Retribution Paladin DPS Spell List and Glossary — Midnight Pre-Patch (12.0)

If you are new to Retribution, this is a great place to start to get an understanding of how the spec works. On this page we will discuss what abilities you have, what they are used for within the specialization, how they interact with each other and also with important cooldowns. If you already have experience with Retribution and are comfortable with it in the current expansion, it is recommended you skip this section and move on to the rest of the guide.

Retribution's main resources are Holy Power and time. Holy Power is generated and spent by various abilities, with your spenders like Templar's Verdict and Divine Storm generally being some of your highest damage abilities. Your generators are all restricted in some fashion by time, whether they have cooldowns or generate Holy Power automatically at specific intervals. Optimizing your rotation will involve making sure that you waste as little Holy Power as possible by using your abilities wisely in order to maximize Holy Power gain while also keeping your generators on cooldown as much as you can.

Note that this page lists all abilities, assuming you are at max level. If you are leveling, check out our dedicated Paladin Leveling page that has detailed information on when you unlock all of these abilities.

Ability	Description/Effect
Light's Guidance	Gain the ability to cast Hammer of Light once after casting Wake of Ashes, which is a Holy Power spender that does significant AoE damage and costs 5 Holy Power.
Zealous Vindication	Hammer of Light also triggers extra Empyrean Hammers when it is cast.
Sacrosanct Crusade	Wake of Ashes and Hammer of Light have an extra absorb or healing effect added.
Endless Wrath	Empyrean Hammer has an increased chance to critically strike.
Sanctification	Judgment applies a buff that increases the damage of Empyrean Hammer. This buff's stacks are applied and expire independently.
Shake the Heavens	Empyrean Hammers are triggered periodically after Hammer of Light is cast.
Higher Calling	Most Holy Power generators extend the duration of Shake the Heavens.
Hammerfall	Spending Holy Power triggers Empyrean Hammer, with an extra trigger if Shake the Heavens is active.
Wrathful Descent	Critical hits from Empyrean Hammers also deal their damage to nearby enemies.
Bonds of Fellowship	You take less transferred damage from Blessing of Sacrifice and gain extra movement speed when you do take damage from it.
Unrelenting Charger	Divine Steed has a longer duration and has a faster speed initially.
Undisputed Ruling	Hammer of Light applies a Greater Judgment debuff to enemies hit and also increases your Haste for a short duration.
Divine Hammer	Divine Toll summons hammers that spin around you, dealing AoE damage.
Light's Judicator	Empyrean Hammers deal additional critical strike damage and critical strikes have a chance to grant bonus Light's Deliverance stacks.
Divine Exaction	Divine Toll casts two additional times at higher effectiveness.
Seal of the Templar	Templar's Verdict deals increased damage.
Light's Deliverance	Gain a stacking buff when a Empyrean Hammer triggers that lets you cast an extra Hammer of Light for free at 50 stacks.

Ability	Description/Effect
Dawnlight	Wake of Ashes causes your next two Holy Power spenders to also apply an extra DoT to the target. This can also function as a HoT on allies.
Morning Star	A periodically stacking buff that increases the damage of your next Dawnlight.
Gleaming Rays	While a Dawnlight is active, the damage of your Holy Power spenders is increased.
Illumine	Enemies with Dawnlight active are slowed, and allies with it have their movement speed increased.
Will of the Dawn	Your movement speed is increased based on your Health.
Aurora	Gain a free Divine Purpose buff when Wake of Ashes is cast.
Eternal Flame	Replaces Word of Glory. Adds an extra HoT component to it in addition to its regular effect.
Blessing of An'she	Periodic damage has a chance to increase the damage of your next Judgment.
Lingering Radiance	Dawnlight applies a Greater Judgment debuff when it expires.
Walk Into Light	Avenging Wrath grants extra Holy Power and a Blessing of An'she buff when cast. Hammer of Wrath also casts Blade of Justice.
Luminosity	Critical Strike chance of Hammer of Wrath and Divine Storm increased.
Sun Sear	Critical hits from Hammer of Wrath and Divine Storm apply an additional DoT.
Second Sunrise	When cast, Hammer of Wrath and Divine Storm have a chance to automatically be cast again at reduced damage.
Endless Gleam	The duration of Dawnlight is increased when the target is hit by Templar's Verdict or Divine Storm.
Solar Grace	Your Haste is increased.
Born in Sunlight	The critical strike chance of Dawnlight is increased during Avenging Wrath.
Sun's Avatar	You now create damage beams between you and any targets affected by your Dawnlights that deal ticking damage.

