Retribution Paladin DPS Spec, Builds, and Talents in Battle for Azeroth (BfA) 8.0.1

Table of Contents

• +Introduction
  • 1. Class Overview
  • 2. Patch 8.0.1 Changes for Retribution Paladins
  • 3. Strengths of Retribution Paladin
  • 4. Weaknesses of Retribution Paladin
  • 5. Contents
  • 6. ChangeLog
• +Easy Mode
  • 1. Foreword
  • 2. The Basics of Retribution Paladins
  • 3. Talent Choice for Retribution Paladins
  • 4. Stat Choice for Retribution Paladins
  • 5. Basic Rotation for Retribution Paladins
  • 6. Azerite Traits
  • 7. ChangeLog
• +Spell Summary
  • 1. Introduction
  • 2. Main Resource of Retribution Paladins
  • 3. Basic Abilities for Retribution Paladins
    • 3.1. Utility for Retribution Paladins
  • 4. Cooldowns for Retribution Paladins
  • 5. ChangeLog
• ×Builds and Talents
  • 1. Talent Choices for Retribution Paladin
  • 2. Tier 1 (Level 15) Talents for Retribution Paladins
  • 3. Tier 2 (Level 30) Talents for Retribution Paladins
  • 4. Tier 3 (Level 45) Talents for Retribution Paladins
  • 5. Tier 4 (Level 60) Talents for Retribution Paladins
  • 6. Tier 5 (Level 75) Talents for Retribution Paladins
  • 7. Tier 6 (Level 90) Talents for Retribution Paladins
  • 8. Tier 7 (Level 100) Talents for Retribution Paladins
  • 9. PvP Talents (War Mode)
    • 9.1. Retribution Paladin War Mode Talents
      • 9.1.1. General PvP Talents
      • 9.1.2. Retribution Paladin PvP Talents
  • 10. ChangeLog
• +Azerite Traits and Armor
  • 1. Azerite Traits for Retribution Paladin
  • 2. Outer Ring Traits for Retribution Paladin
    • 2.1. Retribution Paladin specific Outer Ring Traits
    • 2.2. Generic Outer Ring Traits
  • 3. Middle Ring Traits for Retribution Paladin
  • 4. Inner Ring Traits for Retribution Paladin
  • 5. Azerite Traits Details and Rotation Changes for Retribution Paladin
  • 6. Relative strength of Azerite Traits for Retribution Paladin
    • 6.1. Single Target Azerite Traits comparison for Retribution Paladin
      • 6.1.1. Outer Ring Trait Comparisons for Retribution Paladin on Single Target
      • 6.1.2. Middle Ring Trait Comparisons for Retribution Paladin on Single Target
    • 6.2. AoE/Cleave Azerite Traits comparison for Retribution Paladin
      • 6.2.1. Outer Ring Trait Comparisons for Retribution Paladin on AoE/Cleave
      • 6.2.2. Middle Ring Trait Comparisons for Retribution Paladin on AoE/Cleave
    • 6.3. Inner Ring Trait Comparisons for Retribution Paladin
      • 6.3.1. Inner Ring Traits for Raiding
      • 6.3.2. Inner Ring Traits for Raiding for Mythic+
  • 7. Find Azerite Armor By Trait/Power
  • 8. ChangeLog
• +Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities
  • 1. Single Target Rotation for Retribution Paladins
    • 1.1. Additional Notes
  • 2. Multiple Target Rotation for Retribution Paladins
  • 3. Cooldown Usage for Retribution Paladins
  • 4. Optional Read: Mastering Your Retribution Paladin
    • 4.1. Greater Blessings
  • 5. Opening Rotations for Retribution Paladins
    • 5.1. Inquisition
      • 5.1.1. With Divine Judgment
      • 5.1.2. With Consecration
      • 5.1.3. With Wake of Ashes
    • 5.2. Crusade
      • 5.2.1. With Divine Judgment
      • 5.2.2. With Consecration
      • 5.2.3. With Wake of Ashes
    • 5.3. Divine Purpose
      • 5.3.1. With Divine Judgment
      • 5.3.2. With Consecration
      • 5.3.3. With Wake of Ashes
    • 5.4. Abilities and Cooldowns from Talents
      • 5.4.1. Level 15 Talents
      • 5.4.2. Level 30 Talents
      • 5.4.3. Level 60 Talents
      • 5.4.4. Level 100 Talents
  • 6. ChangeLog
• +Mythic+ Tips
  • 1. Retribution Paladin in Mythic+
    • 1.1. Retribution Paladin Mythic+ Rotation
    • 1.2. Retribution Paladin Utility
  • 2. Mythic+ Talents
  • 3. Mythic+ Affixes
  • 4. Azerite Traits for Mythic+
  • 5. Outer Ring Azerite Traits for Mythic+
  • 6. Middle Ring Azerite Traits for Mythic+
  • 7. Inner Ring Azerite Traits for Mythic+
