Retribution Paladin DPS Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities — Dragonflight 10.2.5

Last updated on Jan 15, 2024 at 15:00 by Bolas 56 comments
General Information

On this page, you will learn how to optimize the rotation of your Retribution Paladin in both single-target and multiple-target situations. We also have advanced sections about cooldowns, procs, etc. in order to minmax your DPS. All our content is updated for World of Warcraft — Dragonflight 10.2.5.

If you were looking for WotLK Classic content, please refer to our WotLK Classic Retribution Paladin rotation.

1.

Retribution Paladin Rotation in Dragonflight

This page includes all information you will need to play Retribution. If you are not familiar with all of the abilities, we recommend checking the Spell Summary page first, as some of the rotational nuances will become clear with a full understanding of how the abilities function.

1.1.

Retribution Paladin Quick Guide

This page includes all the details about every aspect of your rotation. Check the Quick Guide linked below if you want to see a more abbreviated version.

1.2.

Retribution Paladin PvP Rotation

This page only covers rotation information for PvE scenarios. For PvP, see the PvP guide linked below.

1.3.

Retribution Paladin Talents

A number of talent choices will significantly affect how you should play. The priority lists below will automatically change based on the talent selections. You can select full recommended builds with the buttons below as well.

Single-Target Auto-Attack Single-Target Zero Downtime Mythic+ Auto-Attack Mythic+ Zero Downtime
Generators Spenders Cooldowns/Other
Crusading Strikes Icon Crusading Strikes Vanguard of Justice Icon Vanguard of Justice Avenging Wrath: Might Icon Avenging Wrath: Might
Templar Strikes Icon Templar Strikes Empyrean Power Icon Empyrean Power Crusade Icon Crusade
Holy Blade Icon Holy Blade Empyrean Legacy Icon Empyrean Legacy Execution Sentence Icon Execution Sentence
Wake of Ashes Icon Wake of Ashes Divine Arbiter Icon Divine Arbiter Final Reckoning Icon Final Reckoning
Divine Toll Icon Divine Toll Consecrated Blade Icon Consecrated Blade
Tier 30 4pc Set Bonus Divine Hammer Icon Divine Hammer
Tier 31 Set Bonus Fyr'alath the Dreamrender Icon Fyr'alath the Dreamrender
2.

Single-Target Opener for Retribution Paladin

For your opener, you will want to cast the abilities in the order listed here before moving on to the regular rotation priority.

  1. Cast Blade of Justice Icon Blade of Justice to generate Holy Power.
  2. Cast Judgment Icon Judgment to generate Holy Power.
  3. Use Fyr'alath the Dreamrender Icon Fyr'alath the Dreamrender.
  4. Cast Execution Sentence Icon Execution Sentence.
  5. Cast Avenging Wrath Icon Avenging Wrath.
  6. Cast Hammer of Wrath Icon Hammer of Wrath or Blade of Justice Icon Blade of Justice if you need to apply Expurgation Icon Expurgation.
  7. Cast Final Verdict Icon Final Verdict.
  8. Cast Wake of Ashes Icon Wake of Ashes.
  9. Cast Hammer of Wrath Icon Hammer of Wrath if you have less than 5 Holy Power.
  10. Cast Final Verdict Icon Final Verdict.
  11. Cast Divine Toll Icon Divine Toll.
  12. Continue with the regular priority listed below.

Your goal in your opener should be to start generating Holy Power before your cooldowns and then begin your burst window. You can use Execution Sentence Icon Execution Sentence before Avenging Wrath Icon Avenging Wrath to save an extra GCD since Execution Sentence Icon Execution Sentence does not get buffed by it. Inside Avenging Wrath Icon Avenging Wrath, you will want to put Hammer of Wrath Icon Hammer of Wrath on cooldown as fast as possible before beginning to spend Holy Power and using your other cooldowns like Wake of Ashes Icon Wake of Ashes and Divine Toll Icon Divine Toll.

3.

Single-Target Rotation for Retribution Paladin

Retribution follows a priority for its rotation, as listed below. Start from the top and work your way down the list until you reach an ability with all criteria met, and that will be the best one to cast for the situation.

  1. Use Fyr'alath the Dreamrender Icon Fyr'alath the Dreamrender if Mark of Fyr'alath Icon Mark of Fyr'alath is active.
  2. Cast Avenging Wrath Icon Avenging Wrath.
  3. Cast Execution Sentence Icon Execution Sentence.
  4. Cast Final Verdict Icon Final Verdict if you have 5 Holy Power.
  5. Cast Wake of Ashes Icon Wake of Ashes if you have 2 or less Holy Power.
  6. Cast Blade of Justice Icon Blade of Justice if Expurgation Icon Expurgation is not active on your target.
  7. Cast Divine Toll Icon Divine Toll if you have 3 or less Holy Power.
  8. Cast Judgment Icon Judgment.
  9. Cast Hammer of Wrath Icon Hammer of Wrath if your target is above 20% health, or if you have 3 or less Holy Power.
  10. Cast Blade of Justice Icon Blade of Justice.
  11. Cast Final Verdict Icon Final Verdict with 4 Holy Power.

You need to manage two resources when playing Retribution, Holy Power and time. Most of your damage comes by generating and spending Holy Power, and increasing the efficiency of this loop will increase your damage, too. To optimize Holy Power generation, you need to consider both the cooldowns of generators and periodic effects that provide it, like Crusading Strikes Icon Crusading Strikes and Divine Toll Icon Divine Toll. Minimizing wasting Holy Power should be kept in mind at all times. You do not want to continue to generate Holy Power when you already have 5 just to put an ability on cooldown, and you need to consider whether you will gain Holy Power within a GCD before you use a generator to reach 5. In general, though, you want to prioritize generating Holy Power before spending it in order to put the abilities that generate Holy Power on cooldown earlier.