Ability	Abbreviation	Description/Effect
Crusader Strike	CS	Deals Physical damage to your target and generates 1 Holy Power.
Judgment	-	Deals Holy Damage to your target and generates 1 Holy Power.
Templar's Verdict	TV	Your primary single-target Holy Power spender. It deals Holy damage to your target and costs 3 Holy Power.
Consecration	Cons	Places an AoE effect on the ground that does a small amount of damage over 12 seconds. It has a regular limit of 1.
Consecrated Blade	CB	Blade of Justice also automatically casts Consecration at your target's location and removes it as an active ability. It has a 10-second internal cooldown.
Divine Shield	Bubble	Makes you immune to all damage and harmful effects, including loss of control effects for 8 seconds.
Divine Protection	DP	Reduces all damage you take by 20% for 8 seconds.
Hand of Reckoning	-	Taunts an enemy, forcing them to attack you.
Instrument of Retribution	-	Grants 9 seconds of Avenging Wrath after a raid member dies within 40 yards.
Sense Undead	-	Shows the location of all nearby undead on your minimap until cancelled.
Intercession	-	Allows you to resurrect an ally during combat.
Redemption	-	Your out-of-combat resurrection ability.
Flash of Light	FoL	A healing spell with a short cast time.
Hammer of Justice	HoJ	Stuns the target for 6-seconds.
Word of Glory	WoG	Heals a friendly target for a considerable amount. Costs 3 Holy Power.
Shield of the Righteous	SotR	Deals Holy damage to all enemies in front of you and increases your Armor based on your Strength. It costs 3 Holy Power, but requires a shield equipped to be able to cast it.

Ability	Abbreviation	Description/Effect
Lay on Hands	LoH	Heals a friendly target for 100% of your maximum Health.
Auras of the Resolute	-	Grants access to Devotion Aura, Crusader Aura, and Concentration Aura. Devotion Aura grants a 3% damage reduction to all party and raid members within 40 yards. Crusader Aura Grants 20% increased mounted movement speed to all raid members within 40 yards, which also applies to Divine Steed. Concentration Aura reduces the duration of silence and interrupt effects by 30% for all party and raid members within 40 yards.
Hammer of Wrath	HoW	Deals Holy damage to the target and generates 1 Holy Power. Useable against targets below 20% Health, or while Avenging Wrath is active.
Cleanse Toxins	-	Removes all Poison and Disease effects from a friendly target.
Empyreal Ward	-	Lay on Hands grants bonus armor to any ally targeted by it and is not affected by healing reduction effects.
Fist of Justice	FoJ	Reduces the cooldown of Hammer of Justice by 15 seconds.
Blinding Light	BL	Disorients enemies nearby you for up to 6 seconds. Any non-Holy damage will break the effect.
Turn Evil	-	Fears an Undead, Demon, or Aberration for up to 40 seconds. Damage will break the effect.
A Just Reward	-	Allies are healed when Cleanse Toxins removes a harmful effect from them.
Afterimage	-	Word of Glory also heals an additional nearby friendly player for 30% of the healing value after you spend 20 Holy Power.
Healing Hands	HH	Reduces the cooldown of Lay on Hands by up to 60%, based on the target's missing Health when cast. Additionally, Word of Glory's healing is increased by up to 100% when used on yourself based on your missing Health.
Guided Prayer	-	Word of Glory is automatically cast for free at reduced effectiveness when you drop to low health.
Divine Steed	Steed	Summons your Charger mount for 4 seconds, increasing your movement speed by 100%. You can use abilities as normal while mounted on it.
Light's Countenance	-	The cooldowns of Repentance and Blinding Light are reduced by 15 seconds.
Greater Judgment	GJ	Adds a consumable debuff to Judgment, which increases the damage your target takes from your next Holy Power spender by 20%. This debuff stacks.
Wrench Evil	-	The cast time of Turn Evil is removed.
Stand Against Evil	-	Up to 5 additional enemies are affected by Turn Evil.
Holy Reprieve	-	The duration of Forbearance is decreased by 10 seconds.
Shield of Vengeance	SoV	Divine Protection also applies an absorb that deals AoE damage when it expires.
Cavalier	Cav	Adds a second charge to Divine Steed.
Divine Spurs	-	Divine Steed has both its cooldown and duration reduced.
Steed of Liberty	-	Using Divine Steed also applies Blessing of Freedom for a short duration.
Blessing of Freedom	Freedom	Removes movement-impairing effects from an ally and grants them immunity to these effects for 8 seconds.
Rebuke	-	Interrupts a cast and prevents spells in that school from being cast for 3 seconds.

