Introduction
Master Retribution Paladin with The War Within Guide by Nurseos. Learn powerful talent builds and improve your rotation for WoW 11.1 Here you also will find information on BiS gear for Ret Paladin, learn everything about stats and how to optimize your character with enchants and gems.
About the Author
I've been playing World of Warcraft since Wrath of the Lich King and joined the hardcore scene in Throne of Thunder raid of Mists of Pandaria. I have been playing Paladin since WotLK and was a Retribution main through all of Cataclysm and Mist of Pandaria raids. During Mists of Pandaria I was turning into a multiclass player and since Warlords of Draenor Retribution has turned into one of my high priority alts to play on farm and I have brought it through all expansions except Battle for Azeroth till nowadays. Also Retribution was my main during Aberrus RWF in Dragonflight.
Retribution Paladin Overview
Retribution has always been a niche spec, and you won’t see it often in World First raid setups, however for semi-hardcore and more casual guilds it is a very solid DPS spec. Listed below are some strengths and drawbacks of the spec:
Pros:
- Very easy to play.
- Strong 30 sec, 1 min or 2 min CD burst.
- Strong AoE, especially against a lot of enemies.
- Increased range of main combat spell.
- Big supportive toolkit such as Lay on Hands, Blessing of Protection, Blessing of Sacrifice, Blessing of Freedom, and combat res - Intercession.
- Has a lot of Defensive abilities such Divine Shield, Shield of Vengeance and Divine Protection.
Cons:
- Talent builds are only full Single target or AoE. Almost nothing in between.
- Low sustain damage outside of the burst windows.
- Low mobility.
What has changed
11.1 Changes
No rework was done, only the tuning of different aspects of the spec and the introduction of a new Tier Set and range of Gear available from Season 2 content.
Patch 11.0.7 Changes
There are no class changes, however this patch brought us a Cyrce's Circlet. This ring has 3 specific sockets for specific gems from Siren Isle. These gems provide extra effects or secondary stats. Check the Gearing section for more info.
Patch 11.0.5 Changes
A lot of reworking was done for the general Paladin tree, which mostly affects utility, mobility and survivability.
Patch 11.0 Changes
The War Within has brought a lot of small changes for Ret Paladin but combined they will affect your playstyle a lot. Here are some notable changes:
- Mastery has become a good stat. Now it also has a chance to deal extra damage with Judgment.
- New talent Radiant Glory allows you to burst even more often compared to Dragonflight as you get Avenging Wrath every 30 seconds.
- Judgment debuff now stacks so it is impossible to waste it.
- Blade of Justice now places Consecration by default.
- New talent Judge, Jury and Executioner that sometimes allows your Templar’s Verdict / Final Verdict to cleave 3 extra targets with 80% efficiency.
- No need to choose anymore between Empyrean Legacy and Blade of Vengeance. Talent that makes your Holy Power spenders consume 4 of it is gone and replaced with Empyrean Legacy. Choice node with Blade of Vengeance is Holy Flames which is mostly the choice of how you wanna manage your Expurgation.
From changes to the brand new feature of The War Within- Hero Talents:
- Herald of the Sun - adds a solar component to your main abilities which burns your enemies with periodic damage or cauterize your allies wounds.
- Templar - annihilate your enemies with a powerful Hammer of Light. This ability is available after you’ve used Wake of Ashes or collect 60 stacks of Light's Deliverance. It also adds a very powerful component of your DPS - Empyrean Hammer.