  • 8. ChangeLog
• +Common and Worst Mistakes
  • 1. Wasting Global Cooldowns
  • 2. Staying in Front of Your Target
  • 3. Overcapping Holy Power
  • 4. Prioritizing Crusader Strike
  • 5. Not using Shield of Vengeance
  • 6. Not using cooldowns
  • 7. Delaying Execution Sentence
  • 8. Delaying Judgment with Divine Judgment
  • 9. Using Inquisition with Low Uptime
  • 10. Not Knowing How to Sim Yourself
  • 11. Analyzing Your Mistakes as a Retribution Paladin
• +Frequently Asked Questions
  • 1. Battle for Azeroth Frequently Asked Questions
    • 1.1. Which Race Performs Best?
    • 1.2. What Piece is Better, X or Y?
    • 1.3. How Much of X Stat Should I Have?
  • 2. ChangeLog
• +Boss by Boss Strategies
  • 1. Disclaimer
  • 2. Retribution Paladin in Uldir
    • 2.1. Talent Cheatsheet
  • 3. Taloc
    • 3.1. Suggested Talents for Retribution Paladin on Taloc
    • 3.2. Retribution Paladin Playstyle on Taloc
  • 4. M.O.T.H.E.R.
    • 4.1. Suggested Talents for Retribution Paladin on M.O.T.H.E.R.
    • 4.2. Retribution Paladin Playstyle on M.O.T.H.E.R.
  • 5. Fetid Devourer
    • 5.1. Suggested Talents for Retribution Paladin on Fetid Devourer
    • 5.2. Retribution Paladin Playstyle on Fetid Devourer
  • 6. Zek'voz, Herald of N'Zoth
    • 6.1. Suggested Talents for Retribution Paladin on Zek'voz, Herald of N'Zoth
    • 6.2. Retribution Paladin Playstyle on Zek'voz, Herald of N'Zoth
  • 7. Vectis
    • 7.1. Suggested Talents for Retribution Paladin on Vectis
    • 7.2. Retribution Paladin Playstyle on Vectis
  • 8. Zul, Reborn
    • 8.1. Suggested Talents for Retribution Paladin on Zul, Reborn
    • 8.2. Retribution Paladin Playstyle on Zul, Reborn
  • 9. Mythrax the Unraveler
    • 9.1. Suggested Talents for Retribution Paladin on Mythrax the Unraveler
    • 9.2. Retribution Paladin Playstyle on Mythrax the Unraveler
  • 10. G'huun
    • 10.1. Suggested Talents for Retribution Paladin on G'huun
    • 10.2. Retribution Paladin Playstyle on G'huun
  • 11. ChangeLog
• +Stat Priority
  • 1. The Basics of Stats for Retribution Paladin
  • 2. Getting a Better Understanding of Retribution Paladin Stats
    • 2.1. Stat Caps
    • 2.2. Statistics Priority
  • 3. ChangeLog
• +Gems, Enchants, and Consumables
  • 1. Gems for Retribution Paladins
  • 2. Enchants for Retribution Paladins
  • 3. Consumables for Retribution Paladins
  • 4. ChangeLog
• +Macros and Addons
  • 1. Macros
    • 1.1. Generic Macros for Paladins
      • 1.1.1. Blessing Mouseover Macros
      • 1.1.2. Lay on Hands Mouseover Macro
      • 1.1.3. Cleanse Toxins Mouseover Macro
      • 1.1.4. Divine Shield
      • 1.1.5. Rebuke
    • 1.2. Specific Macros for Retribution Paladins
      • 1.2.1. Combined Consecration and Wake of Ashes Macro
      • 1.2.2. Hammer of Wrath Focus Macro
    • 1.3. War Mode Macros
      • 1.3.1. Hammer of Reckoning Focus Macro
      • 1.3.2. Blessing of Sanctuary Mouseover Macro
  • 2. Addons
    • 2.1. Generic Addons for Paladins
      • 2.1.1. ElvUI
      • 2.1.2. Boss Mods: Deadly Boss Mods or Bigwigs
      • 2.1.3. GTFO
      • 2.1.4. Parrot or Mik's Scrolling Battle Text
      • 2.1.5. Recount / Skada / Details!
      • 2.1.6. Weak Auras
      • 2.1.7. TellMeWhen
      • 2.1.8. Omen Threat Meter
      • 2.1.9. Grid and GridClickSets (Optional)
    • 2.2. Specific Addons for Retribution Paladins
      • 2.2.1. Hekili
  • 3. ChangeLog
• +Gear and Best in Slot
  • 1. Azerite Gear
    • 1.1. Azerite Head
    • 1.2. Azerite Shoulders
    • 1.3. Azerite Chest
  • 2. Evaluating Upgrades
  • 3. Weapons
  • 4. Trinkets
  • 5. ChangeLog
• +Simulations
  • 1. Disclaimer Page
  • 2. Retribution Paladin Weapon Enchants Patchwork Simulation
  • 3. Retribution Paladin Potions Patchwork Simulation
  • 4. Retribution Paladin Talents Pre Raid Patchwork Simulation
  • 5. Retribution Paladin Talents T22M Patchwork Simulation
  • 6. ChangeLog