Ability	Abbreviation	Description/Effect
Obduracy	-	Increases your Speed and Avoidance.
Divine Toll	DT	Casts Judgment on up to 5 nearby enemies. Each Judgment generates 1 Holy Power and deals extra damage.
Unbound Freedom	-	Causes Blessing of Freedom to grant 30% increased movement speed and also be applied to yourself when you cast it on an ally.
Sanctified Plates	-	Grants 20% extra Armor, 6% reduced area of effect damage taken, and 10% extra Stamina.
Punishment	-	Casts an extra Crusader Strike after successfully interrupting a spell with Rebuke.
Divine Reach	-	The range of your Aura spells is increased by 20 yards.
Brought to Light	-	Killing an enemy heals you and nearby allies.
Blessing of Sacrifice	Sac	Lasts 12 seconds, transferring 30% of the damage taken by the target to you. The effect is automatically canceled if the transferred damage causes you to fall below 20% health.
Divine Resonance	DR	Divine Toll causes your next 3 Judgment casts to be duplicated.
Quickened Invocations	-	Reduces the cooldown of Divine Toll by 15 seconds.
Blessing of Protection	BoP	Protects the targeted ally from all Physical damage and harmful effects for 10 seconds, with a 5-minute cooldown. It can be used to clear harmful Physical damage debuffs and bleeds from the target or prevent them from being applied to begin with. Enemies will not attack targets affected by Blessing of Protection.
Fear No Evil	-	The duration of fear effects is reduced, and reduced even further during Avenging Wrath.
Consecrated Ground	-	Increases the radius of Consecration by 15% and slows any enemies within it by 50%.
Holy Aegis	-	Increases your Armor and Critical Strike.
Sacrifice of the Just	-	Reduces the cooldown of Blessing of Sacrifice by 1-minute.
Recompense	-	When your Blessing of Sacrifice ends, Recompense adds 50% of the damage transferred to your next Judgment as bonus damage or to your next Word of Glory as bonus healing.
Sacred Strength	-	Increases the damage and healing of your Holy Power spenders by 2%.
Divine Purpose	DP	Gives your Holy Power spenders a 10% chance to make your next Holy Power spender free and deal 10% additional damage or healing.
Improved Blessing of Protection	-	Reduces the cooldown of Blessing of Protection by 1 minute.
Unbreakable Spirit	US	Reduces the cooldown of Divine Shield, Shield of Vengeance, Divine Protection, and Lay on Hands by 30%.

Ability	Abbreviation	Description/Effect
Lightforged Blessing	-	Divine Storm heals yourself and up to 2 allies for 1% of their maximum Health.
Lead the Charge	-	Movement speed increased by 3%. Casting Divine Steed reduces the cooldowns of nearby allies' movement abilities by 3 seconds.
Worthy Sacrifice	-	Blessing of Sacrifice is now automatically cast when a nearby ally falls below 35% health.
Righteous Protection	-	Blessing of Sacrifice removes Disease and Poison effects and prevents them from being applied.
Holy Ritual	-	Blessing spells will heal their target when they are either applied or expire.
Blessed Calling	-	Blessing spells also provide a 15% movement speed increase while they are active.
Inspired Guard	-	Divine Protection increases your healing received by 15%.
Light's Revocation	-	Divine Shield can be used while Forbearance is active and it heals you if it removes harmful effects.
Faith's Armor	-	Word of Glory grants 20% bonus Armor for 4.5 seconds.
Stoicism	-	The duration of Stun effects is reduced by 20%.
Seal of Might	-	Increases your Mastery and Strength.
Vengeful Wrath	VW	Hammer of Wrath deals extra damage to enemies at lower health.
Eye for an Eye	-	Enemies attacking you while Divine Protection or Divine Shield is active take Holy damage.
Golden Path	-	Adds a passive healing effect to Consecration for yourself and up to 5 allies standing within your consecrated ground.
Selfless Healer	-	When you use Flash of Light on an ally its healing is increased and it heals you as well.
Blessing of Dawn	-	While at high health, some damage dealt to allies is instead redirected to you.
Lightbearer	-	10% of the healing you receive from external sources is also split among nearby allies.
Blessing of Dusk	-	Reduces damage taken passively, with a higher amount reduced at lower health.

