Paladin

Rotations & Guide · PvE guide · PvP guide · Talent builds · Abilities · Talent Calculator · Macros · Changes vs Classic

Other classes: Warrior, Hunter, Rogue, Priest, Shaman, Mage, Warlock, Druid

Paladins are plate hybrids that heal, tank and fight in melee with Seals and Judgement. Forever overhauls them heavily: Holy Shock is a level 30 Holy talent and the new Light's Vigil (a level 40 talent) turns it into group healing, every Paladin gains Holy Strike at level 6, Protection gets Seal of Fury, Judgement of Fury, Swift Judgement and Templar's Bulwark, and Retribution gains Sacred Arbiter and the level 40 Unsealed Wrath talent, which rewards swapping seals mid-fight. Consecration and Blessing of Kings are trainer abilities at level 20.

Holy (Healer)

Holy is a strong efficient single-target healer that now also has real group healing through Light's Vigil plus Holy Shock. Holy Light is the big heal and, at base values, also the most Mana-efficient one, Flash of Light is the fast cheap heal, and Illumination refunds mana on crits. Divine Favor guarantees a crit for emergencies.

Protection (Tank)

Forever turns Protection into a real tank: Seal of Fury adds holy damage and, with a shield, absorb shields to every swing, while Judgement unleashes Judgement of Fury to damage and taunt. Holy Strike (from level 6) adds holy threat between Judgements, Consecration (trained at 20) handles packs, and Holy Shield rounds out threat. Mana comes back through Shield Specialization blocks (4% of your maximum Mana per block at 2/2, at most once every 3 sec). Swift Judgement adds a second taunt and Templar's Bulwark an emergency absorb shield.

Retribution (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.

Tips & tricks: what ForeverDB learned

Holy

Updated 7 November 2026 for build 1.60.1.70862 · From the game client

Learning from players: Healing + absorbs/s (EHPS). Collecting comparable fights before publishing observed cast patterns.

Observed cast patterns, not a proven optimal rotation. Gear, buffs, healing assignments and incoming damage can explain performance differences. HPS is effective healing; overhealing does not increase it. HPS counts effective healing, APS counts recorded shield absorption, and EHPS is their combined rate. Shield application sizes and overhealing do not increase EHPS. Healing assignments and incoming damage still limit healer comparisons. Build groups use the version reported by the log; some logs omit the hotfix build number.

Forever client: There is no simulation for this spec yet. The order shown is from the site's rotation card for level 60, with cooldowns and costs from the Forever client. (level 60)
Forever client: Divine Favor has a 2 min cooldown at level 60 (client data). You can use it about once every second or third pull. (level 60)
Forever client: Blessing of Protection has a 5 min cooldown at level 60 (client data). Plan to use it once per dungeon wing, not every pull. (level 60)
Forever client: Lay on Hands has a 20 min cooldown at level 60 (client data). Plan to use it once per dungeon wing, not every pull. (level 60)
Forever client: Divine Shield has a 5 min cooldown and costs 110 Mana at level 60 (client data). Plan to use it once per dungeon wing, not every pull. (level 60)
Forever client: There is no simulation for this spec yet. The order shown is from the site's rotation card for levels 20-29, with cooldowns and costs from the Forever client. (levels 20–29)
Forever client: Blessing of Protection has a 5 min cooldown and costs 25 Mana at levels 20-29 (client data). Plan to use it once per dungeon wing, not every pull. (levels 20–29)
Forever client: Lay on Hands has a 20 min cooldown at levels 20-29 (client data). Plan to use it once per dungeon wing, not every pull. (levels 20–29)
Forever client: Divine Protection has a 5 min cooldown and costs 35 Mana at levels 20-29 (client data). Plan to use it once per dungeon wing, not every pull. (levels 20–29)
Forever client: There is no simulation for this spec yet. The order shown is from the site's rotation card for levels 30-39, with cooldowns and costs from the Forever client. (levels 30–39)
Forever client: Divine Favor has a 2 min cooldown at levels 30-39 (client data). You can use it about once every second or third pull. (levels 30–39)
Forever client: Blessing of Protection has a 5 min cooldown and costs 45 Mana at levels 30-39 (client data). Plan to use it once per dungeon wing, not every pull. (levels 30–39)
Forever client: Lay on Hands has a 20 min cooldown at levels 30-39 (client data). Plan to use it once per dungeon wing, not every pull. (levels 30–39)
Forever client: Voice of Truth has a 3 min cooldown at levels 30-39 (client data). You can use it about once every second or third pull. (levels 30–39)
Forever client: There is no simulation for this spec yet. The order shown is from the site's rotation card for levels 40-49, with cooldowns and costs from the Forever client. (levels 40–49)
Forever client: Divine Favor has a 2 min cooldown at levels 40-49 (client data). You can use it about once every second or third pull. (levels 40–49)
Forever client: Blessing of Protection has a 5 min cooldown at levels 40-49 (client data). Plan to use it once per dungeon wing, not every pull. (levels 40–49)
Forever client: Lay on Hands has a 20 min cooldown at levels 40-49 (client data). Plan to use it once per dungeon wing, not every pull. (levels 40–49)
Forever client: Divine Shield has a 5 min cooldown and costs 75 Mana at levels 40-49 (client data). Plan to use it once per dungeon wing, not every pull. (levels 40–49)
Forever client: There is no simulation for this spec yet. The order shown is from the site's rotation card for levels 50-59, with cooldowns and costs from the Forever client. (levels 50–59)
Forever client: Divine Favor has a 2 min cooldown at levels 50-59 (client data). You can use it about once every second or third pull. (levels 50–59)
Forever client: Blessing of Protection has a 5 min cooldown at levels 50-59 (client data). Plan to use it once per dungeon wing, not every pull. (levels 50–59)
Forever client: Lay on Hands has a 20 min cooldown at levels 50-59 (client data). Plan to use it once per dungeon wing, not every pull. (levels 50–59)
Forever client: Divine Shield has a 5 min cooldown and costs 110 Mana at levels 50-59 (client data). Plan to use it once per dungeon wing, not every pull. (levels 50–59)