General Information

On this page, we present the viable talent choices for Retribution Paladins in World of Warcraft Battle for Azeroth 8.0.1. We detail what each of the talents do and in which situations they should be taken.

The other pages of our Retribution Paladin guide can be accessed from the table of contents on the right.

About Our Author

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.

1. Talent Choices for Retribution Paladin

Level	Choices
15	✔ Zeal	✔ Righteous Verdict	✘ Execution Sentence
30	✔ Fires of Justice	✔ Blade of Wrath	✔ Hammer of Wrath
45	✔ Fist of Justice	? Repentance	✔ Blinding Light
60	✘ Divine Judgment	✔ Consecration	✔ Wake of Ashes
75	✔ Unbreakable Spirit	✔ Cavalier	✔ Eye for an Eye
90	✔ Selfless Healer	✘ Justicar's Vengeance	✔ Word of Glory
100	✔ Divine Purpose	✘ Crusade	✔ Inquisition

Talents can be freely changed when out of combat and in a rested XP area (such as an inn or a capital city). Moreover, Tome of the Tranquil Mind and Codex of the Tranquil Mind can be used to temporarily allow players to change talents anywhere, as long as they are out of combat.

2. Tier 1 (Level 15) Talents for Retribution Paladins

✔ Zeal

✔ Righteous Verdict

✘ Execution Sentence

• Zeal causes your Judgment to buff your next 3 auto attacks, causing them to occur 30% faster and deal additional Holy damage. The Zeal buff lasts 20 seconds and can store up to 9 buffed auto attacks.
• Righteous Verdict increases Templar's Verdict's damage by 15% for 6 seconds after casting Templar's Verdict.
• Execution Sentence is an active ability with a 30-second cooldown, 20-yard range, and which costs 3 Holy Power. It deals a moderate amount of Holy damage and causes the target to take 20% increased Holy damage for 12 seconds.

Righteous Verdict currently is the best choice for single target.

Zeal currently is the best choice for dungeons and AoE in general, when facing 3 or more enemies.

When frequently dropping the Righteous Verdict buff in a raid encounter, use Zeal instead of Righteous Verdict for single-target.

3. Tier 2 (Level 30) Talents for Retribution Paladins

✔ Fires of Justice

✔ Blade of Wrath

✔ Hammer of Wrath

• Fires of Justice reduces the cooldown of Crusader Strike by 15% and gives it a 15% chance to reduce the cost of your next Holy Power spender by 1.
• Blade of Wrath doubles the proc rate of Art of War to 4 RPPM and increases its damage by 25%.
• Hammer of Wrath is an active ability with a 7.5-second cooldown (reduced by Haste) with a 30-yard range. It deals a moderate amount of Holy damage and generates 1 Holy Power. It is only usable on enemies that have less than 20% Health or during Avenging Wrath and Crusade.