With the Tier 31 set bonuses, casting Judgment Icon Judgment on cooldown becomes important enough that it is acceptable to waste 1 Holy Power by casting it at 4. You should still aim to limit waste as much as possible, but it is better to keep the ability on cooldown than to reduce the amount of Holy Power wasted.

Although you will want to use major cooldowns on cooldown as much as possible, you will occasionally need to hold them for a few seconds. Seal of Order Icon Seal of Order reduces the cooldowns of Wake of Ashes Icon Wake of Ashes and Divine Toll Icon Divine Toll, so you will need to hold them for around 4 or 5 seconds for Avenging Wrath Icon Avenging Wrath every second use.

4.

AoE Rotation for Retribution Paladin

Retribution follows a priority for its rotation, as listed below. Start from the top and work your way down the list until you reach an ability with all criteria met, and that will be the best one to cast for the situation.

  1. Use Fyr'alath the Dreamrender Icon Fyr'alath the Dreamrender if Mark of Fyr'alath Icon Mark of Fyr'alath is active.
  2. Cast Avenging Wrath Icon Avenging Wrath.
  3. Cast Execution Sentence Icon Execution Sentence.
  4. Cast Divine Storm Icon Divine Storm if you have 5 Holy Power.
  5. Cast Wake of Ashes Icon Wake of Ashes if you have 2 or less Holy Power.
  6. Cast Blade of Justice Icon Blade of Justice if Expurgation Icon Expurgation is not active on your target.
  7. Cast Divine Toll Icon Divine Toll if you have 1 or less Holy Power.
  8. Cast Judgment Icon Judgment.
  9. Cast Blade of Justice Icon Blade of Justice if you have 4 or more targets.
  10. Cast Hammer of Wrath Icon Hammer of Wrath if your target is above 20% health, or if you have 3 or less Holy Power.
  11. Cast Blade of Justice Icon Blade of Justice.
  12. Cast Divine Storm Icon Divine Storm with 4 Holy Power.

The philosophy behind the rotation for AoE is essentially the same as it is for single-target. See the section above for details. With AoE-focused talents, you will want to swap to the AoE rotation at 2 or more targets, but with a single-target build, it is better to keep using the single-target priority unless there are 3 or more targets.

With Empyrean Legacy Icon Empyrean Legacy or Divine Arbiter Icon Divine Arbiter, you will occasionally want to cast Final Verdict Icon Final Verdict to proc the free Divine Storm Icon Divine Storm or AoE effect. You should track these buffs so that you know when to use them appropriately.

5.

Retribution Paladin Trinket & Fyr'alath Usage

There are two types of on-use trinkets that you will use, trinkets that just deal damage and trinkets that provide a stat bonus. For trinkets that provide a stat bonus, usage is straightforward; you should use them with Avenging Wrath Icon Avenging Wrath unless the encounter will end before Avenging Wrath Icon Avenging Wrath will come off cooldown if their cooldowns do not naturally line up.

For on-use damage trinkets, usage can depend on the trinket. Avenging Wrath Icon Avenging Wrath does not buff trinket damage, but it does increase the critical strike chance of the damage. For instant on-use damage from trinkets like Zaqali Chaos Grapnel Icon Zaqali Chaos Grapnel you will want to wait for a few seconds for the first use to use it inside Avenging Wrath Icon Avenging Wrath, but for subsequent uses it is not worth holding it 30 seconds so that they line up. Some other trinkets have a channel time required. For Elementium Pocket Anvil Icon Elementium Pocket Anvil, the channel length is short enough that you can simply use it between regular abilities, as the channel can be used off the GCD. You can macro it with other abilities if you want to, but you should not macro it together with Avenging Wrath Icon Avenging Wrath since it is also off the GCD and will waste valuable cooldown duration. For Beacon to the Beyond Icon Beacon to the Beyond, it is best to use it pre-pull and then on cooldown outside of Avenging Wrath Icon Avenging Wrath. Although its critical hit chance will be increased, it is not worth the time it takes to channel it inside your major cooldown compared to other abilities you could use instead.

Similar to on-use trinkets, Fyr'alath the Dreamrender Icon Fyr'alath the Dreamrender has its on-use effect crit chance increased by Avenging Wrath Icon Avenging Wrath, but not its damage. It is not worth using inside of Avenging Wrath Icon Avenging Wrath compared to just using regular abilities. You should use it before regular cooldowns to put both Fyr'alath the Dreamrender Icon Fyr'alath the Dreamrender and Avenging Wrath Icon Avenging Wrath on cooldown as soon as possible and only use Fyr'alath the Dreamrender Icon Fyr'alath the Dreamrender when Mark of Fyr'alath Icon Mark of Fyr'alath is active on all potential targets.

6.

Changelog

  • 15 Jan. 2024: Reviewed for Patch 10.2.5.
  • 06 Nov. 2023: Updated for Patch 10.2.
  • 04 Sep. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.1.7.
  • 10 Aug. 2023: Updated priority lists, added trinket explanation.
  • 10 Jul. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.1.5.
  • 06 May 2023: Divine Toll no longer pulls out of combat or neutral enemies.
  • 06 May 2023: Simplified page and changed wording to assume key talents.
  • 02 May 2023: Updated Hammer of Wrath to T30 priority for cleave.
  • 01 May 2023: Updated for Patch 10.1.
  • 05 Apr. 2023: Updated Shield of Vengeance duration.
  • 21 Mar. 2023: Updated for Patch 10.0.7.
  • 24 Jan. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
  • 11 Dec. 2022: Updated Rotation and Notes.
  • 28 Nov. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight launch.
  • 24 Oct. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
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