An Overview Of Paladin Glyphs
2 days ago, Blizzard has officially released the first set of glyphs dedicated to the Paladin class. These are like to be the first set of many to come, that will be introduced one at a time through Beta, and even after WotLK is released. At a glance a lot of them looks promising, but do they really enhance our gameplay? In this article, I will provide an overview for all the glyphs and how they will effect us.
Glyph of Seal of Command
Increases the chance of dealing Seal of Command damage by 20%.
At the moment, we know that Seal of Command procs at a rate of 7 PPM (proc per minute). To convert this number to a proccing rate or chance, we require weapon speed. Assuming a weapon speed of 3.8 is used, the chance to proc every swing is roughly 44.3% for every swing. What this glyph would do, is to increase the proc rate to 64.3% for every swing. Converting this back to the unit of PPM, we will get roughly 10.2 PPM, which is a 69% increase in PPM for a 3.8 weapon speed!
Or to put it more simply, a 3.8 weapon speed gets to swing 15.8 times a minute. Out of the 15.8 times, 10.2 times of them will proc Seal of Command. Pretty sweet isn’t it? However, would this new glyph places Seal of Command back to the top of dps or pvp seal? Hopefully some elite theorycrafter will work on this soon. :)
Glyph of Hammer of Justice
Increases your Hammer of Justice duration by 1 sec.
With enough burst damage, you can kill a lot of people within this 7-second. Talented and properly geared, the cooldown of Hammer of Justice would be down to 20-second. 7-second of stun every 20-second is pretty awesome. Throw in a Repentance as well you can destroy a lot of classes.
However, PVE Paladins will not find this very attractive due to the limited usage of HoJ in PVE encounters. What’s worth noting is that this glyph works very well with the Glyph of Crusader Strike.
Glyph of Blessing of Wisdom
Your Blessing of Wisdom causes your target to also regenerate health at the same rate as mana.
This is a very attractive glyph. In PVP, Holy/Shockadin Paladins will find this irreplaceable as a super HoT that goes on indefinitely and works at zero mana cost. In PVE, Protection Paladins would also find this tremendously useful. But even if you’re not protection, there is a good reason to get this glyph. Tanks and Warlocks would kiss your toes for the new Blessing of Wisdom as it regenerates the health as well. Definitely a good glyph to aim for.
Glyph of Hammer of Wrath
Increases the range on Hammer of Wrath by 5 yards.
Hammer of Wrath is hardly utilized in PVE as dps rotation as it used to reset the swing timer. Even though it does not anymore, it is most likely still not going to be adopted as part of the rotation. Hence this is more of a PVP glyph.
Added by Ilmeni
This skill is a finisher, especially useful to smack a runner, not a staple. It’s not /meant/ to be a staple. The glyph increases its range, thus giving you a crucial second or two more to collect your target.
Glyph of Crusader Strike
Your Crusader strike deals 20% more damage when your target is incapacitated or stunned.
Following the design of Judgement of Command, this glyph provides more burst damage when an opponent is stunned or incapacitated. Great for PVP Retribution Paladins. Not so desirable for the others, even for PVE Retribution Paladins.
Glyph of Consecration
Increases the radius of Consecration by 1 yards.
Added by Ilmeni
Let’s do the math here. The area of a circle is r^2*pi. Increasing the radius by one yard gives (r+1)^2*pi, or, multiplied out, (r^2+2r+1)*pi. That is an increase of (2r+1)*pi over standard consecration, or, at 8 yards radius base, an increase of 17*pi, or 53 square yards, in a strip one yard wide around the outer ring of the standard area. Sounds fairly substantial to me to catch unwary stealthers in PvP, or be able to block that much larger a passageway, shielding your squishies, as tank.
Glyph of Righteous Defense
Increases the chance for your Righteous Defense ability to work successfully by 8% on each target.
Awesome for Protection Paladins. Absolutely essential for tanking. Taunts are usually used during all the oh-shit situations when mobs run loose. Resisted taunts when you are losing aggro is like, the worst situation ever. This glyph will minimize the chance of that happening. Give yourself a peace of mind and get this for tanking!
