Holy Paladin Pre-Raid Stat Priority (Frostmourne, 3.3.5a, Naxxramas)

Hey all!

Been looking around to find more information about what stat priority I should aim for as a Holy Paladin pre-naxxramas. This is on Frostmourne. I've raided through ToC and ICC all the way and have always prioritized Int + Haste w/o (m)any problems. Back then, I avoided Crit + MP5 "like the plague", but now I'm not so sure.

Unfortunately I don't know how long Naxxramas encounters are, and how much raid-wide damage they have either. Will throughput be a problem, or will it be mana regeneration? Do you generally prioritize Haste or Crit (or mp5) on gear for Naxx? (And obviously Intellect!!)

I am continuing with a HL focused playstyle as FoL feels much more.. boring. Finally, does this stat priority change going into Ulduar or does it stay the same until the next raid tier?

Thanks everyone.

Regardless of the content you're doing, the answer is always the same equation.

spell power > mana stats (as needed) > throughput stats

Crit has the benefit of being both a mana stat and a throughput stat for several healer classes, including this one.
You're going to need to gauge how much mana stats (int, mp5) you need to determine how much you get from your gear. This involves a lot of factors. Fight length will not just be determined by encounter design, but also your group's damage output and how well they can perform mechanics.
Their ability to perform mechanics will also impact how much you need to heal.
You should also gauge how much you can get away with sitting in melee with Seal of Wisdom.

While haste is a nice stat for a holydin, I can't say I recommend all that much of it this early on. If you can properly gauge your mana usage, then you should be able to determine how much haste is useful too.

Also, for the time being, I strongly advise AGAINST falling into a "holy light" or a "flash of light" """playstyle""". You should be using both of these spells, and using them where they're appropriate. Use Flash for when you don't need chunky heals.

Hey Mercy, thanks for the fast reply!

I actually forgot to include Spell Power. That's what I was feeling, but like I said I don't have that experience with Naxx yet. However, I do have a static so that helps heaps. I believe it's going to be an equal balance and after actually doing the content, I'll go from there.

Don't worry, I don't mean I will ONLY Holy Light - what I mean is I won't specifically gem, enchant or gear for "FoL Focus builds", though that was back in Icecrown so I don't even know if they exist or gear the same in the current raid tier.

Anyway, this pretty much answers my question so thank you Mercy (:

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Originally Posted by Newblet

However, I do have a static so that helps heaps.

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Spotted the Final Fantasy player.

You're welcome!
On the topic of gems, I'd like to point out that spell power doesn't come first as a stat for a holydin in most scenarios.

It's hard to give a solid priority on stats as mana useage is very dependant on the situation. However, in my opinion for tier 7 it'd look something like this

Int > Crit > Haste > Mp5

I'm deliberately leaving out SP as it's hard to guage on value on SP as it scales differently with flash of light and holy light. But you generally shouldn't ever gem SP as holy paladin, especially not in tiers 7 or 8.
Even in late tier 10 you'll only use a hybrid int/sp gem if a single red socket gives a large int or SP bonus; Eg if a single red socket bonus provides +9 SP, you can use a single 10int+12SP gem, netting +21 SP for the loss of 10 int which by late tier 10 is ~probably~ worth it. (Even then most players would just use +20 int gems everywhere)

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Originally Posted by Raenel

It's hard to give a solid priority on stats as mana useage is very dependant on the situation. However, in my opinion for tier 7 it'd look something like this

Int > Crit > Haste > Mp5

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You don't get enough intel in tier 7 to prioritize mp5 as last or to ignore it. You don't even get enough of it in tier 8 to do that. And putting a strict priority on these stats at such a low gear level is a bad idea, which is why I added the comment "AS NEEDED" as a caveat in what I stated. You absolutely should not gear for mp5 above all other stats, but it's also a stat that you cannot afford to ignore or put as a last priority. Healer stats do not function this way, like stats do for a dps, especially at such a low gear level where you're not overgearing the need to properly manage your mana like you can typically manage to do on Icecrown.
These points are especially important because the gearing process is not as rigid as people getting carried through ICC or donating for bis.

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Originally Posted by Raenel

I'm deliberately leaving out SP as it's hard to guage on value on SP as it scales differently with flash of light and holy light.

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Spellpower is a stat that you passively get on most gear slots. It's not necessarily something you can choose to or not to gear for. The stat in most scenarios is directly connected to item level. On most gear slots item level = spell power. This, however, is not always true for weapons, and it's especially not true for trinkets. Which is why it is important to list.

That said, if 90% of your heal casts are Holy Lights (like they will be when doing ICC & RS on Icecrown/Lordaeron), then the need for spell power is limited due to how huge the base healing strength of the spell is. But you're not, and shouldn't be, using Holy Light that strictly in the lower raid tiers. Flash and Shock both have significant roles, and the proper management of them is important. These spells are not necessarily as powerful as the base Holy Light, but are more efficient, which in turn lends to the importance of the spell power stat.

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Originally Posted by Raenel

But you generally shouldn't ever gem SP as holy paladin, especially not in tiers 7 or 8.

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I addressed this above already. I specifically stated "in most scenarios". And there is a reason for this. Multiple, in fact. PvP, for one. And a PvE example would be Loatheb.

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Originally Posted by Raenel

Even in late tier 10 you'll only use a hybrid int/sp gem if a single red socket gives a large int or SP bonus; Eg if a single red socket bonus provides +9 SP, you can use a single 10int+12SP gem, netting +21 SP for the loss of 10 int which by late tier 10 is ~probably~ worth it. (Even then most players would just use +20 int gems everywhere)

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As you gain stats, the value of stats change. Dynamically so. There's not much point in speaking to the effect of tier 10 when the OP of the thread was asking specifically about the Naxxramas tier.