The release of World of Warcraft Cataclysm Classic has many differences that have changed the overall balance of the game and some mechanics compared to WoW Classic and WoW WotLK Classic. Because of this, players will have to learn the changes in the game. Alternatively, you can use a character-specific guide to learn which abilities, talents, and items are best to level up and learn to achieve the most comfortable game experience. In this Cataclysm Classic Retribution Paladin guide, we'll cover the following details about this class and specialisation.

Strengths and weaknesses of Retribution Paladin

The hero has powerful and strong abilities that can deal high damage to enemies and is also good at burst damage phases, i.e. moments when the hero can deal high damage in a short period of time. The Paladin is best against single targets. And thanks to certain abilities, such as Avenging Wrath, Zealotry, and Templar's Verdict, the paladin can increase his damage output. The Long Arm of the Law ability provides the hero with good mobility, increasing movement speed by 45% under certain conditions. The paladin achieves high mana reserves thanks to some abilities and passives: Replenishment, Divine Plea, and Judgments of the Bold.  In addition, the paladin has some auxiliary passives that strengthen the entire group. For example, Communion gives all players a +3% buff to damage, and Cleanse allows you to remove a negative effect from an ally.

However, there are a few weaknesses. First of all, there is a lack of AoE abilities, and those that are available are not strong enough and do not have burst damage. In addition, there is a lack and weakness of damage from slashing. The support abilities, although very good and strong, are limited to a small range of 30–40 yards, which is not really much for large raids and dungeons. The high competition for items also doesn't seem to be a positive side, as classes such as death knights and warriors will have an advantage in the frequency of getting equipment for their classes.

Ret paladin stat priorities Cataclysm

Strength is a priority attribute for Retribution Paladin, which will form the basis of the hero's attack power. You can maximise this stat through various equipment that can be found, crafted, or purchased. Gems can provide additional strength parameters. The next parameter is the hit chance. It is also a very important attribute, in particular for the DPS of a hero, including a paladin. This parameter is responsible for how often the hero can hit the enemy with his attack and not miss. In addition to this, there is an expertise score that reduces the chance of missing or parrying enemies.

The next secondary attribute for a paladin is skill. In WoW Cataclysm, this is a new element that affects each hero or his specialisation differently. In the case of Retribution Paladin, skill increases the damage from Templar's Verdict, Crusader Strike, and Divine Storm. Since DPS is important to our paladin, we can't do without the chance of a critical hit, so we also select items to increase this attribute whenever possible.

Spirit and spell power are unnecessary parameters for our hero, so avoid them if possible, as they will not be of any use to the paladin, especially after the significant changes in WoW Cataclysm after WotLK.

The best races for Retribution Paladin are the Alliance, in particular the Dren, Humans, and Dwarves.  The former has a passive that increases the chance of hitting with all abilities, while the latter have better skills with swords, two-handed weapons, and maces, just like the dwarves. Playing for the Horde, we can only distinguish blood elves, who have Arcane Torrent, which stuns enemies for two seconds in the vicinity and restores 6% mana, 15 energy, rune power, or focus.

Retribution Paladin Talents Cataclysm 

Most talent points should be invested in pumping the Retribution branch. All talents are maxed out. The exceptions are Eye for an Eye, Guardian's Favor, Selfless Healer, and Repentance — these talents can be left uninvested and the remaining points can be spent on other branches.

In the Protection category, invest two talent points in Seas of the Pure, which will increase the damage from Seal abilities by 12%. Invest one point in the Divinity talent to increase the effect of incoming and dealt healing by 2%.

In the Holy branch, pump Arbiter of the Light by two points to increase the critical hit chance of Judgment and Templar's Verdict by 12%. Pump Judgment of the Pure to the maximum. Invest the last two points in Blazing Light to increase the damage of Holy Shock and Exorcism by 20%.

Glyphs for Retribution Paladin

Prime glyphs:

• Seal of Truth — the ability allows you to gain 10 points of expertise during the duration of the skill
• Templar's Verdict — increases the damage of the ability by 15%.
• Exorcism — deals 20% additional damage after 6 seconds.

Basic glyphs:

• Ascetic Crusader — reduces the mana cost of this ability by 30%.
• Hammer of Wrath — reduces the mana cost of the ability by 100%.
• Divine Protection — removes physical damage reduction and replaces it with protection from magic.

