Retribution Paladin DPS Guide — The War Within (11.1.7)

Last updated Today at 21:20 by Bolas 73 comments
General Information

Welcome to our Retribution Paladin guide for World of Warcraft — The War Within (11.1.7). Here, you will learn how to play as a Retribution Paladin in both raids and Mythic+ dungeons: from the very beginning to maximizing your DPS.

If you were looking for Cataclysm Classic content, please refer to our Cataclysm Classic Retribution Paladin guide.

1.

Retribution Paladin Overview

Retribution is the melee DPS spec of Paladin. It can use the wide array of utility options that Paladin is known for, including its sought-after Auras, along with some incredibly strong defensive and healing abilities. Retribution is one of the most popular specs in the game due to its strong class fantasy and good all-round utility toolkit.

2.

Strengths and Weaknesses

V Strengths
  • +Consistent burst damage on a very short cooldown.
  • +Strong defensive cooldowns, including Divine Shield Icon Divine Shield, Divine Protection Icon Divine Protection, and Shield of Vengeance Icon Shield of Vengeance.
  • +Brings a raid-wide Aura buff with Devotion Aura Icon Devotion Aura.
  • +Wide variety of utility options, including Blessing of Protection Icon Blessing of Protection, Blessing of Sacrifice Icon Blessing of Sacrifice, and Blessing of Freedom Icon Blessing of Freedom.
X Weaknesses
  • -Mobility options are limited, and are poor at dealing with knockback effects.
  • -Has a relatively low skill ceiling, where making the effort to improve beyond the basics is not rewarded as much as other DPS.
  • -Utility spells can be very niche or unnecessary in some high-end content.

3.

Changes to Retribution Paladin in The War Within

Patch 11.1.7 Changes Patch 11.1 Changes Patch 11.0.5 Changes The War Within Changes
4.

Patch 11.1.7 Changes to Retribution Paladin

Retribution received no class or specialization changes in Patch 11.1.7. Please refer to the previous changes below from 11.1.5 and also the changes from 11.1 if you are returning to Retribution.

A new system for combat assistance was introduced called the Combat Assistant.

4.

Patch 11.1.5 Changes to Retribution Paladin

Herald of the Sun received some buffs to its abilities just before Patch 11.1.5 launched. Although they do reduce the gap between the strength of the Hero trees slightly, they are not enough to make Herald of the Sun a consideration in any situation.

  • The damage bonus from Gleaming Rays Icon Gleaming Rays to Holy Power spenders is increased from 5% to 15%.
  • Sun's Avatar Icon Sun's Avatar damage increased by 50%.
  • Dawnlight Icon Dawnlight damage increased by 40%.
4.

Patch 11.1 Changes to Retribution Paladin

Patch 11.1 brings some tweaks to the Templar Hero Tree, a rework of Divine Hammer Icon Divine Hammer, and some adjustments to healing abilities.

3.1.

Damage Changes

  • Divine Hammer Icon Divine Hammer now costs 3 Holy Power to activate and no longer consumes Holy Power to stay active. It is instead extended when Holy Power spenders are used.
  • Hammerfall Icon Hammerfall's internal cooldown has been reduced to 0.1s.
  • Empyrean Hammer Icon Empyrean Hammer damage is reduced by 30%.
  • To partially compensate for the Empyrean Hammer Icon Empyrean Hammer nerf, damage of all abilities is increased by 5%.
3.2.

Healing Changes

  • Seal of the Crusader Icon Seal of the Crusader and Lightforged Blessing Icon Lightforged Blessing healing is reduced by 50%.
  • Word of Glory Icon Word of Glory mana cost is increased by 50% and no longer does increased healing to allies with Healing Hands Icon Healing Hands.
  • Flash of Light Icon Flash of Light healing is increased by 35%.
4.

Patch 11.0.5 Changes to Retribution Paladin

11.0.5 brings a large number of changes to the Paladin class talents.

3.3.