All three talents in this row are viable in all situations, the choice is up to you.

Hammer of Wrath is currently the recommended choice in this tier, because the damage is shifted towards your burst and execute phases, which is generally preferred. It excels at encounters where the boss takes additional damage at low Health. Additionally, you can build extra Holy Power from casting Hammer of Wrath on adds that are up to 30 yards away while they have less than 20% Health.

Blade of Wrath and Fires of Justice are the choices in this tier if you prefer a damage gain during, as well as outside of Avenging Wrath. You have to simulate which of both currently does more damage for yourself.

4. Tier 3 (Level 45) Talents for Retribution Paladins

✔ Fist of Justice

? Repentance

✔ Blinding Light

• Fist of Justice causes each Holy Power spent to reduce the remaining cooldown of Hammer of Justice by 2 seconds.
• Repentance is an active ability with an 15-second cooldown. It is a form of crowd-control that incapacitates the target for up to 1 minute. Damage done will break the effect. Repentance can only be used against Humanoids, Demons, Undead, Dragonkin, and Giants.
• Blinding Light is an active ability with an 90-second cooldown. It disorients all enemies within a 10-yard radius around you for 6 seconds. Non-holy damage done to them will break the disorient effect.

The talents in this tier are situational and have no effect on your DPS. In raids, you should choose based on your preference or the requirements of the encounter, although we recommend Blinding Light as a reasonable default pick, as its AoE disorient is versatile. For dungeons, we recommend Fist of Justice as default pick.

5. Tier 4 (Level 60) Talents for Retribution Paladins

✘ Divine Judgment

✔ Consecration

✔ Wake of Ashes

• Divine Judgment builds one stack per enemy hit by your Holy Power spenders, stacking up to 15 times. Each stack increases the damage of your next Judgment by 20%.
• Consecration is an active ability with a 20-second cooldown. You consecrate the land beneath you within 8 yards, dealing a moderate amount of Holy damage over 6 seconds to enemies who enter the area. It generates 1 Holy Power.
• Wake of Ashes is an active ability with a 45-second cooldown. It does a massive amount of Radiant damage to all enemies in a frontal cone within 12 yards and reduces their movement speed by 50%. Demons and Undead are also stunned for 5 seconds. It generates 5 Holy Power.

In this tier you have to choose between Wake of Ashes and Consecration.

Wake of Ashes currently is the recommended choice for this tier.

Consecration is a viable alternative choice if you require AoE damage on shorter cooldown for more consistent AoE damage over multiple add spawns or packs. This does not apply if the enemies constantly move away from your consecrated zone.

6. Tier 5 (Level 75) Talents for Retribution Paladins

✔ Unbreakable Spirit

✔ Cavalier

✔ Eye for an Eye

• Cavalier causes your Divine Steed to have 2 charges.
• Unbreakable Spirit passively reduces the cooldown of your Divine Shield, Shield of Vengeance, and Lay on Hands by 30%.
• Eye for an Eye is an active ability with a 1-minute cooldown. It lasts 10 seconds, during which time it reduces the Physical damage you take by 35% and causes you to instantly counterattack any enemy that strikes you with a melee attack (dealing Physical damage to them).

In raids, we recommend Unbreakable Spirit as the default choice, mainly allowing you to use Shield of Vengeance more frequently, which slightly increases your damage dealt. You can switch to Eye for an Eye for Physical damage heavy encounters. Lastly, if you absolutely need additional mobility, you use Cavalier.

For dungeons, we recommend Cavalier as the default choice. Eye for an Eye can be used to reduce damage taken while off-tanking if your got aggro (for example with the Skittish Mythic+ Affix).

