Beacon of Lightedit

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 60 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, but is only viable when more than one party member is taking damage. Overheals are transferred to the Beacon as of patch 3.2 (see Patch changes below).

  • On the Tank/Offtank

By far, the most common target of this spell is the tank, since he will be taking the most damage, and therefore will always benefit from it. The Paladin then casts heals on the other party members taking damage, which also heals the tank. As noted above, when tanks share the boss to avoid stacking debuffs, it is useless, since only one of them is taking damage.

If more than one Paladin is healing, they can place their Beacons on each other's targets (Crossover Beacon).

Alternatively, they can place their Beacons on the same target to reduce the workload on that target significantly (Stacking Beacon).

  • On the Paladin

If the Paladin is taking damage, casting Beacon on himself can both assist a weak group healer and prevent the Paladin's death (unless he runs out of mana). Alternatively it can be placed on the group healer for the same reason.

  • Smart Placement

While this spell won't turn a Paladin into a great group healer, properly executed, Beacon can dramatically improve a Paladin's group healing contributions. There is no single answer for who the target of this spell should be; it will depend on the encounter and the heal assignments.

The heal on the Beacon'd target is delayed by about half a second, which can be dangerous in very healing-intensive situations.

Misunderstandings

A common misunderstanding and point of irritation for Paladins is the idea that the Beacon of Light works exactly opposite to the way that it does. Inexperienced players often assume that the Paladin can heal the Beacon and by that heal everybody within 60 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