How to play it at level 60: priority, procs and cooldowns

What to press, in order. Cast the first one that is ready and whose condition holds.

Holy Light: Whenever it's ready: Rank 9 at 60 heals 1495 to 1665 and rank 8 at 54 heals 1151 to 1283; pick the rank that fits the damage. (ForeverDB guide, Forever client)
Holy Shock: Whenever it's ready: Rank 4 at 56 heals 307 to 333 with no cast time. (ForeverDB guide, Forever client)
Light's Vigil: Whenever it's ready: Rank 3 at 60: the next Holy Shock on the marked ally heals their party for 684 to 724. (ForeverDB guide, Forever client)
Flash of Light: Whenever it's ready: Rank 6 at 58 heals 286 to 320. (ForeverDB guide, Forever client)
Cleanse: Whenever it's ready: Remove poisons, diseases and magic. (ForeverDB guide, Forever client)

Cooldowns:

Divine Favor: as needed (ForeverDB guide, Forever client)
Blessing of Protection: as needed (ForeverDB guide, Forever client)
Lay on Hands: as needed (ForeverDB guide, Forever client)
Divine Shield: On the pull (ForeverDB guide, Forever client)

Latest changes:

7 November 2026: client build 1.60.1.70790 -> 1.60.1.70862 (new client build 1.60.1.70862)
4 November 2026: client build 1.60.1.70755 -> 1.60.1.70790; new Blizzard post (new client build 1.60.1.70790)
3 November 2026: tip wording or values (class pages reworked for 70755 and the level 60 cap)

Protection

Updated 7 November 2026 for build 1.60.1.70862 · From the game client

Learning from players: DPS. Collecting comparable fights before publishing observed cast patterns.

Forever client: There is no simulation for this spec yet. The order shown is from the site's rotation card for level 60, with cooldowns and costs from the Forever client. (level 60)
Forever client: Templar's Bulwark has a 5 min cooldown and costs 110 Mana at level 60 (client data). Plan to use it once per dungeon wing, not every pull. (level 60)
Forever client: There is no simulation for this spec yet. The order shown is from the site's rotation card for levels 20-29, with cooldowns and costs from the Forever client. (levels 20–29)
Forever client: There is no simulation for this spec yet. The order shown is from the site's rotation card for levels 30-39, with cooldowns and costs from the Forever client. (levels 30–39)
Forever client: Templar's Bulwark has a 5 min cooldown and costs 110 Mana at levels 30-39 (client data). Plan to use it once per dungeon wing, not every pull. (levels 30–39)
Forever client: There is no simulation for this spec yet. The order shown is from the site's rotation card for levels 40-49, with cooldowns and costs from the Forever client. (levels 40–49)
Forever client: Templar's Bulwark has a 5 min cooldown and costs 110 Mana at levels 40-49 (client data). Plan to use it once per dungeon wing, not every pull. (levels 40–49)
Forever client: There is no simulation for this spec yet. The order shown is from the site's rotation card for levels 50-59, with cooldowns and costs from the Forever client. (levels 50–59)
Forever client: Templar's Bulwark has a 5 min cooldown and costs 110 Mana at levels 50-59 (client data). Plan to use it once per dungeon wing, not every pull. (levels 50–59)

How to play it at level 60: priority, procs and cooldowns

What to press, in order. Cast the first one that is ready and whose condition holds.

