Paladin Class Changes for Shadowlands (Patch 9.0.2)
On this page, you will find a list of all Paladin changes coming in Shadowlands.
In addition to the class changes listed here, Paladins also gain access to class-specific Paladin Covenant Abilities that can be used anywhere in the open world, Legendary Powers obtained through Runecarving, Soulbind Conduits, and Anima Powers that only work in Torghast.
General Changes
- The Aura bar is back, containing Crusader Aura, Devotion Aura, and Retribution Aura. All auras have a 40-yard range, and only one can be active at a time.
- Avenging Wrath and Holy Avenger no longer have a global cooldown.
- Hand of Reckoning is now learned at level 9 (was 14).
- Lay on Hands is now learned at level 14 (was 9).
- All Paladins now have access to the following abilities:
- New Ability: Turn Evil — The power of the Light compels an Undead, Aberration, or Demon target to flee for up to 40 seconds.
- Crusader Aura — Increases mounted speed by 20% for all party and raid members within 40 yards.
- Devotion Aura — Party and raid members within 40 yards are bolstered by their devotion, reducing damage taken by 3%.
- Retribution Aura — When any party or raid member within 40 yards dies, you gain Avenging Wrath for 8 seconds.
- Word of Glory — Calls down the Light to heal a friendly target. Costs 3 Holy Power.
- Shield of the Righteous — Slams enemies in front of you with your shield, causing Holy damage and increasing your armor for 4.5 seconds. No longer limited by charges. Costs 3 Holy Power.
- Crusader Strike — Strike the target for Physical damage. Generates 1 Holy Power and costs 14% of Base Mana.
- Hammer of Wrath — Hurls a divine hammer that strikes an enemy for Holy damage. Only usable on enemies that have less than 20% health or during Avenging Wrath. Now generates 1 Holy Power.
- Consecration — Consecrates the land beneath you, causing Holy damage over 12 seconds to enemies who enter the area. Limit 1.
- Blessing of Sacrifice — Blesses a party or raid member, reducing their damage taken by 30%, but you suffer for 75% of damage prevented. Lasts 12 seconds, or until transferred damage would cause you to fall below 20% health.
General Paladin Abilities Learned Above Level 50
- Concentration Aura (Level 52) — Interrupt and Silence effects on party and raid members within 40 yards are 30% shorter.
- Sense Undead (Level 54) — Shows the location of all nearby undead on the minimap until cancelled. Only one form of tracking can be active at a time.
- Retribution Aura (Level 56) — Duration increased by 4 seconds.
- Hammer of Wrath (Level 58) — Hammer of Wrath may be used on any target during Avenging Wrath.
Holy Paladin
- Holy Paladins now use Holy Power as a resource.
- Holy Shock now generates 1 Holy Power and its cooldown has been reduced to 7.5 seconds (was 9 seconds).
- Beacon of Light no longer refunds mana; casting Flash of Light or Holy Light on your Beacon of Light grants 1 Holy Power. Additionally, the Beacon of Light will be healed for 50% of that amount healed (was 40%).
- Light of Dawn now costs 3 Holy Power and has no cooldown. Light of Dawn healing has been increased by 25%.
- Infusion of Light now reduces the cost of Flash of Light by 30% or increases healing of Holy Light by 30%.
- Aura Mastery now empowers your chosen aura for 8 seconds:
- Concentration Aura: Immune to Interrupt and Silence effects.
- Devotion Aura: Reduced damage taken increased from 3% to 15%.
- Crusader Aura: Mounted speed increased from 20% to 60%.
- Retribution Aura: Duration increased by 50%.
Holy Paladin Talent Changes
- New Talent: Saved by the Light — When an ally with your Beacon of Light is damaged below 30% health, they gain an absorb shield. You cannot shield the same person this way twice within 1 minute.
- New Talent: Seraphim — The Light magnifies your power for 15 seconds, granting 8% Haste, Critical Strike, and Versatility, and Mastery increased by 12%.
- New Talent: Glimmer of Light — Holy Shock leaves a Glimmer of Light on the target for 30 seconds. When you Holy Shock, all targets with Glimmer of Light are damaged or healed. You may have Glimmer of Light on up to 8 targets.
- Holy Avenger has been redesigned — Your Holy Power generation is tripled for 20 seconds.
- Divine Purpose has been redesigned — Holy Power abilities have a 15% chance to make your next Holy Power ability free and deal 20% increased damage and healing.
- Fist of Justice has been redesigned — Each Holy Power spent reduces the remaining cooldown on Hammer of Justice by 2 seconds.
- Awakening now procs from Word of Glory.
- Bestow Faith now generates 1 Holy Power.
