Home
Retribution Paladin Mythic+ Guide
Last Updated: August 20th 2024
Share on Social
11.0.2 - The War Within
Welcome to the Retribution Paladin Mythic+ guide for the World of Warcraft patch 11.0.2! This guide covers everything you need to know to understand your character! Are you starting out and leveling up from 70? Check out the leveling guide!
Overview
Patch 11.0.2 - The War Within
Retribution Paladin
Retribution PaladinMythic+
Single-Target
Weak
AoE
Weak
Utility
Average
Survivability
Excellent
Mobility
Subbar
Hero Talents
Patch 11.0.2 - The War Within
Retribution Paladin
Templar is focused on Single target with stacked cleave from Shake the Heavens, while Herald of the Sun is focused on buffing your Divine Storm and a dealing damage via dots from Dawnlight.
Templar
Herald of the Sun
- Casting Wake of Ashes Grants you Hammer of Light a 5 Holy Power spender that replaces Wake of Ashes until it’s used.
- Over time you gain stacks of Light's Deliverance. At 60 Stacks, you gain a freeHammer of Light that you must cast before Wake of Ashes since they have the same key bind.
Shake the Heavens Interactions
- After casting Hammer of Light you gain Shake the Heavens which casts an Empyrean Hammer on your target every 2 seconds for 8 seconds, which can be extended by Higher Calling
- Shake the Heavens also grants you 12% haste for 6 seconds.
Empyrean Hammer Interactions
- Casting any Holy Power spender triggers an Empyrean Hammer which activates Wrathful Descent if it crits. Shake the Heavens triggers an additional Empyrean Hammer.
- After casting Hammer of Light you instantly trigger 2 Empyrean Hammers on your main target.
- Sanctification
- Trying to maintain a high stack is very important, casting Divine Toll grants you 1 stack per enemy hit.
Defensive Traits
- Sacrosanct Crusade
- Wake of Ashes grants you an absorb shield while Hammer of Light heals you upon use.
Dawnlight Interactions
- Wake of Ashes causes your 2 next Holy Power spenders to apply Dawnlight to your target. This debuff radiates damage around the target for 8 seconds. Additionally , when you activate Avenging Wrath or Crusade you also apply Dawnlight on 4 nearby targets and start Sun's Avatar.
- As long as there is any Dawnlight DoT active your Holy Power spenders gain 5% additional damage. On top of this every time you apply any Dawnlight you gain 2% Haste for 12 seconds which can overlap.
- Wake of Ashes grants you Divine Purpose.
Divine Storm and Hammer of Wrath gain some new passives
- Second Sunrise
- They have a 15% chance to be casted again for 30% effectiveness.
- Luminosity
- They both gain 10% increased damage.
- Sun Sear
- When they critical strike any target they burn the target for some radiant damage for 4 seconds.
- Blessing of An'she
- Your overtime effects have a chance to buff your next Hammer of Wrath by 200% and make it usable on the target regardless of its health.
Defensive Traits
- Eternal Flame
- Replaces Word of Glory and also heals a small amount over 16 seconds, and its healing is increased by 25% when used on your self.
- Illumine
- When you have Dawnlight on a target its now slowed by 50%.
Talents
Patch 11.0.2 - The War Within
Retribution Paladin
Aoe
Radiant Glory
ST / Cleave
Radiant Glory
When to use this Spec
Use this spec in your Mythic+ keys, this should be your standard overall build for AoE. This build allows you to spam Divine Storm while your generators cleave everything around you. check the deep dive section below to learn how to fully optimize this build!
Gameplay Altering Talents
Discover all talents that significantly alter your gameplay within the Spec and Class Talent trees. This section gives a concise overview of these talents and their applications but for a more detailed look check out the Rotation and Deep Dive sections below.
Spec Tree
- Radiant Glory
- Automatically activates Crusade when you cast Wake of Ashes.
- Execution Sentence
- A strong single-target burst cooldown.
- Final Verdict
- Your main single-target Holy Power spender.
- Blessed Champion
- Your Judgment and Crusader Strike now Cleaves to 4 additional targets.
- Blade of Vengeance
- Blade of Justice now Cleaves to 5 nearby enemies and additionally debuffs them with Expurgation.
- Tempest of the Lightbringer
- When you cast Divine Storm it now hits an additional time for 20% of the base damage and hits anyone up to 20 yards away.
- Boundless Judgment
- Your Judgment generates an additional Holy Power.
- Combining this with Swift Justice provides the most Holy Power.
- Your Judgment generates an additional Holy Power.
- Improved Blade of Justice
- 2 charges of Blade of Justice instead of 1.
- Crusading Strikes
- Generates 1 Holy Power every 2nd auto attack, replaces your Crusader Strike.
- Look below in Deep Dive to see how to play around this.
- Empyrean Legacy
- Every 20 seconds after you press Judgment it empowers your next Final Verdict also use Divine Storm.
- Art of War
- Your auto attacks have a 20% chance to reset Blade of Justice.
Class Tree
- Divine Toll
- Casts Judgment on your target.
- Mainly used for its Holy Power gain.
- Avenging Wrath
- Your main cooldown, it empowers everything you do.
- Divine Purpose
- Your Holy Power spenders have a 10% chance to make your next Holy Power spender free and deal 10% increased damage.
- Divine Steed
- Move at 100% movement speed for 3 seconds.
- Cavalier Grants you 2 charges instead of 1.
- Move at 100% movement speed for 3 seconds.
- Lay on Hands
- Strong single target heal that can be used on a friendly target to save them.
- Blessing of Protection
- Great way to avoid aggro or prevent Physical damage.
