Thread: Patch 4.0.1 Ret Paladin FAQ

I have the framework for the FAQ that will be released for 4.0.3a, due to an interview stating how most of the framework for classes are in place. Please feel free to add any missing information or things that I might have skipped, including but not limited to:

New Base values at L80
Additional Base values on stats past L80
Incorrect formulas
etc.

Introduction

The following is an FAQ that is updated to reflect any documented changes thus far to World of Warcraft: Cataclysm which will affect a Paladin’s DPS. Because this is also a “beginner’s guide”, I will be going into detail on some items that an experienced player should already know.


Contents: (Copy the bracketed letters and hit Ctrl+F to skip to a specific part of the FAQ).
[1VRH]- Version History
[2ACS]- Acronyms
[3FAQ]- Frequently Asked Questions [*Updated*]
[4BSS]- Base Stats [Not Yet Implemented]
[5SCS]- Stat Conversions
[6CTS]- Combat Statistics
[7SWS]- Stat Weightings [To Be Added At a Later Time]
[8EMS]- Enchantments
[9GMS]- Gemming
[1CSB]- Consumables
[2SLS]- Seals [*Updated*]
[3CBA]- Combat Abilities
[4UTL]- Utilities
[5ATG]- Armor Sets
[6DRS]- DPS Rotations [*Updated*]
[7TBS]- Talent Builds
[8EGE]- Endgame Expectations
[9UFM]- Useful Macros
[1CCN]- Conclusion

[1VRH]- Version History:
v1.0- Initial Posting, minor format editing.
v1.0.1- Updated info on Armor Pen and SoC.
v2.0- Adjusted SoV changes, added in new information.
v2.1- Added Search function, reserved space for Gemming and Enchantments.
v2.2- Added Enchants, Gems, and Consumables section, and updated the Contents index appropriately.
v2.3- Update to 3.2.2. Fixed minor spelling and tooltip errors.
v3.0- Added changes on the PTR that are expected to go live. Bonus Material section added. Minors fixes made.
v3.1- Added a Macro section to the guide.
v3.2- Added Lay on Hands and Sacred Shield to the utilities section.
v3.3- Updated 3.3 Stat Weights. Thanks Killtorz for reminding me :P
v3.4- Reworked DPS Rotation sections to be accurate.
v3.4.1- Added Armor (tier) sets, updated Redcape's Stat Weights with T10 bonuses.
v3.4.2- Reworked the Stat Weights again- Final version of guide until Cataclysm hits.
v4.1- Mitigation from old FAQ. Updated to reflect patch 4.0.3a changes for projected DPS at level 85. Also added the new Haste formula so Badpaladin stops his bitchin'

[2ACS]- I’ll start by listing common Acronyms that are used commonly throughout this guide or elsewhere throughout these and other forums.

AE or AoE- Area of Effect. Generally spells, buffs, or effects that only affect targets in a given range.
AP- Attack Power.
Bubble- A Paladin’s Divine Shield and Hand of Protection spells are referred to as being encased within a bubble through which nothing can enter.
CS- Crusader Strike
DoT- Damage over Time. Any spell or ability that deals its damage gradually as time passes, rather than upfront.
DPS- Damage per Second. The higher your DPS, the more damage you do to a target as time passes.
DS- Divine Storm or Divine Shield.
EBAE- Environment-base Area of Effect.
EfaE- Eye for an Eye.
EXP- Shorthand for Expertise, or Experience, which is needed to level up.
FoL- Flash of Light.
FotM- Flavor of the Month. Typically players will make a new class, which is usually currently favored in a specific aspect of the game, over another class.
HoW- Hammer of Wrath.
HoF- Hand of Freedom.
HoJ- Hammer of Justice.
HoP- Hand of Protection.
HoR- Hand of Reckoning.
HoS- Hand of Sacrifice.
HPow- Holy Power.
HW- Holy Wrath.
INT- Shorthand for a character’s Intellect.
Inq- Inquisition.
MA- Main Assist. You target whatever this person targets to ensure it dies quickly.
MT- Main Tank. The main person that holds the Aggro of a mob.
n00b- An inexperience or new player. Can also be an insult to a player’s level of thinking.
NPC- Non-playable Character. A PC is referred to a Playable Character which you directly control.
OT- Off Tank. Generally either a back-up tank or an extra tank for an encounter.
PBAoE- Player-based Area of Effect. Automatically targets the area around or underneath the player or target.
PuG- Pick up Group. A random group of players that ban together to conquer greater challenges.
PvE- Player vs. Environment. Situations in which players fight against computer-controlled opponents.
PvP- Player vs. Player. Any situation in which players fight against each other in battle.
QFT- Quoted for Truth.
SP- Spell Power.
STR- Shorthand for a character’s Strength.
TV- Templar's Verdict
WoG- Word of Glory
1337- Having the skillz to pay the billz.

[3FAQ]- Here are some questions asked, well, quite frequently:

When do you get Templar's Verdict?
* Templar's Verdict is gained at level 10 for choosing the Retribution specialty.

How long does Holy Power last?
* Each Holy Power lasts indefinitely, so long as you remain in combat. Similar to rage, it will degenerate when outside of combat, at the ratio of 1 Holy Power every 10 seconds- This means it would take 10 seconds to go from 3 Holy Power to 2, and 20 seconds to go from 3 Holy Power to 1.

