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Paladins

Paladin

Retribution

DPS class with a strong burst

Protection

Tanking class with a good heal

Holy

A great tank heal, and an average group healer

Retribution

1. Retribution Paladin Overview

In single-target DPS, the Retribution specialisation is currently performing well, compared to most other classes. The AoE performance is very good.

2. Patch 8.1.5 Changes for Retribution Paladins

Avenging Wrath Icon Avenging Wrath now has an additional effect specific to Retribution. The next Templar's Verdict Icon Templar's Verdict or Divine Storm Icon Divine Storm within 20 seconds of activating Avenging Wrath Icon Avenging Wrath has a 100% Critical Strike chance.

3. Patch 8.1.0 Changes for Retribution Paladins

Divine Storm Icon Divine Storm has been buffed by 20%, so we now can use it against 2 or more targets.

Greater Blessing of Wisdom Icon Greater Blessing of Wisdom no longer restores Health, and can no longer stack.

Greater Blessing of Kings Icon Greater Blessing of Kings's absorb shield has been buffed by 19%, and can no longer stack.

Divine Purpose Icon Divine Purpose now can chain proc again. The Holy Power spender damage and healing has been reduced to 20%, down from 30%. Divine Purpose is slightly more powerful after those changes.

Consecration Icon Consecration has been buffed by 20%.

Light's Decree Icon Light's Decree replaces the Retribution specific Azerite trait Zealotry.

Empyrean Power Icon Empyrean Power replaces the Retribution specific Azerite trait Divine Right.

Empyreal Ward Icon Empyreal Ward replaces the generic Azerite trait Azerite Fortification for all Paladins.

Ultimate Retribution Icon Ultimate Retribution is a new PvP trait.

4. Strengths of Retribution Paladin

Good single-target sustained damage

Great AoE burst & sustained damage

Can switch targets without downsides

Many utility spells such as Greater Blessing of Wisdom Icon Greater Blessing of Wisdom, Blessing of Protection Icon Blessing of Protection, and Blessing of Freedom Icon Blessing of Freedom

Strong defensives like Divine Shield Icon Divine Shield, Eye for an Eye Icon Eye for an Eye, and Shield of Vengeance Icon Shield of Vengeance

5. Weaknesses of Retribution Paladin

Low mobility

Uptime-reliant

6. Retribution Paladin Viability in the Current Patch

Retribution Paladin is doing well in BfA raids, but that is only as far as melee are concerned. When there is only a very small amount of melee slots available, other melee specs are preferred over Retribution for their raid-wide class buffs. Currently, Retribution is not filling a specific niche, so there is no hard requirement or situation where you have to bring one into the raid. Retribution still lacks an instantaneous gap closer mobility tool to deal with certain raid mechanics as efficiently as most of the other melee can. In dungeons, Retribution brings decent damage and can make use of its utility kit to support the healer. Overall, the spec is probably sitting in the middle of the pack so it could be better, but also worse.New Paragraph

Telents

Rotations

Enchants & Gems

5. Protection Paladin Weaknesses

- Limited Active mitigation uptime

- Squishy outside of Active mitigation

- Limited mobility outside of Divine Steed Icon Divine Steed

- Proactive mitigation model, easy to die to unforeseen damage

6. Viability of Protection Paladin in the Current Patch

Protection Paladins are currently one of the well rounded tanks for both raids and dungeons. We have fair self-sustain to dig ourselves out when dropping down to low health as well as very strong active mitigation to deal with predictable damage. Our main weakness is often high melee or constant damage intake as we can not obtain 100% uptime on mitigation. We do have good tools and cooldowns to help us out during active mitigation downtimes, but if the damage is constant enough we will quickly still run out.

Telents

Rotations

Enchants & Gems

Protection

1. Protection Paladin Overview

As a Protection Paladin, you can expect to perform the role of a solid and reliable tank. In general, your damage intake will be relatively smooth, with many attacks being blocked by your shield or softened by your strong active mitigation. No other tank class has quite the array of tricks up their sleeve that a paladin does.

Note that this guide focuses on aspects that are specific to Protection Paladins and general tanking strategies are beyond its scope. If you wish to know more about the tanking role and what you can do to improve, we recommend that you read our tanking guide.

2. Patch 8.1.5 Changes for Protection Paladins

•Avenging Wrath Icon Avenging Wrath now causes the first Light of the Protector Icon Light of the Protector to critically strike. This increases the reliability of Avenging Wrath as a defensive cooldown.