- Blessing of Sacrifice
- Perfect to use on tanks or players dealing with certain spells during boss fights.
- Rebuke
- A kick to interrupt any spell.
- Unbound Freedom
- Allows you to use Blessing of Freedom on another player.
Hero Talents
For more info visit the Hero Talent section above.
- Zealous Vindication
- After you cast Hammer of Light you instantly trigger 2 Empyrean Hammers on your main target.
- Sanctification
- Casting Judgment grants Empyrean Hammer 10% increased damage for 10 seconds. This effect stacks so trying to maintain high stacks is very important.
- Casting a Divine Toll grants you 1 stack per enemy hit by its Judgment.
- Unrelenting Charger
- Your Divine Steed lasts 2 seconds longer and grants you 130% movement speed for the first 3 seconds
When to use this Spec
Use this build when you need more single target in your Mythic+. This build allows your generators to cleave and enables your Templar's Verdict to somtimes cleave from Judge, Jury and Executioner.
Talent Adjustments
Listing all the changes within the Class and Spec tree compared to the default build.
Spec Tree
- Added
- Judge, Jury and Executioner
- Your holy power generators have a small chance to make your Templar's Verdict cleave up to 3 additional targets at 80% effectiveness.
- Vanguard's Momentum
- Generates 2 Holy Power instead of 1 on enemies below 20%.
- Has 2 charges now instead of 1.
- Rush of Light
- Gain 5% haste when you Crit with your Single Target abilities.
- Blades of Light
- Holystrike attacks deal 5% more damage
- Divine Arbiter
- At 25 stacks your next Holy Power spender casts an additional attack dealing damage to enemies within 6 yards.
- Judge, Jury and Executioner
- Removed
- Zealot's Fervor
- 2 points.
- Burning Crusade
- Searing Light
- Tempest of the Lightbringer
- Zealot's Fervor
Class Tree
- Added
- Vengeful Wrath
- Removed
- Divine Purpose
Rotation
Patch 11.0.2 - The War Within
Retribution Paladin
Tier Set
- 2-Set: Blade of Justice Has its damage increased by 15%. Wake of Ashes Has its damage increased by 10%.
- 4-Set: Casting Wake of Ashes increases your damage by 8% for 8 seconds.
Single-Target
Radiant Glory
Avenging Wrath
To read more about Radiant Glory head down to the Deep Dive section!
Opener
Your main goal in your opener should be to get to 3 Holy Power by using Blade of Justice followed up by Divine Toll before starting in your Execution Sentence window. There are also 2 different openers you can play with, if you see that Divine Toll is not ready for your burst window and it's a few seconds behind dont hold your Execution Sentence simply follow the 2nd version below.
The Crusading Strikes trait has an RNG factor that affects when you gain Holy Power. Specifically, Holy Power is gained on the 2nd auto attack, but this can vary due to the RNG factor. During your opener, be aware of this variability. If you don't gain Holy Power as expected, you may need to use a generator ability to fill in the gaps or skip 1 generator as Crusading Strikes as already gained you the Holy Power thats needed to cast Templar's Verdict in your Execution Sentence window.
Standard Opener
Delayed Divine Toll Opener
Priority List
This is a general priority you aim to maintain throughout the fight.
- Cast Templar's Verdict (When close to 5 Holy Power, to not mess up your burst windows with overcapped Holy Power).
- Cast Execution Sentence on cooldown.
- Cast Wake of Ashes on cooldown to proc Radiant Glory (with 2 Holy Power).
- Cast Hammer of Light to proc Shake the Heavens.
- Cast Blade of Justice (to keep up Expurgation and Holy Flames).
- Cast Divine Toll on cooldown.
- Cast Hammer of Wrath (During Avenging Wrath or on any target below 20%).
- Cast Judgment (if 3 Holy Power or below).
- Cast Blade of Justice (if 3 Holy Power or below).
To read more about Avenging Wrath head down to the Deep Dive section!
Opener
Your main goal in your opener should be to get to 3 Holy Power by using Blade of Justice followed up by Divine Toll before starting in your Execution Sentence window. There are also 2 different openers you can play with, if you see that Divine Toll is not ready for your burst window and it's a few seconds behind dont hold your Execution Sentence simply follow the 2nd version below.
The Crusading Strikes trait has an RNG factor that affects when you gain Holy Power. Specifically, Holy Power is gained on the 2nd auto attack, but this can vary due to the RNG factor. During your opener, be aware of this variability. If you don't gain Holy Power as expected, you may need to use a generator ability to fill in the gaps or skip 1 generator as Crusading Strikes as already gained you the Holy Power thats needed to cast Templar's Verdict in your Execution Sentence window.
Standard Opener
Delayed Divine Toll Opener
Priority List
This is a general priority you aim to maintain throughout the fight.
- Cast Templar's Verdict (When close to 5 Holy Power, to not mess up your burst windows with overcapped Holy Power).
- Cast Execution Sentence on cooldown.
- Cast Avenging Wrath on cooldown.
- Cast Wake of Ashes (on cooldown with 2 Holy Power).
- Cast Hammer of Light to proc Shake the Heavens.
- Cast Blade of Justice (to keep up Expurgation and Holy Flames).
- Cast Divine Toll on cooldown.
- Cast Hammer of Wrath (During Avenging Wrath or on any target below 20%).
- Cast Judgment (if 3 Holy Power or below).
- Cast Blade of Justice (if 3 Holy Power or below).
AoE
Radiant Glory
Avenging Wrath
To read more about Radiant Glory head down to the Deep Dive section!