How much Haste do I need?
* The goal is to have a 3 second Crusader Strike cooldown, ultimately. However, not only is this goal unrealistic (unless drastic changes are made to mechanics), but certain limitations with the client/server communication can prevent this. The haste formula for determine how much Haste you need, however, is that equal to the amount needed to being your CS cooldown to 3-(Latency in milliseconds). For example, if you have 200 Latency, you want enough Haste to bring your cooldown on CS to 2.8 seconds.

The formula, in its most primitive form, is: (4.5*(1/1.09)*(1/1.05)*(1/(3-ms)) -1)*100*32.8
This can be simplified to 3280 * [ (3.9319 / (3 - Latency in milliseconds)) -1 ]


Listed below are the typical Base Stat values that a Level 85 Paladin should have when they are not wearing any armor, are not affected by any buffs, and do not have any passive talents which increase stats- Note that this may slightly differ, depending on your chosen Race.

[4BSS]- Base Values

Base Values at 85
Health =
Mana =
Strength =
Intellect =
Agility =
Stamina =

All Mana-bound abilities are a percentage of Base mana, or mana with no additional Intellect: That is, as your Mana-pool increases, the cost of your spells does not.


[5SCS]- Stat Conversions, for Base stats
Each Base Stat can be broken down to reflect their impact on combat.

Each point of Strength is worth 2 Attack Power. With the Blessing of Kings or Mark of the Wild buffs, the amount gained is increased by 5%, for a total of 2.1 effective AP per 1 Strength. You will gain a small passive bonus to Strength of 5% when wearing the armor intended for your class, meaning each point of Strength is worth 2.205 AP.
* Important Note*---> With the Sheath of Light passive, 1 Strength is also equal to = 0.6615 effective Spell Power.

Each point of Agility is equal to (unknown 85 value) Critical Strike Rating, and for every (unknown 85 value) points of Agility, the Paladin gains 1% additional chance to Crit.

Intellect increases your total Mana by (unknown 85 value) points per point of Intellect, as well as your total spell power by (unknown 85 value)


[6CTS]- Combat Statistics, which affect attack rolls
Each of the follow affects how often (and how hard) you hit your enemy for.

Hit
Hit rating increases your chance to successfully land attacks. Increasing your Hit rating is often the best way to increase your DPS until you reach the soft hit cap for the specific tier of gear. Depending on your opponent, you may require additional Hit rating to guarantee the chance that your attacks will land. The Hit Cap for all melee-bound abilities is 8%, plus an additional 1% for each level that your target is above you. For a raid boss, this is a total of 960 hit rating. Subsequent raiding tiers each require an additional (unknown 85 value) hit rating. For every 120 Hit Rating, you’ll gain 1% Hit. Some abilities, like Exorcism and Consecration, scale off of Spell hit, which has a considerably higher cap- however, with the Sheath of Light ability, you gain 6% Spell Hit automatically at level 10.

*Important Note*---> The Hit cap is 840 rating if you are a Draenei

Expertise
Expertise increases your chance to successfully land attacks by ignoring an opponent’s chance to Dodge and Parry. Depending on your opponent, you may require additional Expertise rating to completely ignore an opponent’s Dodge and Parry chance. With every 124 Expertise rating equal to 1 Expertise, and each point of Expertise lowering your opponent’s chance to Dodge and Parry by (unknown 85 value), you would need a total of 803 Expertise rating (or <unknown 85 value>) to hit the Hard Cap of 6.5% for a Raid Boss. Both Humans and Dwarves have Racial abilities which lower the amount of Expertise needed to hit a Raid Boss. Humans receive 3 Expertise when using either Swords or Maces, and Dwarves receive 5 Expertise when using Maces alone.

*Important Note*---> When glyphed for, you only need 481 Expertise rating to be Expertise capped.

Critical Strike
Increases your chance to Critically Hit with attacks for 200% damage. While most of the Paladin’s abilities are Melee-oriented, some abilities (like Consecration) are Spell-oriented; Thus, they only hit for 50% additional damage instead of 100%. For every (unknown 85 value) points of Critical Strike rating, you will gain an additional 1% chance to Crit. Also, Critical Strike Rating gradually suffers from internal diminishing returns- That is, you will see a less of an effect on your total DPS if you went from 50% to 55% Crit than if you went from 15% to 20% Crit.

Haste
Haste decreases the initial cast time of your spells, as well as the amount of time it takes to swing with your weapon, and reduces the time it takes in between ticks of DoT spells. Haste will also increase the frequency of mana restoration from Judgements of the Wise. Most importantly, haste will reduce the cooldown on Crusader Strike by (unknown 85 value). Every (unknown 85 value) points of Haste Rating will increase your Haste by 1%- Note that it is not directly proportional to the cast time or swing time of your spells or weapons- That is, if you cast a spell with a 3 second cast while having 33% Haste, the total cast time will NOT be equal to 2 seconds. Haste also stacks multiplicity. The formula for finding your weapon speed is given below:

Base speed / {(1+ Haste effect one)*(1+ Haste effect two)* … *( 1+ [Haste rating
one + Haste rating two + … + Haste rating N]/2521)}

