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The Light and How to Swing It: A class full of irony
I have once again managed to steal the Light for another week, as regular columnists Chris and Elizabeth are off on their own epic quests while I am left to tend to the shop, so to speak. For today, we'll take a closer look at how the class is designed and its inherent ironies. When I first rolled a Paladin, I didn't know what I was getting into. I rolled it mainly as a companion toon for my playing partner, my wife, who was elated at the Horde finally getting a 'pretty' race and promptly rolled a Warlock. As I leveled with her demon-enslaving new main, the experience challenged and frustrated me and it soon became apparent that Blizzard had designed the Paladin under a completely different design perspective. I was hooked. If there are any perceived failures about the class, it is largely because Blizzard had a vision for the Paladin class that was different from traditional class designs.Blizzard worked hard at defining each class with a clear directive to make each one feel different from the others. Rogues had Energy, combo points and finishing moves; Warriors had Rage, a sort of reverse Mana bar; and Shamans had the totem system. Paladins are designed largely around the interesting Seal system. Everything that a Paladin does revolves around Seals, Blessings, and Auras, with Seals being the primary mechanic for dealing any sort of damage. For the most part, class design has worked for many classes while others, like the Shaman, have had more than its fair share of issues. Personally, I love the Paladin class. My main is now a Blood Elf Paladin, with my Troll Shaman getting a little less love than it used to. I also used to play a Troll Hunter and an Undead Rogue. While I enjoyed all of them as I played them, it was the Paladin that appealed to me the most. To be honest, I still have no idea why. Maybe it was the challenge. Maybe it was hybrid aspect. Maybe, for all I know, it was the coolness of it all. When you get right down to it, though, Paladins have -- if you examine it very carefully -- what is probably the most inherently flawed ironic class design in the game. Let me explain.
Downranking Holy Light
Ever since Blizzard changed the spell coefficient of downranked heals a few patches back, I've been wary of downranking. However, I've been going into fights lately that require more efficiency, and sometimes larger heals than Flash of Light can provide. As a responsible healer with respectable gear, it is my duty to find a solution to this problem.The first thing that came to mind was how to achieve mana efficiency when using my larger heals. As a Paladin, for most of my healing life Flash of Light has been all that's required, with the occasional Holy Light thrown out in emergencies.After doing some research, I found that downranking Holy Light is the answer. In most instances, a max rank Flash of Light will do, but now and then I throw in a Holy Light Rank 5, which has a slightly lower effective mana cost, and will allow me to keep the Light's Grace buff active in case I need to throw out a big heal quickly.I've been experimenting with various ranks to see which ones work best for me, but it is definitely something to consider once you reach a certain amount of +healing.Salud over at The Holy Light posted a great article on downranking a little while back that's well worth checking out if you're interested!