3. Patch 8.1 Changes for Protection Paladins

•Hand of the Protector Icon Hand of the Protector now increases healing done depending on the target's missing health, instead of your own.

•Ranged Physical attacks are now blockable.

•Avenger's Shield Icon Avenger's Shield is now able to kill Explosive Icon Explosive if it is your primary target.

•Dauntless Divinity has been removed and replaced with Righteous Conviction Icon Righteous Conviction, which increases the healing done by Light of the Protector Icon Light of the Protector, as well as always providing the maximum healing increase during Avenging Wrath Icon Avenging Wrath.

•Azerite Fortification have been removed, and replaced with Empyreal Ward Icon Empyreal Ward, which increases the targets armor by a small amount for 1 minute, after being healed by your Lay on Hands Icon Lay on Hands.

•New animation for Avenging Wrath Icon Avenging Wrath.

•The Mythic+ affix Necrotic Icon Necrotic has been changed from a magic debuff to a physical bleed.

4. Protection Paladin Strengths

+ Strong Active Mitigation against physical

+ Good group utility with blessings and Hand of the Protector Icon Hand of the Protector

+ Strong ability to cheese or avoid mechanics with Divine Shield Icon Divine Shield, Blessing of Protection Icon Blessing of Protection, and Blessing of Spellwarding Icon Blessing of Spellwarding

+ 100% uptime on 50% slow on enemies with Consecrated Ground Icon Consecrated Ground

+ Strong damage and burst with Seraphim Icon Seraphim

Holy

1. Holy Paladin Overview

Holy Paladins specialize in tank and single-target healing, with this being their primary role. They excel at this because of Beacon of Light Icon Beacon of Light and Holy Shock Icon Holy Shock, as well as their efficient single-target heals. They also possess several tools that help them mitigate or avoid damage, both on themselves and on other raid members, such as Blessing of Protection Icon Blessing of Protection and Devotion Aura Icon Devotion Aura.

Holy Paladins lack mobility, but in general they are viable in raids and dungeons.

In order to properly play a healing role, you will need more than just class-specific information. To better understand healing in general, we recommend that you read our healing guide.

2. Patch 8.1 Changes for Holy Paladins

•Martyr's Breath has been removed as an Azerite Trait.

•Added the Empyreal Ward Icon Empyreal Ward Azerite trait, which grants additional armor to the target of your Lay on Hands Icon Lay on Hands for one minute.

•Added the Glimmer of Light Icon Glimmer of Light Azerite trait, which adds additional healing or damage done to previous targets of your Holy Shock Icon Holy Shock for thirty seconds.

•Changed the Divine Revelations Icon Divine Revelations Azerite trait to provide increased healing from your Infusion of Light Icon Infusion of Light buffed Flash of Light Icon Flash of Light casts, as well as the Mana return on Holy Light Icon Holy Light casts it previously granted.

3. Holy Paladin Strengths

+ Provide excellent passive tank healing through Beacon of Light Icon Beacon of Light

+ Excel at single-target healing and triage because of Holy Shock Icon Holy Shock and Infusion of Light Icon Infusion of Light

+ Have many utility spells such as Blessing of Protection Icon Blessing of Protection and Blessing of Freedom Icon Blessing of Freedom that can be cast on themselves or others

+ Have very high survivability due to plate armor, as well as defensive spells like Divine Protection Icon Divine Protection or Divine Shield Icon Divine Shield

4. Holy Paladin Weaknesses

- Lack a raid-wide healing cooldown equivalent to Tranquility Icon Tranquility or Healing Tide Totem Icon Healing Tide Totem

- Struggle to heal multiple spread targets quickly since it relies heavily on Light of Dawn Icon Light of Dawn for Area of Effect (AoE) healing

- Are generally not a very mobile healer, with only Divine Steed Icon Divine Steed as a movement speed increase

5. Holy Paladin Viability in the Current Patch

Holy Paladins have been highly sought after healers for many expansions. While they might not be as strong in 8.1 as they have been in the past, that will not change. Holy Paladins bring a unique set of abilities among the healers that are incredibly valuable even if their raw healing is below average.

For Mythic+ dungeons, Holy Paladins are a good choice, but not the strongest healer for 5-man content. While they have lost the 15% health buff, Righteousness, their strengths in single-target healing, survivability, and tools such as Beacon of Virtue Icon Beacon of Virtue remain in place. In addition, Holy Paladins will still provide respectable damage for a healer.