Classic Retribution Paladin DPS Guide

Champions of the light, Paladin brings powerful blessings, potent heals, and an array of auras that make them excellent at supporting a raid group. Paladins are clad in plate armor, making them quite durable and hard to kill in PvP. Perhaps most importantly though, Paladins have access to a wide array of powerful cooldowns, some of which are considered to be among the most powerful in the game.

While Retribution Paladins are not going to top meters with their damage, they do offer incredibly support tools and cooldowns that can make them worth a raid spot in some groups. Your seals and Judgement combine to unleash Holy damage upon enemies, which can be reasonably effective when played well. While Retribution Paladins are not considered to be a meta class, they are viable when you put in the effort with extra consumables and prep.

In PvP, Retribution Paladins are walking juggernauts that beat their foes down with auto attacks and Holy damage. While you have limited mobility, your array of powerful cooldowns enables you to take on any player out in the world, and more importantly to support your group when needed. Hammer of Justice is one of the best stuns in the game, and can be devastating when setting up kill windows on potential targets.

Strengths

• Powerful raid buffs.
• Many important cooldowns.
• Durable in PvP.
• Strong off healing.

Weaknesses

• Low sustained damage.
• Low mobility.
• Damage toolkit is limited.

Retribution Paladins are often thought of as a "meme" spec in Classic WoW as they have very low damage output. While it is true that you won't be topping the damage charts with this spec (or be anywhere near the top), Paladins bring some of the best utility in the game. Offering numerous, powerful buffs such as Blessing of Salvation and Blessing of Kings, Paladins are always desired in any raid. That being said, Retribution is a limited spot and you will likely not find more than 1‒2 in most raids, making it difficult to find a permanent raiding spot.

While Paladin was already incredibly flexible in WoW Classic, the Season of Discovery will make new builds possible, and increase the power of already existing builds.

Paladins auras are buffs that the Paladin keeps active for as long as they choose. Auras can be activated and de-activated whenever the player wishes to with only a short global cooldown, allowing you to use whichever aura is most beneficial. With 6 total auras available, you will have plenty of options to choose from such as Devotion Aura, Fire Resistance Aura, or Frost Resistance Aura, giving you a way to defend yourself against most attacks.

• Devotion Aura ‒ Increases armor when active, use this if you are primarily being damaged by Physical attacks.
• Retribution Aura ‒ Inflicts Holy damage to any enemies that attack you while activated. Great for dungeons and farming sessions!
• Concentration Aura ‒ Reduces the amount of casting pushback suffered when being attacked while casting spells. This is mostly used for PvP.
• Fire Resistance Aura ‒ Increases your Fire Resistance while activated. Use this when you are primarily being damaged by Fire spells.
• Shadow Resistance Aura ‒ Increases your Shadow Resistance while activated. Use this when you are primarily being damaged by Shadow spells.
• Frost Resistance Aura ‒ Increases your Frost Resistance while activated. Use this when you are primarily being damaged by Frost spells.

The best profession to have as a Ret is Engineering. It provides powerful items that you can use in both PvE and PvP content to either deal damage or help you get out of a tough spot. There are several unique items accessible only through Engineering that are considered to be some of the strongest utility items in the game.

While Engineering is a great profession, probably the more important thing to think about is how you plan to make gold. Gold is incredibly important in WoW Classic for a number of reasons and will be quite hard to come by especially at the start. Check out the Paladin Goldmaking section for more information on other potential professions for making gold.

Find our new guides for Paladin in WoW Classic Season of Discovery below! The new game mode will have players find and utilize Runes that can then be engraved onto their gear to provide them special bonuses that augment already existing abilities or allow the class to use entirely new spells.

While Paladin was already incredibly flexible in WoW Classic, the Season of Discovery will make new builds possible, and increase the power of already existing builds.