the cost of some of its upfront healing. It doesn’t increase the spell’s overall output in any way. You’re better off skipping it.
Minor Glyphs
- Glyph of Insight
There are only three Minor Glyphs that offer anything worthwhile, so these are an easy choice. This one reduces the mana cost of your Seal of Insight, which you’ll want to maintain at all times.
- Glyph of Blessing of Kings
The other two glyphs reduce the mana cost of your Blessings, which is helpful for rebuffing people mid-combat. This one affects Blessing of Kings.
- Glyph of Blessing of Might
The only other Minor Glyph that’s useful to you, reducing the mana cost of your Blessing of Might.
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About the Author
Luxrah
I've been playing World of Warcraft on and off since vanilla, usually as a healer or caster and often as a guild leader. I play both retail and classic. I also love RPGs, sandboxes, and sims.