Opener
If you are going to overcap on Holy Power by using Divine Toll early in the combo, you can delay it to after your Hammer of Light.
Multitarget / AoE Priority List
- Cast Divine Storm if you’re close to 5 Holy Power.
- Cast Final Reckoning on cooldown.
- Cast Wake of Ashes on cooldown to proc Radiant Glory if you are at <=2 Holy Power.
- Cast Hammer of Light to proc Shake the Heavens.
- Cast Blade of Justice to keep up Expurgation and Holy Flames.
- Cast Divine Toll on cooldown.
- Cast Judgment if you are low on Holy Power or to keep up Sanctification.
- Cast Divine Storm if you have 3 Holy Power.
- Cast Hammer of Wrath on any target below 20%.
To read more about Avenging Wrath head down to the Deep Dive section!
Opener
If you are going to overcap on Holy Power by using Divine Toll early in the combo, you can delay it to after your Hammer of Light.
Multitarget / AoE Priority List
- Cast Divine Storm if you’re close to 5 Holy Power.
- Cast Avenging Wrath on cooldown.
- Cast Final Reckoning on cooldown.
- Cast Wake of Ashes on cooldown if you are at 2 Holy Power.
- Cast Hammer of Light to proc Shake the Heavens.
- Cast Blade of Justice to keep up Expurgation and Holy Flames.
- Cast Divine Toll on cooldown.
- Cast Judgment if you are low on Holy Power or to keep up Sanctification.
- Cast Divine Storm if you have <= 3 Holy Power.
- Cast Hammer of Wrath on any target below 20%.
Deep dive
Patch 11.0.2 - The War Within
Retribution Paladin
Radiant Glory
Avenging Wrath
Crusade
- When talented into Radiant Glory, you cannot use Avenging Wrath or Crusade directly. Instead, using Wake of Ashes triggers the cooldown you have chosen in your talents for a few seconds. Additionally, there is a small chance that any Holy Power spender can proc your chosen talent for an additional 5 seconds, this extends your Crusade or Avenging Wrath if it procs while the spell is active.
- Never sit on Wake of Ashes since Final Reckoning has a 1-minute cooldown and Execution Sentence has a 30-second cooldown. Delaying Wake of Ashes also delays all of your other cooldowns.
Execution Sentence
- When you have chosen Execution Sentence as your minor cooldown, it is optimal to use Wake of Ashes after Execution Sentence. This is because the gain from getting Avenging Wrath does not affect Execution Sentence, and you want the full uptime on wings during the Execution Sentence window. Try to have 3 Holy Power ready right before Execution Sentence goes off cooldown so you can use it instantly.
With Hero Talent Templar
With Hero Talent Herald of the Sun
Final Reckoning
- The optimal Wake of Ashes usage, when you have chosen Final Reckoning, is to use Wake of Ashes after Final Reckoning. Try to have 3 Holy Power ready right before using Final Reckoning so you can instantly spend your Holy Power.
With Hero Talent Templar
With Hero Talent Herald of the Sun
- Choose this talent when boss fights or dungeons allow you to never miss a cooldown window.
- Never sit on Avenging Wrath for more than a few seconds, as most of your damage comes from combining it with other 1-minute cooldowns. As mentioned earlier, always use Avenging Wrath first unless you are using Execution Sentence, in which case follow the specific strategy explained below.
- Delaying Avenging Wrath also delays your other minor cooldowns.
- When using trinkets, do not hold your Avenging Wrath, as it does not significantly buff the overall damage of trinkets but it does increase their crit chance.
- For trinkets with a 90-second cooldown, use them on cooldown unless you have a trinket that provides a massive mastery or strength buff. In that case, try to align it with Avenging Wrath.
- The main reason to play this talent is if there is a boss where you can really utilize your strong 2-minute cooldown burst, or if you have heavy haste with Radiant Glory, which grants you a decent amount of proc wings.
- Optimal usage is to make sure to instantly use Templar's Verdict to quickly build up your stacks. Aim to get to 7-10 stacks before using Execution Sentence or Final Reckoning for the most damage. However, be mindful of the fight or dungeon scenario. If holding these cooldowns for later in the Crusade window means losing a full usage overall, it is better to use them early to ensure you get an extra usage.
Below you can see an explanation of how to delay your Execution Sentence or Final Reckoning in your Crusade window.
Minor Cooldown
To reach your full potential, you must also know how to maximize your minor cooldowns.
Execution Sentence
Final Reckoning
- Your plan during Execution Sentence is to fit as many spenders as possible within its duration. It's not strong outside of Avenging Wrath or Crusade due to its short burst window and lack of initial damage.
- Always cast Execution Sentence before Avenging Wrath.
- Use Execution Sentence on cooldown to ensure it aligns with other cooldowns.
- If you are playing Radiant Glory, make sure to use Execution Sentence before Wake of Ashes.
With Hero Talent Templar
With Hero Talent Herald of the Sun
- Your big AoE cooldown Final Reckoning, it's mainly used for AoE or in fights where getting good single target usage out of Execution Sentence is not possible.
- It puts a 12-second debuff on the target, increasing your single-target Holy Power spenders by 30% and other spenders by 15%.
- Optimal usage of Final Reckoning is to combo it with your other 1-minute cooldowns such as Avenging Wrath, since they share the same cooldown.
- If playing Crusade, try to save Final Reckoning for when you are at 7-10 stacks before using it. This provides the most damage overall since Crusade lasts 30 seconds.
- If playing Radiant Glory, refer to the opener/prioritization list above for usage instructions.
General Retribution Mechanics
If you don't respect the basics, you cannot master Retribution Paladin.