Righteous Fury: When it's missing from you: Before the pull, when you tank. (ForeverDB guide, Forever client)
Seal of Fury: When it's missing from you: Rank 7 at 58 adds 35 Holy damage per swing. (ForeverDB guide, Forever client)
Holy Shield: When it's missing from you: Rank 3 at 60 deals 221 Holy damage per block. (ForeverDB guide, Forever client)
Judgement: Whenever it's ready: On cooldown for damage and a taunt. (ForeverDB guide, Forever client)
Hammer of the Righteous: Whenever it's ready: On cooldown. (ForeverDB guide, Forever client)
Holy Strike: Whenever it's ready: On cooldown; rank 8 arrives at 60. (ForeverDB guide, Forever client)
Hammer of Wrath: When the target is under 20% health: On an enemy at 20% health or less. (ForeverDB guide, Forever client)

React to:

Under 20% health: Hammer of Wrath: Hammer of Wrath works once the target is under 20% health (Forever client)

Keep up:

Seal of Fury on you, at least 0% of the time (ForeverDB guide, Forever client)
Holy Shield on you, at least 0% of the time (ForeverDB guide, Forever client)

Cooldowns:

Swift Judgement: as needed (ForeverDB guide, Forever client)
Hammer of Justice: as needed (ForeverDB guide, Forever client)
Templar's Bulwark: as needed (ForeverDB guide, Forever client)

Before the pull:

Righteous Fury (ForeverDB guide, Forever client)

Latest changes:

7 November 2026: client build 1.60.1.70790 -> 1.60.1.70862 (new client build 1.60.1.70862)
4 November 2026: client build 1.60.1.70755 -> 1.60.1.70790; new Blizzard post (new client build 1.60.1.70790)
3 November 2026: tip wording or values (class pages reworked for 70755 and the level 60 cap)

Retribution

Updated 7 November 2026 for build 1.60.1.70862 · From the DPS simulator, the game client

Learning from players: DPS. Collecting comparable fights before publishing observed cast patterns.

