Paladin Class Overview

Paladin is one of two classes in the Burning Crusade expansion that can fill all three roles within a group, Tank, Heal, or DPS. In Vanilla Paladin was mostly relegated to being a Healer due to its rather incomplete toolkit but in The Burning Crusade Paladin can fill any of these three roles are a competitive level and is a valuable addition to any group doing any kind of content.

As mentioned above you can fill any role for a group depending on the specialization you choose for your Paladin. Protection is the Tank specialization and is widely regarded as the Tank with the best AoE threat in the Burning Crusade expansion. If you are interested in DPSing as a Paladin, Retribution is the DPS Spec and with massive reworks to the talent tree and addition of abilities like Crusader Strike will have your rotation feeling much more engaging than the Vanilla version of Retribution. Lastly if you would like to heal Holy is the Healing specialization for Paladin. Holy Paladin retains its title in The Burning Crusade as the king of single target Healing and is almost required for any 25-man raid to make sure your tanks stay healthy.

• Protection: Protection is much more viable in The Burning Crusade and is a staple in most raid groups due to their ability to generate massive AoE threat with abilities like Consecration which are infinitely more accessible in The Burning Crusade compared to Classic. There is also a considerable amount more gear targeted towards Protection Paladins, specifically pieces of Plate Armor with Spell damage baseline that rarely existed in Vanilla making it much easier to scale with gear as the expansion progresses.
• Holy: Holy remains one of the strongest healers in the game and the undisputed king of Tank healing. Holy also scales incredibly with gear thanks to the addition of talents like Holy Guidance and Illumination which make Intellect even more valuable.
• Retribution: Retribution also claims an important place in groups in The Burning Crusade, while not being the highest DPS of melee damage dealers it still provides incredible buffs including the unique Improved Sanctity Aura. The single biggest change to Retribution in The Burning Crusade is the addition of Seal Twisting. Seal Twisting is a unique mechanic that allows you to benefit from multiple Seals at once and allows Retribution Paladin to compete in any kind of content. For more information on how to Seal Twist make sure to check out our rotation section of the Retribution guide.

Protection Paladin is capable of generating massive amounts of threat both single target and AoE with abilities like Consecration thanks to the massive threat modifier on Righteous Fury. The single largest issue with Protection Paladin in Vanilla WoW was the ability to manage your mana but the addition of Spiritual Attunement greatly helps mitigate this issue. Protection Paladin is a key part of any raid group and will be highly sought-after especially in later tier.

Holy Paladin continues to be the ideal choice for keeping tanks alive or any single target taking considerable incoming damage. While Holy Paladin lacks a true AoE heal their ability to manage mana is nearly unmatched due to powerful abilities like Divine Illumination and talents like Illumination. Holy Paladin is a great addition to any group especially and scale incredibly with gear as the expansion progresses.

Retribution Paladin is known for dealing massive amounts of burst damage and that has not changed in The Burning Crusade. Abilities like Avenging Wrath and the addition of seal twisting makes it possible to deal tons of damage with just a single swing of your weapon as a Retribution Paladin. Your rotation as Retribution has also received a nice upgrade with Crusader Strike becoming the new apex talent in the Retribution tree giving us another button to press and fill out what was once a very slow rotation.

Yes! Paladins are given the Righteous Defense ability, which pulls aggro from a nearby friendly target, redirecting their threat to the Paladin that casts it. While it differs from traditional taunts, since you are using it on an ally instead of an enemy, it still works the same and can taunt up to 3 enemies.

Yes! With many changes to the talent tree and more mana friendly options gear wise, Retribution is considerably more viable than in Vanilla. While it will struggle to top the charts, a Retribution Paladin is still a massive addition to any group due to its powerful buffs and competitive DPS numbers.

If you are still deciding if the Paladin class is the proper choice for you, feel free to check out the video below from WillE, an avid player and long time content creator for World of Warcraft! This video will give you a solid overview of what Paladin is like to play in The Burning Crusade.

Paladins are able to wear Cloth, Leather, and Mail armor right away, and are able to wear Plate after reaching level 40. For weapons Paladins are able to use both One-Handed and Two Handed Axes, Maces, and Swords, Shields, as well as Polearms

With all three Paladin specializations filling very different roles we encourage you to check out each specializations respective guide to get a better idea of what stats to aim for and what gear to be looking for to improve your Paladin.

Addons and Macros can greatly improve your quality of life in Azeroth and Outland. Listed below are some of our recommendations on Addons and Macros to help get the most out of your time playing the game.