- Sanctified Wrath reduces Holy Shock's cooldown by 40% (was 50%).
- Avenging Crusader no longer has a global cooldown.
- Divine Favor now reduces the cast time of Holy Light and Flash of Light by 60%, but no longer reduces their mana cost.
Holy Paladin Talent Tree
Below is the current talent tree for Holy Paladins.
- Level 15 Talents: Crusader's Might / Bestow Faith / Light's Hammer;
- Level 25 Talents: Saved by the Light / Judgment of Light / Holy Prism;
- Level 30 Talents: Fist of Justice / Repentance / Blinding Light;
- Level 35 Talents: Unbreakable Spirit / Cavalier / Rule of Law;
- Level 40 Talents: Divine Purpose / Holy Avenger / Seraphim;
- Level 45 Talents: Sanctified Wrath / Avenging Crusader / Awakening;
- Level 50 Talents: Glimmer of Light / Beacon of Faith / Beacon of Virtue.
Holy Paladin Shadowlands Guide
Protection Paladin
The main change that Shadowlands brings is the return of Holy Power as a resource. We generate Holy Power with the following abilities:
- Judgment
- Hammer of the Righteous
- Avenger's Shield
- Hammer of Wrath (*NEW* for Shadowlands)
And we spend Holy Power with:
- Shield of the Righteous
- Word of Glory (*NEW* for Shadowlands)
Several talents have been removed and replaced with new ones, but a few with a familiar name have also been reworked. Paladins have Auras again, and while these give you very little value, it is still a small gain that you can have passively to fit your situation. Word of Glory also makes its return and becomes a baseline healing ability for all Paladins, meaning we can now off-heal without having to spend a talent on it.
- Protection Paladins now use Holy Power as a resource.
- New Passive: Shining Light — Every 5 Shield of the Righteous make your next Word of Glory cost 0 Holy Power.
- Avenger's Shield no longer increases the effects of your next Shield of the Righteous and now generates 1 Holy Power.
- Judgment now causes the target to take 25% increased damage from your next Holy Power ability and generates 1 Holy Power.
- Hammer of the Righteous now generates 1 Holy Power.
- Consecration reduces the Protection Paladins' damage taken by 5% while they stand inside it, in addition to any bonus added by Mastery.
- Light of the Protector has been removed.
- Word of Glory now has an additional effect: When you cast Word of Glory on yourself, it is increased by up to 150% based on your missing health.
Protection Paladin Talent Changes
- New Talent: Divine Purpose — Holy Power abilities have a 15% chance to make your next Holy Power ability free and deal 20% increased damage and healing.
- New Talent: Holy Avenger — Your Holy Power generation is tripled for 20 seconds.
- New Talent: Sanctified Wrath (replaces Last Defender) — Avenging Wrath lasts 25% longer and causes Judgment to generate 2 Holy Power.
- New Talent: Moment of Glory (replaces Bastion of Light) — Reset the cooldown of Avenger's Shield. Your next 3 Avenger's Shields have no cooldown and deal 20% additional damage.
- Fist of Justice has been redesigned — Each Holy Power spent reduces the remaining cooldown on Hammer of Justice by 2 seconds.
- Redoubt has been redesigned — Shield of the Righteous increases your Strength and Stamina by 2% for 10 seconds, stacking up to 3 times.
- Blessed Hammer now has a 6-second recharge (was 4.5 seconds), generates 1 Holy Power, and reduces the enemies next damage they deal to you.
- First Avenger has been redesigned — Avenger's Shield hits 2 additional targets, and grants you an absorb shield for 100% of all damage it deals.
- Hand of the Protector now increases Word of Glory's healing by the target's missing health, on any target.
- Final Stand is now an area trigger that taunts all targets for 8 seconds, instead of a one-time taunt.
- Righteous Protector now reduces the remaining cooldown of Avenging Wrath and Guardian of Ancient Kings by 1 second with each Holy Power spent.
Protection Paladin Talent Tree
Below is the current talent tree for Protection Paladins.
- Level 15 Talents: Holy Shield / Redoubt / Blessed Hammer;
- Level 25 Talents: First Avenger / Crusader's Judgment / Moment of Glory;
- Level 30 Talents: Fist of Justice / Repentance / Blinding Light;
- Level 35 Talents: Unbreakable Spirit / Cavalier / Blessing of Spellwarding;
- Level 40 Talents: Divine Purpose / Holy Avenger / Seraphim;
- Level 45 Talents: Hand of the Protector / Consecrated Ground / Judgment of Light;
- Level 50 Talents: Sanctified Wrath / Righteous Protector / Final Stand.
