Classes

LEVELING GUIDE

WoW Forever Retribution Paladin Leveling Guide

Retribution fights with a simple loop: dump and on cooldown. doesn't consume your Seal, so you only reapply it when it expires, and at 20 lets you handle groups. At 20 the paladin feels quite strong compared to many other classes. Gear comes from Strength drops in dungeons and Blacksmithing Crusader armor.

Recommended talents

Level 20 · Retribution0/0/11

Recommended professions

  • Blacksmithing
    Make the level-20 targets , , and yourself, plus copper armor and two-handers early on.
  • Mining
    Mine your own ore for Blacksmithing to keep gear cheap. Its camp buff, , raises Strength and melee attack power.

ROUTELevel-by-level route

  1. 5

    Levels 1–5

    Auto-attacks and Judgement

    • Keep on and up, and fight with auto-attacks. With active your auto-attacks deal Holy damage.
    • At 4 you learn and . no longer removes your Seal, so use it on cooldown and only reapply the Seal when it expires. Keep the blessing on yourself.
    • is your only heal, and it is expensive and slow. Drink between pulls and don't pull several enemies at once.
    • Pick up Mining and Blacksmithing right away and wear the copper mail you make.

    Gear to pick up

    New abilities

  2. 9

    Levels 6–9

    Holy Strike and a two-hander

    • , learned at 6, is an instant Holy attack that ignores armor. Dump it together with right on the pull for front-loaded damage, then press both on cooldown.
    • Against enemies that will live a while, use for your first to raise the Holy damage they take, then switch back to .
    • at 8 is your only crowd control. Save it for dangerous enemies.
    • Out in the world a two-handed weapon beats a one-hander and shield. Make or .

    Gear to pick up

    New abilities

    Rank upgrades

    (6)

  3. 12

    Levels 10–12

    Benediction and mana

    • From 10, cuts the mana cost of instant abilities like and .
    • Until is maxed, mana is tight in the early teens. Don't chain-pull, drink between fights, and watch how many enemies you pull since you may need to heal yourself.
    • Switch to at 11, and make at 12.
    • At 12 the class quest that teaches opens up.

    Gear to pick up

    Talents

    • Lv 10–123/5

    New abilities

    Rank upgrades

    (10) · (10) · (12) · (12) · (12)

  4. 16

    Levels 13–16

    Improved Judgement and first dungeons

    • From 15, shortens the cooldown of , so your two main buttons, and , come around more often.
    • In The Hall of Thanes, collect the quest rewards and .
    • Ruins of Lordaeron drops and (level 15) and and (level 16). Also make at 15.
    • , learned at 16, only picks up new spell power gear when you turn it on again, so re-cast it after every upgrade.

    Gear to pick up

    Talents

    • Lv 13–145/5
    • Lv 15–162/2

    New abilities

    Rank upgrades

    (14)

    Dungeons for this range

  5. 19

    Levels 17–19

    Conviction and Deadmines

    • From 17, raises your melee crit chance, and from 19 adds Parry chance, which cuts the damage you take while fighting alone in the world.
    • In The Deadmines, aim for and . If you're doing the quest, start it before your first The Deadmines run to save an extra trip.
    • At 17, make and pick up from Ruins of Lordaeron.
    • You have no interrupt in dungeons, so save for the most dangerous enemy of each pull and make full use of utility like and .

    Gear to pick up

    Talents

    • Lv 17–182/5
    • Lv 191/5

    New abilities

    Rank upgrades

    (18) · (18) · (18)

    Dungeons for this range

  6. 20

    Level 20

    Level 20: Consecration and target gear

    • Only drop against several enemies; against one it usually isn't worth the mana. Use on cooldown against Undead and Demons.
    • Collect and from Shadowfang Keep and the The Deadmines quest reward , and craft .
    • Alliance can earn and Forsaken , both strong two-handers from class quests.

    Gear to pick up

    Talents

    • Lv 202/5
    Open this build in the calculator →

    New abilities

    Rank upgrades

    (20) · (20)

ROTATIONHow to fight

  1. 1Before combat: have an aura on (, or from 16) and on yourself and your party.
  2. 2Keep a Seal up: . doesn't consume it, so only reapply it when it expires.
  3. 3Long fights: use for your first to increase Holy damage taken.
  4. 4 on cooldown.
  5. 5 on cooldown.
  6. 6Several enemies: drop . Against a single enemy it usually isn't worth the mana.
  7. 7Undead or Demon: on cooldown.
  8. 8Dangerous enemy: stun it with .

GEARLevel-20 target gear

Dungeon drops, quest rewards and crafted items worth chasing at level 20 for this spec, by slot, best stats for the spec first.

Head

Neck

Shoulder

Back

Chest

Wrist

Hands

Waist

Legs

Feet

Finger

Two-Hand

  • BestClass quest
    Class quest "Diplomatic Incident" (Forsaken)

CLASS QUESTSClass quests

  • Level 12: resurrection quest

    Human, Dwarf and Undead paladins each get their own quest chain at 12 that teaches .

  • Alliance: level 20 weapon quest

    The iconic weapon quest, available at 20. It starts with and needs materials from The Deadmines, Shadowfang Keep and Blackfathom Deeps; pick it up before your first The Deadmines run.
    • Class quest
      Class quest "The Test of Righteousness" (Alliance)

  • Forsaken: level 18 weapon quest

    A chain that starts at level 18 in the Forsaken paladin hub. Its reward, , is even stronger and slower than .
    • Class quest
      Class quest "Diplomatic Incident" (Forsaken)

CAMPINGCamping

  • A campsite lets you rest, sell and repair, pick up buffs such as bonus experience, and work on professions. It unlocks early through a side quest, and you need Cooking to place the campfire.
  • At 20 your bags are small, and camp materials take up a fair amount of space.
  • Blacksmithing's and Mining's raise Strength and melee attack power, which boosts your auto-attacks and .
  • doesn't work together with ; when you have it, use instead.