Crusading Strikes
- This replaces your auto-attacks and your normal Crusader Strike spell, becoming its own auto-attack that generates 1 Holy Power every 2nd attack. Below there is a WeakAura for tracking this, so you know when it's close to proccing. Always keep an eye on it to avoid going above 5 Holy Power and wasting a full proc.
- During your opener or any cooldowns during a fight, your Holy Power might vary. You could start with 4-5 Holy Power right before Execution Sentence, which means you need to press Templar's Verdict instantly before any other spell. This might make your opener look different, so it's important to understand the priority list to know what to press and when.
Mastery
- Retribution Paladins Mastery: Highlord's Judgment has been reworked for the new expansion. It now makes Judgment not only buff your spenders but also have a chance to proc extra holy damage to your main target. As mastery has been a weak point for a long time, this change is significantly beneficial.
Understanding Mechanics
Rotational min-maxing is just one aspect of mastering a specialization, but there are numerous other key mechanics that influence your performance. Use the following guides to improve them.
- Pandemic
- Spell Queue Window
- Stat Diminishing Returns
Dungeons
Patch 11.0.2 - The War Within
Retribution Paladin
← Scroll for more Dungeons →
Ara-Kara, City of Echoes
City of Threads
The Stonevault
The Dawnbreaker
Mists of Tirna Scithe
The Necrotic Wake
Siege of Boralus
Grim Batol
Boss Tips
Avanoxx
- Use Divine Protection or Shield of Vengeance on Alerting Shrill.
- Avoid kiting Starved Crawlers into the boss else the boss receives Insatiable.
- Use Hammer of Justice if there is 1 left or if one is close to the boss.
- AoE them down as soon as possible.
- Follow your group to bait Gossamer Onslaught on the edge of the platform.
- Use Blessing of Freedom on higher stacks of Vile Webbing as to not get Web Wrap.
Anub'zekt
- Do not stand in front of the boss when it casts Impale which is a big frontal cone.
- Interrupt with Rebuke when a Bloodstained Webmage is casting Web Wrap.
- If you see any cast not being interrupted use Blessing of Freedom on the player targeted to remove the root effect.
- This add needs to die fast as to not get to many at the same time as your group only has a certain amount of interupts.
- Use Divine Steed if you are targeted by Burrow Charge so as to not get hit by the charge.
- For a short time the boss is casting a lot of Impale on players which you have to dodge, so if you find yourself in danger use Divine Shield or Blessing of Protection to immune the damage.
- Boss casts Eye of the Swarm at 100 energy which creates a big circle you must stand in.
Ki'katal the Harvester
- Use defensive while you're affected by Cultivated Poisons since it hits like a truck!
- Make sure to cast Cleanse Toxins to remove this debuff, but be careful not to hit anyone by the lines after its been cleansed.
- When you're affected by Grasping Blood you can use Hammer of Justice or Blessing of Freedom instead of killing it to cancel your root.
Trash Tips
- Important abilities to interrupt in this dungeon are:
- Resonant Barrage from Trilling Attendant.
- Horrifying Shrill from Ixin.
- Revolting Volley from Bloodstained Webmage.
- Venom Volley from Blood Overseer.
- Pay extra attention to these casts:
- Alarm Shrill from Sentry Stagshell
- A really long cast that needs to get disrupted.
- Massive Slam from Nerubian Hauler and Hulking Bloodguard
- A short stun that ramps in damage done per cast.
- Alarm Shrill from Sentry Stagshell
Pre Dungeon Start
- Paladins can't do much here other than pre-pot with Tempered Potion. When the dungeon starts, you'll have a few seconds of the potion's effect remaining.
Boss Tips
Orator Krix'vizk
- Use your defensives during Vociferous Indoctrination.
- Do not stand in front of the boss when it casts Terrorize which is a big frontal cone.
- The fear effect can be removed if hit by Divine Shield.
- Use Blessing of Freedom on the tank when the boss casts Subjugate.
Fangs of the Queen
- Do not stand in front of the boss when it casts Shade Slash which is a big frontal cone.
- Watch out for Knife Throw. Use defensives if you're targeted by this ability.
- Use your defensives when targeted by Ice Sickles as the dot deals heavy damage.
- Dispel the slow effect with Blessing of Freedom.
The Coaglamation
- Use your defensives for Dark Pulse. This happens at 100 boss energy.
- Use Blessing of Freedom to remove the slow effect from Blood Surge.
Izo, the Grand Splicer
- Rotate your defensives on Splice since it's the highest damage event during this fight.
- Don't stand close to your tank when Process of Elimination is being casted.
- This is a very good place to use Blessing of Sacrifice on the tank.
- Use Blessing of Freedom to remove the root effect of Umbral Weave.
- Stun Ravenous Scarabs with Hammer of Justice.
Trash Tips
- Important abilities to interrupt in this dungeon are:
- Web Bolt from Sureki Silkbinder.
- Grimweave Blast from Covert Webmancer.
- Mending Web from Covert Webmancer.
- Twist Thoughts from Herald of Anurek.
- Void Wave from Sureki Unnaturaler.
Pre Dungeon Start
- Paladins can't do much here other than pre-pot with Tempered Potion. When the dungeon starts, you'll have a few seconds of the potion's effect remaining.
Boss Tips
E.D.N.A.
- Always stack up to spawn Volatile Spikes close together to ensure you can detonate them all with 1 Refracting Beam.
- Depending on the key level you might need to have a defensive up for this ability.
- Rotate your defensives for Earth Shatterer.
Skarmorak
- Run out when the boss casts Unstable Crash.
- You can use Divine Steed to quickly get out.
