Retribution Paladin guide

Melee DPSPaladin · WoW Forever

Beta guide, level 30. The WoW Forever beta stops at level 30, so this guide and its build cover levels 1 to 30. We update it for level 60 after launch on November 4.

Retribution is the Paladin's melee damage spec, built on Seal of Command and Judgement with a two-handed weapon. Forever fixes its old mana problems: Sanctified Judgement gives back 60% of the seal's mana when you judge, Holy Conduit makes Consecration and Exorcism 40% cheaper, and Sacred Arbiter makes Holy Strike refresh your Judgements.

Strengths

Heavy armor, bubbles and self heals: the safest leveling class
Blessings and Judgements help the whole group
Much better mana in Forever

Weaknesses

Slower kills than the pure damage classes
Low mobility
Damage depends on a good two-handed weapon

Talent build (level 30) 0/0/21

Retribution 21 points

Benediction5/5
Improved Judgement2/2
Holy Conduit2/2
Conviction5/5
Vindication1/3
Sanctified Judgement3/3
Seal of Command1/1
Sacred Arbiter1/1
Vengeance1/3

21 points in Retribution: Benediction, Holy Conduit and Sanctified Judgement for mana, Conviction for crit, Seal of Command and Sacred Arbiter for damage, and the first point of Vengeance. Two-Handed Weapon Specialization and Champion of the Light come after launch.

Open this build in the talent calculator

Key talents

Seal of Command: Your main damage seal: extra holy damage on your swings.
Sanctified Judgement: New in Forever: Judgement gives back 60% of the seal's mana cost.
Sacred Arbiter: New in Forever: +20% Holy Strike damage, and it refreshes your Judgements.
Holy Conduit: New in Forever: Consecration, Holy Wrath, Exorcism and Hammer of Wrath cost 40% less.
Conviction: +5% melee crit.

New in Forever: Retribution talents

Holy ConduitReduces the mana cost of your Consecration, Holy Wrath, Exorcism, and Hammer of Wrath spells by 40%.
Sanctified JudgementGives your Judgement ability a 100% chance to return 60% of the Mana cost of the judged seal.
Sacred ArbiterIncreases the damage of your Holy Strike ability by 20% and causes it to refresh all Judgement effects on the target.
Champion of the LightIncreases your spell damage by up to 60% of your Intellect.
Instrument of LawReduces the cast time of your Hammer of Wrath by 1.0 sec, and reduces all threat you generate by 20% while Righteous Fury is not active.
Twist of LightReduces the Mana cost of your Seal spells by 20%, and when you replace your Seal of Command, Seal of Righteousness, Seal of Fury, or Seal of Justice with a different Seal, you gain an Echo of that Seal. Your next melee attack applies the replaced Seal's effects, consuming the Echo.

Rotation

Seal of the Crusader before the pull, then Judgement to open.
Keep Seal of Command up.
Judgement on cooldown, then reapply your seal.
Holy Strike when it's ready.
Consecration on packs and when mana allows.
Exorcism against Undead and Demons.

Several enemies

Consecration under the pack, then Holy Strike and Judgement on the main target.

Cooldowns

Divine Shield: Escape a bad pull, then bandage or heal.
Lay on Hands: Full heal when things go wrong.
Hammer of Justice: Stun a runner or a caster.

Stats

Hit first, then Strength (1 Strength = 2 Attack Power) and crit. Intellect adds a bit of spell damage through Champion of the Light later.

Best races

Alliance

Human: Ruthless: +1% crit with spells and attacks, plus 10% more Spirit.
Dwarf: Stoneform: cleanses bleeds, poisons and diseases and cuts physical damage by 10%. Artisan's Precision adds 1% hit.

Horde

Undead: The only Horde Paladin. Touch of the Grave drains health on hits, Will of the Forsaken breaks fear.

Professions

Blacksmithing for plate and weapons, or Engineering for gadgets.

Leveling

Retribution is a steady, safe leveler: you rarely die and rarely stop. Use Seal of Command, judge, and heal yourself between pulls instead of eating.