Retribution Paladin Class Guide - MoP Classic

Welcome to our Mists of Pandaria Classic (MoP Classic) Retribution Paladin Class Guide for Phase 1, it focuses on getting you up to speed with the Spec for PvE content, Dungeons and Raiding. The guide includes key information for what has changed going into MoP, the best Talent builds, Major Glyphs, your Rotation, Gearing and Consumables for Retribution Paladin.

Table of Content:

• Changes from Cataclysm to MoP
• Talents
• Rotation & Abilities
• Gearing & Consumables

What’s New for Retribution Paladin in Mists of Pandaria Classic

Mists of Pandaria is truly the new dawn for Retribution Paladin. The Holy Power system will finally be smoother, with more ways to generate Holy power, new ways to spend it, stronger cooldowns, more mobility… Even if Retribution isn’t the best, MoP Classic should be way more fun for you than Cataclysm. Below are some of the biggest changes:

• Seal and Aura are getting a rework, seals are a bit simpler and Auras are gone (outside of the Raid Cooldown Aura of Devotion)
• Blinding Light has been added.
• Blessing of Might now gives 3000 Mastery.
• Guardian of the Ancient Kings Cooldown reduced.
• Hand of Salvation reduces threat to 0.
• Emancipate is a new spell removing slows and snares with no cooldown.
• Holy Power can now be stacked to 5.
• Inquisition is easier to maintain.
• Divine storm is now a true spender.

Is Retribution Paladin Good?

Retribution Paladin is a good choice in Mists of Pandaria Classic. They might not be the best DPS wise, but they deal enough to clear all the content, they have a good kit with mixed damages for both single target and AoE, they have unrivaled utility and they are now way more mobile than before. If you mained Retribution before, you should find yourself in a better place than Cataclysm.

Best Talents & Glyphs for Retribution Paladin in MoP Classic

Regarding talents, the revamped talent tree is special and can be confusing for people not used to it. This guide focuses on PvE, so we will give you 2 different versions of the build for Retribution Paladin; one for Raiding and Single target fights, and another for Dungeons & Challenge modes.

But don’t forget, each talent row serves a different purpose, and not every one is tailored toward damage, so options will vary depending on the fights and the utility you should bring.

Retribution Paladin Raiding Talent Build

Retribution Paladins have a lot of good utility choices, on almost every row of Talents. Even regarding DPS options, you can be pretty flexible, which is amazing. In the first row, Pursuit of Justice is usually a good default choice, as it saves you a keybind. Speed of Light is better if you need a lot of speed every 45 seconds.

The second row isn’t as important, Fist of Justice is by default the most versatile option but consider Repentance and Evil is a point of View depending on the dungeon or encounter.

Selfless Healer is a great option, giving you a free and powerful Flash of light. Eternal Flame isn’t a great choice as you won’t cast a lot of Word of Glory, but you can take Sacred Shield if you find yourself suffering from a lot of damage in a said encounter, and if damage isn’t a problem.

In the fourth row, Clemency is usually the preferable choice but is a bit harder to play around as it relies on a good use of your group utility. Unbreakable Spirit is easier to play and a bit more selfish.

Now, the DPS options. Holy Avenger and Sanctified Wrath are really close in power. Sanctified Wrath is slightly better in theory, but you will need a bit of haste to take full advantage of the increased Avenging Wrath duration. You might want to play the first few weeks with Holy Avenger and switch to Sanctified Wrath once you have better gear.

In the last row, consider Execution Sentence for single-target, and Light's Hammer for AoE.

Best Retribution Paladin Raid Glyphs

Regarding Major Glyphs, you will want to obtain Glyph of Hand of Sacrifice, Glyph of Templar’s Verdict, Glyph of Inquisition.

Other options are Glyph of Mass Exorcism, Glyph of Double Jeopardy, Glyph of Divine protection, Glyph of Harsh Words.

Minor Glyphs do not have any damage increases to them, if you are on a PvP server you might want to get Glyph of the Righteous Retreat in case of World PvP.

Retribution Paladin Dungeons & Challenge Mode Talent Build

Regarding the Dungeon Talent Build, all choices have the same logic as the Raid build, so if you want more in depth analysis, please check the Raid build.

Best Retribution Paladin Dungeon Glyphs

Regarding Major Glyphs, you will want to obtain Glyph of Mass Exorcism, Glyph of Double Jeopardy, Glyph of Inquisition.

Other options are, Glyph of Hand of Sacrifice, Glyph of Templar’s Verdict, Glyph of Divine protection.

For Minor Glyphs, always in World PvP use Glyph of the Righteous Retreat.

Rotation for Retribution Paladin in MoP Classic

Single Target Rotation

1. Maintain Seal of Truth.
2. Maintain Inquisition.
3. Use Avenging Wrath on Cooldown.
4. Use Guardian of the Ancient Kings on Cooldown.
5. Use Execution Sentence on Cooldown.
6. Never stay at 5 Holy Power, spend them on Templar’s Verdict whenever you reach 5 Holy Power.
7. Use Hammer of Wrath on Cooldown when available.
8. Use Crusader Strike on Cooldown.
9. Use Judgment on Cooldown.
10. Use Exorcism on Cooldown.
11. Use Templar’s Verdict at 3+ Holy Power.

Regarding openers, use Judgment and Exorcism if you are not in range to melee, then Crusader Strike, Inquisition, Guardian of the Ancient Kings, Avenging Wrath, Execution Sentence and then the single target priority.

AoE Rotation & Priority

AoE Priority is very close to Single target, with a few adjustments depending on target count. Regardless of target number, if there is more than 1 target, replace Crusader Strike with Hammer of the Righteous, and Templar’s Verdict with Divine Storm.

The Seals you are using will change depending on target count. Seal of Truth is better at low target counts, but you need to spread it by attacking every target directly. With more than 3 targets, you have to switch to Seal of Righteousness.

Best Gear & Stats for Retribution Paladin in MoP Classic

Best in Slot (BiS Gear) aren’t as big in Mists of Pandaria Classic. Reforging is the new hype, so you can tailor your gear better than before.

The gear you should aim for are: Trinkets, Tier Sets and Weapons.

The best Phase 1 weapons you can find are:

• Mogu'Dar, Blade of the Thousand Slaves, Xin the Weaponmaster, Mogu'Shan Palace.
• Masterwork Spiritblade Decimator, Blacksmithing.

The best pre-raid trinkets are:

• Relic of Xuen from Inscription.
• Lessons of the Darkmaster from Scholomance, Darkmaster Gandling.
• Mogu Rune of Paralysis, Justice points.
• Ghost Iron Dragonling, from Engineering.

MoP Classic Retribution Paladin Stat Priority

Reach your Hit and Expertise cap, so around 7.5% for both. Then, strength is your best stat. As soon as a gear piece gives you more strength, it’s a good idea to equip it.

After that, it goes: Haste, Mastery and Critical Strike in this order. Haste is by far the statistic you want the most of to generate as much Holy Power as possible.

Best Consumables, Enchants & Gems for Retribution Paladin in MoP Classic

The following tables outline the recommended Consumables, Enchants and Gems for Retribution Paladin in Raiding and Dungeon content.

Consumables

Enchants:

Gems:

We hope this guide helped you improve your Retribution Paladin Gameplay and better understand the spec. To check out all of our MoP Classic content, such as Class Guides, Tier Lists and more, you can browse our full library of MoP Classic Guides.