For example, if a Paladin with a 3.6 second weapon swing timer is under the effect of both Icy Talons and Bloodlust, and has 352.94 Haste rating, and uses a Potion of Speed, they would have the following:

Swing Timer / Icy Talons (10%) * Heroism (30%) * haste from Haste rating
3.6 seconds / {(1 + 10/100)*(1+ 30/100)*(1+ [352.94 + 500]/2521)} = 1.88 seconds

Mastery
Mastery increases the combat, healing, or defensive ability of your character, determined on what spec you currently have active. The effect is different for every tree for every spec in the game, and is only gained by spending the most points in a specific talent tree. Trainable at level 75, a Ret Paladin gains Hand of Light, which gives all auto-attacks an 8% chance to make the next Holy Power ability used within 8 seconds to cost no Holy Power, and act as if you had 3 Holy Power.

Mastery can also be found on gear as well. The Mastery from gear will improve the effectiveness of your Mastery attribute by increasing the benefit gained per point of Mastery. For every 200 points of Mastery, the chance for Hand of Light to proc from auto-attacks will be increased by 1%.

Resilience
Resilience is a PvP-oriented stat. For every (unknown 85 value) points of Resilience, you will take (unknown 85 value) less damage from a Player and his or her pets and guardians. A normal level of Resilience for fighting in an Arena battle for a Ret Paladin is in between (unknown 85 value) and (unknown 85 value).


[7SWS]- Stat Weightings

DISCLAIMER: Due to the ever evolving amount of data, Stat Weights will be implemented at a later date. We appreciate your understanding in this matter.

Stat Weightings are the approximate value of stats when compared to 1 Attack Power- The higher the value, the more the stat is worth. Stat weights are great for comparing multiple pieces of gear that have different stats between them.

Projected level 85 Stat Weights:
Str ___
Hit __ (__ after cap)
Exp __ (0 after cap)
Haste __
Crit __
Mastery __

The values given in the parenthesis is the value of the stat once you reach the soft cap of the stat for the specific tier.

Based off the given Stat Weighting, one can determine which gems and enchantments are also most beneficial to your paladin- Note that the recommended Gems and Enchantments are assuming you have both your Hit rating and Expertise rating capped.

[8EMS]- Enchantments
Enchantments are the best way to improve upon your gear once you obtain them. The following are considered to yield the highest DPS per enchant:

Cloak: Greater Critical Strike (+65 Crit rating)
Chest: Peerless Stats (+20 Stats)
Bracers: Greater Speed (+65 Haste rating) or Greater Critical Strike (+65 Crit rating), if Haste capped.
Gloves: Mighty Strength (+50 Strength)
Boots: Precision (+50 Hit rating), or Mastery (+50 Mastery Rating). Precision is better if you can reforge access hit elsewhere into Haste rating.
Weapon: Too be determined at a later time.

*Important Note*---> If you are an Enchanter, you can give each of your rings with Strength (+40 Strength)

In addition to Scrolls, you can also enhance other pieces of gear with crafted Armorkits or purchased Inscriptions (not to be confused with the Inscription profession):

Helm: Arcanum of the Wildhammer/Dragonmaw
Shoulders: Greater Inscription of Jagged Stone
Belt: Ebonsteel Belt Buckle- Obtained from a Blacksmith.
Leggings: Dragonscale Leg Armor

[9GMS]- Gemming
Gemming as a Paladin is quite simple. The Meta of choice to use is a Chaotic Shadowspirit Diamond. It is recommended to use an Etched Demonseye in one blue socket to activate the Meta gem, and then to reforge off the excess Hit rating into Haste Rating. Once you reach your Meta requirements, you can fill in Bold Inferno Ruby

*Important Note*---> Jewelcrafters will want to use 3 Bold Chimera's Eye in their Red sockets.

[1CSB]- Consumables
Finally, a number of consumables are also available to again increase efficiency- These range from Elixirs to Flasks to Food buffs:

Flask of Choice: Flask of Titanic Strength
Battle Elixir of Choice: Elixir of Mighty Speed, or Elixir of the Master if at Haste cap.
Guardian Elixir of Choice: Elixir of the Naga, none if Expertise capped
Food Buff of Choice: Seafood Magnifique Feast
Secondary Food Buff Choice: Beer-Basted Crocolisk
Potion of Choice (limited to 1 per use): Golemblood Potion


[2SLS]- Seals
One of a Paladin’s main sources of DPS comes from his or her Seal choice. Seal spells augment your weapon to do different affects when you strike an enemy- they can be either offensive or utilitarian. Currently, there are 2 key choices for a Seal when choosing to DPS in a raid environment:

Seal of Truth-
What the Seal Hit does:
---> Applies a DoT effect called Censure on any single-target swing only that deals [(1% SPH + 1.93% AP) * 5] * [X] Holy damage over 15 seconds, stacking up to 5 times, with X being the number of stacks on the target. Unlike normal spells, when this crits it strikes for 200% damage instead of 150%.
---> Strikes for 1.8% Weapon damage, based on the number of stacks on your target (max of 9% weapon damage when fully stacked); Also crits it strikes for 200% damage instead of 150%.
What the Judgement does: Deals [1 + (22.3% SPH) + (14.2% AP)] * [1 + (X/10)] Holy damage, with X being the number of stacks on the target.

