Holy Paladin

Reactive build-and-spend healing: Holy Shock into Word of Glory, with big burst from Divine Toll.

Healer

Gear: Method.ggBuilds: Archon consensus, M+ This Week (+7–+19)Updated 10/29/2026 by Guild guides

Playing

Holy Paladin heals in reaction to damage rather than ramping ahead of it. Holy Shock, Judgment and Infusion of Light procs build Holy Power, which you spend on Word of Glory (Eternal Flame with Herald of the Sun) or Light of Dawn. Beacons copy part of that healing onto your tank or, with Beacon of Virtue, onto a group of injured allies. All of your healing now works at range, so you no longer need to live in melee.

Difficulty: A reactive build-and-spend healer: generate Holy Power, spend it on whoever needs it. The skill is in never capping Holy Power, using Infusion of Light procs, and timing Divine Toll and Beacon of Virtue with damage.
Resource: Holy Power and Mana
Hero talents in keys: Lightsmith
Standing this patch: BRaid
Brings to the group: Interruptnone
StunHammer of Justice, Blinding Light
DispelCleanse (magic; poison, disease with Improved Cleanse)
Purgenone
Battle resIntercession (3 Holy Power)
Lustnone
MobilityBlessing of Freedom, Divine Steed

Pick any button below to follow it through the guide: where it sits in the opener, which rung of the priority fires it, and every mistake it is part of.

Holy Shock
Judgment
Flash of Light
Holy Light
Word of Glory
Light of Dawn
Shield of the Righteous
Beacon of Virtue
Divine Toll
Avenging Wrath
Aura Mastery

Beacon of Light
Holy Armaments
Blessing of Sacrifice
Blessing of Protection
Lay on Hands
Divine Protection
Divine Shield
Cleanse
Blessing of Freedom
Hammer of Justice
Intercession

Press order

1Avenging Wrath0.0s
2Beacon of Virtue1.5s
3Divine Toll3.0s
4Light of Dawn4.5s
5Flash of Light6.0s
6Holy Shock7.5s
7Judgment9.0s
8Light of Dawn10.5s
9Holy Shock12.0s
10Flash of Light13.5s
11Holy Shock15.0s
12Light of Dawn16.5s

Avenging Wrath0.0s

Fires because heavy group damage is starting and it is not saved for an assignment.

One press per global at base haste (1.5s), longer for casts. Real pulls drift with haste and procs; the order is what matters.

Cooldowns and when to use them

Healing and damage cooldown; a 90-second button with Call of the Righteous. Use it on cooldown unless your healing lead has assigned it.

What top players actually cast

Encounter

Below are the opening rotations from a small sample of recent top Holy Paladin rankings for Altar of Fangs. You can use this to compare to your own opener and find potential points of improvement. Note that the opener for some specs may vary based on when certain buffs proc.

48 castsover 75.0sSource log ↗

Rotation

Holy ShockBuilderInstant · 6s cd ×2 · +1 Holy PowerInstant heal or damage that builds Holy Power and can proc Infusion of Light. Two charges with Light's Conviction; never let both sit full.
JudgmentBuilderInstant · 11s cd · +1 Holy PowerDamage that builds Holy Power and, with Greater Judgment, reduces the target's next hits. Your filler when nobody needs healing; on cooldown in Mythic+.
Flash of LightHeal1.5s castFast heal. With an Infusion of Light proc it is instant and much stronger; aim it at a Beacon target with Moment of Compassion.
Holy LightHeal2s castA huge but very expensive heal. Only cast it when someone needs healing and you have no Holy Power or Infusion proc.
Word of GlorySpenderInstant · -3 Holy PowerYour main single-target spender. Herald of the Sun turns it into Eternal Flame, which adds a heal over time.
Light of DawnSpenderInstant · -3 Holy PowerHeals up to five injured allies around you. Use it when several people are hurt and a single-target spend would overheal.
Shield of the RighteousSpenderInstant · -3 Holy PowerDamage dump for Holy Power when nobody needs healing; it also returns a little mana.

