Retribution Paladin Stats, Races & Consumables guide

First of all, you always want to maximize your Strength. The only way of doing this is by increasing your Item Level. Secondary stats can be tuned by gear, gems, enchantments and consumables.

Stat Ranking

The general stat prio looks like this:

Haste > Mastery >= Crit >= Versatility

Once you get a lot of Haste (about 25-30%), all stats will be almost the same. The best advice you can have from me is to always sim yourself!

Alliance: Iron Dwarf > Human = Dwarf = Draenei >>> Lightforge Draenei

Horde: Tauren = Zandalari (Paku) > Blood Elf  >>> Zandalari (Kimbul) = Zandalari (Bwonsamdi)

Discussion:

• Dwarf and Taurens fall back a bit due to the Crusade that doesn’t give us an additional 20% crit chance, so the crit damage value from both races isn’t that powerful right now.
• In general, race choice doesn’t matter that much. If we take Lightforge Draenei as the worst dps-wise race, the Iron Dwarf is only 1.5% above it.
• So first of all choose a race based on your own preferences, because if you are not excited to play dwarf for example, the desire to play as a paladin may decrease.

You should also consider all racial bonuses including the utility ones:

• Iron Dwarves can dispel negative effects with Fireblood and gain even more main stat. However if it is not stacked with Avenging Wrath / Crusade the value decreases dramatically. Iron Dwarves also move faster in dungeons by 4%;
• Draenei has a flat main stat bonus, plus a healing HoT - Gift of the Naaru;
• Human’s dps bonus grows with each patch due to the number of secondary stats on gear. You also can remove stuns with Will to Survive;
• Dwarf has flat 2% crit damage and a Stoneform, that is simply a good defensive ability and it isn’t combined with DPS bonus, like the Iron Dwarves have;
• Lightforge Draenei’s Light's Judgment was nerfed years ago and unfortunately they can’t offer anything useful;
• Zandalari trolls have access to different buffs, however the Embrace of Pa’ku gives the most value due to the extra 4% crit for 12 seconds. You also have a Regeneratin’ that allows you to heal yourself at max health very fast, however this cast can be interrupted by damage;
• Tauren has a flat 2% crit damage bonus, increased stamina and a War Stomp. This toolkit makes Tauren a very solid choice for any scenario;
• Blood Elves have an additional 1% crit chance, and Arcane Torrent that gives Holy Power and dispels magic from enemies. This is still a good choice for the Horde paladin players

Cloak - Graceful Avoidance or Homebound Speed

Chest - Waking Stats

Wrists - Devotion of Avoidance or Devotion of Speed

Legs - Fierce Armor Kit

Feet - Watcher’s Loam or Painsrunner’s Breeze

Rings - Devotion of Mastery or Devotion of Haste

Weapon - Frozen Devotion

Before buying or crafting any gems you should sim yourself first:

• Fierce Illimited Diamond (Crafting Orders)
• Keen Neltharine or Keen Ysemerald. In some cases Crafty Ysemerald.

Phial - Phial of Tepid Versatility or Phial of Elemental Chaos

Potion - Elemental Portion of Ultimate Power or Elemental Potion of Power. Potion of Shocking Disclosure can be useful in Mythic+

Food - Grand Banquet of the Kalu’ak or Sizzling Seafood Medley

Weapon - Howling Rune