Paladin Leveling Guide From 1 to 80 for WotLK Classic

Last updated on Aug 31, 2022 at 19:42 by Sellin 3 comments

In this article, we will help you leveling in Wrath Classic as a Paladin. Paladins are not the fastest leveler in the game largely due to their kill speed of mobs but are the kings of sustainability. As a Paladin, you will have access to a wide variety of abilities that if used correctly can help maximize your up-time, kill speed, and rate at which you are able to gain levels.

1.

Overview

Paladins are not one of the fastest leveling classes in the game largely due to their mob kill speed, but they are extremely durable with their ability to heal, wear gear with plenty of Armor, and a large number of passive abilities that sustain their Mana and health, limiting downtime and making the leveling process extremely steady. Retribution is by far the fastest leveling spec if you plan to play solo as a Paladin, as the extra damage that the talents in the Retribution tree grant will help you level considerably faster than anything you will gain by speccing Holy or Protection.

2.

General Wrath Leveling Advice

Providing non-Paladin leveling advice is outside the scope of this article and is covered in our general Wrath leveling guide.

3.

Spec Choice

Every Paladin spec is useful in its own way and fills a role that is important to a group, but Retribution will be the best by far for solo leveling, while also allowing you to off-heal when needed.

If you are going to be leveling with other people, Holy can be a good choice. Holy Paladins offer some of the strongest single-target healing in the game, regardless of the level, and can spend talent points to make their already extremely powerful blessing spells even stronger.

Protection is another option if you are looking to play a tank role. Protection can be played both solo or in a group and is by far the most durable of any Paladin spec. The ability to pull multiple monsters at once and kill them without much risk of dying is enticing, but the kill speed still ends up being slower than what you would be able to do as Retribution. Prot shines in group content similar to Holy, but allows you to play solo if you decide.

4.

General Rules for Leveling as Paladin

  • Keep a Seal buff up at all times. Depending on your specialization this may change but typically while leveling you will be using Seal of Righteousness IconSeal of Righteousness.
  • Make sure you have a blessing active at all times. The benefits of your Blessings are all very different and what blessing you choose to level with is largely up to personal preference, the two we would recommend for leveling are Blessing of Wisdom IconBlessing of Wisdom for more uptime and minimizing the amount of drinking you need to do between fights or Blessing of Might IconBlessing of Might to increase your kill rate and potentially cut down the amount of abilities you have to use per mob kill.
  • Use an Aura buff. Paladins have quite a few different Auras they can choose from. While leveling it is important to make sure you have one up at all times, and the best practice is using the aura that matches the damage type you are taking. For example, if you are fighting mobs doing Physical damage, Devotion Aura IconDevotion Aura is your best choice.
  • Always be auto attacking. Paladins deal the vast majority of their damage by auto attacking both from the Physical aspect and the damage that is included in the seal that you choose, making sure you are always auto attacking ensures you will get the maximum benefit for Mana and time spent in combat.
5.

Leveling in a Group as a Paladin

Leveling in groups both in the open world and dungeons is an increasingly popular and efficient way to level in TBC Classic. Paladins are able to level at the same consistent speed solo, but they really shine in a duo or larger parties that utilize their extremely powerful utility. Paladins are masters of sustained combat and require very little downtime, pairing them with classes like Rogue, Warrior, or any class that requires downtime between fighting mobs can drastically increase your kill and leveling speeds.

5.1.

Dungeon Grinding

Leveling through Dungeons is a strategy that many have begun to test and have seen considerable success with, due to the uncertainty of how respawns in the world can be. Dungeons may be the fastest way to level in Wrath. With a strong group, especially with gear already from The Burning Crusade, you could realistically expect to see experience gains as fast as, if not greater, than what you would solo questing. Starting from Level 15 as Alliance for Deadmines or Level 10 as Horde for Ragefire Chasm, you could viably farm dungeons all the way to Level 80 if that is what you wanted to do. Paladins are an extremely strong support to any class, but some group comps are stronger than others.

A 'spell cleave' group takes advantage of multiple spell casters with strong AoE abilities, namely Mage, Druid, or Warlock, in order to AoE down large groups of mobs by taking advantage of their area-of-effect damage and slowing abilities, which allows for the mobs to be controlled in a way that you can survive their large numbers. Your other main option would be a melee cleave group. Paladins are a class that sustains in combat extremely well and melee cleave groups main advantage is their extremely low downtime, typically filled with Warriors and Rogue, as their main resources for dealing damage either regenerate quickly or are generated in combat, making the Paladin's strengths shine in constant fighting.

