is Holy aggressive viable in twink brackets?

[sandypufpuff]

I have a twink priest with about 320 sp running around but only 2k hp unbuffed, and am currently holy aggressive spec, which is both fun and boring at the same time, holy fire then smite to death seems really strong but only got to try it in the xp brackets cause my server is dead on no xp.

Current spec is Talent Calculator - World of Warcraft with the option of putting on pt in spirit tap into spirit of redemption which risks hurting longevity but increases dmg done and utility in a group.

I've killed twinked out SL locks with felhunter glyph about 2/3 the time and lose pretty consistently to twinked rogues in duels, but was wondering how I might fair vs other classes and whether im jsut using a fun but scrubby spec when i could be going 28/2 or 19/11. I really like the combo of a very strong holy fire and surge of light makes for some huge burst, with spirit tap it seems like i put out dmg really fast and as long as im killing i can go for some time.

Any suggestions or comments would be welcome.


PS sorry for not posting a char link, my pre paid time ran out and currently debating buying a new one, hardcore raiding at 80 has lost its charm and unfortunately it happened at 3.2 so i have a bunch of twinks chilling in different brackets with no where to go.
PPS chardev isnt sending me the form to click to get my registration

[Alteffour]

IMO holy is only semi-viable currently in this twink bracket. Keep in mind this is only my opinion. The spec is playable surely, I just dont find it nearly as good as Disc is for priests at this level.

However; after the next patch the spec should get some love from reduced mana costs and could be a bit better. If you also choose to use the SW:P glyph you could see some good mana returns from there as well. The big benefit is that you should have some good burst healing to help your team so long as you are willing to play to help your team and not just to get most damage/kbs.

The problem as I see it with using Holy as an aggressive spec is exactly what youve kinda pointed out. In order to really have the spec pay off you need to do one of two things: #1 gear glass cannon with lots of SP but low HP and mana or #2 gear like disc/area and not hit nearly so hard.

What it comes down to is that you get a lot of burst in exchange for your own survivability. This means that in some games youre going to excell (when your team is strong and you have protection) and in some games youre going to die a lot and be not very effective.

All that said, I think Holy is semi-viable if it suits your taste of play style, and will certainly benefit from the next patch. The spec is still probably not as game changing for your team as well played disc however.

I used to play Holy DPS a lot back before the spirit and inscription nerfs...just never felt the same about the spec after that.

[Mortox]

I just can't see how the hell a SL lock WITH FH glyph could possibly loose to you

Lockdown holy, fear if you get fakecasted and mana drain your 2.5k mana in seconds.
Pressure up with dots ticking, and constant devours of your dots off me and with Shadow ward up your shadow school probably won't even make a dent in me, then it's the small matter of you having to take down 3k Hp with 55% spell reduction and 1k mana left

I can't see that happening :P

Fact is a good SL warlock will EASILY outlast you as holy DPS spec.

[elesian]

Priest can't win against SL warlock. You can't get make enough pressure in between los/spell-lock and fear, not to mention devour magic.

I actually think the best priests in this bracket are the one who play aggressive. 2k buffed is too low, around 2.7-2.8k and agm gives you enough survivability, and as long as you have unbreakable will, I think holy aggressive can work. 150sp and a lot of crit plus the talents and you're good to go.

[elesian]

re-posted***

[sandypufpuff]

thanks guys i think ill build a stam set with less sp for when i get focused and keep my glass cannon set for games with more support. IF need be ill go disc, but i got a high rated priest at 80 thats disc so wanted to try something a little different.

The lock got killed the first time cause he locked my shadow school with spell lock so fear ward and human racial gave me time to get off enough smites and holy fire to finish him off. The second an engineering bomb stunned him for the first part of his lock and dispelling shadow ward and using scream got enough time to spam him down. Now i did get a surge proc on those fights which helps, and i don't count on typically. LOS would have been a big help for him but as with most duels it was fought outside a city which doesn't typically offer the best options for cover.

Mainly i was jsut wondering how the dmg output would stack up vs say a mage or am i just too gimped by the necessary cast times to do anything cause i noticed with the rogue that constant chain interrupts hurt

[Skyth]

Mainly i was jsut wondering how the dmg output would stack up vs say a mage or am i just too gimped by the necessary cast times to do anything cause i noticed with the rogue that constant chain interrupts hurt

The difference between a mage and a smite priest is the mage has reliable CC, a silence, a root, snares, and various abilities to help while under pressure. On the priests side you have heals and dispels, which against a smart rogue is just not good enough.

In damage output I'd actually say the priest has more potential burst and reliable DPS over a mage, but again there are still problems like your DPS school being the same as your healing school and DPS plummeting while focused.

When I was holy with a good rogue on me, if they have a trinket up you're usually screwed unless you blow a good trinket or two, or survive for a 2nd fear (lolundead). Just have dots up and spam nova, hoping for some SoL procs.

[elesian]

lol? Priest cannot match a mage for burst. Frost mages can easily unload 1200-1500 burst, and fire around 1k.1.2k. Against a rogue in arena both priest and mage should lose regardless. If anything the priest has the edge due to the constant dot pressure and the ps. You don't spam hnova against a rogue, it's a conservation of mana fight. If you're blowing most of your mana pool before his agm/vanish reset, what have you achieved?

[Skyth]

lol? Priest cannot match a mage for burst. Frost mages can easily unload 1200-1500 burst, and fire around 1k.1.2k. Against a rogue in arena both priest and mage should lose regardless. If anything the priest has the edge due to the constant dot pressure and the ps. You don't spam hnova against a rogue, it's a conservation of mana fight. If you're blowing most of your mana pool before his agm/vanish reset, what have you achieved?

I was mainly talking about a WSG environment, not a proper duel or anything. If you can't get away from the rogue there's not a whole lot you can do. I was glyphed for nova and with DoTs/renew running I actually found it a decent strat to stay alive while putting pressure on the rogue, and with one SoL you gain the upper hand. It's better than getting locked out of your heals as a good rogue wont let you get a cast off. While mana inefficient, you are low on options unless like I said you blow a good trink or two.

Also you are underestimating a priests damage. In the gear I was running in I could hit 900 smites followed by 600 instant, all the while 2 Dots ticking for 100+.

[Twinkzruz]