Glyph of Avenger’s Shield
Your Avenger’s Shield hits -2 fewer targets but for 100% more damage.
Currently, Avenger’s Shield isn’t desirable to be in a tanking rotation due to its high cooldown and 0.5-second cast time. It is mainly used for pulling. Pulling multiple targets at one go is good for AoE tanking, but with most encounters having group of mobs linked together, pulling one will essentially pull the rest as well. This glyph allows a Protection Paladin to only generate high threat on a single target upon pulling. This is good for boss encounters where several tanks will be tanking several targets, and having high threat on only one target make it easier for other tanks to grab the initial aggro. One may also argue that the increased damage will be good for PVP.
Glyph of Turn Evil
Reduces the cooldown on Turn Evil by 5 sec.
This is a funny glyph because I remember the cooldown of Turn Evil has been removed several patches ago. Is Blizzard planning to add the cooldown back into the game? On a second thought, MMO-Champion might have made a mistake. It might in fact mean to increase the duration of Turn Evil by 5 seconds. Hmmm… Would this make everyone wants to use Turn Evil a little more? We will have to see how it turns out with Death Knight and Warlock’s new demon form.
Glyph of Exorcism
Your Exorcism also interrupts spellcasting for 0 sec.
For the first time, Blizzard added spell interrupting effect for the Paladins. This glyph will either be superbly awesome or a total flop, entirely depending if it would alter Exorcism in such that it would then be castable on all targets to interrupt their spell casting. Knowing that Hand of Freedom was changed by The Art of War in such that it is castable on yourself when stunned, as compared to the untalented version of the spell being locked when stunned, I’m pretty optimistic that Exorcism will be changed in a similar fashion by this glyph.
Afterall, have spell casting Undeads and Demons been such a big threat? I don’t think. I’m pretty sure that the interrupt effect is added onto Exorcism as to allow Paladins to interrupt casters from range, which is awesome.
If this is the flop version, then this is more or less worthless for any Paladins unless you want to fill your glyph spots. Tanking Paladins might find some use for this as I think WotLK might have quite a bit of undeads and demons instances. On the other hand, if this is the awesome version, then it is absolutely essential to all Paladins.
Glyph of Blessing of Kings
Your Blessing of Kings also increases attack power on affected targets by 3%.
Blessing of Kings have always been a very desirable blessing by all classes. This improvement will only make it even more favorable by melee classes. This design is somewhat in-line with Blizzard’s move to improve the damage output of all classes by adding an offensive component into the original spell.
Glyph of Flash of Light
Your Flash of Light heals for -50% less initially but also heals for 196% of its initial effect over 1 to 0 sec.
This is a little confusing actually. I’m not sure if MMO-Champion made a typo on the duration. But from what I understand based on the description, this glyph effectively converts Flash of Light into a lesser effect heal with heal over time spell components. It is useful for both Paladins who wants to chip in some help to other targets without neglecting the main tank, and also for the other Paladins who are not in the healing role. Dump a FoL then continue healing the mt or dps etc.
Glyph of Holy Light
Your Holy Light grants 10% of its heal amount to up to 5 friendly targets within 5 (yards) of the initial target.
A move by Blizzard to allow us be a little more effective in AoE healing. This is a superb glyph, but its effectiveness might have to be tested. Firstly, 10% is a tiny amount to be spreaded by 5 targets. Secondly, within 5 yards is also a very tight radius. Finally, I would expect a healing Paladin to spam Flash of Light while healing instead of Holy Light; it would have been better added as a glyph to enhance Flash of Light. Then we could spam it and AoE heal all the melees beside the main tank. However, Flash of Light already has a rather nice glyph as listed above, so this is not needed.
Glyph of Blessing of Might
Your Blessing of Might also grants offensive spell power equal to 10% of the attack power it grants.
Blessing of Might is definitely THE Retribution Paladin’s blessing now. With this glyph, the position will never be shaken by anything else. It is also interesting to note that casters may now demand Blessing of Wisdom AND Blessing of Might with this glyph, as the offensive spell power will be helpful.