Cooldowns

Beacon of VirtueCooldownInstant · 15s cd · 9s longRaid build choice: beacons you and four injured allies for 9 seconds. Your biggest mana sink and usually your top heal; follow it with Divine Toll.
Divine TollCooldownInstant · 45s cd · +5 Holy PowerCasts Holy Shock on up to five allies at once. Holy's version has a 45-second cooldown; in raid, press it during Beacon of Virtue.
Avenging WrathCooldownInstant · 1m 30s cd · 25s longMore healing, damage and crit. Call of the Righteous makes it a 90-second cooldown and Sanctified Wrath lengthens it; use it on cooldown unless it is assigned.
Aura MasteryCooldownInstant · 3m cd · 8s longRaises Devotion Aura to 12% damage reduction for the group for 8 seconds. A planned raid cooldown, not an emergency button.
Holy ArmamentsExternalInstant · 1m cd ×2 · +3 Holy PowerLightsmith only: alternates between Holy Bulwark (an absorb shield) and Sacred Weapon on an ally, and generates Holy Power.
Blessing of SacrificeExternalInstant · 2m cd · 12s longMoves 30% of an ally's damage onto you until you drop to 20% health.
Blessing of ProtectionExternalInstant · 5m cd · 10s longPhysical immunity on an ally; removes bleeds. Never on the tank. Causes Forbearance.
Lay on HandsExternalInstant · 7m cdHeals for your full maximum health; 7 minutes with Unbreakable Spirit. Do not hoard it.

Survival

Divine ProtectionDefensiveInstant · 42s cd · 8s long20% damage reduction, usable while stunned. 60 seconds base, 42 with Unbreakable Spirit.
Divine ShieldDefensiveInstant · 3m 30s cd · 8s longFull immunity. Also lets you solo-soak some mechanics or keep healing through a deadly moment.

Utility

Beacon of LightUtilityInstantCopies part of your direct healing onto the beacon target. Keep it on a tank, and keep a beacon near the ranged group so your Mastery reaches them.
CleanseUtilityInstant · 8s cdRemoves magic, and with Improved Cleanse poisons and diseases.
Blessing of FreedomUtilityInstant · 25s cd · 8s longImmunity to slows and roots for an ally.
Hammer of JusticeUtilityInstant · 45s cd6-second stun. Holy has no interrupt in Midnight, so this and Blinding Light are your cast stops.
IntercessionUtility2s cast · 10m cd · -3 Holy PowerBattle resurrection that costs 3 Holy Power.

LightsmithMythic+Most top Mythic+ Holy Paladins run it (41 of the top 50 on Murlok). Holy Armaments gives a shield or a damage-and-healing weapon to an ally and, since 12.0.5, three Holy Power per cast.
Herald of the SunRaidMethod's recommended raid builds use it: Word of Glory becomes Eternal Flame, which recent buffs made the bulk of your healing, and Dawnlight adds healing over time after Divine Toll.

43 of the top 50 Mythic+ players run Lightsmith (4165–4375 rating). Murlok.io

Mythic+

239,446 logs · 2026-11-05T12:00:00Z

Consensus loadoutRecommended

Popularity 98.8% heatmap match · 98.8% heatmap match

Paste in-game: Talents → Import

CEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALAwMAAwyAmZWmZmlZMjhFzmZWMTTMLzYmZGjZLDADAbgN2MzAAAAzMLLLWmZYjthBbAzsNAAzMAMjxoB

Sample Warcraft Logs report ↗

Recommended loadout is the closest match to Archon’s aggregate popularity across top parses — not a single one-off key.

Sample size: 239446 top parses. Only talents in the recommended loadout are drawn.

Class

Specialization

Hero

Only talents in this loadout are drawn (Lightsmith). Hover a node for its Wowhead tooltip.

