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Live
PTR
12.0.5
PTR
12.0.1
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Guide Contents
Patch 12.0.1
3.9/5
(
13
Votes)
Retribution Paladin DPS Starter Guide - Shadowlands 9.2.5
By Bolas
Updated:
2022/11/28
Welcome to our Retribution Paladin starter guide, which covers everything you need to start playing a new character in . While our other guide pages go into more detail about individual aspects of Retribution Paladin gameplay, this simple starter guide covers all the basics in one place.
Visit the complete Retribution Paladin guide pages linked in the navigation on the left-hand side of the page for more in-depth information!
Overview
BiS Gear
Rotation
Talent Builds
Consumables
Stats
Basics
Best Retribution Paladin Covenant
Kyrian is the best covenant in most situations as far as damage is concerned. Necrolord will do competitive single target damage and is the best covenant at two-target cleave, but falls off significantly with more targets. Night Fae can do good damage but requires another strong spec to buff.
Best Retribution Paladin Covenants and Soulbinds for Raid
Single Legendary
Double Legendary
Kyrian
Mikanikos
Kyrian
Mikanikos
Necrolord
Marileth
Necrolord
Marileth
Night Fae
Dreamweaver
Night Fae
Dreamweaver
Best Retribution Paladin Covenants and Soulbinds for Mythic+
Single Legendary
Double Legendary
Kyrian
Mikanikos
Kyrian
Mikanikos
None of the covenant abilities will fundamentally change your gameplay. At the core they're all simply extra damage cooldowns that you'll use as often as possible. However, there are some talents that can synergize with one covenant more than the others, such as
Execution Sentence
with Kyrian, so if there's a particular talent build you do or don't want to use then that's worth some consideration.
Best Retribution Paladin Covenant
Kyrian Retribution Paladin Guide
Necrolord Retribution Paladin Guide
Night Fae Retribution Paladin Guide
Venthyr Retribution Paladin Guide
Best Retribution Paladin Legendaries
Best Single Legendaries
Raid Legendary
:
Kyrian:
Divine Resonance
Necrolord:
Duty-Bound Gavel
Night Fae:
Seasons of Plenty
Mythic+ Legendary
:
Divine Resonance
Best Double Legendaries
Raid Legendaries
:
Kyrian:
Divine Resonance
and
Final Verdict
or
Tempest of the Lightbringer
or
Vanguard's Momentum
Necrolord:
Duty-Bound Gavel
and
Final Verdict
or
Tempest of the Lightbringer
Night Fae:
Seasons of Plenty
and
Final Verdict
or
Tempest of the Lightbringer
or
Vanguard's Momentum
Mythic+ Legendaries
:
Divine Resonance
and
Tempest of the Lightbringer
Retribution Paladin Legendaries Guide
Best Retribution Paladin Talents
This is a general, versatile build that will perform well with any covenant. For a more detailed look at talents check out the guide linked below.
Retribution Paladin Talents Guide
Retribution Paladin Stat Priority
There isn't an exact, one-size-fits-all stat priority for Ret Paladins. Ideally you should use Raidbots to find upgrades, and if you're not sure how to use it the Raidbots Guide can help you. However, if you just need a generic priority to keep in mind then this is a fine approximation to use:
Strength > Haste > Critical Strike ~= Versatility ~= Mastery
You can find more information on how each stat interacts with Retribution in the Stats Guide.
Retribution Paladin Stats Guide
Retribution Paladin Enchants
Cloak
:
Enchant Cloak - Fortified Avoidance
,
Enchant Cloak - Fortified Leech
,
Enchant Cloak - Fortified Speed
, or
Enchant Cloak - Soul Vitality
depending on which tertiary stat you like most.
Chest
:
Enchant Chest - Eternal Stats
Gloves
:
Enchant Gloves - Eternal Strength
Rings
:
Enchant Ring - Tenet of Haste
or one of the other secondary stat enchants, if they perform better for you.
Weapon
:
Enchant Weapon - Sinful Revelation
in Single Target or
Enchant Weapon - Lightless Force
in AoE.
Retribution Paladin Enchants & Consumables Guide
Best Retribution Paladin Rotation
This is a general Retribution Paladin damage priority, using the talents recommended above. Further explanation including how to best use your covenant ability can be found in the Retribution Paladin Rotation Guide.
(if
Final Reckoning
is off cooldown, or is about to be)
Avenging Wrath
(with 3+ Holy Power)
Final Reckoning
(with 3+ Holy Power)
Templar's Verdict
/
Divine Storm
(5 Holy Power or
Final Reckoning
active)
Wake of Ashes
Judgment
Hammer of Wrath
Blade of Justice
Crusader Strike
(2 Charges)
Templar's Verdict
/
Divine Storm
(3-4 Holy Power)
Crusader Strike
(1 Charge)
Consecration
Don't use Holy Power generating abilities if it will waste some of the Holy Power, for example using
Blade of Justice
at 4 Holy Power.
Don't wait for a builder to come off of cooldown just to spend Holy Power. You shouldn't be waiting unless you have less than 3 Holy Power and all of your builders are on cooldown.
Swap from
Templar's Verdict
to
Divine Storm
at 2 or more targets.
Retribution Paladin Rotation Guide
Our Ret Paladin guides are always updated with the latest information from in-game experience, simulations, and logs. Make sure to check our changelog for this page by clicking on
View Changelog
in the Quick Facts column or on the book icon at the top of the page. If you are interested in more in-depth Ret Paladin guides for , make sure to browse the
Navigation Bar
at the top of the page.
Feedback
Thanks for reading our class guides! If you have any feedback, feel free to leave a comment in the section below, and we will reply as quickly as possible. If you'd like to talk with any of our writers directly, you can do so by joining our
Discord server
and finding them there!
Share your comments about this guide in our Paladin forum!
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