Seal of Truth is the prime DPS spell for single-target competitive PvE DPS. The seal is optimal when you have targets that die slowly or that try and outlast you- This is mainly due to the fact that each weapon strike deals an additional 1.8% weapon damage- once you reach the application limit on the Seal’s Damage over Time component, every weapon swing or melee ability will deal a total of 9% weapon damage. As the DoT ticks away every 3 seconds (depending on Haste), you’ll also have a steady income of damage being dealt to your target. The total damage done via Judgement when cast will also increase by 10% for each application of Censure you have on your target. Due to the DoT only being applied on White hits and Single-target abilities, it does take a decent amount of time to apply your stacks- somewhere between 9-10 seconds normally, depending on your Haste and weapon speed.

The initial damage done by Seal of Truth can be increased in multiple ways: The DoT component can be increased by speccing into Inquiry of Faith, found in the 6th tier of the Ret tree. The Seal Hit can be increased via Seals of Command in the 4th tier of the Ret tree. Both the DoT damage and Seal Hit effect of the spell can all be increased by speccing into Seals of the Pure for 3 talent points in the first tier of the Prot tree.

Seal of Righteousness-
What the Seal does: Deals [Base Weapon Speed * (1.1% AP + 2.2% SP)] additional Holy damage.
What the Judgement does: Deals [1 + 20% AP + 32% SP] Holy damage.

Seal of Righteousness is the basic DPS Seal for all Paladin specs at the earlier levels of their career. It scales the most with Spell Power, and deals a portion of Holy spell damage on each hit.

Seal of Righteousness can be vastly improved by speccing into Seals of Command: In addition to its normal effects, the seal hit will also deal 7% additional weapon damage as Holy, and chain to up to 2 additional targets in melee range. Seal of Righteousness is best suited for taking out small enemies that don’t last long under concentrated group fire, or weaker ones that don’t last long enough to utilize Seal of Truth’s full benefits by utilizing the cleave effect of Righteousness.
*Important Note*---> Unlike other DPS Seals, Seal of Righteousness cannot crit.

Seal of Justice-
What the Seal does: Deals [Base Weapon Speed * (0.5% AP + 1% SP)] additional Holy damage and limits the targets movement speed to 100% normal running and mounted speed for 5 seconds.
What the Judgement does: Deals [1 + 16% AP + 25% SP] Holy damage.

Seal of Justice is utilized as a PvP seal for targets that attempt to run from or kite the Paladin. The Seal Hit effect is a Magical debuff that limits the movement speed of the target- That is, they cannot run faster than 100% of normal run speed. Any abilities, talents, or items that increase run speed (like a Rogue’s Sprint, a Druid’s Travel Form, or an Epic Land Mount) will instead give 0% additional movement speed.

Seals of Command-
What the Seal does: Deals 7% additional weapon damage as Holy damage on any target that is struck by a Seal hit.
What the Judgement does: Seals of Command does not augment Judgement abilities.

While not a seal itself, it is worth pointing out the effects of Seals of Command. Seals of Command does 7% weapon damage on any target that is hit by a seal effect- This includes the application of Censure stacks when the target is below 5 stacks (re-applications of Censure at 5 stacks do not count), application of the Seal of Justice effect, and on each Seal of Righteousness hit. Seals of Command acts as a separate attack, similar to how seals themselves are a separate attack from White swings- However, their hit chance is determined on the SAME attack roll as your Seal. Meaning a missed Seal will always mean a missed Seals of Command, and a hit from a Seal will always mean a hit from Seals of Command. That being said, Seals of Command DOES make a separate attack roll for crit chances, and it can crit when used with Righteousness.

[3CBA]- Combat Abilities
Outside of Seals, most of a Paladin’s Combat Abilities are either enhanced or obtained by spending points in the Retribution talent tree.

Understanding the Basics-
Outside of Seals, Paladins DPS using a 2 handed weapon, melee attacks, and spells. Because a Paladin’s defensive abilities do no require a shield to use (like a Warrior’s Shield Wall), there is no need for a weapon swap macro under most circumstances.

Crusader Strike
Crusader Strike is gained at level 1 for all Paladins, and can be enhanced by spending points in numerous talents. It instantly deals up to 120% Weapon damage as Physical damage every 4.5 seconds, and the cooldown can be lowered through Haste rating with corresponding talents. The core component of Crusader Strike is to generate Holy Power, which is consumed by other abilities to enhance their effectiveness. Combined with your Seal Proc, Crusader Strike is one of the strongest abilities for single-target DPS.

Templar’s Verdict
Templar’s Verdict is gained at level 10 for Paladins who choose to specialize as Retribution. It consumes all Holy Power that the Paladin has accumulated to deal instant weapon damage, which each point of Holy Power dealing more overall weapon damage than the previous- However, this damage is dealt as Physical damage. With Divine Purpose, the Paladin has a chance to generate Holy Power when Templar’s Verdict is used.