Ability	Abbreviation	Description/Effect
Blade of Justice	BoJ	Deals Holy damage to the target and generates 1 Holy Power.
Divine Storm	DS	Deals Holy damage to nearby enemies. Costs 3 Holy Power. Divine Storm deals reduced damage beyond 5 targets.
Expurgation	Expurg	Blade of Justice applies a debuff that deals additional Holy damage over 9 seconds.
Swift Justice	-	Reduces the cooldowns of Judgment and Crusader Strike by 2 seconds.
Light of Justice	-	Reduces the cooldown of Blade of Justice by 2 seconds.
Judgment of Justice	-	Judgment deals 10% additional damage and increases your movement speed by 10%. It also slows the target by 30% for 8 seconds if Greater Judgment is talented.
Avenging Wrath	Wings	Increases damage and critical strike chance for a short duration.
Final Verdict	FV	Replaces Templar's Verdict. It does increased damage, has a 12-yard range, and has a 15% chance to reset the cooldown of Judgment.
Improved Blade of Justice	-	Blade of Justice gains a second charge.
Holy Blade	-	Blade of Justice generates 2 Holy Power per cast.
Righteous Cause	-	Spending Holy Power has a 6% chance to reset the cooldown of Blade of Justice per Holy Power.
Art of War	AoW	Your auto attacks have a 20% chance to reset the cooldown of Blade of Justice. Critical strikes increase this chance by 10%.

Ability	Abbreviation	Description/Effect
Jurisdiction	-	The range of Final Verdict and Blade of Justice is increased to 20 yards, and their damage is increased by 10%.
Tempest of the Lightbringer	ToL	Divine Storm projects an additional wave in front of you that deals 20% of the Divine Storm's base damage.
Rush of Light	RoL	Critical hits by your Holy Power spenders grant 5% Haste for 10 seconds.
Sanctify	-	Enemies dealt damage by Divine Storm take 20% more damage from Consecration and Divine Hammer for 12 seconds.
Holy Flames	HF	Holy damage dealt to targets with Expurgation active is increased by 5%.
Improved Judgment	-	Judgment gains a second charge.
Boundless Judgment	-	Judgment is 50% more likely to trigger Mastery: Highlord's Judgment.
Zealot's Fervor	ZF	Increases auto-attack speed by 40%.
Heart of the Crusader	HotC	Increases your Crusader Strike and auto-attack damage and Critical Strike damage by 20%.
Blade of Vengeance	BoV	Blade of Justice now hits all nearby enemies but deals reduced damage to secondary targets. Its damage is further reduced beyond 5 targets.
Empyrean Power	EP	Crusader Strike has a 15% chance to make your next cast of Divine Storm free and deal 15% extra damage. This chance drops to 5% when using Crusading Strikes.
Highlord's Wrath	HJ	Judgment applies an extra stack of Greater Judgment and the effectiveness of Mastery: Highlord's Judgment on Judgment and Hammer of Wrath is increased by 50%.
Crusading Strikes	CSAA	Replaces your auto-attacks with Crusader Strikes. Every second hit generates 1 Holy Power.
Templar Strikes	TS	Crusader Strike becomes a 2-part combo. After casting Templar Strikes, you have 4 seconds to use Templar Slash, which applies a DoT based on the damage done.
Blessed Champion	BC	Crusader Strike and Judgment hit up to 4 additional targets, with 25% reduced damage dealt to secondary targets.
Burning Crusade	-	Increases the damage of your periodic damage effects, e.g. Expurgation and Truth's Wake, by 10%.

Ability	Abbreviation	Description/Effect
Blades of Light	BoL	Crusader Strike, Judgment, and Blade of Justice deal 20% increased damage.
Wake of Ashes	WoA/Wake	Deals Radiant damage to targets in a cone in front of you, slowing them by 50%, applying a DoT, and generating 3 Holy Power. Instead of slowing Demons and Undead, they are stunned for 5 seconds.
Divine Wrath	DW	Increases the duration of Avenging Wrath.
Execution Sentence	ES	A 60-second cooldown that deals AoE damage and applies a debuff to the target for 10 seconds. When it expires, it deals an additional 20% of the damage your abilities did to targets hit by the initial AoE.
Seething Flames	-	Wake of Ashes hits 2 extra times but now deals reduced damage to secondary targets.
Empyrean Legacy	EL	Avenging Wrath empowers your next Templar's Verdict to also automatically cast Divine Storm with 25% increased damage.
Judge, Jury and Executioner	-	Holy Power spenders deal 5% increased damage. Your first spender after casting Execution Sentence is free.
Radiant Glory	RG	Avenging Wrath is removed as an active ability and is instead automatically applied for 8 seconds when Wake of Ashes is cast.
Burn to Ash	-	Truth's Wake critical hits extend its duration, and other periodic effects deal 30% more damage to enemies affected by it.
Crusade	Crus	Avenging Wrath now also increases Haste, where spending Holy Power increases the amount of Haste gained, up to 20%.