- Make sure to instantly kill the Crystal Shards.
- Use your defensive before Unstable Crash happens or while you have multiple stacks of Unstable Energy.
Master Machinists Brokk and Dorlita
- Make sure to kill them both at the same time!
- Interrupt Speaker Brokk with Rebuke when it casts Molten Metal.
- Rotate your defensives during Exhaust Vents and Blazing Crescendo.
Void Speaker Eirich
- Drop off your Void Corruption within 15 yards of a Void Rift.
- Use Divine Steed to quickly remove this.
- Do not stand in front of the boss when it casts Unbridled Void which is a big frontal cone.
- Use your defensive on Entropic Reckoning.
- Make sure to not drop any pool in the middle of the room.
Trash Tips
- Focus down Earth Burst Totem from Cursedforge Stoneshaper. They have a low amount of health but are not affected by AoE abilities.
- Important abilities to interrupt in this dungeon are:
- Howling Fear from Ghastly Voidsoul.
- Censoring Gear from Turned Speaker.
- Piercing Wail from Void Bound Howler.
- Restoring Metals from Forgebound Mender and Cursedforge Mender.
- Arcing Void from Cursedheart Invader.
Pre Dungeon Start
- Paladins can't do much here other than pre-pot with Tempered Potion. When the dungeon starts, you'll have a few seconds of the potion's effect remaining.
Boss Tips
Speaker Shadowcrown
- Interrupt Shadow Bolt with Rebuke.
- If you're low on hp and you see this not being interrupted consider using a defensive.
- Rotate your defensives if you're affected by Collapsing Night. Getting out of this quickly is important since it deals a lot of damage every 0.5 seconds.
- When the boss castsDarkness Comes quickly get on your flying mount and fly off the ship until the cast is finished.
Anub'ikkaj
- Quickly move out to position the Dark Orb path.
- Use Divine Steed to have more time to get into position.
- Move away from the tank when the boss casts Terrifying Slam to not get feared.
- Stun and interrupt Animate Shadows.
- Rotate your defensives for the Dark Orb and Shadowy Decay.
Rasha'nan
- Use Divine Steed to quickly pick up Arathi Bombs and move them to the boss.
- Dodge the Expel Webs lines.
- If hit you can remove the root effect by using Blessing of Freedom.
- Rotate your defensives on Erosive Spray. It applies Lingering Erosion which is dangerous when combined with other damage events.
- Face Rolling Acid away from the group.
- At 66% you must use your flying mount to follow the boss and make sure to collect light orbs along the way to not die.
- Make sure to interrupt Acidic Eruption if you're the first one that lands at the boss.
- During Phase 2 Be careful to not have too many of Spinneret's Strands go off at the same time.
- Make sure to rotate your defensives when these break.
Trash Tips
- Important abilities to interrupt in this dungeon are:
- Night Bolt from Nightfall Shadowmage.
- Ensnaring Shadows from Nightfall Shadowmage.
- Tormenting Beam from Nightfall Darkcaster.
- Umbral Barrier from Nightfall Darkcaster.
Pre Dungeon Start
- Paladins can't do much here other than pre-pot with Tempered Potion. When the dungeon starts, you'll have a few seconds of the potion's effect remaining.
Boss Tips
Ingra Maloch
- Interrupt Spirit Bolt every time a non-tank player is targeted.
- Make sure to dodge Bewildering Pollen and if you find yourself without a safe place to dodge quickly use Divine Shield.
- Try to line up your cooldowns with Droman Oulfarran's Droman's Wrath to gain a huge DPS boost. This happens when Droman Oulfarran reaches 20% health.
Mistcaller
- Stun the Illusionary Vulpins with Hammer of Justice to prevent them from reaching their target.
- Be careful as to not get too close to the Vulpin as the hitbox is very large.
- Rotate your defensives during the Guessing Game.
Tred'ova
- Use Divine Steed to help you break the Mind Link quickly.
- Rotate your defensives during Consumption.
- Try to stand close to the tank if you have Marked Prey as the Glooming Larvas fixate towards you, this makes it easier for the group to quickly stun and kill them.
Trash Tips
- Important abilities to interrupt in this dungeon are:
- Spirit Bolt from Drust Harvester.
- Harvest Essence from Drust Harvester.
- Nourish the Forest from Mistveil Tender.
- Bramblethorn Coat from Mistveil Shaper.
- Stimulate Regeneration from Spinemaw Staghorn.
- Stimulate Resistance from Spinemaw Staghorn.
Pre Dungeon Start
- Paladins can't do much here other than pre-pot with Tempered Potion. When the dungeon starts, you'll have a few seconds of the potion's effect remaining.
Boss Tips
Blightbone
- Divine Protection if you're targeted by Heaving Retch.
- Make sure to face this away from the group.
- Kite and kill the Carrion Worms.
- If any of them get to close make sure to stun it with Hammer of Justice.
Amarth, The Harvester
- Interrupt Necrotic Bolt with Rebuke.
- Stun any of theReanimated CrossbowmanorReanimated MagewithHammer of Justice.
- Since they are undead the stun effect fromWake of Ashesalso works here.
- If any adds are still alive duringFinal Harvest, use any crowd-control spell you have left on them. With them crowd-controlled, the boss doesn't castTortured Echoeseven though an add is alive.
Surgeon Stitchflesh
- Make sure that Surgeon Stitchflesh gets hit by Meat Hooks throughout the fight.
- You can use Blessing of Protection if you get Morbid Fixation.
Nalthor the Rimebinder
- You can pre cast Blessing of Freedom on another player, which allows you to immune the Frozen Binds.