Divine Storm
Unlike Crusader Strike, Divine Storm is learned through talents. The assault shares a cooldown with Crusader Strike, but deals 80% weapon damage, and can hit an unlimited amount of targets when used, or it can hit no enemies at all if they are far enough away. Much like Crusader Strike, Divine Storm's cooldown can be reduced with haste effects. What is unique about Divine Storm when compared to other Whirlwind-type effects is that it will also heal your group or party based off of the damage caused. The more targets wounded by the storm, the more healing it provides. However, the amount healed is only equal to 25% of the total damage done. Unlike other attacks, Divine Storm does not proc your Seal spells. However, in a Multi-target situation, Divine Storm is second to none.

Judgement
Judgements are the core, stable ability of a Retribution Paladin- a Judgement focuses the energy of the current Seal being used, and releases its lawful punishment upon your enemy. Judgements are classified as a Melee spell that cannot be Blocked, Dodged, or Parried, meaning they either Hit or Miss- largely this is due to the Judgements of the Wise passive, which enables Ret paladins to DPS with high-cost spells and a low mana pool. It can, however, be cast while Disarmed, but not while Silenced or Spell-locked out of the Holy school.

Several talents benefit the Judgement spell. If specced into Communion, Judgement will affect 10 Raid or Party members with the Replenishment buff to further help with Mana regeneration. Judgements of the Pure grants 9% Melee attack speed and Spellcasting haste for 60 seconds, and is renewed on each Judgement cast. The Improved Judgements talent increases the range of Judgement to 20/30 yards, and with points in Long Arm of the Law, the Paladins will move 45% faster than normal speed for 4 seconds if Judgement is cast on a target that is further than 15 yards away. Note that if the Judgement deals 0 damage (through an Immune, Miss, or Absorb effect), the paladin gains no mana. None of the talent effects proc'd from Judgement cannot be dispelled, including Long Arm of the Law.


Exorcism
One of three of the Paladin’s Ranged attacks, Exorcism deals Holy damage after a short cast. When used in combination with an Art of War proc, the cast time is negated and the spell becomes Instant Cast and deals additional damage. Due to the purifying potential of the spell, it will instantly strike for Critical damage when used on Demon- or Undead- type mobs.

Hammer of Wrath
The Hammer of Wrath is the Paladin’s finishing skill; It is only useable on targets with less than 20% health remaining, unless used in combination with Avenging Wrath when specced into Sanctified Wrath, which removes this restriction for the duration of Avenging Wrath. The spell deals instant Holy damage and has a high chance to Crit for 200% damage. The hammer can also be fired from a longer range, and thus does not require the Paladin to be in melee range for execution.

Holy Wrath
Undead and Demon targets will sob beneath you once you unleash your Holy Wrath. Every 15 seconds, a Paladin can deal moderate Holy damage to anything near it, while also stunning all Undead and Demon targets in range for a brief moment. The total damage dealt by Holy Wrath is divided between all targets caught in the blast- Meaning that if one target would normally suffer 5,000 damage, 2 targets affected would suffer 2,500 each, and 4 targets would suffer 1250 damage each, making it useful in both Single-target and Multi-target scenarios. The stun effect on Holy Wrath, like all stuns, is subject to diminishing returns.

Consecration
Consecration is an ABAoE spell that damages enemies that enter and leave the area. The damage dealt by Consecration is dealt equally between all ticks, meaning that the initial tick, a middle tick, and the final tick of the spell should all deal the same portion of damage, as long as outside factors remain consistent. Despite Consecration’s large Mana cost, it is still useful for AoE DPS at early levels. Consecration scales off your Spell Hit table, meaning any ticks of the spell can miss or be resisted with less than 17% Spell Hit, and Consecration will only crit for 150% damage instead of 200%.

Hand of Reckoning
The last of a Paladin’s ranged attacks, Hand of Reckoning is actually a taunt. This ability is only useful for peeling a mob off one your weaker teammates. It has little use in PvP, unless used against Aggressive Pets and Minions or Guardians or to keep your opponent in combat (to prevent drinking and mounting out of combat).


[4UTL]- Utilities and Cooldowns

Being a Hybrid, the paladin brings many utilities to one’s self and group, both Offensively and Defensively.

Offensive Cooldowns:

Avenging Wrath
Avenging Wrath increases all damage and healing done by you by 20% for 20 seconds. When specced for, it also allows the use of your Hammer of Wrath spell regardless of the target’s current health pool.

Zealotry
Zealotry is the 31 point talent found in the Retribution tree. When activated, it causes each of your successful Crusader Strike blows within 20 seconds to generate 3 Holy Power instead of 1, meaning that each Crusader Strike can be proceeded with a fully powered Templar’s Verdict or Divine Storm (or Word of Glory, if needed). Zealotry requires 3 Holy Power to use, but it does not consume the Holy Power.

Guardian of Ancient Kings
Gained at level 85, you awaken the Guardian of Ancients to fight alongside you in battle, acting based on your current specialization. The Guardian of the Ancient Crusader chooses to fight alongside Retribution Paladins, energizing his master with Ancient Power, a buff that grants 1% strength and is applied each time the Paladin and Guardian attack. When the Ancient Crusader flees from battle, Ancient Fury is released, damaging all nearby enemies in a fashion similar to Holy Wrath.

