How to play a Retadin (DPSadin)

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So you want to take prove everyone out there wrong?  Want to prove that Paladins can dish it out as well as they can take it? Well, you have your work cut out for you, but this guide will walk you through the basics of playing a Retribution spec'ed Paladin. Since patch 2.3 Retribution paladins have seen a huge buff in ability, however most players are still skeptical.

Playing a Retribution based Paladin can be a lot of fun as long as you realize you will still not be at the top on any of the DPS charts. You will however be able to hold your own in PvP and level at a decent rate in PvE. Realize up front though that most player view Paladins as healers and now sometimes tanks, so you will most likely be expected to heal. Discuss your options with a group before joining so that they know what you are. If you are doing this for PvP then more power to you, explain to no one!

Playing a Paladin for DPS was always a dream, however before Patch 2.3 it was a bit of a pipe dream, and players that did spec Retribution where commonly called Newb-adins and disregarded. However patch 2.3 changed that and Paladins can now do decent DPS. They can however do some of the biggest burst damage in the game, it is not always easy though and only some if it is under your control.

Gear

Gear for a Retadin is a very difficult balancing act.   You need to balance Strength, Stamina, Agility, Intelligence, +Attack Power, +Crit Chance, +damage and +to hit.  If you over emphasize any one of them you will lose your ability to be effective.  For example if you focus purely on strength and agility and leave your intelligence alone you will not have enough mana to do anything and will be unable to do serous damage as soon as your mana runs out. 

The most important stat is +attack power. Also though Strength, +Crit, +To Hit, +spell damage and Stamina are high on the priority list. I want to be able to hit, cast and take hits equally well. While +damage is important since all your main combat abilities cause additional holy damage it has been shown that +attack power generates more damage for us. +Attack Power adds to your base damage and does it much quicker in most cases than strength does. Most new retribution gear completely ignores +spell damage and many ret pallies will use it or warrior gear.

While important, I view intelligence, and agility as secondary. Intelligence helps you and you need a good base of it for a decent sized mana pool but beyond that it is not critical. Agility helps with your +crit and +to hit but you can generally get higher number by going for those bonuses on the item itself instead of getting it through agility.

As with any stat more is better, but for +critical strike, the sweet spot to hit is at least 25%. This way you can ensure that vengeance will almost always stay stacked 3 times against opponents.

For your weapon, you want the biggest meanest 2 handed weapon that you can find. As I have mentioned your abilities are based heavily off of your weapon damage so you are looking for the weapon with the highest base damage numbers preferably with a very slow speed. The slow speed allows your seal of command to proc on a greater percentage of your hits.

Talents

As a Retadin most of your points will be tied up in the retribution tree, however you will have enough points left to pick up a few things from other trees. If you want to be able to fall back as a healer dump the remainder of your points in holy. If you don't care to heal, its worth putting the rest in protection for extra armor.

The must have talents for a Retadin is Seal of Command and Crusader strike. These two form the basis of your damage.

Seal of Command does its holy damage based on what your base weapon damage is. The calculation is as follows:

Seal of Command Damage = ((DPS + AP) * AS) * 0.70 * PPM) / 60) * (1+CH) Legend: DPS : Weapon DPS AP : Total attack power / 14 AS : Weapon attack speed PPM : Proc Per minute of SOC = 7 CH = Crit % + Hit % SD : + spell damage gear HD : + holy damage gear (or bonus from judgment of the crusader)

The other critical abilities are: Two Handed Weapon Specialization, Vengeance, Conviction and Sanctity Aura.  Many other Retribution talents are important as well, but these form the core.

Basic Combat Techniques

Ok, you have the gear, you have specced retribution, now what?  How do you go about doing damage?

Assuming you are using the build from above, I start all PvP and PvE single (1 on 1) fights prepared with Seal of Crusader and Sanctity Aura up. I also like to ensure I am using a sharpening stone or weigh stone (hey, we are Paladin's we need all the help we can get, and they are cheep).

I then fight through the opponent with the following combination:

• Repentance - Used from a distance so that you can close and get the first hit in.
• Judgment of the Crusader - For extra holy damage
• Seal of Command - To cause additional Holy damage per hit
• Crusader Strike
• Add in Consecration (if you have lots of mana) and Exorcism (if fighting demons or undead)
• Hammer of Justice
• Judge Seal of Command
• Repeat Crusader Strike and Judgment of Command until almost dead
• Hammer of Wrath if fleeing

At this point you go through the seal of command - crusader strike - hammer of justice - judge seal of command combo until the enemy is dead or until you need healing at which point you have other options. You can bubble, repentance or stun then and then bandage or heal as required. Also you could bring seal of light or wisdom into the fight to regain health or mana as required.

If you are in a PvE situation against undead or demons, don't forget to bring in exorcism as well.

Things to avoid

• Avoid multiple combats of the same level or higher if you can. You have much lower armor than you do with a shield equipped and do not have any multiple target attacks.
• Using potions or bubbles to early. Save them and try to use seal of wisdom or light instead. My favorite is to judge seal of light and then use seal of wisdom, then when the SoW is almost expired, reverse them. Continue this mixed with heals until you are at full mana and health.
• Ignoring some of your stats. Don't focus on just one thing or you're cheating yourself
• Fast low damage weapons! Even though they often display higher dps rates, they do not factor in how your abilities work. Stick with the weapon that has the highest maximum damage.

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For general Paladin information, check out our complete Paladin Guide.

Comments or questions? Email me (Messiah@TenTonHammer.com) or post in our Paladin forums!