- Try to run in a circle during Comet Storm to not run over anyone.
Trash Tips
- Important abilities to interrupt in this dungeon are:
- Drain Fluids from Corpse Harvester and Corpse Collector.
- Necrotic Bolt from Zolramus Sorceror & Zolarmus Necromancer.
- Rasping Scream from Skeletal Marauder.
- Frostbolt Volley from Reanimated Mage.
- Goresplatter from Corpse Collector.
- Repair Flesh from Flesh Crafter.
Pre Dungeon Start
- Paladins can't do much here other than pre-pot with Tempered Potion. When the dungeon starts, you'll have a few seconds of the potion's effect remaining.
Boss Tips
Chopper Redhook
- Line up your cooldowns with the boss walking over Bombs which afflict him with Heavy Ordnance.
- Do not stand in front of the Irontide Cleavers when they cast Heavy Slash which is a big frontal cone.
- Divine Steed helps you to quickly kite the boss into Bombs.
Dread Captain Lockwood
- Focus down the Ashvane Cannoneer during the phase change to quickly use Unstable Ordnance to get the boss down from the ship.
- The boss turns to a player and casts Clear the Deck a frontal cone that knocks back anyone in front of her.
- Use your defensives during Fiery Ricochet[/wow-spell.
Hadal Darkfathom
- Rotate your defensives on [wow-spell id=257882]Break Water.
- Since they spawn under you, make sure to not spawn any close to the pillar as you are going to use it for Tidal Surge.
- If you can't find a safe spot for Tidal Surge you can also use Divine Shield to immune the damage.
- The boss casts Crashing Tide on the tank which is a massive frontal cone.
Viq'Goth
- Rotate your defensives if you are targeted by Putrid Waters.
- If you run out of defensives you can use Divine Shield to immune it off.
- Make sure to kill the Gripping Terrors as fast as you can while not leaving more than 1 Demolishing Terror up at a time.
Trash Tips
- Important abilities to interrupt in this dungeon are:
- Brackish Bolt from Irontide Waveshaper.
- Watertight Shell from Irontide Waveshaper.
- Water Bolt from Bilge Rat Tempest.
- Choking Waters from Bilge Rat Tempest.
- Bolstering Shout from Ashvane Commander.
Pre Dungeon Start
- Paladins can't do much here other than pre-pot with Tempered Potion. When the dungeon starts, you'll have a few seconds of the potion's effect remaining.
Boss Tips
General Umbriss
- Use Shield of Vengeance before Commanding Roar.
- Use Divine Steed during Commanding Roar to quickly find the save spot to dodge the Shadow Breath.
- Use Divine Protection on Rock Spike.
- Drop this off away from the group.
Forgemaster Throngus
- Rotate your defensives every time the boss casts Forge Weapon.
- During the axe phase the boss is going to target a player with Fiery Cleave a massive frontal cone you must dodge.
- During Molten Flurry if you are targeted by Molten Spark make sure to drop it off far away or on the side of the group.
- During Molten Mace you can use Blessing of Freedom on the tank to speed him up.
Drahga Shadowburner
- In phase 1 interrupt Shadowflame Bolt with Rebuke.
- Use Lay on Hands If targeted by Curse of Entropy.
- Rotate your defensives when the boss casts Twilight Buffet.
- The boss is going to target a player and cast Devouring Flame a massive frontal cone you must dodge.
Erudax, the Duke of Below
- Use defensives during Abyssal Corruption and Void Surge.
- Help your group by soaking the Void tendrils with Divine Shield simply run over them to soak.
- If you're hit by a Void tendril it stuns you.
Trash Tips
- Important abilities to interrupt in this dungeon are:
- Earth Bolt from Twilight Earthcaller.
- Mass Tremor from Twilight Earthcaller.
- Shadowflame Bolt from Twilight Beguiler.
- Sear Mind from Twilight Beguiler.
Pre Dungeon Start
- Paladins can't do much here other than pre-pot with Tempered Potion. When the dungeon starts, you'll have a few seconds of the potion's effect remaining.
Affixes
The Affix system got revamped going intoThe War Within Season 1retiring most Affixes as well as introducing new kiss-curse ones while also changing on which key level these appear.
- +2 Affixes -- Rotates on a weekly basis
- Xal'atath's Bargain: Ascendant
- Xal'atath's Bargain: Voidbound
- Xal'atath's Bargain: Oblivion
- Xal'atath's Bargain: Devour
- +4 Affixes -- Alternates between each other on a weekly basis
- Tyrannical
- Fortified
- +7 Affix
- Challenger's Peril
- +10 Affixes -- Alternates between each other on a weekly basis, is always the opposite of the +4 Affix
- Tyrannical
- Fortified
- +12 Affix
- Xal'atath's Guile -- Replaces the +2 Affix
Following you get some useful tips for handling different Mythic+ Affixes as a Retribution Paladin.
- Xal'atath's Bargain: Ascendant
- Use Hammer of Justice, Rebuke and Blinding Light to clear the sparks and get the big haste buff.
- Xal'atath's Bargain: Voidbound
- Use Execution Sentence on the Void Emissary while you cleave from it.
- Xal'atath's Bargain: Oblivion
- Watch behind you and collect any orbs flying into the melee, intercept them before they hit any enemies.
- Divine Steed is very useful here.
- Watch behind you and collect any orbs flying into the melee, intercept them before they hit any enemies.
- Xal'atath's Bargain: Devour
- This is a healing absorb so quickly heal yourself up with either Word of Glory or Lay on Hands if needed.
- If you're playing Templar you can time a good Wake of Ashes as the trait Sacrosanct Crusade heals you.