Inquisition
When you know you'll be pounding on the enemy heretics for long periods of time, nothing beats a strong dose of conviction with the addition of Inquisition. When talented into, Inquisition lasts for a total of 10 secs per Holy Power, and causes all Holy attacks made within those 30 secs deal 30% additional damage. This will amplify the damage of all Seal spells, Exorcism, Holy Wrath- anything that deals Holy spell damage. Note that attacks that deal physical damage (like Crusader Strike) or procs that do not deal Holy damage (Lifestealing from Bryntroll) will not be affected, but will on effects from items (like Stratholme Holy Water)(citation needed). Finally, Inquisition stacks multiplicity with other buffs that increase damage- When used with Avenging Wrath, for example, all Holy damage abilities will deal an extra 56% Holy damage.

Blessings and Greater Blessings:

Blessing of Might
The main Blessing used by Ret paladins. Blessing of Might replaces Trueshot Aura, Unleashed Rage and Abomination’s Might on the buff bar by offering an additional 10% Attack Power - Note this also gives us and Enhancement Shaman 0.30% SP as well. Additionally, Blessing of Might will also restore a set amount of MP5 to all targets afflicted- This does not stack with Mana Stream totem, however. This is most optimal for DPS classes when only 1 Paladin is available.

Blessing of Kings
Often used as a back-up Blessing with multiple Paladins or a smaller group sizes, Blessing of Kings increases all of the target's base stats (Strength, Intellect, Agility, and Stamina) by 5%. It is useful to use on Tanks for larger health pools, on Spell casters for larger Mana pools and damage, and Physical DPS for more Attack Power.
*Important Note*---> Blessing of Kings is applied multiplicity with other effects that increase stats by a percentage. For example, a Paladin with Plate Specialization (x5% STR) and Blessing of Kings (x5% STR) would gain a total of 10.25% increased Strength.


Hand spells:

Hand of Freedom
Hand of Freedom prevents movement effects such as roots and snares from affecting the target. This works wonders in PvP battles because we have a limited amount of ways to catch up to a fleeing target. When talented, this spell’s duration can be increased, and the cooldown and mana cost can be decreased.

Hand of Protection
When an ally is in suddenly threatened, Hand of Protection can be used to prevent any physical damage. Because the bubble blocks all physical damage, the target of the spell can also not physically attack: however, they can still freely cast spells. This ability also causes Forbearance on the target, so they cannot be affected by Divine Shield or another Hand of Protection. For the duration of the spell, the target temporarily looses all Threat, and cannot gain additional Threat as well.

Hand of Sacrifice
Hand of Sacrifice redirects damage taken from the target, and instead depletes it from your own Health pool. While in some cases this may be unwanted, when combined with Divine Shield all the damage done to the player is negated.
*Important Note*---> Damage received through Hand of Sacrifice can also break Crowd Control effects which break on damage (Freeze Trap, Repentance, Polymorph, etc).

Hand of Salvation
The Ret Paladin's threat dump. If you severely outgear your tank, or do not wait for him or her to gain initial aggro, you may end up grabbing the mobs attention- In most cases, this ends up with the player's death. The best thing about this Hand spell is that it is usable on other people that pull aggro quickly, and a timed Salvation can help keep the mobs on the tank. Hand of Salvation’s Mana cost and Cooldown can be reduced through talents.


Other Utilities:

Cleanse
Cleanse removes one Poison and Disease effect from the target. This is useful for assisting other teammates when a large amount of people are inflicted with ill status conditions. When talented into, Cleanse can also remove 1 Movement Impairing effect when cast upon yourself (regardless if the effect is a Magical, Physical, Poison, Disease, or Curse effect).

Hammer of Justice
Mainly used in PvP, but also in PvE to help control mobs, Hammer of Justice will stun its target for 6 seconds. Its chance to hit targets is dependent upon your Spell Hit chance and not your Melee Hit chance. However, all other spell statistics (Resist, Spell Reflect, etc.) still affect Hammer of Justice.

Rebuke
Rebuke does exactly as the name implies- It shows disapproval for Spell Casting. Rebuke is an off the GCD interrupt found midway through the Retribution tree, which interrupts spell casting and locks the enemy out of that school of casting for 4 seconds. Because the only restriction to use Rebuke is mana, it is almost guaranteed that Rebuke will be available (unlike Kick or Pummel, which both have steeper resource costs unless glyphed for).

Repentance
Also trained through talents, Repentance incapacitates a target for 60 seconds (or 6 seconds in PvP) and prevents any actions: Spell Casting, Movement, everything. However, Repentance will instantly break if the target receives any damage. Due to the cooldown, only 1 target can be Repented at a time.

Turn Evil
For when the warlock’s Fear spell is useless against Undead, people look to the Paladin to do it for them. Turn Evil sends an enemy Demon or Undead running for the duration. Damage caused may break the Turn early, and the Turn also suffers from diminishing returns when used in PvP. The Turned unit may also aggro additional targets if not used carefully. Only 1 Undead or Demon unit can be Turned at a time.

Word of Glory
When the battle is not in the paladin’s favor and the end appears near, they can convert Holy Power for defensive healing. Word of Glory is a targeted heal that heals for a set amount plus spell power, increased by the number of Holy Power consumed- However, Word of Glory costs no mana, and has no cast time or cooldown. When used with Zealotry, a Paladin can turn the tide of battle to their favor, and with Eternal Glory the Paladin has a 20% chance to not consume the Holy Power cost.