Protection Paladin Shadowlands Guide
Retribution Paladin
- Wake of Ashes is no longer a Talent and is learned by all Retribution paladins at level 34. Wake of Ashes damage increased by 50%, now deals reduced damage on secondary targets, and generates 3 Holy Power (was 5) .
- Blade of Justice cooldown is now 12 seconds (was 10.5 seconds).
- Greater Blessing of Kings and Greater Blessing of Wisdom have been removed.
- Divine Storm is now capped at 5 targets.
Retribution Paladin Talent Changes
- New Talent: Empyrean Power (replaces Hammer of Wrath) — Crusader Strike has a 15% chance to make your next Divine Storm free and deal 25% additional damage.
- New Talent: Healing Hands (replaces Word of Glory) — The cooldown of Lay on Hands is reduced by up to 60%, based on the target's missing health. Word of Glory's healing is increased by up to 100%, based on the target's missing health.
- New Talent: Seraphim (replaces Wake of Ashes) — The Light magnifies your power for 15 seconds, granting 8% Haste, Critical Strike, and Versatility, and Mastery increased by 13%.
- New Talent Holy Avenger (replaces Consecration) — Your Holy Power generation is tripled for 20 seconds.
- New Talent: Sanctified Wrath — Avenging Wrath lasts 25% longer. During Avenging Wrath, each Holy Power spent causes you to explode with Holy light damage to nearby enemies.
- New Talent: Final Reckoning (replaces Inquisition) — Call down a blast of heavenly energy, dealing Holy damage to all targets in the target area and causing them to take 50% increased damage from your Holy Power abilities for 8 seconds. Passive: While off cooldown, your attacks have a high chance to call down a bolt that deals Holy damage and causes the target to take 10% increased damage from your next Holy Power ability.
- Execution Sentence has been redesigned — A hammer slowly falls from the sky upon the target. After 8 seconds, they suffer Holy damage, plus 20% of damage taken from your abilities in that time.
- Divine Judgment has been removed.
- Crusade no longer has a global cooldown.
- New PvP Talent: Aura of Reckoning — When you or allies with your Aura are critically struck, you gain Reckoning. At 50 stacks of Reckoning, your next weapon swing deals 200% increased damage. In addition, it activates Avenging Wrath for 6 seconds.
- Vengeance Aura (PvP Talent) now functions on crowd control that strikes all allies, rather than allies that have your Greater Blessings. Vengeance Aura's range has been increased to 40 yards (was 20 yards)
- Hammer of Reckoning (PvP Talent) has been removed.
- Luminescence now heals up to 5 allies, preferring injured targets (was all allies). Additionally, the range of this ability has been increased to 40 yards (was 20 yards).
Retribution Paladin Talent Tree
Below is the current talent tree for Retribution Paladins.
- Level 15 Talents: Zeal / Righteous Verdict / Execution Sentence;
- Level 25 Talents: Fires of Justice / Blade of Wrath / Empyrean Power;
- Level 30 Talents: Fist of Justice / Repentance / Blinding Light;
- Level 35 Talents: Unbreakable Spirit / Cavalier / Eye for an Eye;
- Level 40 Talents: Divine Purpose / Holy Avenger / Seraphim;
- Level 45 Talents: Selfless Healer / Justicar's Vengeance / Healing Hands;
- Level 50 Talents: Sanctified Wrath / Crusade / Final Reckoning.
Retribution Paladin Shadowlands Guide
More Patch 9.0.1 Class Changes
You can find other Patch 9.0.1 class changes linked below.
Changelog
- 23 Nov. 2020: Aura Mastery updated with Concentration Aura.
- 16 Nov. 2020: Updated for Shadowlands release.
- 12 Oct. 2020: Updated for Shadowlands Pre-Patch.
- 06 Sep. 2020: Updated for Beta Build 35755.
- 18 Jul. 2020: Damage can now break the effect of Turn Evil.
- 15 Jul. 2020: Updated for Alpha Build 35078.
- 20 Jun. 2020: Hammer of Wrath 7.5 sec cooldown changed to 7.5 recharge.
- 16 Jun. 2020: Reviewed for Alpha Build 34714.
- 09 Jun. 2020: Reviewed for Alpha Build 34615.
- 02 Jun. 2020: Updated intro with links to Anima Powers and Covenant Abilities.
- 25 May 2020: Updated for Alpha Build 34490.
- 15 May 2020: Hammer of Wrath buffed to 120% of Attack Power.
- 08 May 2020: Updated with Light of Dawn and Word of Glory buffs.
- 30 Apr. 2020: Updated Holy Paladin's Awakening talent description for Alpha Build 34199.
- 28 Apr. 2020: Updated for Alpha Build 34137.
- 21 Apr. 2020: Page added.
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