- This is a healing absorb so quickly heal yourself up with either Word of Glory or Lay on Hands if needed.
Stat Priority
Patch 11.0.2 - The War Within
Retribution Paladin
Understand your secondary stat priority and the tertiary stats needed for optimal performance during Mythic+ dungeons as a Retribution Paladin. For more detailed information, visit the Stats and Attributes guide.
Higher Item level items are better in most scenarios. For an accurate representation of what item to equip you should use Simcraft! A static "Stat Priority" is just a starting point and can easily shift depending on your individual gear.
All secondary stats are affected by diminishing returns. Click here to learn more!
Tertiary
- Avoidance - Great stat to reduce the damage intake of "Area of Effect" abilities.
- Leech - Provides additional healing through damage dealing.
- Speed - Niche tertiary that can be very useful and has been proven useful in the past. Makes playing certain mechanics a lot easier.
Gear
Patch 11.0.2 - The War Within
Retribution Paladin
Best in Slot
Farmable Alternatives
Slot | Item | Location |
---|---|---|
Head | Entombed Seraph's Casque | Tier Slot |
Neck | Sureki Zealot's Insignia | Sikran |
Shoulder | Entombed Seraph's Plumes | Tier Slot |
Cloak | Wings of Shattered Sorrow | Rasha'nan |
Chest | Entombed Seraph's Breastplate | Tier Slot |
Wrist | Devoted Offering's Irons | Queen Ansurek |
Gloves | Entombed Seraph's Castigation | Tier Slot |
Belt | Nether Bounty's Greatbelt | Nexus-Princess |
Legs | Entombed Seraph's Greaves | Tier Slot |
Boots | Boots of the Black Bulwark | The Bloodbound Horror |
Ring 1 | Seal of the Poisoned Pact | Queen Ansurek |
Ring 2 | Writhing Ringworm | Broodtwister |
Trinket 1 | Skarmorak Shard | The Stonevault |
Trinket 2 | Ara-Kara Sacbrood | Ara-Kara, City of Echoes |
Weapon | Anub'arash's Colossal Mandible | The Silken Court |
Below you are presented with a good list of farmable alternatives that are obtainable outside of WoW’s weekly lockout system. While replaced in time as you progress, these offer immediate character power.
Slot | Item | Location |
---|---|---|
Head | Entombed Seraph's Casque | Tier Slot |
Neck | Trailspinner Pendant | Mists of Trina Scithe |
Shoulder | Entombed Seraph's Plumes | Tier Slot |
Cloak | Troggstitched Drape | Grim batol |
Chest | Entombed Seraph's Breastplate | Tier Slot |
Wrist | Bracers of Umbral Mending | Grim batol |
Gloves | Entombed Seraph's Castigation | Tier Slot |
Belt | Girdle of Somber Ploys | The Dawnbreaker |
Legs | Entombed Seraph's Greaves | Tier Slot |
Boots | Ballast Sinkers | Siege of Boralus |
Ring 1 | Seal of the City Watch | Siege of Boralus |
Ring 2 | Umbriss Band | Grim batol |
Trinket 1 | Skarmorak Shard | The Stonevault |
Trinket 2 | Ara-Kara Sacbrood | Ara-Kara, City of Echoes |
Weapon | Wild Hammer | Grim batol |
Trinkets
Below you can find active and passive alternatives to our recommended trinkets. Do note that some trinkets are better than others depending on the mythic+ dungeon.
Active Trinket alternatives
- Mark of Khardros
- When used you gain a massive amount of mastery for 15 seconds with a 1 min 30 sec cooldown.
- Great to combine with Radiant Glory since Wake of Ashes only has a 30-second cooldown which makes this line up alot.
- Skarmorak Shard
- Gain a large amount of Mastery when used for 15 seconds with 1 min 30 seconds cooldown, When killing adds you gain a small amount of Mastery for 15 sec stacking up to 5 times.
- Great to combine with Radiant Glory since Wake of Ashes only has a 30-second cooldown which makes this line up alot.
- Treacherous Transmitter
- After completing a small task you gain a large amount of strength for 15 seconds with a 1 min 30seconds cooldown.
- Great to combine with Radiant Glory since Wake of Ashes only has a 30-second cooldown which makes this line up alot.
- Signet of the Priory
- 2-minute cooldown trinket that when used you gain a large amount of your highest secondary stat for 20 seconds. Very powerful burst trinket when playing Crusade as it has the same cooldown.
- Oppressive Orator's Larynx
- Your attacks have a chance to proc a small amount of strength for 30 seconds, you can also use this trinket for a small amount of dot damage for 3 seconds with a 2-minute cooldown.
- Ravenous Honey Buzzer
- Leap forward dealing a large amount of fire damage to anyone hit by the leap, 1 min 30 seconds cooldown so don't delay any of your main cooldowns for it as it doesn’t change the damage from the trinket.
Passive Trinket alternatives
- Ara-Kara Sacbrood
- Your abilities have a chance to grant you a large amount of strength which can stack making this a very powerful passive trinket.
- Void Pactstone
- Your abilities have a chance to explode on nearby enemies for a small amount of shadow damage, when this procs you also gain a small amount of haste for 10 seconds.
Embellishments
It's recommended to hold your Spark of Omens craft and wait for further tuning.
- 2x Elemental Focusing Lens
- Your spells have a chance to deal bonus magic damage to your target as of currently this is around 1% of your damage.
- The optimal slots to craft on are Wrists, Boots, Waist, or Cloak depending on your available gear.
or
- 2x Dawnthread Lining
- Gain a small amount of Critical Strike while above 80% Health.
