Paladin Class Overview (2024)

Last updated on May 07, 2024 at 00:00by Sellin

Sworn protectors of the light and champions of justice Paladin is one of the strongestclasses in all of World of Warcraft. As one of the two classes that are able to Tank, DPS andHeal Paladin is able to contribute to groups in all kinds of different ways and are highlycompetitive in all three roles. Paladin regardless of specialization provides some of the strongestbuffs in the game in the form of Blessings and Hands. Regardless of the role you choose to playPaladins are a staple of any group.

Paladin is a melee oriented class that is one of two classes able to Tank, DPS and Heal. Paladin's primary resourceis Mana, though in Cataclysm a new resource has been added:Holy Power. While all three Paladin specializationsuse Mana, you will only really be concerned with maintaining yourMana as Holy. However, all three specializationswill be heavily utilizing Holy Power.This is a resource that is generated by abilities like Holy Shock and Crusader Strike. Holy Power allows you touse powerful abilities like Word of Glory, Templar's Verdictand Shield of the Righteous.

Paladin is able to choose from three specializations:Holy, Protection,and Retribution.

• Protection — Protection is the tanking specializationfor Paladin. Protection Paladin remains one of the sturdiest tanks in the game with the ability to generate incredibleAoE threat and mitigate massive amounts of incoming damage. Protection Paladin also provides some of the most powerful debuffsand raid cooldowns in the game in the form of talents such as Vindication and Judgements of the Just andabilities like Divine Guardian.
• Holy — Holy is the healing specialization forPaladin. Holy Paladin is still the strongest healing specialization, even when considering the changes made to Beacon of Light.Holy Paladin has received some major changes in Cataclysm that make your healing toolkit much more diverse and addressedmany of the weaknesses found in it, namely the heavy reliance on casting by greatly buffing Holy Shock andadding abilities like Light of Dawn and Word of Glory. Holy Paladin was also given an incredibly powerfulmulti-target heal in the form of Holy Radiance.
• Retribution — Retribution is the DPS specialization forPaladin. Retribution is one of the strongest melee DPS in the game and provides the incredibly important 3% increased damage buffto all party/raid members in the form of Communion alongside a considerable amount of Mana regeneration with Replenishment.Retribution scales well with gear as we progress through the phases of Cataclysm, meaning this spec is likely to only getstronger.

Each Paladin specialization fills a different role so it really depends onwhat role you are interested in playing. Protection Paladin is one of the mostconsistently durable classes and if played correctly provides very little variancein survivability from attempt to attempt. Holy Paladin is the king of single target healingbeing able to keep allies alive through massive amounts of incoming damage. Retributionis consistently one of strongest Melee DPS in the game and will always have a spot ina group thanks to the incredibly powerful buffs they bring on top of their competitive DPS.

Protection is as mentioned the Tanking specialization for Paladin. Protection isthe sturdiest of all tanking specializations and provides the least variance from attempt to attempt.The playstyle for Protection is also highly interactive and will constantly challenge you with maximizingyour uptime to generate as much Holy Power as possible should you be using it to deal damage with Shield of the Righteous or healing yourself or an ally with Word of Glory. Protectionalso brings the incredibly important Vindication buff which reduces physical damage dealtby the target by 10% and Judgements of the Just which reduces the targets Attack Speed by 20%.Protection is also the only Paladin specialization with access to Divine Guardian which isstill widely regarded as one of the strongest raid cooldowns in the game.

Holy is the Healing specialization for Paladin. Holy remains the strongest single target Healerin the game and in Cataclysm was given several new tools that help with several of the shortcomingsfound in previous expansions. While Beacon of Light was changed substantially reworks to Holy Shock and the addition of Holy Power add a whole new way to play the specialization.While still focusing on casting strong single target heals Paladin also is now able to effectivelyAoE heal with abilities like Holy Radiance. The addition of Holy Power is the single largestchange however enabling you to use the new instant cast abilities Word of Glory and Light of Dawnwhich further bolster your arsenal of healing related tools. While Holy Paladin did lose access to Divine Guardian the addition of Resistance Aura has made Aura Mastery a muchmore impactful damage reduction cooldown.

