Retribution Paladin guide
Melee DPS. Retribution wields a slow two-hander and relies on Seal of Command, crits and Vengeance. Forever gives every Paladin Holy Strike, an instant 10 sec cooldown attack, Sacred Arbiter to make it hit harder and refresh your Judgements, and Unsealed Wrath, the level 40 talent at the bottom of the section, which rewards swapping seals: your swings store copies of your active seal, and the first hit with a different seal gives each stored copy its normal chance to activate. Judgement and Exorcism fill the gaps.
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Stat priority
- Hit (to cap)
- Strength
- Critical Strike
- Agility
- Weapon DPS
- Spell Power
- Intellect
Opener
- Blessing of Might: Or Blessing of Kings if another Paladin covers Might
- Seal of the Crusader: Judge it first for the Judgement of the Crusader debuff
- Judgement: Apply Judgement of the Crusader
- Seal of Command: Main damage seal
Single target
- Holy Strike: On cooldown, instant weapon damage plus holy
- Judgement: On cooldown; judging Seal of Command or Righteousness does not consume it
- Seal of Righteousness: With Unsealed Wrath, swap to it after up to 3 swings under Seal of Command: the next hit gives each stored Command its normal chance to activate
- Seal of Command: Reapply before the next swing lands
- Exorcism: On cooldown vs undead and demons
- Hammer of Wrath: Below 20% health
Several targets
- Consecration: Every Paladin trains it at 20; use it on packs when mana allows
- Holy Strike: Keep pressing on the main target
- Holy Wrath: Undead and demon packs
Cooldowns
- Repentance: Crowd control a humanoid add
- Divine Shield: Emergency immunity
- Lay on Hands: Emergency heal
Key talents
- Benediction
- Improved Judgement
- Conviction
- Seal of Command
- Sanctified Judgement
- Sacred Arbiter
- Vengeance
- Two-Handed Weapon Specialization
- Unsealed Wrath
What Forever changed
Holy Strike, which every Paladin learns at level 6, is a new instant attack on a 10 sec cooldown, and Sacred Arbiter makes it deal 20% more damage and refresh your Judgement effects. New Retribution talents also include Sanctified Judgement (seal Mana back on every Judgement) and Champion of the Light (spell damage from Intellect); Vengeance needs the Seal of Command talent. Unsealed Wrath (tier 7, after Repentance) replaced Twist of Light in a late October build: your melee attacks store a copy of your active seal for 15 sec, stacking up to 3 times, and landing an attack with a different seal uses them all up, giving the stored seal its normal chance to activate once per stack.
Tips
- With Unsealed Wrath, let up to 3 swings store your seal before you swap; the first hit with the new seal releases them.
- Slow two-handers maximise Seal of Command and Holy Strike damage.
- Sanctified Judgement at 3/3 refunds 60% of the judged seal's Mana on every Judgement, so recasting Seal of Command costs little.
Other Paladin specs: Holy, Protection
Data from the WoW Forever client, build 1.60.1.70938, extracted .