- It is a good choice if you have over 80% health most of the time and during your cooldowns.
- The optimal slots to craft on are Wrists, Boots, Waist, or Cloak depending on your available gear.
Remaining Sparks
- Make sure to apply Alchemical Flavor Pocket if you have an additional crafted item equipped to keep your food buff even if you die.
- Crafted items are 636 item level and regular items are 639 on max item level therefore it's not beneficial to equip crafted items outside of your 2x embellishments unless you don't have access to other high item level gear on that slot.
Simcraft
To find the best combination of gear available to you or identify the best possible upgrades, visit our Simcraft guide to learn how to utilize Simcraft easily and effectively.
Consumables
Patch 11.0.2 - The War Within
Retribution Paladin
- Phials
- Flask of Alchemical Chaos -- maximum DPS with an rng element.
- Flask of Tempered Mastery -- More stable DPS.
- Food
- Feast of the Midnight Masquerade
- Combat Potion
- Tempered Potion
- Health Potion
- Algari Healing Potion -- a big burst of healing.
- Weapon Oil
- Ironclaw Whetstone -- If you have a bladed weapon; a Sword, an Axe or a Polearm.
- Ironclaw Weightstone-- If you have a blunt weapon; a Mace, a Staff or a Fist Weapon.
- Augment Rune
- Crystallized Augment Rune
- Sockets
- Deadly Onyx
- Culminating Blasphemite -- Unique, use one of each gem color to enhance your Culminating Blasphemite.
- Masterful Emerald
- Masterful Ruby
- Masterful Sapphire
Enchantments
Head | Nerubian Gemweaver |
Neck | Magnificent Jeweler's Setting 2x |
Cloak | Enchant Cloak - Chant of Winged Grace |
Chest | Enchant Chest - Crystalline Radiance |
Wrist | Enchant Bracer - Chant of Armored Avoidance Nerubian Gemweaver |
Waist | Nerubian Gemweaver |
Legs | Stormbound Armor Kit |
Boots | Enchant Boots - Scout's March |
Ring 1 | Enchant Ring - Radiant Mastery Magnificent Jeweler's Setting 2x |
Ring 2 | Enchant Ring - Radiant Mastery Magnificent Jeweler's Setting 2x |
Weapon | Enchant Weapon - Authority of Radiant Power |
You buy Nerubian Gemweaver from the Great Vault Vendor to add sockets to your Helm, Wrists & Waist.
Races
Patch 11.0.2 - The War Within
Retribution Paladin
For min-maxing a Retribution Paladinin Mythic+, different racial traits can provide a tremendous benefit to your character. If this is not your top goal, picking a race that fits your style or transmog works just as well since the DPS gain is not as massive as people make it out to be.
- Stoneform -- Dwarf
- Can dispel Magic and Bleed debuffs. Has been useful in the past on some bosses with Bleeds.
- War Stomp -- Tauren
- An AoE stun is beneficial since paladins currently lack one. Additionally, Endurance is very useful when doing high-level content.
- Fireblood -- Dark Iron Dwarf
- It can remove almost any debuff for a small damage buff.
- Arcane Torrent -- Blood Elf
- Removes 1 buff from a target around you.
- Embrace of Pa'ku -- Zandalari Troll
- Provides a small crit buff with an RNG proc rate. A great benefit of being Zandalari is that you can combo Regeneratin' and Divine Shield to heal yourself fully.
- Will to Survive -- Human
- Removes any stun effect on you, similar to a PvP trinket. The Human Spirit is the main reason to play as a human.
- Gift of the Naaru -- Draenei
- No particularly useful racial except for Heroic Presence.
- Light's Judgment -- Lightforged Draenei
- More of a just-for-fun racial, but don't forget Light's Reckoning – it explodes for a small amount of damage when you die!
Recommendation
In general, it's safe to say that if you care about min-maxing your DPS you should go with the highest DPS racial. That being said the story is a bit different if it's about pushing endgame Raid or Mythic+ progression. Some help out massively to speed up the progression of certain bosses in dungeons or raids. Notably Dwarf with their Stoneform helped out on Tindral Sageswift & Fyrakk the Blazing in the latest Race to World First by having easy access to dispelling yourself at crucial points of the fights mentioned.
Macros
Patch 11.0.2 - The War Within
Retribution Paladin
Discover recommended macros for Retribution Paladins during Mythic+ dungeons and watch a quick video guide on creating simple macros for your character.
Macro Import Guide Video
Cursor macro / Focus Marcos
Cast Final Reckoning on your cursor.
#showtooltip Final Reckoning/cast [@cursor] Final Reckoning
Cast Rebuke on your Focus without targeting it.
#showtooltip Rebuke/cast [@focus] Rebuke
Cast Hammer of Justice on your Focus without ever targeting it.
#showtooltip Hammer of Justice/cast [@focus] Hammer of Justice
Mouseover Macros
@Player Macros
Cooldown Marcos
Addons
Patch 11.0.2 - The War Within
Retribution Paladin
Below, you see a screenshot of the author's User Interface for their Retribution Paladin, outlining which addons are used and how they are utilized in Mythic+ dungeons to make your life easier.
Addons
WeakAuras
Changes this Patch
Patch 11.0.2 - The War Within
Retribution Paladin
Patch 11.0.2
Patch 11.0
FAQ
Patch 11.0.2 - The War Within
Retribution Paladin
Q: Is it worth to Judgment on 4 holy power and go above 5?
Q: Mobs target me after Blessing of Protection - Divine Shield why?
Credits
Written By: Narcolies
Reviewed By: Xerwo, Nicememes