Trimatics Guide To NS Paladins

[Traumatic]

Ability / Talent Facts

Hammer of Justice = Can proc Judgement of Wisdom. (Meaning if you wanted, you could use Rank 1 on bosses in raids to gain a small amount of Mana)

Judgement of Blood = Cannot be resisted.

Judgement of Wisdom = 50% proc chance.

Precision = Also decreases Hammer of Justice's and Repentance's chance to be resisted.

Sanctity Aura = A 2/2 Improved Sanctity Aura can supposedly stack with a 1/2 Improved Sanctity Aura, adding up to a total of +3% total damage instead of +2%. I haven't verified this, it's only a rumor I heard.

Seal of Blood = Cannot proc Judgement of Wisdom. Best PvE seal.

Seal of Command = Set to proc 7 times per minute. This number can only be changed by getting extra attacks through methods such as Windfury Totem, Reckoning, or Hand of Justice. Can proc Judgement of Wisdom. Due to a 1 second long internal cooldown, it is impossible for Seal of Command to proc more than once at a time using Windfury Totem or Reckoning.

Stat Conversions (for paladins)
25 Agility = 1% chance to crit
22.1 Critical Strike Rating = 1% chance to crit
15.77 Hit Rating = 1% chance to hit
15.8 Haste Rating = 1% Haste
3.94 Expertise Rating = 1 Expertise
1 Expertise = -0.25% chance for your target to Dodge or Parry

Useful macros for paladins

(buble and herth)
#showtooltip Hearthstone
/cast [button:1] Divine Shield
/use [button:2] Hearthstone

(Retribution Combo)
/castsequence reset=10 Crusader Strike,
Judgement, Seal of Command

Auto Attacking Regardless of Cooldowns with Crusader Strike
/startattack
/cast Crusader Strike

(fast freedom)
#showtooltip
/cast [target=player] Blessing of Freedom

Talents
Now i use:Talent Calculator - World of Warcraft
most people use:Talent Calculator - World of Warcraft

FOR LVLING(SHADOWBURN)

As with the Enhancement Shaman build I previously wrote, this guide is meant to be a resource to new paladins who'd like some advice on a single build to go from 1 to 70, focusing on leveling quickly. To level quickly, I'm a big fan of doing the most damage possible in the least amount of time.

Retribution Paladins (aka Retnoobs) are not the most mana efficient of paladins, nor are they excellent healers or tanks. They do great damage, actually staying a bit ahead of the curve until level 40. Paladins are HIGHLY gear dependent. Keep this in mind.

Eventually, you'll want to focus on Int and Stamina, as paladins make perfect tin-can healbots. For leveling, I focus on Str/Sta/Agi/Int, in that order. Strength gives extra attack power, stamina is your hit points, agility is for crits, and int is for your mana pool and spell crits.

Your typical combat is a bit dull, and will go like this:

Seal of the Crusader, Judge, Seal of Command, Hammer of Justice, Judge, Seal of Command, Judge, Seal of Command, Hammer of Justice, Judge.. *yawn*

Toss in some self-heals and you'll be fine. Paladins are incredibly resilient in combat. If you're low on health, judge Seal of Light; if you're low on mana, judge Seal of Wisdom.

When running zones, I almost always have Blessing of Might on myself, for extra attack power.

Full list of talents is after the break!

So here's the run-down of talents:

Tier 1 - Levels 10 - 14
Benediction - 5 points - as you're focusing on str instead of int, you want to be efficient in your core combat skills

Tier 2 - Levels 15 - 19
Improved Seal of the Crusader - 3 points - max this out early, as you'll use it a lot to increase damage done by Seal of Command

Improved Judgement - 2 points - an 8-second judgement time instead of 10. It makes a difference in longer fights.

Tier 3 - Levels 20 - 25
Seal of Command - 1 point - What a wonderful ability. It'll proc 7 times a minute, and is best used with a big 2-hander. Do the paladin quest series at level 20, find someone to help you if you can, and get a weapon that will last you for 10 levels - Verigan's Fist (Verigan's Fist - Thottbot: World of Warcraft). For best results, stun your opponent with Hammer of Justice, and then Judge SoCom for maximum damage.

Conviction - 5 points - Crits = damage, that is all.

It gets a little messy here, with some room for personal preference. Here's mine:

Tier 3 and 4 - Levels 26 - 30
Pursuit of Justice - 2 points - Yes, there are trinkets and enchants that out-do this for riding. But at level 25, I'm tired of watching my little dwarven legs run so slowly. 8% speed lets me run down mobs faster, and get from A to B that much quicker. This means faster leveling, so I take it.

Crusade - 3 points - If I could put in 50 points to increase all my damage 50% I probably would. 3% against your main foes is pretty good at this stage of the game.

Tier 5 - Levels 31 - 34
Sanctity Aura - 1 point - I love Sanctity Aura. Seal of Command is Holy Damage, so this adds 10% to it. 10% more damage for 1 point!! Take it and turn it on.

Two-handed Weapon Specialization - 3 points - 6% more damage from a 2-hander, which you should always be using.

Tier 6 - Levels 35 - 39
Vengeance - 5 points - 10% extra physical *AND* holy damage after a crit. Again, buffs your normal hits and your Seal of Command (SoCom) hits.

Tier 7 - Level 40
Repentance - It's an extra stun! Great for crowd control (against humanoids) or for getting another SoCom Judgement off. SoCom does more damage when judged against stunned targets. It's also ranged, to stop runners from getting friends.

Your tree should now look like this: Talent Calculator - World of Warcraft

Tier 6 - Levels 41 to 43
Sanctified Judgement - 3 points - ooh, getting mana back for doing damage? Yuh-huh!