Speculation: The class guide's rotation card uses Seal of the Crusader here and the simulator disagrees: check it in game before trusting either: Leave Seal of the Crusader out of single-target fights at level 60: the simulator's 60 s fight did 1.5% more damage without it. The class guide disagrees, so treat this as a lead to test. (level 60)
Simulator: Best consumable at level 60: Elixir of Greater Strength (+2.3% DPS in the simulator); then Bear Bruscitti (+1.9%). (level 60)
Simulator: The party buff that helps you most at level 60 is Battle Shout from a Warrior: +6% DPS in the simulator. (level 60)
Simulator: Where your damage comes from at level 60: auto attacks 51%, Holy Strike 24%, Seal of Command 22% (simulator: recommended build, best gear for the level, 60 s single-target fight). (level 60)
Simulator: Judgement is worth 34.3% of your DPS at level 60: the simulator's fight without it did that much less damage. (level 60)
Speculation: The simulator uses Classic's rule here (Seal of Command: 70% of weapon damage as Holy, 7 times a minute (Speculation: Classic's rate; the client has none)); the Forever client doesn't give the number: Seal of Command is worth 24.3% of your DPS at level 60: the simulator's fight without it did that much less damage. (level 60)
Simulator: Stat values at level 60 (simulator, 1 attack power = 1): Strength 2.2, crit rating 1.45, haste rating 1.3. (level 60)
Simulator: At levels 20-29, Elixir of Greater Strength is your best consumable (+1.9% DPS in the simulator), with Bear Bruscitti second (+1.2%). (levels 20–29)
Simulator: The party buff that helps you most at levels 20-29 is Blessing of Kings from a Paladin: +2.9% DPS in the simulator. (levels 20–29)
Simulator: At levels 20-29, your damage comes from auto attacks 51%, Seal of Command 22%, and Holy Strike 16% (simulator: recommended build, best gear, 60 s single-target fight). (levels 20–29)
Simulator: Judgement is worth 45.4% of your DPS at levels 20-29: the simulator did that much less damage in a fight without it. (levels 20–29)
Speculation: The simulator uses Classic's rule here (Seal of Command: 70% of weapon damage as Holy, 7 times a minute (Speculation: Classic's rate; the client has none)); the Forever client doesn't give the number: Seal of Command is worth 32.8% of your DPS at levels 20-29: the simulator's fight without it did that much less damage. (levels 20–29)
Simulator: At levels 30-39, Bear Bruscitti is your best consumable (+1.6% DPS in the simulator), with Scroll of Strength IV second (+1.5%). (levels 30–39)
Simulator: The party buff that helps you most at levels 30-39 is Battle Shout from a Warrior: +2.9% DPS in the simulator. (levels 30–39)
Simulator: At levels 30-39, your damage comes from auto attacks 47%, Seal of Command 19%, and Holy Strike 18% (simulator: recommended build, best gear, 60 s single-target fight). (levels 30–39)
Simulator: Judgement is worth 47.2% of your DPS at levels 30-39: the simulator's fight without it did that much less damage. (levels 30–39)
Speculation: The simulator uses Classic's rule here (Seal of Command: 70% of weapon damage as Holy, 7 times a minute (Speculation: Classic's rate; the client has none)); the Forever client doesn't give the number: Seal of Command is worth 34.1% of your DPS at levels 30-39: the simulator did that much less damage in a fight without it. (levels 30–39)
Simulator: Best consumable at levels 40-49: Bear Bruscitti (+1.8% DPS in the simulator); then Elixir of Greater Agility (+1.6%). (levels 40–49)
Simulator: At levels 40-49, Battle Shout from a Warrior is the party buff that helps you most: +3.3% DPS in the simulator. (levels 40–49)
Simulator: At levels 40-49, your damage comes from auto attacks 41%, Seal of Command 23%, and Holy Strike 20% (simulator: recommended build, best gear, 60 s single-target fight). (levels 40–49)
Simulator: Judgement is worth 51.5% of your DPS at levels 40-49: the simulator's fight without it did that much less damage. (levels 40–49)
Speculation: The simulator uses Classic's rule here (Seal of Command: 70% of weapon damage as Holy, 7 times a minute (Speculation: Classic's rate; the client has none)); the Forever client doesn't give the number: Seal of Command is worth 38.6% of your DPS at levels 40-49: the simulator's fight without it did that much less damage. (levels 40–49)
Speculation: The class guide's rotation card uses Seal of the Crusader here and the simulator disagrees: check it in game before trusting either: Leave Seal of the Crusader out of single-target fights at levels 50-59: the simulator's 60 s fight did 1.9% more damage without it. The class guide disagrees, so treat this as a lead to test. (levels 50–59)
Simulator: Best consumable at levels 50-59: Elixir of Greater Strength (+3.5% DPS in the simulator); then Bear Bruscitti (+2.7%). (levels 50–59)
Simulator: At levels 50-59, Battle Shout from a Warrior is the party buff that helps you most: +5.1% DPS in the simulator. (levels 50–59)
Simulator: Where your damage comes from at levels 50-59: auto attacks 56%, Holy Strike 21%, Seal of Command 18% (simulator: recommended build, best gear for the level, 60 s single-target fight). (levels 50–59)
Simulator: Judgement is worth 31% of your DPS at levels 50-59: the simulator's fight without it did that much less damage. (levels 50–59)
Speculation: The simulator uses Classic's rule here (Seal of Command: 70% of weapon damage as Holy, 7 times a minute (Speculation: Classic's rate; the client has none)); the Forever client doesn't give the number: Seal of Command is worth 22.1% of your DPS at levels 50-59: the simulator's fight without it did that much less damage. (levels 50–59)

How to play it at level 60: priority, procs and cooldowns

What to press, in order. Cast the first one that is ready and whose condition holds.