Paladin Changes to Damage

Many of the older talents that increased damage have been removed from the Paladin Tree, including talents like Touch of Light Icon Touch of Light and Seal of Order Icon Seal of Order. In some situations these have been compensated for, such as the bonus from Justification Icon Justification being applied to the baseline version of Judgment Icon Judgment, but not all effects have been made baseline like this. The full list of effects that have been removed without an equivalent effect being applied to baseline abilities is:

  • The 4% Haste effect from Seal of Alacrity Icon Seal of Alacrity
  • The 10% reduction to the cooldown of Holy Power generators from Seal of Order Icon Seal of Order
  • The damage effect from Seal of the Crusader Icon Seal of the Crusader
  • Touch of Light Icon Touch of Light
  • Incandescence Icon Incandescence

In compensation for these effects being removed, Retribution has received the following buffs:

  • A 6% damage buff to all spells and abilities
  • The maximum effect of Vengeful Wrath Icon Vengeful Wrath is now 60%

This results in an overall damage loss of about 3% on both single-target and AoE.

3.4.

Paladin Changes to Utility

Many new utility effects have been added to replace the damage talents removed. These are mostly either small bonuses to existing utility options that improve them slightly by reducing their cooldowns or giving them bonus effects, or passive healing talents that will proc naturally without needing any active gameplay to make use of them.

3.5.

Earlier Paladin Changes

Retribution received a number of hotfix changes to the tuning of its Hero Talents between the launch of The War Within and 11.0.5:

  • Shake the Heavens Icon Shake the Heavens lasts for 10 seconds (was 8 seconds)
  • Sanctification Icon Sanctification duration increased to 12 seconds (was 10 seconds)
  • Final Reckoning Icon Final Reckoning now increases the damage of Hammer of Light Icon Hammer of Light by 30% (was 15%)
  • Hammer of Light Icon Hammer of Light main target damage increased by 25% and secondary target damage increased by 75%
  • Light's Deliverance Icon Light's Deliverance now triggers at 50 stacks (was 60)
  • Undisputed Ruling Icon Undisputed Ruling now grants 15% Haste for 8 seconds (was 12% Haste for 6 seconds)
  • Wrathful Descent Icon Wrathful Descent now deals 125% of the Empyrean Hammer Icon Empyrean Hammer damage to nearby enemies (was 100%)
  • Empyrean Hammer Icon Empyrean Hammer now benefits from Penitence Icon Penitence and Burn to Ash Icon Burn to Ash
  • As a result of these large buffs to Templar, it has become the strongest Hero Tree to use for all PvE content.

    4.

    The War Within Changes to Retribution Paladin

    3.6.

    Paladin Class Changes

    Paladin's class talents have not had massive changes, with the highlights being the removal of some utility abilities and the adjustment of some passive effects.

    • The following talents have been removed:
      • Retribution Aura Icon Retribution Aura
      • Crusader's Reprieve Icon Crusader's Reprieve
    • Greater Judgment Icon Greater Judgment applications can now overlap.
    • Retribution now automatically learns Greater Judgment Icon Greater Judgment.
    • Vengeful Wrath Icon Vengeful Wrath now increases the damage of Hammer of Wrath Icon Hammer of Wrath on low-health enemies instead of causing it to always critically hit.
    3.7.

    Retribution-specific Changes

    Retribution's specialization talents have had an overhaul, with many talents being redesigned, removed, or moved to other locations in the tree, along with some new talents added too. This is not an exhaustive list of those changes; for a full list, see the class changes page linked below.

