Introduction
Hi, and welcome to the Method Retribution Paladin guide, written by Ranishka. With a few occasional breaks from the game, I have been a ret main since vanilla. In the past I’ve had a more casual approach to the game and focused on PvP, until I started raiding semi-hardcore back in BfA, and have been playing ret at an increasingly higher level ever since.
Ret has always been a niche spec, but in later expansions it has seen some play due to it frequently being a viable choice, and even strong in certain encounters. Listed below are some strengths and drawbacks of the spec:
Strengths:
- Very strong AoE burst.
- Good ST burst.
- Provides certain utilities for the raid like immunity soaking, blessings, lay on hands etc.
- Decent self-sustain, with being a hybrid class and being able to heal when needed.
Weaknesses:
- Lacks raid-wide utility like Anti-Magic Zone, Rallying Cry etc.
- Low mobility, with divine steed being the only movement-ability (it did get a lot better with two charges and 6sec steed though).
- Sustained ST damage is low compared to other classes.
- Lacks a damage reduction ability, which makes it hard to survive certain hits without externals.
Disclaimer: At this moment, kyrian is the best option for rets in every situation, and this guide won’t cover the other covenants. This means the guide won’t apply the same way to readers playing other covenants (for whatever reason). The guide does not cover PvP either, as it has specific tunings and is a whole different game in certain regards.
What has changed
9.1 Changes:
For ret there were almost zero tuning changes to the spec itself in 9.1. It did however receive a legendary for kyrian, which has been the go-to legendary for most rets since the patch hit:
Virtuous command also received a bug-fix, making it refresh the duration on consecutive judgement hits. Not very noticeable, but makes it slightly better, especially with the new legendary.
Truth’s wake also received a bug-fix, making it do the correct (higher) amount of damage. Usually not a good pick regardless, but it could be used in M+.
A new endurance conduit was also added for all classes, which gives provides the player with good sustain in all situations:
Apart from that, ret is very much in the same spot as it was in Castle Nathria. It’s not bottom tier, but not soaring at the top either. It is still not the best pick for most raid comps, but completely viable if you already have what you need in the setup, and it can even outperform other classes if played correctly.