Tier 7 - Level 44
Sanctified Crusader - 1 point - I hate having single stray points in a talent. This one is 1% extra crit for now, but you need a point to open up...

Tier 8 - Levels 45 - 49
Fanaticism - 5 points - 15% extra crit chance on my judgements? SoCom damage booster, yet again.

Tier 9 - Level 50
Crusader Strike - 1 point - Weapon damage + 40% of your holy spell damage *AND* it refreshes existing judgements. You'll add this ability in a LOT, probably modifying your combat chain to look like:

Seal of the Crusader, Judge, Crusader Strike, Seal of Command, Hammer of Justice, Judge, Seal of Command, Crusader Strike, Judge, etc etc..

So, level 50 and 20 points to go. I like to flesh out Retribution a bit and add a little Holy.

Retribution - Levels 51 - 57
Sanctified Crusader - 2 points - get that crit chance for you and friends up by another 2%
Deflection - 5 points - 5% parry is great at higher levels.

Holy - Levels 58 - 70
Divine Strength - 5 points - Should add about 30 str, depending on your gear, which means 60 AP or ~4 DPS. Small but noticeable gain.

Spiritual Focus - 5 points - reduce your interruption chance without giving up Sanctity Aura - Important because high-level mobs can kill you.

Healing Light - 2 or 3 points - Increases your main heals by 8-12%, depending on the points placed

Aura Mastery - 0 or 1 point - If you find yourself grouping with lots of people who don't like to stand near you, sacrifice a point from Healing Light to get this talent. Alternately, get a full Judgement set.

So there you have it, Paulie's Pally Retnoob Leveling Build. It's just 1 of many paths to get you to 70, but it's the one that works for me. Your tree should look like this: Talent Calculator - World of Warcraft

Retribution FAQ

Q: Slow or quick weapon?
A: At least for Seal of Command, a slow weapon is the ultimate choice. SoC got a procrate at 6.8 procs pr minute (PPM from now), thus giving you a bigger chance to proc SoC pr swing with a slow weapon.


Q: What about Haste rating then? Will it give more SoC procs pr minute?
A: Apperantly no. Theorycraft proves that the SoC PPM remains unchanged. Still, this is not 100% certain.


Q: Is Seal of Command rank 1 is better than rank 6?
A: For mana efficiency yes. This is however most important in PvE encounters. The only difference between rank 1 and 6 is the damage done by the judgement. The Proc is the same (70%) on all ranks, but there is a major difference in mana-cost and damage done pr point of mana. However in PvP you might want to deal as much burst damage as possible, thus using rank6 is more effective.

Note: If you have no mana issues, using max rank will be prefered.


Q: Seal of Command or Seal of Blood?
A: Seal of Blood should be slightly better for PvE, as its more sustained dps, and it scales with haste compared to Seal of Command. The life you lose is actually beneficial, as you will get a hot from time to time that will help on your mana regen through Spiritual Attunement. Seal of Blood is also a 100% proc rate, and will boost your mana regeneration from Judgement of Wisdom and the Lightbringer 2-set bonus.

For PvP, Seal of Command is generally better, as you can push out more burst damage. If the target is stunned, you can also judge out command for an even higher burst.


Q: What is the hit cap for retribution paladins?
A: 9% melee hit is the cap with a 2hander. Precision can supply 3%, so you need 6% (95 hit rating) from gear. Without precision you need 142 hit rating to reach the cap. In PvP, the hit cap is only 5%.


Q: Do i need both Melee and Spell crit?
A: Both yes and no, however there is no point in stacking spellcrit for retribution. Check the following list for the different abilities and their use.


Melee Crit Rating: Spell Crit Rating:
Crusader Strike Judgement of Vengeance
Seal of Command Judgement of Righteousness
Judgement of Command Exorsism
Seal of Blood Holy Wrath
Judgement of Blood Eye for an eye
Hammer of Wrath All heals

Builds of Shadowburners

Specs-


Durability Build.
Talent Calculator - World of Warcraft
+with gear you get a 35 second stun
+- 6% damage taken

- less raw DPS output
Variations:
2/2 improved sanc aura can be switched for 2/2 eye for an eye.
3/3 imp. Seal of the crusader can be moved to 3/5 parry.

Burst build
Talent Calculator - World of Warcraft
+higher DPS output
+easier to get and keep vengeance

-Stun is on a longer cool down
-You go down quicker
-More chance of losing BoF/bubble/wings

Variations:
3/3 imp. Seal of the crusader can be moved to 3/5 parry.

Just-about-heal build
Talent Calculator - World of Warcraft
+push back resistance on heals.
+12% more healing.
+10% fear resistance

-Stats for improving your healing will do nothing for your DPS
-Season 3 gear is very poorly suited to the build.
-Heals will be poor and expend lots of mana.

[Murv]

Im gonna try this on mah pally, great tips Trim

[Fidhg]

Nice, very nice. If it werent for the fact that i play mostly holy as paladin i think i would be giving this a try tonight Awesome guide none the less mate.

[DiesIrae]

Some of the stuff (macros) look like the ones from Useful macros for paladins - WoWWiki - Your guide to the World of Warcraft
:O or else those are just common macroes

[SYN]

Very nice post James, GJ.

get used to the ret bomb pallys people your still able to make one on retail even with the new skill tables when the expansion comes out


meaning ima start a pally on retail LOL

the %str skill is now in the protection tree resulting in more points to be used for a few new skills

OP paladins here i come

[Dinosaur]

Also, good job Tri

[Traumatic]

i BUMP THIS!!!!

[Pwnguin]

Yay! Trim! hehe i have the same spec lol but the macros look helpful imma try them no doubt!

thx m8

[Traumatic]

BUmp added new stuff