Lay on Hands
A powerful heal on a 10 minute cooldown, Lay on Hands can be used in many situations to prevent a wipe or to prevent yourself from being killed. Its cooldown can be reduced to 7 minutes with a glyph.
*Important Note*---> This ability will also cause Forbearance when used on yourself- However, it can be used within 30 seconds and while under the effects of Avenging Wrath.


[5ATG]- Armor Sets
Reinforced Sapphirium Battleplate
2pc T11 set bonus- Increases the damage of your Templar's Verdict by 10%.
4pc T11 set bonus- Increases the duration of your Inquisition when cast with any Holy Power by an additional 10 seconds.


[6DRS]- DPS Rotations
The main rotation is as follows:

Inquisition > Hammer of Wrath > Exorcism (with AoW proc only) > Templar's Verdict at 3 Holy Power > Crusader Strike > Hand of Light Templar's Verdict when at 1 or 2 Holy Power > Judgement > Holy Wrath > Consecration

Exorcism can also be cast on opportunities where you can DPS but cannot reach the target through melee- this includes fights like Rimefang in ICC, as well as Blood Queen's air phase.

For AoE DPS, simply replace Crusader Strike with Divine Storm. Due to Holy Wrath's "meteor" effect, at 3 or more targets Consecration starts to take a lead over it. Note that currently, this should only be done when 5 or more targets need to be AoE'd-- Otherwise, it is a DPS loss.


[7TBS]- Talent Builds
Depending on which aspect of play a player wants to participate in will determine where he or she places their Talent Points. I’ll list some come builds for all aspects of play.

PvE Build: http://wowtal.com/#k=7soTOq7b.a2y.paladin

This is the standard PvE build, which has all the required Raid utility and DPS talents. Points may be taken from Arts of Sacrifice and be placed in Selfless Healer, if desired.

Glyph choices include the following:

Prime Glyphs:
* Templar's Verdict
* Crusader Strike
* Seal of Truth

Major Glyphs:
* Aesthetic Crusader
* Lay On Hands
* <Your Choice>, Turn Evil and Rebuke are recommended.

Minor Glyphs:
* <Your Choice>, Truth is recommended.
* <Your Choice>, Righteousness is recommended.
* <Your Choice>, Blessing of Might is recommended.

PvP Builds: To be included at a later time.


[8EGE]- Endgame Expectations

PvE:
As a DPS spec, you are here to deal damage, as that is your primary role. With buffs such as your Blessings of Might and Kings, you increase your group’s damage potential. With both Judgement and possibly Replenishment, you help ensure that Health and Mana pools are never short. Your Purify spell can also save a person’s life (or the raids). Although not the strongest of the DPS on some fights, the amount of utility you bring alongside your competitive DPS helps to ensure your position.

PvP:
In PvP, the Ret Paladin helps to protect his or her allies. Utilizing your Hand spells helps keep team members alive and unhindered. Your Purifying aids in the removal of undesired effects applied from other players, and your instant heals and bubbles assist in recovering from any damage done to you or your team’s health. You are not without your Damage potential, however- A Ret Paladin can easily tear through an under-geared or under-skilled opponent in seconds. Working well and strategically choosing your correct teammates is key for success in the later brackets of any Arena, as a Ret Paladin relies on others for the offensive tools he or she lacks.


[9UFM]- Useful Macros
Below are some macros that I find useful to Ret Paladins in all aspects of the game. I'll post the code first, and then briefly describe how each one functions. You can copy and paste the code directly into the macro field.

#showtooltip Crusader Strike
/dismount
/cancelaura Hand of Protection
/cast Crusader Strike

A basic Crusader Strike macro. The macro first attempts to dismount you if you are riding on a mount. It then cancels the buff Hand of Protection, since Hand of Protection disables you from performing any Melee action. Finally, it casts Crusader Strike on your target or the nearest mob, which also starts your attack sequence.

#showtooltip Divine Storm
/startattack
/cast Divine Storm

A simple Divine Storm macro that cats Divine Storm and starts your attack sequence on the nearest target, since Divine Storm does not do so on its own.

#showtooltip Word of Glory
/cast [target=target,help,nodead][target=targettarget,help,nodead][target=player] Word of Glory

A complex macro for Word of Glory, it preforms the following:
1. Checks to see if you have a target.
2. Checks to see if the target is Friendly. If so, it skips to step 5.
3. Checks to see if your target has a target. If not, it skips to step 5.
4. Checks to see if your target's target is friendly. If it is, it casts WoG on them without deselecting your target. If not, it continues to step 5.
5. Casts WoG normally.

#showtooltip Repentance
/clearfocus [target=focus,dead]
/focus [target=focus,noexists]
/cast [target=focus] Repentance
/clearfocus [modifier: alt]

When Repentance is used, it sets your Repentance target as your Focus target. Until your focus target dies or does not exist anymore, you will continue to cast Repentance on that target without deselcting your current target. If Repentance is cast with a dead focus target or one that does not exist, it makes your new target your focus and casts Repent on them instead. If the macro is used while holding down the Alt key, it will clear your focus target, regardless if it is alive or not. Replace Repentance for Turn Evil, if desired.

