Raid Rx: 14 patch 3.2 trinkets to check out
Every week, Raid Rx will help you quarterback your healers to victory! Your host is Matt Low, the grand poobah of World of Matticus and a founder of No Stock UI, a WoW blog for all things UI, macro, and addon related. It's been a while since I looked at trinkets. What options are there available since then?
Yes, the linked article goes to the Priest column on trinkets. Not every healer's going to use them. But truth be told, there aren't that many new options for healers in the current game since Ulduar and Trial of the Crusader opened up. Let's look at everything available since Malygos.
So what do we have to work with?
Talisman of Resurgence – Sold by the Triumph vendors. This adds an extra 128 Intellect. It's easily accessible to players who grind out 25 heroic dungeon dailies. It's less than that if they pull off both 10 and 25 player versions of Koralon in Vault of Archavon. Good starter trinket for Discipline Priests and Holy Paladins. Not bad for any healer who has nothing else available to them.
Solace of the Defeated – The linked one goes to the Heroic version. Good news? You can wear the non-heroic version too. Having both trinkets combine for 318 spell power. I think the mana procs work independent of each other as well. It's my opinion that the pairing of both copies of this trinket is the best combination for any healer. You get jaw dropping mana regeneration (340 mp5 combined when they connect) along with the extra spell power.
Binding Light – Like it's partner above, these trinkets can go hand in hand with its junior brother. Only down side? It relies on you activating the abilities. After that, it's going to take a few casts for it to reach its maximum potential. Oh and if that's not enough, the effect lasts for 20 seconds. Paladins might want one of these. Sadly, the mp5 isn't that attractive. On use effect is nice when Paladins have to pound some extra heals in. Shamans and Disc Priests may wish to look at it if mana regeneration is slightly under. It's a good third string trinket to work with until your healers gain access to more powerful ones.
Battlemaster's Ruination – Option is only available to PvPers it seems. But is it worth PvPing just to pick up a flat increase to spell power and a last stand effect? That is largely subjective and dependent on the encounter. I can see it coming in handy for a fight like Faction Champions where no encounters are the same as the one before it. The extra health boost might save the life of someone. Would suggest it for a Priest because they're super squishy. Other than that, it's probably not worth the effort.
Meteorite Crystal – Intellect makes it attractive to Discipline Priests and Holy Paladins. Excellent on use effect that provides a stacking mana per 5 effect with no cap on the amount of stacks. It simply falls expires after 20 seconds. However, Paladins don't necessarily need the mana regeneration at certain high levels. If that's the case, open it up to any healer.
Pandora's Plea – Has Holy Paladin written all over it. Discipline Priests may wish to eye this as well. Once those classes have the Plea, feel free to open it up to the rest of the healers. The Discipline Priest and Holy Paladin gain a slight edge because of the intellect boosts in their trees. But don't forget that Replenishment helps everyone recover mana. That's based on the healer's mana pool, too!
Scale of Fates – Solid spell power booster to every healer class with the ability to increase haste rating. It's similar to a 2 minute Heroism or Bloodlust cooldown. Obviously it isn't as strong. Careful though as those DPS casters may be eyeing you hungrily for this trinket as well.
Sif's Remembrance – Great trinket for every healer class. It provides an extra spell power booster and it doesn't requite manual activation for it's abilities. Go ahead and snag one. It will last you for a while.
Energy Siphon – Avoid this trinket at all costs. Doesn't matter what healing class you are. It is better served as a component to an expensive enchant in the form of an Abyss crystal.
Eye of the Broodmother – Increased spell critical by almost 2% at level 80. It's an Illustration of the Dragonsoul type stacking buff. Unfortunately, it only plateaus to about 125 spell power. It's great for healers who rely on crit extensively. I suspect Holy Paladins and Resto Shamans working their way through Ulduar 10 will be shooting for this trinket.
Spark of Hope – It applies a good chunk of Spirit, that's for sure. That means it's better off in the clutches of a Holy Priest or a Druid. The base mana cost reduction will come in handy for a fight like General Vezax. Even if your Priests and Druids have more powerful trinket, go ahead and stick this in the "just in case" section of your inventory.
Show of Faith – It's the big sister to Sif's Remembrance. But it's only available from Yogg-Saron hard mode on the 25s. If you're up for it, go all in. However, if your guild is capable of acquiring this trinket, you may be better off going all in on the Solace of the Defeated.
Upcoming
Onyxia's lair is coming out which means old favourites will be making a return. I know Matthew Rossi is waiting for the new pumped up version of Quel'Serrar from Onyxia. But what's it got for healers other than refurbished tier 2 helms?
Speaking of Onyxia, check out these two refurbished trinket drops. Looks like they've evolved with the rest of the other items. The Scale restores 85 mp5 whereas the Flame restores 518 health. Individually, they're not that great. They're like Cheechoo and Michalek. They have to be viewed together instead of separately (and yes, hockey season is starting soon)!
Having both trinkets means your overall spell power gets a boost by 222. Not only that, DPS casters gain an effect called Searing Flame. I'm assuming it's a chance on hit, deal X damage effect or some variant for casters. But that's for the casters to worry about, not us healers.
For healers, we gain an ability called Cauterizing Heal. It's an instantaneous heal between ~2200 to ~2800. Every time we cast a healing spell, there is a chance it will get augmented with the Shard's 2 piece bonus.
The strength of these combined trinkets will largely depend on how often Cauterizing Heal goes off. They're decent second to third string trinkets. I'd probably bid minimum DKP + 25% if it were up to me just because it's something that can be played with. I can see players going for it for vanity reasons as well.
Lastly, if you're wondering about the amount of trinkets, I did include the heroic versions of the same name in the same section as the normal versions.
Want some more advice for working with the healers in your guild? Raid Rx has you covered with all there is to know! Looking for less healer-centric raiding advice? Take a look at our raiding column Ready Check.