Judgement: Whenever it's ready: Cast it when it's ready (10 s cooldown); worth 34.3% of your DPS (Simulator, Forever client, ForeverDB guide)
Seal of Command: When it's missing from you: Keep it up: 96% of the sim's fight; worth 24.3% of your DPS (Simulator, Forever client, ForeverDB guide)
Holy Strike: Fill the gaps with it: Your filler: cast it when nothing above is ready; worth 24.2% of your DPS (Simulator, Forever client, ForeverDB guide)

Keep up:

Seal of Command on you, at least 95% of the time (Simulator, Forever client)

Before the pull:

Battle Shout (Simulator, Forever client)
Blessing of Kings (Simulator, Forever client)
Elixir of Greater Strength (Simulator, Forever client)
Mark of the Wild (Simulator, Forever client)
Bear Bruscitti (Simulator, Forever client)
Scroll of Strength IV (Simulator, Forever client)
Elixir of Greater Agility (Simulator, Forever client)

Avoid:

Leave Seal of the Crusader out of single-target fights at level 60: the simulator's 60 s fight did 1.5% more damage without it. (Simulator)

Latest changes:

7 November 2026: tip wording or values (client build or hotfix rebuild)
7 November 2026: client build 1.60.1.70790 -> 1.60.1.70862; 50-59: Judgement worth 37.1% -> 32.5%; 50-59: Seal of Command worth 26.4% -> 22.3% (new client build 1.60.1.70862)
6 November 2026: 60-60: Holy Strike worth 22% -> 24.2% (client build or hotfix rebuild)

Every spec's latest changes. Re-studied every week and after each new game build.

Best in slot gear at any level: Holy, Protection, Retribution

Best professions for Paladins: Blacksmithing + Mining.

Paladin abilities

Improved Flash of Light
Improved Seal of Fury
Sense Undead
Devotion Aura (level 1)
Holy Light (level 1)
Judgement of Righteousness (level 1)
Seal of Righteousness (level 1)
Blessing of Might (level 4)
Judgement (level 4)
Divine Protection (level 6)
Holy Strike (level 6)
Seal of the Crusader (level 6)
Hammer of Justice (level 8)
Purify (level 8)
Blessing of Protection (level 10)
Lay on Hands (level 10)
Righteous Fury (level 10)
Seal of Fury (level 10)
Judgement of the Crusader (level 12)
Redemption (level 12, from the Classic class quest The Tome of Divinity (rank 1))
Blessing of Wisdom (level 14)
Retribution Aura (level 16)
Blessing of Freedom (level 18)
Blessing of Kings (level 20)
Consecration (level 20)
Exorcism (level 20)
Flash of Light (level 20)
Judgement of Command (level 20)
Voice of Truth (level 20)
Concentration Aura (level 22)
Judgement of Justice (level 22)
Seal of Justice (level 22)
Turn Undead (level 24)
Judgement of Fury (level 25)
Shadow Resistance Aura (level 28)
Divine Intervention (level 30)
Judgement of Light (level 30)
Seal of Light (level 30)
Frost Resistance Aura (level 32)
Divine Shield (level 34)
Fire Resistance Aura (level 36)
Judgement of Wisdom (level 38)
Seal of Wisdom (level 38)
Hammer of the Righteous (level 40)
Cleanse (level 42)
Hammer of Wrath (level 44)
Blessing of Sacrifice (level 46)
Holy Wrath (level 50)
Greater Blessing of Might (level 52)
Greater Blessing of Wisdom (level 54)
Greater Blessing of Kings (level 60)

No longer trainer abilities in the live client

Common questions

What does the Paladin's Holy Strike do and when do you learn it?

Holy Strike is a melee strike every Paladin trains at level 6. It is instant, costs a little mana and has a 10 second cooldown, so it is your main damage and threat button while levelling.

It hits for a share of your weapon damage plus a set amount of Holy damage, and both grow with each rank. Rank 1 does 25% weapon damage plus 10 to 14 Holy; the linked Rank 3 does 32% plus 17 to 21 (learned at level 20); the top Rank 8 reaches 50% weapon damage plus 81 to 105 Holy at level 60. There are eight ranks in all, trained from level 6 to 60.

Every spec has a talent built around it: Holy Power in Holy, Iron Creed in Protection and Sacred Arbiter in Retribution. Iron Creed (Protection, from level 35, three ranks) raises Holy Strike's threat by 10% per rank, 30% at 3/3, and while Righteous Fury is up it also makes Holy Strike cut your damage taken by 2% per rank, 6% at 3/3, for 6 sec. That is why it anchors Paladin tanking.

Sources: Holy Strike (Rank 3) · Outlook: Paladin · Forever Class Deep Dives — Paladin · checked on build 1.60.1.70790

The whole FAQ

Data from the WoW Forever client, build 1.60.1.70862, extracted 2026-11-07.