Across 239,446 logs. A talent has to show up in at least 40% of them before it is part of the build.

Stats for Mythic+

1Intellect

2Haste

3Critical Strike

4Versatility

5Mastery

Left to right — highest priority first. Sim your character when secondaries are close.

Based on data in the last 2 weeks, the stat priority for Holy Paladin looks to be Intellect > Haste > Crit > Vers > Mastery. However, there may be bias based on what gear is available to players.

What the top Mythic+ players actually have

Haste27% +1164
Critical Strike26% +762
Versatility12% +671
Mastery42% +494

Average secondary stats of the top 50 Mythic+ players (4165–4375 rating), from Murlok.io, updated 3 minutes ago.

4piece set16slots

Best in slot from Method.gg. Every slot is on the figure. Point at a piece to light it.

Wear 4 tier pieces. The 4-piece bonus is what this spec is tuned around.

2-piece: Infusion Of Light increases the healing of Flash Of Light by an additional 100% and absorb from Greater Judgement by an additional 100%

4-piece: Judgement now has a 20% chance to grant Infusion Of Light . Holy Light now has a 100% chance to grant Infusion Of Light , but its mana cost is increased by 50%.

Patch 12.1.5

HeadTierBiS
Corroded Hulk's Skullcap (Tier Set)
Kith'ix (Catalyst)
NeckBiS
Aqirbane Reliquary
Ula'tek
ShoulderTierBiS
Cinderfury Shoulderguards
Murder Row (Catalyst)
(Tier Set)
BackBiS
Silken Voodoo Drape
The Coiled Altar
ChestTierBiS
Reckless Spirit Breastplate
The Coiled Altar (Catalyst)
(Tier Set)
WristBiS
Shellbound Bracers
The Lost Explorers

HandsTierBiS
Gauntlets Of The Avian Sentinel
King's Rest (Catalyst)
(Tier set)
WaistBiS
Girdle Of Toxic Regret
The Coiled Altar
LegsTierBiS
Chausses Of Unbound Rancor
Ula'tek
FeetBiS
Scaled Fiend's Warboots
Vashnik the Malignant
Finger 1BiS
Vile Alchemist's Band
Vashnik the Malignant
Finger 2BiS
Band Of The Swarmcaller
Kith'ix
Trinket 1BiS
Soulcoiler Ritual Vessel
Nek'zali the Soulcoiler
Trinket 2BiS
Gebbo's Bottomless Bag
Mor'zahi

Main HandBiS
Baleful Hexblade
The Coiled Altar
Off HandBiS
Bubblefin Splash Guard
The Tidebound Grotto

Log meta from Archon · updated 2026-11-05T12:00:00Z

Embellishment

The combo the most logs are running.

Arcanoweave Lining+Arcanoweave Lining44.5%

Enchant on each piece

Slot	Enchant	Popularity
Chest	Mark of the Worldsoul	71.3%
Legs	Sunfire Silk Spellthread	57.6%
Feet	Lynx's Dexterity	55.7%
Head	Empowered Rune of Avoidance	55.4%
Shoulders	Amirdrassil's Grace	55.4%
Rings	Silvermoon's Alacrity	45.9%
Main-Hand	Rite of the Hash'ey	43.9%
Off-Hand	Pyrium Shield Spike	0.1%

Gem in each socket

Socket	Gem	Popularity
Epic Gem	Indecipherable Eversong Diamond	70.3%
Gem	Flawless Versatile Peridot	32.0%

Flasks, potions & food

Midnight tier picks for Holy — match flask to your simmed best secondary.

FlaskFlask of the Blood Knights
Combat potionLight's Potential (throughput windows)
Health potionConcentrated Silvermoon Health Potion
FoodFeast or best intellect food
NoteWeapon: Authority of the Shattered Sun on main-hand
NoteVoid-Touched Augment Rune on progression nights

What top players wear

Trinkets

Embellishment

Arcanoweave Lining95

Players of the top 50 using each, from Murlok.io.

