Retribution Paladin Leveling Guide from 1 to 80 — The War Within (11.0.7)

Retribution Paladin is a spec with a lot of burst AoE cooldowns available. It is best either fighting large groups of enemies at once while solo questing, or doing great AoE damage in dungeons in a group. You will want to tag as many enemies as possible with ranged abilities like Judgment to group them up, then use your cooldowns like Avenging Wrath and Wake of Ashes to kill them all quickly.

In general, you will want to equip the highest item level gear you happen to pick up as you level. Retribution cares a lot more about Strength than any specific combination of secondary stats, and you will generally replace any gear very quickly as you continue to level.

Move the slider below to make the guide update to your level!

This is our recommended talent tree up to level 70.

When creating your Paladin, you only have one ability: Crusader Strike. It is your first Holy Power generator. At level 2, you will unlock Shield of the Righteous, your first Holy Power spender. At level 3, you gain Judgment. Consecration is unlocked at level 6. At Level 9, you learn the class ability Hand of Reckoning, a 30-yard range taunt on an 8-second cooldown. Use this long-range taunt to pull more mobs when you no longer have long-range damage abilities. 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.

1. Cast Crusader Strike on cooldown as long as you have 4 or less Holy Power.
2. Cast Shield of the Righteous once you have 3 or more Holy Power generated.
3. Cast Judgment on cooldown.
4. Cast Consecration.

Starting at Level 10, you can queue for dungeons with the in-game group finder. Always queue as DPS, so you have the proper training environment to practice your Retribution kit at your given level in a dungeon situation. 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 version below:

1. Cast Avenging Wrath: Might.
2. Cast Final Reckoning.
3. Cast Shield of Vengeance when taking damage.
4. Follow the priority list below until you have at least 3 Holy Power.
   • Cast Wake of Ashes if you have 2 or less Holy Power.
   • Cast Divine Toll if you have 1 or less Holy Power.
   • Cast Blade of Justice.
   • Cast Judgment.
   • Cast Templar Strikes / Templar Slash.
   • Cast Hammer of Wrath.
   • Cast Crusader Strike.
   • Cast Consecration.
5. Once you reach 3 or more Holy Power, you want to switch to the second priority list below, which is used to spend Holy Power.
6. Cast Hammer of Light when available.
7. Cast Divine Storm against 2 or more targets.
8. Cast Templar's Verdict against a single target.
9. Cast Final Verdict against a single target.

None of the options for War Mode talents have any impact on your leveling speed for Retribution. Feel free to take any that you want.