6.

Paladin Abilities

Paladins have an extremely small DPS rotation as the vast majority of their spells are situational or buffs. This means that you can choose to skip many more abilities than you normally would on other classes, but you will find that it is not needed and could potentially be a bad choice. Paladins receive their Level 20 mount for nearly free as a quest reward, which allows you to spend more gold on item upgrades and training abilities than most classes, who have to save for riding. Make sure you have the highest ranks of the abilities you are using, as this will help make the leveling process as easy as possible and there is no real reason to try and save gold in the earlier levels, given that your first mount is free.

6.1.

Recommended Skills to Upgrade as a Paladin

6.2.

Auras

Devotion Aura IconDevotion Aura and Retribution Aura IconRetribution Aura are the two auras you will generally be using while leveling. Retribution Aura deals a small amount of damage to mobs that hit you with Physical damage and can increase your kill speed or save a weapon swing or two, despite the damage being mostly negligible in shorter fights. Devotion Aura increases your Armor and can help not only you but also your party members survive against Physical damage.

6.3.

Blessings

Blessing of Might IconBlessing of Might will be your go-to early on, as the vast majority of your damage will be dealt with Auto Attacks and Judgement, which scales from the Attack Power the buff grants you. When you reach Level 14, Blessing of Wisdom IconBlessing of Wisdom is typically better, as it lessens your down time between mobs. Later on, if you choose to level as Retribution, the talent Judgements of the Wise IconJudgements of the Wise will help greatly with your Mana problems and choosing Might after that point will be better if Mana is not a problem for you anymore. Paladin's biggest strength is their ability to sustain and limit downtime, but Paladins will rarely be able to match other classes' kill speeds. You can narrow the difference in experience gained by maximizing your uptime, however.

6.4.

Seals

Deciding what seal to use as a Paladin while leveling can be a bit confusing, but in Wrath seals have much more defined roles.

Seal of Command IconSeal of Command Will be your default when fighting 2 or more mobs as its powerful clear effect helps you defeat multiple enemies.

Seal of Righteousness IconSeal of Righteousness will be your default when fighting a single enemy or having to focus priority damage into a target you must kill quickly.

Regardless of which seal you choose, you will be using either of your Judgment abilities on cooldown.

7.

Leveling Strategy as a Paladin

Leveling as a Paladin is extremely simple, as almost all of your damage will be dealt by auto attacking and casting a Judgment ability on cooldown. at later levels additions of abilities such as Crusader Strike IconCrusader Strike or Divine Storm IconDivine Storm will add a bit more to do but overall the leveling rotation just involves hitting whatever button is not currently on cooldown/ If your health is too low to fight more monsters, cast either of your heals: Flash of Light IconFlash of Light, if you are missing a small amount of health, or Holy Light IconHoly Light, if you are missing a lot. There is not a ton of nuance to the Paladin leveling gameplay while soloing, and the best way to level is to focus on just keeping your leveling speed consistent while minimizing downtime. If you find yourself using too much Mana, you can delay Judgment slightly to make more use of your natural Mana regeneration between casts.

8.

Professions While Leveling

If you are rushing to 80, then leveling professions will slow you down. The combat benefits of each profession are typically not worth the time you would have to invest to obtain them for leveling. There are, however, some professions that are very useful for leveling and, at Level 80, that can be worth doing while you level.

First Aid is a must-have profession at max level and while leveling, as it provides healing for no Mana. The cloth you naturally gather while leveling is usually more than enough to level it as you go. Herbalism, Mining, and Skinning are great choices for making gold toward your epic or flying mount, and can also be useful for helping to level other important professions later on, such as taking Mining to help level Engineering or Skinning to help level Leatherworking.

9.

Progressing your Paladin at Level 80

By the time you hit maximum level, it will be very helpful to read the rest of our guides. Pick Holy Paladin if you intend to heal at maximum level, Retribution Paladin if you intend to play a melee DPS, and Protection Paladin if you intend to tank.

10.

Changelog

  • 31 Aug. 2022: Page added.
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