Interrupts

Holy has no interrupt in Midnight: Rebuke was removed from healer Paladins.
Use Hammer of Justice to stun a single caster and Blinding Light to disorient a pack when kicks are short.

Staying alive

Divine Protection for any predictable hit; it is short enough to use often.
Divine Shield is a full immunity and can also be used to keep healing through something that would kill you.
Blessing of Sacrifice sends damage to you, so do not cast it right before you take a big hit yourself.

Utility

Cleanse removes magic, plus poisons and diseases with Improved Cleanse.
Aura Mastery is a raid-wide 12% damage reduction for 8 seconds.
Blessing of Protection removes bleeds and physical debuffs and saves a player who pulled aggro.
Intercession brings back a dead ally for 3 Holy Power.

In Mythic+

Press Judgment on cooldown in keys; the extra damage and Holy Power add up over a whole dungeon.
Spend spare Holy Power on Shield of the Righteous when the group is topped; idle Holy Power is wasted.
Your Mastery heals more the closer you are, but all your healing works at range, so stand somewhere safe first.
With no interrupt, plan Hammer of Justice and Blinding Light into the group's kick rotation.

Spend Holy Power before it caps
Wrong
1. 5 Holy Power
2. Holy Shock
3. Judgment
Right
1. 5 Holy Power
2. Word of Glory
3. Holy Shock
Generators at 5 Holy Power produce nothing. Spend first, then build.
Don't waste Infusion of Light
Wrong
1. Infusion of Light proc
2. Holy Light
Right
1. Infusion of Light proc
2. Flash of Light
The proc makes Flash of Light instant and much stronger, which is more healing and less mana than a hard-cast Holy Light.
Divine Toll inside Beacon of Virtue
Wrong
1. Divine Toll
2. Holy Shock
3. Beacon of Virtue
Right
1. Beacon of Virtue
2. Divine Toll
3. Light of Dawn
Every Holy Shock from Divine Toll is copied onto five beaconed allies when Beacon of Virtue is up first.
Holy Light is a last resort
Wrong
1. Holy Light
2. Holy Light
3. Out of mana
Right
1. Holy Shock
2. Word of Glory
3. Holy Light only in an emergency
Holy Light costs a lot of mana. Holy Power heals are almost free, so use them first.

How it plays

Holy Power is the whole game: generate it with Holy Shock and Judgment, and never sit at 5.
Infusion of Light procs go on Flash of Light, ideally on a beaconed ally.
Divine Toll is five Holy Shocks at once; in raid, cast it while Beacon of Virtue is up.
Holy Light is strong but expensive; it is the button for when you have no Holy Power and no proc.
Holy has no interrupt in Midnight, so your stops are Hammer of Justice and Blinding Light.

Strong at

Strong, instant spot healing through Holy Shock and Word of Glory
Divine Toll and Beacon of Virtue give burst group healing on short cooldowns
Very durable, with an immunity and several externals
Aura Mastery, Blessing of Sacrifice and Lay on Hands are raid-level saves

Weak at

No interrupt since Midnight removed Rebuke from healers
Mana gets tight if you lean on Holy Light or Beacon of Virtue
Little mobility outside Divine Steed

Holy Paladin

Rotation

Cooldowns and when to use them

What top players actually cast

Abilities

Rotation

Cooldowns

Survival

Utility

Builds / Talents

Mythic+

Gear

Stats for Mythic+

What the top Mythic+ players actually have

Embellishment

Enchant on each piece

Gem in each socket

Flasks, potions & food

What top players wear

Trinkets

Embellishment

Utility

Interrupts

Staying alive

Utility

In Mythic+

Mistakes

Spend Holy Power before it caps

Don't waste Infusion of Light

Divine Toll inside Beacon of Virtue

Holy Light is a last resort

Playstyle

How it plays

Strong at

Weak at

Further reading