Retribution is the DPS specialization for Paladin. Retribution is still one of the strongestMelee DPS in the game in regard to their sheer damage output but more importantly they providetwo of the most highlight sought-after buffs in the game in the 3% bonus damage to all party/raid memberswith Communion and a considerable amount of mana regeneration for your group in the form of Replenishment.The DPS rotation for Retribution acts much more as a list of priorities than a true DPS rotation so you will alwayshave a good idea of what your next ability should be. The addition of Holy Power has also added a new way spice upthe traditional Retribution experience by adding a new buff to maintain in the form of Inquisition and anew way to deal damage with your Templar's Verdict ability.

Paladin is extremely viable and highly sought-after as all three specializations;You will rarely if ever see a raid without at least two Paladins. Even in ten man content you are likely to see multiple Paladinsdue to the strength of the buffs and utility they provide in the form of Blessings, Hands, and spec-specific buffs. ProtectionPaladin remains one of the most highly sought-after tanks due to their stability and ability to mitigate incoming damage from the entireraid with Divine Guardian. Holy is a staple in every raid, both ten or twenty five man, largely because of their incredible singletarget healing which largely trivializes tank healing for the rest of the group. Abilities like Beacon of Light are just too powerfuland will almost guarantee a spot in raids for a Holy Paladin. Retribution is one of the most durable melee damage dealers. On top of dealinghighly competitive DPS they are one of the most self-sufficient DPS in the game. While groups spots are limited in a 10-man, RetributionPaladin is a popular way to supply many of the needed buffs. Because of this, finding a group, regardless of the size, as a Retribution Paladin shouldbe little to no problem. Though each Paladin specialization fills a different role, they are all extremely competitive amongthe other classes that fill the same role and viability is far from an issue.

Paladin is unfortunately quite limited in regards to what Race can be selected, butbelow we have highlighted the races available and how to best make an informed decision as to what thebenefits are for each race for your Paladin. As Horde you are able to choose from Blood Elf and Tauren.As Alliance you are able to choose from Dwarf, Human and Draenei.

• Tauren is widely regarded as the best race for Protection due to its Endurance racial, which increasesyour base health by 5%. War Stomp is another great tool that stuns up to five enemies for two seconds. Tauren arealso slightly more resistant to Nature damage. Specifically for Retribution, Tauren may be the ideal choise as they start with more Strength.
• Blood Elf will be our default choice as Holy as Arcane Torrent returns a small amount of Mana.

• Human is your default choice as bothHoly and Retribution. The Human Spirit increases your Spirit by 3%greatly increasing your Mana regeneration. Sword Specialization increases your Expertise when using a Sword, andthe majority of weapons you will be using through Cataclysm as Retribution are swords. Human comes with the ability to instantlyremove all crowd controlling abilities in the form of Will to Survive which can be extremely powerful in very specific encounters.
• Dwarves are considered to be the bestrace for tanking as Alliance due to their Stoneform racial. Stoneformis another Tank cooldown that reduces incoming damage by 10% for 8 seconds and removes all Poison, Disease and Bleed effects.Dwarf also gains expertise when using a Mace thanks to Mace Specialization.
• Draenei is a great choice forboth tanking or DPSing due to their ability to self heal with Gift of the Naaru,healing the target for 20% of their total health over 15 seconds. Draenei passively have an extra 1% chance to hit thanksto their Heroic Presence racial.

Paladin can wear all armor types but you should only be wearingPlate. Plate Specialization greatly outweighs any possible benefityou may find by wearing a non-plate piece due to the emphasis put on Primary statsin Cataclysm.

Paladin is able to equip one and two-handed Swords, one and two-handed Maces,One and two-handed Axes, Shields, and Polearms. The Weapon you use will depend on the specializationyou are playing, but generally speaking the type of weapon you use is irrelevant as long as itis offering you the most of your desired stats.

As Protection you will be using a one-handed Strength weapon and a shield.The focus is primarily on stats that maximize your personal survivability. Threat islargely solved by multipliers found on abilities like Righteous Fury and Vengeance. Your stat priority as a Protection Paladin should be as follows: Stamina, > Mastery >Dodge > Parry >. Any Hit/Expertise Rating you find on gear is beneficial, but shouldnot be your focus.

As Holy you will be using a one-handed Intellect weapon and a shield.Your stat priority as a Holy Paladin should be as follows: Intellect > Spirit> Haste Rating > Critical Strike Rating > Mastery Rating

As Retribution you will be using a two-handed weapon. Yourstat priority as an Retribution Paladin should be as follows: Strength > Hit Rating (to cap 8%)> Expertise Rating (to cap (26) > Mastery Rating > Critical Strike Rating > Haste Rating.

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