    • Mastery: Highlord's Judgment Icon Mastery: Highlord's Judgment has been buffed significantly and also adjusted to include a chance to deal Holy damage when Judgment Icon Judgment is used.
    • Divine Hammer Icon Divine Hammer has been redesigned to consume Holy Power periodically to deal AoE damage at an increasing rate as Holy Power generators are used.
    • Judge, Jury and Executioner Icon Judge, Jury and Executioner has been redesigned to give your Holy Power generators a chance to cause your next single-target Holy Power spender to deal damage to additional targets.
    • Righteous Cause Icon Righteous Cause has been redesigned to now cause Blade of Justice Icon Blade of Justice to occasionally have its cooldown reset when Holy Power is spent.
    • Highlord's Judgment Icon Highlord's Judgment has been redesigned to also increase the effectiveness of Mastery: Highlord's Judgment Icon Mastery: Highlord's Judgment on Judgment Icon Judgment and Hammer of Wrath Icon Hammer of Wrath, and now costs a single talent point.
    • Boundless Judgment Icon Boundless Judgment now also increases the chance for Judgment Icon Judgment to trigger Mastery: Highlord's Judgment Icon Mastery: Highlord's Judgment.
    • Burn to Ash Icon Burn to Ash has been added as a new talent that extends the duration of Truth's Wake Icon Truth's Wake when it critically hits and increases the damage of other DoT effects while it is active.
    • Radiant Glory Icon Radiant Glory has been added as a new talent that removes Avenging Wrath Icon Avenging Wrath as an active ability and instead causes it to be automatically cast when Wake of Ashes Icon Wake of Ashes is used at a reduced duration, or occasionally when Holy Power is spent.
    • Vanguard of Justice has been removed.
    • Consecrated Blade Icon Consecrated Blade has been removed as a talent and is now a baseline passive ability.
    • Zealot's Fervor Icon Zealot's Fervor and Heart of the Crusader Icon Heart of the Crusader are now 2-point talent nodes.
    • Blessed Champion Icon Blessed Champion is now a 1-point talent node.
    • The 5% Holystrike damage bonus effect has been moved from Divine Arbiter Icon Divine Arbiter to Blades of Light Icon Blades of Light.
    • Holy Flames Icon Holy Flames has been added as a new talent that increases the damage of Divine Storm Icon Divine Storm, applies Expurgation Icon Expurgation to secondary targets when Divine Storm Icon Divine Storm is used, and increases Holy damage dealt to targets with Expurgation Icon Expurgation active. It is now a choice node with Blade of Vengeance Icon Blade of Vengeance and Empyrean Legacy Icon Empyrean Legacy has been moved to a separate node.
    • The Avenging Wrath Icon Avenging Wrath / Crusade Icon Crusade and Wake of Ashes Icon Wake of Ashes nodes have been moved.
    • Shield of Vengeance Icon Shield of Vengeance is now a choice node with Aegis of Protection Icon Aegis of Protection.
    4.

    Leveling a Retribution Paladin in The War Within

    If you would like to play a Retribution Paladin but do not yet have one at max level, you can refer to our leveling guide. Retribution is a good choice to level as due to its frequent burst cooldowns and strong self healing.

    5.

    Basics of Retribution Paladin Gameplay

    Retribution gameplay revolves around managing your Holy Power and maximizing the cooldowns and GCDs of your abilities. It can sometimes be reactive, but it is usually very helpful to plan your casts several spells ahead in order to not accidentally waste Holy Power, especially during cooldowns.

    There are two main builds with different methods of Holy Power generation. Crusading Strikes Icon Crusading Strikes is the most popular by far, and it includes a lot more passive Holy Power generation but has a significant amount of downtime in its rotation. Templar Strikes Icon Templar Strikes is the alternative, which will require a bit more focus on maximizing individual GCDs and generally has more control over its Holy Power generation.

    If you are an absolute beginner to Retribution and would like to learn the fundamentals of the class, we recommend looking through the Spell Summary, as well as the Easy Mode page linked below.

    If you are already fairly familiar with Retribution Paladin, you can jump straight to the details on how to best perform.

    6.

    How to Gear Up as a Retribution Paladin

    Gearing can be fairly complex due to the many unique variables that will depend on your individual character. You can find information on how to make gear decisions as Retribution on our dedicated gearing page.

    Once you have started to gear up, you will want to ensure you have the appropriate gems, enchants, and other consumables, which you can find on our dedicated page linked below. On the stats page, you can find information on how Retribution values different stats, as well as the changes you may want to make for consumables based on them.

    7.

    Changelog

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