Glyph of Lay on Hands
Your Lay on Hands also grants you as much mana as it grants your target.
This glyph is rather situational. If for example, you casted Lay on Hands on a Warrior or a Rogue, will you still get any mana back? If you use LoH as an emergency button to save your tanks, tanking classes like Warrior, Druid and Death Knights might not return any mana at all back to you. On the other hand, there aren’t too many situations where you want to use the LoH on a caster in my opinion. Even so, at maximum rank, Lay on Hands return 1950 mana back to you. Not very impressive.
Added by Ilmeni
Maybe not as impressive as it might be for a retribution or holy spec, although it’s a great mana recovery even for them, seeing how it costs 0 mana to cast. For a tank, with the limited mana pool that results from stacking defense sky-high, the effect is rather staggering: Heal self to full, /AND/ regain 3900 mana, every 20 minutes. This is not “useless,” this is “gorgeous.”
Glyph of Seal of Wisdom
While Seal of Wisdom is active the cost of your healing spells is reduced by -5%.
Pretty self-explanatory. I see this as a good addition for Holy Paladins. We know that a major part of Paladin’s class mechanism are based on the Seal/Judgement system, and Holy Paladins seem to be shunned away from it when they are healing. Now the Glyph provides a good reason for Holy Paladins to put on a seal and heal away! My grudge is that, this should have been a baseline effect.
Glyph of Seal of Light
While Seal of Light is active the effect of your healing spells is increased by 5%.
Again, this glyph is pretty self-explanatory. Still a Holy Paladin’s glyph. Downside is that you can only choose Seal of Light or Seal of Wisdom at a time, hence it’s not possible to stack the effects by using both seals and glyphs.
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Ambershock said,
August 12, 2008 at 10:56 am
I don’t understand, are these glyphs currently unobtainable in the beta? I was reading the beta forums and VERY surprised that there is very little discussion on whether or not exorcism is demon/undead only.
J said,
August 13, 2008 at 8:28 pm
Someone has to level their inscription skills first I would think. But most are busy testing their classes as opposed to testing the professions. Soooo… yea more information will be released soon don’t worry.
Ilmeni said,
August 14, 2008 at 7:46 am
Unfortunately, I’m finding that parts of this post are rather ill-researched.
Glyph of Hammer of Wrath: Is obviously not part of any DPS or tanking rotation, as it requires the target to be below 20%. This skill is a finisher, especially useful to smack a runner, not a staple. It’s not /meant/ to be a staple. The glyph increases its range, thus giving you a crucial second or two more to collect your target.
Glyph of Consecration: An increment of 1 yard is negligible? Let’s do the math here. The area of a circle is r^2*pi. Increasing the radius by one yard gives (r+1)^2*pi, or, multiplied out, (r^2+2r+1)*pi. That is an increase of (2r+1)*pi over standard consecration, or, at 8 yards radius base, an increase of 17*pi, or 53 square yards, in a strip one yard wide around the outer ring of the standard area. Sounds fairly substantial to me to catch unwary stealthers in PvP, or be able to block that much larger a passageway, shielding your squishies, as tank. “Negligible?” I call bullshit.
Glyph of Righteous Defense: 8% reduction to resist chance is nice. Still, wouldn’t it be more efficient overall to stack the appropriate hit rating, and benefit all other spells? It seems to me this is a crutch for lacking gear, not a tanking mainstay.
Glyph of Avenger Shield: Cut potential targets by 2/3rds, while doubling damage? Seems a poor tradeoff to me, especially since bosses are rare and trashpacks are common. Avenger Shield does not belong in a tanking rotation anyway, as during cast, you cannot parry or block - and even half a second without that can be lethal.
Glyph of Exorcism: Given the way this spell works, I don’t see that the glyph suddenly allows it to affect anything but undead and demons. Even so, it’s worthwhile, unlike what the poster thinks - even in current content, I run across spellcasting undead and demons more often than I’d like. The guest wing in Kara, Romulo and Julianne, and Shade, just to name a handful.
