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Beacon of Light

From WoWWiki

Beacon of Light
  • Beacon of Light
  • Instant cast
  • 35% base mana
  • The target becomes a Beacon of Light to all targets within a 60 yard radius. Any heals you cast on those targets will also heal the Beacon for 100% of the amount healed. Only one target can be the Beacon of Light at a time. Lasts 60 seconds.
Usable by
ClassPaladin
Properties
TypeHealing
SchoolHoly
CooldownNone/Global Cooldown
Radius40 yds
Other information
Ranks1
Related buff
  • Magic
  • Beacon of Light
  • Beacon of Light.
  • Duration: 1 minute
Related buff
  • Magic
  • Light's Beacon
  • The paladin's heals on you also heal the Beacon of Light.
  • Duration: 1 minute

Beacon of Light is the 51-point talented ability in the Paladin Holy Tree. Designed to aid paladins in healing groups of players, this spell is cast on a player and lasts for 60 seconds. During that time, 100% of heals cast on a group member within 40 yards of the target will also affect the target.

Contents

Glyphs

2020

Tips and tactics

Beacon of Light is one of the most important spells for healing paladins. The benefit the spell has is however heavily dependent on the experience of the Paladin. Overheals are transferred to the Beacon starting from patch 3.2 (see Patch Changes below).

  • On the Tank/Offtank -

One of the most common used tactics is to put the beacon on the tank. This becomes in particular viable if multiple tanks are involved, allowing to heal them at the same time. In fights where Tanks share the Boss in order to avoid stacking debuffs it becomes rather useless since only one of them is taking damage.

If more then one Paladin is healing, they can place their beacon on each others target. (Crossover Beacon)

Alternatively they can place all beacons on the same target to reduce the workload on that target significantly.(Stacking Beacon)

  • On the Paladin

In certain situations, in particular if a lot of groups are involved, it can be useful to place the beacon on the caster. This tactic will make the Paladin independent from group heal and is in 5 man groups a viable idea. It will in most cases prevent the death of the Paladin unless he runs out of mana. This can be a interesting idea if the grouphealer has problems to complete their assignment. Alternatively it can be placed on the grouphealer for the same reason.

  • Smart Placement

Paladins are often considered inferior for group healing, this is however not entirely true. Placing the Beacon of Light on the player who will receive the most damage during the encounter and healing the group can reveal the true power of the spell. if property executed it won't turn the Paladin into a great group healer but will allow him to distribute a major part to healing the tank.

The solution for the dilemma of where to place the Beacon can not be answered in general and differs between the encounters and the heal assignments. Depending on that, the Beacon can be either useless or allowing the Paladin to do the work of two Healers at once.

Misunderstandings

A common misunderstanding and point of irritation for Paladins is the idea that the Beacon of Light works exactly the opposite way that it does. Inexperienced Players often assume that the Paladin can heal the Beacon and by that heal everybody within 40 yards as well.

Patch changes

  • Patch 3.2.0 (2009-08-04): The healing amount on the Beacon of Light target is now based on the total healing done (including over-healing) instead of the effective healing done. Radius increased to 60 yards. Multiple Paladins can now have this active on the same target. Buff indicating a player is within range of the Beacon target is no longer displayed.
  • Patch 3.0.2 (2008-10-14): Added.

External links