My plans for Ulduar: 3.1 guide

Warning! Long post ahead!

Ulduar 3.1 is going to come out soon it feels as they wrap up testing for the bosses. Alot of changes are coming to paladins, a lot of nerfs especially for holy paladins. Fair or not, these are all changes paladins either have to deal with, reroll or just quit WoW.

Adapt or die, plain and simple.

With that said, I'm trying to plan out what glyphs, spec and gear pieces I want once Ulduar goes live with random screenshots through out.

Like so =P

Currently, I'm in the midst of struggling to choose between prot or Holy-PVP as my 2nd spec for dual spec. I have the gear to be a decent OT in 10 man Ulduar but as my boyfriend and some regulars in our 10 mans inform me, I am not allowed to go prot. =X



So, I'm playing with the idea of a Holy PVP spec despite not participating much in PVP this expansion. If not, the only other option left then would be to have Ret be my 2nd spec, which would most likely be for my boyfriend to fool around with than me.

Well, Ulduar is not out yet so I still have time to decide so for now in this entry, I will focus more on my main spec, holy PVE. I've listed some stuff for Holy PVP but I am not very knowledgeable when it comes to arena at all, so take what I wrote with a large helping of salt. =D

Talent spec:
Holy PVE (1, 2)- Points in Holy and Ret, I'm playing with the idea of points in prot but only if I need more throughput from Devo aura and the new prot talent (Example here).
Holy PVP (1, 2) - Since all the Holy nerfs dismantled the 37/0/34 pvp build, I reverted back to my TBC PVP build (mostly), which is also what I used to raid with =X back before they made the ret tree good for holy pallies.

Glyphs:
Holy PVE

• HL (Major) - practically mandatory I feel for raiding.
  
• Divinity (Major) - replacing my FoL glyph with this, which was actually my original glyph before they made the FoL change.
  
• SoW (Major) - I already use this glyph but with 3.1, mana efficiency will be even more important. If you prefer throughput over efficiency, go with SoL glyph.
  
• LoH (minor) - they're changing it in 3.1 but I already use this glyph so I don't need to change this glyph.
• BoK (minor) - not many minor glyphs out there and this one is good for buffing during raiding.
• Wise (minor) - Well, if you are using SoW glyph, then why not use this one? This glyph was more useful before they buffed seals to last 30 min but due to lack of other options, I would still use this glyph.
• Other glyphs coming out in 3.1 that are interesting but ultimately, I will not use unless there is a compelling reason: BoL, HS and Salve.
  

Holy PVP

• Fol (major) - Since FoL is the predominant spell used in pvp due to the long cast time of HL
  
• Salve (major) - Since my bubble will be automatically dispelled now if there is a warrior, this may help me some as it is my self only bubble so I don't need to worry about using HoP on other people in case I need it.
  
• HS (major) - HS is our only mobile cast so to have it on shorter CD in PVP is good.
  
• Sense Undead (minor) - Better than nothing...
  
• BoK (minor) - Not many minor glyphs to choose from
  
• Wise (minor) - Same reason as above
  
• Other ones that are interesting and I may consider still for PVP: Exorcism (major), DP (major), BoL (major)

PVE Gear - Due to the SS nerf, 4 piece t8 is so not attractive to me, even with the recent "buff" to it. It is still tiny bit of mitigation on 1 target, I rather have 2 piece t7 and 2 piece t8 than 4 piece t8 or 2 piece t8 with offset pieces from Ulduar. The downside to this is that I won't be matchy! I guess I better take lots of screen shots now for posterity =(

• Helm: T8.5 or this offset piece or T8.25, which are all better itemized than T7.5 and mostly an upgrade over my current helm. (Comparison here)
  
• Neck: I find this best in slot (BIS) but there is wasted itemization with the hit rating as it is meant for caster dps. I didn't pick this neck obviously meant for healers because the gem socket is blue rather than yellow along with the fact that they have comparable stats otherwise (comparison here)
  
• BP: Offset piece, itemization is good and clearly superior to other options out there
  
• Shoulders: T8.5, I compared them to other shoulders but their itemization is too good.
  
• Gloves: Either T8.5 or an offset piece, comparison here. No Ulduar gloves currently have crit/haste/sp. T7.5 gloves are still a distinct possibility for 1 of the 2 pieces you need for the 2 piece set bonus.
• Bracers: Leaning towards these bracers just because of the gem socket but none of the itemization is better than my current bracers. I also have these bracers, which have more haste, so I will have to see. Comparison here
  
• Waist: The BS crafted belt appeals to me the most out of the Ulduar ones just because of the 2 gem sockets but none of them have the lovely itemization of my current belt so it will be a hard choice for me. If the BS one is unavailable, these are next in line due to the crit on them (comparison here)
  
• Legs: T8.5 or offset piece, depending on if I need more haste or crit but I will most likely need more crit since as of now I am already near soft haste cap in my current gear. T7.5 still remains a possibility as 1 of the 2 pieces for the 2 piece set bonus. Comparison here
  
• Boots: BS crafted boots are better than the Malygos ones but I'm considering just keeping my current boots or looking at other armor classes like mail. (comparison here)
  
• Cloaks: This is the best in slot cloak for 3.1 but with that said, there is wasted itemization due to the hit rating and caster DPS will be mad if you take said cloak over them =T So these are a good 2nd option (comparison here)
  
• Rings: Some options with both crit and haste and this is one that is nice just because of the high crit, intell and sp on it despite the spirit (comparison here)
  
• Trinkets: Some trinkets I am highly interested in are 108 intell, haste on use and this one besides my egg, of course =). There are other trinkets available as well, comparison here
  
• Libram: I will probably keep my current libram as I do not see any librams out there that are very attractive but most likely because they have not corrected the tooltip to the new Ulduar libram as it is the same as a currently existing libram. I hope they change the new libram to be more attractive to holy paladins. (comparison here)
  
• Weapon: Maybe the legendary? Crossing fingers! Well if I don't get my hands on the legendary, then perhaps TTT or this new Ulduar weapon? I still prefer TTT due to the itemization though. Comparison here
  
• Shield: Seems like Voice of Reason is still BIS for me, though those of you that have this shield might see this new Ulduar shield as an upgrade (comparison here)
  

Well, I hope this long post didn't bore you but I figured it would be good for myself to have everything I am planning out in one spot and I can just use as reference. It's useful to see it all add up. I hope there aren't more nerfs incoming to holy paladins but I'm pretty disappointed in general as I have a dark feeling WotLK is a rehash of TBC.

I guess it isn't ridiculous to say that Blizzard hates paladins because holy paladins keep getting shafted, it is stupidly obvious. And if you don't agree, tough! And I bet you aren't a holy paladin since you have no clue how you have to be a bit masochistic to play this class and spec, especially towards the end of TBC! Well, enough gripes and QQ... (It's my blog and I'll QQ if I want to~ T.T)

Anyway, for those of you here looking for a post like this, I hope my view point on what the 3.1 holy paladin would need or want helps you guys out.

Till next time!