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Soloing 1-40 | Soloing 41-60 | Soloing 61-80
Now we’re getting somewhere. During the time
between level
41 and 60, Paladins start coming into their own with a few new spells
...
Soloing 1-40 | Soloing 41-60 | Soloing 61-80
Now we’re getting somewhere. During the time
between level
41 and 60, Paladins start coming into their own with a few new spells
and getting
farther down the talent trees. During this interval the versatility of
the
Paladin will really start to shine. From
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/guides/classes/paladin/spells1-40#Hammer_of_Wrath">Hammer
of Wrath to finish of foes, to
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/guides/classes/paladin/spells1-40#Holy_Wrath">Holy
Wrath that blasts all undead and
demons in the area, the Paladin brings a full arsenal to bear as the
march to
80 continues.
Talent
Show
With the increase in leveling speed
up to level 70, it is
widely recommended that Paladins use the Retribution tree almost
exclusively until reaching the later levels. From the addage "Dead
things don't hit back" the Retribution tree is the damage dealers tree
of choice. For more information, head over to
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/guides/classes/paladin/talents">Selecting
Talents for more information about the various
talents.
Hit
them
where it hurts
Most
of the Paladin-defining spells are learned prior to level 41 and
learning to juggle Auras, Seals and Blessings should be well entrenched
by now. If not, re-read the playstyle basics of
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/guides/classes/paladin/solo1-40">Paladin
Soloing from 1-40. For a few added nuances though,
the 20
levels after 40 does provide some nice additions to its bag of
tricks.
Changes
in
the way to play post level 40
Get
it off, get it
off!
One of the key duties of the Paladin
is to
keep debuffs off of him/herself. Some of the poisons, diseases and
magic effects can really bring a player to his knees. At level 42,
target="_blank"
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/guides/classes/paladin/spells1-40#Cleanse">Cleanse allows the Paladin to clear one poison, disease and magic effect. Go
ahead and take
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/guides/classes/paladin/spells1-40#Purify">Purify off your action bar, you'll never use it again. Keep Cleanse handy, it
will be used more and more since higher level mobs tend to have some
type of debuff. Cleanse is a key PvP tool as well as it will clear many
of the debuffs on the caster and anyone else the Paladin casts it on.
It does not remove curses, so you'll have to heal through those Warlock
curses.
More
Bonus Spells
At level 44 the Paladin receives one
of the
best spells in the game,
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/guides/classes/paladin/spells1-40#Hammer_of_Wrath">Hammer
of Wrath. Need to finish off a mob with a massive chunk of
damage?
Hammer Time! Have a mob that is fleeing or better yet, a Warlock
running away with a sliver of health in PvP? Hammer time! The Hammer
provides an instant damage spell that is usable up close and personal
or at range on targets with less than 20% health left. Practice timing
the hammer throw and as soon as you see it light up on the bar, hit it.
The Hammer can be used in lieu of the Judgement of Justice if you're
trying to keep runners from fleeing. With talents in Sanctified Wrath
in the Retribution tree, the Hammer has an additional 50% chance to
crit meaning you'll see bigger numbers more often.
The other situation spell that will
work into
a Paladin's rotation is
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/guides/classes/paladin/spells1-40#Holy_Wrath">Holy
Wrath. Similar to
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/guides/classes/paladin/Spells1-40.html#Exorcism">Exorcism,
Holy Wrath only works against Undead and Demon targets, but Wrath is an
Area of Effect (AoE) spell that damages all targets within 10
yards and stuns them for 3 seconds. The stun is critical to remember
when fighting undead and demon casters. If other stuns are on cooldown,
hit them with Holy Wrath to bring that casting bar to a standstill.
Give
Them a Hand
All Judgements and most Blessings are
learned
prior to level 41 (additional ranks are added all the way up to 80
though), but at least one new Hand spell is provided,
target="_blank"
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/guides/classes/paladin/spells1-40#Hand_of_Sacrifice">Hand
of Sacrifice is learned at level 46. This Hand has no use in
solo
play, but can save one of your friends if they get into trouble.
Paladins typically have higher health pools than other party members,
so this spell can be placed on a friendly Mage who is taking damage and
may have a third as much overall health as the Paladin. The Paladin
also has the ability to heal him/herself so replenishing the lost hit
points isn't as serious as it might be for a non-healing class. A very
situational and reactionary spell, it only last 12 seconds so use this
spell when
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/guides/classes/paladin/spells1-40#Hand_of_Protection">Hand
of Protection is either on cooldown or you need to save
it.
Class
Quests
In this level range there are only a
couple of
class quests,
and unless a player is stuck trying to figure out how to gain some
experience, the rewards are
sub-par and not really worth running after. When level 60 was the level
cap,
the epic mount quest was critical, but now that spell is trainable and
not
really worth the time and expense to complete it. Yes, the epic riding
skill needs to be purchased, but the costs of the materials for the
quest are equal to or greater on most servers. Time at level 60 is much
better spent in Outland where the quest rewards and experience points
are much greater.
Oh
the Places You'll Go
Since gaining a mount at level 30,
much more
ground can be covered and that is good since the levels of 41-60
literally go around the world, and the outerworld if we include the
starting zone of Hellfire Peninsula in Outland. When level 60 was the
end of the game, the developers had put significant time into the zones
between level 41 and 60, so I would highly recommend touring the areas
(for the achievements too!) and seeing all that Azeroth has to
offer.
Some players enjoy running the
instances with a
higher level character for some easy XP and good loot. Some of the
instances are a bit tedious (See Maraudon), while others can be very
rewarding (Zul'Farrak is relatively short and has quite a number of
quests that can be completed). Standing around waiting for groups to
form probably isn't in the leveling Paladin's best interest, but if an
opportunity arrises, take it. See the locational guide for more
information.
Range
Gorge
Hinterlands
zone.
Lands
XP.
Crater
Steppes
Blackrock Instances.
Plaguelands
Mountain
Plaguelands
Peninsula
loot.
Temple
ends.
Depths
Maul
of fun.
Spire
Closing
Thoughts on
Closing in on 60
The first 40 levels are full of new spells, Auras, Blessings and
Judgements, which provide the basis of really learning to play a
Paladin from level 41-60. Use this tume to try out all of the different
spells and experiment with different situations. Most importantly
though, level up those weapon skills! When a new one or two handed
weapon drops or is available as a quest reward, take it and use it.
Even if a new 1 handed axe doesn't give the best stats, use it long
enough to keep the 1 handed axe skills up to date. Trust me on this
one, I've been in an end-game raid and received an epic weapon only to
realize that I can't even use it until I go skill up.
First Aid is not typically needed by Paladins since we can heal
ourselves, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't skill up in first aid.
Another skill that is easier (or at least less tedious) to keep current
while you progress than it is to go back and do later.
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