Hi All,
I have a tendency hold off on using my holy words Sanct/Serenity for those “oh crap” moments. Any advice on how to use it effectively? Most guides tell you to use it on CD but I don’t want to get caught in a situation when I need it to save a someone.
For context, I’m running the FC lego.
Okay, so that WoW analyzer stuff seems to just think that all raid fights are 24/7 damage fests, and if you aren’t using x as soon as it pops on cooldown you’re doing it wrong which is incorrect. It even tells you to use desperate prayer more which is wut.
You want to hold back and utilize them when they’re actually needed otherwise you’re just wasting them. If you memorize the damage patterns of the raids you can pretty much drop Sanctuary right as the AOE damage comes out. Serenity can be popped on cooldown on people that needs healing. CoH can be used pretty much on cd as long as there’s people to benefit from it.
PoM is something you want to make a habit of casting even when there’s nothing going on because it lingers around for 30s and 3 of them floating around on separate people when the next damage phase comes out leads to a lot of bouncing and heal padding.
Another tip is you can use Salvation early in fights and just keep mashing Holy Words you’ll get it off cd usually at the end of the raid fight if its long enough.
are u talking about raid?
the best thing I can reccomned is know the fights. and when the big heals are.
and to communicate with your other healers.
if your raid team has a healing officer let him call it out.
saying that - also use your OWN judgment.
if people getting low def use sanc
dont be afraid to use it.
plus remmeber we have abilities that lower the CD as well.
Thanks all. Sorry, this question is mostly related to M+.
In M+ you pretty much want to be popping them on cooldown as long as it’s actually required, but given how the tanks get beat like pinatas… big Serenity crits for 30k+ can save them. I run Holy Oration conduit + Light of the Naaru and I get a 6 cast reset on Serenity so it’s up a lot.
Thanks Caith…
Sort of a related question but I noticed you use Light of the N instead of the mostly “recommended” apo. Do you prefer the set and forget it nature of the talent? I find apo kind of clunky but that is probably because I don’t use it often and like the use it and forget it (get out of trouble instantly) nature of Salv, even in M+
It’s just personal preference. Apotheosis is an emergency “oh-crap” button that for the most part is going to sit unused for most of the dungeon run. Also, it feels like it takes too many casts to reset your Holy Words outside of using the Miracle Worker PvP talent. It’s like 3 casts to reset vs 2 in PvP while in Apo…
If you ask me I prefer Apotheosis rather than Light of the Naaru.
It depends on what you like most and feel comfortable with.
I myself find way more useful being able to pop 2 serenity and 2 sanctify pretty much instantly and also get the 300% cd reduction and the no mana cost for 20 juicy seconds.
The only downside is when Apotheosis is on CD but tbh since Apo cd starts as soon as you pop it, it is only a 1:40 min cd so you pretty much have it most of the time you need it.
Without LotN and with Holy oration conduit you need 7/8 casts of Flash heal/Heal to get your serenity off cd. But again if you get SoL procs which you will get quite a lot during dungeons I feel that difference is quite low.
As for holy words usage on M+. I use it mostly on targets <=50-60% hp. So I pretty much save it when a target is kinda low so I get them full hp fast and keep healing other teammates.
Apotheosis makes you glow , gives you wings, and has you floating (animation-wise).
I think there’s supposed to be a debate here but I can’t seem to get past that first sentence.
Thanks all for your help and advice.
I like Light of N because its something you can choose and just forget about it. My thing has always been keep it simple. When the ish hits the fan, you don’t want to be fumbling around with too many different choices. Good to see high level holy priests using LotN so I can be comfortable knowing its viable.
Ideally you should never really find yourself in a situation where you ‘need’ something like a specific cooldown to heal through difficult situations otherwise it turns too much of a crutch. If you can’t do it with your basic toolkit then you got to figure out how you can do it better for next time.
In raid fights, generally if you’re running Flash Concentration you should be using serenity on CD, and sanctuary when the raid’s taking damage. You basically function as a spot healer with large raid CDs. So you use a bunch of heal, which will reduce serenity’s CD enough that it pretty much won’t ever be down in emergency situations (and even if it was, heal on its own is a big chunk of healing).
If anything, I’d train yourself to be more liberal with Serenity casts and keep Sanc for scary situations.
I’d say you are using them effectively if they aren’t being wasted on overhealing. Usually the “oh crap” moments are when I need them, the rest of the time FC and other non-Holy Word spells carry me through. So I think what you’re doing now is okay. Don’t waste them on an overheal just to always keep them on cooldown. If your runs are anything like mine, you’ll get a lot of overhealing from Prideful buffs, don’t pile on wasting Holy Words just because.
It’s like what Caithyra said, other guides assume there is always healing to be had, which realistically isn’t the case. They’re looking a potential throughput, not what’s required for what situation. When everyone is topped off, I dps, maintain FC stacks, cast preemptive Renews, and throw out PoM. Else, I would intermittently stand around not doing anything.
If you are running the Resonant Words conduit, it is good to practice weaving in Holy Words with your Heals to get the most of the the conduit and the legendary.