Minor glyphs

• Truth — Reduces the mana cost of Seal of Truth by 50%.
• Righteousness — Reduces the mana cost of Seal of Righteousness by 50%.

Retribution Paladin rotation Cataclysm

Retribution Paladins are one of the strongest DPS heroes in World of Warcraft Cataclysm, thanks to their high damage output and ability to deal burst damage. Paladins are best against single targets. In Cataclysm, heroes of this class received the Holy Power mechanic, which is used to cast abilities, such as Inquisition, which increases damage by 30% per Holy Power charge, and Templar's Verdict, which deals damage as a percentage of your weapon damage. In addition, the paladin has powerful abilities that can deal high DPS, as well as auxiliary abilities that will help to raise your stats. Divine Purpose will allow you to use certain abilities without the need for Holy Power with a 15% chance, and The Art of War gives your auto attacks a 20% chance to apply Exorcism instantly and deal 100% extra damage.

Single targets:

1. Make sure you have your main aura on you, and upgrade it if necessary.
2. Use Seal of Truth to give your auto attacks extra burst damage that stacks up to five times.
3. Cast Guardian of Ancient Kings (Retribution), which will summon an assistant in battle.
4. Cast Avenging Wrath, which increases damage and healing by 20%, and use Zealotry.
5. Maintain the Inquisition ability at 3 Holy Power units.
6. Up to three Holy Power, cast Crusader Strike.
7. Cast Templar's Verdict along with Divine Purpose.
8. Cast Hammer of Wrath on targets with less than 20% health.
9. Cast Exorcism in conjunction with The Art of War.
10. Cast Templar's Verdict when you have 3 Holy Power.
11. Discard Judgment.
12. Discard Holy Wrath.
13. Discard Consecration.

AoE targets:

1. During Seals of Command, use Seal of Righteousness for an enhanced effect.
2. The following actions are the same as in the single-target rotation but with a twist.
3. Instead of Crusader Strike, cast Divine Storm, and your attacks will deal 100% damage to all nearby targets.

Best ret paladin gear Cataclysm Classic

Heroes of this class should aim to collect T11 (Tier-11) items that will allow you to show the power of Retribution Paladin thanks to the attributes and characteristics they provide. Here you will find BiS gear for ret paladin Cataclysm, as well as the source, i.e. where you can get these items from. 

• Head — Reinforced Sapphirium Helmet — Blackwing Descent location, drops from Nefarian.
• Neck — Caelestrasz's Will — The Bastion of Twilight location, drops from Sinestra.
• Shoulders — Pauldrons of the Great Ettin — The Bastion of Twilight location, drops from Halfus Wyrmbreaker.
• Back — Cloudburst Cloak of the Earthshaker — Throne of the Four Winds location, drops from Al'Akir.
• Chest — Reinforced Sapphirium Battleplate — The Bastion of Twilight location, drops from Halfus Wyrmbreaker.
• Wrists — Bracers of the Mat'redor — The Bastion of Twilight location, drops from Sinestra.
• Hands — Reinforced Sapphirium Gauntlets — Blackwing Descent location, drops from Magmaw.
• Waist — Belt of Absolute Zero — Blackwing Descent location, drops from Maloriak.
• Legs — Reinforced Sapphirium Legplates — Blackwing Descent location, drops from Maloriak.
• Feet — Massacre Treads — Blackwing Descent location, drops from Chimaeron.
• Toe 1 — Dargonax's Signet — The Bastion of Twilight location, drops from Sinestra.
• Finger 2 — Cloudburst Ring of the Earthshaker — Throne of the Four Winds location, drops from Al'Akir.
• Trinket 1 — Heart of Rage — Blackwing Descent location, drops from Chimaeron.
• Trinket 2 — Impatience of Youth — Hellscream's Reach or Baradin's Wardens location for reputation.
• Weapon — Reclaimed Ashkandi, Greatsword of the Brotherhood — Blackwing Descent location, drops from Nefarian.
• Relic — Relic of Aggramar — Can be purchased for 700 points of valor from the seller.

Conclusion

Retribution Paladin is one of the best choices for World of Warcraft Cataclysm Classic as a strong DPS hero that can cover the basic needs of raid groups. Strong offensive and support abilities make this specialisation paladin a good and almost universal hero, which is easy to master, especially with our Cataclysm ret paladin raiding guide.

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