Retribution Paladin Shadowlands Leveling Guide From 1 to 60
On this page, we will go over everything you need to know to Level up your Retribution Paladin to get ready for Shadowlands end game content. Make sure to use the slider to make the guide adapt to your level. If you are looking for more generic leveling guide you can refer to our Paladin leveling guide.
Gear Options
In most cases, you will want to prioritize item level as you are going through the leveling process. This means selecting whatever has the highest item level. There is one exception to this rule and that is when you have a ring or neck with only 1 secondary stat instead of having 2. In these rare cases, selecting the item with the lower item level is acceptable.
Level by Level Rotation and Talents
Move the slider below to make the guide update to your level!
Talents to Level Up as an Retribution Paladin
Your first talent row unlocks at Level 15.
Your talent set up should be as follows.
- Level 15:
Execution Sentence
- Level 25:
Blade of Wrath
- Level 30:
Repentance
- Level 35:
Cavalier
- Level 40:
Divine Purpose
- Level 45:
Healing Hands
- Level 50:
Final Reckoning
Rotation to Level Up as a Retribution Paladin
When you first create your Paladin, you will
only have one ability available to you: Crusader Strike. At level 2 you
will unlock
Shield of the Righteous and at level 3 you gain
Judgment. At level 10 you can officially spec into Retribution and
gain access to
Templar's Verdict. From now you need to switch to a
Two-Handed weapon, otherwise you will not be able to use your new abilities.
Say goodbye to
Shield of the Righteous, because you will never waste Holy
Power on it again.
- Cast
Judgment on cooldown.
- Cast
Crusader Strike on cooldown as long as you have 4 or less Holy Power.
- Cast
Templar's Verdict once you have 3 Holy Power generated.
- If you are fighting multiple targets, you can choose to drop
Consecration.
At Level 14, you learn the class ability
Hand of Reckoning, which is a 30-yard range taunt on a 8-second cooldown.
Make extensive use of this long range taunt to pull more mobs when you no longer
have any long range damage abilities available.
Starting at Level 10, you are able to queue for dungeons with the in-game group finder. Always queue as DPS, so you have the correct training environment to practise your Retribution kit at your given level in a dungeon situation. In order to understand in-depth how to use this Retribution kit, especially when reaching higher levels, check out our rotation page, but we have added a short summary below:
- Cast
Avenging Wrath off cooldown.
- Cast
Final Reckoning off cooldown.
- Cast
Shield of Vengeance when taking damage to reflect it back around you once it explodes when it got consumed or runs out.
- Follow the priority list below until you have
3 or more Holy Power.
- Cast
Wake of Ashes off cooldown.
- Cast
Blade of Justice off cooldown.
- Cast
Hammer of Wrath off cooldown.
- Cast
Judgment off cooldown.
- Cast
Crusader Strike off cooldown.
- Cast
- Once you reached 3 or more Holy Power, you want
to switch to the second priority list below, which is used to spend Holy
Power.
- Cast
Execution Sentence off cooldown.
- Cast
Divine Storm against 2 or more targets.
- Cast
Templar's Verdict against a single target.
- Cast
Summary of Unlocked Abilities for Retribution Paladin
To prevent cluttering the guide with a lot of the same information, we recommend you take a look at our dedicated spell page which will provide you with more in-depth information on Retribution Paladin spells.
Retribution Paladin War Mode Talents for Leveling
Here you will find information on the best PvP talents for both leveling and doing solo / small group PvE content.
Retribution Paladin PvP Talents for Leveling
Unbound Freedom is excellent at all times for leveling. It provides you with an additional mobility cooldown from a very low level.
Divine Punisher gives you 3 extra Holy Power every second time you cast
Judgment on the same target.
Lawbringer to apply Lawbringer to initial targets hit for 1 minute. Casting
Judgment causes all enemies with your Lawbringer effect to suffer up to 10% of their maximum Health in Holy damage.
Best Heirloom Items for Retribution Paladin Leveling
When making the decision of which heirlooms to purchase or use, you will want to target items that offer the most Strength. Choosing item pieces with Haste can help you killing enemies fast and more consistent, as the overall time until you gain enough Holy Power to use your Spender, which usually acts as your finishing move, is reduced with more Haste.
Quest Rewards
You should equip new quest rewards when their item level starts beating out your previous set of gear.
Consumables
There are several consumable items that can be purchased that will help you with your leveling speed.
Gunshoes are a mandatory item for leveling. They provide an extremely large movement speed increase. It is a bonus comparable to what you get when flying. It is highly recommended you stock up on these shoes when leveling in Shadowlands.
Goblin Glider Kit can be a life-saver when jumping off large cliffs or when you want to cover a long distance.
Gunshoes Macro
The Gunshoes will not let you stop moving as long as they are active. Using this macro twice will click the buff off and allow you to stop.
- #showtooltip
- /use Gunshoes
- /cancelaura Gunshoes
Congratulations!
Congratulations on reaching Level 60! Now that you have hit Level 60 we recommend looking at our Easy mode page and Talents section to learn how to play at max level.
Changelog
- 31 May 2022: Page reviewed for Patch 9.2.5.
- 28 Jun. 2021: Reviewed and approved for Patch 9.1.
- 09 Mar. 2021: Reviewed for Patch 9.0.5.
- 11 Nov. 2020: Updated level requirement for the dungeon finder.
This guide has been written by Urthearso, theorycrafter for Retribution Paladins. If you have any questions about the spec you can reach him on the official Paladin Discord, on Twitter, and during his streams on Twitch.
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