Glyph of Lay on Hands: Maybe not as impressive as it might be for a retribution or holy spec, although it’s a great mana recovery even for them, seeing how it costs 0 mana to cast. For a tank, with the limited mana pool that results from stacking defense sky-high, the effect is rather staggering: Heal self to full, /AND/ regain 3900 mana, every 20 minutes. This is not “useless,” this is “gorgeous.”
Glyph of Seal of Wisdom: More of the ridiculous “this should have been baseline.” The least the original poster could do is retain some semblance of perspective.
Ilmeni said,
August 14, 2008 at 7:47 am
I have to correct myself on Hammer of Wrath, it’s 35% in WotLK. Still doesn’t make this suitable for a DPS or tanking rotation /by design/.
J said,
August 14, 2008 at 11:07 am
Good points. :) Added your points accordingly where I see fit. I do admit that the article was somewhat rushed. My bad.
Glyph of Righteous Defense: Well you will want to stack hit/spell hit rating regardless. This glyph is just an addition to enhance your Righteous Defense. If you have better glyphs for tanking then by all means leave it out.
Glyph of Exorcism: I know a lot of people disagree with me. But I’m being hopeful that it will work on everyone. Provided that it’s a major glyph.
Glyph of Lay on Hands: Agreed. From a tank’s perspective, it definitely could be an awesome spell to restore mana.
Glyph of Seal of Wisdom/Light: My point was that, an effect like these that benefits Holy Paladins while putting up a Seal, should have been baseline. Not necessary that particular effect of -5% mana cost, but any kind of effects. Otherwise if you’re healing, you could more or less chuck away all the Seals from the action bar, more so in WotLK when you don’t need Seals to put up Judgements. Not a very good use of a core system Blizzard designed for us.
Ilmeni said,
August 15, 2008 at 3:59 am
Firstly, my apologies for the tone of my original post. I was being unnecessarily confrontational, and that’s never a good way to enter a discussion.
To my points. I’ve always thought of Seals as largely offensive tools - they’re designed to provide damage (retribution/command), mana (wisdom) or health (light). Not being a PvPer, I’ve never found a use for Justice, and I personally /hate/ Seal of Blood (and as I understand things, it will be removed/renamed/reimagined). By contrast, Blessings/Hands are defensive tools. That being the case, Seals would not naturally belong into a healer’s toolkit, and the glyphs serve to place them there as additional tools, by making them operate, effectively, as an additional set of personal blessings. A much-needed boost for healers (that arguably might have been better talented than Glyph’d), but to make it baseline would mean nerfs in other places to balance, more than likely to the detriment of tanks and DPSers - since it’s their primary tools that are seeing a baseline boost.
Ilmeni said,
August 15, 2008 at 9:18 am
*sigh* Replace “retribution” with “righteousness” in my comments on Seals…
J said,
August 15, 2008 at 10:55 am
Nah it’s all good. :)
Actually, I wasn’t particularly thinking about balancing. I am sure that if Blizzard thinks hard enough, there’re ways to utilize seals to enhance healings without hurting the tank and dps. If you are tanking and dps-ing, no one really expects you to heal anyway. But if the additional utilities of the seals are there, then you can use it when you really need to heal. I don’t really feel that the addition of seal utilities will hurt tank and dps.
Anyway, just a few quick examples from my thoughts on how Blizzard could use the seals:
While Seal of Vengeance is active, Holy Light/FoL will turn into a HoT with 5 ticks.
While Seal of Blood is active, Holy Light/FoL heals for X amount more by consuming part of the Paladins’ hp.
While Seal of Command is active, spell crits increase by X %.
This could be interesting changes if Blizzard is reading this (sometimes they do), and it make good use of a core mechanics of Paladins as well. However, most likely these will just be Glyphs instead of talented or even baseline effects. Otherwise Pallies would be an OP healer. Ok perhaps I see your point now. If we’re overpowered in healings, then really no one wants us for any other roles.
Ilmeni said,
August 15, 2008 at 4:30 pm
Personally, I’d like to see something like that as a high-tier talent in Holy. Essentially, turn Seals into personal blessings for Holy-priests, enhancing their healing utility.