7. Tier 6 (Level 90) Talents for Retribution Paladins

✔ Selfless Healer

✘ Justicar's Vengeance

✔ Word of Glory

• Selfless Healer causes Holy Power spenders to reduce the cast time of your next Flash of Light by 25% and increase its healing done by 10%. It stacks up to 4 times.
• Justicar's Vengeance is an active ability that has no cooldown but costs 5 Holy Power. It deals a moderate amount of Holy damage to the target, healing you equal to the damage dealt. Against stunned targets, the damage and healing are increased by 50%.
• Word of Glory is an active ability with 2 charges and a 1-minute recharge time. It heals a friendly target in 40 yards range and the 2 most injured friendly targets within 30 yards.

For raids, we recommend choosing either Selfless Healer or Word of Glory. Between the two, the choice up to your preference.

For dungeons, we recommend Word of Glory.

8. Tier 7 (Level 100) Talents for Retribution Paladins

✔ Divine Purpose

✘ Crusade

✔ Inquisition

• Divine Purpose causes your Holy Power spenders to have a 15% chance to make your next Holy Power spender free and deal 30% increased damage and healing.
• Crusade replaces Avenging Wrath. It increases your damage and Haste by 3% for 25 seconds and each Holy Power spent during Crusade increases your damage and Haste by an additional 3%, up to a maximum of 10 stacks (so a 30% increase to both damage and Haste).
• Inquisition is an active ability that has no cooldown but costs 1-3 Holy Power. It is a buff that increases your damage and Haste by 7%. The buff lasts 15 seconds per Holy Power spend.

In this tier, you have to choose between Divine Purpose and Inquisition. Both are viable in most situations and their value can vary for each individual character. You have to simulate to find the correct choice for your own character.

Inquisition is the recommended choice in most situations.

Divine Purpose is a viable alternative choice.

Inquisition is the consistent choice, but requires maintenance. Divine Purpose is the passive choice with a random nature.

9. PvP Talents (War Mode)

In Battle for Azeroth, there will be the option to go into "War Mode". Enabling War Mode provides the following benefits:

• PvP talents enabled in the outdoor world.
• 10% increase in World Quest rewards at maximum level.
• 10% more experience gained while leveling.
• Earn Conquest Points which can reward gear every week.

With the benefits of enabling War Mode for leveling and PvE content, it is recommended to enable the feature to maximize your leveling and rewards at maximum level. However, you will make yourself available for open world PvP, and the possibility to be "ganked" while leveling or doing World Quests exists.

9.1. Retribution Paladin War Mode Talents

In this section we will rank the PvP talents best for leveling and doing solo / small group PvE content. Below is a ranking of both General PvP Talents and Retribution Paladin-specific PvE talents.

9.1.1. General PvP Talents

1. Adaptation is likely your most passive choice, since it will automatically remove loss of control effects over 5 seconds. It is recommended for leveling to take this PvP talent.
2. Relentless is a passive ability, but it does not automatically remove crowd control abilities, but instead reduces the duration.
3. Gladiator's Medallion is an on-use ability that removes all movement impairing effects and all loss of control effects.

9.1.2. Retribution Paladin PvP Talents

1. Hammer of Reckoning is an active ability with 30 yards range and a 48-second cooldown. When you or allies with your Greater Blessings take damage, your gain Reckoning. Consume 50 stacks of Reckoning to deal a massive amount of Holy damage and gain Avenging Wrath for 6 seconds.
2. Divine Punisher causes two consecutive Judgments on the same enemy to generate 3 additional Holy Power.
3. Lawbringer causes your Judgment to apply Lawbringer to initial targets hit for 45 seconds. Casting Judgment causes all enemies with your Lawbringer effect to suffer up to 5% of their maximum Health in Holy damage.

Luminescence, Blessing of Sanctuary, Seraphim's Blessing, Vengeance Aura, and Law and Order have limited use for PvE content in terms of increasing your damage in the open world in a small group setting. For the purpose of leveling and World Quests in Battle for Azeroth, the choices above are better options.

10. ChangeLog

• 05 Sep. 2018: Updated tier 1, 2, 4, and 5 talent sections slightly.
• 13 Aug. 2018: Updated for Battle for Azeroth launch.
• 25 Jul. 2018: Fixed Divine Punisher description.
• 25 Jul. 2018: Removed Blade of Wrath note.
• 21 Jul. 2018: Removed Divine Storm at 2 targets recommendation with Divine Judgment.
• 17 Jul. 2018: Updated for the Battle for Azeroth pre-patch.

+ show all entries - show only 10 entries