#showtooltip Holy Light
/dismount
/cast [target=mouseover,exists] Holy Light;Holy Light

A simple mouse over macro; In this case, you will cast Holy Light on whatever target you currently have your mouse over. If your mouse is over a hostile/dead target or is over no target, then it is cast on yourself. a very useful macro in general, works with most of a Paladin's spells (Heals, Hands, Taunts, etc)

#Showtooltip
/cast [raid][group][combat] Exorcism; Hand of Reckoning

This macro will cast Hand of Reckoning when the following is met:
1. You are not in combat
2. You are not in a group, party, or Raid.

If either of these requirements "fails", it will instead cast Exorcism.

#showtooltip Avenging Wrath
/cast Avenging Wrath
/cast Hammer of Wrath
/startattack

#showtooltip Zealotry
/cast Zealotry
/cast Templar's Verdict
/startattack

Because both Avenging Wrath and Zealotry are off the GCD, you can follow up immediately with your most powerful ability.


[1CCN]- Conclusion
Please provide any further discussions for the Retribution Paladin below.

~Ron

is it safe to post in this thread yet?

if so, i have the following remarks:

[2ACS]: AP, ArP, SP and DS/G should be removed. AP, ArP and SP are no longer found on gear and DS/G is no longer attainable.
conversation is when 2 people speak, the word you should have is conversions.
currently, mastery is trainable at 75, according to wowhead.
i would remove the statement of how much crit chance is minimally recommended, because we don't even know if that crit chance is attainable in lvl 85 starting gear.
i don't recommend to add stat weightings to a FAQ. people of all gear levels either view them like written in stone if they don't know what they mean, or won't use them if they do. stat weightings are just too dependant on your current stats to have general values for any paladin.
i think you should add the damage templar's verdict does for 1, 2 or 3 amounts of holy power consumed.
there is no such saying as "core stable". it's either a core ability or a staple of.
has it been confirmed that judgements that don't hit don't apply JotW?

these are the things i notice right away.

you have fixed conversation in your index, but not in the title of the actual section. that's where i spotted it in the first place.

Just to note, for macro tags, [help] and [nodead] are redundant.

That is, the functionality of [nodead] is already included in [help] (or [harm]).

You can also replace [target=] with [@].

[target=target] is a nonsense string; it doesn't do anything. [target=target,help,nodead] can be shortened to merely [help] without any loss of functionality.

Edit: Actually, now that I think about it, while [harm] definitely does include the functionality of [nodead], [help] might only include [exists] so that it's useable for resurrection spells (specifically combat res, as there isn't much point to putting other res spells in a macro).

"cats divine storm"

o.O

(btw this spelling error is on the line uder the divine storm macro (thought it was funny when I read it)

also ty again for a great guide, will keep an eye for future updates

Originally Posted by Ronark

The [target=target] tag is required, because multiple targets are involved with the "default" being cast on the player themselves- Im not 100% sure if you can define a target based on soley [help] alone, i.e. [target=help,nodead], because otherwise it would be the same as "If 'A' is equal to <novalue>, 'B', and 'C', Then 'D'".

In any case, this is proven to make it work- When I first made the macro in Naxx, the macro would sometimes not cast on ToT, or ALWAYS cast on the ToT, even if the target was friendly.

You can do [@focus, help][@mouseover, help][help] Word of Glory; [harm] whatever
and stuff like that. target=target is very outdated, infact "target=" itself is very outdated and has been replaced with "@" for a while, and isn't necessary when the target is your target.

I'm sure the macro forum can help a lot more than I can though if you wanted to make sure all of those were 100% correct.

Looks pretty good so far, but isn't Inquisition kind of missing from this FAQ, or did they change it so its not viable for ret anymore?

if current socket requirements are anything to go by, we could assume that you would take either 2 etched demon's eyes (STR/hit), 2 sovereign demon's eyes (STR/STAM) or 1 stats gem and 1 of the previously mentioned. apart from that, depending on how it ends up, the best gems for yellow sockets would either be an inscribed ember topaz (STR/crit) or a skillful ember topaz(STR/mastery). i doubt we will use full mastery gems, since those don't affect as much attacks as STR gems.

it will be waiting to see whether X extra crit rating beats out X extra mastery rating. crit rating affects seal of truth, crusader strike, templar's verdict, judgement, nearly everything, but not all at the same amount. mastery affects not all our attacks, but it does affect all affected with the same power.

speaking of holy damage increases, does inquisition really affect the damage from stratholme holy water?

haste effects the following:
censure tick delay
censure stacking time
CS CD
melee attack speed
number of seal hits from melee and CS only.
mana from JotW.

mastery effects the following:
censure damage
seal damage
judgement damage
exorcism damage
holy wrath damage
consecration on AoE
hammer of wrath

crit effects the following:
melee swings
censure ticks
seal hits
crusader strike
divine storm
consecration
templar's verdict
judgement
exorcism
holy wrath
hammer of wrath

basically, everything that's affected by haste or mastery is also affected by crit. however, haste seems to have the least things influenced.

so how much is haste affecting cs cooldown? saw on the talent duild it didnt say nyi

Thx for this . this actually help'd me alot to undersand cataclysm new spells , like inquisition i had no idea wtf it was lol <3 thx again